Truth Revealed

Story: Truth Revealed

Storylink: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8974900/1/
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Friendship/Hurt/Comfort
Author: Fallen Crest
Authorlink: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2885638/
Last updated: 03/01/2015
Words: 992467
Rating: T
Status: In Progress
Content: Chapter 1 to 49 of 49 chapters
Source: FanFiction.net

Summary: AU. A lesson without pain is meaningless...To save their future,

they will suffer through the truth. Brought to a room to view FMA
Brotherhood, the FMAB characters learn the dark secrets that surround
Amestris. Follow the drama, the suspense, the laughs, the friendships that
grow, and the pain they suffer in exchange as their future is laid out before
their eyes.
*Chapter 1*: Episode 1: Fullmetal
Alchemist
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Truth Revealed

This takes place right after Ed and Al discover that the Philosopher
Stone requires human lives. Just because I could, I put the soldiers who
served with Mustang in the Ishvalan War in this too.

Also, I am using Japanese subtitles because it is easier to write down

exactly what is said this way. Though, at times, I will use what they say
in the English version instead. I sometimes like what they say in the
English version better than the subtitles so they will be a bit mixed at
times.

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Regular talking/actions

Episode 1: Fullmetal Alchemist

Everyone stared at one another in surprise. They were just going about their
normal business when they suddenly found themselves in a room that was
like a lobby. It had a soft red carpet with a variety of couches, loveseats,
chairs, coffee tables, and side tables around. In the back of the room were a
few doors leading to who knew where. In front of them was a screen the size
of a movie theater screen.

"What the hell?" Mustang growled, looking around the room. In this room
were Edward, Alphonse, Riza Hawkeye, Jean Havoc, Kain Fuery, Vato
Falman, Heymans Breda, Maes Hughes, Sheska, Maria Ross, Denny Brosh,
Alex Louis Armstrong, Olivier Mira Armstrong, Karley, Major Miles,
Captain Buccaneer, Alexandre, Charlie, Damiano, Richard, a woman
Mustang didn't know, and Scar. There were also a lot of regular soldiers
around. (A/N: These soldiers are from the east and north that
participated in coup d'état. They all had a part so they get to see the full
truth. If I want them to talk, I will give them names so you may seem
some names you don't recognize. Just thought I'd let you know.)

"Scar?!" Havoc shouted, hand flashing to his side to get his gun, only to find
it missing.

While everyone was looking on their person for their weapons, Scar and
Edward were glaring at each other. There were the only two besides the
woman who didn't carry weapons. Since Alphonse couldn't do alchemy
without chalk he was searching for that. Unknown to those two though, the
woman was watching them with narrowed eyes.

"EDWARD ELRIC!"

Golden eyes flashed away from the state alchemist killer in fear. "Shit!
Teacher!" Was all he got out before his teacher's foot was slamming into his
face, sending him flying into the wall behind him. That, effectively, got
everyone to shut up and stop searching for their weapons to stare at.

"Brother?" Al asked worriedly and in a bit of fear. He would have

approached his brother, but his teacher was still standing there and he didn't
want to move closer.

But, it seems, his voice got her attention as she turned to him. "Al?" Izumi
asked, voice soft and gentle now.

Al meekly nodded his head.

"My, you've certainly grown." Izumi said, holding her hand out.

"It's nice to see," He started, consciously reaching out to hold hers, Al wasn't
all that surprised when he was suddenly flipped over the back of a couch.
"Ow."
"Hmph. Not enough training, either of you!" Izumi growled, voice harsh once
more.

"What impressive strength." Armstrong cried, truly moved by Izumi.

The youngest state alchemist climbed off of the floor, glaring the muscled
man. "Don't encourage the old hag, Armstrong."

"Brother!" Al cried dismayed.

Izumi slowly turned to her idiot student, cracking her knuckles. "What was
that, you damn brat?"

Sweat dripped down Ed's face as he nervously stared at his teacher. "Wait!
No, I mean, you are very pretty and young, Teacher! Don't kill me!"

"Wow. I have never seen the chief this scared ever." Breda said amused, a
grin spreading across his lips.

Havoc winced as Ed was kicked to the other side of the room. "I wonder what
he did to enrage her."

"I want to know how she got him to behave." Mustang commented, much to
the amusement of his squad as they were reminded of all the fights the two
alchemists have had.

"AHHH!" Al screamed as Izumi kicked him after his brother. "What'd I do?"

"Sir, aren't you forgetting about Scar?" Riza demanded.

Mustang blinked and looked at the murderer, who was watching the Elrics. "I
think he looks too amused to even think about killing anyone right now."

Riza sighed. "Sir, we need to find out why we are here."

"And save Ed and Al from getting killed." Maes added, though he was
grinning mischievously.

Before Mustang could reply, it seemed someone else got fed up first.
"ALRIGHT! Enough!"

All heads turned to look at the owner of the voice, who seemed to be Major
General Armstrong. "Let's all sit down and figure out what is going on." She
commanded.

"I like that idea." Edward grumbled, pulling himself off the floor, wincing a
bit in pain.

"You just had to call her old." Al muttered annoyed.

"Oh, like you never thought it." Edward snapped.

Crack!

Edward and Alphonse shut up, jumped to their feet, and ran to the other side
of the room to escape their teacher, much to everyone's amusement.

"Question! Why the hell is the state alchemist killer here with us?" Edward
demanded, glaring at Scar.

"Done getting your ass kicked, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked with that damn
arrogant smirk.

"Don't start with me, bastard colonel!" Ed snarled, plopping down on the
floor in front of the couch. It was then that he noticed a letter on the coffee
table. "Look, we've got mail!"

"Brother? Are you okay?" Al asked worriedly. "Did Teacher ruin your brain
with all that throwing you around?"

Ed shot his brother a glare as he picked the letter up. "Shut it, Al." He opened
the envelope and pulled out a letter. "Dear those who have been
gathered….sheesh, what kind of greeting is that? Could have just said
everyone. You have been brought here to view the showing of what is to
happen to Amestris in the coming days. All weapons have been removed,
along with alchemy being blocked. It is all blocked so there will be no killing
while you are here. That includes you, Scar. Try to get along while
here…..that's practically asking for the impossible considering who has been
gathered. As you are watching this, any injuries you obtain in it, you will feel
that pain. You will not obtain the injury, only the sensation of the pain….How
cruel. Hopefully they aren't a lot of injuries. Without further ado, let the first
episode begin. Cheers. V.H….Who the hell is V.H.?"

Ed stared at the letter for a moment then his hands. Brows furrowed, he
clapped his hands and slammed one onto the ground. To his surprise and
annoyance, nothing happened. "Well, great. He wasn't lying."

"How did he turn our alchemy off?" Mustang asked shocked. He didn't really
expect Ed's alchemy to not work.

"I don't know, but I want to have a word with him!" Ed grumbled.

"We have to feel that pain? Let's hope there are not many injuries." Maria
said worriedly.

Al, Mustang, and his Mustang's crew just gave her dull looks, while everyone
was confused with the looks. "If anything, I bet Fullmetal is the one who gets
injured the most." Mustang commented.

"What?" Edward snapped, turning his head to glare at the man sitting on the
couch behind him. "I'm not that reckless!"

"I only fought you once, and I found you quite reckless in that fight." Scar
commented from where he was sitting by himself in a chair.

Ed shot him a glare. "You were trying to kill me! Of course I was being a bit
reckless!"

"Mustang, who is this child?" General Armstrong demanded.

"Ah, right, being up in Briggs, you wouldn't what he looks like. This is Major
Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist." Mustang said. "Fullmetal, this is
Major General Olivier Armstrong, Captain Buccaneer, Major Miles, Karley,
and their comrades. They are all stationed in the north at Fort Briggs."

"Nice to meet you." Edward replied, only to be met with a fierce glare from
the General. "What the hell did I do?"
"She's just naturally a cold person." Mustang replied unconcerned.

"Enough chit-chat. Let's start this already so we can leave this place." Izumi
growled.

"Oh," Edward said. "So you know, this is Izumi Curtis. She is Al's and mine
alchemy teacher."

"Not for much longer." Izumi growled to herself. If those boys did what she
thought they did, there was going to be hell to pay.

Music filled the dark screen before the darkness faded away to reveal
Central City. Next it showed a transmutation circle being drawn with
chalk before the screen showed Isaac's grim face. The screen pulled
away from him and to the sky to show Central Command.

"The Freezing Alchemist?" Mustang's voice rang out.

A moment later, a picture of Isaac was showed on a form. "Yes. He has

sneaked his way here into Central." Fuhrer Bradley said as the screen
changed to the Fuhrer, who was looking at a map of Amestris at an
angle. "Colonel Roy Mustang, I would like to put you in charge of
capturing him."

Mustang was shown to be standing at attention in front of the doors to

the office.

"Why do we have to start with stuff that already happened?" Edward

complained.

"For the people who weren't there." Izumi growled. She was sitting on the
loveseat with Maria Ross and Riza Hawkeye. Dear gate, why did she have to
be with Riza?

"If that is your order," Mustang replied, eager to please as always.

"Oh, I'm so glad you are in Central. I can rest assured leaving this to
you." The Fuhrer replied.
Edward snorted.

"Yes, brother, we know you hate the Colonel." Al said from where he was
lying on the floor on his metal stomach so as not to obstruct anyone's view.

"I didn't say a thing." Edward retorted. "And I have some level of respect for
him."

"I'm touched." Mustang said sarcastically.

"And now it just dropped." Edward snapped at him, glaring at Mustang out of
the corner of his eye.

General Armstrong smirked. Very little respect for the man? She could agree
with the kid on that part. She had a heated rivalry with Mustang, but still
respected him somewhat.

"Yes sir." Mustang bowed his head a bit before the Fuhrer interrupted.

"Ah, one more thing. The boy is here, as well."

"Boy?" Edward growled. "I have a damn name!"

"At least you were mentioned, brother." Al said, trying to cheer his brother
up.

"Doesn't make me feel better." Ed grumbled.

"How old are you two?" Miles asked.

"Fifteen." Ed replied.

"Fourteen." Al said. "We're also brothers."

"And the oldest is a pipsqueak compared to his brother." General Armstrong

commented.

Edward whipped around to glare at her. "Pipsqueak?" He hissed.

"Leave it be, Fullmetal." Mustang growled, planting a firm hand on Ed's head
to turn it back to the screen. He lowered his voice so only Ed could hear him.
"You don't want to antagonize General Armstrong. She is worse than
Hawkeye on a bad day."

Seeing as the Colonel was giving him a warning, an actual good warning,
Edward let the matter go and didn't bite the Colonel's head off for touching
him.

"Use him however you like."

"You know, that could be taken badly." Maes commented, grinning evilly at
Mustang, who sat there gaping at his best friend.

"H-Hughes!" Mustang shouted, desperately wishing his gloves weren't taken

so he could fry his friend.

"The Colonel would have to spend a lot of time in jail if he did something
like that." Havoc commented, enjoying the horror that spread across Ed's
face. The kid sat there gaping, wishing for this to be a nightmare.

"You're wrong, Lieutenant Havoc." Hawkeye growled, causing all eyes to

turn to her. "If the Colonel did one inappropriate thing to that boy, he would
be full of bullet holes."

"Hawkeye! You're supposed to be on my side, not Fullmetal's!" Mustang

protested.

Hawkeye's brown eyes narrowed at her superior. "If you touched it, you
would be straying down the wrong path, and I would have an obligation to
shoot you."

"Children really shouldn't be in the military." Charlie commented, watching

the display in astonishment.

"For their sanity or because it causes the soldiers to go crazy?" Richard

asked.

"Both!"
Edward blinked a couple of times, trying to get his mind to function properly
once more.

"You broke brother, Mr. Hughes." Al said accusingly.

"Ah, shit." Mustang grumbled. He leaned forward and smacked the boy on
the back of his head. "Snap out of it, Fullmetal. It was a joke."

"Haven't I been traumatized enough in my life?" Edward mumbled.

Mustang ruffled the boy's hair, and to the surprise of many, Edward didn't try
to kill him for it. "Yes, yes, you have. Hughes is just a very cruel man."

Hughes grinned, but to everyone in the room it now looked like a very evil
grin.

"Fuhrer Bradley, by boy, do you mean…?" Mustang asked.

Fuhrer Bradley turned away from the window to look at Mustang again.
"Yes, the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric."

"What other child is there in the military?" Scar scoffed, frowning at the boy.
Of all the State Alchemists, the one he didn't want to kill was the child. He
was just a kid and had no part in the Ishvalan War, but the moment he signed
up for the military, he became the enemy.

"What a stupid decision that was." Izumi growled, glaring at her student.

Edward twitched at the eyes glaring at him. It could only mean that his
teacher was glaring at him. Training with her for so long gave him that acute
sense to know when it was her.

The screen changed to a blond haired boy when the Fuhrer was saying
his real name. A glare was shining in the boy's eyes as the moon shined
brightly down on him. "Ah, damn it, the colonel is such a slave driver."

"I'm just making you actual do your job, Fullmetal." Mustang retorted.
"You gave me a mission to Liore, then told me to handle this! Which is it,
bastard?" Edward cried.

The screen changed a suit of armor. "We'd already bought our tickets to
Liore, but that's been cancelled, huh?"

The screen was pulled back to show the boys were on a roof. Edward
stood up. "Nothing we can do about it. Let's hurry and get this over
with, Al."

"How did you even get up there?" Fuery asked.

"I think we used the fire escape that time." Al said thoughtfully.

"That time?" Breda asked.

"Brother likes sitting high up in the air so he climbs onto roofs often." Al
explained.

"Course. It's the closet I'll ever get to the sky." Edward mused.

"Well, maybe if you weren't so short…" Mustang trailed off, smirking subtly
while most of the people gathered groan.

Edward whipped around, glaring at his superior. "WHO THE HELL ARE
YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE CAN ONLY RIDE A RAT AS A
MODE OF TRANSPORTATION?"

"That would be you, Fullmetal."

Before Ed could take his superior's head off, Al had grabbed his brother
around the waist and pulled him down to the ground with him so they were
both lying down.

"That's one hell of a pair of lungs." Karley commented after a moment of

silence. In return, he received many blank stares from everyone else who was
not Scar or a Briggs soldier.

"Still has a temper, I see." Izumi commented.

"You're one to talk." Edward grumbled.

"Mm-hmm, Brother."

With those words, the screen changed to an opening theme.

"Oooh, an opening theme song. We must be so special." Havoc commented.

"We haven't even appeared yet." Falman pointed out.

"We will yet!" Havoc cried.

A white background with a transmutation array appeared on the screen

as music started.

"Kono omoi wo"

As a voice started to sing, a boy with long blond hair and golden eyes
appeared.

"Woah, that boy looks a lot like Chief." Havoc said in shock.

"Except for a few difference, like the bangs and shape of his face. They are
almost twins." Mustang said.

"My question is why is he appearing? Does he have something to do with

what we are going to learn?" Riza asked.

"Only one way to find out." Ed said.

"keshite shimau niwa"

The background changed to a blue sky with clouds in it as the boy raised
his hands and stretched them out towards the screen.

"mada jinsei nagai desho?"

Trisha took over the screen, standing on a small hill in Resembool. As

the wind blew around her, she smiled.
"Now a strange woman appears. What is this weirdness?" Breda asked,
grinning.

Ed and Al stared at the face of their mother with sad eyes. It had been so long
they last saw her. They didn't even see her in pictures anymore. They had
burned them all, except a few they left at Winry's, and they didn't bother to
look at those.

A pair of young boys with gold hair and eyes were shown next, staring as
a door shut and left them in the dark.

"Yarinokoshi te'ru koto"

"Now that looks like Fullmetal." Miles said. "Is that you?"

Ed nodded. "Yep, and that is Al next to me."

"Aww, such cute kids." Hughes said, grinning. "What happened?"

Scowling, Ed shot the man a glare. Stupid, annoying man.

The top part of a man's head was shown. The man slowly raised his head
to show his golden eyes to the screen.

"yarinaoshite mitai kara"

Ed scowled. He didn't even need to see the man's whole face to know who
that was. Hohenheim. If he was being shown, then did that mean he was
going to have a part in this? He hoped not. He didn't want to deal with that
man ever again.

"Okay, what is with all the strangers? So far we only knew the brothers."
Havoc said confused.

A small blot of red appeared in the middle of the screen. As the music
got faster, the blot grew quickly, twisting around itself until it turned red
and orange so it was fire. Ed and Al were shown to be standing in front
of the fire.
"Why are you guys standing in front of a fire?" Hughes asked.

Ed and Al shared a look. "That's our business." The former said.

Hughes huffed. "What is with you guys and secrets?"

Al shrugged. "They're our life?"

The words "Fullmetal Alchemist" appeared in front of the boys and the
fire.

"What the hell?" Havoc asked.

"Why does it say 'Fullmetal Alchemist?'" Mustang asked confused.

"Because I'm freaking awesome?" Ed suggested.

"Be careful, Ed, or you're going to get a big head." Hughes teased.

Ed rolled his eyes, but grinned at the man.

The words stayed on the screen as the scene pulled out to show a house
on fire and a night sky.

"Why the hell is that house on fire?" Mustang asked shocked. "And why are
you two there?"

"What does it matter?" Ed shrugged. He wasn't going to tell these guys that
he and Al burned their house down. That was a private matter between the
brothers. "This could mean anything."

The scene rose quickly into the night sky with blue lightning flashing
down over it before Ed appeared in a field of light brown grass.

"Yume no tsuzuki oikakete ita hazu na no ni"

The scene zoomed in on Ed. He clapped his hands and stretched them
out towards the screen.
"Chief sure is appearing a lot." Havoc said.

"Maybe he is more important than us." Fuery suggested.

Havoc pouted. "No fair. He's just a kid. What makes him so special?"

"He is the youngest State Alchemist out there?" Buccaneer suggested.

The blond soldier sighed. "Stupid smart kid."

"Hey, I can hear you!" Ed growled.

Havoc grinned at him. "That's the point."

Hohenheim appeared on the screen, turning to face it as the scene pulled

out and the wind blew around him.

"Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito ni tsumazuku"

He looked away from the screen to look at the wall behind him.

"Does anyone know who this guy is?" Izumi asked.

Al looked at his older brother, who looked at him for a moment before
sighing. He nodded at Al.

Al turned to his teacher. "He is our dad."

"HUH?" Mustang, Havoc, Falman, Breda, and a few other soldiers who knew
the brothers said.

"That's your dad?" Izumi asked surprised.

Ed sighed. He wanted it kept quiet for a reason.

"Wow, he looks more like a scholar, then a fighter." Havoc said.

Ed raised a brow at that. "Why would you think he was a fighter?"

Havoc shrugged. "Well, we have always wondered what your parents were
like. And since you are such great fighters…"

"Our dad isn't a fighter. He's just an alchemist." Al corrected.

The scene changed to three kids who were sleeping on a bed. One was
Winry. As the scene moved up, Ed was shown with his hand under his
shirt, and then Al was seen with his hands holding a blanket to his chest.

"Ano koro mitai ni tte"

"So cute." Hughes cooed. "You guys had sleepovers with a girl?"

"Well, she is our best friend." Al defended.

The three kids were shown to be walking down a path.

"modoritai wakejanai no"

Al was shown to be lying on the grass. He raised a hand to the sky.

"Nakushite kita sora wo sagashite'ru"

Al appeared to be standing in a field of flowers. Next, Al and Ed were

shown to be running through a field in Resembool.

"wakatte kuremasu you ni"

"I'm beginning to think this is all about the brothers." Armstrong said.

"I think we are important as well," Al said. "But I also think you guys are
important. This is about the future of Amestris and everyone here is involved
in it. You guys just aren't appearing it yet."

"They might not appear in this opening at all." Ed piped in.

"I don't think Chief believes in us at all." Breda moaned to Havoc.

"We always knew he was cruel." Havoc added.

Ed rolled his eyes.

Hughes was shown next with a black background, followed by Mustang,

who started with a black background that was soon lit up by fire with
flaming ashes blowing around him. Riza was shown next, lying on a bed
with her arms crossed over her eyes. Her lips moved in sync with the
lyrics.

"Gisei ni natta you na kanashii kao wa yamete yo"

"You were wrong, Fullmetal." Mustang said, smirking. "Look who just
appeared."

"An annoying family man and an arrogant jerk. How wonderful." Ed said
sarcastically.

"What about me?" Riza asked.

Ed shrugged. "What about you? I like you, but if you insist. And a gun
manic."

Riza gave Ed a dry glare, but couldn't help the smile that twitched at her lips
as she tried to suppress it.

Ed quickly took over the scene. The screen rapidly pulled out as Ed's leg
and arm quickly disintegrated with blue alchemical leg surrounding the
stumps left behind.

"Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo,"

Al was shown next with blue alchemical light surrounding him and
looked as if it was pulling at him as his whole body disintegrated and
disappeared.

"zutto kurushiku seotte'ku n da"

"What the hell was that?" Havoc asked shocked.

Mustang closed his eyes. He didn't have to ask. He already knew since he
knew what was in Al's armor, or the lack of what was there, and how Ed lost
his limbs. He knew how it all happened so he knew what those scenes meant.

Winry was seen next, stumbling around.

"Deguchi mienai kanjou meiro ni"

Gluttony appeared on the screen with Envy shooting out of his mouth
with an evil grin. Lust pulled out of Envy's head, smirking cruelly.

"dare wo matte'ru no?"

"Who the hell are these people? And why do they look so evil?" Mustang
growled.

"Well, if you think about it, if we are being shown our future, it means
something bad is going to happen and we are meant to change it. And if
something bad happens, someone has to be the cause of it." Hughes pointed
out.

"You think it is them?" Mustang asked.

Hughes shrugged. "Could be."

Mustang appeared on screen, snapping his fingers, creating a wave of

flames in front of him. His fingers on his other hand snapped as he
brought his hand forward, creating another wave before Riza was
shown, pulling her guns out and pointing them at the screen as she
jumped back. She started to fire repeatedly.

"Shiroi nooto ni tsuzutta you ni"

Armstrong appeared next, looking as if he was screaming. Denny and

Ross were shown next. They turned around and saluted at the screen.

"motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo"

"Oh, look, it's our turn." Denny said with a grin.

"As always, Major Armstrong is flexing." Ross said blandly.

"They appeared. Why haven't we?" Havoc moaned.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Is it really that important to you?"

"Yes, because then it means at least someone is thinking of me!" Havoc

exclaimed.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Weirdo."

Greed was shown with his shield rapidly covering his face. He was shown
to be jumping off of a bridge.

"nani kara nogaretai n da…"

Ed shot up straight. "Woah, who the hell is that and what happened to his
face?"

"That's what gets you out of all this?" Buccaneer asked amused.

"But it's so weird." Ed said. "I've never seen anything like it."

"He doesn't look like someone you want to meet ever." Hughes said with a
grimace.

Central Command was shown next. The scene rapidly zoomed in on

Bradley, who was standing on one of the roofs.

"genjitsu tte yatsu?"

Ed was running across a bridge to get to Envy. Envy jumped over his
attack as Gluttony fell from the sky and landed on the bridge with so
much force that it caused the bridge to start to crumble. Gluttony
jumped over Envy to get to Ed. When he landed, an explosion happened
behind Envy that caused all three to get blasted back.

"Kanaeru tame ni ikite'ru n datte Sakebitaku naru yo Kikoete imasu

ka?"
"Well, if Fullmetal is fighting those guys, it proves your idea that they are the
enemy." Mustang mentioned to Hughes.

"Why is Ed fighting them alone?" Hughes asked worriedly.

Mustang shrugged. "Reckless punk?"

Scar was shown to be sitting by a tree with rain pouring on him. The sun
started to come out, making Scar raise his head.

"Bunan ni nante yatte'rarenai kara…"

"Even Scar gets shown?" Havoc asked insulted.

Ed rolled his eyes once more. Weirdo.

Scar stood up, looked around for a moment, then ran off.

"kaeru basho mo nai no"

Pinako appeared to be sitting on the stairs of her porch with Den

walking up to her from behind and barking at her.

"Yasashisa niwa itsumo kansha shite'ru"

Ed did a one handed side flip. When his hands hit the ground, pillars
shot out of the ground as he landed on his feet in his next spot. He
continued to slam his hands into the ground as he moved to the side,
creating more and more pillars.

Lust was shown to be dodging the pillars with Envy doing the same. One
of the pillars slammed into Gluttony.

"Dakara tsuyoku naritai (I'm on the way)"

"You have a thing about fighting the crazy people, don't you?" Breda asked
dryly.

Ed raised a brow. "What makes you say they are crazy?"

"If they are doing something to harm Amestris's future, they are crazy."
Breda said.

Winry appeared on the screen, arms crossed over the top of her face as
she mouthed the next few words.

"Natsukashiku naru"

Ed was shown next. His arms were crossed over his hand before he
forcefully brought them down. His automail arm flew across the screen
and stopped in front of a strange purple pupil and broken into a
hundred pieces.

"konna itami mo kangei jan"

With a last bang of music, the scene rapidly pulled out and showed two
figures standing in the distance by the sun.

"Well, that certainly was interesting." Havoc commented. "What does it

mean?"

"Considering we are going to see our future, some of their scenes may have
been quick flashes of what is to come." Izumi suggested.

"Then that makes that opening even more interesting." Hughes said, grinning.
"This should be fascinating."

With the song over with, it went back to Central at nighttime with a
shrill whistle resounding throughout the city. Isaac was shown running
down an alley.

"There he goes! That way!" A solider yelled.

Two soldiers appeared, holding their guns out at Isaac. "Halt! Halt, or
else!"

Isaac brought his right arm out from under his cloak, revealing a metal
gauntlet with a transmutation circle glowing on it. His left arm came out
to before he touched the sides of the alley to send water at the soldiers,
sending them flying backwards as they were hit. Ignoring them, Isaac
turned at the end of the alley to see another two soldiers waiting for him
at the end of that one.

This time, Isaac grabbed one of the soldiers' wrist, then created a
transmutation where he froze the soldier completely, using the water
inside him. The second soldier was then grabbed by the neck and had the
water in his body heated to extreme measures, leaving him dead.

"Freezing and boiling, both attributes of water."

"What a horrible way to die." Izumi commented.

"I can think of worse." Edward commented, glancing at Mustang then at

Scar.

As the alchemist finished speaking, there was a sound of transmutation

as the screen changed to look at the sky where a spark lighted as a spear
came flying into view. It landed right where Isaac was. It would have hit
him if he didn't jump back in time to miss it.

"Alchemy…"

A red raw burnt hand was shown as Edward's voice rung out. "What a
nasty thing to do."

"In order to do great things, sacrifices must be made." Isaac retorted, a

slight smile on his face, changing into an almost insane look. "It's what
known as equivalent exchange."

"There's no way you can call that equivalent exchange." Edward

retorted angrily as he stepped into the light of the alley. He slammed his
hands together, creating bright blue electricity to shine around him
before he reached out to grab the spear he had thrown. When his hand
touched it, the spear changed into a mace which he twirled once in his
hand before pointing it at Isaac.

"No transmutation circle?" Izumi growled, jumping to her feet. "Edward!

You saw it, didn't you?"

"Saw it?" Armstrong asked confused, as pretty much everyone was feeling,
even Al.

Edward bowed his head, letting his bangs shield his face. "Teacher, not now.
Please." He added pleadingly, something none of the soldiers had ever heard
from him, even when he was getting beaten up by his teacher earlier.

"Fine." Izumi huffed, seating back down. "But we will talk about this later."

"Yes, I understand, Teacher." Edward replied quietly, making Mustang

twitched. He was not used to a submissive Fullmetal, and he did not like it
one bit.

Isaac looked at the boy in shock. "Without even a transmutation

circle…!"

"You can't afford to be so intrigued." Edward replied, glaring at the

man with his sharp golden eyes.

He charged forward at the man, just as Alphonse appeared behind him.

Isaac noticed him just in time to dodge under his punch. While he was
bent backwards, Ed came charging and slamming his mace down on
him, only to have Isaac cross his arms to block the mace. He forced his
arms up, throwing the mace block and dodging to the side to avoid Al
who was trying to grab him. He flipped, kicking Al in the process. When
he was standing upright, he blocked Edward's mace once more,
grabbing the boy's right arm in the process. Alchemical light shined in
the alley once more as Ed's right arm was attacked. Instead of the
intended attack, Ed stumbled back with a gasp as his jackets got all
ripped up.

"What?" Isaac shouted shock. Al, who was still behind him, went to slam
his hands down on Isaac, who brought his arms up to block the attack
before flipping the armor boy over him. "Any water in there should have
boiled!"
"Time and time again, that damn automail has saved your life." Mustang
commented.

The screen changed back to Edward, who was kneeling on the ground
with his arm still in the air. "You ruined my coat, you know."

"Is that all you care about, brother?" Al asked.

"Yes, I am getting fed up with people destroying my coats!" Edward shouted.

"It gets tiring to fix it all the time."

"Someone tries to kill you and that's what you complain about." Havoc
snorted.

"Did you feel any pain from that?" Damiano asked curiously.

"It's automail. I guess that doesn't count to this V.H guy." Edward
commented.

"It's not like you can feel anything with automail." Buccaneer said.

Edward glanced at him and his automail arm and nodded. The Captain was
right there.

"Automail." Isaac said, staring at the alchemist in shock.

Edward grabbed the ruined part of his coat and ripped the rest of the
coat off of his body, covering the screen in red. When the coat
disappeared, it showed a scowling Ed and Al climbing to his feet.

"The skill of a gifted alchemist," Isaac said. The screen changed to Ed's
automail arm, looking at it from hand to shoulder. "One who doesn't use
transmutation circles, as well as an automail right arm…!" The screen
changed back to Ed's face. "You are the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward
Elric?!"

"Is he really that well-known?" General Armstrong asked.

"Yes. Which is why he is always getting himself in trouble." Riza said with a
sigh.

"Edward has been like that even before becoming a state alchemist." Izumi
corrected.

"I am sitting right here, you know!" Edward shouted annoyed.

"Okay, I'll say it to your face." Izumi growled. "You are a troublemaking brat
who must take pleasure in scaring his friends and family with how reckless
he always is!"

Edward scowled. "I don't go out looking for trouble! It usual finds me!"

"Well, actually, brother, there was that one time…"

"Shut up, Al! No one knows about that one time." Edward snarled. "And we
do not speak of it."

Mustang narrowed his eyes. "That one time? What the hell did you do,
Fullmetal?"

"Nothing you need to know about." Edward replied in snarky tone.

The screen changed to tan background with transmutation circles on it

and the words "Fullmetal Alchemist" on the screen.

"What a long introduction just for the pipsqueak." Mustang commented.

"Stop calling me that!" Edward yelled angrily, not even bothering to try to get
off the floor since it was too much effort at the moment.

"That's all I get this time?" Mustang asked, a bit disappointed.

"Oh shut it, Sparky." Edward snapped.

"Sparky?" Mustang mouthed to himself, while the others laughed.

"Not you?" Isaac asked, pointing at Al.

"Oh, um, I'm his younger brother, Alphonse." Al said meekly, scratching
his helmet.

"Three years!" Havoc cried. "You've been in the military for three years, and
this still happens to you!"

Edward shot the man a glare. "I'm making a list of whose asses I have to kick
when I get out of here."

Havoc meeped and subdued his laughter.

"This runt…?"

"Who's a puny runt?" Edward yelled angrily.

"I think it is a unanimous vote about your height, Fullmetal." Mustang

commented.

"ARGH!" Edward shouted, slamming his head into the ground, which did
nothing since it was a soft carpet. "Would you shut the hell up about my
height? I am not a tiny little pipsqueak!"

"Do you take pleasure in angering your subordinate?" Miles asked, staring at
the kid a bit amused and a bit pitying.

"Of course."

"And people say General Armstrong has an ice heart." Charlie muttered to his
friends.

"I always thought it was Major Elric who started the fights." Richard said.

Edward clapped his hands together and put them on the ground.
Alchemical energy filled the alley and sped towards Isaac, going up the
walls surrounding him so they sprouted out and trapped him between
them.

"To think that the man they call the Fullmetal Alchemist is just a little
child." Isaac mumbled out as his face was being squished.
Angrily, Edward clapped his hands together and slammed his metal one
on the wall. "Don't call me little!" A hand sprouted from the wall, which
slammed into Isaac and sent him flying back.

"That sure is a short temper." Scar commented mostly to himself.

"DAMN YOU, SCAR!" Edward shouted, grabbing at his hair in frustration.

"I think everyone is against you, brother." Al commented softly.

Edward slowly lifted his head from the ground, glaring dangerously at his
little brother. "Does that include you, Al?"

Al meeped and shook his head. "Never, brother!"

"Brother, I don't think he meant your height just now." Al told his
fuming brother.

"Even if he didn't, he's going to pay!" Edward shouted angrily.

"I should go on some missions with you, Fullmetal. I would find myself quite
amused." Mustang commented, smirking.

"No way in hell will I ever go on another mission with you, bastard! Not after
that last one!" Edward shouted.

"What happened…."

"No." Edward growled, cutting Alexandre off. "Do not even ask."

"I was really hoping to give a good story too." Mustang said.

Riza sighed, wishing she had her gun with her. "Sir, please stop teasing
Edward."

An MP appeared on the screen along with some jolly music. "That's the
Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric for you."

Behind the soldier, Isaac was being led away by other soldiers while Al
stood in front of the soldier.

"Are you kidding me?" Edward shouted.

"You think people would learn after three years." Fuery said sympathetically.

"Thank you very much for your assistance."

"No," Al said as the screen changed to watch Ed's back as he transmuted

something. "I'm his younger brother, Alphonse Elric."

Edward stood up as his brother finished talking. He pivoted on his feet,

pulling his red coat on as he did. "Okay. Sorry to keep you waiting, Al.
Now, let's get going."

As Ed started to walk away, Al just stared after him. "Geez, you're

always so impatient." He said as the screen changed to look at Isaac once
more.

Isaac noticed water on the ground and let a grin cross his face. He
slipped a glove off his left hand and fell over to touch the water on the
ground. At the sound of splashing water, Edward glanced back in shock
just as steam blasted throughout the alley.

"What a mistake." Mustang commented.

"OH, come on! How was I supposed to know the MPs couldn't do their job
properly after I did mine?" Edward defended.

"You know, it's your job to help escort him to prison." Mustang pointed out.

"What? Since when?" Edward demanded.

"Did you even read the military regulation book I gave you?" Mustang asked.

Edward shrugged. "I glanced at it. I think I lost it though."

"When we get out of here, I'll give you a new one and give you a test on it!"
Mustang growled.
"Ugh, I hate tests." Edward whined.

"Steam…?" Edward asked.

"Brother! He's loose!" Al said.

"Damn it!" Edward shouted. "Trifle with us, will he?!"

"Looks like you underestimated your opponent, Fullmetal." Mustang's

voice resounded throughout the screen once more.

Edward was then seen seating in Mustang's office with a scowl. "Who is
that guy?"

"I thought I told you to listen to the briefing. But no," Mustang dragged
the word 'no' out to annoy his charge. "You had to go right after him–"

"You didn't properly train your subordinate." General Armstrong said in

distaste.

"It was more fun this way." Mustang commented, smirking. "Besides, I was
not going to train a twelve year old to be a proper military dog. He is still just
a kid."

"You wanted him to have the chance to still act his age?" Charlie asked
surprised. "And here we all just thought you didn't want to waste time
training him."

"I didn't." Mustang said. "It just worked out in more than one way."

"Yes, we only trained him in one subject before letting him go off and do his
research." Hawkeye said.

"What subject was that?" Miles asked curiously.

"Proper gun control." Edward answered over his shoulder.

Edward held his hands up in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, all right." He

muttered loudly. "I'm terribly sorry."
Roy appeared on the screen, smirking, with Lieutenant Hawkeye
standing next to him with her eyes shut. "You should listen more
carefully when your elders speak."

"I thought I trained you better than this." Izumi growled.

"Damn, this is going to be the death of me." Edward muttered.

"We're not even halfway through this episode either." Al said, causing his
brother to groan in distress.

"Have mercy on my soul." Edward muttered to the carpet.

"Right, right." Edward grumbled.

"Now then, his name is Isaac McDougal. He's a former State Alchemist,
who they called Isaac the Freezer."

"Former?"

Mustang stood up from his desk. "That's right. He took part in the
Ishvalan War of Extermination as a member of the military." He walked
over to the window to stare out it.

Scar narrowed his eyes at the reminder of that horrible war.

"After the war, he renounced his State Alchemist title, and went on to
join the antiestablishment movement. Taking him into custody is a
matter of top priority." Mustang continued, looking at Fullmetal out of
the corner of his eye. "We may have to kill him, depending on the
situation."

"I'm not about to kill anyone." Edward said.

"We never expected you to." Hawkeye said.

"Yeah, chief, we're not into turning children into murderers." Havoc said,
grinning at his boss.
If Al could have, he would have smiled warmly. His brother may not notice
it, but he did. Mustang and his team were trying to protect them from the
darker parts of the military.

"Suit yourself. All we're after is your performance." Mustang replied.

The screen turned back to Mustang, who suddenly smirked. "By the
way, have you found any leads on getting your bodies back to normal?"

Edward twitched in anger. "You never give me any time too."

As Edward finished yelling, the door was suddenly flung open by Maes.
"Yo, Roy!"

"I can't believe you never told me the truth about Ed and Al." Maes said. "I
wouldn't have told anyone."

"It wasn't my place to. Besides they trusted me to keep their secret." Mustang
snapped at his friend.

"See, brother?" Al whispered to his brother. "He does care."

"No, he'd just get in trouble for not reporting it." Edward retorted.

"Can we just say it is both?" Al mumbled.

"Hell of an order you drew, to take the Freezing Alchemist into custody,
huh?" He continued, unaware of the angry twitch Mustang had.

"Oooh, the Colonel looks mad." Edward teased. "Wish I could piss him off
like that."

"You do, you brat." Mustang growled.

"Then my job is going great!" Edward said cheerfully.

"Those two have a strange relationship." Liran, a Briggs soldier, commented.

"Or is this your big chance to be promoted to Central?"

'Here comes that pest.' Mustang thought annoyed.

"How rude!" Maes cried.

"Oh?" Maes continued, noticing the boys on the couch. "By any chance,
are you the Elric brothers?"

"Eh?"

In an instant, Maes was by Al and shaking his hand. "Wow, it's an honor
to meet the youngest State Alchemist."

Edward twitched. "I hate you all."

"I'm Maes Hughes, Lt. Colonel."

Al forced Maes to stop shaking his hands. "Um, I'm his younger brother,
Alphonse Elric."

Maes looked at Edward, who was radiating dark intents, in surprise.

"What? You're the Fullmetal Alchemist?!"

'Don't you call me little!' Edward thought angrily.

"Hughes," Mustang called, saving him from possibly getting killed by

Edward.

"Yeah?" Hughes asked.

"If you don't need anything, then go home."

"Aww, kicking your best friend out? How mean." Hughes pouted.

"I thought we were the kids, brother." Al said.

"We are no match for Hughes." Edward replied.

"I will go, once my business is done." Hughes said before turning to the
brothers. "You guys don't have a place to stay yet, right?"
"May your souls rest in peace." Breda said solemnly once he realized where
this was going.

Edward stared wide eyed at Hughes as the man said, "So come home
with me."

"Huh?"

Maes's glasses glinted dangerously as he reached inside his pocket while

the boys stared in confusion. They jumped back in surprise when Maes
pulled out a picture of his wife and daughter with a silly smile on his
face. "My wife, Gracia, and my daughter, Elicia."

A little girl with bright green eyes appeared on the screen. She was
smiling up at her daddy. Her daddy hugged her tightly, rubbing his
cheek against her cheek. "Elicia."

Edward and Alphonse stared blankly at the duo and Gracia.

"Papa, your beard hurts."

"It does? Itchy, itchy." Maes teased.

"Look, these are our guests today, the Elric brothers." Maes introduced.

Elicia stared at them for a moment before pointing at Al. "So big!" Then
she turned to Ed. "So little."

Edward growled. "Every single person. I'm not small!" He shouted angrily.

"You're a runt. Now shut it." General Armstrong growled.

"So cruel." Havoc said with a teasing grin.

Edward twitched angrily. "Elicia, I'm Edward Elric," He said as he

pointed to himself, then pointed at Al. "And this is my younger brother,
Alphonse Elric. Understand? Younger brother."

"If you're the older brother, how come you're so little?" Elicia asked.
Before Edward could kill anyone, Al grabbed him by his cloak to
restrain him as Maes happily carried his daughter inside.

"Let me go! Let me go, Al! Don't stop me!"

"Now, now, they're letting us stay here, so behave yourself."

"Let's have dinner right away." Maes said, ignoring the noisy brothers.
"Gracia's cooking is delicious."

The boys found themselves at a table with the Hughes family, staring at a
delicious meal.

"Okay, eat up." Maes said.

"I graciously accept this meal." Ed said, picking up his silverware.

"Yum! It's delicious!" Edward said after his first bite.

"Have plenty, okay?" Gracia said kindly.

"Sure!"

A frown spread across Maes's face as he looked at Al. "Alphonse, you

can't eat while still wearing your armor, right?"

The brothers tensed in surprised. While Al scratched his helmet, Ed

meekly chewed on his food. "W-well, you see…"

"A-Al is in the middle of his alchemy training right now." Edward said
in a panicky tone. "Okay, Al, I'll eat enough for the both of us today."

Maes just gave the boys a blank stare.

"I didn't believe you for one second." Maes commented.

"We panicked." Ed said, shrugging. "There is a reason we avoid going out

with people."
"Training! Training!" Elicia cheered.

The scene left the Hughes's house and went to Central Prison.

"Hahaha. That's the funniest joke I've heard in a while." Isaac appeared
on the screen, frowning as usual. "The Freezing Alchemist and me, team
up? Me, the Crimson Alchemist?"

"Who's the Crimson Alchemist?" Al asked.

"A psychopath who enjoys killing." Mustang replied.

"So informative." Edward muttered.

"Kimblee, together we'll get Bradley and bring down this rotten military.
You must have seen the hell that took place in Ishval. You must know
what Bradley made us do there. That's why you killed those officers,
right?"

Mustang snorted. "He kills for no reason at all. That's the kind of person he
is."

"Hahaha." Kimblee laughed again. "Please don't misunderstand." He

raised his hands, revealing transmutation circles on them. "I do not
think in such sophisticated terms. I killed those guys because I wanted to
kill them, nothing more."

"That's too bad, Kimblee. It truly is too bad." Isaac said before walking
out of the cell. "Good work." He muttered to the frozen guard as he
knocked him over, causing him to shatter into pieces.

Maes sat in his living room, contemplating, when his wife opened the
door and came in. "This is unusual. Can't you sleep?" She asked.

"Nah."

Gracia walked quietly over to husband, sitting down next to him. "Do
you want me to guess? You were thinking about those two, weren't
you?"
Maes leaned back on the couch with a sad look crossing his face. "State
Alchemists are the ones who people call Dogs of the Military. When I
think of him being called that at his age…"

"How is it?" Maes asked quietly, watching as Edward shifted on the ground.
He folded his arms in front of him and laid his head on the cool metal of his
automail.

"I've been through worse." He said quietly. "It was mostly difficult in the
beginning when I was still unknown. Everyone practically freaked out when I
flashed my watch at them."

"But, as time went on and brother made a reputation for himself as the Hero
of the People, they became me appeasing when they heard our names. Unlike
other State Alchemists, any civilians we run into are more than happy to
assist us in any way they can." Al finished the explanation.

"So it isn't as bad for you?" Kieran, a soldier from the east, asked curiously.
There wasn't much known about the Fullmetal Alchemist, besides what was
heard from the stories, rumors, and what they hear being yelled at
headquarters. It was quite interesting to learn some more about the kid who
liked to keep to himself.

Ed shook his head. "No, unless you count all those people I piss off that want
to kill me."

Ed appeared on the screen, lying in a bed as he stared at the ceiling.

"Brother, are you awake?" Al asked, continuing when Ed turned his

head on the pillow to look at his brother. "Mrs. Gracia's quiche looked
like Mom's, huh?"

"Yeah, it was delicious." Edward replied.

"Really? In that case, I'll have to add it to the list of things to eat once I
get my body back."

"Get your body back?" Charlie mused.

Izumi tensed in her seat, looking at her students with a dark frown. How
could they have been so foolish?

"It will probably come up." Edward said quietly, not looking at anyone.

Edward grinned. "Yeah, add it on, add it on."

"Brother…"

The scene changed to a river that was flowing through Central.

"Hmm?"

"I sure would like to get our old bodies back soon."

"Yeah."

Now, a transmutation circle being completed was shown again. When it

was completed, Isaac stands up. "One more…one more, and Bradley's
on his way to hell."

Central Command was shown once more as Mustang's voice rang out
again. "According to reports, Isaac sneaked into Central Prison last
night." The scene changed to Mustang, who was walking down the hall.
"The situation doesn't leave us a moment to spare. Find him, no matter
what."

As he continued to speak, the scene changed to views around the city.

"Close off all roads, and look in every last spot. Upon finding him, you
are free to shoot him dead. That is an order from the Fuhrer."

Mustang slipped his gloves on his hands. "I'm going out too."

Edward and Alphonse stood on the sidewalk, looking at a dead MP.

"Medic! Hurry!" Another MP yelled.

"Report to headquarters, five men dead."

"How awful." Al's metallic voice said.

"Steam explosion. When you rapidly raise the temperature of water, it

expands with explosive force." Edward said. "The human body is
seventy percent water, after all…Let's hurry. We have to find him
quickly."

"Mm-hmm." Al replied, following after his brother.

Isaac was just finishing drawing another transmutation circle when

alchemical energy resounded around him. "All right." When he heard
the noise, he jumped away from the wall.

"Impressive, being able to dodge my alchemy, Mr. Isaac."

"That voice…! Armstrong?!" Isaac growled, glaring at the wall.

"Indeed!" Armstrong cried as he punched a hole in the wall. "It is." He

stepped through the demolished wall. "The Strong Arm Alchemist, Alex
Louis Armstrong."

General Armstrong scoffed at her brother. That disgraceful fool.

"Take this." Isaac cried, slamming his hand on the water on the ground.
The water went flying at Armstrong, who stepped to the side and
watched as the water sliced through the spikes that protruded from the
wall. "High-pressure water will slice through anything."

The transmutation circle on his hand glowed again as he waved it over

the water once more. The water went flying at Armstrong. "It is all for
naught before my fist."

An explosion resounded throughout the alley, causing Ed and Al who

were going in the opposite direction to pause and turn around in shock.
They went running back the direction they came.

"Major!" Al cried.

Isaac threw a water canteen at the boys with alchemical energy

surrounding it. It burst into steam. At the last second, Al grabbed his
brother by the hood of his jacket and spun around, wrapping his arms
around Ed to protect him with his metal body. "Look out!" He had
cried.

Through the steam, Isaac ran away to escape the three alchemists.

"How crafty." Edward grumbled.

"Water from his canteen? Thank you, Al!" Edward said, knocking
against his brother's chest as he did.

"Let's get after him, Brother." Al replied.

Armstrong came up behind the brothers. "Let's go, Elric brothers."

"Right."

"Yeah."

It was now nighttime and the soldiers were still running around Central.
Isaac stood on a building, overlooking the city.

"It's been a long time, Freezer." Mustang said as he came up behind

Isaac.

Isaac turned around to see Mustang with a bunch of soldiers, who had
their guns trained on Isaac. "Roy Mustang….or rather, the Flame
Alchemist."

"It's a shame, having to fight against someone who was once a war
buddy." Mustang replied.

"War buddy?" Isaac asked. "I have no friends. The only ones in Ishval
were the rotten military and their dogs."

Scar scowled. It was all because of those damn alchemists that all his people
were gone. They were all killed mercilessly. Though, he was amazed that
there was an alchemist who regretted his actions.
To that, Mustang snapped his fingers, sending a flame at Isaac, who
caused one of the pipes on the roof to explode to cause a water shower to
block the flames. He slammed his hand on another pipe that caused
water to rain all over the soldiers and soaking Mustang's gloves.

"Flame will never beat water." Isaac said, smirking.

"Now the Colonel is absolutely useless." Edward said.

"All he is good for is his flames. When he is wet, he just gets in the way."
General Armstrong agreed with the kid.

'Useless.' Rung through Mustang's head.

Isaac created an ice bridge which he used to cross to the roof of the next
building over. When he was over, he turned it into water so he couldn't
be followed.

Then he went back to the alley where Armstrong attacked him to clear
the alchemical circle of the rubble covering it. "Damn!" When the
rubble was cleared, he grinned. "Yes, yes, yes."

"That's far enough." Edward shouted, appearing at the end of the alley.

"You would be the one to find him." Mustang groaned.

"I was wondering what you were doing in this alley, so I came back to
see, and bingo." Edward said.

Isaac laughed as he stood up.

Al appeared at the other end of the alley. "It's no use trying to escape."

"Escape? There's no need to." Isaac retorted. He spread his arms apart,
grinning, as the ground around him suddenly erupted in red light.

Edward watched in shock as the whole of Central was suddenly

surrounded in red lights. For a brief moment, there was a flash of an
unknown man's face before it went back to Edward staring at all the red
lights around the city.

"An alchemic reaction like this, all at the same time…" Edward
murmured.

"Impossible. It couldn't be…" Al said.

"You know what it is?" Mustang demanded.

Edward rubbed his head. "We believe we knew what it was, but we were
never able to prove it."

"A Philosopher's Stone." Edward cried right before the red light turned
a bright blue and ice started to creep up the sides of the alley. "What?
He used the moisture in the air…"

"Edward Elric."

At his name, Edward glanced up from the ground to look at Isaac.

"Dog of the Military, State Alchemist! Do you know what this country is
trying to do?!"

"Who cares? More importantly…"

"If you knew, you'd understand what I am trying to do!" Isaac cried.

"Wow. Brother, you seem to have a knack of our enemies crying out to you
and trying to convince you are something you don't believe in." Al said.

"What's that mean?" Mustang asked.

Al shrugged his metal shoulders. "It's just that the people you usually send us
after try to convince brother to join them or to help them escape."

"Must be because Edward can act like such a villain at times." Izumi
commented.

"What?" Edward shouted insulted.

"You know it's true, brother. Remember that time you decided to scare the
hell out of that man by saying you hadn't had the chance to kill someone in a
while and were missing it." Al said.

Ed groaned. "That was just to intimidate him because he was pissing me off.
And it worked too! His reaction was great. You can't deny that."

"No." Al said slowly. "It was amusing."

"Now you're corrupting your little brother?" Hawkeye said, frowning.

"I'm nothing like brother." Al protested.

Havoc nodded. "Yeah. Al still shows his kindness while the chief keeps his
completely hidden so as not to ruin this image he built."

"Wha–argh, it's not worth it." Edward mumbled, dropping his head back to
his arms.

"There's something wrong with the chief." Breda muttered.

"I told you, I don't know."

Al suddenly jumped over the giant ice block that was behind Isaac. He
landed on the ground right next to Isaac as he dodged the attack. He
dodged most of Al's attack, but ended up getting kicked out of the alley.
Edward jumped to the side to avoid getting hit by him as Isaac tumbled
across the ground.

"All right, nice work, Al!"

"Brother, his alchemy!"

"Yeah. Hey, you! You have a Philosopher's Stone, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Isaac asked in a rough voice.

"If you won't tell me, I'll force it out of you…" Edward growled.
"Sometimes I think you should become an interrogator, brother." Al
commented.

"Nah. You can't hit and pound on your prisoners when interrogating them. It
wouldn't be fun." Ed replied.

"I'm beginning to think you two need supervision on your missions,

Fullmetal." Mustang said.

"You do things your way. I'll do them my way." Was all Ed said in reply.

"And what are you going to do, boy? You're out of your league." Isaac
asked. As he said this, the river behind him suddenly sprouted up,
turning into a giant glacier. Isaac stood up, smirking, and grabbed onto
the glacier.

Not wanting to be killed, Ed and Al ran away from the glacier and
passed Major Armstrong. "Take a good look at the artistic alchemy…"

"He's all yours, Major." Edward cried.

"…that has been passed down through the Armstrong family…" The
transmutation circles on his gauntlets lit up with alchemical energy. "…
for generations!" He slammed his fist into the glacier, destroying parts of
it and freezing it in place, only for it to continue by going out the side and
through a building.

"Nice one." Buccaneer sneered.

"That was an unfortunate accident." Was Armstrong's reply.

"What?" Armstrong said surprised.

"What the heck are you doing, Major?" Edward shouted.

"Oh, I was just…" Armstrong trailed off.

The ground shook violently as the glaciers hit the ground and burst
through buildings.
"The ice walls…" Al said.

"They're connecting." Ed muttered shocked.

"Don't tell me he's…." Al said.

"It's Central…no, Central Command Center…" Ed said.

"He's going to freeze it over!" Ed and Al shouted together.

Edward turned to the Major. "Major! Al and I will stop him. While we
do, the transmutation circles…"

"…must be destroyed. You got it!" The major replied.

"You let two kids go after Isaac by himself?" Hawkeye said.

"Well, those boys have been taking care of themselves for years. I believed
that they could handle it." Armstrong defended.

The glaciers continued moving towards Central Command with Isaac

standing atop one of them. "King Bradley, now I will bury you with my
own ice."

"Hold it!" Edward cried. Using an alchemical pillar he created, he

reached the top of the glacier, landing in a crouch on it. He was then
followed by Al doing the same thing.

"Ooh, interesting music is starting. Why do the chief and Al get the awesome
music?" Havoc said.

"They're the main characters…of this episode at least." Hughes pointed out,
grinning.

"Oh yeah, it is named after Chief."

Al landed behind his brother, who was going at Isaac. The Freezer didn't
waste a moment and was already performing alchemy on the glacier.
The snow shot up and at Edward, who destroyed the part of the glacier
Isaac was on. "You're such a pain."

"And you aren't?" Mustang quipped.

Edward scowled.

Isaac jumped in the air and slammed his hand on one of the snow blocks
in front of him, causing it turn into ice cold water that burned Ed's skin.
While he was distracted, the Freezer started running on ice pillars
towards.

"Brother!" Al cried, grabbing his brother's shoulders and pulling him

away from Isaac's attack.

"How many times do you nearly die if Al wasn't there to pull you away?"
Richard commented.

"There is a reason why we are team." Al said, glancing down at his brother.

"Still, Fullmetal should be able to dodge attacks like that without your help."
Mustang pointed out.

"Not enough training." Izumi growled.

"Too slow!" Isaac cried, slamming a hand into Al's helmet. There was a
burst of steam that sent the brothers flying back and Al's head to go
flying.

"Alphonse!" Ed cried, still trapped in his brother's arms as they fell

over.

Isaac took a few steps towards the brothers, staring coldly down at them.
Before he could do anything, Al kicked out at him, causing him to bend
back to dodge. This gave the boys time to flip backwards and break
apart. When they were standing, it was revealed Al's armor was empty
and there was a transmutation circle drawn with blood inside him.

"What the hell is that?" Brosh shouted in shocked with many of the soldiers
staring in shock at the screen. Though, the Briggs soldiers were shocked,
none of them looked ready to reprimand or demand answers. After all,
everyone from Briggs had secrets, some of which could lead them to prison if
it was found out. "How can you not have a body?"

"Oh, shut the hell up." Edward snapped at him, growing uncomfortable. He
knew what was coming. The truth of how this happened. Oh sure, quite a few
people in this room knew about Al's missing body, but only five of them
actually knew how it happened. He wasn't a fool. He realized his teacher
realized the truth a long time ago.

"Are we going to finally discover how this happened?" Maes asked quietly,
feeling sorry for the boys. Edward was going pale. The truth must have been
really painful.

"Yes." He said quietly.

Isaac stared in shock at the armor. "An empty suit of armor?"

Edward picked up Al's helmet.

"You mean, your soul is bonded to the armor?!" Isaac asked.

"How often do people realize this?" Mustang asked.

"Quite a few, but no one knows how it happened." Al replied. "Most of the
people we meet in our travels are sympathetic and would never report it to the
military. I guess it is their good will to us after we've helped them."

"You lost your arm, and your brother lost his entire body…heh!" A grin
crossed Isaac's face. "I get it! You fools…"

Al finished putting his helmet back on while Ed simply stared at Isacc.

"…committed the taboo! You performed human transmutation,"

"YOU WHAT?" Quite a few voices shouted in shock.

Scar frowned darkly. This was why alchemy was the devil's work. It ruined
so many lives.
"How foolish." General Armstrong commented, but said no more than that.
These boys were reckless, no doubt about that, but it was their mistake to
bear.

"What happened during it?" Kain asked gently.

Edward glanced at his little brother before shaking his head. "It's not
something we like to remember."

"Sorry." Kain replied.

Sighing, Edward sat up, and with a glance at his brother, who nodded, they
turned to look at their teacher. "Now?" He asked quietly.

Izumi was about to say they would until everything was finished with Isaac,
but seeing the look in her student's eyes, that hollow, lost look, she knew it
needed to be done now. So without a word, she stood up and walked towards
one of the back doors with her students following after her.

"Where are they going?" Breda asked.

"She's their alchemy teacher. They were probably warned beforehand not to
do this." Mustang said, frowning. "They need to talk about it."

*Bedroom*

"Am I at fault, boys?" Izumi asked, staring down at her pupils who were
kneeling on the floor.

Edward, who was staring stubbornly at the floor, suddenly snapped his head
up, ignoring the whiplash in his neck. "Never! Teacher, it was never your
fault."

"Brother's right. It was our own foolishness." Al cried. "We were so desperate
to see our mother's smile again, that we ignored all the warnings and the fact
that it was a taboo."

"We heard your warnings, Teacher, but we ignored them." Edward replied,
bowing his head once more. "We didn't know any better. We had no idea of
what would happen. But it was our hope that our mother would be returned to
us. We denied all our feeling of it being wrong and the warnings for that one
hope. The truth is, we knew nothing. We were giant fools."

"No, I must take some responsibility for this. I wasn't strict enough with you
boys." Izumi replied.

Al clenched his fists. "Teacher, what we said that day when we asked you to
teach us, it wasn't a lie. We didn't solely learn alchemy for human
transmutation. We really did want to use it to help people."

"All is one, one is all." Edward whispered. "We knew what it meant, but we
ignored it when it came to our mother." He raised his hands that were
shaking. "We really thought we could do it. We thought we could have her
back in our lives, be a family again. But, we were merely egotistical fools."

"But you learned from it" Izumi murmured.

"Brother lost his leg and I lost my body. He then used his right arm as
material to bind my soul to this armor." Al explained.

"You both went through so much pain." Izumi murmured, kneeling in front of
her students. "You have suffered so much already."

"No." Ed shook his head, smiling at his teacher. "It was nothing we couldn't
handle, Teacher."

"Yeah, it taught us a lot. We were stupid to believe it possible in the first

place." Al added.

"Stupid boys." Izumi said, pulling each of her students into a hug. "You don't
have to act so strong. It's alright to lean on others for help and comfort."

Edward was so shocked by the hug that he almost pulled back in shock, but
stopped and instead leaned into the hug. It was so warm, just like when his
mother used to hug him. "Teacher." He whispered.

He wasn't sure how long they sat there, simply taken comfort in the warmth
of the gestures. But it must have been a while.
When they pulled away from the hug, Izumi had a strict expression once
more and moved away from her students, placing a hand gently on her
stomach.

"Teacher?" Al asked worriedly.

"Still, I can't condone your actions. I know your reasons, but I still warned
you countless times and you went against me." Izumi said harshly without
facing her students. "You're expelled."

Al lurched forward in shock. "What? But Teacher–"

He was cut off when Ed threw his arm out in front of Al, head bowed in
shame or understanding, neither knew as his bangs were covering his face.
"She has every right to, Al." He said quietly.

It was only because he knew his brother so well that Al knew his brother was
just as upset as he was, and that was why Al backed down.

"We should rejoin the others. We've been gone long enough." Izumi said after
a moment of silence.

"Teacher, I have something I want to ask you in private." Edward stated after
a moment, glancing at his brother.

Izumi growled. "I am not your teacher, Edward."

Ignoring her, Ed looked at his brother with a pleading look. Understanding,

Al nodded and slipped as quietly as he could from the room.

"What is it?"

"Did you perform Human Transmutation?" Edward asked, straight to the

point.

Izumi covered her stomach once more. "So you've realized what the truth is."

Edward nodded. "Al, he doesn't. He has no memories of the event. If he did,

he would perform alchemy like us, right? That was how we gained the ability
to transmute without arrays."

"Yes, it was." Izumi replied quietly.

The teenager bowed his head, biting his lip for a moment. "Who?" He asked
hesitantly.

"My baby." Izumi replied.

Edward clenched his fists. So that was it.

*Main room*

"Al? Where are Izumi and Edward?" Hawkeye asked.

"Brother had something to ask Teacher in private." Al said as he sat back

down on the floor.

"Something you couldn't hear?"

"I don't know. Brother will probably tell me later." Al replied.

Nodding her head, Hawkeye fell quite once more. No one was really up to
talking and fooling around at the moment after the revelation of what the
Elric brothers had truly done.

Maes was staring at Al in sadness. He knew the boys have been orphans since
they were only five/four. He couldn't imagine how difficult it was for them to
grow up without parents to tell them right from wrong. With no one to guide
them, they went and committed a horrible taboo. There was no way Maes
could fault them. They were children and were lonely without their mother
there. The end result was the loss of Al's body and Ed's limbs. They had been
punished enough. Now, they just needed friends to be there for them.

At the sound of a door opening and closing once more, most people looked
up to see a subdued Ed and Izumi returning to the room. Without a word to
anyone, Edward gently lowered himself to the floor next to this brother.
Needing comfort apparently because he leaned against his brother's chest,
causing Al to wrap his arms around him and hold him tight. To the soldiers,
except Mustang and Hawkeye, it was the weakest they have ever seen the
boy look. His eyes had lost their fiery spirit, his skin was deathly pale, and he
was so quiet.

"Are you ready to continue?" Mustang asked, figuring that none of them
wanted to sit in silence and contemplate about their conversation.

"Alchemy's one and only unforgivable sin!"

That one line caused Ed's eyes to widen and think back to that horrible
night.

Blue alchemical light flooded the basement they were in. All that could
be heard were the desperate and anguished cries of an eleven year old
boy calling out to his last family member. "Al! Alphonse!" A pair of
bloodied hands appeared next to the glowing transmutation circle.
"Damn it, this wasn't supposed to happen!"

Armstrong had tears in his eyes after hearing young Edward's desperate cries
for his little brother. Hawkeye, who knew the boys for years, was staring
sadly at the boys. None of them could truly understand this hell. Izumi,
knowing what it was like, could only feel understanding and pain for her dear
ex-students. Maria Ross had covered her mouth in shock, wishing she could
just reach out and hold these poor boys, but she knew they didn't want pity.
They knew they were breaking a taboo when they did this. Sheska was
openly wailing from hearing Ed's anguished cries. They sounded so painful to
hear that it caused her heart to ache badly for the boys. Everyone else were
indifferent or just sitting in shock, pained from hearing such anguished cries
coming from someone who always acted so tough. These were their friends
they were talking about. The Briggs soldiers, not knowing the boys
personally, simply watched, but were horribly reminded of their own family
members when they saw the pain these kids were going through. It was their
job as soldiers to protect the civilians of this country, yet no one was there to
protect those kids. It was tragic.

"Damn it all!" Edward cried, glancing to his left side to see where his leg
was missing.
In Al's arm, Edward suddenly twitched violently, slamming his head back
into Al's armor before a scream tore from his throat. "Brother? Brother,
what's wrong?!" Al shouted shocked.

A few of the soldiers slammed their hands over their ears at the screaming.
They knew he had a good set of lungs from all his yelling, but this just
sounded so painful. It was a cry full of anguish and desperation to escape
from it. Edward clawed at his brother's arms, trying to pull them off him.
When that didn't work, he kicked out his legs, trying anything to get away
from this pain.

"Fullmetal!" Mustang shouted, jumping off the couch and moving over to his
subordinate. "Oi! What's wrong?"

"His leg just got stolen. He is going through that pain again." General
Armstrong reminded him.

"Damn it all to hell." Mustang snarled. "Al, let go of your brother. If he keeps
slamming into you like this, he'll actually hurt himself."

Al didn't want to let go of his brother, but he also didn't want him hurt so he
reluctantly let him go. Mustang pulled the boy forward and wrapped his arms
tightly around the boy to keep his arms pinned to his side to help lessen the
struggling. If he kept swinging his arms around like that, he would just hurt
himself or someone else.

"Its been taken away!"

"So much blood." Kain muttered, wide eyed, trying to ignore the screaming
coming from Ed.

"He lost his leg in human transmutation?" Charlie said shocked. Human
Transmutation would do such a thing? This truly was a devil's work.

"When he said his limbs were ripped from his body, I didn't think he was
literal about that." Falman said darkly, recalling the day when he met the boy
and saw his metal arm.
Liran shuddered. "I can't imagine how painful that would be."

"This is the price for their sins." Miles said quietly. He did not, however,
believe this justified. Children, who had no one to guide them, made a
mistake. This was too much for just one mistake.

In the haze of his pain, Edward heard these comments, but could not do
anything to reply. He'd never forgot that night. It haunted him in his dreams
all the time. It was such a painful reminder and there was no one to save him
from it.

A suit of armor fell over and Ed drew a bloody array inside it. "Give him
back! He's my brother!" Edward said, voice trembling with sobs. When
he finished the array, Ed's face was shown with tears streaming down it.
"Give him back! He's my little brother. He's all I have left!"

"I never thought I would see Chief cry." Breda said quietly, absolutely
despising this flashback. It was so painful for the brothers, but also painful
for all their friends to see the truth of what happened to these boys.

Edward clapped his hands, creating a bright alchemical light that

brought them back to the present.

Edward gasped as the pain suddenly disappeared and pushed the Colonel off
him. He fell to his hands and knees, eyes wide in shock. "That was more
painful than then first time." He muttered.

"Edward, are you okay?" Maes asked worriedly.

"Why did it hurt so much more?" Edward asked shocked.

"The adrenaline's not here." Izumi said. "Every time you got hurt, you were
in a fight or in a high risk situation. Your body was full of adrenaline and
energy that the pain senses weren't as high. But now, when it isn't here…"

Edward groaned. "Not good."

"This is going to be one hell of an experience." Havoc muttered as Edward

crawled back into his brother's arms for the comfort, though no one
commented on it for the boys' sake. After that hell they just saw, Edward
deserved some silence and comfort from his only family left.

Edward had his head bowed, bangs hiding his face. "You know, they are
just some lines you really shouldn't cross." He said calmly.

"Heh?" Isaac mumbled.

Edward ran down the glacier, anger flaring in his eyes. He slammed his
automail fist into Isaac's stomach, causing the man to bend over in pain.
Edward used this instant to lock his hands together and slam them on
the back of his head.

"Ouch. Chief really is pissed off." Havoc said.

Isaac put his hand on the ice, shooting spikes at Ed, who back flipped to
dodge them. Al came forward and sliced the spikes away before swinging
his foot at Isaac, sending him stumbling down the glacier side. Al and Ed
slid down the glacier after him. The bloodied Isaac pushed himself up.

"Give it up. There's no water for you to use." Edward said.

"You've forgotten something." Isaac said. "What is seventy percent of

the body made of?"

Edward stepped back in surprise as Isaac threw his body forward as

blood spikes sprouted from them. The two spikes slammed into Ed's
shoulder.

"ARGH!" Edward cried, slamming his head back into Al's armor, gripping
his shoulder tightly with his automail hand. "This is so damn cruel!"

"More painful this time around?" Al asked worriedly.

"Yep." Ed mumbled.

"You should be more careful, Fullmetal." Mustang retorted.

"Oh, shut it." Edward said but without his usual bite.
"Brother!" Al cried as he snapped the spikes apart. With Ed free, he fell
to his knees, gripping his shoulder tightly.

Isaac climbed to his feet, stumbling back. "You guys don't understand
the shape this country is in!"

The glaciers hit Central Command as Isaac walked away, laughing

madly.

"Brother! Brother!" Al called worriedly.

"We're going after him." Edward said, pulling the spikes from his
shoulder. "Mess around with me…will he?"

The glaciers exploded in a few spots from the soldiers shooting it. "Did
we get it?" One asked, only to be disgruntled when he saw nothing had
happened, except that it fixed itself. "Not again!"

A soaking wet Colonel Mustang stepped forward angrily with dry gloves
he got from Hawkeye. He snapped his finger, creating a giant burst of
fire that lit up Mustang's angry face. "What do you think of my flames
now, you bastard?"

"So someone else has a temper." Edward teased, still gripping his shoulder
tightly in pain.

"At least I didn't get injured." Mustang snapped.

"Not surprising when it is Chief you are competing with." Breda said.

Falman nodded in agreement. "Yes, Chief can get injured on the easiest of
assignments, like checking a coal mine."

"One damn time." Edward grumbled to himself.

Izumi twitched. What was wrong with her ex-student? She could have sworn
she trained him better than this.

Sighing, Hawkeye closed the case filled with gloves for Mustang. "Good
grief. Please, try to only be useless on rainy days, okay?"

Edward and Alphonse snickered. "I really do love you, Ms. Riza!" Edward
said, grinning.

"Thank you, Edward."

Mustang caused another flame explosion before the scene changed to

Isaac stumbling down a dark alley. He stopped when he looked up to see
Fuhrer Bradley standing in front of him.

"Bradley!" Isaac said through his heavy breathing. Once he got it under
control, he began to laugh madly. "Say your prayers!" He threw his
right hand out and used his blood to create a spear and charged at the
Fuhrer with it. In a flash, Bradley had his sword out.

Isaac froze behind Bradley for a second before blood burst from his
body and his spear cut in half, falling noisily to the ground, followed by
Isaac. Water swarmed around Isaac, and from that water a red sphere
followed.

"Ha! So he did have one!" Edward cried.

"That's the Philosopher's Stone?" Maes asked, staring at the sphere.

Edward nodded.

With a chiming sound, the red sphere burst into particles.

"And, it was incomplete or overused." Edward finished with a sigh.

Back in Central prison, Kimblee smirked. "That's too bad."

With Mustang, he snapped both his hands at once to create a giant wall
of flames that destroyed the glacier in front of him. "Major! Now!"

"Acknowledged!" Armstrong said, ripping his shirt off as he did. He

slammed his fist into the ground, destroying the ground of the alley to
disrupt the array going around the city.
With it destroyed, the face of that strange man was shown once more
before the screen went back to Al and a heavily breathing Edward
staring at the soldiers in front of them.

"Fuhrer Bradley," Edward said.

"Oh, good work, Fullmetal Alchemist. I see…" Fuhrer Bradley grinned.

"To think that I'd be able to give you a hand."

"That should have been a matter settled easily." General Armstrong growled.
"The soldiers at Central are lacking in training."

"This will make a good story for my son."

A sneeze was heard as Central Command appeared. "What, you got a

cold?" Maes asked Mustang, who was sitting at his desk. "Anyhow, I
hear you really outdid yourself, huh?"

"I just destroyed the transmutation circles." Mustang replied. "The

Fuhrer is the one who brought down the criminal."

"And the Fuhrer is giving you credit for the deed." Maes said.

General Armstrong snorted. Just like Mustang to get credit for something he
didn't do.

Mustang gave his friend a dry look.

"What's wrong, you upset? Just graciously accept the compliment."

Maes said, sighing. "Haven't I always told you, listen carefully when
your elders speak?"

Edward twitched, pushing away fromhis brother as the pain was gone.
"Didn't you say the same thing to me earlier in the episode?" He asked
snidely. "Someone should take his advice."

"I'll fry you when we get out of here." Mustang snarled.

"It turns out," Al's metallic voice said as it showed the boys in a hospital.
"We never did find out whether or not he had a Philosopher's Stone."

Edward shrugged. "Yeah, we'll just have to wait for the military's
report."

The door to the room opened, causing the boys to glance at it. They were
surprised to Armstrong with a bouquet of roses, sparkling like always.
"Edward Elric, when I heard you were in the hospital, I dashed over."
He put the roses down. "Here, let me relieve your boredom while you're
in here."

"Scarred for life." Al muttered to his brother, who snickered.

Armstrong ripped his military jacket off, causing the boys to scream.

"You have to feel sorry for them." Karley said to the soldiers who were under
Mustang's command in Ishval. The soldiers chuckled.

The exterior of the hospital was showed. "I'm sure the beauty of my
muscles will warm your heart. Don't be shy; you can touch them if you
like."

"Would that be considered harassment?" Kain asked.

"I hope it would be." Havoc groaned.

"I hope I'm never in the hospital with the major around." Breda added.

"Will you get out?" Edward shouted as the screen went dark and was
replaced by the bottom half of a female's face.

"Oh, Isaac is dead, is he?"

"Who the hell is this?" Maria growled.

"Such a shame, he would have been a good sacrifice."

"Sacrifice? That doesn't sound good." Maes said.

"Nothing about this is good." Edward grumbled.

"So, what about the Philosopher's Stone?...hmm, he overused it."

A fat bald man with glowing red eyes was shown eating something like a
dog. The woman put the phone down, covering its mouthpiece to turn to
the man. When she did this, she revealed the tattoo on her chest.
"Gluttony, you shouldn't eat such things."

"Is that an ouroboros tattoo?" Edward asked, frowning.

"What is that, chief?" Havoc asked.

"Just an alchemical symbol meaning infinity and unity." Edward replied.

"Though, I can't see any reason why anyone would want that type of tattoo."

The woman put the phone back up to her ear. "Yes, things are going well
in Liore."

"Liore? They were in Liore." Al said. "Did we meet them in Liore, brother?"

Edward gave his brother a blank stare. "I think we would have recognized
those two in Liore, Al! Certainly can't get the image of that blubber man out
of my head."

"You're so rude." Al muttered.

"You don't deny it either."

"Do your eyes completely miss the hot woman, Fullmetal?" Mustang scoffed.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Unlike you, I'm not a womanizer."

"That's right! Chief only has eyes for his mechanic." Havoc teased.

"W-what?" Ed shouted, facing going completely red. "N-no, it's n-not….I d-

don't! S-she's just a friend!"

Maes grinned mischievously. "You're not fooling anyone!"

"I DON'T LOVE WINRY!" Edward screamed before burying his face in his
arms as the soldiers and Al (that traitor) laughed.

The exterior of the church they were in was shown. "It will begin, very
soon."

"What the hell was that last scene about?" Mustang growled.

"It seems that our country is in danger." General Armstrong snarled.

"And we are all involved somehow." Maria concluded. "Which is why we are
here."

"To learn the truth." Al said.

"The truth hidden within the truth." Edward murmured as he raised his head
to reveal his cheeks were still pink from embarrassment. His eyes widened in
shock and he whipped his head around to look at his brother. "We're still
missing something. There is still more to the mystery."

Al stared at his brother. "Well, I wish we knew that earlier so the truth didn't
keep us down all day."

"What are you two talking about?" Hawkeye asked.

Ed and Al glanced at each other. "Nothing, nothing. It will probably come up

in one of the later episodes."

"Again with the secrets, boys?" Mustang asked.

"It's too complicated to get into right now." Ed replied.

A childish outline of Edward appeared on screen. Color swam into the

outline.

"Wow! An ending song too?" Havoc said. "We must be so special!"

Ed rolled his eyes.

"ano hi mita sora,"

"Aww, what a cute drawing of Ed." Hughes said, grinning widely.

"I have an idea." Ed said. "Shut up, Hughes."

Hughes, still grinning, did as he was told.

Ed's automail arm was formed on Ed from his shoulder first then down
to his fingers.

"akaneiro no sora o"

Ed raised his automail arm to the sky.

The background had some clouds in it now and changed to a fiery

orange and red color.

"nee kimi wa oboete imasu ka"

Ed curled his hand into a fist and pulled it down to his face to stare at.

"Why is it such a childish drawn ending? The opening song wasn't like this."
Mustang said confused.

"Out of all this insanity of seeing our future and having to deal with a pain
factor, you are going to question that?" Edward asked, rolling his eyes again.

"Yeah, Roy, just shut up and have fun with it." Hughes said, grinning evilly.
"After all, it is a rather cute drawing of Ed."

Mustang raised a brow. "Maybe you're having too much fun."

"But I so enjoy seeing drawings like this. You should see some of the
drawings that I see kids making of Ed and Al. They are so cute." Hughes
replied.

Ed looked at Hughes sharply. "What the hell are you talking about, Hughes?"
Hughes shot him a smirk. "That's what you get for being the 'Hero of the
People' and practically the poster boy of the military and the State Alchemist
office, Ed."

"Poster boy?" Ed asked, twitching violently. "I'm fifteen, damn it! Why am I
the poster boy? Seems kind of messed up considering I'm just a teenager."

"And quite annoying. Do you know how many teenagers we've had trying to
get permission to become a State Alchemist after you did it? It's quite
annoying having to tell so many of them to go away and come back when
they are older." Hughes grumbled. "You create so much work for us."

"You seriously had teenagers trying for a State Alchemist certification after
Brother became one?" Al asked surprised.

"Al, they never get through the gate to sign up for it." Havoc told him. "We
always have to push them away and say Ed got special permission from a
Colonel to take the test. They think they can just walk up at that age and take
it."

"I got special permission?" Ed asked surprised. "I didn't know that."

"Colonel Mustang didn't see it relevant to tell you." Riza informed him.

"I've also never seen teenagers trying to take the test." Ed added.

"You travel a lot so that's not surprising." Riza replied.

"Huh," Ed mumbled. "It makes sense I guess."

"yakusoku chigiri shoka no kaze ga tsutsumu"

A tree appeared behind Ed and the screen moved to show Al sitting on

the other side of it. A leaf blew gently along as the screen pulled out to
show the brothers sitting.

"futari yorisotta"

Ed yawned and stretched his arms above his head. He put his hands
behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Wow, even in the ending song, you're still sleeping." Al said.

Ed shot his brother a look. "Are you trying to say something, Al?"

"Maybe that you sleep too much?" Breda suggested.

"I can't help it if I'm tired!" Ed shouted.

The scene rapidly fell into the ground, which suddenly turned green.
Two lumps formed out of the ground and changed into Winry and her
dog. Winry ran at Den as she ran at Winry. Winry turned around as the
dog missed her. Den jump into Winry's arm. Winry fell to her knees as
Den licked her face.

"muri na egao no ura,"

The two dissolved into the ground as Ed and Al jumped back onto the
screen. They bowed as each other before Ed swung a kick at Al, who
blocked it. He swung another kick, which Al blocked again before
pushing Ed's legs back which allowed Ed to flip in the air and land on his
feet. Ed blocked a punch from Al. Al swung a kick at him, which Ed
planted his hands on top of and flipped himself up to kick Al. His legs got
wrapped around Al's arm, giving Al the chance to throw him off. Ed
flipped in the air again. When he landed, he charged at Al.

"nobita kage wo kakumau"

Ed jumped at Al, who swung his arms to deflect him to the side where he
flipped in the air again and landed on his feet. He charged at Al once
more and threw a few punches at him which were blocked. He planted
his hands on the ground and threw one of his legs up, which Al dodged,
then grabbed to throw Ed again. When he was in the air, Ed crossed his
arms to block a punch from Al which sent him flying across the screen.

"Sheesh, that was a lot of moves just for a few seconds of fighting." Fuery
said.
"You two do move remarkably fast in your spars." Armstrong commented,
recalling a few times he has seen the brothers spar in the training room.

"dakara kizukanu furi, saisei wo erabu"

Ed was shown flying across the screen, between Riza and Mustang, who
were talking, and Hughes who was on the other side. Riza and Mustang
turned to watch Ed flying back.

"I'm sure that was a strange thing for us to see." Mustang commented
sarcastically.

"But not the strangest we have seen from Ed and Al." Riza added.

"That's for sure. They do a lot of crazy things." Havoc said.

Armstrong caught Ed in his arms.

"Thank a lot, Al." Ed grumbled to his brother.

"Brother, this isn't really happening. It's just a childishly drawn ending." Al
replied patiently.

Armstrong threw Ed back before spinning in the air. He landed and his
shirt ripped off. He did a pose and sparkled before he disappeared.

"Major! How could you throw me?" Ed asked, half-shouting.

"Eh," Armstrong mumbled. "I apologize for my childish drawn version

throwing you."

"It didn't really happen." Al grumbled.

A square appeared on the screen with Winry and Ed talking it. Another
square moved up from the bottom of the screen. In this one, Ed was on
Al's shoulders. Another one moved on screen to show Ed running passed
Winry. From the bottom of the screen, another appeared to show Ed
running off a cliff.
"I can see you running off a cliff because you're distracted." Mustang said
dryly.

"You're implying something, aren't you?" Edward asked.

Mustang looked at him innocently. "I don't know what you mean, but now
that I think about it. Didn't you run off a cliff before?"

Ed twitched.

"I remember that. We were lucky there wasn't any water at the bottom of it."
Havoc said.

"What's it matter? I caught hold of the side of the cliff so I didn't even reach
the bottom." Ed grumbled.

"Why'd you run off a cliff?" Karley asked curiously.

Ed waved his hand. "Not important."

The pictures moved into the background. A table unfolded on the screen
and it had tools on it. Part of the background melted away to become a
window with the wall forming into curtains. Two jars fell from the sky
and landed on the table. Two more jars slid onto the table. A hand
grabbed the edge of the table, followed by another before Winry pulled
herself up and Den's head appeared by her. She tapped her dog's nose
before looking at the ceiling for a moment. She sighed and looked down.

"Table no no ue no furuenai shirase machitsuzukete"

The scene changed to Al sitting in a room, staring out the window at the
moon. A bookcase fell into place in the room.

"kuuhaku no yoru mo,"

The scene moved to the side to go into a room where Ed was lying on a
bed.

"kuru hazu no nai asa mo"

The scene dissolved away. The background changed to orange and the
Flames drew itself on the screen. Ed's red coat formed around it before
Ed's arms entered the coat and his head appeared. He turned around
and clapped his hands. He slammed his hands on the ground and pillars
shot out of the ground.

"zenbu wakatte'tan da"

Ed and Al ran across the pillars. Al got stuck behind one of the pillars,
but soon caught up to his brother.

"ano hi mita sora, akaneiro no sora wo"

They ran past Lust, Gluttony, and Envy.

"Those two again!" Ed shouted. "But who is the third?"

"Huh, they must play a vital role if they are going to show up like this."
Hughes said. "But, good or evil?"

"Evil." Ed said.

"Evil." Havoc said.

"Evil." Armstrong said.

"Evil." Miles said.

Hughes clapped his hands. "Then we're agreed. We don't like that."

Al fell over and his helmet went flying. Ed caught it and a cat's head
popped out of it.

"nee, itsuka omoidasu deshou"

"Even in the ending song, you have to have a damn cat!" Ed cried.

"If you would just let me have one." Al mumbled.

"No, no cats. We can't take care of it right now." Ed retorted.

The cat jumped out of the helmet and moved closer to the screen. Ed
tossed the helmet back and Al put it back on. The brothers ran across
the ground once more.

They stopped and a watch started to form over them before the
disappeared. The pocket watch was closed. The scene pulled out to show
Ed and Al standing on train tracks.

"hatasenakatta, yakusoku wo idaite"

Ed turned around and he and Al started walking.

The screen moved down to show a grinning Ed and smiling Al as

children.

"futari arukidasu"

The scene went dark.

"Great, we drew our own childish adventure." Ed mumbled.

"Aww, don't be like that; it was cute." Hughes said.

"In a strange way, it was cute." Sheska added, making Ed just sigh.

"Let's just watch the next episode." He said.

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 2*: Episode 2: The First Day
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Truth Revealed

A/N: For those who suggested to put Winry and Hohenheim in it: Well,
Hohenheim is not there for reasons which will be left unsaid for right
now. As for Winry, I thought about it, but for right now, I'm not putting
her in. I love Winry, I do, but I just don't want her in, yet or at all. I said
it was everyone involved in the fight, or in Sheska's case, helping the
brothers along by getting them info they need. Ed and Al wouldn't want
her there to see them getting all injured. Sooo, I'm not sure yet.

Thanks for reviewing!

As for the proofreading of this chapter, I think I proofread it last week,

but since I wasn't sure, I proofread the regular talking/actions. Anything
from the actually episode was ignored mostly since I didn't want to do it
all over again.

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 2: The First Day

"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and

reconstructing matter."

"A new opening already?" Havoc asked.

"However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is impossible to create something

out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal value
must be paid. This is the law of equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy.
Alchemists have a taboo, and it is human transmutation."

With those words, Ed and Al as children appeared on the screen.

"Kid chief and Al are on the screen." Breda said.

"I'm beginning to think this is focused on the Elric brothers." Scar said,
glancing at the boys.

"Oh, great." Edward said sarcastically. "Just what I wanted, my life detailed."

"It is that which no one must commit."

"And now it is the opening theme." Havoc said.

"It is a good song." Kain commented.

"Would you people shut up?" General Armstrong growled.

A train whistled sounded when the opening was done.

"Brother…" Al said, looking at his brother who was staring out the
window of the train.

"Hmm?" Was Ed's reply as he looked away from the window.

"What do you think about the stories of this priest in Liore?" Al asked.

Edward pressed two fingers to his forehead, frowning. "About his

miraculous works? They say he can transmute flowers out of thin air,
right? It could just be simple sleight of hand."

"Supposing it's not, though?" Al asked.

A smirk crossed Ed's lips. "Yeah. Supposing it's not, then it just might
be, huh?"
"Chief has that evil look again." Charlie said, adopting the kid's nickname
without realizing it, causing the soldiers in Mustang's unit to grin.

"Would you shut up?" Edward shouted. "I swear you all have something
against me."

The screen faded to a book for a flashback. "The celestial stone that
destroyed Xerxes in one night." Edward's voice read. "The grand elixir,
sealed away by the Eastern Sage. It goes by different names, but in short,
it's something that intensifies alchemy. That's the Philosopher's Stone."
A serious looking Edward appeared on the screen, sitting in a wheelchair
with a book a on his lap.

"This was before your automail surgery?" Maria asked.

Edward nodded. "Yeah, I hadn't healed enough to have the surgery just yet."

"If only I had that, I might be able to get your body back, Al." Ed glared
at the book. "Damn! Write more information about it, will you?"

Time flashed forward once more to Edward, smiling, as he turned to his

brother. "Al…"

"What?"

"I sure hope this is it this time." Edward said.

"Mm-hmm, right." Al said as the episode title screen came up.

"The First Day"

"What the hell does that mean?" Denny muttered confused.

"Al," Edward whispered.

"Yes, brother?"

"I don't like the sound of that title."

Al nodded. "I don't either."

"Ed! Al! Where are you?"

"Ah, damn it!" Edward shouted. "We were right! It's our past!"

"Really?" Maes said excitedly. "We get to see Ed and Al as cute little kids?"

Edward knocked his head against his brother's armor.

"Oh, this should be good." Havoc grinned along with his comrades, rubbing
his hands in eager anticipation.

Mustang glanced at General Armstrong and her men. They weren't the most
talkative people and didn't care for people unless they earned their respect so
it didn't surprise him that they didn't get involved in the conversations much.
As for Scar, he kept mostly to himself since he was the enemy here. Despite
all that, they seemed to be enjoying watching the episodes so far. Maybe it
was because it was just amusing to watch Ed freak out so much over being
called tiny. Though, he didn't think that was enough for General Armstrong…
or Scar.

"I wish I had some pictures of you two as kids." Maes said.

"Why does it have to be our past?" Edward groaned, letting his brother pat
him sympathetically on his back.

"Oh, my." Trisha said, staring down at her sons.

"Woah, is that your mom?" Havoc gasped. "She is really pretty."

"Was." Edward snapped.

Havoc winced. "Sorry. But what I said still stands."

"Hmm, she is. But neither of you inherited her hair or eye color." Mustang
commented, glancing at Ed. "So you must get your looks from your father."

Edward fell on his side. "Awkward." He mumbled. "And don't mention that
bastard!"

"Brother, please!" Al pleaded, tugging his brother's arm.

"No, I think you're a bit wrong, Roy." Maes objected. "Sure, the hair and eye
color are different, but I can see a bit of their mother in Ed."

Riza nodded. "I must agree with Hughes on that one. What is your mother's
name?"

"Trisha." Al supplied.

"Thank you, Alphonse. I can see a bit of Trisha shining in the shape of Ed's
face and his complexion a bit." Riza finished, smiling at Ed, who was
banging his head against Al's armor.

"Why am I stuck here with you people?" Ed muttered to himself.

"Good looks must run in the family." Maria commented.

"Can we please move on?" Edward cried, desperate to get this episode over
with.

Mustang smirked in amusement. Fullmetal was just so much fun to tease.

The screen changed to reveal Ed and Al sitting on the floor of their

father's study. Al was lying on his stomach with a book in front of him
while Ed had a transmutation circle in front of him.

"Um, Ed, Al, you two didn't happen to self-teach yourself alchemy at first,
did you?" Maes asked.

Edward blinked. "Course we did."

"H-how old were you?" Havoc stuttered in surprise.

"Five." Edward answered as if it was obvious.

"Definitely a prodigy." Richard said, smirking.

Mustang nodded. "Most alchemists can't even understand a single word in a
beginner alchemist's book."

"How the hell did you find these kids?" Alexandre asked.

"A misprint. In the file on Edward it said he was thirty-one." Mustang

explained, smirking. "Best misprint ever."

"Some of us might disagree." Izumi growled dangerously, glaring at the

Colonel who dragged her ex-student into the military.

"I think you will find it a good thing I did appear in Resembool and offer
Fullmetal that chance." Mustang retorted.

Edward blinked, turning to stare at the Colonel. "Did I really look that bad?"

"Yes."

Izumi frowned. She would never accept this man. It was because of him that
Ed even thought of joining the military.

"Messing up your dad's study again?"

"Again?" Riza asked.

"Brother had a bad habit of–"

"Say no more, Alphonse. If it's Fullmetal, it's to be expected." Mustang

interrupted.

Edward scowled. "Hey, Al was a part of that too. In fact, he was the one to
knock all the books off the bookcase that one day."

"You still remember that?" Al asked surprised.

Ed shot him a glare. "How could I forget? They all fell on me!"

"It was an accident." Al muttered quietly.

"No, you mustn't scribble there like that."

"Yeah, but it's not scribbling." Edward replied.

"Aww, what a cute voice you had as a child." Maes teased, causing Ed to
start banging his head against Al again.

"Brother, please, I don't want you to injure yourself."

"Well, that's my goal. Maybe I'll knock myself out." Edward muttered,
causing his brother to sigh.

"Watch." Edward said. He put his hands on the ground and caused a
transmutation, though it couldn't be seen what was transmuted as the
screen was on Trisha, watching her sons.

"That's alchemy, right?" She asked.

Ed's transmutation was shown to be a little bird.

"Seriously? That was your first time?" Havoc asked to which Ed nodded.

"It actually turned out really well." Richard commented.

"Nicely done, Edward Elric!" Armstrong shouted happily.

"Did your dad teach you that?" Trisha asked, now kneeling in front of
her sons.

"How can we learn anything from someone who's not here?" Edward
asked.

"This was after your dad abandoned you?" Mustang asked.

Edward nodded.

"Your dad abandoned you? I thought he just died too." Kain said.

Edward sighed. He and Al didn't like talking about their past so there seemed
to be a few misconceptions. Nothing that wouldn't be cleared up soon though,
it seemed.

"We read the book, and it was written in there." Al explained.

"It's not normal!" Rebecca cried. "What kind of kids are you?"

"Is it really that strange?" Al asked as it seemed he and Ed were both

oblivious.

"Alchemy is a very complicate science as both of you know, so yes, it is

strange!" Izumi growled. Not even she could self-teach herself alchemy like
that.

"It was written in there?" Trisha asked.

Both of the boys looked downcast. "Should we not have done it?"

Trisha clapped her hands. "Not at all." She said reassuringly, smiling
brightly. "Amazing! You're your father's sons, all right!"

"You know, Al, that was the first real smile she gave us since he left."
Edward said, staring at his mother on the screen sadly.

"But she smiled before this." Al said confused.

Edward shook his head sadly. "They were all forced or full of sadness. She
was hiding how much pain she was in after he left. She never got over it."

"How observant were you as a kid?" Havoc muttered amazed, but he felt sad
inside. No child should realize the truth of fake smiles at such a young age.

"Your mom is proud of both of you." Trisha said.

Ed and Al smiled brightly.

"And that was it. Mom praised us. We were so happy about that, that we
became caught up in alchemy." The exterior of the house was shown as
Edward's voice continued the story. "But the summer of that year, there
was an epidemic, and Mom passed away."

"I don't like this flashback anymore." Maes said gravely.

"Why?" Kain asked.

"I think we are going to see it again." Maes said.

Edward tensed. If they saw it again, then that meant all the pain was going to
come searing back into his body, a hundred times worse than the first time.

"Isn't once enough?" Charlie muttered, growing pale. War was horrible
enough, but to see kids suffering like that two times in the same day. It was
not something any human wanted to see.

A bouquet of flowers was shown on top of a grave. The two boys sat in
front of the grave, looking downcast. "Brother, I'm hungry." Al said.
"It's cold. Let's go home. Once Dad comes home…"

"Don't you talk about him!" Edward shouted angrily. "That bastard
doesn't care about us. He didn't even come home for mom's funeral."

His words caused Al to look more upset as he glanced at the gravestone

which had their mother's name engraved in it.

"I wonder if we can bring mom back." Edward said.

"I'm not surprised that it was you who suggested it." Mustang commented
without thinking.

Edward slammed his automail fist onto the coffee table, shooting a glare at
Mustang. "You think I don't know that it is all my damn fault?" He snarled.

Mustang blinked in surprised. "Fullmetal, I wasn't blaming you."

Edward snorted, staring at his automail hand as he let it curl into a fist again.
"I know it's my fault. I suggested it. I put Al through it all. I ignored all the
warnings, and because of that, he has to live without a body. Instead of doing
my job properly as his older brother and protecting him, I trapped my brother
in a suit of armor because of my own foolishness and greed."

"Brother!" Al cried, reaching out to grab his brother's wrist. "I don't blame
you for any of this. I'm just as much at fault as you are. I knew it was wrong,
but I went along with it as well. I was just as greedy to have Mom back as
you were. We are equally at fault."

The young state alchemist shook his head. He put his elbow of his left arm on
the table and buried his face in his palm.

Sadness ran its course through Alphonse as he watched his brother suffering
terribly in guilt. He wrapped his arms around his brother's small frame from
behind him, offering what comfort he could.

"They're too young for such guilt." Maria said sadly.

"They live with their sin every single day." Scar said softly. "Both blaming
themselves, but never daring to push the blame on the other."

Mustang glanced at Scar. How insightful of Scar. He was very much correct.
These brothers were probably the closet brothers he had ever seen. They
would never betray one another. Their mistake tied them together. And
hopefully, both of them could accept that neither one of them was completely
at fault. They shared this blame.

"But it was written in that book that creating people is something you're
not allowed to do." Al replied.

Edward stood up. "That's why it will be our secret."

"You're here again." A girl's voice said, catching Al's attention.

"What do you want, Winry?" Edward asked, turning around.

"Grandma says that every time you think of a dead person and cry, the
more tears you shed, the more the dead person in the next world feels
sad too." Winry said.

"We're not crying!" Edward shouted. Al glanced up at his older brother

in surprise. "What about you? Your mom and dad are always out
somewhere, and you cry because you miss them."

Winry blushed. "I-I don't cry."

"Are you sure?" Edward teased.

"I was worried about you for nothing." Winry shouted. "If you're slower
than me, you don't get any supper."

"What's that for?! Wait up!" Edward yelled, running after her.

"Ah! Wait!" Al called after her.

"What great friends you three seem to be." Maes smiled. "Who is she
anyway?"

"Huh? Winry?" Edward asked, lifting his face from his hand as he finally got
his emotions in check. "Her family is a family friend. She's also my automail
mechanic."

"We grew up together. She and brother are always arguing and throwing
insults at each other. She is very kind and caring, though. Though,
sometimes, I have to wonder about that with how she is always hitting us
wrenches." Al mumbled.

"Argh," Ed mumbled, rubbing his head at the thought of that. "Don't remind
me of that. I think she is trying to give me brain damage."

"It really was a shock when she threw that wrench at you when we went to
Resembool a couple weeks ago." Armstrong commented.

"Wait, she literally threw a wrench at you?" Havoc asked, paling.

Ed nodded. "She has really good aim too."

"She has a lot of target practice since you annoy her so much, brother." Al
pointed out, chuckling slightly.
"Her fault for being such an automail freak." Ed grumbled.

Maes nodded, glad to see the brothers returning to normal. They seemed to be
more traumatized then they let anyone realize.

"I gratefully accept this meal." The children's voices rang out.

Al gulped down his meal eagerly.

"Come on, Ed, you drink your milk, too." Pinako said as Al wiped away
a milk mustache.

"I hate milk." Edward said.

"No wonder you're so short if you don't drink your milk." Mustang
commented.

"It has nothing to do with the milk!" Edward screamed. "What the hell is
wrong with you people and thinking milk and height go together?"

"Why do you even dislike milk, brother?" Al asked.

"It tastes horrible!" Edward growled. "Can't drink something I dislike."

"But you like stew." Al pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I can't taste the milk in it, can I?" Edward retorted.

"If you don't drink it, you'll stay short." Pinako said.

"Who are you calling a runt, you sawed-off old hag?" Edward retorted.

"Even as a kid." Havoc said, sweat dropping.

"Though it seems his rants weren't as creative then as they are today." Breda
pointed out.

"What as that, you little bean sprout?" Pinako snapped.

"Seriously?" Brody, a Briggs soldier, asked shocked. "Isn't she supposed to
be the adult?"

"Between her and Ed, there are no adults." Al said blandly.

"Minimum hag!"

"Micro-peewee."

As the two shouted insults at each other, Winry and Al just calmly ate
their dinner in the background with bland looks.

"So, Al, you are and Winry looked annoyed. Common occurrence?" Riza
asked.

"You have no idea." Al replied.

"Traitor." Ed mumbled to his brother, who just chuckled.

"Baby-ant-sized."

"Now that I think about it, all those fights with Granny Pinako may have been
what helped Brother with his creative rants." Al said thoughtfully.

"Atom-sized!"

That was the last insult as it turned to daytime and a school bell was
chiming for the end of school.

"School? You actually attended?" Mustang said shocked.

"Yeah, most kids go until they are at least ten out there then they focus on
learning their trade." Edward replied.

"I'm more surprised you actually knew what one is." Mustang retorted.

"You're reading a book that's not from school again."

"And surprise, surprise, you weren't paying attention to the lesson."

"I don't see why Winry is talking. She is the one who fell asleep in class."
Edward grumbled.

"How did you even notice?" Al asked. "The teacher was throwing chalk at
you while you defended with a book."

"What? It's her fault for having such a boring math class." Edward retorted.
"And she was throwing chalk at you too, so I don't want to hear it!"

"What were you doing that annoyed your teacher?" Maes asked, shocked that
a teacher would do such a thing.

"Studying alchemy." Ed and Al replied.

"Stupid question." Maes sighed.

"School is a waste on you two." Havoc commented.

"You have to listen in class." Winry continued.

"Leave us alone." Edward said.

"Say, what sort of book are you reading?" Winry asked.

"It's a secret." Al replied.

"It's none of you damn business, Winry." Edward elaborated, causing

his brother to smile.

"No fair. You two always keep secrets between yourselves." Winry
huffed.

"Bye now!" Al said.

"Hmm, you two weren't living with them?" Kain asked.

"What was the point when we had a house?" Edward asked.

"The laws." Havoc pointed out.

Edward blinked. "Laws?"

Havoc slapped his forehead. "Forget it. You ignore most of them anyway
since you're a State Alchemist."

"Ed! Al! We're going to be having stew tonight!" Winry yelled after
them.

"You don't live with them, and yet, they feed you?" Brody asked bemused.

"Hey, do you want to trust a couple of kids to make dinner by themselves?"

Ed retorted.

Al looked at his brother, confused. "But brother, you are a great chef. I still
remember that cake you made for my tenth birthday. It was delicious."

Edward slammed his head into the ground. Trust his little brother to cleverly
reveal something in a way that made him look completely innocent. How
dare his brother betray him like this….again?!

"Ooooh, the Fullmetal Alchemist knows how to cook?" Maes teased.

"Shut. Up." Edward hissed angrily, much to the soldiers' amusement.

"Mr. Hughes, you should have brother make Elicia's birthday cake
sometime." Al said chirpily. "He makes an awesome strawberry cake and
icing. But his chocolate cake and white cake and brownies are really good
too."

"Al," Ed whined, hiding his blushing face in the carpet. "You're killing me.
And I haven't baked in years so I don't think I could do it again."

Hiding his snickers behind his hand, Mustang felt a smirk tug at his lips.
"Well, I wish you told us sooner, Alphonse. Think of all the orders I could
have thrown out for a nice gourmet dinner?"

"Tsk," Ed growled. "I'd sooner poison you."

"Brother!" Al scolded.
Ed frowned. "You're right, Al. I shouldn't ruin perfectly good food like that.
It would be such a waste."

Al bowed his head. "That's not what I meant."

"A strawberry cake, huh?" Maes mused.

"Don't. Get. Any. Ideas!" Edward snarled at him.

Maes held his hands up in fake innocent, making Ed scowl at him. Evil,
manipulative people.

Al turned around, throwing his hands into the air in excitement. "All
right!"

Edward just raised his arm without turning around. "Yeah, see you
later!"

"Aww, you were just so cute as a child, Al." Riza smiled at the suit of armor,
who would probably be blushing right now if he had a body.

"And the chief is still just a punk." Havoc said, smirking at the kid.

"A punk? I was not a punk as a kid." Edward snapped.

"Brother, you knocked Rufus out for calling you short." Al retorted.

"You're not helping my case, Al!" Edward snapped.

"Don't worry, Ed. You are just as cute as Al as a child. The punk you is the
best look for you. It really works for you as a child." Maes said, smiling
down at the boy.

"You can all go to hell." Edward grumbled.

"You know something, whoever invented stew is great. It even has milk
in it, and it still tastes so good."

Al narrowed his eyes, but was smirking at his brother. "What do you
mean by that?"

"The idea of sticking milk into vegetable soup is amazing. A scientist

needs those kinds of leaps of imagination too." Edward explained.

"Maybe you're right." Al murmured.

"Sure I am. I'm sure a leap of imagination is what we need for human
transmutation too." Edward said.

"From then on, we looked into what we would need to perform human
transmutation, to bring Mom back to life, and honed our skills under an
alchemy teacher." The scene changed to show Izumi watching over Ed
and AL's training.

"It took years and years, but we wanted to see Mom's smile, and we wanted
to live happily with Mom again." The boys were lying on the floor of their
basement reading their books. "With those thoughts in mind…"

Edward signed a paper with his name as he finished the plans for human
transmutation.

"Fullmetal, you're right handed?" Mustang asked surprised.

"I was. I can't write with automail though so I had to learn to be left handed."
Edward explained.

"That would explain why your writing is so messy." Mustang mused, feeling
a bit bad for scolding the boy all the time for his horrible handwriting. In his
defense, Edward never did tell him anything.

"Done."

The sky turned red and a crow cried as Ed said that one word.

"Oh no, not this again." Sheska groaned, shifting uncomfortably. She didn't
want to see her friends go through this hell again. It was hard enough the first
time.
Ed shifted on the ground nervously.

"Brother?" Al asked worriedly, but his brother just shook his head.

"Water, 35 liters; carbon, 20 kilograms; ammonia, 4 liters; lime, 1.5

kilograms; phosphorus, 800 grams; salt, 250 grams; saltpeter, 100
grams; sulfur, 80 grams; fluorine, 7.5 grams; iron, 5 grams; silicon, 3
grams..." Edward's voice rang out.

Water was poured into a pan that was sitting in the floor.

"All right, now to write the constructional formula." Edward said.

The array was drawn on the floor with an asterisk being the last thing
drawn.

"Now, we just need some soul data." Both boys cut their fingers and let
their blood drip into the pan before moving to the edge of the array and
kneeling down. They put their hands on it. "Here we go, Al."

"Mm-hmm." Was Al's reply.

Edward shifted on the floor again. Oh, this was going to be so uncomfortable.
He glanced at his brother, and wondered if he would feel any pain,
considering he was a soul in a suit of armor. He desperately hoped he didn't.
His brother didn't need to go through this pain. He didn't deserve it.

The transmutation circle lit up with bright blue light, followed by

electricity crashing down on the ground. Soon black lights came up from
the array, surrounding the circle and the boys.

"Brother, there's something strange here." Al said while his brother

stared around them.

A giant eye suddenly opened up in the array along with black hands
protruding from it. These black hands latched onto Al's arm and at that
moment his hand suddenly disappeared into particles.

Edward glanced sharply at his brother, but didn't notice any change in his
behavior. So did that mean Al wasn't feeling anything because he wasn't in
his body? As he thought this, he felt a sharp pain in his own hand at the
moment. He glanced at it sharply, eyes widening. What the hell? He didn't
get much time to think on it.

"Al!" Edward yelled when suddenly his leg snapped from his body into
little pieces.

Sharp pain shot up Edward's leg. Pain worse than anything he could have
possibly imagined. A blood curdling scream tore from his throat as he fell
onto his back, hands going down to scratch at his leg. It was too much! He
needed that adrenaline back in his system. He needed something, anything,
that would cause this pain to lessen.

The soldiers glanced down at Ed in pity as the boy screamed his lungs out. Al
was sitting next to his brother, but didn't dare touch him in fear of worsening
the pain for his brother.

Edward screamed in pain before falling onto his chest. He glanced over
his shoulder to see his leg being grabbed by those black hands.

"What the hell is this?" Skylak, an Eastern soldier, muttered, staring at the
screen in horror. Alchemy was amazing, no doubt about that, but it sure did
some horrible things.

Edward didn't hear a single word. All he could do was desperately roll onto
his side and back onto his back as he screamed and screamed and screamed.
Why? Why the hell was this happening? What was wrong with simply
watching what happened without the feeling of all the pain they went
through? He felt tears prick at his eyes as the pain started to overwhelm him.
His senses were beginning to black out. If only his whole mind would shut
down, then he could escape all this pain for a while.

"Brother?" Al asked worriedly, leaning over his brother to stare down at him.
It came as a great shock to him when he saw the tears in his brother's eyes,
but at least they weren't running down his face.

"It can't be….a rebound?!"

"Brother!" Al shouted, distracting Ed from his thoughts. "Ed! Help!" He
screamed, tears glistening in his eyes as he reached out for his brother,
only to be decomposed before Ed could do a thing.

Suddenly, the pain in Ed's leg meant nothing when extreme white hot pain
began to radiate all through his body. It started as a simple fast throbbing
pulse that he felt all over his body before it grew into the rapid, agonizing
feeling of having his whole body stolen from him. What… what the hell was
this?

A scream tore from Ed's throat, shocking all the soldiers around as he
collapsed onto all fours. His limbs were only able to hold him up for a few
seconds before he collapsed down and curled one of his arms and his legs
closer to himself. His other hand scrabbled at the carpet, desparately trying to
reach for his brother without him realizing it.

Shocked by what was happening to his brother, Al reached towards the hand
coming towards him, but before he could grab it, another blood curdling
scream ripped itself from Ed. His hand went flying back to grab his hair,
along with his other hand. His body arched back as his legs scraped and
kicked at the ground.

"I-IT'S TOO MUCH!" Edward yelled, the tears already in his eyes falling
down his cheeks.

"What the hell is going?" Mustang screamed, flying from his seat. "He's not
the one hurting yet."

"Forget that!" General Armstrong growled. "Hold him down now!"

Miles and Brody jumped into action without a word, along with Havoc and
Breda. Havoc and Breda grabbed Ed's arms, forcing them away from his hair,
probably ripping a few strands out as they did, but that didn't matter right
now. All that matter was keeping the boy from injuring himself. The other
two snatched his legs and forced them straight to make it easier to pin them.
Of course, none of this was easy as Ed was twisting and fighting against them
all the way.
Scar watched in semi-horror. What was going on? The boy had only lost his
leg and he wasn't screaming this much earlier. Did that meant that the pain
increased tenfold this time around or was there something more going on?

"N-NO!" Edward pulled his automail arm free, swinging it to the side, which
hit Breda in the face and sent him stumbling back with blood tricking down
his lip. With an arm free, Edward struggles increased until a few more
soldiers came over to help pin the boy, which got a few more bruises and
some blood everywhere.

Al could only watch in horror, too afraid to help as he might hurt his brother
or the soldiers with his metal body and the spikes on his armor. Damn it, why
was this happening? Why couldn't he do anything to help his brother?

Like Al, Armstrong stood to the side, feeling discourage at not being able to
help his young friend escape from the pain he was in. It hurt him very much
to only be able to stand to the side and watch as a child went through
immense amount of pain. What use were they as soldiers if they couldn't even
help this child?

"Al!" Ed screamed, trying to reach his brother's hand before it

completely disappeared. Their hands were just an inch apart when there
was a blast of white.

Scar frowned darkly as he watched this. This was the horror that was
alchemy. It ruined the lives of those kids. They should be enjoying their
childhood, but, instead, they are forced to wander around trying to fix
themselves because of the dreadfulness that alchemy caused. It needed to be
destroyed.

Edward gasped as the pain radiating in his body stopped throbbing and
getting worse and he ceased his struggles to escape the soldiers. His eyes,
which had been closed during the ordeal, cracked open to stare at the soldiers,
who were staring warily at him. He frowned when he noticed they had
broken noses, cut lips, and bruises lining their faces and arms. Who know, he
might have even hit some of them in the chest and fractured some ribs. He
didn't know for sure. It was all just a blur, a very painful blur.
By now, all he felt in his body were the warm tears that had cascaded down
his face and the throbbing pain and soreness that was still present in his body.
At least it wasn't a continuous screaming agony anymore. He turned his head
to each side to stare at each of his arms which were still pinned by multiple
hands, along with someone holding down his shoulders. "'M sorry." He
mumbled tiredly, suddenly feeling drained of all his energy.

"What's there to be sorry for, Chief?" Havoc asked, smiling sadly. He

released his grip on the boy, though warily as he was worried he would start
thrashing around again.

"Hitting you." Edward mumbled, staring tiredly at his comrade.

Havoc ran a hand over the bruise that now tarnished his cheek. "This? Don't
worry about it." He grinned. "One punch from a little punk isn't going to do
us in."

"Yeah, don't worry about us, Fullmetal. We're not weak like those Central
soldiers." Clarink, a Briggs soldier, said.

"Fullmetal." Miles leaned over the boy. "How are you? Do you still hurt?"

Edward blinked before a goofy smile came over his face as he noticed Miles
glasses slipping down his nose to show him red eyes that didn't process in his
mind. "'M fine." He slurred.

Miles leaned back on his heels, pushing his glasses up. "Right. He's not fine."
He decided as he moved away.

"Brother?" Al took the place of some of the Brigg soldiers to lean over his
brother. "Are you okay? What was that all about?"

Edward blinked at his brother, trying to comprehend what he was talking

about, but his mind just came up with a blank haze.

Izumi appeared on the other side of Havoc. One of her hands gently caressed
Ed's cheek as a frown came over her face. "We should wait a little while
before asking him anything. He seems a little out of it from the pain." She
removed her hand from his cheek so she could, instead, slip both of her hands
under him and pick him up. Edward blinked up at her for a moment, tensing
at first when she picked him up, but then relaxed at the familiar grip from his
training.

"Where are you taking him?" Mustang asked, watching as the woman went
beyond all the couches.

"There are beds in these rooms. I'll put him in one." Izumi replied before
kicking one of the doors open, then slamming it close behind her.

Al stared desperately at the door, wishing he could go be with his brother.

But, then he saw all the stares being directed at him. "What?"

"Do you have any idea what that was?" Riza asked softly. "He didn't seem to
be in that kind of pain from just his leg?"

Al's hands curled into fists. "I wish I could tell you, but I don't have a clue of
what is going." He cried helplessly. He wished he had his body right now just
so he could go to his brother and offer the warmth and comfort he could to
his hurting brother. Why did his brother have to go through so much agony
all the time? It wasn't fair!

"Poor Edward." Sheska cried, hands clutching at her shirt. She was scared to
death when Edward had started screaming his head off and needed eight
soldiers to pin him down. This reaction had been so much worse than any of
them were expecting. It has left many soldiers paling significantly and a few
with quite a few injuries, which were being treated by the doctors from
Briggs with a first aid kit they found in one of the rooms. (A/N: These are
the doctors that tell Ed about the frostbite and the one that helps
Buccaneer with his automail. Their names are never mentioned so from
this point on they will be known as Dr. Young and Kei.)

"Damn, he got you good." Kei said as he looked at Brody's chest. "It's just a
couple fractured ribs."

"Heh, this is nothing I can't handle." Brody said, hiding a wince as Kei
prodded at his chest. He turned to Breda. "And what about you?"
"Just a cut lip, bruised cheek, and a sprained wrist." Breda said as Dr. Young
finished wrapping up his wrist.

"That kid is dangerous." Avery said as he held an ice pack to his black eye.

"Eight soldiers to pin one kid." General Armstrong growled. "That is just
very pitiful or he is stronger than he looks."

Mustang didn't have it in him to smirk after what he just witnessed from his
subordinate. "Fullmetal isn't a weak little kid. I wouldn't let him travel around
so much if I thought he might get killed." He said with a tired sigh.

Hughes knocked a fist against Al's chest as he kneeled in front of the armor.
"How are you feeling, Al?" He asked quietly with a worried frown.

"I'm completely fine." Al said, though there was a helpless pleading in his
voice as he kept glancing at the room that Izumi took his brother to.

"Hey, none of that." Hughes said, knocking on Al's helmet. "Your teacher
seems like a good lady. She'll take real good care of your brother and he'll be
back out here before you know it."

"I just feel so helpless. I couldn't do anything to help him. He was in all that
pain and all I could do was sit here and watch." Al said, voice lacing with
pain as his mind flashed to his brother reaching out to him for help.

A hand clamped down on Al's shoulder, causing him and Hughes to glance
over at Buccaneer. "We all know that feeling, kid." He said. "It is always
painful to just sit around, forced to watch a buddy go through pain. To get
through, get stronger so you can save them so they don't have to go through it
again."

Al nodded, fists tightening. That was right. His brother protected him, gave
up so much for him, and he had to do the same for him. They had to watch
each other's back. He had to get stronger to protect his brother's back and all
those who needed their help.

"Hey Al, sorry to ask, but we need some information." Hughes said, breaking
into the boy's thoughts.

"Sorry, but I don't kn–" Al started.

"Not about this specifically." Hughes interrupted. "But, is he usually in that

much pain? Does he usually show how much pain he is in?"

*Bedroom*

Izumi gently laid her ex-student down on top of the covers of one of the beds.
She looked at his eyes to see them still opened a crack and watching her.
"Edward, just try to rest some. The pain in your body will go away soon
enough." She said softly as she went to work taking his boots off. She was
just pulling the first one off when Ed jerked on the bed and tried to sit up.
Dropping the boot to the ground, she shot a glare at her ex-student and
pushed him back down. "What do you think you're doing?"

"D-don't ne-need you to w-waste y-y-your time on m-me." Edward mumbled,

trying to push himself up, but his body couldn't support the heavy weight of
his automail or the trembling in his flesh arm from the pain shooting up it and
he collapsed back down.

"Clearly." Izumi said dryly as she went to take the other boot off. When she
put it next to the other boot on the ground, she moved to the head of the bed
and sat down on it. She gently brushed the tears on his cheeks away. "It's
alright to accept help from someone. Even us adults can't do everything by
ourselves." Not waiting for a reply, she went to work on his jacket and
unsnapped the clip before getting to work on getting his arms out of the
sleeves.

Edward watched her through half-closed eyes as his body began to succumb
to the tiredness and pain he was feeling in his body. "T-Teacher," He said
before sleep began to win its way. "Th-Thank you."

Izumi paused in removing the gloves from his hands, a soft smile filling her
features. She hung the gloves and jacket over the bedframe before moving the
connecting bathroom. There, she got a washcloth and wetted it with cold
water before moving back to the bedroom. She wiped the sweat and tears
from Ed's face and neck before folding it into a rectangle and placing it on his
forehead. She brushed his bangs away, gently tugging at them as she did.
"You really don't realize just how good of a person you are." She whispered,
bending over him to give one of her precious "sons" a kiss on his cheek.

*Main room*

Izumi closed the door quietly behind her and moved back over to her seat.

"Teacher!" Al said upon seeing her, relief filling his voice.

"How is Ed?" Maria demanded worriedly. She wouldn't be surprised if Ed

scared a few years off her life with that event. It was so frightening to see her
young friend screaming and in agony like that, which caused her, and she
doubted she was the only one, to curse V.H. for the pain factor. From her
view, it looked like he was slowly being tortured to death and that made the
situation that much scarier. This whole thing just got ten times scarier. She
hoped there were no more serious injuries after this. She didn't think she
could handle anything like that again.

"Yes, he is just sleeping now." Izumi replied. "He will rejoin us when he is
ready. So, did you alchemists come up with any theories as to what happened
to him?"

"None." Armstrong said sadly. "We truly do not understand his reaction to
what has occurred. Al has informed us that it was too much of an extreme
reaction to just losing a leg."

"That is true, especially considering the reaction that we got earlier." Izumi
mused thoughtfully.

"Well, you are an alchemist as well. Any ideas?" Mustang asked.

Izumi didn't even get angry or glare at him this time. She just looked
thoughtful as she thought about what could have possibly caused such an
extreme reaction. "I do not know. This is a totally new situation for all us.
With no prior experience or knowledge, I cannot tell what caused this."
Mustang sighed. "So we're back to this?"

"Maybe we should just continue with the episode. Maybe you'll learn
something." Charlie suggested.

"It's all we can do at the moment." Mustang said.

Edward suddenly found himself standing in a completely white area with

a giant door behind him.

"Okay, and this is?" Mustang demanded. "I've never seen anything like this."

"Good!" Izumi shouted. "You don't want to see that damn thing!"

Edward blinked and looked around. "Al? Huh? What was I doing
again?"

"Hello." A voice rang out, scaring Edward. There, sitting right in front
of him was a white figure outlined in black.

"This is so creepy." Richard commented, earning a few nods from the others.

"This is Human Transmutation?" Riza said confused. "I didn't think

transmutation dragged you into unknown areas like this."

"It certainly is strange. I didn't see anything like this." Al said.

"You didn't?" Mustang said surprised. He figured both boys had the same
experience since they were performing the same transmutation.

Ed or Izumi could have explained what they thought was Al's situation, but
Izumi kept quiet, wanting to get passed this scene quickly. And Ed, well, he
was passed out in a bedroom, unaware of what was going on.

"Who are you?" Ed asked.

This question caused the figure to be excited as it threw its hands in the
air. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked that! I am called by many names. I am
the world; I'm the universe. I'm God; I am Truth. I am all. I am one.
And I am also," The figure pointed at Ed. "You." The gates behind
Edward suddenly opened, shocking the boy when he heard it. The same
eye that was on the array appeared in the opened gateway. Edward
slowly turned to face it. "You have dared to knock on the door. Now, the
door has opened."

"What the freaking hell?" Havoc shouted.

"I really don't like this." Maes mumbled, looking at the boys in worry.

Many of the soldiers watched the screen in horrified fascination. This was
simply too amazing and horrible. To them, alchemy was an amazing thing.
But this, this was nothing wonderful at all.

Black hands came out from the gate, scaring Ed, who tried to run away.
But, it was futile. The black hands swarmed from the gate, wrapping
themselves around the screaming boy and pulled him back into the gate.

"Quiet, child. This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Edward still screaming,
tried to reach out of the gate as the doors slowly started to shut. "I will
show you the truth!" With those words, the doors slammed shut.

"That truth guy is a real bastard." Charlie growled darkly.

Edward was pulled through a completely dark area before it was

suddenly alit with strands of pictures and memories.

"It was like a tremendous amount of information was being stuffed directly
into my head."

"Stop!" Edward screamed. "It's too much! Make it stop!"

Once again, Edward felt his body being decomposed.

"I'm being broken down!" Edward shouted. "No! Stop it!"

"Did it hurt that badly?" Al asked himself, wishing his brother was here to
answer him because then he would know that he was truly fine.
*Bedroom*

Edward twisted around under the covers of the bed, hand scrabbling at the
covers for something to hold for some sort of comfort. He was sleeping
peacefully before, but now it felt like his head was going to burst open the
inside. What was going on?

"Make it stop!" Edward screamed.

"It felt like my head was going to burst open. But then suddenly, I
understood. This was truth."

A white figure that looked like his mother appeared in front of Ed, who
tried to reach out to her. "M-mom." The figure's white hand reached for
his, but before they could touch, Edward was suddenly outside the gate,
hand still stretched forward.

"How was it?" Truth asked.

Edward put his hand down and turned back to face the gate.

"Horrible." Havoc growled.

"Painful." Brody added.

"Scary." Sheska said.

"Despicable." Scar said quietly to himself.

"Terrifyingly amazing." Izumi said to herself.

Al glanced at the bedroom door again, wishing he could go see his brother.
He needed to see for his own eyes that he was safe and sound.

"Yeah," Ed murmured, walking towards the gate. "My theory of human

transmutation was not wrong. But it's missing something. What I seek
was just ahead…the truth about human transmutation. Please, show it to
me again!"
The truth freak stood up. "I can't. I can only show you this much for the
toll you've paid."

"Toll?" Edward asked.

"Yes, toll." Truth held out his left leg which began to form into Ed's leg
as his own disappeared.

"Oh my god." Maria whispered horrified.

"There are taboos for a reason." General Armstrong said darkly, but she did
feel a bit sorry for the kid. She wasn't so cold hearted that she would let
anything cruel like this happen to a child. Though, seeing as he was a dog of
the state, he would have to handle himself. She would not go easy on a
soldier. Though, what he went through earlier, that was horrible and
something no one should have to go through.

Edward stumbled back horrified before finding Truth in his face. "It's
the law of equivalent exchange, right, young alchemist?"

General Armstrong growled. She despised equivalent exchange. It was

because of something like that, that this would happen to all those foolish
enough to try to bring someone back because they didn't know what would
happen. They were told it was forbidden, but not why or what would happen.
Without that knowledge, things like this were bound to happen.

Edward awoke once more in his basement, hands clutching his bleeding
stump.

A bloodcurdling scream rang throughout the room, everyone turning to stare

at the bedroom door.

Al started to climb to his feet to go see his brother, but Izumi grabbed his
arm. "Wait, Al. Let's just get through this as quickly as possible then he will
be free of the pain."

"We should still check on him to make sure he isn't killing himself." Mustang
growled as he climbed to his feet and jumped over the back of the couch. He
threw open the bedroom door causing the screaming to become louder as
there was nothing left to muffle the noise.

*Bedroom*

Another bloodcurdling scream ripped from Ed's throat as one of his hands
grasped tightly at the covers while his other hand grabbed his leg. Soon, very
soon, this would all be over. That was all that got Edward through this pain,
just knowing that it wouldn't last for long.

*Main Room*

Mustang leaned against the doorframe, watching his subordinate with a

worried frown. He didn't look like he did earlier and wasn't thrashing around,
so he should be fine. But, just to be sure, he decided he would stand here until
it was over.

Screams and sobs mixed together escaped Edward. "Damn! This can't
be happening!" He turned himself onto his stomach and crawled over to
the transmutation circle, bloody hands scrabbling at the ground. "It
wasn't supposed to…Damn it all! It's been taken away!" He fell over
onto his side, tears pricking at his eyes. "Help! Someone! Mom! Mom…"

His eyes opened as the transmutation finally ended. But, what he saw in
front of him couldn't even be considered human. It looked like a monster
with its insides all sprouting out.

"How horrible this all is!" Armstrong crowd, watching in horror and pity at
the hell these young boys had put themselves through. He cared deeply for
the Elric brothers so it bothered him greatly to see everything that happened
to young Edward with that Truth guy. No one should treat a child like that!

Edward stared in horror at what his transmutation had created. The

thing reached an arm out to him, blood pouring out from it. "No…this is
wrong…this isn't…this isn't what we wanted! Al…Alphonse…Alphonse!
Alphonse!" Ed's bloody hands curled into fists. "This is all my fault!
Alphonse!"
The suit of armor in the basement fell over and Edward scrabbled over
to it as best he could with one leg. "Damn it. Damn it!" He drew the
array in his own blood in the armor. "Give him back! He's my brother!"
Edward now sat up with his left stump of a leg hastily bandaged. "Take
my leg! Take my arm! Take my heart! Anything!" He shouted in
anguish, tears streaming down his face. "You can have it! Just give him
back! He's my little brother! He's all I have left!" Edward clapped his
hands in front of him, fury and determination shining in his eyes.

Blue alchemical light resounded throughout the room before it all went
dark.

"What happened after that?" Havoc asked.

"Brother probably went through the truth again since he sacrificed his right
arm to bind my soul to the armor." Alphonse replied, to the horror of the
soldiers who didn't know how his brother lost his arm.

Mustang watched as Edward settled down as the human transmutation ended.

He noticed a washcloth that was lying in a heap on the ground and went to
pick it up. He went into the bathroom to rinse it out and cool it down more
before going back to the boy and placing it back on his forehead. When he
was done, he went back to the main room and closed the door. "Your brother
is fine now. He is resting peacefully now that the pain is over." He told the
worried brother, who was staring at him, eagerly anticipating the answer.

A clipboard with a picture of Isaac on it appeared on the screen.

"Yo, are you still in Central?" Maes's voice asked.

Mustang appeared on the screen. "Luckily, I'll be able to go back to the

Eastern Command Center."

"Aren't you the hard worker?" Maes said, leaning back in his chair in a
relaxed state. "Next time you come here, see to it that you've made
Brigadier General, Colonel."

"Easy for you to say." Mustang replied as he walked farther into the
room.

"Oh, right. If you're leaving, I'll give this to you now." Maes stood up
and held a file out to Mustang.

"What is it?"

"The final report on Isaac McDougal. It probably hasn't reached your

office yet."

"Yeah." Mustang said, taking the file and looking at it. "Xingese
alkahestry?"

"Apparently, that's something they have. To be honest, I have no idea

what it is. Do you know it?" Maes asked.

"No, first I've heard of it." Mustang replied.

The two friends left the office and walked down the hall.

"By the way, how are the Elric brothers doing?" Maes asked cheerfully.

"I'm not their guardian." Mustang replied.

"Hey," Maes said, getting serious. "Why did you decide to make Ed a
State Alchemist? He's still just a child."

"The million dollar question that we would all liked answered!" Walkers, a
soldier from Eastern Command, said.

"It sounds like everyone have something against him?" Al said amused since
his brother wasn't here to say it.

"No. It's just, a kid in the military is really strange. We just want to know
what possessed the Boss to give him this chance." Havoc replied, smiling at
his young boss's brother.

"As long as he's in the military, he'll end up having to go through hell
someday." Maes said. "Like we did."
They walked out of the building. While Maes stopped there, Mustang
went down the stairs as he was leaving. Maes held up a hand in farewell,
which Mustang responded to with his own raised hand.

"Hell, huh?" Mustang thought as he walked away. "Oh, they've seen hell.
Both of them, and plenty of it."

The screen changed to four years earlier, showing the boys' house.

Mustang was seen staring in horror at what he saw on the basement

floor, which was the array and blood as the creation was gone.

"Lt. Colonel," Hawkeye said as she came into the room. "They're not in
back, eith–What is this?"

"Were you horrified by what you saw?" Al asked quietly.

Hawkeye frowned, eyes flashing sadly. "Yes."

"Brother and I were too whenever we went back in there after this happened."
Al said.

"You went back?" Kain said shocked. "Why?"

Al didn't reply. He and his brother had their reasons for going into that room,
and they weren't something they liked to talk about.

"Where are they? Where are the Elric brothers?!" Mustang demanded
to a surprised Hawkeye.

The Rockbell house was shown next with Den barking wildly at the door.

"Be quiet, Den." Pinako's voice said. "Don't bark at our guests." As she
said this, the door was opened. Mustang pulled it the rest of the way
opened and went inside with Hawkeye. "Wha–hey, you! What are
soldiers bursting in here for?"

"Now that was rude." Hughes commented. "No matter how angry you are,
you should still be polite and not barge into someone else's house."
"Are you really going to lecture me about manners?" Mustang asked amused.
"Aren't you the rude one when you interrupt everyone's work with your
pictures?"

Hughes pouted. "I only interrupt them when I notice they are stressed.
Pictures of my cute little princess and beautiful wife will knock the stress
right out of them."

"I think that only works for you." Havoc muttered, recalling all the times that
they were almost burned alive or their work was destroyed and they had to
start all over again after Hughes bothered the Colonel with multiple calls and
pictures when he was around.

Mustang ignored her as he looked around until he spotted Edward

sitting in a wheelchair with a suit of armor standing behind him. A look
of shock passed over his face for a moment before it was replaced by
anger. He marched forward to the lifeless Edward and picked up by his
shirt.

"Damn Chief. He looked horrible." Havoc commented.

"You sure that's him?" Karin, an Eastern soldier, said shocked. Whenever she
saw the boy, he looked so lively, even if he was not always happy. This boy
who looked so lost and hopeless was not the boy that all the soldiers from the
east had come to know.

"I didn't think anything could ever get him down like this." Jackson, an
Eastern soldier, commented, horrorstruck. To him, Edward was someone
always ready for a fight. There was always a fire in those determined eyes.
Nothing ever beat him. That was the image that the boy had built and shown
all the soldiers.

"I guess we have all forgotten." Hawkeye murmured, causing Al to glance at

her. "You and Ed always show how strong you are. You never show
weakness so everyone just forgets that you are still just children."

Alphonse blinked at her before shaking his head. "Nah, no worries,

Lieutenant Riza. You guys showed up like two days after we did it. We were
still just in shock, and brother was still recovering from severe blood loss.
Besides, we gained valuable knowledge from that experience."

"Are they always like this?" General Armstrong asked Mustang.

"Never asking for help?" Mustang asked, before nodding. "Yes. They are
children in an adults' world. They think if they show weakness, they'll be
looked down upon and not taken seriously. Because of that, they never turn to
any of us for help."

"Foolish." General Armstrong growled. No one could do everything by

themselves. Everyone needed help sometimes. These boys had to rely on
themselves for too long if they thought they could do it all alone.

"We went to your house! We saw the floor! What was that?" Mustang
demanded, but Edward just stared blankly and defeated at him.
Mustang words hit home to Ed as he bowed his head and didn't reply.

Al reached out, grabbing Mustang's arm, causing the soldier to look at

him. "We're sorry. We didn't mean it. We're sorry…We're sorry…
We're sorry."

"Wait, are you…" Mustang whispered.

The exterior of the house was shown for a moment.

"This is a surprise."

The dining room was shown with Mustang, Pinako, and Ed sitting at the
table with Al standing behind his brother.

"I had heard that there was a brilliant alchemist here, so I came to see
him," Mustang looked at Ed. "But I never imagined that a child like this
could ever perform human transmutation, imperfect though it was, and
even bond a soul." He looked at Pinako. "He is more than qualified to
become a State Alchemist."

"You didn't even have a reason to offer it to him?" Maes growled

dangerously, making people flinch away from. It wasn't often that Maes got
mad, but when he did, he was not someone you wanted to be around. And
right now, he was upset with that fact that a child was dragged into the
military.

"I merely offered. I didn't make him do a thing." Mustang retorted.

Edward merely sat in his wheelchair with his dull gold eyes staring
down.

"Once he becomes a State Alchemist, he will have to serve as a soldier in

the event of an emergency, but at the same time, he will receive various
special privileges, and research of the highest level will become possible
for him." Mustang said. He looked at Ed out of the corner of his eyes.
"They may even find a way to get their bodies back, or–"

Pinako whacked her pipe on her ashtray. "After he came stumbling in

here, covered with blood, I went over to their house. What was there…"
A picture flashed on the screen of Pinako staring at the boys' creation
before flashing back to the present. "What was there was not human!"
The screen changed to look at Mustang, who was looking at her with a
neutral look and crossed arms. "Is alchemy what created that horrific
thing?! I'm against it! Would you have these boys go through hell
again?!"

The scene changed to Hawkeye, who was sitting in the living room.

"Here you are." Winry said, holding out a tray with tea on it to her.

"Thanks." Hawkeye said, taking the mug before Winry sat down next to
her.

"Um, Lieutenant." Winry said.

"You can call me Riza. Riza Hawkeye. Nice to meet you." Hawkeye
replied, holding her hand out to Winry, who didn't take it.

"Miss Riza, have you ever shot anyone?" Winry asked.

"She's a soldier. I thought that would have been obvious." Miles said, pushing
up his shades.

"I think it was more of a way to open up to what she really wanted to say." Al
explained.

"Yes." Hawkeye said.

"I hate what you soldiers do." Winry said. "Soldiers like you are the
reason my mom and dad left during the war and soldiers are the reason
they are dead." Winry bowed her head, shading her face with her hair.

"She's an orphan too?" Havoc said sadly. That war took too many lives and
destroyed too many families. It really was tragic.

"And now, you are here to take Ed and Al away too."

"If they go. That decision is theirs, and theirs alone."

Winry looked at Hawkeye, shocked.

"Yes," Hawkeye said. "They will decide for themselves."

Ed appeared on the screen with Mustang's voice saying, "I'm not forcing
you. I'm merely offering you the possibility."

Hawkeye appeared next, staring into the distance. "Whether to move

forward, or stay still."

Mustang appeared on the screen next, but he wasn't looking at Ed. "Will
you sit in that chair, wallowing in self-pity, or will you stand up and seize
the chance the military can give you?"

The screen changed back to Hawkeye. "It's their choice. They choose
their own path."

Once again, the screen went to Mustang, who was now standing up and
staring down at Ed. "If you believe the possibility exists for getting your
bodies back, you should seek it out. Keep moving, whatever it takes.
Even if the way ahead lies through a river of mud."
The screen changed to Ed's lifeless eyes, then to Winry staring at
Hawkeye.

"How manipulative." Edward's voice said amused.

Al jerked his head around to see his brother standing behind Mustang,
leaning his arms on the couch. "Brother!"

"Fullmetal!" Mustang turned in his seat to stare at his subordinate. The stare
turned into a glare when he saw the boy's arms trembling as he struggled to
stay up. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

"I'm fine." Ed retorted. "Something as stupid as this isn't going to get me

down."

Mustang shook his head at his subordinate's stubbornness. Instead of ordering

him back to bed, he leaned in closer to boy and whispered, "Go to your
brother. He has been really worried."

Nodding his head, Ed pushed off the back of the couch, but didn't let it go as
he used it to keep him upright as he walked around the couch. When he got
passed that couch, he noticed Havoc tensed, as if getting ready to catch him if
he fell since there was nothing for him to hold onto. Scowling at him, Ed
forced himself to steady his walk over to his brother.

Al watched his brother carefully, worried that he might collapse again. But,
his worries were worthless when Ed knocked him on his helmet and sat down
next to him. "No worries, Al." He said softly. "I'll be good as new in no
time."

Just to ease his worries and have his brother safely with him, Al hugged him
from behind once again. Sighing, Ed leaned onto his brother's chest, knowing
his little brother needed this after the scare he gave him.

"What did you mean by manipulative?" Maria asked once Ed got comfy in
his brother's arms.

"He was saying that to get me to wake the hell up then come chasing after the
chance he gave me." Edward explained.

"So you noticed?" Mustang asked.

Edward rolled his head. "I always noticed, bastard. I just never called you out
on it because you said what I needed to hear and gave me the chance to
research how to get our bodies back, even if you were just doing it for your
own selfish needs."

"It was also because he almost did the same thing as you boys." Maes said.

Edward blinked. "What? He almost did human transmutation?"

Maes glanced at Mustang, who was glaring at him. "Yes, it was after the war.
He was so wrapped up in guilt over it that he almost made the same foolish
mistake. I had to punch him to wake him up. At least he woke you up in a
better way than I did."

Fullmetal looked at his superior in shock. He always looked so damn cold

and powerful that it never occurred to him that he could ever have weak
moments. What he didn't realize was that all the soldiers he's met before this
had thought the same thing about him before the truth was shown to them.

"Miss Riza, why did you become a soldier?" Winry asked.

"Because there is someone I have to protect." Hawkeye replied,

surprising Winry with her answer.

The door to the dining room opened and Mustang came out so Hawkeye
stood up, grabbing her coat as she did.

"We're leaving." Mustang announced.

"Yes, sir."

"Well, goodbye, young lady." Hawkeye said, now standing outside with
the girl.

Winry held her hand out to Hawkeye. "It's Winry."

"Did I earn her respect?" Hawkeye asked the brothers.

"Looks like it." Edward said.

Hawkeye smiled. "Okay, Winry." She took the girl's hand. "I hope we'll
meet again."

Al, Pinako, and Winry watched the wagon leave with the soldiers.

"Will they be coming?" Hawkeye's voice asked as the scene changed to

the interior of the house to show Edward in his wheelchair.

"Yes, they will." Mustang's voice said.

"That boy, I've never seen anyone look so defeated." Hawkeye's voice
said.

Mustang appeared on the screen, smirking. "That's what you saw?"

Edward appeared on the screen again.

"No," Mustang's voice said as Ed's eyes were shown. "There was fire in
those eyes."

"There's the chief we all know and love!" Havoc cheered.

Edward snorted.

"Don't ever lose your spirit again, Chief." Havoc continued. "I don't think I
could take a half-dead Fullmetal."

"Riiiight." Edward drawled, though it seemed the soldiers all agreed with
Havoc. The lively Fullmetal was much preferred over the quiet and dead
looking one.

A train appeared next with its whistle blowing. Edward was seen staring
out the window as Pinako's voice said, "Sure you won't regret this?"

"Mm-hmm, I've already made up my mind." Edward's voice replied.

The scene changed to Edward on a bed with Al, Pinako, and Winry
surrounding him.

"Automail surgery?" Falman asked.

"Yep." Edward replied before twitching. "I hope they don't show the actually
surgery."

"Why?" Kain asked confused.

"Because it hurts like hell!" Edward shouted.

"Don't they sedate you?" Havoc asked.

Edward shook his head. "Because they are connecting the automail directly to
your nerves, you need to have a clear head to help them along with making
sure they don't mess up with your nerves."

Sheska paled greatly. "Dear god, that sounds absolutely horrible. Don't they
bolt it into your bones?"

"Along with having to open up the area where the port will be." Edward
mumbled.

"How long was the surgery?" Breda asked.

Edward scratched his head. "Um, Al? I didn't have a clear sense of time
then."

"Let's see. You had to get two limbs, so it took double the amount of time.
They spent two days wiring the nerves in your arm, gave you a day of rest,
then they put the port in and had to get the wires for the arm all ready in it.
Then, they gave you another day of rest before they spent two days wiring the
nerves in your leg, then another day of rest, then they put the port in and got
the wires all set up from the leg. Then they gave you two days of rest before
they attached your limbs. The first four days you also had a severe fever they
said and you weren't eating properly." Al replied, glancing at his brother. It
was so painful for him to see his brother like that.
"What Al said." Edward said, pointing at his brother.

"That was a twelve day surgery!" Brosh shouted, paling a lot at the idea of
going through that for so long.

Edward nodded, rubbing his shoulder at the thought of it. "I know. I was
stuck in that room forever."

Sheska went doubly pale as did many other people. Most of them were no
strangers to pain, but even they knew automail surgery was not like anything
they have ever experienced before. Fullmetal was truly a force to be reckoned
with. First, getting his limbs ripped off, then facing this extreme pain not
much later. Many of them probably couldn't do it, and they fully knew that.

"Let's just hope they don't show it. We don't need you thrashing around
again." Havoc said dryly, causing Ed to glance guilty at their injuries.

"They are nothing." Avery said.

"How long will the surgery and rehabilitation take?" Edward asked.

"About three years." Pinako replied.

Edward breathed in deeply. "One year." He declared.

"Are you insane?" Maes shouted.

Grinning, Edward lifted his automail arm and slammed his flesh hand on the
upper part of it. "I did it, didn't I?"

"After four months of coughing up blood practically every day." Al pointed

out.

Edward waved him off. "I knew that was coming. It was a risk I was willing
to take."

"You are definitely a monster, Fullmetal." Mustang said, making the boy grin
in an evil manner.
"You're gonna be spitting blood." Pinako warned.

Ed gave a really small nod before turning to his brother. "Al, hang in
there for a little while longer. I'm going to get you your body back."

"Mm-hmm, and when that happens, Brother, your body will be with it."
Al replied.

Edward nodded as the scene fade on his face to a face of his that was a
bit older and with longer hair.

"Yes! Surgery skipped!" Edward cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

"I'm amazed." Kain said, staring at the young state alchemist. "I have never
seen him act so much like a child."

Breda nodded. "Yeah, it's nice to see the change."

He ducked under a punch from Al, then jumped in the air to avoid a
kick. He twisted and slammed his automail foot into Al's arms as the
armor guarded. Edward used his momentum to flip backwards in the air
and landed on his feet. He just threw his automail arm up to block Al's
fist in time. His automail foot came up to hit Al, who dodged. In a flurry
of dust, they slammed their right arms together.

They separated and Ed curled his automail hand into a fist.

"Your body is perfect now." Al said.

"Yeah! Now for the alchemy. I haven't used it since then, after all."
Edward replied, smiling at his brother.

"Right, not since you transmuted my soul." Al said.

"So this is a year later?" Havoc asked.

"Yeah." Edward replied. "A year in which Al spent a lot of time training by
himself so he could beat my ass in all our spars while I struggled learning
how to walk again and hold things without breaking them."
"I didn't spend all my time doing that." Al protested. "I was helping you with
learning how to walk again seeing as how if we took our eyes off you, you
would wander off somewhere and collapse, coughing up blood if you walked
too long then we would have to spend hours looking for you."

"Oh, yeah." Edward murmured, staring at the ceiling.

"That sounds like the chief." Havoc said blandly.

Falman nodded in agreement. "Always wanders off without thinking."

"Which always gets him into some type of trouble." Breda added which
amused the soldiers as they thought back on it. During those times, it was
usually frantic when the kid would disappear or leave the city without telling
anyone, but now, reminiscing on it, it was quite amusing. Unless, they were
Briggs soldiers that were like General Armstrong. She just thought the boy
was foolish and stupid.

"Hey! That only happened twice." Edward suddenly remembered. "And that
was after I learned how to walk. Before that, you were always off practicing
in the backyard."

"Not like there was much else to do." Al said. "Winry and Auntie Pinako
were the ones helping you in rehabilitation as they were the experts. I knew
nothing."

Edward took a deep breath as he held his hands out in front of him. He
clapped his hands before the screen changed to Al, who was watching
him. There was a flash of blue light.

"Brother!"

Edward stood admiring the new blade on his automail, not noticing Al's
shock. "Yeah, right on the money!"

"Amazing, Brother! You didn't even use a transmutation circle." Al said.

"You've gotten so you can do the same thing that Teacher does."

Mustang looked at Izumi in shock at those words. The same way? Then did
that mean….

Armstrong too noticed the implication and looked at the woman. First the
teacher, then the students make the same mistake. It surely was tragic.

"Now, that is interesting." General Armstrong said. "How were you able to
do that?"

"Se-cret." Edward sang, causing the General to glare at him. Oh, it scared
him. She was a scary lady, but he just turned back to the screen to hide the
fear he felt.

"Al, you can do it too, right?" Edward asked.

"No, I can't, Brother."

A quick snapshot of the eye, the gate, and Ed in the white area happened
before Ed appeared on the scene again.

"You didn't see it?" Ed asked.

"See what?"

Edward looked at his automail. "Nothing, never mind."

As he finished talking, a wrench came flying out of nowhere and hit him
in the head.

"Ah, shit!" Edward shouted, grabbing his head. "She is one cruel girl! Stupid
automail freak!"

"She really throws wrenches at you?" Avery muttered shocked.

"Hey!" Winry shouted from the porch. "You've deformed my

automail!"

"Does that make it okay for you to deform my head?" Edward asked,
grabbing his head in pain. He climbed to his feet, pain flashing on his
face as he still clutched his head. "Good grief. You are one uncharming
gearhead."

"I'm okay with being uncharming. I'm okay with being a gearhead."
Winry retorted angrily. "I've made up my mind to support you until you
get your body back."

Edward turned around to give her an anguished stare. "Huh?" In the

background Al looked amused.

The scene went to Central Command where Fuhrer Bradley was walking
down the hall.

"It's unusual for you to observe the examinations." One of the soldiers
following him said.

"Oh, but I heard there would be a twelve you old child here." Bradley
replied. "I thought I would come see what the topic of conversation
was."

Bradley was now standing at the head of the examination room. "Oh, a
steel prosthetic, huh?"

The soldiers standing on either side of Ed lowered their salutes while Ed

grabbed his automail wrist. "In the Eastern Rebellion…"

"Ah, you had a time of it in Ishval, then. Hmm."

"What a nice lie." Mustang said.

"Works, doesn't it?" Edward snapped. "Seeing as how that stupid war
destroyed my hometown."

Mustang frowned and didn't reply. He remembered having to trek through

that town to get to Ishval. All the townspeople had been affected greatly by
that war. It was not something he liked to remember when he saw the glares
the townspeople gave the soldiers for dragging the war to them.

Edward glanced up from his arm to look at the soldier on his right.
"Who's that?"
Many people gave Ed blank stares.

"Really?" Havoc asked sarcastically.

"What?" Edward shouted frustrated. "I'm from Resembool. I was twelve. I've
never seen his face before!"

"You idiot," The soldier said.

"Now that's just rude." Ed grumbled.

"That's His Excellency, Fuhrer King Bradley."

Edward turned to look at the Fuhrer, unimpressed.

"Most people would be nervous to have the Fuhrer observing them,

Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I have no time for such feelings."

"Oh, so coldhearted."

"You're one to talk!"

"But, brother, didn't you once say the Colonel had a heart so hot that it
belonged in hell along with the rest of his devil self?" Al asked.

General Armstrong smirked. What a smart assed state alchemist this kid was.

Edward shifted in his brother's arms to send him a glare. "Shh!" He hissed.
"You are really against me here, little brother. You keep revealing stuff."

"But you said it!" Al muttered.

"That was two years ago!" Ed shouted. "Why do you even remember it?"

"Because it was amusing." Al replied.

"I don't think Al is as innocent as we thought." Havoc muttered to the others.

"Okay, begin the examination." Bradley said.

Mustang was shown to be standing on the balcony, watching Edward.

"Do you have something to draw transmutation circles with?"

"I don't need anything like that." Edward replied. He brought his hands
forward and clapped, then kneeled on the floor and put his hands down.
The floor lit up in bright blue circle with Edward in the center of it. As
he started to slowly lift his left hand, a rod began to come out of the floor
and he slowly stood up.

Mustang watched from the balcony in shock, as everyone else did. "He's
not even using a transmutation circle."

Fully standing now, Edward moved his hands around as the lance
continued to rise from the ground. The soldiers stared at the ground in
shock while Edward took the lance in his hands.

"That's quite something." Bradley said.

Edward stared at Bradley for a second before charging at him.

"Excellency!" Some of the soldiers shouted.

Right before hitting the Fuhrer, Edward stopped and the soldiers
pointed their guns at him.

"Seriously!?" Many of the soldiers shouted while Izumi just laughed at her
ex-student. Just how reckless was he?

"What nerves you have, Edward." Izumi said.

Edward nodded at her, not too sure how to react to her now that he was
expelled.

"How the hell were you chosen to be the new State Alchemist that year?"
Havoc demanded. Surely, anyone else who did that would be in a lot of
trouble.
"I wanted to make myself stand out." Edward said.

"Isn't alchemy without a transmutation circle enough?" Al cried in dismay.

His brother had never told him what he did at his exam, and now that he saw
it, he realized his brother was an idiot.

General Armstrong, like Izumi, laughed. "Mustang, I really liked this kid that
you found."

"He seems to be earning some type of respect from the Briggs soldiers, but I
don't think it is the right respect." Hawkeye told the Colonel.

Mustang sighed. "Just like Fullmetal."

"There might be those out there who would assassinate VIPs like this, so
maybe you should reconsider how you conduct examinations." Edward
said.

Bradley raised his hand and the soldiers raised their guns to the ceiling,
instead of at Ed. Smirking, Edward did the same with his lance.

"Hmm. You must have nerves of steel." Bradley said. "But you do not
know the breadth of the world."

As Ed watched him walk away, the top part of his lance suddenly fell to
the ground with a clatter. Edward stared at it in shock as the Fuhrer
started laughing and waving without turning back around. "Good luck
on the rest of your exam, my overly young alchemist."

"You're lucky he has a sense of humor, Edward." Hawkeye said with a sigh.

"I can't believe you pulled a prank like that." Al scolded.

Ed shrugged and grinned evilly. "It was really fun."

"When did he draw his sword?" Ed asked.

"You didn't glance at me once." Mustang said.

Ed blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Mustang sighed. "The conversation we had when we left the building."

A thoughtful look passed Ed's face as he tried to remember what they were
talking about then. "Oh, that. What's your point?"

"How the hell did you know that I didn't react to you attacking the Fuhrer?"
Mustang demanded.

"Maybe you're just going blind in your old age and missed my glance."
Edward retorted.

"I'm not old!" Mustang shouted.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Edward said.

Winry was shown standing on a hill with the wind blowing around her.

"I wonder if Brother is doing all right on his exam." Al said.

"Oh, he's doing more than alright, attacking the Fuhrer and everything."
Breda said, staring at the boy, still in shock from such a thing.

Ed grinned.

"Say, Al?"

"Hmm, what?"

"If Ed becomes a State Alchemist, are you leaving the village?"

"Yeah."

A silver pocket watch appeared on the screen.

"This is proof of your state certification, a silver pocket watch." Mustang

said.
The exterior of Eastern Command Center was shown.

"Your certificate of appointment and detailed regulations are here."

Mustang continued.

Mustang was shown sitting behind a desk. He pulled out the certificate
from an envelope to glance it over. "The Fuhrer has given you quite the
ironic title."

"What?" Ed asked from where he was lounging on the couch in the

office.

"Nothing. Congratulations." Mustang said. He pushed the certificated

across his desk. "You are hereby an official Dog of the Military."

"In the name of Fuhrer King Bradley…"

"I appoint thee, Edward Elric to be a State Alchemist and grant the title
"Fullmetal."

Edward blinked and looked at Mustang. "Fullmetal?"

"Yes. It's a second name given to State Alchemists." Mustang explained.

"The name that you now bear is…" The screen showed Ed's right hand
before going to his face. "The Fullmetal Alchemist."

An evil grin spread across Ed's face. "Nice. It has an oppressive feel to
it."

"What a demon you are." Al said with a sigh.

"You are very cruel to your big brother." Ed muttered.

"Sure, I'll take that on!"

The wheels of a train were shown followed by a sleeping Edward.

"Brother," Al said. "We're just about there."

Ed's eyes opened to look at the city that the train was quickly
approaching. "Liore?" He said. "Will there be any leads to getting Al's
body back in that town?"

Ed smirked. "The Philosopher's Stone!"

The scene went dark.

"The flashback is over with!" Ed said, sighing in relief.

Scar looked over at the Elric brothers. The elder one gave his right arm to
save the younger one. It was just like what his brother did for him by giving
him his right arm. The only difference was that his brother died saving him.
These brothers had just as hard a past as he did.

"Oh, EDWARD ELRIC! ALPHONSE ELRIC!" Armstrong shouted tearfully.

"WHAT A DIFFICULT PAST YOU TWO HAVE HAD! BUT, IT IS SO
BEAUTIFUL AT THE SAME TIME!"

"This again?" Edward muttered. "Didn't we just hear a similar speech when
we were in Resembool?"

"Yes, we did." Al replied.

"SACRIFICING EVERYTHING FOR ONE ANOTHER. IT IS SO SWEET

AND BEAUTIFUL." Armstrong continued.

"Think we could just tune him out?" Ed suggested.

"That's rude, Brother." Al scolded.

"He does have a point." Karin said thoughtfully. "I think it is cute and sweet
how close the two of you are too."

"Huh?" Ed said blankly. He turned to his brother. "Isn't this how brothers
behave?"

"I think so." Al replied, just as confused.

Edward shrugged and just declared that adults were weird. "So, we're in Liore
now." He said.

"Oh, yeah. You were being particularly evil and cruel there." Al said.

"What?" Ed said. "No, I wasn't."

"You were throwing the cold hard truth around like it was nothing." Al
pointed out.

Shrugging again, Edward crawled out of his brother's arms and laid back
down on the ground. "People need to hear that sometimes, and I am not going
to beat around the bush to make it easier on them because that doesn't get it
through people's skulls. I'll say it directly to them so they'll learn."

Izumi sighed. Was that where she made her mistake with them? She didn't
say it directly so they went ahead and did it. Seeing what they went through
had been painful for her. She went through it herself, but to see her dear ex-
students going through it, that had hurt a lot. She had hoped to save them
from that cruelty. But, it didn't work it seemed. Maybe she should have told
them the truth from the start.

It was just mistake after mistake with humans.

A/N: So, I proofread all the regular stuff for you people, and because of
that, I added a whole bunch of stuff to this chapter that wasn't supposed
to be in it. So, it got even longer, by about, a couple thousand words.

I'll give a prize to the first three people who can tell me why Ed was in so
much pain this time. You need to have your private messaging set up to
receive it though. If you don't, your answer doesn't count. I think it is
pretty obvious, but that's because I just spent the last few weeks
watching the series all over again.

Please Review!
*Chapter 3*: Episode 3: City of Heresy
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Truth Revealed

A/N: My plan is to update this at least once a week. Though that is my

plan, it might not happen because I will get very busy at times. Like I
have a bunch of papers and tests to study for. I've been swamped with all
that this past week so it may happen again and hinder my updates. Just a
warning to you all.

Thanks for the review!

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 3: City of Heresy

"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and

reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is
impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain
something, something of equal value must be paid. This is the law of
equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy. Alchemists have a taboo, and it
is human transmutation. It is that which no one must commit."

"How many people do you think actually commit it but are never found?"
Edward wondered as the opening song began.

"I'd rather not know the answer to that." Al said darkly. It wasn't something
any of them needed to know about. Those people might not be as lucky as
them. They could have died from it or been found by officers and killed or
arrested for committing the taboo. It was best not to wonder.

After the song was finished the city of Liore was shown with a voice
saying, "God's children, who live upon this land, pray in faith, and ye
shall be saved. The Sun God Leto illuminates thy footsteps."

'Leto?' Scar thought angrily. There was no Sun God. This guy was probably
just another false priest fooling people. He should pay for his sins and for
falsely leading people.

The backs of Ed and Al appeared on screen. They were being stared at

by a vender. "You guys street performers or something?"

Havoc laughed. "Did he really ask that?"

"Yeah, how annoying." Edward grumbled.

Al nodded. "It was, but to be fair, we did street perform once two years ago."

"Yes, once!" Edward snapped. "That doesn't make it our job."

"Street performers?" Mustang mused. "What were you doing that for?"

The brothers glanced at each other before Ed gave his superior a blank stare.
"You don't need to know."

"Now I really want to know." Mustang said, smirking.

"Well, you don't get to." Ed said childishly.

General Armstrong chuckled. "You must send this kid to the strangest places
if he has to do things like that."

"Finally!" Edward cried. "Someone who understands that Colonel is a nut job
who gets a strange satisfaction out of sending me to far away places for the
stupidest missions." His head dropped in a dejected manner. "He is a cruel
man who likes to subject me to torturous missions and waste my time and the
military's money."
Havoc snorted. "Hey, it's not just you. We've been sent of some of those
missions with you. They weren't all a waste of time or too much
money…..until you blew something up that is."

"I don't always blow stuff up." Edward defended.

Breda smirked. "Of course. You also just destroy stuff."

"And I don't always destroy stuff!" Edward shouted frustrated. "And when I
do, I usually fix it."

"Usually?" General Armstrong asked.

Ed sighed. "It doesn't always work out." He then pointed to Al. "And what
about him. He destroys things too."

"That is correct." Mustang said before smirking. "But not as much as you."

Izumi sighed. "You two go around the country destroying things? That does
not surprise me one bit."

"Oh, yeah, you're their teacher from when they were kids." Hughes said
excitedly. "What did they do under your training?"

A smile passed over Izumi's face at the thought of her time with the boys
during training. Though they did much to anger and annoy her, they were
really sweet kids that she enjoyed teacher.

On the other hand, the brothers shivered in fear at the reminder of their
training. They really respected Izumi and were grateful for the training, but
she scared the hell out of them. There was a reason they avoided seeing her.

"Well, there was a time I told them to make cupcakes while my husband and
I did some shopping." Izumi said thoughtfully causing the boys to groan. "It
was so very simple to since I knew Ed knew how to bake."

"What did they do?" Mustang asked amused.

A dark look passed over Izumi's face this time. "They decided to make a
mess of the whole kitchen by throwing batter, eggs, flour, water, soap and
who knows what else around."

"A food fight?" Brody asked, laughing. For these kids who looked so serious,
that was hard to believe.

"Brother started it." Al grumbled.

Ed glared at him. "No, I accidentally dropped flour on you. You were the one
to overreact to an accident and threw a bowl of water and soup of me."

"I was just getting back at you. You were the one who had to throw an egg at
me." Al retorted.

"It was only fair since dropping flour on you was an accident. You threw
water and soap at me on purpose." Ed replied, eyes narrowing at his brother.

Hughes laughed at the brothers and turned back to Izumi. "So what did you
do?"

"She made us clean up the kitchen, let us get cleaned up, then made us stand
outside in the baking heat in the same position for two hours. If we moved an
inch then more time would be added which is why we were actually there for
four hours." Edward grumbled.

Miles smiled. "And that must have been truly difficult for two hyperactive
children."

"Which is why it was so cruel." Al said.

Izumi cracked her knuckles. "And why you two should learn to behave. I
thought you would have learned to behave after that time you stole that state
alchemist watch."

"We were going to return it." Edward mumbled.

"You stole from a state alchemist?" Avery asked, shocked at the nerves of
these kids.
Ed snorted. "It wasn't hard at all. The idiot just left it lying on his table while
he was flirting with his waitress."

Mustang, not believing this, laughed his head off. "I let a thief into the
military."

"It's not like it's the worst I've done." Edward said as he and Al glanced at
each other.

"Do you remember who it was you stole from?" Havoc asked amused.

"Um…." Al said, trying to recall the name.

On the other hand, Ed remembered right away as he tended to avoid the man
because his eyes were so recognizable that the man would recognize him
right away. "Lieutenant Colonel Johnson."

"Oh!" Al exclaimed. "He's that man you always avoid in Central."

"Avoid?" Mustang asked, raising a brow. "Are you that scared of him?"

Ed snickered. "No, but if I see him, I'll just start laughing my head off
because of what Teacher did to him after he tried to hurt Al and I after he
found us with his watch."

"What did you do?" Riza asked the woman, but she just smirked.

"Nothing as bad as I did to these two idiots after I got rid of him." Izumi said,
jerking her thumb at her ex-students, causing them to stop laughing and
shiver in fear. "After all, I had to punish them for destroying the road with
their alchemy."

"It was an accident." Al mumbled.

"What a couple of troublemakers." Buccaneer said, smirking at the two boys,

causing Ed to grin evilly back at him. He could really begin to like these boys
and their teasing, evil sides.

"It's not like it was as bad as that time with the library." Ed grumbled.
"Do not even mention the library incident, boys." Izumi growled
dangerously, causing the soldiers to look at the three curiously, but the boys
were too busy trembling in fear to even think about explaining and Izumi just
glared at them for even daring to ask.

Al laughed suddenly as the fear slowly left him since Izumi was no longer
glaring at them. "Brother, do you remember what Teacher did to those boys?"

Edward frowned. The only boys they ever had any problems with were those
punk troublemakers they ran into on the dark side of Dublith. "I only
remember what was yelled. You know I was blind at the time."

"Blind?" Kain asked confused.

"Oh, yeah. Well, it was really funny. She scared them so badly." Al chuckled.
"You should have seen how fast they were running away when she was done
with them."

Riza blinked. "What boys?"

Al tilted his helmet to the side, suddenly even more happy to tell a story.
"Well, brother ran into these boys earlier in the day when we went our
separate ways for a while. He said they were bad kids and stole from a lady.
He beat them up and took the purse back and returned it to the lady. That
should have been it, but later that night Ed and I were down by pond talking
they showed up again."

"And Fullmetal beat them up again?" Kei asked amused.

"I am not that brash!" Edward shouted.

The armored boy shook his helmet. "No, he actually told them to leave, but
they were mad at him and yelling insults at him, but brother just ignored them
after saying they weren't worth his time."

"Really?" Havoc asked shocked. That didn't sound like Fullmetal at all.

Ed sighed. "They were just bullies and my mom told me when I was younger
if I ever ran into some to try my hardest not to hurt them."
"And where is that knowledge today?" Mustang asked.

"I'm in the military. I'd rather not get walked over and pushed around because
people think I am just a child who can't take care of himself." Edward
retorted.

General Armstrong, while she didn't know the kid well enough to understand
all the fights he has gotten into, agreed with the boy on this. If he didn't show
he was strong and wouldn't take shit from anyone, he would just be pushed
around by other soldiers and really wouldn't be the 'hero of the people' as he
was dubbed.

"Anyway, since they weren't getting a reaction from brother," Al interrupted

Mustang and Ed's glaring contest. "They turned to me to insult me. This
made brother mad and he stood up, grabbing the leader of the kids by his
shirt and hoisting him off the ground, which scared him pretty badly when he
saw brother had his fist raised to punch him."

"I thought you said you didn't hurt them?" Kain asked confused.

"I didn't." Ed groaned.

"He didn't. He looked like he was going to for a moment before he scowled
and threw the boy onto the ground, glaring the kids which sent them all
running." Al explained. "Brother had just turned back to me when they were
gone when the leader he humiliated came back and pushed him into the
pond."

"So he attacked when Fullmetal's back was turned. How cowardly." General
Armstrong growled.

"Yeah," Al said thoughtfully. "He did seem braver when Ed wasn't looking at
him. Anyway, I was helping brother out of the pond when he heard a clap
resound throughout the area. While brother was struggling to get water out of
his lungs and slime out of his eyes, I looked at the boys and saw them
screaming like little girls as the ground under them morphed into hands that
flung them through the air and into the pond."
"So that's she did?" Edward said to himself. "I thought I heard a splash."

Chuckling, Al turned to his brother. "And you know the rest. Teacher started
yelling at them and saying if they ever came near us again she'd give them a
much worse punishment then the police or their parents could ever give for
anything they have ever done."

"Yeah," Edward grinned. "I don't remember ever seeing them around Dublith
again though."

"They either made their families leave the town or they completely avoided
you two and ran away when they saw you." Havoc said, laughing.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Ed and Al replied together.

"As interesting as your stories are, perhaps we should continue." Riza

interrupted.

Ed and Al quieted their laughter and nodded.

"I want more stories later." Mustang said.

The boys blinked. "Why?"

"We only know the dark parts of your childhood. It's nice to know that it
wasn't completely dark." Hughes explained, smiling kindly at the boys.

"And it's nice way to release the tension in this room." Brody added.

"They are getting way too much amusement out of all this." Edward
mumbled to his brother.

"Behold, the Lord descends his throne,"

Edward spluttered in his drink. "Seriously? Do we look like street

performers to you?" He asked as he put his glass down.

"-and saves thee from all they sins."

"Well, yeah. That's why I asked."

"Thanks for lunch." Edward pushed away from the stand.

"I am the Emissary of…"

Al stood up, hitting his helmet on the top of the stand, which caused the
radio to fall.

The vender and Al stared at the broken radio.

"Ah! Easy! I didn't mean anything by it!"

Edward smiled in amusement. "Sorry, sorry. We'll fix it."

"How's that? It's smashed to hell." The vender asked.

"Watch and learn, gramps."

Al drew a transmutation circle around the broken radio and stood up.
He put his hands over each other over it. "Okay, here goes!"

There was a bright flash of blue light and when it was gone, the radio
was there and fixed.

"Does that take care of it?" Edward asked, pointing to the radio.

"This is a surprise. You guys can perform miraculous works?!"

Edward deflated and stared at the vendor. "What do you mean by

that?"

"We're alchemists." Al explained.

"I've never seen alchemy before." One of townspeople said.

"Ever heard of the Elric brothers?" Ed asked.

"Elric?" The vendor asked.

"Yeah! I've heard that name." Another townsperson said.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric!"

"Wow, so you're the gifted alchemist we've heard about?"

"Indeed, with this armor you're wearing, your second name would
"Fullmetal," huh?"

"Um, not me!" Al said.

"You know, brother, that is very awkward getting mistaken for you all the
time." Al said.

"Like it's my fault! Blame the Fuhrer. He gave me the name." Edward
shouted.

"I don't think anyone expected you to travel with a brother in a suit of armor
when that name was given." Brody said blandly.

Edward scowled. "Well, people should stop assuming that Fullmetal means
that I'm completely covered in metal!" He shouted.

Mustang crossed his arms and smirked. "Then, what does the name mean to
you, Fullmetal?"

A bit of pink crossed over Ed's face, but he hid it by turning back to the
screen. "What I think doesn't matter! Let's just watch the episode."

"Ooh, did you come up with your own meaning for the name?" Havoc teased.

"Moving on." Edward growled.

"I'm sure we'll hear the meaning eventually." Mustang said.

"Like hell you will." Edward mumbled.

"Eh? The pipsqueak over there?"

"Who's a tiny bean sprout?" Edward shouted, scaring the townspeople
and causing a bit of chaos around the food stand.

"City of Heresy"

When the title disappeared, the radio was shown again. "Pray in faith,
and they entreaties shall be accorded thee…"

"So, what's with this broadcast?" Edward asked.

The scared townspeople were shown. "T-that's Father Cornello." The

vender said.

Mustang sighed. "Is this what you do on missions? Terrorize civilians?"

"How do you think I get information?" Edward asked.

"You could just ask, Brother." Al said.

Edward raised a brow. "That doesn't work with terrorists or our enemies, Al."

"No, but you usually just hit them a few times with your automail fist and
they are very eager to please you." Al retorted.

"What works, works." Ed said, shrugging.

"What a rash child." Riza said with a sigh.

Ed and Al appeared on the screen before a statue faded over them.

"He appeared in this town several years ago, and preached to us the ways
of God."

"He gives immortality to the living and resurrection to the dead."

"Did they really think that?" Karley asked, frowning.

"Just another corrupt person, living off the wills of other people." Edward
said disgusted.
Scar frowned darkly. This country was even more rotten than anyone realized
if this was allowed to happen to the innocent people.

"His miraculous works are proof of it."

"'Resurrection to the dead,' eh? Sounds fishy." Edward said.

Cheering filled the air as the scene changed to a gathering where a fat,
bald man was soaking up the praise. Pink flower petals filled the air.

"Father Cornello!"

"Show us your miraculous works!"

Cornello caught a flower petal in his hand. He closed his hands around
it, and after a flash of red light, a giant glass red flower appeared.

"Is that it?" Ed asked. "What do you think?"

"No two ways about it, that metamorphic reaction is alchemy." Al

replied.

Scar scowled. Not only was this man a false priest, stealing from these
people, he was also using that dreaded science to do so. Alchemy only
corrupted people. It didn't help with anything.

"But," Ed said as the scene changed to their backs to show Edward

standing on his suitcase. "He's ignoring equivalent exchange. The law is
that only one volume of mass can come from the same volume of mass."

"He's changing vegetable into mineral, too." Al said as Father Cornello

was shown again. His hand was shown to show a ring with a red sphere
on it. "Brother, could it be…"

"Yeah, it could be." Ed replied. His eyes narrowed in on the ring.

"Bingo."

The bell in the tower began to ring as the scene changed. A church was
entered where a girl was kneeling in front of the altar.
"O God, please grant me my wish." She prayed. "Please bring him…"

"Huh, so this is Leto, is it?" Edward's voice interrupted.

The girl stood up and turned around to face the brothers standing in the
alley of the seats.

"Are you interested in Letoism?" The girl asked.

"Nope, unfortunately, I'm not the religious type." Edward replied.

"Well, that won't do." The girl said. "To believe in and worship God,
and live with gratitude and hope…it's such a marvelous thing. If you
believe…"

Edward raised his head a bit as he looked at her.

"I'm sure you will grow taller."

Mustang snickered at the boy, causing Edward to throw him a hateful glare.

Al grabbed his brother's arm. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Edward growled.

"Easy, brother. She's just trying to help." Al said.

Edward collapsed onto one of the benches. "'Resurrection to the dead.'

Do you honestly believe that?"

"Yes."

"We going to hear a lecture now?" Havoc asked.

"Brother's form of a lecture at least." Al said. "I'm not sure if it could be

considered one though. It might just be throwing facts in her face."

"Some might consider that cruel." Kain said.

Al shrugged. "Brother doesn't care."

"I am right here, you know!" Ed said.

Edward sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a little brown
book. "Water, 35 liters; carbon, 20 kilograms; ammonia, 4 liters; lime,
1.5 kilograms; phosphorus, 800 grams; salt, 250 grams; saltpeter, 100
grams, and various other stuff."

"Huh?" The girl said.

Edward closed his book and bent over to stare at the ground. "That's the
material makeup of a human body, calculated for one adult. With our
science now, we know that much, but there has never been one reported
case of a successful human transmutation actually taking place. Are you
telling me that what can't be done by science, can be done through
prayer?"

"Lift thy voice to God and the prayers of the faithful shall be answered."
The girl argued.

"Did I mention all those ingredients I read off," Edward folded his arms
behind his head, grinning. "Down at the market, a kid could buy every
one for the spare change in his pocket. As it turns out, humans are pretty
cheap." He turned his head to the ceiling.

"And you would know from your attempt?" Riza asked sadly.

"Yep, no one thought twice about all the things we were buying either."
Edward replied.

"Most people don't know the full components of the body so that should be
obvious." Hughes pointed out.

Ed smirked though there was a hint of sadness and pain in it. "Makes it easy
for all those foolish humans out there that think they can play God."

"People aren't things! Your words are blasphemy against the Creator!"
The girl said. "You're going to incur Heaven's wrath."

"Too late for that." Edward said. "I incurred the 'Heaven's wrath' a long time
ago, and now he just likes to toy with me."

Al looked at his brother. His brother only ever spoke of God when they were
in private. It was strange to hear him say something like that with all these
people around.

Edward looked shock for a moment, before sitting up straight and

smirking. He chuckled for a moment. "Alchemists are scientists, you see.
We don't believe in creators, and God, and such."

The girl frowned and glared at Ed.

"We lay bare the creative principles of this world, and pursue truth."
The statue of Leto was shown as Ed continued. "It's ironic that we
scientists, who do not need God, are in a certain sense the closets ones to
being gods."

"Are you saying you're on the same level as God? Such hubris." The girl
shouted.

"Hubris, huh?" Ed said, resting his leg on his knee. "Now that you
mention it, it was in some myth somewhere." Al was shown on half the
scene, and for being just a suit of armor, he had quite a dark look
showing. "There was a hero, who got too close to the sun, and his wings,
made of hardened wax, were torn off, and he was thrust down to Earth."

"Referring to Human Transmutation?" Mustang asked.

"We think we can play gods because of that, but when we try, we are thrown
back down to Earth to face the reality that we are just humans and we can't
make people." Edward murmured.

Edward opened his eyes and looked out of the corner them at his
brother. "Right, Al?"

"That is the cold hard truth we had to learn the hard way." Al muttered
quietly, voice filled with hidden pain.

"Brother."
Edward jumped off the bench. "Miss, do you think that Leto will even
save a scientist, such as myself," He gave a bow to the girl. "Who thinks
what I just said?"

The girl clapped her hands in front of her excitedly. "Of course. He will
accept your repentance at any time."

"What was the point of saying that?" Karley asked. "You aren't going to go
through it."

"When I have jobs like this, the best thing to do is find someone who I can
use to help me get where I need. Someone like Rose, who was completely
devoted to Leto and didn't see the bad in the world, was the perfect person to
help me." Edward replied.

"And you say I manipulate people." Mustang said.

Edward rolled his eyes. "I never said that I didn't. I will fully admit I
manipulate people around me to help me with something, but at the same, I
help them out. I needed her to see the truth that her loved one wasn't
returning; otherwise she would never be able to move on with her life."

"So you use them, but repay them back somehow?" Kain asked.

"Course. I'm not a complete bastard like Mustang." Edward said.

Mustang twitched. "Damn brat."

"Father, there are some people here who wish to see you."

Cornello was shown looking out the window of his office with one of his
followers behind him.

"A child, and someone in a suit of armor. They gave their names as the
Elric brothers."

"I'm busy. Have them leave–no, wait." He put a hand on his chin,
thoughtfully. "Did you say the Elric brothers?"
"Yes, that's what they called themselves."

Cornello's hand moved to hit his forehead. "This is bad. He's the
Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric."

"What's so bad about that?" Havoc asked. "What if you really were there for a
visit to convert?"

"Fullmetal's name is a curse to all those against the state. They hear it, they
automatically assume he's there to arrest them. That is what he built himself
up as." Mustang said, smirking.

"It seems we can't go anywhere, Brother, without someone scared we're there
for them." Al said.

Edward grinned evilly. "Well, we usually are."

"Besides that," Hughes said. "Why the hell are you going to him directly?
Don't you ever do anything covertly?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Edward asked.

"You know, Brother, it might be less dangerous if we did it that way." Al

pointed out.

Edward shrugged. "Can't be done. Al's a suit of armor and my automail leg
gives me away. So, we only do covert when there really is no other choice."

"The man in the armor?"

"Seriously?" Edward shouted, banging his head on the ground. "Is everyone
an idiot? Appearances are not everything! These people only see what's on
the outside, not the inside!"

"Brother? What are you talking about?" Al asked confused.

"Forget it." Ed grumbled.

"Yeah, probably."
"What would a State Alchemist be doing here?" An angry look passed
the man's face. "Don't tell me they know about our plan."

"Plan?" Hughes asked.

"Hmm." Edward lifted his head off the ground. "Oh, that plan? Ah, forget
that. It was so stupid that it's not even worth mentioning."

"Is that why I didn't see anything about it in the report?" Mustang asked.

Edward nodded. "Yep, stupid. Not like it matters since you already seemed to
know about it."

"Dog of the Military." Cornello said. "Looks like your nose is pretty
sharp."

Edward snorted. "That was just luck."

The scene changed to a room made of brick. The only light in the room
were the few lanterns on the wall.

"This way, please. The Father is quite busy, and cannot make very much
time, but you are in luck."

The door to the room opened and Al, Ed, the follower, and Rose walked
in.

A grinning Ed said, "Sorry. We'll keep this as brief as we can."

"Yes, indeed."

The follower reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. "Let's bring
an end to this quickly."

Edward looked over his shoulder as the door clanged shut. As he did
that, the man spun around and pointed his gun at them. Hearing the
click of the gun, Ed looked forward again, only to have the followers
behind him throw their spears over his chest to trap him in place. Ed
stood still and glared at them out of the corner of his eye.
"Assistant Pastor, what are you doing?" Rose asked shocked.

"Rose, these people are heathens, who seek to ensnare the Father. They
are wicked."

"That definitely can't be denied." Mustang said. "At least, in reference to

Fullmetal."

"Acting the bad guy is so much fun." Edward agreed. "And Al has his own
dark side. I thought we proved this with the stories of our training as kids."

"Good point, but he still isn't as bad as you." Karley pointed out.

Ed sighed. Everyone, even Briggs, was against him.

"Oh, no!" Rose said.

"Like you said, let's end this," Edward elbowed the man on his left in the
stomach to knock him out of the way. "Quickly!" He grabbed the other
man's wrist and flipped him over his body and slammed him into the
ground.

"People really shouldn't underestimate you just because you are small." Breda
said, chuckling.

"WHO THE HELL IS SMALLER THAN A TODDLER THAT REQUIRES

HELP JUST TO REACH A CHAIR?" Edward shouted, jumping off the
ground to kill Breda, but Al just reached up and pulled him back to the
ground.

"Brother, please. He didn't mean it like that."

The follower looked shocked for a moment before Al punched him in the
face. The gun went flying from his hand and hit Rose's sandals. Rose
looked away from the gun in fear to see one of the followers running
away. Ed tossed one of the spears up to his hands with a boot and threw
it at the man, knocking him over. The spear then bounced on the ground
and hit the man in the head, knocking him out. Rose just watched all this
in shock.
"Strike!" Edward cried happily, pumping a fist in the air.

"Such a racket!" Father Cornello's voice resounded around the room.

He walked into the light as the three people still conscious turned to look
at him.

"Welcome to our sacred order, Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Father Cornello," Rose said.

"It looks like we had some rather disrespectful fellows here. I apologize
for their rudeness."

"It's no apology, looking down on us from up there." Edward retorted.

"Have you come to receive our doctrine?"

"I would like you to teach it to me, by all means. Like how you use cheap
alchemy to deceive your believers." Edward said causing Rose to look at
him, confused.

"Now, what could you mean by that?" Cornello asked. "I won't have you
equating my miraculous works with alchemy."

"Does he really believe he can fool a State Alchemist?" Miles scoffed. He

may not like alchemy, but even he knew the skill that the State Alchemists
possessed. One such as Edward, who became one at twelve, would not be
easily fooled by this man.

"Maybe he just doubts us because we're kids." Al suggested.

"Three years in the military and all the stories that travel around because of
you boys, I can't see why anyone would doubt you." Mustang said.

Cornello put his hands together and a red light filled the room. "What
do you say? Can alchemy bring this about?" He moved his hands to
show a mini statue in his hands.
Rose smiled, believing her priest greatly.

"That's the thing about it." Edward said, rubbing his head with closed
eyes. "How is it that you're able to transmute, while ignoring the laws?"

Cornello put the statue down on the railing. "Like I said, it isn't
alchemy." He cried in frustration.

"That's when I started thinking, if he were an alchemist, using an

enchanted amplifier of legend, said to be able to make the impossible
possible," Edward's eyes opened to stare at the man. "Then maybe he
could do that."

"You mean…"

"Yes, exactly. The Philosopher's Stone." His eyes narrowed on the

sparkling ring that Cornello had. "That's what that ring of yours is, isn't
it? I've been looking for that." He started walking forward.

"This is just an ordinary ring. I have been permitted by God to perform

miraculous works."

Edward, still walking forward, replied, "Are you still dissembling? It

looks like I'm just going to have to grab you, and beat it out of you."

"You appear to be quite the incorrigible heathen. Rose," Cornello said to

a horrorstricken Rose.

"Y-yes?"

"Pick up that gun lying on the floor there."

"He's not going to tell that girl to shoot you, is he?" Havoc growled.

Edward raised a brow. "Yeah, why?"

"Bastard." Havoc swore. "First, he's a false, deceiving priest. Now he is using
that to tell a little girl to shoot you. At least you don't use people like that."
"That's because we don't like killing." Al pointed out.

"People's faith should not be used against them like this." Riza said darkly.

"Huh? Okay." Rose said.

"Now shoot the Fullmetal Alchemist with it."

Ed and Al, forgetting the Father, glanced back at Rose.

"No…I can't." Rose said.

"My word is God's word. This is the will of God."

"Hmm, Reminds me of Scar when he tried to kill us." Edward said.

"Brother." Al said.

"It's true."

"Rose, shoot him."

Rose raised the gun to her chest, shaking in fear.

"What's the matter? When you lost your fiancé in an accident last year,
who was it that saved you from the very depths of despair?"

"How dare this man use a girl like this?" Armstrong said angrily.

"Bastard. Now, this is horrible manipulation." Breda said angrily.

"Why does this topic keep being brought up?" Al said.

"It's just interesting. Because we are human, we manipulate. Every single day
we manipulate those that are around us to get what we want. If we don't
manipulate, we aren't human. [1] Because of that, we find it interesting to
point out if it is horrible manipulation, like using someone's emotions to get
them to follow you then to kill someone, or manipulation like Mustang uses
to get people back on their feet." Edward explained. "The actions we take, the
things we do, everything leads someone else to do something."

"That's an interesting take on it." Izumi commented. "Yes, we manipulate

because we care or we manipulate because we wish to use people."

"You, Father Cornello." Rose replied, still trembling.

"That's right. I saved you. And what did I promise you?"

"That you would bring him back to life!" Rose shouted, and she pointed
her gun at Al.

"Er," Al waved his hands frantically. "Um, I'm not him!"

Rose lowered the gun in shock and looked at Ed.

"I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, damn it!"

"For once, that mistake was actually good." Mustang said. "If she fired, Al
would have been fine. But, Fullmetal would be dead."

"If her aim was good. Even if it was good, I think my reaction time is better."
Edward said.

"You mean, you're the one?" Cornello said shocked.

Rose repositioned her gun on Ed, who just stared at her.

"There's a gun in your face. Don't you think you should do something?"
Miles asked.

"No. She is a scared and misguided civilian." Edward replied. "As a solider,"
This surprised the soldiers as the kid never actually said it out loud that he
was a solider. "I cannot attack a civilian, even for something like this because
she is simply misguided and scared. She needs someone to help her see the
truth, not someone who will attack her. It will not gain her trust."

Mustang clenched his fist tightly. That was a great view on the soldier and
civilians. That is the view they should have all had when it was said they
would attack Ishval, which was their fault when a soldier killed a child. Yes,
it was all their fault. They should not have done what they had done. It was
their job to protect civilians. Instead, they killed them.

"I'm sorry. I have no choice but to do this." Rose said.

"He's a swindler." Ed said.

"You're wrong!" Rose shouted. "Father Cornello is going to bring him

back with his miraculous works!"

"Then shoot." Edward challenged.

"Why do you have to challenge people like this?" Mustang groaned. "You are
really going to get killed one of these days."

"This is harmless Rose. I don't challenge dangerous people," Ed retorted.

"Brother." Al said.

Ed frowned. "Okay, so I do challenge them. But….uh…" He looked at the

ceiling. "Damn, I got nothing."

"Obviously the training I put you through was not enough to get rid of your
rash streak." Izumi said.

Ed blinked. "I thought you said my flaw was my stubbornness, and now it is
my being rash."

"Flaw?" Dr. Young asked confused.

"Teacher taught us about how every human has flaws and she pointed out our
main ones." Al explained. "Then we would spend a few times each month
working on getting rid of that flaw. I absolutely hated those days."

Groaning, Ed tapped his brother's armor with his automail fist. "You and me
both, Al."

"So you weren't just their alchemy teacher?" Riza asked the woman.
"No. I taught them how to be strong and independent." Izumi replied, smiling
politely at the woman. "I trained them in martial arts, weapon use,
philosophy, alchemy, how to be independent, how to face their fears head on,
and so much more so that they would be great men one day."

"Really? They must have had to train under you for a long time." Riza
replied.

Izumi shook her head, smiling fondly at the boys. "Not at all. They were
always prodigies. They may have struggled with a few things I taught them,
but most it they caught onto real quickly."

"I really liked it when you took us on some of your trips around the country."
Edward said, grinning. "It was awesome getting to see the country."

"You see it all the time now." Mustang pointed out.

"Yeah, but back then I was just a kid fresh out of the countryside so it was
more fascinating." Edward replied.

Al nodded in agreement with his brother. "That was fun, especially meeting
all those people."

"Hahaha, yeah. Remember Dr. Swanson?" Edward asked.

"He was the one that blew up his lab in a science accident when Teacher took
us to meet him, right?" Al asked, snickering.

Mustang frowned. "Is that where you two learned to blow things up?"

Ed shrugged. "I guess you could say that."

"Anything else you two learned from that trip, boys?" Izumi demanded.

Al grimaced. "Yeah, not to blow things up around you."

"Hmm," Mustang hummed thoughtfully. "You two seem really scared of

Izumi."
"Won't deny that!" Al and Ed cried together.

Rose, shaking in fear again, pulled the gun closer to herself and pulled
the trigger. The bullet went off course and hit Al, knocking him over and
sending his helmet to the ground.

"Al."

In shock, the gun fell from Rose's hand and she screamed.

"That will do. God is pleased. Now, shoot the other one too." Cornello
said.

"Why doesn't he dirty his hands instead of making a little girl do it?" Brody
growled.

Al sat up. "What an awful thing to make your believer do." He said as
Ed picked up his head.

"What?" Cornello said.

"But your head. I thought you were…" Rose said.

"Don't worry about it." Edward said. "He's pretty solid." He knocked
against his brother's chest.

"Yeah, see." Al said, bending over so Rose could see inside the armor.

Rose covered her mouth in fear and shock as music stared to play during
the scene.

"Again, you guys get the awesome music." Havoc whined.

Al took his head from his brother and put it back on.

"An empty suit of armor!" Cornello said as Rose took a step back in fear.
"This is indeed proof that these people are wicked."

Cornello backed up from the railing. "They should be purged." He

pulled a lever on the wall down which opened a hidden door on the wall,
setting a chimera free. "Is this the first time you've ever seen a
Chimera?"

"No." Ed and Al chorused.

"First time was when I was nine and Al was eight." Ed added.

"Let me guess, Izumi introduced you to someone who created one." Brody
said.

"Close, she kicked the ass of the person who created it." Ed replied.

'Dangerous woman.' The soldiers thought.

Alphonse, a hand resting lazily on his side, and Edward, whose hands
were relaxing in his pocket, glanced at the chimera standing right next to
them. "So this is the sort of thing you do with the Philosopher's Stone?
That's just twisted."

"Do you two not know what fear is?" Karley asked.

"There is no time for such a thing. Besides, it was just a chimera." Edward
said as if it was nothing.

"Most people would find that worrying." Havoc pointed out.

Al shrugged. "We've faced worse, especially since the Colonel has sent us
after stronger alchemists then this fake Father. This was nothing compared to
them."

Rose stepped backwards.

"Anyway," Edward said, looking away from the beast with a sigh.
"Looks like I'll need a weapon." He clapped his hands and put them on
the ground. A lance sprouted up from the ground into Ed's waiting
hand.

"No transmutation circle!" Cornello said shocked. "So the State

Alchemist title isn't just for show. You truly are gifted. However…"

"Idiot." Mustang scoffed. "Every State Alchemist is talented in alchemy.

They are strong and knowledgeable in their fields. It is why they were
appointed."

The chimera lunged at Ed, who jumped back and grabbed the lance in
his right hand. He twirled it back before throwing it forward to block the
chimera's claws. The claws cut his lance apart and through his pants.

"Argh," Edward muttered.

"Well? How do you like the taste of claws that can cut through iron?"
Cornello yelled.

Edward smirked and looked up from his leg. "You shredded my pants."

"Again, only caring about his clothes." Havoc muttered.

"Nice intimidation, Fullmetal." Mustang said, smirking.

"Intimidation?" Karin asked confused.

"Yes. He shows no fear and mocks his enemy. It will irritate them and cause
them to make mistakes or run away." Mustang explained.

Riza sighed. "And here I just thought he was that reckless."

"Hey!" Ed objected. It seemed that Hawkeye changed between his and

Mustang's side when it suited her.

The chimera's claws broke off his paw. Edward kicked out with his
automail leg, sending the beast flying away from him. He left his leg in
the air, revealing the automail under the pants.

"But I guess those claws don't do so good against steel."

"Bite him to death!" Cornello shouted angrily.

The chimera charged at Edward and grabbed onto his right arm with his
claws and teeth. Edward closed his hand into a fist. "You like that, kitty?
Go on. Get a good taste." Edward slammed his flesh foot into the
chimera's chin, sending him flying back again.

"Huh." Cornello said.

"How many times has your automail saved you?" Havoc asked.

"A fair amount of times." Edward said, grabbing his right shoulder. It may
have saved him countless times, but he still preferred to have his flesh arm
back. Automail hurt a lot, especially when there was a drastic weather
change. It may be helpful, but it also had its limitations.

"Your arm…a brother who is just armor…" Cornello said. "I see. It's all
becoming clear now."

"Even he realizes the truth?" Havoc scoffed.

"That was quite surprising, considering how much of a novice he was." Al

agreed.

Edward grabbed his red jacket by its ripped side and tore it from his
body along with his black jacket and part of his shirt to reveal the
automail that went all the way up to his shoulder.

"You did it, didn't you? The one thing even the most novice alchemist
knows is strictly forbidden." Cornello shouted. Rose covered her mouth
in horror.

"Why don't you come down here and try me? I'll show you real quick
who the novice is." Edward said angrily, metal hand half raised with his
bangs covering half of his face.

Mustang smirked. "Calling Fullmetal a novice? How foolish."

"Agreed. Edward Elric is one of the strongest Alchemists that I know."

Armstrong said, nodding his head.
"No, I have to disagree." Edward said, surprising everyone. "I am only strong
and knowledgeable because of what I saw the Truth. If it wasn't for that…."

"I have to disagree." Mustang retorted. "You performed Human

Transmutation before you saw the Truth. You bonded your brother's soul to a
suit of armor while in extreme pain from losing a leg. Not many Alchemists
could do that. You are strong."

Izumi, for once, agreed with the man. "He is correct, Edward. When you
were training under me, I saw it. You and Al were great Alchemists then.
You two are really smart. You should give yourself more credit. Not all of
your skill and knowledge comes from what you saw. You are more of a
prodigy than you like to realize."

Edward glanced from the Colonel to his former teacher, but did not reply. He
certainly did not feel like he was as intelligent as they made him out to be.

Al looked happy to be included in what Izumi said. Most people only saw his
brother's alchemy as incredible. It felt really nice to be recognized as well,
but it wasn't surprising when coming from Izumi. She always treated the
brothers like equals. She taught them the same things. They had the same
knowledge that they gained from her. So of course she would see them as
both being great. As for those they met on their travels, they just saw the
Fullmetal Alchemist and his little brother, which is why he hated being
thought of us his brother. He wasn't the prodigy that everyone always talked
about. He was just the little brother. While his brother treated him like an
equal in their skills, it took a long time before people started talking about
what the Elric brothers did and not just Fullmetal.

One of Rose's purple eyes was shown, staring in shock at Edward.

"Why don't you come down here and try me? I'll show you real quick
who the novice is." Edward said angrily, metal hand half raised.

"Rose," Cornello said as Rose gasped in fear. "This is the price of their
sin. These fools attempted human transmutation," He appeared on half
the screen. "The greatest taboo for any alchemist!" Ed and Al appeared
on the other half of the screen. "In their arrogance, they tried to bring
someone dead back to life."

"Was that fool not promising those people the same thing?" General
Armstrong scoffed.

"You know, Brother, at the time I was so busy with protecting Rose and
dealing with Cornello, that I didn't even realize that." Al commented.

Ed nodded. "Same. Stupid hypocrite."

Rose appeared next, staring in horror at the three. Edward from earlier
that day faded over her, saying, "There was a hero, who got too close to
the sun, and his wings, made of hardened wax, were torn off, and he was
thrust down to Earth."

"Oh, no…" She whispered.

The screen showed Ed, slowly moving up from his arm to his face. "This
is what happens when you try to play God, or whatever you want to call
it. Take a good look, Rose. Is this what you want?"

Rose was shown staring at Ed, then Cornello appeared. "So, this is the
great Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. Not even half a man. Hell, not
even half a boy!"

"Tch, put this man in his place, Edward." Riza growled.

"Lieutenant." Mustang said surprised.

"A person is not defined by his looks or size, but by his heart." Riza said.
"Edward is every bit a man in his heart. He readily takes on the responsibility
of what he's done, never blaming anyone else for his mistakes. On the other
hand, this man is despicable, playing people for fools just for power."

Everyone looked at Ed.

"I still see a child." Brody said.

"Of course, because he is one. He acts like a child at times, but other times,
when his job requires him to do a mission or if he is helping someone, he can
be much more serious and stronger than some soldiers I know." Riza
explained.

"I guess that makes sense." Kain said.

"And what are you?" Edward retorted angrily. "You're just a phony
that can't do anything without a Philosopher's Stone."

"Father, we just want you to hand over the stone before you get hurt." Al
tried calmly.

"Tch, don't be absurd." Cornello replied. "Why? So you can use if for
yourselves? Please!" He raised his crane and put it in his left hand as the
ring started to glow again. "If you fools are so eager to play God," The
crane changed into a machine gun. "Then perhaps I should send you to
meet him instead." He raised the gun and pointed it at the kids, grinning
madly as it went off.

Mustang snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure that will work with Fullmetal's reaction
time."

"What? You're not even going to feel a tiny bit concerned for our wellbeing?"
Edward mocked.

"No, because this is in the past, and considering you are sitting right in front
of us, you didn't die because of this." Mustang retorted.

The bullets smashed into the ground, heading for the three kids. Dust
filled the air and a blue light was seen in the dust for a moment, causing
Cornello to stop and stare in confusion.

The dust cleared to show a wall was up, protecting them. "Nah, God
probably hates me, after all." Edward retorted, hand still resting on the
wall he made. "If I went there, I think he'd just turn me away."

Cornello growled as Al turned to Rose and picked her up. The Father
started to shoot at Al, who was running away to a wall.
"Al." Edward called, clapping his hands.

The exterior of the room was shown where a bunch of followers were
talking. Blue alchemical light shined on the wall as a door appeared. It
was thrown open by the two boys, hitting one of the followers in the
head.

"Why must you always make a big show of everything, Fullmetal?" Mustang
sighed. "Is this where all my damn paperwork comes from?"

"Probably." Ed replied, smirking. "Anything to make your day more

miserable, Colonel!"

"Never again!" Mustang growled. "Never again will a child be allowed to

join."

"What? Just because I love the theatricals?" Edward asked.

"Tone it down now!" Mustang growled. "Just because we're the military
doesn't mean we have an endless supply of money for you to waste."

They ran down the halls with Cornello running out of the room and
stopping. He turned to his followers. "What are you doing?! After them!
They are heathens who are trying to harm the order! Seize them!"

The followers ran down the hall, guns raised.

"What followers of Gods carry guns?" Izumi asked sarcastically.

"Well, he doesn't carry a gun, but he uses alchemy to kill State Alchemists."
Edward said, pointing at Scar.

Izumi's eyes narrowed in on the Ishvalan. "You go after Edward, and I will
personally kill you." She snarled, protective mother side coming out, causing
Ed and Al to flinch back. Why was their former teacher being so strange
when it involved them? They were kicked out!

'Scary woman.' Quite a few male soldiers thought, glad they would never get
on her bad side as long as they did nothing to harm the brothers.
"How do you think she'll react when it is shown he did attack the boys?"
Mustang asked Hawkeye.

"We will see soon enough." Hawkeye replied, subtly glaring at the Ishvalan
as well.

Ed and Al were seen running down the hall. At the end of the hall was a
group of followers with weapons, waiting for them.

"That's far enough."

"What are you going to do, boy? You're unarmed and outnumbered."

"The odds are stacked against him!" Havoc cried mockingly.

"Oh, dear, poor, poor, Fullmetal! He won't survive." Brody said sarcastically.

"As if!" A few soldiers shouted.

Havoc nodded, smirking. "Yes, Chief can easily beat down his enemies when
he is outnumbered. Not to mention," He pointed at Al. "He has his brother to
protect and help him if things do get out of hand."

"So is the kid a demon?" Avery asked amused.

Havoc, Breda, Jackson, Kain, Falman, and a few other eastern soldiers
nodded. "A real demon in fighting."

"I am not!" Edward shouted.

"Look, just come quietly. We don't want to have to rough you up."

"Those poor people." Breda moaned pitifully. "I can only imagine what Chief
will do to them."

"I am not a demon!" Edward shouted.

Edward stared at them before grinning, eyes shut happily as he clapped

his hands. He placed his left hand on his automail, laughing as it changed
into an evil looking blade. Along with the blade, his grin turned evil as
well. The soldiers stood, looking at him with slightly opened mouth.

"Demon." Quite a few soldiers muttered to a dejected Edward as the him in

the episode just betrayed him.

"Do you take pleasure in scaring people, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.

"I refuse to answer as it will somehow be used against me." Edward muttered
pitifully before going to mumble about how everyone was against him and he
wasn't that bad of a was wrong with scaring people a bit anyway?

"So, Al, when was the demon in Edward born?" Hughes asked cheerfully,
amused by the situation in the episode.

"The day brother was born." Al replied wittily.

Edward kicked his brother with his flesh foot as he never put his boots,
jacket, or gloves back on after Izumi took them off earlier. "Traitor." He
grumbled.

"Come, brother. Be honest with yourself. You were always causing some
type of trouble when we were in Resembool." Al said, chuckling slightly.

Ed snorted. "Like you were any different, Al."

"I was never as bad as you." Al retorted.

"Ha! You don't deny that you are a demon!" Ed cheered.

"Again, I am nowhere near as bad as you." Al retorted. "And how was I

supposed to grow up with a demon for an older brother?"

"What exactly did you two do as kids?" Avery sweat dropped. Weren't the
stories that they shared with them about the time they had with their Teacher
bad enough? What else did they do?

The brothers glanced at each other, then at Avery. "You don't need to know."
The followers screamed in fear. They were seen flying through the air as
they were beaten up.

"Don't get careless, just because he's a child." A follower from another
group said.

As he finished talking, Al ran around the corner, kicking the man in the
head as he continued to run with a screaming Rose. The brothers left a
trail of unconscious bodies behind them as Ed laughed.

"Really, you were laughing?" Liran asked.

Edward shrugged. "Well, it was a really amusing situation since it wasn't all
that dangerous. I was having fun."

"It's because you got to brawl with all those people, isn't it?" Al asked.

An evil grin spread across Ed's face. "Brawling is fun, Al. You should try it."

"I do since I am always with you!" Al cried. "You drag me into enough fights
as it is."

"Well, talking never gets us anywhere."

"Because you never let it get anyway." Al retorted. "You are so rash that you
just start hitting people when they don't answer you the first time!"

"We don't have time to wait around for them to gain some balls to answer a
simple question." Edward growled.

The bell tower was shown, but the bell was missing from it. "What do
you think of Cornello now, Rose?" Al's voice asked.

There was a clanging sound as Al put down the bell on the tower the two
were on.

"He just opened fired. He didn't care that you were in the way." Al said
as he worked with the bell.
"But…that's because…"

"Are they really that blind?" Brody groaned.

"Sure are. It was getting really annoying with how much she kept trying to
defend him." Edward grumbled.

"You aren't even there!" Havoc shouted, pointing at the screen where there
was no sight of Edward.

"Where are you?" Miles asked curiously.

Al chuckled. "Planning something evil."

"It was not evil. It was my act of goodwill for the day." Ed retorted.

"You need more than one act of goodwill a day to make up for all the trouble
you cause." Mustang replied, smirking in amusement when the boy shot him
a death glare that promised him a very painful death.

"What he said back there is true, isn't it?" Rose asked, looking away
from Al.

Al paused in his work. "We're not evil. All we wanted was to see our
mom smile again."

The screen changed to the creature the boys made and Al, a suit of
armor, kneeling next to his limbless and bloody brother.

"But our transmutation failed. It didn't even have a human form."

Rose gasped as the wind began to blow around them.

"We learned our mistake the hard way. People don't come back from the
dead, not ever."

"That's not true. I mean…"

"How idiotic." Ed growled, not hearing about this conversation before. "It's
all the same thing. The only way to attempt to bring back the dead is human
transmutation, and that always fails. How much more clearer did I have to
make it for her?"

"Should you really be talking? You were just as desperate for the warmth of
your mother back as she was for her loved one." Mustang pointed out.

"And we learned the hard way." Edward whispered.

"Alchemy is based on the law of equivalent exchange. The price of even a

failed human transmutation was enormous. It cost my brother his left
leg," Al reached up and removed his helmet. "And it cost me my whole
body." The blood seal was shown. "Do you see it? My brother drew that
with his own blood."

"How has that survived so long?" Sheska asked.

"Brother takes good care of it. Whenever I get wet, he spends a couple of
hours drying me off so there is no risk of water getting on the seal." Al
explained.

"Then I have to spend more hours helping you polish your armor so you don't
rust." Edward mumbled.

"You take better care of my armor then you do with your own automail." Al
said. "Winry is going to kill you if you don't start taking better care of it."

"Right, right."

Rose stared in horror at the blood seal.

"His leg had been taken. He was bleeding. I can't imagine the pain he
was in. But through all that, he still gave up his right arm to transmute
my soul and bonded me to this suit of armor." Al finished as he put his
helmet back on.

Edward punched his brother's chest with his automail fist. Ever since he got
his automail limbs and Al was put in that armor, that was the sign of affection
they used. It was their way of saying that everything was okay and that they
still had each other.

Slowly, his hand uncurled so his palm was resting on the armor. Neither one
of them could feel this pressure or the cold armor which is why Ed used his
automail when he was being affectionate with Al.

There were flashes of scenes of the blood seal being drawn, Ed's
bandaged stump of a left leg, and a crying Ed clapping his hands before
the scene went back to Al finishing the transmutation circle he was
drawing.

"Now, I just want to help him get his body back to the way it was. He
wants to find a way to get me back to normal too." Rose was shown as Al
continued. "It won't be easy. We might even get killed along the way.
But, that's the path we chose." Al reappeared on the screen. "All we can
do is keep moving."

"Did you realize from the beginning when you joined the military that you
might die or was that knowledge you learned from your first few missions?"
Mustang asked curiously.

"It was something we realized after we met you." Edward replied darkly,
clenching his automail hand into a fist. "We face death's door during the
transmutation. We barely escaped then. We know we might die next time. It
is the cold truth that we had to mentally prepare ourselves for before I even
appeared in front of you a year later."

"But Father Cornello said…" Al looked up at Rose, shocked to see her

trembling. "He said he can do it. He promised me. Just because you and
your brother failed, that doesn't mean…it doesn't mean he will!"

"Argh, how foolish!" Edward groaned, pulling at his hair in frustration.

"What else did I have to say to get it through to her?"

The scene changed to an office. A black boot was seen on the screen of
the office as Cornello ran past the opened door. He came back a moment
later and stopped in the doorway.
"Kid…" Cornello said as the screen changed to show Ed sitting on the
desk in the office with his legs crossed. "Say your prayers!"

"Mister, let's speak frankly here." Edward said. "I just want to know the
secrets of that stone. Or, should I request that the military be called in to
investigate the stone?"

"You called us in anyway." Havoc pointed out. "So did he not agree to your
terms?"

"No, he did, but I lied." Ed replied, grinning.

"I thought you had a thing about honoring your deal and promises." Havoc
mumbled.

"I do, but there was loophole here. I said 'investigate the stone.' I called the
military there, but not for the stone." Edward explained.

"Devious brat." Buccaneer said, smirking. He could appreciate the devious

mind of fellow soldiers. It could be quite helpful at times.

Cornello growled before closing the door. "Very well."

Edward grinned. "You can do anything with the Philosopher's Stone,

right? So why waste all that power performing phony miracles?"

"Because with each miracle, I can attract new believers to the order.
Believers who would lay down their lives for my sake. I am slowly
building an army, a legion of holy warriors, not afraid to die." Edward
watched the man, leaning his head on his automail fist, unimpressed. "In
a few more years, I'll be ready to release this mindless horde upon the
world," Cornello was shown, eyes glowing evilly. "And I'll use the
Philosopher's Stone to tear this country apart. Who knows? I may even
carve out a slice for you. Hahaha."

"Even if they aren't afraid to die, they would be no match for the military."
Brody growled. "We are trained soldiers. They are just civilians."

"He wasn't the smartest guy I ever met." Edward agreed. "Which is why I
saw it was an idiotic plan, not worth even thinking about. It wouldn't have
been hard to take a novice like him out."

Edward leaned back, throwing his automail hand on the desk.

"Hahahaha."

Cornello paused, staring at the boy. "Wait, what are you laughing
about?"

Edward stopped laughing, one eye shut and grinning. "I knew it. You
really are a novice, aren't you?" He lifted his hand to reveal a switch that
was on. Cornello stared at it, then looked down at the microphone on the
floor.

"You don't mean…!" He shouted as his voice echoed throughout the city.

"That's how you revealed the plot to him?" Havoc asked, grinning.

"You went ahead and let him tell them everything! Perfect!" Brody cried,
laughing. "He subjected himself to his own personal hell."

"Course, because as Rose proved, none of them would have listened

otherwise." Edward said, sighing. "And if I didn't reveal it to them and just
sent the military in there without them believing the truth…"

"It would have caused more hatred for the military." Mustang finished. "And
possibly, another bloodbath."

Edward nodded. "We don't need any more deaths in this country that is just
full of war." He snorted. "With all those damn wars, it's like this country was
founded for the sole purpose of causing bloodbaths."

"Wait," Hughes whispered to Mustang. "Are you saying that they don't know
about the trouble happening in Liore?"

Mustang shook his head.

"You can't keep that from them." Hughes hissed.

"I won't tell them what is going on." Mustang growled. "They'll just get
upset."

"And what if it is shown during this? They'll find and be angry at you for not
telling them." Hughes argued.

Mustang glared at him. "If, and that's a big If, it's shown, I will deal with it
when it happens."

Hughes frowned, but didn't argue anymore as he leaned back in his seat,
upset with his friend.

Al was shown holding the speaker he transmuted. "There were never

any miracles, Rose. He lied to you. He lied to everyone."

"Why, you…!" Cornello's voice shouted.

A house with an old lady and a young lady were showed. "How long…
how long has that been on?" The screen showed his followers in the hall,
staring at the roof in shock.

"From the start." Ed's voice said. The food stand from earlier was shown
with the vender and customers staring in shock at the radio. The vendor
was so shocked that he didn't even know that he was over pouring a
mug. "Your believers heard every word."

A scene of people staring at the sky in shock was shown. "How could
you?"

"He's a demon child." Avery said blandly. "It's not surprising at all."

Cornello was shown to be holding his crane. "You'll pay dearly for this."
He put his other hand on the crane and changed it into a machine gun
again.

Edward was already on his feet and changing his arm into his signature
blade. "Sorry, not today!" He sliced through the gun. Edward was
shown, glaring at the man out of the corner of his eyes with metal flying
around in front of him. "Just face it. You're outclassed here."
The part of the gun that was cut off fell to the ground behind Edward.

"I am without rival." Cornello shouted. He put his hand on the part of
the gun left and a red light filled the room.

Mustang put a hand to his forehead as if he was in pain. "What an idiot. Do

you deal with people like this often, Fullmetal?"

"Too often for my liking which is why I say I hate your pointless missions."
Ed growled.

Edward flipped backwards to get away from the man, landing on his
knees. The red light grew before blasting throughout the room. When it
disappeared, Cornello's hand was mutated with the gun.

"Ooh, that looks painful." Sheska moaned. She knew the dangers of alchemy,
but this just looked absolutely horrible. She would never want to risk it to
learn the science.

"I-it's a rebound." Edward said.

Cornello grabbed his mutated hand. "No, I won't be disgraced like this.
Now boy…" The room was filled with a dark red light, shadowing the
Father in it. "I am…the Emissary of the Son God, Leto."

Edward stared up in horror as the man grew in height and build.

The two burst threw a stone wall in the church. Ed flipped backwards
again to get away from the man. The Father slammed his feet in the
ground and lifted his arm to punch Ed. Edward dodged to the right
before flipping away again. He looked to the side just in time to see the
man's hand coming to punch him. His automail hand came up to block
the giant fists.

"That just shouldn't be possible." Charlie said. How can a little automail arm
stop that giant fist?

"My word is the word of God. My fist is the fist of God." Cornello said.
"Arrogant much." Avery scoffed.

"Fist of God my foot!" Ed retorted, pushing away the giant hand, falling
to his knees for a moment before he was up and running around the
giant man. He clapped his hands as he ran. "If you want it that much,
you can have it!" He slammed his hands onto the statue of Leto. The
statue's hand sprouted forward to slam Cornello into the ground.

Edward stood at the front of the altar, frowning as he waited for the dust
to clear.

"Why the hell do you destroy everything?" Mustang cried. "That just takes
more funds from us and gives me paperwork!"

"He was trying to kill me!" Edward defended.

"That would explain why the soldiers we sent out there were saying
something about a giant stone hand being in the way in the church." Havoc
commented, chuckling slightly.

"How reckless." General Armstrong growled.

"A spectacular fight, Edward Elric!" Armstrong cried happily. "And of

course, great job in helping those people open their eyes! They really have to
thank you for all the help you provided them."

"I'll say, since once again, he went beyond what his mission was." Mustang
said, sighing.

Cornello was lying on the ground, groaning in pain when Edward's

hands grabbed his face and turned it to the side. He pulled the man
forward and slammed his head against his. "Shut up! Let me see the
Philosopher's Stone!" He shouted as Cornello grabbed his face. The red
sphere fell from the man's ring at that exact moment. It fell to the
ground as a dull red color and smashed into little pieces.

Edward, forgetting his anger, stared in shock as the stone changed to

dust and blew away. "What the hell? The stone…it's supposed to be
perfect material. How'd it just break like that?" He asked, turning back
to the priest.

"I-I don't know. I don't know anything about it. Spare me! Please! I was
wrong! Please!"

"He sure changed his tone quickly after his stone broke." Havoc scoffed.

"I think it is more likely because of Brother's recklessness and skills." Al

corrected.

"Or both." Breda suggested.

The three turned to stare at Edward and said together, "No, it was because of
Chief/Brother."

"Are you trying to insinuate something?" Edward growled.

"It's a damn fake." Edward said as he stood up with a sigh.

"Please don't! I'm helpless without the stone! S-spare me, please!"

"You mean, we went through all this, risked our lives for this one
possible chance, and it's a fake." Edward said dejected.

"So, what about me?" Cornello asked.

Edward snapped out of his dejected state to glare at the man. "I don't
care what you do, just get out of here!" He yelled angrily.

"And is that why we can't find the fake priest?" Mustang asked, frowning.
"You were supposed to arrest him, Fullmetal."

Edward threw his hands in the air in disbelief. "I am fifteen! I may be a State
Alchemist, but I don't have the skill or training to actually arrest people. What
would I even do with them after that? Do I look like I can drive?"

"Well, you might be a bit on the short side to actually drive a car…" Mustang
trailed off, smirking.
The young alchemist slowly turned around to glare at his superior with a dark
air around him. "WHO THE HELL IS SO TINY THAT HE REQUIRES A
HIGH CHAIR TO SEE OVER THE STEERING WHEEL?!"

"No contest. It is definitely you, Fullmetal." Mustang retorted.

"Oh? Then who the hell is the most useless person ever when he is wet?"
Edward retorted mockingly. "No contest. It is definitely you, Flame."

"At least I won't drown when I go swimming!" Mustang retorted.

Ed glowered. "At least I wouldn't be useless wet!"

"You would be if you were drowning."

"Oh, yes, mock the kid with automail! Real mature, Colonel Bastard!"

"Not mocking if it's true!"

"Oh, no! It's still mocking. How cruel can you be to a kid who can't even
swim anymore?"

"Brother." Al said with a sigh.

"Colonel." Hawkeye growled. "Behave."

"And there ends another Flame/Fullmetal argument." Havoc said, grinning.

"What's the score now?"

Falman smiled. "One hundred eighty two Flame/Fullmetal arguments. Flame:

One Hundred and Four Wins. Fullmetal: Seventy-eight Wins."

"You keep track?" Buccaneer asked shocked, but was smirking in

amusement.

"After the first twelve arguments, we realized they would be a common thing
and have taken to making bets on who will win." Havoc said dryly, chewing
on his cigarette.
"You're all insane." Brody said, though he was grinning.

Cornello shivered in fear and crawled away quickly.

"What about the stone?" Al's voice asked as the outside of the church
was shown.

"A phony, just like him." Edward replied as the brothers were shown
standing in front of the church.

"Oh."

Edward knocked against his brother's chest with his flesh hand. "I'm
sorry, Al. For a while there, I thought we really found a way to get your
body back."

"Give me the Philosopher's Stone!" Rose's voice shouted.

"She still doesn't get it?" Avery shouted shocked.

"What a foolish believer." Edward muttered.

Ed and Al turned around to see Rose pointing a gun at them.

"A gun? Really?" Havoc scoffed.

"You would think this whole event would show her that a single gun like that
means nothing to these two." Karin said, sighing. What else did these poor
boys have to go through?

"Rose," Al said.

"Like I was just saying, it was a fake." Edward replied. "It wasn't real.
Besides, it's shattered now."

"Liar." Rose screamed. "You want to keep it for yourself, don't you?"
The screen changed to show Ed, staring at her.

"What could she do with it anyway?" Riza asked. "She's not an alchemist. It
would just be life threatening for her to do anything with it."

"She is a foolish girl who cannot let go of her loved one." Edward said.

"You two were the same way with your mother." Avery pointed out.

"And we learned the hard way." Ed snapped for the second time before
lowering his voice. "We were saving her that pain."

"So you can use it on your bodies. That's right. And so you can try to
bring your mother back again!" Rose shouted. Her last sentence is what
caused a look of horror to fill Ed's eyes.

"You shut up!" Edward screamed, surprising Rose. His voice lowered a
notch and was now filled with noticeable pain. "People don't come back
from the dead, Rose. Not ever. Not ever."

Rose fell to her knees. "But he promised me…He said if I prayed, it

would happen. A miracle." Edward and Alphonse started walking
forward to leave. "That hope was all I had left." She lifted her face to
show tears streaming down it. "What am I supposed to believe in now?
Tell me what do." Edward walked passed her, hands shoved in his
pockets. "Please."

Edward stopped walking a few steps behind her. "I can't tell you that.
You have to figure it out." He continued following after his little brother.
"Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You got two good legs, so
use them." Tears continued to fall from Rose's eyes as she raised her
head to the sky. "You're strong enough to make your own path."

The scene faded away to nighttime where a riot was happening outside
the church.

"What's going on here?"

"Send out thee Father!"

"Have you been deceiving us?!"

"Open up!"

"Why must you always cause riots?" Mustang sighed.

"Hey, I was gone by the time this happened. All I did was reveal the truth."
Ed retorted.

Cornello walked into a dark room, holding his arm painfully. "That
damn brat. It's all but ruined, everything I worked for."

"Yes, all that hard work for nothing." A female voice said.

Cornello looked forward to see the woman and fat man from the end of
the first episode. "I knew we should have just incited a little rebellion."
The female continued.

"You…" Cornello said.

The woman stood up from sitting on the man's back.

"I'm hungry, Lust." The man said, talking to the female. "Can I eat this
old man? He's big and fat."

"Lust?" Ed asked, frowning. "As in one of the seven deadly sins of humans?"

"What does it matter?" Mustang asked.

Edward shrugged. "It doesn't really, but I remember reading some of my

bastard father's notes and saw something written about the seven deadly sins
in it. Do you remember what it was about, Al?"

Al shook his head. "No, Brother. Remember, it was in that ancient language.
We were still only learning it when we came across those notes. When we
finally understood enough of the language, we never went back to the notes."

"Too bad. I really wanted to know what they said." Ed said, sighing.

"Not this one, Gluttony." Lust replied.

"Great, I think we should have went back to those notes, Al." Ed growled.
"They must have something to do with these people."

"But Brother, these people look young and those notes looked really old.
Why would they have a connection?" Al asked confused.

Ed's eyes narrowed in on the people on the screen. "Call it a gut feeling. I got
a bad feeling about these peoples. I mean, what person asks to eat another
human so eagerly? It's strange."

"Maybe this is what V.H. was referring to." Izumi mused.

"We don't want you getting indigestion."

"Now you two. Everyone has mocked me." Cornello said, pulling a gun
from his mutated arm.

Before he could fire, there was spear shoved through is skull. The spear
was traced back to Lust's finger.

"That isn't normal." Ed growled.

"Brother, forget the notes!" Al cried.

"I can't, not knowing that they could possibly have the answers to this!" Ed
retorted.

"Well, where are these notes?" Maes asked.

Ed and Al looked at each other, then back to the screen, not answering. It was
no one's business about what happened to their house. That was private
family business.

Gluttony stood up and approached the man. Cornello's eyes focused in

on the tattoo on Lust's chest. "I say this concludes our business." Lust
yanked her hand back. Blood sprouted from Cornello's head as he
collapsed to the ground. "Just when things were beginning to look
promising, too. Now I suppose we'll have to start over from scratch."
Gluttony kneeled down and picked up Cornello's head.

"Father won't be pleased. In any case, it's time we started thinking about
our next move." As she said this, an evil look passed Gluttony's face as
his mouth started to drool and he moved forward to eat Cornello.

"And that is what happens to him." Ed said.

"But, that's not possible!" Skylak shouted, glancing at his friends.

"Yeah, we saw Cornello in Liore when we were sent there after you
returned." Rufus said, frowning.

Brosh blinked. "But, he was just killed."

"The only way that wacko would still be there was if there was a shape-
shifter among those freaks." Edward said, laughing.

"After what we just saw, that doesn't seem as farfetched as you think,
Edward." Riza replied, frowning.

Ed's laugh died in his throat as he frowned darkly. "I sincerely hope you are
wrong, Lieutenant Riza. A shape shifting monster would be deadly. After all,
how many of us could actually attack the monster when he looks like
someone dear to us?"

"Would they really do something like that to win?" Hughes asked darkly.

"You saw it!" Edward snarled. "They are trying to cause a rebellion in Liore.
They don't care that people have to die for that cause. Anything to achieve
their means, and they'll do it. That's what they are: monsters."

"We don't even know what they are yet." Mustang pointed out.

Ed shook his head. "We don't have to. You saw those strange powers they
had. They killed without a single thought. They are monsters."

Havoc frowned and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "We've
killed without thinking too." He motioned to all the soldiers. "Does that make
us monsters?"

"Do you have strange powers like them? Do you feel guilty taking the life of
people, knowing they too have family and friends waiting for them?" Edward
retorted, glaring at his friend and the soldiers who agreed with Havoc. "Do
you desperately try to protect your comrades when out there fighting? You
do, because you are human. You may not think when pulling the trigger
because your survival instincts take over, but later, you think about it. These
monsters, they don't. I'd bet my life on it. There is something evil about
them."

A/N: [1] I just remembered. On the first day of my psychology class, my

teacher told us this. We manipulate everyone around us for everything
we do.
*Chapter 4*: Episode 4: An Alchemist's
Anguish
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 4: An Alchemist's Anguish

"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and

reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is
impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain
something, something of equal value must be paid. This is the law of
equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy. Alchemists have a taboo, and it
is human transmutation. It is that which no one must commit."

After the opening song the title screen came up right away. "An
Alchemist's Anguish."

"Well, I can already tell that this is going to be a bad episode." Hughes
commented, frowning at the title.

The scene changed to a night sky with a big full moon in it. Brigadier
General Grand was shown walking down the night street when he
paused with a frown when he saw a man standing in front of him.

"You're the Iron Blood Alchemist, Basque Grand, right?" The man
asked.
"What? Scar is being introduced before us?" Havoc grumbled.

"You know you are pouting about a mass murderer being introduced before
you, right?" Ed asked incredulously.

Havoc stared at his young boss for a moment before blushing. "Whoops. I got
too into the show."

"You know this is about our lives, right? It isn't fiction." Breda pointed out.

"I know, but Chief makes it so entertaining that I just forget." Havoc argued,
shooting his boss an accusing glare.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I am so deeply sorry."

"You might want to be less sarcastic when you apologize, Fullmetal." Luke, a
Briggs soldier, said amused.

"Who are you?" Grand demanded as Scar's hand was raised.

"Foolish Alchemists who have turned their backs on the ways of God,"
Scar's hand tensed, ready for the attack. "Shall all be punished."

"I see." Grand said as he put his gauntlets on. "You must be the blood
thirsty murderer whose been making a habit to of targeting State
Alchemists lately." He raised his hands up. "Well, this time," He swung
his arms out then back together as he clashed his knuckles together.
"You picked the wrong target!"

Grand slammed his hand on the ground to create multiple cannons that
fired at Scar. Scar easily dodged all the bombs as he charged at Grand.

"You're fast. Try this!" Grand threw another hand on the ground that
caused chains to sprout from the ground and at Scar, who once again,
dodged. "A little more!" This time, Grand caused iron walls to sprout up
to trap Scar.

Gran stood up, smirking. "Hmph, that wasn't so difficult." He said as he

approached his walls. The moment he was standing in front of it, there
was a blast and a hole appeared in the wall, surprising Grand. When the
smoke from it disappeared, Scar's hand was gripping Grand's face.

"What? No!" Grand said. "How?"

"Now you perish." Scar said. There was a flash of alchemical light before
blood squirted from Grand's body and he fell over dead.

"He was killed so easily." Mustang said in shock.

"So, that's it, huh?" General Armstrong growled, glaring at Scar. "That is how
you've been killing our State Alchemists?"

"Yes." Scar answered without remorse.

"Ha! If they are defeated so easily, then they were not deserving of their
titles." General Armstrong said.

Ed raised a brow. "Isn't that a bit cold-hearted?"

"We're from Briggs, kid. Do you know what our motto is?" Miles asked.

"How could I? I've never been there." Edward replied.

"It's survival of the fittest. Didn't you learn anything on that island?" Izumi
growled.

Edward frowned. "How was I to know? Living on an island and living in the
north are two different things!"

"Yes, that is it. Only the strong survive." Miles told the brothers, though he
was confused about the island thing. "If you're weak, you die. If you're
strong, you'll survive. We don't condone this senseless murder, not at all, but
that is our motto. It's what we live by up there."

Ed raised a brow. "Oh? Then what about helping your comrades who need
help? Will you ignore them because they are too weak to survive on their
own?"
"Brother," Al pleaded.

"What? I'm genuinely curious about this." Ed said.

Miles smirked. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

"What?" Ed asked confused.

"Well, if we're here, it means someone comes north and tells us what is
happening. When that happens, you'll see just how we operate at Briggs."
Miles replied.

Edward scowled. "Great, more waiting."

Scar faded away as the full moon was shown once more.

"Another State Alchemist dead." Hughes voice said as the scene moved
down to the road where Grand lay covered with a tarp.

"This killer is highly skilled." Armstrong said.

"Major, you watch yourself." Hughes said as he put the tarp down after
checking the body. "For all we know, you could be the next one he comes
after."

"Understood." Armstrong said as a car pulled up next to the sidewalk.

As King Bradley got out of the car, all the soldiers turned around and
saluted him.

"Fuhrer King Bradley, Your Excellency, what brings you here?" Hughes
asked.

Bradley approached the soldiers, stopping in front of Grand's body. "I

got word of what happened." He said. "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes,
you're the officer in charge of this case?"

"Yes sir." Hughes said.

"Should you need any additional personnel, just ask." Bradley said. "The
man doing this is a traitor. I want him stopped."

Scar almost snorted at that. Traitor? Not likely. He was never a part of this
country, and he was never going to join it. It was a rotten country that needed
purged.

"Sir." Hughes said.

The scene changed to the exterior of Eastern Command Center before

going to Hawkeye who was writing something down on her work. She
held up some papers. "Lieutenant Breda," She said.

"At long last, we appear!" Havoc cheered, grinning in a silly manner.

"Right." Breda replied, taking the papers from her. "Jeez, the Colonel
sure is letting his work pile up again."

"How the hell did someone as lazy as you get to be Colonel?" General
Armstrong growled. Damn this slacker for getting so high up the ranks.

"Just like you to push your work on your subordinates." Edward snorted.

"What was that, Fullmetal?" Mustang growled. "This is mostly because of

you. Why don't I assign you to office duty for a month so you can see how
much trouble you cause?"

Ed frowned. "No thanks. I'm busy enough as it is. Besides, Section 8, Article
12: 'A State Alchemist's research takes precedence unless otherwise ordered
by a superior officer.'"

"And I'm your superior." Mustang retorted.

"Ah, ah, ah." Edward taunted. "Section 8, Article 13: 'If A State Alchemist's
research is vital and life threatening, the State Alchemist can ignore a
superior officer's order if he is of equal status or below the rank of Brigadier
General.'"

"I thought you didn't read the book I gave you." Mustang growled. "And it's
not life threatening."

"I glanced at it, I said." Ed retorted. "And, it kind of is life threatening. We

don't know where Al's body is. We just think it's in the gate somewhere, and
who knows what is happening to it there! I don't have time to waste at a
desk."

"Just you wait, Fullmetal." Mustang snarled.

"Ooh, is that a threat?" Ed taunted.

"Would you two behave?" Riza snapped, wishing she had her gun once more.

Breda sat back down and looked at his friend sitting next to him.
"Havoc, give me a hand, will you?"

"I got plenty to do over here already." Havoc replied. A file of Yoki
appeared on the screen. "Next up. Who's this?"

"Lieutenant Yoki." Falman replied without looking up from his work.

"Remember? The crook who was using the Youswell coal mines
concession to line his own pockets. Anyway, the Elric brothers exposed
what that dirty thief was up to and now he's on the run."

"Hmm, Al, do you remember that case?" Ed asked.

"Not really, brother. Where is the Youswell coal mine again?" Al asked.

Ed scratched his head. "I don't know. Somewhere out east is all I recall.
Guess it was unimportant."

"You ruined a soldier's life by doing that and you say it is unimportant?"
Karley asked amused.

Edward blinked. "I ruin crooks' lives all the time. I can't be expected to keep
track of them all."

"That may be, but they will never forget you." Mustang sighed. Honestly,
with all the enemies Fullmetal made, it was a surprise he was still alive.
Fuery was seen tempering with a radio, trying to fix it.

"Master Sergeant Fuery, how's the radio coming?" Hawkeye asked.

Fuery sat up, touching one hand to his headphones. "The receiver on this
thing has seen better days. I think I'm going to have to replace it."

There was a clap and a gloved hand appeared on the screen, touching the
radio. In a flash of alchemical light, the radio looked brand new. Fuery
turned to his left, looking surprise when he saw a smirking Edward and
Al standing there.

"Hey, it's Edward and Alphonse." Fuery said.

"It's almost like you planned that entrance." Brody said, smirking.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yes, because when I am involved, nothing can ever just
be a coincidence."

"So, you admit it!" Havoc cried.

Ed bowed his head in defeat. "I can't take much more of this."

"Welcome back, boys." Hawkeye said. "Go on in. The Colonel's

expecting you."

An unpleasant look crossed Ed's face.

Mustang appeared on the screen. "Well done on the Liore case, you two.
Nice work. I appreciate you resolving the matter."

Ed and Al were sitting on a couch in the office. The older brother had his
chin resting on one his hands with his eyes shut. "No big deal. It's not
like we did it for you." Ed replied.

"Right. The Philosopher's Stone." At his words, Ed sat up straight and

opened his eyes. "Another false lead?"

The screen changed to Mustang, then to Ed, who was staring at his
superior. He sighed and turned to look at the ground. "Yeah, after all
that, the stone was a fake. Even so, the power it gave Cornello was real
enough." He put a hand on his chin, thoughtfully. "He transmuted this
huge Chimera right in front of us."

Mustang leaned back in his chair.

"I still wonder how he was able to use the stone to do that." Al said. "I'm
not familiar enough with the field of bio-alchemy to really understand
it."

Ed removed his hand from his chin and looked at his brother. "Yeah,
I'm kind of curious about that too. It might be worth looking into. Who
knows? Maybe we'll find something to help restore our bodies."

"Mm-hmm." Al replied.

Mustang closed his eyes briefly before opening his drawer and pulling
out a file. "It might help if you consulted a specialist." Ed and Al stared
at him confused. "The Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker."

"Argh, damn it. Do we really have to relive this again?" Edward growled.

"Yeah, it was hard enough the first time." Al agreed, frowning on the inside.
He knew this case was particular hard on his brother. His brother never said
it, but Al saw that he had nightmares. And he just knew that this case added
to them.

"I know you two never got over this, but surely you can stand to see it
happen." Havoc said.

"No, we can't." Ed snapped. "If I see this, I'll just see all the mistakes of
where it went wrong and what I missed. I'll see it then I'll feel even worse for
not being able to save her when I should have been able to."

"What happened?" Miles asked.

Ed would have replied wittily to get back at the major for earlier, but he just
didn't have the heart to do so, not when it was this case. "As Lieutenant Riza
said after it happened, the devil's work."

"He's done some heavy research with Chimera transmutation. I'll

introduce you." Mustang said.

"You'd do that for us?" Al asked.

Edward blinked once before jumping to his feet and pointing at

Mustang. "Okay, what's the catch? You want something, don't you?"

Mustang put his hands on his desk and leaned forward. "Don't doubt my
motives. I'm trying to repay you for the work on the Liore case."

"Wasn't that just his job though?" Karley asked confused. "Why do you have
to repay him for doing his job?"

"That's just the relationship the Colonel and Chief have." Breda replied.

"Everything they do for the other has to be repaired or the debt just gets
longer." Havoc added.

"They make it so difficult that not even I can keep track of which one of them
owes the other something." Al said, sighing. It really was that confusing with
the two of them. It was like they didn't want anyone to keep track of anything
they did for one another.

"Doing you a favor is better than being indebted to you."

The scene changed to look out over the city as Mustang's voice said,
"Two years ago, Tucker successfully transmuted a Chimera that could
understand human speech." A military car was shown with boys and
Mustang in it. "And earned his qualifications as a State Alchemist."

"Understand human speech?" Ed asked. "You mean, it talks? A

Chimera?"

"Yeah, supposedly, it spoke." Mustang replied, looking up from the file.

"It said just one thing." A chimera sitting under a spotlight was show.
"'I want to die.' After that, it refused to eat anything, and died."
Ring! Ring!

Mustang pulled the string to bell while Ed and Al stood behind him.

"What a huge house." Ed said, looking up at the house. A shadow passed

over him before a dog landed on him, causing him to scream. Ed was
lying facedown on the ground with the dog sitting on his back.

Havoc, Breda, and many other soldiers laughed at Ed's misfortune.

"That dog must really love you, Edward." Riza said, chuckling slight while
Ed scowled.

"What is it with dogs and me?" He muttered.

"I can't believe a State Alchemist lost to a dog." Buccaneer said, grinning at
the kid.

Edward shot him a glare, but refused to reply. His spirit just wasn't in it. He
just wanted to get through this part with Nina and Tucker as quickly as
possible.

The door to the house was opened by a cute little girl. "Lots of visitors."
She said.

A man came up behind the girl and put a hand gently on her back.

At the sight of Tucker, Edward snarled silently to himself. He could never

forgive that man for what he did to his own family. Family was a precious
thing, and he threw it all away for power, respect, and to be a State
Alchemists. This man disgusted him.

Beside him, Al was feeling the same anger as his brother. He just couldn't
show it. They both enjoyed their time with Nina. Despite what brother said,
he really did enjoy playing with little kids and making them happy. Both of
them did, so it hurt a lot when they couldn't protect their new little friend.

"What's got the kid so mad?" Buccaneer asked, nodding to the Edward.
Havoc sighed. It was really sad what had happened. "You'll see soon
enough."

"Nina, you have to keep the dog tied up." Tucker said.

Ed was shown still lying on the ground with a panting dog on him before
the inside of the house was shown to be a cluttered mess.

"Ah. Sorry about this." Tucker said. "Ever since my wife ran out on me,
the house has been like this."

Edward clenched his fists tightly. Ran out, his ass. He knew what it was like
to have a parent to run out. It hurt a lot, but it hurt even more to learn that she
didn't run out. No, she was probably a good mother and wanted nothing more
than to protect her daughter from her deranged husband.

Tucker put down some tea in front of his guests before sitting opposite of
them at the table. "Once again, it's a pleasure to meet you, Edward. I'm
the Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker."

Edward snorted. Why the hell did this guy have to be so good at lying? If
only he had seen the truth, then he could have saved Nina. There was no
reason why an innocent little girl had to go through such pain at that young of
an age.

Mustang motioned to Ed. "He is interested in transmuting living things.

He says he would love to have a look at your research."

"Sure, I don't mind." Tucker said. Ed and Al looked at each other

happily before Tucker continued, "However, if you want to see what I
have up my sleeve, I'll have to see what you've got up your sleeve, too.
That's what it is to be an alchemist. Why are you interested in
transmuting living things?"

"Oh, uh, he's…" Mustang said, not sure of what to say.

Ed raised a hand to stop his superior. "Colonel."

Nina was shown to be outside under a tree with her dog, making a flower
crown.

"You transmuted your mother? As an eleven year old child?" Tucker

asked shocked.

Edward was shown to be standing in the kitchen with his jackets off to
show his automail arm with his eyes shut.

"I see, so that's what earned you're the title 'Fullmetal Alchemist.'
You've had a rough time of it for someone so young."

Edward collapsed back into his chair.

Tucker sighed and stood up. "I don't know if it will be of any use to you
or not, but why don't I have you look at my laboratory?"

There were the sounds of growls of the Chimeras that Tucker had in his
laboratory as it was shown.

"Woah." Al said.

"Oh, how embarrassing." Tucker said as the room was shown completely
to show Ed and Al staring at the bookshelf while Mustang had his back
to all of them. "I'm popularly regarded as some authority on Chimeras,
but the truth is, it hasn't been going all that well."

"And there it is." Ed mumbled to Al.

"The first hint that something was wrong." Al nodded in agreement with his
brother. Both would forever feel guilty for not being able to save her.

A pair of doors was opened to a dark room, then a light was turned up to
reveal a library.

"Oh, amazing." Ed said.

"Do you love books that much?" Karin asked amused.

"Of course! I love books!" Edward said.

Havoc rolled his eyes. "Yes, we know. How many times have we gotten calls
at the office saying that a certain alchemist was holed up in the library all
night?"

"It hasn't been that many seeing as how I travel mostly." Edward grumbled.

"This is my materials room. Feel free to look around." Tucker said.

Edward looked up at the bookshelf. "All right, I'll start with this shelf."

Al pointed to the shelf he was in front of. "Then, I'll start over here." He
said as Ed already grabbed a book and opened it.

"I'm going back to work. I'll send someone by for you this evening."
Mustang told the boys, only to be ignored as the boys were already
absorbed in their books. He sighed as he was ignored.

"They have incredible focus, don't they?" Tucker asked, smiling.

"They've already shut out the voices around them." He pushed his
glasses up. "There are prodigies out there, huh?"

"You really shouldn't lose your attention of the outside world like that."
Izumi growled, crossing her arms and glaring at the boys. "What if someone
were to come and try to kill you while you were focused like that?"

Al leaned over to whisper to his brother, "Why does she keep lecturing us?
Weren't we expelled?"

"I have no idea." Edward replied. "I can't even figure out how we are
supposed to act around her now."

"I know." Al agreed, nodding his head.

The screen faded to black, then lit up again to show a clock ticking.
Edward was sitting on the floor with a bunch of books piles surrounding
him with one in his hand.

"Damn Chief, it's only been one day. How many books can you read in one
day?" Havoc asked shocked.
"Well, how many books are surrounding me?" Edward retorted.

"That can't be good for your eyes or back sitting there so long." Falman said,
frowning in worry about the boy's health.

Ed waved it off. "Don't worry. Al usually doesn't let me sit around reading for
too, too long. We sometimes take a break to eat or spar so I can stretch my
muscles."

"At least one of you is smart enough to care for your body." Izumi growled.

Ed shivered at the tone and leaned over to his brother. "I am more scared of
her now that she's not our Teacher since I don't know how to talk to her
anymore."

Al nodded in agreement.

Al was shown standing in front of a bookcase with a book in his hands.

Nina stuck her head around the corner of the bookcase to look at Al, who
glanced over and saw her. Nina, surprised, ducked back around the
corner, then peaked out again and smiled.

Edward was staring down at his book when he heard the laughter of a
little girl and looked up in confusion. He walked around the library to
get to where the noise was come from to see Al playing with Nina.

"Way up high! Way up high!" Al said as Ed simply stared.

"Al!" Ed shouted, stomping a foot on the ground as he grabbed Al's and

Nina's attention. "What are you doing?"

"Nina looked like she wanted to play." Al replied.

"Hey, what are we here to do?" Ed asked. As he finished his question, a

shadow passed over him again. He looked around in time to see
Alexander again as the dog jumped on him again, causing him to scream.

"That dog must really love you." Buccaneer said, smirking.

"I think he had it out for me." Ed grumbled, rubbing his sore neck.

"Brother," Al sighed. "You say that about every animal."

"Because they are always jumping on me!" Ed growled.

Hughes smirked. "They jump on you because you are so small and cuddly to
them." As he said this, he jumped off the couch he was on and grabbed the
boy from behind in a tight hug that he couldn't escape from.

"AHHH!" Edward shouted, struggling in the hold. "Let me go, Hughes!"

"But you are just so cute and small. You fit just right in my arms." Hughes
teased, holding the boy tighter.

"DAMN IT! I'M NOT A TINY LITTLE BEANSPROUT!" Edward shouted.

"Hughes, stop teasing the boy." Mustang ordered.

"Right, right. Ruin my fun." Hughes grumbled as he released the boy. And
for once, Edward silently thanked Colonel in his head.

Edward lay face down on the ground with Alexander on top of him and
licking him while Al and Nina watched.

"Alexander says he wants to play too." Nina said.

Edward lifted his head off the ground. "You've got some nerve." He
stood up as the dog was off of him. "They say that a lion uses all of his
strength to hunt even a rabbit." An angry twitch appeared in his body.
"So I, Edward Elric, will use my whole body and soul to take you on, you
beast of a dog!"

While Nina laughed, Al sweat dropped as he watched his brother fight

with a dog.

The exterior of the house was shown as Havoc's voice said, "Hey, Chief!
I'm here to pick you up."
Edward was shown to be lying on the ground with a panting dog on top
of him.

"I can't believe a Dog of the State lost to a dog." Mustang mocked, grinning
along with the other soldiers at the sight.

"That dog was damn evil." Edward grumbled.

Havoc stared down at his boss. "What are you up to down there, Ed?"

"You know what, let's just say I'm taking a break from a long day of
research." Edward grounded out.

"After all that you must be dog tired." Tucker said, causing a dark look
to cross Ed's face and Tucker to chuckle. "Why don't you come on back
tomorrow?"

"You're really going to come again?" Nina asked Al excitedly.

"We'll play some more tomorrow, kay, Nina?" Al said.

"Kay."

Ed tiredly followed his brother out of Tucker's house with Havoc

following them. The Lieutenant stopped briefly to face Tucker again.
"Ah, Mr. Tucker, I have a message from the Colonel. He says 'Don't
forget, Assessment Day is coming soon."

Al watched his brother clench his fist tightly at that. Yes, that was where it all
started to go downhill, just from that simple statement.

Ed growled. He heard the Lieutenant say that and he remembered that Tucker
said his research wasn't going well. Damn it, why didn't he notice it sooner?

"No." Ed growled and jumped to his feet. He spun around and headed to one
of the bedrooms that didn't have a hole in the wall. He just couldn't do this,
not again. The soldiers watched him leave, some feeling confused, while
some were understanding as they knew he was the one to discover this
horrible truth.
"Brother." Al said, watching him leave. Of course, his brother was having
difficulty with this. He was as well, but he didn't think his brother would run
from seeing it. Unlike Ed, Al truly couldn't feel anything, but he had his
emotions. That meant he couldn't truly feel the pain from this like his brother
was. And right now, Al would use that to his advantage because his brother
needed him.

(A/N: So you know, the following conversation between Ed and Al take

place while everyone else continues to watch the episode without them.)

*Bedroom*

Al closed the door behind him and found his brother sitting on a bed with a
pillow pulled to his chest which he had his face buried in. "Brother," He said
quietly, moving over to the bed.

At first, it seemed as if Edward didn't hear him as he didn't move an inch, but
when Al was standing right next to him, he raised his eyes slightly to show
sad golden orbs. "Al, we failed her."

"Yes, we weren't strong enough to save her." Al replied, understanding just

how his brother felt. Saying that he was wrong wouldn't help the situation
right now. "I know it was a hard truth on you, Brother. It has hurt me a lot as
well."

Ed smiled sadly. Yes, they were both feeling extremely guilty for not
noticing in time. Neither one of them was alone in this pain.

"Do you really want to hide out in here?" Al asked.

"Why wouldn't I want to?" Edward muttered. "I don't want to sit through it all
again to see just how I missed all the clues that could have stopped this."

"Brother, I know it hurts to see it all over again, but I think it might help to
see it from a different viewpoint." Al told him calmly. As much as Al wanted
to hide out too, he knew they shouldn't. They had to face it all head on.
Hiding from it wasn't going to change the fact that it happened.
Ed snorted and buried his face back in his pillow. "How would that help?"
His muffled voice asked.

"It will help us to accept this better and maybe we'll learn from the clues we
missed so we don't miss them again when dealing with other people like
this." Al suggested.

Ed's mismatched hands clutched the pillow tightly. "I know. I know you're
right." His muffled voice replied. "It's not that I'm even afraid to face it."

"Then what is it?" Al asked calmly.

"I don't want to hear it all over again." Edward replied.

"Hear what?" Al asked worriedly.

Gold eyes glanced at Al again. "What Tucker said in his lab."

Al grimaced. He hated hearing what that man said to his brother. Ed's nerves
were already strained then, but then to have to hear that, he was pushed too
far. "Brother, don't listen to that man." He replied. "He was wrong. You
would never do something like that."

"It's not that I even believe…" 'At least, I don't think I do.' "But it hurts to
have all my failures thrown at me like that, then to have Nina still talking to
us and loving her dad after he did that to her." Ed whispered. "Why did she
still love him? He destroyed her chance at life."

"He was her dad, which was all she had left since her mother was gone." Al
replied calmly, though there was some anger in his voice. "She loved him.
She didn't understand. It's that simple, Brother. You shouldn't think too
much."

"Unconditional love, eh?" Edward muttered, not really understanding since

he could never forgive his father for abandoning them.

"Please, Brother, I know it hurts, but please come back to the main room." Al
pleaded. "We shouldn't hide in here. You always face the horrors and
problems of life face on."
After a moment of hesitation, Edward nodded his head.

"Yes, please assure him I know." Tucker replied.

"Right," Havoc replied and followed the boys once more.

Tucker closed the door and bowed his head.

"Daddy," Nina asked, and when her dad looked at her, she continued.
"What's assessment?"

"State Alchemists have to report on the results of their research once a

year." A silver pocket watch was shown before it disappeared and
Tucker approached his daughter. "Last year, Dad didn't get a very good
evaluation. If I fail this year, I won't be a State Alchemist anymore."

"Huh?" Nina said. "You'll do fine, Dad! You're always studying so

much!"

Tucker kneeled and pulled Nina into a hug. "You're right. I have to try
hard…" 'Or there will be nothing left…'

"Your mother left two years ago?" Al's voice asked as the exterior of the
Tucker's house was shown the next day.

"Dad said that she went back to her parents' house." Nina replied as the
scene show Al and Ed with books in their hands.

"I see. It must be lonesome with just you and your father living by
yourself in this big house," Al said, looking at the girl while Ed's eyes
were trained on his book.

Nina, who was sitting on the floor with her back resting against her dog,
shook her head. "No, it's fine. Dad is nice to me," She turned and hugged
her dog. "And I have Alexander too! But lately, Dad has been in his lab
all the time. I am a little bit lonely."

Ed and Al were now both glancing up from their books when a scene
flashed back to when the boys were children, looking around their dad's
office door to see him working at his desk.

"That is a lonely feeling that they both share with her." Hughes said sadly.
Fathers should spend as much time as they could with their children. Kids
were precious gifts to the world and should have a lot of attention from their
parents.

Ed scoffed as he walked around the couch and back to his place on the floor.
"As if I could ever feel anything for that bastard."

"Brother," Al said softly, following after him.

"Isn't the fact that you feel hatred for your father mean you feel something for
him?" Charlie asked as none of the soldiers or Izumi wanted to comment on
Ed and Al's sudden departure and return.

"Don't call him that!"Edward shouted. "He is no father of mine."

"Someone has Daddy issues." Mustang said, but quietly so Ed wouldn't hear.
He may tease the boy, but even he knew there were some lines not to cross
and he respected that.

Back in the present, Edward closed his book and stood up. He yawned
before stretching his shoulders. "My shoulders are killing me."

"Maybe you should try to move around some, Brother." Al said.

Edward continued to roll his shoulders as he said, "Yeah, not a bad idea,
Al." He stopped rolling his shoulder to point at the dog. "Hey, you
mangy mutt, looks like you could use some exercise."

Laughing, Al closed his book. "Let's go too, Nina."

A happy smiled crossed Nina's face.

"Aww, there's that sweet side of Edward." Havoc teased. "Playing with the
kiddies when they are lonely or bored."
"Not as much of a punk as we first thought." Avery added, grinning.

Ed scowled at the ground. Normally he would retort to the teasing or

something, but right now, it just hurt so much. Nina was dead. He couldn't
save her. Because he was blind, he didn't notice the danger she was in, and
that had cost her a chance at having a great life. Why did they have to tease
him now when he was already hurting so much?

Ed ran around the backyard with Nina riding Alexander chasing after
him. Al stood to the side to watch them.

"Wait up!"

Edward brought his hands in front of him and clapped. He changed his
arm into a toy and turned the chase around.

Nina then used Al's back as a slide, jumping happily on the ground as Ed
was, once again, jumped on by Alexander.

"That dog has it out for me." Ed grumbled.

"How many times are you going to fall for the same thing? Aren't you
supposed to learn from past mistakes?" Luke asked the boy, grinning.

Ed glared at him. It wasn't his fault that the dog just came out of nowhere.

Alexander started to lick Nina's face as the scene changed to Tucker's

lab.

"Wait!" Nina shouted. "Alexander, hang in there!"

Tucker was shown with his face in his hands.

"Don't forget, Assessment Day is coming soon." Havoc's voice said.

Tucker lifted his face from his hands to look at his watch on his desk.

"Tell me," Hughes's voice said as East City was shown. "What does it
mean that he only targets State Alchemists?" A MP standing guard was
shown. "If the military was his objective, he could just attack soldiers
indiscriminately. Alchemists, with their special abilities, are not
opponents who are easily killed."

"You are wrong on that assessment." Miles pointed out.

"Yes, we truly didn't know at the time just how strong Scar was." Hughes
agreed with a frown.

A picture of Grand was shown. "That goes double for those with state
certification."

Armstrong was shown standing in front of Hughes's desk. "Perhaps the

certification is the cause?" Armstrong suggested. "The enormous pay
and various special privileges. There must be many who are envious of
them. What's more, 'Alchemist, be thou for the people.' Alchemists, who
are supposed to be seekers after truth, are changed into the military's
walking weapons the moment they receive state certification."

"What a great assessment. You were almost exactly right, Major." Edward
commented.

"There is a reason why he works with the Investigation Department." Hughes

said. "Which reminds me, Ed! How about coming and doing some work for
us?"

Ed snarled. "Hell no, you damn slave driver! You'll probably just as bad, if
not worse, then the Colonel."

"I had no idea that you were so lazy, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

"Argh! I'm busy with my own things!" Edward shouted. "So get off my
back!"

Hughes pouted. "Please, Ed? You have a really good mind. I could really use
your help on some cases."

"N-O! No." Edward growled.

"Ever since the Ishvalan Civil War, there are any number of people who
would bear a grudge."

There was a knock on the door before Maria Ross came in. "I have
something to report, sir." She said before looking at her clipboard.
"Yesterday, at 9:30, a man with a large scar on his face was witnessed on
the grounds of Central City Train Station by multiple station
employees."

Hughes sat up in his seat. "The train station? The bastard got away, did
he?"

The scene went back to the Tucker's house where the boys and Nina
were in the kitchen with Mr. Tucker.

"Our life before my earning state certification was terrible. We were so

poor." A picture of Tucker and his wife arguing was shown. "My wife
couldn't put up with living like that, so she left us." The scene went to
Nina petting her dog, then to the Elric brothers watching Tucker. "I
have to pass this assessment, no matter what. I don't ever want to go
back to those days again."

'No matter what….' Edward thought angrily. There was another hint. Just
after this he asks his daughter to play with him tomorrow. It was so damn
obvious…so very obvious that something was wrong. He says he has to pass
his assessment no matter what, then asks his daughter to play with him,
instead of him working on his research. It was So. Damn. Obvious. So why
the hell did he miss it? His hands curled into fists and he bowed his head. 'I'm
so sorry, Nina. I wasn't strong or smart enough to save you. I was completely
blind to the danger you were in when I had so many hints.'

Al wanted to cry, just like his brother wanted to, but both stubbornly refused.
They had so many hints, so many clues, that something was wrong, but they
were completely blind to all of it. To him, he just saw a father and his
daughter, making him think of when all the brothers had was their mother
after their dad left. That was when they were the happiest, and Nina looked
so happy that he just didn't want to see that something was wrong.
Nina stopped petting her dog and turned to her dad. "It's all right, Dad.
If they tell you no, then me and Alexander will get mad at the important
people for you."

Al chuckled.

Riza smiled. "What a sweet little girl."

"Just as sweet as my little Elicia." Hughes cried, getting ready to pull out a
picture. He was only stopped by Mustang kicking him. "Ow. You don't have
to be so cruel."

"No one wants to be subjected to your pictures any more than they already
have to." Mustang growled.

Hughes's glasses glinted evilly. "Not even if I have some of Ed and Al?"

"WHAT?!" Ed shouted, shooting off the floor to glare at the man.

"Seriously?" Havoc said, biting down on his cigarette as he smirked. "I want
to see."

"No!" Ed snarled at him before turning to Hughes. "When?"

"What's the big deal, Brother?" Al asked confused.

"It's Hughes! Who knows what kind of pictures he took!" Ed said angrily,
glaring at the family man.

Avery smirked. "Now I want to see them for myself."

Hughes glanced at Ed, who was glaring at him with his go-on-do-it-I-dare-
you glare. So naturally, the Lieutenant Colonel met the challenge head on and
whipped out a picture from his pocket, grinning evilly at Ed.

"Give me that picture." Ed shouted, lunging at the man. He managed to tackle

the man, but not before the picture was tossed to Mustang, who caught it in
surprise. He looked down at it to see that it was indeed of Edward. The boy
was lying on his stomach on a couch. His head was half lying on the couch
and half hanging off it. His flesh arm was being used as a pillow while his
automail arm hung off the couch. His golden eyes were half-opened, still
glazed with grogginess that came from just waking up and there was a faint
smile on his face. He looked very much like the fifteen year old boy he was.

Edward pushed himself off of Hughes to shoot his commanding officer a

glare. "Give it, Mustang." He snarled.

"Nope." Mustang smirked and passed the picture over to Charlie.

"Damn it!" Ed growled and made to get to Charlie, but Mustang stopped him
by grabbing him around the waist and pulling him onto the couch where
Hughes was sitting before Ed attacked him.

"Now, now, Fullmetal. Behave yourself." Mustang mocked.

Ed's eyes narrowed to slits. "I'll kill you."

Mustang, in a patronizing manner, patted Ed's head. "No you won't. You
don't have it in you."

"Aww, how cute." Karin cried when she saw the picture of Ed. Her eyes
sparkling, she looked up at Hughes. "What else you got?"

"Why the hell did I get stuck in the east with all the weirdoes." Ed snarled
quietly to himself.

"Hmm." Hughes said thoughtfully as he pulled out another picture. "What

about this one?"

This time the picture was of Al standing in the back of a crowd with Ed
kneeling on his brother's shoulder. The State Alchemist was wearing a fond
smile and had his automail hand resting on his brother's helmet.

Maria smiled. "How sweet."

"What the hell?" Edward hissed. "Do you stalk us?"

"Only sometimes when we're in the same city." Hughes said, patting Ed on
the head. "After all, I got to watch out for my kids."

His words brought a blush to Ed's face so he ducked his head into the
Colonel's shoulder to hide it, not realizing he just made the situation all that
more embarrassing for him. Mustang jerked in surprise, but didn't push the
boy away. As for Edward, he got a waft of his superior's cologne and felt
himself relax a bit. The cologne was familiar to him as it reminded him of a
time when he fell asleep in Mustang's office and woke up to the Colonel's
military jacket covering him.

Chuckling, Hughes sat back down on the couch so Ed was between him and
Mustang as the pictures went around to those who wanted to see them.

"You tell them, Nina."

"Nina," Tucker said. "Do you want to play with Dad tomorrow?"

"Really?!" Nina said excitedly.

"Yeah," Tucker said as his daughter launched herself into his arms.

"Hooray! Alexander, dad said he's going to play with us." Nina said.

Edward glared at the screen, body tensing in anger or fear to what he knew
was coming, he didn't know. For all he could guess, it could possibly be both
of them. Hughes rested a hand on Ed's shoulder in a comforting manner.
Reliving this was not going to be easy for the boy.

The brothers smiled before the scene went black, then opened up to the
Tucker's house for the next day.

Edward groaned. This came much too quickly for his liken. He glanced at his
brother, who was staring at him. Neither of them wanted to enter that house
again.

The bell to the house was rung, but when no one answered, Al opened
the door to the house. "Hello, Mr. Tucker." He said. "Thanks for having
us again today."
Ed walked in front of his brother to stare into the dark house. They
walked in with Al calling, "Mr. Tucker?"

"Hey, Nina!" Ed called, looking around.

They made it to Tucker's lab and opened the door.

"Mr. Tucker?" Al asked when he saw the man kneeling in front of a

Chimera.

Edward bit back a groan from escaping his lips when he saw the scene. Why?
Why did this have to happen? Why did it have to be shown to them? Why…
Why….Why…

Only the grip on his shoulder from Hughes kept Ed from getting lost in his
thoughts completely. He wanted to lean into the warm touch, but just couldn't
do it. Not when his own little brother couldn't get any comfort like this in that
metal body of his.

Al looked away from the screen once more to look at his brother, whose eyes
were now filled with horror. He couldn't blame him. If he had his body, he
would probably look just as bad as his extremely pale brother.

Behind him, even though he couldn't feel the warmth, Riza put her hands on
his shoulders in a comforting manner like Hughes was doing for his brother.
He leaned slightly in the touch, wishing that he could feel the warmth of her
hands. Even though she didn't understand what was wrong, Izumi, too put a
comforting hand on Al's arm. She just knew that something wasn't right here
by the way her dear ex-pupils were acting.

"Oh, you are home, aren't you?" Edward asked.

Tucker looked away from his chimera. His eyes glowed eerily in the
darkness. "Hey."

The way he said that caused Ed to stare into the room with a frown.

"I did it. This is the finished product." Tucker said. The chimera was
shown on the screen as Tucker said, "A Chimera that understands
human speech."

There was a flash of lightning and thunder outside the house.

"This gives off an ominous feeling." General Armstrong growled.

Miles looked at the horrorstricken boys with a frown. "Yes, something is

obviously wrong here. Something that alchemy did."

Scar frowned at the screen. He remembered killing this man and the Chimera.
The Chimera was killed out of pity; though, he supposed not everyone would
see it that way. It was what needed to be done. That despicable alchemy had
done this horrible deed. It was best to get rid of the Chimera to save it from
any more pain in this world.

"Look there." Tucker said as the boys were standing right next to the
Chimera now. "Listen to me. That person is Edward."

"Ed…ward…?" The Chimera said.

"Yes, well done." Tucker replied as he petted the Chimera.

"Amazing. It really does talk." Edward said before kneeling on the

ground.

"Yeah. Now I won't have to lose my state certification." Tucker said as

he stood up.

The Chimera turned its head to face Ed. "Ed…ward… Ed…ward…

Ed…ward…Big…Bro…ther…"

Those words caused Ed's eyes to widen in horror and shock.

"Big brother?" Maria said confused.

Ed's whole body tensed. He never got over hearing those words from Nina.
They were what made him realize the horrible truth of what Tucker had done
to his own family.
Hughes's grip on Ed's shoulder tightened. No one knew what had happened in
the lab, only that Ed discovered this truth. There knew nothing of what was
said, just that something set Ed off enough to beat Tucker's face to a bloody
pulp. They had all just assumed it was because of the little girl turned into a
Chimera, saying his name and big brother which must have shocked and
scared the boy greatly. But with the way Ed was acting, was it more than
that?

Mustang resisted the urge to grab Ed. Hughes could handle it. He didn't want
to comfort the boy. He was to be the boy's strength right now. Someone that
would treat him normally when all this came to light. Ed would need that
support greatly so he could get through this a second time.

Ed stared into the Chimera's eyes, which caused his eyes to widen even
more in horror. "Mr. Tucker, when did you get your state certification
again?"

"Let's see," Tucker said, putting a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Two
years ago."

"And when did your wife leave?" Ed asked.

Tucker lowered his hand. "Two years ago."

"Can I ask you one more question?" Ed asked. "Nina and Alexander."
He turned his head to glare at the man. "Where are they?"

Al's helmet snapped up in shock.

"Damn brat, figuring it out so quickly." Tucker said.

"I'm confused. What happened?" Buccaneer demanded.

"He used his wife to make a talking Chimera, and two years later, he did the
same thing again." Mustang growled darkly.

"No way." Dr. Young said horrified. "He didn't….not his own daughter?"

Miles pushed his glass up, a dark frown marring his face. "This is truly a
devil's work." He glanced at the two teenagers in the room. They were the
ones to discover it after befriending the little girl. It must have been really
painful for them to go through this. That must be why the elder one looked
like he was going to be sick and Hughes was holding his shoulders tightly
while Izumi and Hawkeye took care of the younger brother. This was
something that children shouldn't have to deal with. Because, no matter how
much they went through, they were the ones always in danger, not someone
else. When it was someone else on the line, it seemed these boys just couldn't
handle it.

"How disgusting." General Armstrong growled. "This man does not deserve
life. Human lives are not to be used like this."

Ed twitched. Why? Why did she have to say that? It just reminded him of
what Tucker told him that night.

The soldiers glowered at the screen. It was their job to protect the people of
the state, yet, one of their own State Alchemists had done something like.
And what if the prodigy Elric brothers hadn't been there? Would any of them
have realized what had been done? No, they most likely wouldn't have. This
really was a cruel world if it would do something like this to a little girl and
be possible that only children could realize the truth.

Izumi covered her mouth in shock. His own daughter? She could never
imagine doing such a thing to a child, much less one that was her own.
Children were innocent and were supposed to be protected, not used like this.
How could that man do such a thing to the one he is supposed to love and
cherish the most? Her other hand gripped Al's arm more tightly. Oh, how she
desperately wished to pull both of her ex-students into a fierce hug and never
let go. They didn't deserve having to see this. It was much too horrible, even
for adults.

Edward lunged off the ground and slammed Tucker into the wall,
pushing his forearm into the man's neck.

"Brother!" Al shouted.

"Oh yeah, I figured it out. You did it again. Two years ago it was your
wife." Edward growled, ignoring how the man struggled for breath. His
eyes were shown, glowing darkly with anger. "This time, you used your
own daughter and her dog to transmute a talking Chimera."

Al stood up straight and looked at the Chimera.

"You can only do so much with animals after all. It's much easier when
you start with a human, isn't that right?" Edward shouted, tightening
his grip on the man.

"Chief," Havoc whispered shocked. He had never seen his young boss this
angry and upset before. Even his arguments with the Colonel never brought
emotion like this out before. Compared to this, those arguments seemed more
like a game between the two.

"A horror like this shouldn't exist in the world." Falman said quietly.

"I don't see what you're so upset about." Tucker said. "This is how we
progress. Human experimentation is a necessary step. I would think a
scientist should understand…"

"He tried to justify his actions?" Hughes snarled angrily. As a father, he could
never fathom how this man could care more about keeping his state
certification then protecting his daughter. His own daughter was his precious
little angel. There was no way he could do anything to hurt her. How could
this man even lay a finger on his? He just didn't understand.

"Shut up!" Edward shouted. "Do you really think you can get away with
this? Messing around with someone's life like that?! Your own
daughter!"

Armstrong frowned darkly. How could this man ever become a State
Alchemist? Alchemy was supposed to help the people. Nothing about this
type of alchemy could help the people of this country. This was simply a way
to harm innocent people.

Al's hands trembled in anger. Not only did this man destroys his own
daughter's chance at a wonderful life, but he said so many horrible things to
his brother. He hurt Nina and his own brother. Al was hurt greatly by his
actions and words as well, but the words were directed completely at his
brother. To see that anguish, guilt, and grief shining in his brother's face had
hurt him so much. He wanted to pull his brother away right away, if only to
tell him that everything Tucker said was a lie, but he couldn't bring himself to
right away. A part of him said that Tucker deserved the pain, while the other
part said his brother needed to release his anger in some way, even if was
only a little bit that got out.

As for Edward, his body was beginning to tremble. Nina was hard enough on
him, then Tucker just had to open his mouth. Edward was no fool. He knew
that Tucker was trying to justify what he did by hurting Edward where it hit
home, trying to convince him they were the same so he would stay quiet. He
knew that, but everything he said had felt like the man was ripping apart his
soul and putting it back together as his view on what Ed did and why. It made
it so difficult to understand that what was said was just a lie.

"Someone's life you say?" Tucker asked. "Hahaha. You'd know all about
that, wouldn't you? Look at you, Fullmetal Alchemist! Look at your leg,
your arm," The screen flashed to Ed's hand then to Al. "Your brother!
Those things are also the result of messing around with somebody's life,
aren't there?"

"Argh," Mustang put his forehead in his hand. "That would explain why his
face was beaten into a bloody pulp."

"He deserved it for saying something like that to Chief." Havoc snarled
angrily.

Armstrong looked at the boy sadly. He had never mentioned what was
exchanged between him and Tucker, but they all noticed that it had left a
huge blow on Ed afterwards. And now he understood why. The boy already
felt guilty about the human transmutation and his brother, and then he had it
all shoved in his face by this man. He was so scared that it was true, but
couldn't bring himself to say it to anyone because he was afraid they would
say that Tucker was right. That was probably what the boy was feeling.

Ed's eyes flashed angrily. "Shut up!" He yelled and his automail fist
came flying forward to slam into Tucker's face, breaking his glasses and
knocking them to the ground.

"We are the same." Tucker said with a laugh. "We're the same!" He
turned his head, blood streaming down his mouth. "You're just like me."

Without the adrenaline of punching Tucker in the face this time around, Ed
was actually beginning to hyperventilate in horror at Tucker's words. No! He
wasn't. He wasn't anything like that man!

"We're not!" Ed said.

"Oh, but yes we are. The opportunity was right in front of us, and we
took it. We had to, even though we knew it was against the rules!"
Tucker shouted to a trembling Edward.

"No…no…" Ed whispered, hands going up to claw at his hair, breathing now

coming in heavy gasps. He closed his eyes tightly, willing the tears to go
away. He wasn't! He wasn't like that man. Tell him he's not crazy and
deranged like that man!

"Edward." Izumi whispered quietly. She was now kneeling in front of Ed,
having left the little brother when he looked at her, silently pleading
somehow in that armor for her to go. "Open your eyes."

Ed shook his head. He couldn't. He couldn't do it. He didn't want to see his
hands, see the blood that covered his hands from his sins. It was all his fault,
damn it! This was all his fault. He killed his mother a second time! He
trapped his brother! And he couldn't even save Nina! What use was he when
all he ever did was….

SLAP!

A stinging sensation in his cheek sent Ed's head snapping to the side. His
eyes flew open in surprise. His eyes met Hughes's shocked ones, along with
the faces of stunned soldiers in his peripheral vision, for a moment before
warm hands cupped his face and turned his head so he was staring at his
former Teacher's stern, but warm eyes. "It wasn't your fault. There was no
way you could have known what was going to happen to Nina, just how I
couldn't know that you and your brother were going to attempt Human
Transmutation. We are humans, not Gods. We can't predict the future."

"B-but Mom….A-al…" Edward whispered. So lost in his despair, he never

noticed how all the soldiers turned to look away from him in his moment of
weakness so as to give him some form of privacy. They all had weak
moments, when their despair at what they've done drags them down to a dark
abyss and making them feel as if they would never be able to escape their
sins and anguish. In those times, it was up to loyal friends and comrades to
pull them back up and give them a reason to live. Now, it was Fullmetal's
turn to admit that he was scared and lost, but they respected and understood
this despair enough not to mock him or stare at him during it.

"Don't listen to anything that man said, Edward." Izumi said, gently rubbing
the tears at the corner of Ed's eyes away. "He's wrong. What you did was out
of love. You weren't playing with your mother or your brother. You said it
yourself. You just wanted to see your mother again. And your brother, you
saved him. If you didn't grab his soul when you did, he would be dead right
now and there would be no chance to save him. But, you bonded his soul and
are now searching for a way to get his body back. You are nothing like this
man. What you are doing proves it. You became a Dog of the State to find a
way to save your brother. Both of you have given so much up for the other.
Does that sound like someone who simply toys with humans?"

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Edward whispered, slipping from the couch and
into Izumi's arms. She wrapped them tightly around the boy, burying her face
in his soft hair. Ed nuzzled his face in her shoulder while his body trembled.
He wouldn't cry. He refused to cry. As long as his brother couldn't cry, he
wouldn't cry. He had to be strong for Al and fulfill his promises.

"No!" Ed shouted, slamming his fist into Tucker's face again. "Not me!"
He slammed his fist into Tucker's bleeding face again. "Alchemists
don't…" He slammed his fist into his face again. "Do that…" And again.
"I'm not…" Ed whispered. Tucker's blood was splattered on his face.
"I'm not!" He went to punch the man again, but Al grabbed his wrist to
stop him.
"Brother! If you keep this up, he'll die." Al said.

"Nothing less than he deserves." General Armstrong growled.

"Though, Fullmetal should not be the one to do it, especially in such an

emotional state." Miles said, refusing to look at the boy as he was still
struggling with himself. "No one should kill when they are not in the right
state of mind."

General Armstrong cast the child a look before looking away. Miles was
right. She may believe the boy to still be weak as he didn't take lives, but she
would never ask for someone's first kill to be when they are in an emotional
state like this. That would make the realization of what he or she did that
much worse later on, and it would most likely destroy them completely.

"Thank God Al was there to stop him." Riza said softly. She didn't even want
to imagine how Edward would be if he had killed this man. He was already
so upset over what happened to poor Nina. Killing someone right after that
realization would have utterly destroyed the boy, and she couldn't see how
they would ever have been able to pull him out of it.

Edward trembled in anger, glaring at the man, refusing to let go of his

shirt. It wasn't until he looked to his left and saw the Chimera sitting
there that his expression changed to horror.

"Dad…"

Edward lowered his arms so he was no longer shoving the man in the
wall and dropped him.

"Do you hurt? Dad, do you hurt?"

The exterior of the house was shown to show that it was pouring down
rain now.

Al kneeled in front of the Chimera and petted it. "I'm sorry. With our
power, we can't return you back to normal. I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

"Let's play…let's play…" The chimera said.

Tucker was sitting on the floor, staring at his pocket watch. "I made it in
time…Now…I'll be a State Alchemist again."

Many soldiers frowned in disgust at this man. His daughter was gone forever
and all he cared about was the power and respect he thought he was going to
get.

Scar growled quietly. Now that he saw what truly happened before he
showed up there, he was truly disgusted by what this horrid science brought.
Not only did it destroy a little girl's life, but it traumatized two boys who
were not able to save her. Even if one of those boys was a State Alchemist,
he still felt pity for the boy having to go through with this. How much worse
could this country get?

A look of anger passed Ed's face again before he kicked Tucker's hand to
send his watch flying through the air and clattering against the ground.
Tucker crawled pitifully after his watch. "Like hell you're staying a
State Alchemist. Like hell."

"Let's…play…"

Edward couldn't look at the Chimera anymore so his eyes slid shut and a
painful scream tore from his throat as the screen turned black.

East City was shown with rain still pouring down as Hawkeye's voice
said, "If ever there was an example of the devil's work in this world, this
case would definitely be it."

"The devil, huh?" Mustang replied. "The State Alchemists must be

willing to act, able to take another's life when ordered to without
questioning. In some ways," Tucker's house was shown with two guards
standing guard in front of it. "Mr. Tucker's actions and our own may
not be all that far apart. When it comes to interfering with other people's
lives." A black boot splashed in a puddle, blocking the guards from sight.

Mustang and Hawkeye were shown walking out of Eastern Command

Center. "We choose our own path, knowing full well what we are doing."
He stopped on the stairs. "That's the way it is," The screen pulled out to
show Ed and Al sitting on the stairs. "Right, Fullmetal? You will more
than likely come across cases like this again in the future," He and
Hawkeye continued down the stairs. "And you may end up having to get
your own hands dirty as well. Are you going to shut down like this every
time?"

"Harsh, Colonel." Havoc said.

"It's not my job to baby him, but prepare him for the horrors he will face as a
State Alchemist." Mustang growled, refusing to look at his subordinate that
was slowly getting himself back under control.

"We may be called Dogs of the Military," Edward said. "We may even
be cursed as devils. It doesn't matter. Al and I are still going to get our
bodies back." His hands gripped his red jacket tightly. "We know the
truth." Mustang and Hawkeye stopped again to look at Ed out of the
corner of their eyes. "We know we're not devils. We know we're not
gods." He stood up, head still bowed. "We're human." He raised his
head to face the sky and yelled, "We're only human!" Mustang and
Hawkeye continued down the stairs without a word. "We can't even do
anything to save one innocent little girl. So what good are we then?"

Edward took a deep, shuddering breathe. He couldn't do this. He couldn't be

this weak, not when his little brother still needed him. There were still so
many promises he had to fulfill. He had to make up for not being able to
properly protect Nina. And the only way to do that was by fulfilling all his
promises and helping those who needed help to the best of his abilities. That
was his duty right now. Nina was beyond his ability, but all those that still
existed were not.

Taking another deep breathe to calm himself, Edward pushed himself away
from Izumi. He gave her a smile to show his thanks. Izumi replied with her
own smile, glad to see her student was back to normal.

Edward stood up, grabbing people's attention on him, but he ignored them in
favor of moving over to his brother. Al, noticing him, raised one of his hands
to his brother and curled it into a fist to show that everything was alright with
them after what Tucker said. Ed responded by bumping the fist with his
automail fist. Without a single word, Ed sat down and leaned his back against
Al's arm to continue watching the show. And like that, everything was alright
with their mental attitudes again. That was just how the brothers were, able to
jump back to it when it was needed.

The scene changed to a room in Tucker's house where Tucker was sitting
with the Chimera in front of him. "I wonder why nobody understands,
Nina." He said.

The boards creaked as a man stepped into the house, causing Tucker to
look up in surprise. There was a flash of lightning that lit the man up
brightly before it disappeared to reveal the man was Scar.

"Shou Tucker, right?" Scar asked.

"Oh, right, Scar killed them." Edward said, frowning. He didn't condone the
man's action. In fact, he despised the man, especially for what he did to Nina.
He was also arguing with himself. Was it alright that he did it? He knew Nina
was in great pain and could never go back to normal. She would have been
used as a subject for experiments and be put through more pain, and
eventually killed off probably. That didn't make it alright to kill her, but was
it the right thing to do to save her from those horrible experiments? He just
didn't know.

"Who are you? You're…not with the military, are you?" Tucker stood
up in fear. The scene changed to the two military guards, lying dead on
the ground in their own blood. "How did you get in here? There were
military policemen out front."

"He's there to pass judgment on a horrible man." General Armstrong growled.

She, like Ed, didn't condone Scar's actions of killing State Alchemists, but
this man deserved death for what he did to his family. There was no possible
way she could ever respect this man.

Scar ignored him and continued forward. "Alchemists who have turned
their backs on the ways of God…" He raised his hand and slammed it
into Tucker's head. "Shall perish." Tucker's body convulsed as blood
sprouted from it and he fell to the ground.

The Chimera walked forward and nuzzled Tucker's hand. "Dad…"

Tears spilled from the Chimera's eyes. "Dad…Dad…"

"It truly is really sad." Armstrong said sadly. "She still kept a part of her mind
and still loved her father to the very end. She was truly a wonderful
daughter."

"It is tragic what her fate had to be." Maria Ross murmured, eyes downcast.
Alchemy, it was not as great as they all thought if it could do something as
horrible and painful as this.

"You poor creature." Scar said. "Once you have been given this form,
there is no way of separating you again." He took a few steps forward to
the Chimera. "At least," he put his hand on the Chimera's head. "Your
passing will be in peace."

There was a flash of lightning and when it died down, Scar was walking
out of the house. "God," He said as the room was shown with two dead
bodies lying in a puddle of blood. "Hear me. Two human souls have just
been returned to you." Scar walked passed the gates of the house.
"Please accept them into your loving arms. Please grant these poor lost
souls everlasting peace and salvation." Scar reached up and removed his
sunglasses to raise his eyes to the sky, revealing them to be blood red.

Ed and Al were shown to be standing on the steps of Eastern Command

Center one last time before the screen went dark to end the episode.

"This was a really horrible episode." Darius said, looking quite ill at
everything they saw. He couldn't believe that had happened. He and his
buddies were Chimeras, but they could change their bodies at will between an
animal and their human self. That poor girl was stuck as a dog, then killed.
How could alchemy do such a thing?

"Just think, that could have happened to us." Zampano said quietly to his
companions so no one else would hear and know about them. It wasn't
something that they liked getting around. They hated these bodies. They had
lost so much because of these bodies. No one else needed to know, needed to
know how they were deformed. In a sense, they sympathized with Al. Like
them, he was stuck in something he didn't like or want. It was something they
could understand with.

"It is just showing us that alchemy is not all that great. As was proven in
Ishval and here, alchemy has its dark side. While it is said to be used for the
people, the truth is much darker than any of us realize." Edward said,
frowning as his thoughts traveled to what he discovered about the
Philosopher's Stone. "And what is shown here and the Ishvalan massacre is
only the tip of the iceberg of how dark it truly is." He looked at Al with a sad
look. "Right, Al?"

"Yes, nothing could match up to that." Al murmured.

Mustang frowned. "What are you boys talking about? You never saw Ishval.
You don't know how horrible our alchemy was used there."

Ed shook his head, but kept his eyes trained on the screen, but they seemed to
be more distant than anything. "We don't have to see it to know. You've
killed hundreds, maybe more, with your Flame Alchemy, but that is nothing
compared to this. Just imagine, Al, how many lives it would take…"

"I'd rather not, Brother." Al said quietly.

"Damn it, Fullmetal, Alphonse!" Mustang snarled. "What do you two know
that we don't?"

"No, it will come up without a doubt, Colonel. In fact, I'd say it will be
coming up real soon. Yes, because it was what we were working on just
before we were brought here." Edward said. "Still, the truth within the truth.
Just what are we missing?"

General Armstrong, just as annoyed with the cryptic words as Mustang,

leaned back in her seat and smirked. She may be impatient to know, but she
could wait a little bit for a few answers. Then, they would know just what
was wrong with this country.
A/N: Okay, so how'd I do? I never liked this episode, except where
Tucker and Ed were arguing in the lab. I don't know why, but I just
loved that part. Anyway, how'd I do with the emotions? I had Ed break a
little because I believe he needed someone to comfort him and I just love
how Izumi handles the brothers so she was chosen. Ed needed to break a
bit to show that he is still just a kid, but he's seen more horrors than the
soldiers would ever see.

As for the Chimeras, I mentioned in the first chapter that there were a
bunch of soldiers around that Mustang didn't know. That included
Darius, Heinkel, Zampano, and Jerso. They were just never mentioned
to now, but they are most certainly there.

Please Review!
*Chapter 5*: Episode 5: Rain of Sorrows
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Truth Revealed

Thanks for reviewing!

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 5: Rain of Sorrows

"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and

reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is
impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain
something, something of equal value must be paid. This is the law of
equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy. Alchemists have a taboo, and it
is human transmutation. It is that which no one must commit."

The opening song began once again.

"Are we going to have to go through this every single time?" Zampano

grumbled.

"Don't be such a sour puss!" Havoc retorted. "I, for one, like the song. And
it's a nice break from all the darkness in that we are seeing."

"The pictures in the song aren't exactly cheerful." Darius argued.

"Nooo, they aren't." Havoc replied. "But, the song is still nice. Just ignore the
scenes shown."
"Any reason why you are so cheerful?" Edward asked, frowning. This did not
seem like something to be cheerful about.

Havoc grinned. "Well, we're going to be seeing the future. That means, we
should be able to change what happens, right?" He then lifted a picture. "Plus,
I got these pictures of Eddie!"

"WHAT?" Ed screamed as he forgot about those. He jumped to his feet,

slamming one onto the coffee table's top and held his hand out over it
towards Havoc. "Give them to me!"

"No way." Havoc retorted. "And you don't have your alchemy to get them
either."

The young state alchemist narrowed his eyes and raised his automail fist.
"No, I don't, but have you forgotten, I'm a martial artist with automail that
can beat your ass into the ground?"

"Hmm." Havoc chewed on his cigarette. "Fair point, but," His hands
disappeared behind his back and when they reappeared the pictures were
gone. "I gave them away."

Ed's eyes turned to slits and looked at Breda, on Havoc's left, and Miles, on
Havoc's right. "Who has them?" He snarled.

Both soldiers raised their hands to show empty hands. "I passed them on."
They both said.

Miles wasn't one for games such as this, but he figured they should be some
fun in the room. It would keep the mood from becoming too dark and tense,
which would cause severe stress that none of them needed so he would join
in a bit, if only for the amusing reactions he got from Fullmetal.

"Argh," Ed grumbled. "Fine, but," He glared at the soldiers. "This isn't over."
And with that, he plopped back down next to his brother to lean against his
arm again.

"Rain of Sorrows"
"Argh, it was raining the day Scar attacked us." Ed mumbled. "Think this is
it?"

"It has to be." Al replied. "We didn't do anything else significant in the rain."

"Why are you assuming that it involves you?" Mustang asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Because, so far, it has only been mainly our point of view
since a certain Colonel is too lazy to do his own dirty work!"

"Now, now, Brother, if the Colonel is here, then that must mean he did
something of importance." Al said, but his words just made the Colonel more
agitated. It sounded like the boy was mocking him. Not. So. Innocent!

The scene changed to the Elric's house in Resembool.

"Okay, why the hell are we back in Resembool?" Breda asked, frowning.

"Not another flashback, I hope. I don't think I could take another one."
Hughes said.

"Any ideas, Brother?" Al asked, just as confused as the soldiers.

Ed frowned. "One, and if I'm right, I won't like it being shown."

Al looked at him, confused, but didn't question any farther when he saw the
dark look in his brother's eyes that said don't-ask.

"Hey Mom!" Ed's voice shouted. "Mom!"

Trisha appeared on the screen to be picking tomatoes when she heard

her son. She turned around and smiled at the boy running towards here.
"What is it, Ed?"

Ed took his hands away from his chest to show a little metal dog. "A
present. I transmuted it."

"You did, Ed? You're your father's son, all right." Trisha ran her hand
over her son's hair, causing him to smile. "Thanks. You really are
amazing, Ed, to be able to create something as neat as this."

"Your mother really is kind." Sheska said softly. She could understand why
these boys went so far as to try to bring her back. It was more than they just
wanted a parent back. Their mother was truly kind and gentle, always ready
with a smile for them, even if it was sometimes fake.

"Yeah," Al replied quietly.

"But," Trisha continued as the tomatoes fell from her apron and
smashed into the ground.

"Yep," Ed growled. "This is damn private!"

"What is it, Brother?" Al asked.

Ed scratched his head, annoyed. "A nightmare. Something which no one else
has the right to see!"

"Well, it's in the episode so we can't do anything but watch it." Mustang said,
causing Ed to glare at him.

"And no one will laugh at your horrors." Riza reassured the boy. "We've all
had our share of horrors, or will at some point. We are soldiers, after all."

Izumi cracked her knuckles. "And if they do, well, I'll just beat the shit out of
them."

Ed twitched, as did many of the guy soldiers. His former teacher was really,
really scary. None of them wanted to get on her bad side, so they were going
to wisely keep their mouths locked tightly shut.

Confused, Edward looked up at his mother's face to see it replaced by

the horrible face of the creature that he made in his human
transmutation.

"Ahhh," Kain shouted shocked. "That is not something that anyone would
laugh over. That transmutation was scary enough, to actually have
nightmares about it..." He cut himself off and shuddered.
"I agree." Havoc said, frowning. "I would probably be scared enough to have
nightmares too."

Al looked down at his brother, feeling sad, but not able to express it. Not
being able to sleep, he noticed countless times when his brother had
nightmares, but could do nothing to comfort him. Sometimes, if it was really
bad, he woke him. Other times, he couldn't get his brother to wake up. And
the other times, he just didn't notice it. He couldn't sleep, so he couldn't
dream about that night and kept his mind busy with other things. But his
brother didn't have that. He had to face their terrors even in his sleep. It just
wasn't fair for his brother to have his sleep disrupted by all of this.

"If you can do that, why couldn't you make mommy better, Ed?" The
creature said in a strange voice.

Ed took steps back in fear to show the scene had changed to a library.

"Big Brother."

The scene revolved to see horrorstricken eyes on Ed's face and Nina and
Alexander standing behind him. Ed turned around to stare at them. The
two morphed into a Chimera right in front of him.

"Let's play."

Ed's eyes snapped open. He was shown sitting half up in his bed. The
window outside his room was shown as rain poured down.

"Brother, are you alright?" Al asked.

Ed leaned back a little more, looking away from his brother.

"You were having a nightmare."

Edward bowed his head, letting his bangs hide his face. He rested his
forehead on his automail knee and pulled the leg closer to him so he
could use it to hide his face as Al was shown sitting against the wall with
a book in his hands, but not looking at it as he was watching his brother.
"So that's what your dream about?" Al mused sadly. His brother never told
him about his nightmares, always brushing them off as if they were nothing.

"Yeah." Ed murmured, tugging at his braid. He didn't want to burden his

brother with all his fears, so he just brushed the nightmares off. They were
his fears that he had to face. No one else's.

"At least he doesn't have to add murder to his list of terrors." Hughes said to
Mustang quietly.

Mustang nodded. "I can't imagine what it would be like to deal with a
Fullmetal that had murdered."

"I can imagine, and I don't ever want to see it happen." Hughes said, before
giving his friend a stern glare. "Make sure it doesn't happen. Don't take what's
left of his innocence away."

"I can only do so much to protect those boys." Mustang retorted. It was
already so difficult on him being in charge of a kid. That is why that every
time Fullmetal's name came up in his paperwork he had to read it extra
carefully to make sure nothing was going to happen to the boy because of the
higher ups. It was so annoying and bothersome to him. But, of course, he
never told the kid. He didn't need to know that he was constantly called on
and Mustang and his crew had to work extra hard to get those who were
looking for the boy away from him.

Eastern Command Center was shown.

A gloved covered hand came next, getting ready to knock on a door, but
stopping short as the screen was pulled back to show Ed and Al standing
in front of the door. Al looked at his brother for a moment before the
door was opened by Hawkeye, looking surprised to see them.

"What's the matter, you two?" She asked. "You're up awfully early."

"It makes sense now." Riza said quietly to herself. No one wanted to go to
sleep after a nightmare. They were horrible, and once you've woken up, it
was impossible to ease your mind enough to be able to go back to sleep
because you were afraid t to fall back into that nightmare.

"We…" Ed trailed off, staring at the ground, instead of Hawkeye.

"What's going to happen to Tucker and Nina?"

Surprise filtered in Hawkeye's eyes before it disappeared and she was

serious again. "Mr. Tucker was scheduled to be stripped of his
certification and stand trial for what he did to Nina, but they're both
dead."

"Dead?!" Al asked.

Ed was shown with a look of surprise and horror on his face. His mouth
moved, but nothing came out.

"You'll find out anyway, so I might as well tell you." Hawkeye's footsteps
sounded as she walked away, Ed's eyes following her. "They've been
murdered."

"H-how? By who?!" Ed asked as Hawkeye was shown straightening the

collar of the black jacket she just put on.

"We don't know." Hawkeye said as Ed followed after her. "I was just
headed over to the scene myself."

"We're coming too." Al said.

"No." Hawkeye said.

"Why not?!" Ed demanded.

Hawkeye stopped and turned to give the boys a stare. "You don't need to
see this."

"Much too soft on those boys." General Armstrong growled. She liked
Hawkeye, but she was being too soft on these boys. The elder was a State
Alchemist, a soldier for them. They shouldn't force his eyes away from a
bloody scene. He would never toughen up if he didn't see it.
"I was hoping to spare Edward anymore nightmares." Riza replied. "Sadly, it
seems to have been pointless."

Edward sighed. He knew what Hawkeye was doing at the time, but he really
wished she hadn't. He neededto know the truth, of how such a thing had
happened. He knew now, saw it happen, but before this, he didn't. It was
gruesome and there was a lot of blood, but it wasn't anything he wasn't used
to. The truth shouldn't be hidden from those with the strength to endure it.

The Tucker house was shown with Hughes and Armstrong standing in
the room where Nina and Tucker were killed.

"He's still one step ahead of us, huh?" Hughes said.

"We have to catch up quickly. The way things are going…." Armstrong
replied.

Mustang was shown staring as the tarps covering the bodies. "You sound
as though you were expecting this to happen."

Hughes glanced up at his friend.

"What's going on?"

"God has given us a trial!" Cornello shouted.

"That wacko really is there!" Ed shouted. He hadn't wanted to believe the

Eastern soldiers earlier, but the proof was right in front of him.

"So, maybe your thought of a shape-shifter is true." Al said.

Ed growled. "Not good. That really is not a good thought."

"Wicked heathens have been spreading false rumors to disrupt our faith,
and the military is planning to oppress us. But we must not give in! Now
is the time to rise up, with weapon in hand! In the name of the great god
Leto!"

The civilian faces were shown with grins, which looked evil on some of
them.

"Idiot faithful followers." Ed muttered. "If they want to follow a god, fine, be
that way! But they shouldn't be completely blind and follow without thinking
for themselves. Idiots!"

"Brother…"

"Why the hell do we even help people, Al?" Ed grumbled. "Mindless

zombies. They are just letting themselves become mindless zombies. Who
wants to spend their life as a mindless zombie anyway? Don't they want any
free will?"

Al sweat dropped, knowing his brother didn't mean it as he was just

frustrated.

"They probably think they have free will and are following this man by that
free will." Izumi told the boy. "They don't realize that they are being
manipulated."

"Yeah! We have the god Leto on our side!"

"Down with the heathens!"

"Let's avoid Liore. I'd rather not get killed." Ed said.

"Brother, shouldn't we help them?" Al asked.

"Colonel Bastard and the east forces are handling it, right?" Ed asked.
"Besides, it's not like it's Ishval."

"Yes, the soldiers are there now." Mustang said before frowning. "Or, they
were before we got dragged here."

Hughes glared at his friend. It was obviously going to be shown so why the
hell didn't he say that it has turned into a full blown revolt? All his lies were
just going to make it hurt the boys worse when it was revealed.

"Think anyone noticed hundreds of soldiers disappeared?" Ed asked.

"Shit!" Mustang said. "The east!"

"My Northern Wall." General Armstrong growled.

Ed blinked. "Guess no one realized this until now."

There was a flash of yellow light and a letter dropped into Ed's lap.

"Oooh, mail!" He said and picked up the envelope to tear it open. "Let's
see….Do not worry. Time outside this room has been frozen so your borders
are safe and no one has realized you are missing. V.H."

"Well, that's good." Mustang got out before Ed screamed, which made a few
people jump in surprise, and hurdled to their feet with theirs hands
automatically going down to their empty gun holsters. They watched, wide
eyed, as he tore the letter into little pieces.

"That bastard is watching us!" Edward yelled at the top of his lungs. "You get
out here now, you bastard!"

"Eep!" Al said, surprised at how angry his brother sounded. "Brother, maybe
you should calm down. So what if this guy is watching us?"

Ed spun around to glare at his brother. "Oh, no, don't say you didn't recognize
that handwriting, Alphonse! It is so clearly him!"

"I thought the handwriting looked familiar, but I couldn't place it." Al said.

"Then look at the initials!" Ed snarled. "It's him!"

"Who's 'him?'" Izumi asked confused.

"That no-good, idiotic, lousy, rotten bastard of a father!" Edward screamed.

"VAN HOHENHEIM GET THE HELL OUT HERE SO I CAN KNOCK
YOUR LIGHTS OUT!"

Mustang blinked, a bit shocked at how angry the boy was. "Fullmetal, I think
you should calm down."
Ed shot his eyes full of burning hatred at his superior. "Don't bother me,
bastard. I'm busy."

Mustang sweat dropped as Ed went back to screaming at his dad to get out
here.

"Mustang, get your damn subordinate to shut up." General Armstrong

growled, wishing that she had her sword so she could cut the boy's vocal
cords out. His screaming was really beginning to get on her nerves.

"I would love to." Mustang said. "But I don't have my gloves."

There was another flash of gold light and letter landed in front of Ed, who
picked it up. He stared at it for a moment before screaming in frustration.
"You damn coward!"

Al snatched the letter from his brother curiously. "I'd rather not. V.H."

"I think it is more of his survival instincts kicking in then actual cowardice."
Havoc quipped.

"Brother," Al sighed. "Please stop being so mad at Dad. I'm sure he had his
reasons."

"Oh, ho," Ed said sarcastically. "Reasons, eh? I DON'T CARE ABOUT HIS
REASONS!"

Al glared at his brother. "You're so blinded by your anger and sadness about
not having parents, that you won't even consider any other options in regards
to this." He hissed.

"And you're so blinded by the fact that you want a parent back that you won't
even think about the fact that he abandoned us!" Edward snarled.

"Oh no, not another Elric brother argument." Breda groaned, pushing a hand
into his face. The first time they ever witnessed an Elric brother argument, it
turned into an alchemy fight. It took weeks until the command center and the
grounds were fixed. After that fight, Mustang was furious at the brothers and
sent them off on a mission to the west just to get them out of his hair for a bit
while they fixed everything and everyone's fried nerves were better.

"I'm still recovering from the last time they got into a big fight." Kain
muttered, shivering at that reminder.

Izumi growled. "Okay, no, Ed, Al!" She stood up, glaring at the two. "I've
had enough of your arguments when I was training you. Now both of you are
going to shut the hell up and forget the person who brought us here for now
or I'll kick both of your asses."

The brothers shot her glare, both thinking she had no right since she was no
longer their teacher, but were too afraid of her to say anything. So, instead,
they turned their glares back to each other, but didn't say anymore, much to
the relief of everyone who know what an Elric brothers' argument was like.

"Hey, don't be fooled!"

"At least not all of them have been fooled, right, Chief?" Havoc asked, trying
to lighten the mood since it was obvious the brothers were still angry with
each with the way they had put distance between them and were stubbornly
not looking at each other. Though, it didn't seem to work as both boys
ignored him.

"Those are just lies he's telling us!"

"Silence!"

"You guys are pawns of the heathens!"

"It's ironic since they are pawns themselves." Brody said.

An evil grin spread on a female's face. "Humans are so hopelessly

foolish."

A rock was thrown through a glass window, then civilians were shown
fighting each other. A little girl stood off to the side, crying.

"No way." Al said softly as he was in shock. This wasn't supposed to happen.
They had revealed the truth to all the people of Liore. In fact, it was Cornello
that told them the truth. So why was this happening? Everything was
supposed to be alright with Liore after what they did. He had thought they
had gotten through to all of them. They should have stayed there longer to
make sure everything would work out properly. If they had….if they had…

"What?" Edward growled, whipping around to face his superior with

narrowed eyes. He felt that something was wrong when Liore was shown
again. It shouldn't have been. It was supposed to be fine after he went there.
So why the hell did it appear in front of them again? "What the hell is going
on, Colonel?"

"You mean you never told the chief?" Havoc asked surprised.

Edward shot his glare at Havoc. "What is happening in Liore?" He

demanded.

Hughes sighed, removing his glasses to rub his hand over his eyes. "The
civilians are revolting against each other over this supposed Sun God Leto.
Because of this revolt, many lives have been lost. We had to send in a
battalion to get things under control. In fact, we are still in the process of
getting it under control. Those faithful servants of the Sun God refuse to back
down and the others are pleased to have our help in getting the trouble down
as it will save lives." He said, glossing over most of the details to make it
seem not as bad as it was. To have those gold eyes glaring at him for
answers, he now understood why Mustang couldn't tell this kid just what
happened to a place he tried so hard to save.

But his words just seemed to further aggravate Edward, who turned his
smoldering glare to Mustang. "And why the hell didn't you tell me this? Liore
was my mission. It's my responsibility." He hissed, causing Al to glance at
him. Earlier his brother had said he didn't want to go back there, but now that
the truth was out about Liore, he seemed so furious about what had happened.
Why wouldn't he? It was their fault that this was happening.

"And that's exactly why." Mustang retorted. "You would just rush back,
forgetting your promise to your brother to get his body back soon. The only
thing you need to worry about is that. That is your goal. You cannot get
distracted trying to help every single person you meet. You can't save
everyone. My men can handle Liore."

"The same way you "handled" Ishval." Edward snapped angrily without
thinking. He jerked his head at Charlie, Alexandre, Damiano, and Richard.
"The exact soldiers who were with you in Ishval."

A dark, anxious silence had its icy claws locked around the room. Even some
of the Briggs soldiers were disturbed about the sparks flew between the two
alchemists' eyes.

Al looked at his brother, then at the Colonel, then back at his brother, wincing
a bit. He really wished his brother hadn't said that. They both felt horrible
about Liore and hated that they weren't told, but his brother just had to have
fiery temper and speak without thinking. That just caused a lot of problems
for them.

As for Mustang's comrades from Ishval, they were rather uncomfortable and
angry about the accusation. Yes, they were in Ishval. And yes, they've killed.
But Fullmetal did not need to point that out and throw it in their faces. They
were doing what they had to so they could survive.

Mustang gritted his teeth, working very hard not to kill his subordinate for
bringing up the nightmare of the Ishvalan massacre. "Fullmetal," He said
through gritted teeth. "I apologize for not informing you, but I had my
reasons. You may not like them, but I don't care. There are many things in
life that we don't like, but have to live with. This is one of them."

Edward clenched his fists in anger, but turned away from the Colonel without
another word. This argument would get them absolutely nowhere. They were
trapped in this room and this revolt had already started. His boss didn't
inform him of what he caused, and that infuriated him, but getting into a huge
argument about it with screaming and insults wouldn't solve the problem in
Liore.

"Don't you think so, Gluttony?"

"Argh, the Ouroboros gang again." Ed sighed.

"Ouroboros?" Havoc asked confused, but glad that Edward had said
something, even if the tense atmosphere didn't dissipate.

Ed shrugged. "They all have an Ouroboros tattoo and I have to call them
something."

"Fools, fools." Gluttony agreed.

"Fools indeed. Sad, but true." 'Cornello' said as he walked up the stairs
of the tower.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Father." Lust said.

"Father." Gluttony said.

"Sorry to have to put you to all this trouble." Lust said.

"As soon as we have everything handled over here, I have my own

responsibilities I have to get back to." Envy told them.

Lust smirked and turned her head to the side. "The Fullmetal boy's
interference was irritating, but at least we were able to make it work in
our favor. Looks like we'll finish up ahead of schedule."

The land was overlooked with the sun starting to sink. "Manipulate a
little information and I whipped up the believers, and that's all it took to
get this. Humans are such simpletons."

"Bloodshed gives way to more bloodshed, hatred breeds more hatred,

until all the violence soaks into the land." Lust's tattoo was shown.
"Craving rivers of blood." Her face was shown as she continued. "And
no matter how many times it happens, they never learn. The human race
is made up of violent, miserable fools."

Edward clenched his fist, glancing at his brother out of the corner of his eye.
"That's what it means to be human. We are humans. We're not perfect. There
is no possible way that we can do everything without fault. If we were
perfect, then we wouldn't be human. If we were perfect, then we couldn't
grow and learn from the mistakes that we make. We may make mistakes, but
we are not miserable creatures."

"It is by our mistakes that we grow stronger." Mustang agreed to the

amazement of his team. He and Edward never agreed on anything. It was
doubly amazing that they agreed here after that almost, sort of, argument
from earlier. "They teach us. They are the best teacher we have, and they
make us stronger and more human. Our mistakes change us, for the better or
the worst, that is for us to decide."

"If she is saying that then she must not be human." Scar said, frowning. The
mistakes we make change us, huh? Then why does Amestris keep causing
battles and killing more innocent people?

General Armstrong crossed her arms, glaring at the woman on the screen.
"Then she had no idea of the hell of this world or how we humans function."

"Who seem more than willing to play into our hands." 'Cornello' said,
causing Lust to smirk.

"Are lots of people gonna to die again?" Gluttony asked.

"Yes, they will." Lust said.

"Can I eat all of them after they die?" Gluttony asked.

Lust petted Gluttony's head. "No, you can't." 'Cornello' was shown,
smirking. "By the way, Envy, how long are you planning to look like
that? It's grossing me out."

"Envy? Another deadly sin." Ed sighed. "No doubt an Ouroboros."

"Why do you say that?" Breda asked.

"Because it's a deadly sin name!" Ed growled frustrated. "It means

something, but what?"

"Aw, I'm just in the moment." There was a flash of red light, and
'Cornello's' body began to change into another form. "But as long as I'm
going to transform anyway, something young and cut would be better,
huh?" He said as his body changed into another form.

"Ah, yep, damn, you were right, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Ed frowned. "Not like I wish I was. This is really, really bad."

"But, if you are right, then we know one thing." Izumi said thoughtfully.
"They are only seven deadly sins, so they should only be seven of these
people if we going off of that thought."

"And they each have a different ability." Breda added, frowning. How much
of this was just hypothesis and how much of it was true?

A follower behind Envy gasped. Envy's leg was shown with an

Ouroboros tattoo while the follower said, "A-A monster!"

Envy looked over his shoulder at the man.

"What's going on here? The Father…where have the real Father

Cornello gone?!"

"Well, he's dead." Ed said dryly.

"Why do you say that?" Al asked, forgetting his anger for a moment to ease
his curiosity.

"These people kill without mercy." Ed replied, sighing, not seeming to notice
that he was talking to Al. "And he saw Envy transform. He saw these people
in Liore. They won't let that get out."

"Do you think they are all better?" Kain asked hopefully, staring at the
talking brothers with a hopeful smile.

Falman shook his head. "Not a chance. Last time they were angry with each
other for a week and destroyed the training room and the grounds around
Eastern Command again."

"Our only saving grace now is that their alchemy's been blocked." Breda said,
sighing.
"What do we do?" Lust asked.

Envy sighed. "He called me a monster. That was rude, huh?"

"He is a monster!" Darius and Heinkel shouted together.

"Better not say that near them or you'll get killed." Liran said.

"It's no joke." Ed growled, glaring at the three, efficiently getting them to shut
up.

Gluttony appeared behind Envy, staring at the follower. "Can I eat

him?"

Envy and Lust looked at him before the sounds of eating took place of
the scene. While Gluttony ate him, Envy leaned against the railing of the
balcony.

"That is a horrible way to die." Avery muttered. To actually be eaten

alive….he shuddered.

"Oh, hey, did you hear the news? Shou Tucker, that alchemist in East
City, he's dead." Envy said.

"Tucker? Why should we care about a little nothing like him?" Lust
asked.

"Because it was him responsible for the murder." Envy said.

"How the did he get this information so quickly?" Armstrong asked.

"Better question, why do they care?" Mustang asked. "Why should they care
about a murderer killing State Alchemists when they are causing trouble like
this in Liore?"

"If they are going to all this trouble to cause bloodshed, then they obviously
have a plan for something." Miles said, frowning.

Mustang nodded. "Yes, but why care about State Alchemists?"

"Didn't you hear? They don't give a damn about Tucker." Hughes said,
frowning, putting a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "They must be after
something specific, but what?"

"Speaking of East City, isn't that where the Flame Colonel is staying
right now?" Lust asked.

"Look, you made it on the monster-or as Ed likes to call them, Ouroboros'-

radar." Hughes said.

"That doesn't comfort me." Mustang said, frowning as he crossed his arms.
"Besides, it's just a passing comment."

"We can only hope so, sir. Otherwise, there is going to be a lot of trouble."
Riza replied, also frowning darkly about this. Edward was certainly right
about his comment from earlier. These beings were truly wicked demons.

"Yeah, and apparently, the Fullmetal brat is there too." Envy replied.

"Fullmetal?" Lust asked surprised. "As furious as I am that he

interfered with our work here, we can't very well let him die. He's an
important sacrifice."

Many eyes turned to Fullmetal, who was staring at the screen, quite confused.

Mustang rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Why am I not
surprised that they are after you?"

"Maybe because Chief is always dragging danger towards him like he was a
trouble magnet." Havoc said, though he wasn't amused. What could these
monsters want with Ed? And as a sacrifice?

"What the hell do they mean by sacrifice?" Edward growled.

"Why do you always have to go getting yourself in trouble for?" Mustang

groaned. "Now I have to get involved so you don't get killed."

Ed snarled. "I don't need you to protect me. I can take care of myself."
"Yes, you really proved that when you decided to let Scar kill you." Mustang
retorted. "If we weren't there, you'd be dead right now."

Ed scowled at him. "It's not like I wanted to die."

"Then why the hell did you give up the fight?" Mustang shouted, glaring at
him.

The youngest State Alchemist threw his hands in front of him. "Look, I
already argued with Al about this. I'm not feeling up to doing it again so drop
it, Colonel. I don't want to fight. I just don't have the energy for it right now."

The boy's response surprised Mustang. In all the years he had known
Fullmetal, he had never seen the boy once step back from a chance to fight or
argue with someone. He always had the spirit to argue.

"He was going to let himself get killed?" Buccaneer asked shocked. The kid
seemed too stubborn to him to even think about doing such a thing.

Havoc shrugged. "I don't think he was all that clear in the head at the time
when he decided that."

"Brother is just a reckless idiot." Al supplied.

"Hey." Ed snapped, glaring at his brother.

Al shrugged. "Even you have to admit that some of the things you do are
reckless." He looked back at the people on the screen. "I mean, you even got
these monsters after you."

"We don't know what the hell they want." Ed muttered. "Can't be anything
good, considering they are monsters and they said sacrifice."

"Back to Scar," Izumi growled, shooting the murderer a glare. "You gave up
a fight?"

Ed groaned. Damn Mustang for bringing that up. "Let's just forget that."

Al shifted a bit closer to his brother to whisper, "You know it's probably
going to come up soon, right?"

"I know, but by then, hopefully, I'll have an escape route." Ed muttered.

"From Teacher?" Al snorted. "Not likely. We could never escape from her."

"I know. We tried hundreds of times."

Gluttony stood up, covered in blood. "That was yummy." And then he
started to lick the blood off.

"Argh, that's so gross." Rebecca said.

"All right. We'll deal with it somehow." Lust said. "So, what was his
name, again?"

Eastern Command Center appeared on the screen again.

"Scar?" Mustang's voice said. He appeared on the screen. "Because of

his face?"

The screen pulled back to reveal four soldiers in a hallway of the

building. Mustang and Hughes were sitting on opposite benches while
Armstrong and Hawkeye stood to the sides.

"Yeah," Hughes said. "We don't really know anything else about him so
that's what we're calling him."

"Our target is both unidentified and elusive." Armstrong touched his

forehead. "The only information we've been able to obtain about him is
that he has a large scar on his forehead."

"Yes, I've heard stories about that man." Mustang replied. "That's who
you're trying to hunt down?"

"By order of the military police command center." Hughes said.

"Meanwhile all my other work is piling up. Eh, my head hurts."

"How come I never heard of him before this?" Ed asked.

"It's actually surprising you didn't know about him." Hughes replied. "Since
you travel so much, I would have thought the rumors would have reached
your ears."

"It really is strange. Usually when they are any strange rumors going around,
the Colonel always calls Ed in to see if he heard anything, and he always has
some of the answers we are looking for." Havoc mused.

Breda nodded. "And yet for some reason, he was completely oblivious to a
State Alchemist killer that is after him."

The housewife sighed. "It is because there was a chance this murderer would
come after him that he was completely oblivious to it." She glared at the boy.

"What's that mean?" Ed retorted.

"If it's your own life in danger and no one else's, you miss it completely. If it
is for the benefit of others, you hear about it and investigate it. Isn't that how
you work? After all, everything you are doing in the military is for your
brother, not you." Izumi pointed out, frowning. "I know I taught you to value
your life more than that, but it seems my lesson did not sink into that head of
yours."

"That sounds like him." Riza sighed. Honestly, it was like this boy couldn't
take care of himself, no matter how much he shouted he could.

"There is no room for selfishness in this world. Being selfish just leads to
more pain." Edward said quietly.

"Those aren't words that should be coming from a child." Karin said sadly.

"And it's also not how someone should live." Darius added. "It is okay to be a
bit selfish and value the life you have."

"Someone should beat some sense into Fullmetal." Mustang said, and looked
towards Izumi as did many other soldiers.

Izumi raised a brow. "Shouldn't it be his commanding officer?"

"But you are the only one he is afraid of. He'll listen to you." Mustang
retorted.

"I do not believe it would be that easy to change his view on the world."
Izumi said, shaking her head sadly as she focused her eyes on the brothers
who were talking quietly to each other about something. "Besides, I did teach
him as a child to value his life and live it to the fullest. He either ignored the
lesson or has forgotten it."

While the adults conversed about Ed's bad outlook on life, the brothers fell
into another discussion about a certain stone.

"What do you think the hidden truth could be?" Edward mused.

"Huh?" Al asked. "Are you still thinking about that? We'll probably see it
soon, Brother."

Ed sighed. "I know, but I was hoping to figure it out before we got to see it."

"How do you plan to do that without any materials in front of you?" Al asked.

Groaning, Ed dropped his head into his hands. "Why must you upset me so?"

Al chuckled. "Sorry, Brother. Let's go over what we know. The Philosopher's

Stone main ingredient is human lives."

"Yes, and the military has been producing them for a while, or that is what
we can assume by what Dr. Marcoh told us." Ed said before pausing. "I
wonder why he isn't here. He has a big part with the Philosopher's Stone. You
would think he would be here."

"Maybe this has nothing to do with the stone." Al pointed out. "After all, so
far the stone hasn't been mentioned by those monsters, so…"

"I guess that is a possibility." Edward replied, sighing. "I wish he was here
though. He would be of really good help to figure this out."

"Ed? Al? What are you talking about?" Riza asked curiously.
Ed and Al tensed, surprised at the sudden intrusion of their conversation.
"Nothing!" They shouted together.

"Suspicious." Maria said. "Does this have anything to do with the yelling we
heard going on in the library before we were brought here?"

"AH, that is right. You and Sergeant Brosh are Fullmetal's guards while he is
in Central." Armstrong said.

Ed groaned at the reminder. Why did they have to give him guards? And
normal soldiers at that! He didn't doubt them, but he wasn't sure of how much
help they would be against Scar. He fought with that man so he knew his
speed was amazing. It was better he didn't have guards because then they
wouldn't die protecting him.

"What do you mean by yelling?" Hughes asked confused. "I know they've
been holed up in the library doing research the last ten days, but what were
they doing exactly?"

"We were decoding notes." Edward said with a sigh. Stupid nosy soldiers.

Danny nodded. "Were you yelling because you couldn't get them decoded?"

Ed and Al glanced at each other with a dark frown crossing Ed's face. "It will
come up in a little while."

Havoc scowled. "Why do you two always have to keep secrets? Do you not
trust us to help you?"

Ed and Al refused to answer. The former just clenched his fists and stared at
the ground, refusing eye contact with the soldiers.

"You don't!" Breda said shocked and a bit hurt at the lack of trust.

"It's not that we don't trust you. We do, but…." Ed trailed off, glancing at his
brother.

"We don't want you guys to get involved in our problems." Al finished.
SLAM!

The brothers jumped in surprise and turned around to see Mustang's fist still
on the coffee table he just hit. His eyes, which were directed at the boys, were
filled to the brim with anger and determination. "You two are absolute idiots.
You don't have to do everything by yourself. In fact, you can't do everything
by yourself. It is impossible, and just by attempting to do it and not letting
people help you, you'll just get yourselves killed. You are still just children,
and as adults, it is our job to look after you. We want to help you, but to do
so, you have to let us in on what you know."

Ed shook his head and turned back around. "It's not that easy." He murmured.

"What is so hard about it?" Havoc demanded.

Ed raised his automail fist and stared at it, letting the light reflect off it as
Izumi removed his gloves and jacket earlier. This was the price of his sin. It
hurt and he missed his real arm, but he never regretted the choice of giving it
up to get his baby brother back. He pushed his fist into Al's chest. "We've
only ever relied on each other. We don't know how to ask for help. Right,
Al?"

"Well, it's time you learned before you get yourself killed." Maria growled.
She was not going to let these boys die. Before it was just her assigned duty
to guard them, but over the couple weeks they've known each other, she's
grown attached to the brothers. They were really smart and kind to those who
needed help. They were strong, but still children. She could see why
Armstrong was protective of the boys.

"It's not that easy." Ed said quietly so only Al could hear him. "It's so
dangerous that they might die if they get too close."

"I know, Brother." Al replied softly. Neither of them wanted anyone to die
for them. They hated death, hated to see it ever since they lost their mother
twice. They couldn't bear to see someone else die for them or because of
them.

"He's killed five people in Central, all State Alchemists." Armstrong

said. "His body count nationwide is up to ten."

"Five days ago, he took down old man Grand." Hughes added.

"The Brigadier General?" Mustang said shocked. "But he's an expert in

weapons transmutation."

"That shows you how dangerous this guy is." Hughes said as the screen
changed to Hawkeye's face. "You should increase your escort and lie low
for a while. Nobody will blame you." Mustang's frowning face appeared
next. "Please, I'm also asking you to do this as a close friend. You and
Tucker are the only State Alchemists of note in this area, right?"

A look of horror passed over Mustang's face. "Oh, no!"

"You should have told me sooner that Ed was around." Hughes growled.
They had cut it too close that time. There was no way that Ed could handle
Scar on his own, no matter how strong the boy was. Scar had way more years
of experience and was merciless.

"I didn't even know what was going on at the time." Mustang argued. "I still
can't believe an Ishvalan would be so coldhearted as to go after a kid who had
nothing to do with the Ishvalan War."

Scar scowled. "He joined the military. He knew what was coming by doing
so. The moment he signed up as a State Alchemist, he gave all rights to
childhood away."

"That doesn't make him an adult or guilty for what we adults did in that war.
He was what, three? Three years old, not even knowing what alchemy was
yet, when it started." Mustang argued.

"Can we not argue morals with a murderer? It doesn't really matter." Edward
interrupted. "What's done is done. Moving on!"

Mustang glared at Ed, then at Scar.

Rolling his eyes, Ed looked over his shoulder at the Colonel. "You've said it a
hundred time in the past three years. I gave up my childhood, so why are you
arguing about it now?"

"Because Hughes looks ready to kill me for getting you in so much danger."
Mustang said.

Ed glanced at Hughes, who was glaring at Mustang. Sweat dropping, he

turned back to the screen. Overprotective freaks.

The scene changed to Ed and Al sitting outside in the rain.

"Are you trying to get sick?" Sheska asked worriedly.

"Wow, even Sheska is being sarcastic to me." Ed grumbled.

"I've been thinking about this for a long. We put all our trust in alchemy,
but in the end, what is it?" Edward asked. "'Alchemy is the science of
understanding the flow of matter and its laws, the process of
comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction. The world flows to
and it must also follow laws, everything circulates. Even death is a part
of that circulation. You must accept the flow.' Teacher sure drummed
that into our heads, didn't she?"

"I'm more impressed you remember it exactly word for word after six years."
Izumi commented.

"As I said, you drummed it into our heads." Edward said.

"Obviously not hard enough since you still tried to bring the dead back."
Izumi growled.

Edward flinched.

Edward's downcast eyes were shown. "I thought I understood it. But I
didn't understand anything." There was a flashback of a bloody hand
clawing at a human transmutation circle. "Mom proves that. And now,
here I am again, trying desperately to figure out a way to do the
impossible." Nina was shown laughing as her dog licked her face. Sad
music began to play as the scene went back to the brothers. "I'm such a
hopeless idiot. All this time, I haven't grown up one bit. I thought maybe
the rain would wash away some of this gloom that's following me. But
right now, every drop that hits my face is even more depressing." He
bowed his head, not bothering to look up again.

Al turned his helmet to the sky. "I don't even get that much. Without a
body, I can't feel the rain hitting my face. That's something I miss all the
time. I want to get my body back soon, Brother. I just want to be human
again. Even if it means going against the flow of the world and trying to
do the impossible." As Al finished talking, the screen pulled back away
from the brothers to show Scar standing in front of them.

"That's how you ran into Scar?" Riza said shocked. They hadn't even noticed
a murderer standing right in front of them. He could have killed Edward so
easily right there.

"I wonder how long he was standing there." Edward said.

"About a minute." Scar answered, surprising Ed since he didn't expect an

answer.

"You can't let everything get you down and cause you to forget your
surroundings." General Armstrong growled. "That is how you get killed."

"Right, right. I'll be more careful so I don't die." Ed muttered.

"You, boy, you're the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, correct?" Scar
asked.

Edward glanced up with empty eyes, not realizing the threat that was in
front of him as Scar raised his right hand.

"So, you dare to attack him?" Izumi yelled angrily, rising to her feet and
cracking her knuckles threateningly.

Ed and Al glanced away from the screen to look at Izumi in fear. "U-uh, T-
teacher." Ed said, hesitantly reaching out a hand towards her, but she ignored
him as she slammed her foot into a surprised Scar's face that sent him flying
over the couch.
Edward's head just dropped without warning in a dejected manner. "And
there she goes." He said weakly.

"It looks like Scar can hold his own." Al said, watching as Scar managed to
dodge most of Izumi's attacks.

"At least neither of them have their alchemy. Can you imagine what a fight
with alchemy between them would be like?" Edward asked, sighing at the
thought.

"We'd all be dead." Al replied.

Mustang blinked at the fight, amazed at how skilled this woman was. It was
simply amazing. Still, though….he turned back to the brothers. "You two
have quite a protective teacher."

Ed weakly waved his hand. "She isn't protective at all."

"Yeah, she'll probably kill us later." Al agreed.

SMASH!

"She is truly a magnificent fighter!" Armstrong cried jovially.

"I don't really think this is the time to be cheering on a fight." Edward said
blandly.

General Armstrong raised a brow. "It's almost like you want us to save Scar."

Ed scowled. "I could care less about that man. My problem is Teacher." He
glanced at his brother. "Remember what would happen if we trained with her
too long?"

SLAM!

"Yes, but she and Scar have only been going at it for a few minutes." Al
pointed.

"Doesn't matter. She went easy on us so she wouldn't kill us. She isn't going
easy on Scar so…" Edward trailed off.

CRASH!

Al jerked his head back to their teacher. If she wasn't going easy, she would
over-exert herself faster, which meant…..And there it was! Their teacher
froze in her fight with Scar. She coughed and blood gushed out of her mouth.
Her hand came up to cover her mouth.

"Teacher." Edward jumped over the back of the couch to get to his ex-
teacher. He glanced at Scar, scowling at him, but not blaming him. Izumi
caused that fight all on her own so he couldn't blame him. "You can stop
now, Scar."

Scar nodded and went back to his sit, nursing his left arm since Izumi had
managed to bruise it really well. He wouldn't be surprised if his bone was
bruised from that.

"What was that?" Riza demanded of the brothers.

"Teacher is sick." Al supplied while his brother helped Izumi. "Brother, do

you need anything?"

Ed glanced up from Izumi and nodded. "Can you get a towel and damp it?"

"Of course." Al said before heading to one of the bedrooms.

"Teacher," Edward said, lowering his voice so no one else heard. "This is
happening because of your insides that were taken, correct?"

"Y-yes," Izumi managed to get out before she started coughing up more
blood again.

Clanging brought Edward's attention back to his surroundings and he glanced

up when Al held a towel out to him. He nodded in thanks and helped his
teacher clean up the blood on her.

"How are you feeling?" Al asked worriedly.

"Stop with all that pointless worrying." Izumi growled. "I am in top
condition!"

As she said this, she coughed up more blood which caused the boys to give
her deadpanned stares. "Yeah, you look really great." Edward supplied
sarcastically, rolling his eyes. And people said that he was stubborn.

"Boys?" Riza asked when they were done helping their teacher.

Sighing, Ed folded his hands behind his hand as he came back from the
bedroom where he went to get rid of the towel. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"What is wrong with Izumi?"

"Oh, that?" Ed asked, glancing at his teacher. "She is just sick with
something. We don't really know what it is."

"SICK?" Izumi yelled, jumping up from the couch to slam her foot into Ed's
chest, sending him flying back from where he came. "I am in perfect
condition, you brat!"

"Ugh," Was all Ed could say in reply from where he laid on the ground.

Al blinked and scooted away from Izumi. "Perhaps you shouldn't do such
things at the moment." He said meekly, though some might think it was
reckless after what just happened to his brother. "You might make yourself
worse."

Izumi spun around, grabbed Al's arm and threw him after his brother. Ed,
who was in the process of getting up was hit full force by his brother and sent
flying through the wall to one of the bedrooms. The only positive side is that
he landed on one of the soft beds where he fell unconscious as Al landed on
him and knocked all the air from his body. "How can I make myself worse
when I am not even sick?"

Mustang and many other soldiers glanced through the hole in the wall at the
unconscious Ed and Al, who climbed off his brother and the bed before
looking down at his pale brother.
"Is Fullmetal alive?" Mustang asked, glancing at Izumi then at the boys.
Damn, that was one scary lady.

"Brother?" Al asked, shaking his brother's shoulder. "Brother, wake up!"

"He passed out from that attack?" Izumi growled. "You two obviously need
more training."

'Demon.' Many of the soldiers thought fearfully, while others thought they
finally figured out where Ed's demon streak came from. Who wouldn't pass
out when they were hit by a heavy suit of armor and sent flying through a
wall? The only logical thing from that would be a severe head injury.

"Don't you think that was a little extreme?" Hughes asked worriedly.

"Never. If someone doesn't kick their asses, they'll never get stronger." Izumi
growled.

"Argh, that seems unfair." Edward muttered, sitting up on the bed, rubbing
his aching head.

"How so?" Izumi demanded.

Glaring at her, Edward jumped off the bed, ignoring his brother's frantic
wave of his hands and shushing noises. "You expelled us! We're not your
students anymore. You have no right to say you're going to kick our asses
into shape when you don't even consider us your students anymore."

"Brother," Al groaned, catching the pain that flashed in Izumi's eyes.

"Expelled?" Maria asked confused, only to be ignored by Ed, who walked

passed his former teacher over to his spot on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Teacher." Al murmured.

Izumi frowned at the younger brother. "Stop apologizing for your brother all
the time. He has to learn to take responsibility for his actions. But, in this
case, he is right about what he said." She said the last part softly as if was
mostly to herself as if she needed to remind herself that she was not their
master anymore. And quietly, she went back to her seat on the couch.

"Damn, this is awkward." Darius mumbled, glancing between the silent Ed

and sad Izumi.

Al glanced between them as well, unsure how to handle this. His brother was
right in what he said, but the way he said it was wrong. And why was he so
mad about Teacher kicking him through a wall anyway? But Izumi had
looked so sad after what Edward said. But why? She was the one who had
expelled them.

Damn, he was sure that if he had his body, he would be feeling a headache
coming on from all this. Why did they both have to be so confusing? Unsure
as to what to do and not wanting to take a side, Al sat down next to the couch
General Armstrong was on, just so he could avoid them both.

"There is too much drama in this room." General Armstrong growled in

annoyance. "How typical of teenagers."

"Though, their drama is coming from things that one wouldn't see in normal
teenagers." Miles said with a smirk that wasn't at all amused at this situation.

"What even caused all this in the first place?" Buccaneer asked once
everyone had settled down.

"Scar attacked Edward." Hawkeye replied with a sigh as she glanced at the
brothers and Izumi. They had spread themselves out to avoid each other.
What did the boys mean by expelled? And why were they expelled? If they
knew that, then maybe they could help fix whatever was wrong.

"Right, let's continue between anything else happens." Mustang said, hoping
to avoid more awkward situations.

"Brother!" Al shouted, shocking Ed out of his depressing thoughts as he

pulled him away from the danger. At that same time, the clock tower
rung. Ed watched in shock as Scar changed directions to face the boys
again. He clapped his hands in time and slammed them on the ground to
create a barrier.
"What the hell is going on?" Edward asked, sitting on the ground in
surprise.

"Well, Fullmetal is back in the right state of mind finally." Mustang

commented.

"More like confused as hell so I don't have time to even think about being
depressed." Edward snarled angrily, causing his friends to wince. It seems the
boy was more pissed off about everything that happened with Izumi then they
thought.

There was a sound of alchemy and a wall in the box Ed created was
blown apart, throwing rocks and dirt in the boys' faces. Scar stood in
front of them causing a look of fear to cross Ed's face. Scar stepped out
of the box.

'Who is this guy? What does he want? This is bad…this is really bad…'
Scar's hand was shown tensing, ready for another attack. 'I have to move.
Now!'

"So you do have a sense of danger?" Havoc commented. "And here we all
thought you fought everyone that came after you."

"Only when I know I can handle them." Ed grumbled. He didn't mean to

sound rude to them, but he was still trying to get his emotions in check. Izumi
expelled them, then she attacked them, saying she had to get them in shape.
And then there were times when she took care of him after his body went
through that hell of the human transmutation and she did comfort him about
the Nina incident. That was the problem; he didn't have a damn clue as to
what she was playing at. He had no idea how to handle her now that he was
expelled and she was being so kind and, dare he say it, motherly to him at
times. It hurt. After all these years, he had someone acting like a mother to
him after his own died, and he didn't know what to do or how to go about
dealing with it, especially since it was coming from his former teacher.

"And a sense of fear." Mustang said. "You said earlier you didn't have time
for such emotions."
Edward growled, definitely not in the mood to deal with this when he had his
own thoughts whirling around and giving him a headache. "Well, sorry, I was
confused as hell because what he did seemed impossible at the time. I had no
idea what was happening or why he was after me since you never tell me
anything!"

"I didn't know he was in the east. If I did, I would have given you an escort."
Mustang retorted.

"That's not the problem. The problem is that you heard of Scar, but never told
me about him." Ed retorted. "You want me to tell you what I know, well, why
don't you do the same thing, Mustang?"

"Should have told him about Liore sooner." Hughes muttered to his friend,
suspecting that was one of the things the boy was furious about.

Mustang glared at his friend, but didn't reply. Hughes has only known the
boys for a short while. He's known them for four years. He didn't need
someone else telling him how to handle them. He knew what to expect from
them, and most of them time, they weren't things he wanted to deal with or
see, so he kept quiet about some things. No one had the right to lecture him
about how to advise those boys. Fullmetal was his subordinate and he would
be the one in direct control of what military information reached his ears, no
one else. That boy didn't need any more guilt or pain on his shoulders.

"Al! Run!" Ed shouted and climbed to his feet to run towards the stairs
with Al following him.

Scar destroyed the wall above the stairs to land in front of them on the
stairs, surprising the boys enough to stop them.

"No wonder I have so much paperwork when it involves you." Mustang

grumbled.

"That was not my fault!" Ed shouted. "Scar did it!" [1]

He couldn't help it. Even though Ed was in an angst and angry mood, Havoc
just started chuckling. "Chief, that sounded like a little kid blaming someone
else for breaking something."

Edward groaned when Havoc's statement caused other people to imagine the
scene he was referring to and they started to laugh.

"I have someone trying to kill me, and you say things like that." Edward
grumbled.

"This is in the past. We save you." Havoc said, waving Edward off.

"Though, he does seem particular more destructive when he is coming after

you." Hughes commented with a frown. "Any particular reason?"

Scar frowned. "He's the only one who ever ran from me, instead of
attempting to fight me."

"Which is why he was able to survive long enough for us to save him."
Mustang said.

"Survival instincts." Al said.

"Yep, after training for so long under a murderous Teacher," Edward paused
and sent an awkward and nervous glance at Izumi. "We picked up on
murderous intent real easily." Edward continued.

"Murderous intent?" Miles asked, glancing at the boys' former teacher, who
was now staring at Edward with a strange look on her face. This was just
getting too bizarre, even for the Briggs soldier. Why would their teacher have
murderous intent towards her students?

Al nodded when it was obvious his brother didn't want to go into any more as
he was shifting uncomfortably on the ground and shooting another glance at
Izumi. "I can't count the number of times she threw knives at us for no reason
or because we pissed her off."

"Knives?!" Havoc shouted, staring at the boys' ex-teacher in absolute fear.

Who the hell threw knives at kids?

"Well, yeah, how do you think our reflexes got so good?" Edward asked
confused, turning back to his friends, as if it was perfectly normal to have a
teacher throw knives at him.

General Armstrong looked at the woman and smirked. Now here was
someone who understood that training could not be soft if the students were
to grow into strong people. Though, even she had to wonder, why did she
expel them? It was obvious they were expelled from being her students, but
why? She seemed to care about their well-being, but if she no longer taught
them, then she couldn't help them get stronger.

"You're not getting away." Scar said, hand tensing again to destroy the
stairs. The boys started to fall before Al grabbed a part of the stairs that
weren't destroyed and caught his brother by his ankle.

"Brother!"

Edward swung upside down for a moment before he stopped. He gasped

when he saw Scar touching the wall and destroying the rest of the stairs.
The boys fell, screaming, to the next set of stairs.

"Destroying the whole city." Mustang groaned. "No wonder there was so
much paperwork after this whole incident."

Scar started walking down the stairs when Ed glanced at him. To

attempt to get away, Ed clapped his hands. "Al, grab on." He said as he
put his hands on the stairs. The ground they were on shot out and away
from Scar before he was able to destroy it.

The destruction of it caused the boys to flip off it and roll down the hilly
road before they manage to get on their feet and run away.

"So, what is your plan at this point in time?" Walkers asked, having not been
involved in the rescue of the Elric brothers.

"Get as far away as possible and hope the news of a fight that is destroying
the city gets to someone's ears." Edward replied more calmly then he did
earlier. If he didn't think about and stopped looking at his former teacher,
maybe the air in the room would return to normal.
"Actually, we were already on the move to find you before this. We then
followed the path of destruction." Riza explained. "I saw the general direction
you went when you left HQ earlier so we started there."

"Well, thank you for saving us." Al said. "Brother would be dead if it wasn't
for you."

Ed groaned. "Let's just forget that part already."

"As long as you don't do it again." Armstrong said, frowning. "You had
scared us all when we saw you give up."

Ed blinked, shock overwhelming the angst mood he was in. "Y-you…You

were there at that point?! Why didn't you intervene sooner? You could have
saved my arm!"

The Briggs soldiers were confused at the last statement, but didn't question it.
Soldiers from the east were just plain strange, and besides, they would
probably discover the meaning of it later.

"We were still setting up our ambush. The plan was for you to fight back a bit
more so we had more time, but when you gave up, we had to improvise."
Mustang explained.

Edward groaned to himself. He couldn't believe he let his comrades see him
just give up on life like that, especially since he always portrayed himself as a
strong person to them.

"Damn it, what the hell is this guy's problem?" Edward asked. "Making
enemies isn't something that I…." Ed paused and a frown crossed his
face. "Well, I never really avoided it, but there's no reason someone
should be trying to kill me!"

Riza sighed. Someone should really teach this boy to be more careful about
who he angers. He was going to make a lot of enemies, if he hasn't already,
that were going to come for his life.

"I can think of plenty of reasons why someone would try to kill you."
Mustang said, smirking when Ed shot him a challenging glare.

"You've help get them arrested." Breda said.

Ed frowned. Great, now they were all in on it. "Well, that shouldn't mean
they'll come after me. I mean, a lot of soldiers do that. It's just job."

"You've destroyed their attempts of terrorist attacks." Havoc said,

remembering the train incident with Bald.

Scowling, Ed stubbornly crossed his arms. "Well, they shouldn't do it while

I'm around, especially when I am trying to sleep. Damn annoying terrorist
can't do anything at the proper time."

Mustang frowned. "Fullmetal…."

"Argh, this is just like that time when we were on that train and you said to
ignore the fact that terrorist took over the train." Al mumbled.

Mustang smacked his forehead. "Fullmetal, as a soldier, you are supposed to

keep things like this from happening."

"Yeah, yeah. I took care of it in the end." Ed snapped, running his fingers
through his hair in annoyance.

"Only because the terrorist in the car we were in saw your pocket watch and
tried to shoot you after calling you short." Al argued. "You destroyed their
evil cults bent on taking over the country."

"Nothing is ever peaceful with you around." Havoc muttered. "Why weren't
you willing to handle it then?"

"My automail was broken." Ed grumbled. "By the time I was done with those
stupid terrorists, it was completely destroyed."

"And you had a bullet in your leg." Al said sadly. He had agreed with his
brother in not getting involved that time. Since his automail was
malfunctioning, it was more dangerous that time for him to do so, but they
had no choice when it was revealed who he was and the people in their car
heard. They had to intervene then when the truth was out.

"You got shot?" Riza asked shocked and worried.

Ed shrugged. "Automail malfunctioning plus fighting a train full of terrorists

is not a good idea."

Falman, thoughtfully and wanting to get away from the conversation about
terrorists, said, "You beat them out for being a State Alchemist as a child."

"Ah," Havoc nodded. "Yes, that would make many people angry. Who would
want to lose to a brat at being a State Alchemist?"

"You broke my rules." Izumi added in causing Edward to twitch. Yeah, he

was more scared of his ex-teacher then any enemy he ever made.

Edward raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. I've done plenty of things
that someone would want to get revenge against me for."

"It might be a good idea to stop angering people." Walkers commented.

"Not possible if this jerk," Ed jerked his head at Mustang, "keeps sending me
on these stupid missions."

Ed and Al ran down an alley with Scar chasing after them. Alchemical
energy traveled along the wall ahead of them to destroy it to block their
path.

"Yowww!" Edward shouted. Kneeling on the ground, he looked over at

Scar with a frown. "Who are you? Why are you coming after us?"

"As long as they are 'creators' like you in the world, then they must also
be 'destroyers.'" Scar replied.

"It looks like we're going to have to fight." Edward clapped his hands. As
Al stood up, Ed put his hand on one of the broken pipes and changed it
into a knife.

"Why did you use a knife anyway?" Havoc asked. "I thought you always
used your automail."

"I only use my automail when I have to transmute while running and don't
have a choice, when there is nothing else around, or when I have my jackets
off." Edward replied.

"Again with the clothes." Breda muttered.

"It's the only coat I have and it is getting stretched and ruined every time I
have to transmute it to fix it." Edward grumbled.

Al chuckled. "That, and when he changes his automail too much, it messes
with the designs and needs fixed."

"That seems like a better explanation then it's because of his clothes."
Walkers said, chuckling.

When Ed raised his knife, Scar smirked. "Gutsy one, aren't you?"

Ed pushed off the ground and charged at Scar with Al following behind
him.

Scar's hand tensed once more. "But."

Ed and Al attacked at the same time, but Scar was able to evade both of
their attacks. "Too slow." Scar said and as he was passing them, his
hand twisted around to attack Al's armor, blowing a giant hole in the
side.

"Argh, there goes my body." Al groaned.

"At least you can't feel it." Ed replied. Damn, he couldn't imagine what Al
would be going through right now if he could feel that.

Ed looked over his shoulder in shock. "Al!"

Al was shown lying on the ground, his whole right side in pieces.

"There's nothing inside." Scar thought.

"You bastard!" Ed screamed, lunging at Scar, but his right arm was
caught.

"Too slow." Scar said, trying to blast Ed's arm off, which resulted in
Edward flying backwards, much to Scar's surprise.

Edward landed on his back and rolled over. He jumped to his feet,
removing his coat. "Damn it." He growled.

"That automail arm? Then that explains why my attacks didn't do the
damage I expected." Scar said as he came out of the alley.

Ed stared at him as he tossed his coat to the side and clapped his hands
again. This time he changed his arm into a blade.

"Now that would be useful." Miles commented.

"Yeah, depends on how strong the opponent is though." Edward grumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't count the number of times my arm has gotten busted because of
people managing to mess it up one way or another." Ed mumbled.

Al blinked. "Isn't that because you go around revealing it so much? If they

didn't know it was automail, they probably wouldn't screw it up so much."

"Wouldn't they just ruin his arm anyway even if they didn't realize it wasn't
metal?" Havoc asked confused.

Al shook his head. "You'd be surprised at how many people we meet that are
actually quite reluctant to do anything gory like ripping or cutting an arm off.
They become more vicious when they see he has automail because they can
tear it off without have to see all the blood and bone."

"Tear off? You're speaking figuratively, right?" Maria asked.

"No, I really had a person tear off both my arm and leg. Because he actually
tore them off, he left pieces jammed into the ports." Edward explained,
rubbing his shoulder at the thought of that incident. That had been really
painful.

"I remember that. Winry about killed you when she saw your automail." Al
said, grimacing at the memory.

"But that wasn't your fault." Brosh pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but it will just scare her if we tell her everything that
happens with us, so we just let her blame me for my broken automail."

"Seems dangerous to your health." Armstrong commented, remembering

what happened when he took the boys to Resembool.

Edward waved him off. "I am actually quite used to her hitting me so it's not
a problem."

"Think he's a masochist?" Zampano chuckled.

"That, or he's in love." Heinkel retorted, grinning. These Elric brothers were
quite amusing. He could learn to like listening to all this banter.

"Brother, don't." Al said. "Just run away."

Ed threw his arm to his side. "You idiot!" Scar took over the screen as
Ed continued. "I'm not going to leave you behind, Al."

"You press your hands together to make a ring, and then you perform
transmutation." Scar raised his hand. "Now I see." He said as Ed
charged at him.

Once again, Scar managed to dodge Ed's blade and caught his wrist. He
put his right hand at Ed's shoulder. "I will have to start by destroying
this abhorrent right arm of yours." There was the sound of alchemical
energy followed by the clanging of metal before Ed's arm shattered and
fell to the ground in hundreds of pieces.

Hanging his head, dejected, Ed mumbled, "And there goes my arm. We are
now, officially, in pieces, Brother."
"So that's what he meant about his arm." Buccaneer said, frowning. This boy
really didn't take good care of his automail like he should. Granted, this time
wasn't his fault, but it was still maintained badly. Automail was a part of him,
and if it wasn't properly taken care of it, it would break when he truly needed
it.

Edward looked at the Colonel out of the corner of his eye. "How the hell did I
miss you arriving there? I should have at least heard the cars."

Mustang shrugged. "Perhaps you were just having an off day. I can believe it
by seeing the horrible fight you gave Scar. I thought you were a better fighter
than this."

"Obviously he hasn't had nearly enough training as I thought he did." Izumi

growled. "The only good thing I have seen from all your fights is that you
don't rely solely on alchemy."

"Well," Ed mumbled. "You taught us to not use it so much. We need to train

our bodies as well as our minds, right? All those brawls are a good way for
me to focus on becoming a better fighter since I am not at Al's level yet."

"You're going to fully admit Al is a better martial artist?" Havoc said

shocked, thinking that Ed's pride wouldn't let him do such a thing.

Ed shrugged. "Well, it's obvious. Thought everyone knew that."

"Brother is the better alchemist, while I am the better fighter." Al agreed.

"Isn't that because you can't transmute without a circle so you have to rely on
martial arts in a fight while Fullmetal can transmute quickly to protect
himself?" Mustang asked.

Ed scowled. "It doesn't matter how fast I transmute, there are still times I
can't rely on alchemy, like when my opponent is fast and doesn't pause to
allow me time to transmute like Scar just did in this fight."

"And in those times, you rely on Al to save you?" Izumi asked dangerously.

"Sometimes, but when he isn't around, I usually find another way to save
myself or deceive my opponent." Edward replied, shrugging.

"Hmm, maybe we should assign you a gun." Mustang mused.

Edward frowned. He despised guns. They were used to kill, but, then again,
so was alchemy. But at least with alchemy he could control what he did. His
skill with a gun wasn't as good as his skill with alchemy.

"Brother!" Al shouted.

Edward's face appeared with shock written all over it as he fell to the
ground. His destroyed arm was shown to be in pieces before Ed was
shown sitting on the ground with Scar standing in front of him.

"It amazes me that there are still people standing there when there is a fight to
the death going on in the street." Al said, staring at the civilians in the
background.

"People rarely care for others." Ed said. "They're not the ones being attacked.
They don't know what is going on. So they will just stand there and watch or
ignore it. That is how some humans are."

"Now you won't be able to use your alchemy." Scar said.

"Maybe I should start carrying chalk or a pocketknife on me." Edward

grumbled.

"I get the chalk, but why the pocketknife?" Havoc asked confused.

"So I can cut myself and use my blood to draw circles." Edward explained.

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Kain asked.

Edward shook his head. "Never. In a life and death situation, nothing is too
extreme."

"Well, he understands some things at least." General Armstrong said.

Edward stared at Scar. His hair was falling messily into his face and
wires were hanging out of his automail port. He gasped and put his hand
on the ground behind him.

"Wow, Chief, you look like a horrible mess." Brody said, frowning, not
noticing the nickname that slipped from his lips.

"Well, you know, having someone try to kill you does that to you." Edward
retorted, running a hand through his bangs to straighten them out before
glancing at the soldier. He really wasn't expecting any of his other comrades
to start using his nickname.

When he tried to crawl back, he fell onto his side, pushing his face into
the ground.

"Did that happen because you were unbalanced?" Breda asked.

"Yeah, it felt so strange missing an arm like that." Edward said, frowning.
Even when he was eleven, he never noticed the lack of balance he had with
one limb. It was probably because he was evened out by missing a limb from
both sides of his body at the time. "It caused Phantom Limbs to appear once
more with it gone."

"Can you imagine what it would be been like if you lost two limbs on the
same side of your body?" Avery asked.

Ed groaned. "Sounds horrible. I would be completely off balanced with how

heavy these stupid things are."

"Better not let Winry hear you call her creations stupid." Al warned,
chuckling when his brother twitched.

Mustang smirked. "Maybe that is why your growth is so stunted."

"ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT?!" Edward screamed.

"What was your first clue?" Mustang asked. "The word growth or stunted?"

"I think he is just pointing out a logical reason to why you are short, Brother."
Al tried to tell his brother to calm him down, not realizing he admitted to his
brother being short.

CLANG!

Edward had slammed his bare automail foot into Al's chest, sending him
flying over a couch, which had all the soldiers ducking for cover so they
wouldn't lose their heads. "Even my own brother has betrayed me."

From behind the couch, Al groaned. He hadn't meant it like that.

Edward was shown staring into the ground as Scar started walking
towards him. "I will give you a moment to pray to God."

"Oh, you will?" Mustang asked, glaring at the murderer. "Well, I didn't see
you giving that chance to anyone else!"

"Why did you say that?" Edward asked curiously. "Everyone else was killed
on the spot."

"Maybe he's just reluctant to kill a child who had nothing to do with the war,
but will still do so since he is a State Alchemist." Hughes suggested.

Izumi glared at the man. How dare this guy attacked one of her
precious….ex-students? But, even though she wanted to kill him, she knew
she couldn't, not here. And besides, she did notice one thing about him.
"Perhaps he is more of a compassionate man then anyone of us would like to
think, but he is simply furious about what the military did to his people.
Vengeance is all that is running him now. You have lost yourself, Scar."

Scar glared at the woman. He has lost himself, has he? What did she know?
She knew nothing about him or his race that was killed because of that
despicable and unwanted war. It was all this country's fault for everything
that had happened. He could never forgive it or its people for taking away his
home and his family.

Al pushed himself up to his arms. "Brother, run away." He shouted

pleadingly.

Ed was shown as Scar took the last few steps to him. "Unfortunately,"
He said. "There isn't any God I'd like to pray to." His hand was shown
with rain pelting down on it. "Am I the only one you're trying to kill
today? Or are you going after my brother, Al, too?"

Scar appeared on the screen with Al in the alley behind him. "If he
interferes, I will eliminate him. But, Fullmetal Alchemist, you are the
only one who is receiving judgment."

"Judgment?" Izumi hissed. "He had nothing to do with the war in Ishval. He
is completely innocent of those sins."

"But he is not innocent of the sin of breaking the taboo, human

transmutation." Scar retorted. "No alchemist is truly innocent. They have all
done something with their despicable alchemy."

"That may be," Izumi growled, flashes of her sin flashing in her mind. "But
those sins are not yours to judge!"

"Oh, yeah?" Edward asked, hand tightening into a fist. He turned his
head to stare at Scar. "In that case, I want your word. Promise me that
you won't hurt my brother."

Izumi's eyes narrowed. "So, you really were going to let yourself get killed
and leave your brother alone?" She hissed angrily.

Edward glared at the ground. How many times was he going to get
reprimanded for this? "Yes, I got it. I made a mistake. I was foolish and
stupid to give up then."

"And that fighting was horrible. You need more training." Izumi muttered.

"Can't just have an off day. No, must be insulted and have it said I need more
training. Having an off day just isn't allowed apparently." Edward grumbled
to himself, causing quite a few people, including his brother, to sweat drop.
"And it has to be the lady who kicked me out who says I need more training.
Where does she get the right?"

Mustang raised a brow. "Fullmetal, will you stop mumbling to yourself? If

you don't, I might just think you've gone insane and send you to a mental
institute."

Edward looked up from his grumbling to glare at his superior, but did as he
said and stopped talking. He had no doubt in his mind that his superior would
actually lock him up in one of those places, even if it was just for a day or
two.

Al gasped. "Brother…"

"I will keep that promise." Scar said.

"Would you have really kept it?" Edward asked.

"Yes, I am a man of my word." Scar said.

"That's good."

Mustang sighed. "Fullmetal, don't make it a habit of making promises with

mass murderers."

Ed blinked.

"You'restill such a child." Mustang said quietly.

"I don't." Ed said. "Whatever it takes to keep Al alive though."

"Even betraying your country?" Havoc asked curiously.

Edward looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Well," He drawled, causing quite

a few soldiers to glare at him for even having to think about it. "I would
probably betray the country, but act more like a double agent or try to. It
would be kind of difficult since I probably couldn't very well get any help
from anyone."

"Argh, that's it. When we get out of here, or maybe later when we take a
break, I am teaching you codes and Morse codes." Mustang growled, rubbing
his eyes tiredly. Just thinking of training that kid in codes was giving him a
headache. "Why the hell I never did before is beyond me."
"There are many things you should have taught the brat sooner." General
Armstrong growled. "Just because he is a kid doesn't mean you shouldn't
teach him anything. That is the way that people get killed."

"Right, right, but I don't want you telling me how to handle my brat of a
subordinate." Mustang said. "It is, after all, quite confusing and irritating
when the subordinate is just a child."

"Stupid soldiers." Edward grumbled to himself. It's not like he even planned
to be in the military for so long that he would need any of that stupid
information.

Al leaned forward. "No. Brother, what are you trying to do?" Ed was
shown, still lying with his face on the ground. "What are you thinking?
Run!" Al was shown, staring at his brother. "Get up and run!" Scar's
hand was shown slowly reaching for Ed. "Stop! Don't touch him!" His
hand was a few inches from Ed's head. Al desperately reached a hand
forward. "No, you can't! STOP IT!"

A gun was shown being fired into the air.

"That was really too close for comfort." Karin said, shuddering. She hadn't
realized just how close to death the boy had been. She just remembered
seeing him being brought to headquarters with a missing arm.

"Idiot boy. How dare you give up so easily?" Izumi growled. "Or even think
about abandoning your brother like that? How would you have felt if that was
Al in your position?"

"Weak, helpless, lost, scared, angry, desperate." Edward listed, frowning. "I
always think about the chance of losing Al. I would be scared to death and
angry about losing him. I would probably go mad with anger and kill the
bastard who dared to touch my brother."

Al shook his head. "Brother, you know that isn't what I would want. Don't
even think about something like that." He pleaded, reaching out for his
brother's arm.
Smirking, Ed raised his automail arm and knocked it against his brother's
arm. "What are you worrying about? Mustang and the others would probably
tie me down and hit me over the head a million times until they got it through
my skull that it's not the right path."

"I'd probably lock him in a cell and take away his automail so he couldn't
escape." Mustang said, shrugging.

"You could just shoot him in the leg to keep him down." Riza suggested.

"Or just send him to live with his teacher so she can take care of fixing his
mind." Havoc proposed.

Edward shuddered. "Al never die. I'd rather not have to deal with these cruel,
cruel, sadistic people."

"In return, you're not allowed to die either, so no more trying to sacrifice
yourself." Al scolded.

"Right, right. We're all we have left, so we have to look after each other."
Edward said, smiling sadly. "My mistake. Won't happen again, Brother." And
the two brothers bumped their fists.

"Ever seen brothers that close before?" Zampano asked.

Jerso shook his head. "Those two will never abandon someone. They
certainly are loyal ones."

The gunshot shocked Ed and Scar out of their trance.

"That's enough." Mustang's voice rang out. The scene rose to show
Mustang, gun still raised in the air, with his soldiers and all their cars
behind him with their guns pointed at Scar. "You won't be killing
anybody else today, Scar. I'm taking you into custody, where you will
answer for the murders of at least ten State Alchemists."

Scar stood up straight. "Alchemists are those who change things from
their natural form into something grotesque. That is to say, they profane
God, the Creator of all things. As an agent of God, I am he who hands
down his judgment. If you interfere, I will eliminate you as well."

Mustang smirked. "Oh? Is that right?" He shoved his gun into

Hawkeye's hands, surprising her. "You guys stay out of this."

"Colonel Mustang." Hawkeye said.

"You idiot!" General Armstrong growled. "Have you forgotten how useless
you are in the rain?"

"He forgot." Breda, Havoc, and Darin, who was there at the time, chorused.

Ed shook his head. "How could you forget something so vital?"

"How could you forget something so vital as how your brother would feel
with you sacrificing yourself?" Mustang retorted, causing Ed to scowl at him.

"Low blow." He hissed angrily.

"Colonel Mustang…" Scar said. "So this is the Flame Alchemist." His
hand tensed for a moment before the screen flashed to Edward, who was
still lying on the ground with Scar standing over him. "Volunteering
yourself to receive judgment." Scar stepped over Edward to charge at
Mustang. "This is truly an auspicious day."

"So you know who I am." Mustang said as he pulled his gloves on. "And
you still want to challenge me. Bad decision."

Hawkeye ran after Mustang. As Mustang snapped his fingers, there was
a puff of smoke and Hawkeye knocked his feet out from under him so
Scar's hand missed his head. Scar stared down at a shocked Mustang.
Hawkeye pulled her two guns out and fired them repeatedly after Scar,
who jumped back and dodged the bullets.

"Truly a remarkable soldier," General Armstrong said before giving a side

glance at Mustang. "Unlike someone."

"I can't tell if they hate each other or not." Ed commented to his brother,
glancing at Mustang and General Armstrong.
"Don't ask me. I'm just as clueless." Al said.

Scar jumped behind a building for cover.

The scene went back to Hawkeye staring forward with Mustang still on
the ground behind her. "Hey, Hawkeye. What'd the hell you do that
for?"

Hawkeye raised her gun. "Colonel, you're useless on rainy days, so

please, stay back."

Mustang hung his head, dejected, while Havoc looked up at the sky with
a raised hand. "Oh, right. He can't make sparks when it's this soggy,
huh?"

Scar leaned against the wall of the building he was hiding behind. "It is
fortunate that you cannot create flames, State Alchemist." He came out
from behind the building to face the soldiers, who were staring back at
him. "For I will destroy all who interfere with my mission, right here
and now."

Armstrong appeared behind Scar with his fist raised. "Just try it." He
said and brought his fist down to the ground, destroying it as Scar
jumped away to dodge it.

"A newcomer?" Scar said.

"You have to be quick to avoid my fist." Armstrong said as he pulled his

fist from the ground. "Not bad. Not bad at all." The screen pulled back
away from them. "You said you would destroy us all, right?" As he said
this, soldiers' feet pounded on the ground to surround them before Ed
appeared, still lying on the ground, watching them.

"Was the ground really that comfortable for you to lie there so long?"
Mustang asked.

"Shut up. I was still in shock." Edward snapped.

"Then you can start by defeating me!" Armstrong declared as a couple

of soldiers went to Ed with one of them kneeling down in front of him.

Armstrong appeared on the screen again. "We'll see how you fare
against the Strong Arm Alchemist, Alex Louis Armstrong!"

"Yet another State Alchemist." Scar said as music began in the

background. "God is putting them in my path for me."

"If that was so, we would all be dead." Armstrong said.

"Not backing down?" Armstrong asked, bending down to the ground to

pick up a piece of rubble. "In that case, your courage will earn you a
demonstration." He raised his hand with the rubble in the air. "I'll show
you the art of alchemy that has been passed down the Armstrong family
for generations!"

Havoc raised a disorientated Edward off the ground, keeping him up

and stable by keeping his hands on the kid's shoulders. They turned their
attention back to the fight at hand.

The rubble flew from the sky. Before it could hit the ground, Armstrong
hit with his gauntlet, transmuting it into a projectile that went flying at
Scar, who leaned to the side to dodge it.

Edward stared at the man. "Who is he?"

"The criminal who murdered Mr. Tucker." Havoc told him. Edward
looked at him shocked before the scene went back to Scar who had stone
spikes flying at him. Before they could hit him, he used his right hand to
destroy them.

"It's him…?" Edward asked.

"Major, watch what you're doing!" Havoc yelled at him from his place
next to Ed, who was now sitting up by himself with his hand covering his
automail port. "We don't want to destroy the city, do we?"

"It's already destroyed though." Ed pointed out.

"We don't want to destroy it any more than it already is." Havoc clarified.

Armstrong turned his head to Havoc, sparkling for some reason. "What
do you mean?" His hand was raised with sparkles all around him as the
screen lowered to show his muscles. "Destruction and creation are two
sides of the same coin! You must destroy to create! That is the law of the
universe!"

"Did he have to strip?" Hawkeye asked as Havoc and the MPs around
him stared deadpanned at him.

"Idiot." General Armstrong scoffed.

"Does she dislike her brother?" Ed asked his brother.

Al sighed. "Brother, stop asking me. I am just as much in the dark as you
are."

"Are you surprised? He's clearly insane." Havoc said with no emotion.

Armstrong sparkled again. "Non-alchemists may fail to see the inherent

truth of that statement, but we understand, don't we, Scar?"

"So this killer is an alchemist too?" Mustang said.

"That's it." Edward said. "The stages of transmutation process are

comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction. This guy must just
stop at the deconstruction stage."

"But if Scar is an alchemist as well, doesn't that mean he's strayed from
whatever his 'ways of God' are too?" Havoc asked.

Armstrong slammed his hand into the ground to create more spikes.

"But what would be his reasons for only targeting alchemists with state
certification?" Mustang asked.

Scar destroyed those spikes as well. Armstrong charged at him, swinging

his fists at him, which Scar dodged. At one point, Armstrong slammed
his fist into the ground to create more spikes, which Scar destroyed
again. Scar tried to aim from his face, but Armstrong pushed his hand
out of the way.

Scar dodged back. "He's unusually coordinated for his size and his
strength is almost superhuman. That combined with his alchemy, he won't
be an easy one."

Scar was forced to stop as his back hit a wall.

"I have you cornered, Scar." Armstrong shouted, fists ready to come
down on the man.

Scar turned back to face him. "But there's a moment when his swing is
too wide." When he noticed Armstrong's swing was too wide, he took his
chance to lung forward, but Armstrong jumped back just in time to
avoid him.

"He's backing up?" Scar turned to face the soldiers again to see
Hawkeye shoot her gun. She fired a few shots. One bullet hit the wall,
while another hit his glasses, knocking them off. Scar slid a bit on the wet
ground, blood splashing on the ground.

"You get him?" Mustang asked.

"He's too fast. I only grazed him with one shot." Hawkeye said, lowering
her gun.

Scar's face was shown. There was blood on his forehead. He raised his
head, revealing his blood red eyes as the blood drizzled down his face.

"Red eyes and brown skin!" Armstrong said. "That means he's…."

"Of course. He's an Ishvalan!" Mustang said.

Scar stared at the soldiers, all lined with their guns pointed at him.
"Perhaps there are too many."

"You might as well just give up. You're not getting away." Mustang said
with his hand raised.

Scar ignored him as he put his hand on the ground, creating an

alchemical light that surrounded the ground he was on. The whole part
he was on was destroyed, creating a big smokescreen. The soldiers yelled
in shocked at the trembles it produced.

"That bastard is in the sewers." Havoc said.

"Stay put." Mustang said.

"Sure, you don't have to tell me twice." Havoc retorted.

"Sorry, Armstrong." Mustang said. "But thank you for buying us

enough time to surround him."

Armstrong shook his head. "I was hardly buying time. It was all I could
do to keep myself from being killed."

Hughes popped up behind them. "Oh, is it over?" He asked.

"Why exactly are you in the military if you are just going to hide like that?"
Edward asked dryly.

"I'm not about to attempt to face off against you freaks. I like living." Hughes
retorted.

"Doesn't everyone?" Edward asked.

Hughes smirked. "I'm not sure. That was a pretty stupid stunt you pulled."

"ARGH!" Ed screamed, pulling at his hair.

The soldiers turned to face him.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, where have you been this whole time?"
Armstrong demanded.

"I thought it best to lay low." Hughes replied.

Mustang developed an angry twitch. "You didn't think about maybe
backing us up?"

"Of course not!" Hughes retorted. "A person like me shouldn't get
dragged into a freak show with you pack of pseudo-humans. It's bad for
my health!" He turned to the other soldiers around. "Don't just stand
there. We've got things to do." Edward was shown on the screen, staring
ahead, as Hughes continued. "Deploy troops! Circulate his description!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Oh, no." Ed whispered. "Alphonse." He stood up from the ground and

ran over to his brother, who was now leaning against the alley wall.
"Alphonse!" He ran passed the soldiers, who stared at him, and kneeled
in front of his brother, putting a hand on the injured part of the armor.
"Al, talk to me. Are you alright?"

The screen changed to Mustang, Hawkeye, Havoc, and Armstrong

watching the boys. "That suit of armor is Elric's younger brother, is it?"

"There's got to be a really long story behind this one." Havoc said.

"I was right." Havoc said, recalling the flashback. "Though, I should have
added dark and sad to my description of the story."

"It's not like any one of us could have possibly predicted that." Brody said.
"None of us thought alchemy could do something so horrible."

"Come on, Al." Edward said. "Do you hear me?"

Al's fist came up to punch his brother, shocking the soldiers.

"Why didn't you run away when I told you to? What kind of idiot are
you?" Al shouted.

"No way. I'm not just going to run away and leave you behind." Edward
argued.

"Which is exactly why you're an idiot." Al shouted before punching his

brother again, shocking and horrifying the soldiers again.

"Why do you two always have to get violent when you fight?" Riza asked
with a sigh.

Ed blinked. "It's how we sort things out."

"How does that sort anything out? All you're doing is punching each other."
Maria said.

Shrugging, Ed leaned back on his hands. "Works for us, right, Al?"

Al nodded. "We were always fighting like this, even before we were trained."

"Yeah, I remember, we would fight and argue, then you would run off and sit
in front of the river until I came to find you." Ed said.

"And you had a heartfelt talk or apology?" Karin asked.

Ed laughed. "No way in hell."

"Yep, Brother would always just stand behind me until I noticed and jumped
to my feet to glare at him, ready for another fight. But Brother never raised a
fist then. He would just say, 'come on, Al' and start walking away, leaving me
to follow after him." Al said.

The woman, except Izumi and General Armstrong shook their heads,
exasperated at the boys. It must be because they were so close that these boys
understood each other well enough to know that it was just way of forgiving
each other.

Ed leaned against the opposite alley wall, holding his cheek where he was
hit. "What do you keep punching like that me for? If I had run away,
you could have been killed, you know that?"

"And maybe I wouldn't have been." Al retorted. "Making the decision to

die is something only an idiot does!"

An angry look passed Ed's face. He removed his hand from his face and
put it on his knee. "Hey, easy on the idiot stuff. I'm still your older
brother, got it?"

"I'll say is all I want to." Al shouted, causing a surprised look to pass
over Ed's face. He reached out and grabbed his brother by his shirt to
pull him up. "Survival is the only way, Ed. Live on. Learn more about
alchemy. You could find a way to get our bodies back and help people
like Nina. You can't do that by dying! I won't allow you to abandon the
possibility of hope and choose a meaningless death." As he said the last
part, pain and sadness filled his voice.

"Nice one, Chief. You really hurt your brother there." Havoc said.

"Oh, shut up! I got this already." Edward snapped, rubbing his hair in
annoyance. "Sheesh, I won't die a stupid death."

"Be sure to remember that promise." Mustang commented idly. "You cause
me enough paperwork as it is."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Can you forget your paperwork for once already? Sheesh,
paperwork this, paperwork that. It's like you are having a love affair with all
your stupid paperwork."

"What?" Mustang yelped.

Ed grinned slyly. "Oi, oi, what's this? Not protesting, Colonel?"

"I am not having an affair with paperwork, you damn brat." Mustang snarled.

Two flesh fingers went up to Ed's forehead as a look of disbelief crossed his
face. "Of course, what was I thinking? The Lieutenant would shoot you if you
betrayed her." Those who knew Mustang started to snicker, except for
Hawkeye who was half-glaring and half-blushing at Edward, while silently
wishing she had her gun back.

"I'll kill you." Mustang snarled.

Edward smirked in reply.

"I think Chief won that one." Falman said.

"Mark it down in the record book." Havoc replied, smirking. They were
bound to get quite a few Flame-Fullmetal arguments here. Of course, only the
ones that weren't serious counted to them. The really serious ones were
dangerous ground to trend on.

When Al was finished speaking, he pulled back slightly and his arm
broke from his armor and fell to the ground. "Oh, great!" Ed stared at
the arm for a moment before blinking and looking up at his brother
sadly before hanging his head. "And now my arm's come off because my
brother is a big, fat idiot!"

"How was that one my fault?" Ed demanded. "It was Scar who blew up your
side! Why does everyone keep blaming me for his actions on this day?"

"It's usually your fault." Mustang said, shrugging.

Ed growled low in his throat. "Can't I ever just be the victim without being
blamed?"

"No." Many of the eastern soldiers said.

"Even when you get kidnapped, all you do is get mad, piss off your
kidnappers, escape, beat the shit out of them, destroy the building they have
you in, and come back to the Command Center covered in blood that's not
even yours, dust, grime, and dirt." Mustang said, much to the amusement of
the soldiers who were around to hear this story. Those kidnappers were
practically begging the soldiers to save them after Ed got back. "I know they
kidnapped you, but you still went a bit overboard."

"That was one time." Ed grumbled.

"Yes, because everyone else is too scared to attempt to kidnap the Fullmetal
Alchemist again after that incident." Havoc teased.

General Armstrong smirked. She was liking this kid more and more. He
didn't seem to take shit from anyone and was quite strong for someone his
size and age. If he could get captured, and then escape on his own, he was an
impressive brat. "Why did they kidnap you?"

Ed shrugged. "I never bothered to find out why. It was probably for some
stupid reason that I didn't care about."

"They were hoping to draw the Colonel out to them so they could kill him."
Riza explained as they did interrogate the people once they were arrested.
Well, a private interrogation away from military eyes where the Colonel
could let his anger out on them for touching one of his subordinates.

Snorting, Ed looked back at his superior. "Did they now?"

"Yes, but you showed up at Eastern Command Center two hours after we got
a call from the kidnappers." Mustang shrugged. "Still have to wonder why
they waited two days after they got you to call."

"Oh," Ed said. Two days, huh? Damn, he should have been able to escape
faster than that. "I don't do well with being restrained."

"Clearly. You were so impatient." Breda said, smirking.

Ed shrugged. "Well, as I said, it was a stupid reason."

"We're really falling apart, aren't we, Brother?" Edward asked. "We
look like we belong in a junk yard."

"But we're still alive." Al replied.

"And that is all that really matters." Maria said, sighing in relief. "Injuries and
being in pieces doesn't matter as long as you are alive and safe."

"Mm-hmm, we are." Ed said without raising his head.

Mustang and Hughes appeared on the screen, watching the boys. While
Hughes was frowning, Mustang had a small smile.

"Why are the hell are you smiling?" Ed demanded.

"Because we got there in time and saved you. Aren't we allowed to be happy
about that?" Havoc asked.

Ed blinked. He guess he would be happy if he made it in time to save a friend

too. "Oh."

"Good grief. I've stumbled into an extra kind of special freak show,
huh?" Hughes asked.

"How rude, Hughes." Edward joked.

"I'm not wrong." Hughes teased.

"Yeah, sorry." Mustang said.

Hughes shrugged. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone upstairs."

"You don't even know what is going on, and you're already making that
promise?" Al asked surprised.

Hughes shrugged. "Well, it was obvious Roy already knew what was going
on and he kept it quiet. He's my best friend and I know he has his reasons. I
wouldn't betray his trust like that."

Hawkeye kneeled behind Ed and put her military jacket over his
shoulders, surprising him enough to cause him to look up at her.

"If this got out, things would get complicated." Hughes said as a smiling
Hawkeye was shown looking down at Ed.

"And that was the only time we will probably ever see Chief wearing at least
part of the military uniform." Havoc said.

"Why doesn't he wear it?" Miles asked.

Mustang shrugged. "He is hardly ever around the office, and when he is, he is
only there briefly so there is no point in him wearing it. If I made him wear it
on missions, it would cause him to stick out and get him in trouble with the
people who call him the 'hero of the people.' It would be like betraying them,
which would get him in extra trouble, and cause me more paperwork.
Fullmetal would be mad about being forced to wear it. All in all, it would just
cause me more headaches that aren't worth it."

"And here I thought it was just because you didn't want to put a kid in the
uniform because it would be the final proof that he is no longer a kid." Breda
commented.

"I like Breda's answer better." Charlie said, smirking at his old friend when
he looked disgruntled at Breda.

The screen pulled back to show Armstrong kneeling next to Al and

Havoc standing next to them, scratching his head.

"Yeah. The older brother aside, I wouldn't even know how to explain the
younger brother's body." Mustang said.

Hughes smiled before looking at his friend in a serious manger. "I don't
envy you. This is one tough customer you're dealing with."

"And now we know he's Ishvalan." Mustang said.

The scene faded away to a crowd of Ishvalans.

The Ishvalans were a race of people who lived to the east of us. They
believed that their God, Ishvala, was the one absolute Creator.

The picture of the Ishvalans changed to a map with a red spot in the
southeast part of it.

Even after they were annexed into the country, there were still conflicts
between us and them.

The map changed to part of a staircase where a teddy bear was lying
next to a hand that had blood trailing down it.

Then, 13 years ago, a military officer accidentally shot and killed an

Ishvalan child.
"Tell me this, Colonel. How do you accidentally shoot someone?" Edward
asked.

"Things like this happen." Mustang said.

Ed scowled. "Three basics rules of gun safety that all soldiers are taught.
One, don't put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire. Two,
always point the gun away from allies and towards enemies. Three, always
assume the gun is load. That soldier had no reason to have his finger on the
trigger, nor pointed at a child who was part of Ishval, which had been
annexed into the country. And it was his own gun, so he knew it was loaded.
So you tell me, how the hell it was an accident?"

"W-what?" Mustang said, absolutely shocked when he saw the angry glare
from his youngest subordinate. He wasn't the only one shocked. There were
many people who hated what happened in Ishval, but they all accepted it.

"They were civilians. They picked up guns to defend themselves after a

soldier shot one of their own. So, yes, you had to fire back to defend yourself
and it caused a civil war. But, once again, was what happened to that child
really an accident?" Edward demanded.

Hughes frowned and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Ed,
you're making it sound like this whole thing was planned by someone."

"That, or this soldier just wanted to cause bloodshed like the Ouroboros gang
we keep seeing." Alphonse said darkly.

Horror filled the soldiers, especially those that actually went to Ishval. Most
of those people they fight were civilians with no prior training. They had
killed them because they got mad after one of their children was killed by a
soldier. That was the story and they accepted it. But, being soldiers for so
long and fighting for their lives in Ishval, they had forgotten the three basic
rules of gun safety.

"I don't like this." General Armstrong said. "You make it sound like our
country is causing bloodshed on purpose."
"Not our country. The Ouroboros gang." Edward said, glancing at his brother
sadly before he looked back at Scar. "What do you think, Scar? I know the
soldiers side of Ishval, but what about an Isvhalan's point of view?"

"Fullmetal." Mustang said shocked.

"Be quiet, Colonel." Edward said, but didn't remove his eyes from the serial
killer, who was looking at him in surprise. "You must agree with me. This
isn't about discrimination or being enemies anymore. Scar may be evil and a
serial killer, but he is an Ishvalan who was involved in that war. If Scar is
here, then that must mean he changes and helps this country, right? I want his
opinion on this matter."

To say the least, quite a few soldiers were shocked about this. Of all people to
call out the discrimination that Ishvalans faced, it was a child who was
shoving it all in their faces.

"What makes them so different?" Edward asked, shooting a brief glance at

Miles, surprising the soldier, before his attention was back on Scar. Yes, he
knew about Miles. He may have been out of it earlier, but he did see Miles
eyes when his glasses slipped. He just never brought it up to the soldier, but
he did recall the eyes when he got his brain back in working order after the
pain left. "They may look different and have different beliefs, but everyone
does. That is no reason to show hatred to them or make them live in the
slums. We are all human, and we make mistakes."

Izumi smiled in pride for her ex-student. He may be reckless and a bit of a
hothead, but it seems that he really has learned a lot. She always took the
boys traveling when they were training under her so they could see the world
and how it worked. And now it seems, from all his years in the military, he
has grown even more and seen more of the world so he has learned lots.

Like Izumi, General Armstrong was looking at the kid with pride that was
really well hidden. She looked at Major Miles, who was surprised by what
the boy said, but he was smiling a bit when he looked at General Armstrong,
who smirked at him. That will teach that idiot that not everyone was going to
give him pity, guilt, or hatred. There were those who would treat him like an
equal.
Despite his hatred of soldiers and State Alchemists, Scar was shocked by the
kid who was staring at him, waiting for an answer. This kid that he just tried
to kill was asking for his opinion on the matter of the Ishvalan Civil war,
which was a dark time for them all.

"Come on, Scar. I know you have a deep hatred for this country, but I'm
trying to figure this out. I'm tired of being ignorant." Edward said.

"An ignorant State Alchemist?" Miles asked. "Now that is something I have
never heard."

Edward glanced at him then back at Scar. "I am fifteen. I was two when the
Ishval Civil War began. There is much I don't understand or know about, but
what I do know is that this is a dark story and is something that doesn't seem
like it should have happened. Scar! Answer me!"

"Brother," Al said, hoping to calm his brother's thirst for answers. He was
just as curious as his brother, but if he hadn't pointed out the rules of gun
safety, he would have never thought it.

Scar frowned, but decided to oblige the boy. Everything that the boy was
saying was correct. He had gone after this child who is ignorant to everything
to do with the Ishvalan Civil War. "After we were annexed into the country,
soldiers were stationed in Ishval. They claimed they were there as guards, but
we all knew the truth. They were there to keep an eye on us so we couldn't
rebel for being forced to accept. We were basically penned in the small area
that we had left. After we were annexed, your government took most of our
land and left us with very little."

"That's horrible." Al said sadly. From what he knew of Ishval, the area was a
harsh land with very little farmable area and no significant resources. Then to
have most of their land taken away from them, they must have had very little
left after that. It must have been difficult for them to survive.

"I can't imagine your people were too willing to accept help from the
Amestris government that stole from you." Edward said.

"Siding with Ishvalans now, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.

Ed shot him a glare. "Both sides are equally at fault here." He snarled.
"Amestris for stealing from them, then killing all those peoples and the
Ishvalans for all the people they killed, as well as destroying my hometown.
They brought the war farther into the country, killing civilians who had
nothing to do with their war. You are all at fault."

The soldiers, Scar, and Miles were shocked into silence at Ed's declaration
and glare. He really didn't beat around the bush when he had something to
say.

"You are right," Scar said after some silence. "We had no desire to accept any
help from the country that stole from us and kept us penned like animals in
what they left us. Then, came that day when a soldier shot a child. There was
no reason for it. I met some of my people who saw the child get shot. She
was just standing there, looking at the soldier when he pulled his gun out and
shot her."

Mustang closed his eyes with an agitated sigh. He didn't trust Scar, but if
what he said was true, then it really was no accident. But there was also no
proof that what he said was true. The Ishvalan who told him this could have
been lying as well.

"There is something wrong with this country." Buccaneer growled.

"But what is it?" Armstrong asked, frowning. The Ishvalan war was a very
hard time for him. He couldn't stay in Ishval, killing all those children, who
couldn't even fight back. They were helpless, and they were ordered to kill
them all. And if Ed was right, then it sounded like it was planned by
someone.

"What if that soldier was one of the Ouroboros people, as you call them?"
Scar questioned, surprising everyone in the room since he actually continued
after his explanation to the Elric brothers.

"What?" Riza demanded.

"We saw one that was able to change his appearance." Scar pointed out.
"What if he changed himself to look like a soldier?"
"And then he shot a child to cause a war." Hughes said horrified.

"Which caused bloodshed." Brody finished shocked.

Mustang slammed his fist into his opened palm. "Just what the hell is going
on here?"

"It doesn't mean that is what happened." Edward said, turning back to the
screen. "This was just a hypothesis that I thought of because I can't see any
way for someone to accidentally shoot a child. But, again, it does not mean
that is what really happened. Right now, we should just continue. Maybe
we'll get our answers soon."

And that led to full-blown civil war.

The scene changed to soldiers firing their guns at Ishvalans. A map on

the screen appeared again with the red area around Ishval growing
bigger.

One uprising led to another, and before long, the rebellion had spread to
the whole eastern sector.

The scene changed to a Command Center with Bradley standing in front

of it.

After seven wars of this, the order came down from the military high
command…

The map of Ishval was shown again before it slowly faded as marching
soldiers appeared.

…to exterminate Ishval. Many State Alchemists were brought in to act as

human weapons.

Grand was shown using his alchemy to kill scared Ishvalans. After him,
Kimblee was shown with an explosion happening behind him. Next was
Mustang snapping his finger, causing a huge fire that burned the
civilians. Burned and bloody bodies were shown piled all over the
ground.
Needless to say, the State Alchemists produced striking results.

Mustang was shown, sitting behind his desk. "That man is an Ishvalan
survivor. In a sense, his revenge is justified."

Scar blinked in surprise at Mustang's declaration. That certainly wasn't

something he was expecting to hear from the "Hero of Ishval." But what did
it mean? Did it mean he felt guilty for what happened to his people? Or did it
mean he saw the whole Ishval war as a mistake?

Edward's face, shadowed by his bangs, appeared. "No way!" The scene
pulled back to show Ed and Al were in the office with the Colonel, along
with Mustang's team, Hughes, and Armstrong sitting or standing.
"There's no justification for taking revenge on people who had nothing
to do with it."

"Referring to yourself, Ed?"Maria asked.

"Hmm?" Ed said, glancing away from the screen. "Yeah. I don't really
understand why he would come after me when I had no part in the war if it
really is revenge he is after."

"He's just dressing up his ugly lust for revenge by calling himself an
agent of God and acting all arrogant." Edward finished.

"Still," Mustang said as he got a close up. "The fact is, he's coming at us
with full force. We can't let ourselves be killed for his cause. Next time,
there will be no more talk." The scene changed to show the room's
occupants, who were watching their commander, except for Ed and Al,
who were still staring at each other. "Got it?"

"Yes sir." The soldiers said.

Hughes turned to Ed. "Well, Ed, Alphonse, what are you two going to do
now? What's the plan?"

This time, Ed got a close up. "We're going to keep moving. We can't just
sit around, not as long as we're still alive."
Al looked at his brother. "Brother."

Ed smiled and put a hand on Al's shoulder. "Before we can make any
headway on getting your body back, we have to get my arm back to
normal."

Hughes was shown, smiling at the boys.

"After all, I'm the only one who knows how to bond you soul to the
armor." Hawkeye and Mustang were shown, also watching the brothers
with smiles.

"Uh-huh." Al said.

Ed sighed and closed his eyes. "We've got no choice." The Rockbell's
house was shown at nighttime. "It's been a long time." Winry's back was
shown as she worked on some automail. "We need to pay a visit to our
mechanic."

The scene went dark.

"Were you in Resembool before you came to Central?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, why?" Ed asked.

"I'm just trying to get a sense of time. We should be hitting present time
soon." Maria explained.

Ed nodded. "I guess you're right."

"So we are going to meet Dr. Mar–" Al started, but was cut off as there were
two bright flashes of gold light in the room.

"What?" Ed shouted, shocked, shielding his eyes so he didn't go blind.

When the light died down, there were two more people in the room. Ed stared
at them before shouting in shock, "Sig! Dr. Marcoh!"
"Marcoh?" Mustang echoed, looking at the doctor in shock. "Well, it's been a
long time, Dr. Marcoh."

"Yes, it has. I haven't seen you since the war." Dr. Marcoh greeted stoically.
The war was not a time he liked to remember.

"You ran after the war." Mustang said quietly. It wasn't an accusation, just a
fact. They were many State Alchemists who quit the military after the war.
But only Marcoh was a deserter. He never formally reassigned. He just
disappeared one day.

"Honey!" Izumi cried, and jumped into her husband's arms.

Ed stared blankly at Sig and Izumi. He would never get over how different
she acted with her husband at times.

"Ed, who's the man who caused a severe change in Izumi's personality?"
Havoc whispered to the boy.

"Her husband." He replied blankly. "Is that how we appeared here?" There
was a third flash of light as another letter dropped into Ed's lap. "Well, let's
see what he has to say now." He tore open the envelope and pulled the letter
out. "Dr. Marcoh and Sig Curtis help in saving this country so they have been
brought here to join you. They were brought in after a while because I
thought it best to wait for when Dr. Marcoh appears in front of Edward and
Alphonse before arriving to this room. As for Sig Curtis, I believe it is best he
is here to knock some sense into Ed and Al. V.H. Knock sense into us? What
the hell does that mean?"

"Edward!" Sig greeted, ruffling Ed's hair in greeting. Ed gritted his teeth as
his head was pushed down by a strong man.

"Nice to see you too," Edward replied.

"Uhm, you might not recognize me, but I'm Alphonse." Al said, pointing at
himself, causing a few people to feel bad and frown. Ed had his normal body
so he was easily recognized by those he met as a kid. But for Al, no one
recognized him because he was just a suit of armor now. It must be horrible
having to point out who he is all the time to people that should know him.

Sig blinked before smiling and rubbing Al's helmet. "It is nice to see you to,
Alphonse."

Al felt warmth spread up his soul. Because he was a suit of armor and so tall
because of that, no one really treated him like a kid or rubbed his head. It was
really nice to have someone do that for him. It made him feel like a normal
kid.

"Edward, Alphonse," Dr. Marcoh greeted the boys. "Did you find my notes?"

Edward looked away from Sig with a dark frown. He jumped to his feet. "I
did!" He growled. "I decoded them to. Is that really true?"

"Yes," Marcoh said sadly.

"There are more truths that need to be discovered after that truth, right?"
Edward demanded.

"Fullmetal, what are you talking about?" Mustang demanded.

Edward glanced at him before turning back to Marcoh. "They don't know. It
is too dark and I didn't want to talk about it. Al and I only discovered the
truth right before we were brought here."

"And where is here?" Marcoh asked.

Sighing, Ed dropped back to the ground and set about explaining what they
were doing here to Sig and Marcoh and gave a brief explanation of what
happened in the first five episodes.

"So, we are learning the truth of this country?" Marcoh said, sighing. "Is this
really for the best?"

"What do you mean?" Mustang asked. "We are learning what is going to
happen, so we can save it before it happens."

"But, what if the country would be saved without us knowing all this? It is
not a good idea to tamper with fate." Marcoh replied.

"Dr. Marcoh, you live in a small town now and plan to spend the rest of your
life saving all the lives you can to make up for Ishval, correct?" Edward
asked, and when he received a nod, he continued. "Isn't what we are seeing
our way of seeing who dies and how so we can stop it and save all those
people who don't deserve death? If you could see what would have happened
to Ishval before it happened, would you not have stopped it?"

Marcoh frowned. The boy was very much right. Ishval was his biggest regret.
He would have done anything in his power to save all those people who
didn't deserve to die.

"There is no point in arguing about this. We are already here. We can do

nothing about it." Izumi said.

"Izumi," Sig asked, recalling how Ed mentioned it in his explanation. "Did

you talk to the brothers about their human transmutation?"

"Yes, they were expelled." Izumi replied.

Sig was not surprised by her answer. She took her training of the brothers
very seriously, and if they broke her rules, it was not surprising that she
kicked them out.

"And I don't think they are taking it well." Riza said, sighing.

"What do you mean?" Sig asked.

"Edward yelled at Izumi earlier, saying she couldn't even talk about them
being weak and kicking them through walls because she expelled them." Riza
explained, frowning.

Sig looked over at the brothers, who sensing his gaze, turned to the big man,
only to be met with a glare. "You idiots!" He shouted, shocking the brothers.

"What?" Ed mumbled.

"You two are so busy pouting about being expelled that you can't see what it
means to no longer be her students." Sig said.

"Oh? And what does it mean?" Ed asked in slightly rude tone that was also
filled with curiosity.

"Pouting?" Hughes mouthed to Mustang, who snickered.

"Who would have thought the great and strong Elric brothers were actually
pouting and upset over being expelled?" Mustang said.

Havoc nodded. "I think I would be more than happy to escape that scary
lady."

General Armstrong scoffed. "You guys are idiots. They may be scared of her,
but they also respect her greatly. She is the one who trained them and helped
them to be who they are today. It is not surprising that they would be upset
over being kicked out."

"That you are now her equals." Sig said. "You can speak to her without fear
and as her equals."

"Sheesh, and here we all thought you two were prodigies." Hughes teased.
"You should have realized that sooner."

Ed glared at him. "Oh, shut up."

Sighing, he looked back at Teacher, who had turned away from the boys and
Sig to give them some form of privacy for this conversation. Did that mean
Teacher was talking about fighting them because she just cared about their
wellbeing as people and not just her students? And then, those two times
when he needed help, she was the one to take him to a bed and help him and
then she was the one who comforted him about Nina. It wasn't because he
was her former student. It was because she just generally cared for him and
Al. Why was he such an idiot? That hug he got from her, it was full of
warmth, sorrow, and care. Something that he received from his own mother
as a child. It was all because she loved and cared for the boys. So, they were
equals now in the field of alchemy, but beyond that, they were a surrogate
family. Man, was he blind or what?
As for Al, he was just shocked. He had no idea that he and Brother could ever
be considered equals to Teacher. She was just so smart and strong. They both
still had a long way to go if they were ever to reach her level. And yet, Sig
realized right away what them being expelled meant. He was right. He and
Brother were both upset about being expelled so they decided to make
themselves blind to the fact that Teacher was still talking with them, but her
tone had changed just a bit. She still talked with them with that same care and
love she did when they took breaks from training as kid. Man, they were both
idiots.

Taking a deep breathe, Edward stood up from the ground and walked over to
Izumi. Without an ounce of hesitation or embarrassment, he leaned forward
and hugged the woman. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "For being such an idiot."

Though she was at first surprised by the action, Izumi returned the boy's hug.
When Ed stepped back, Al took his place and did the same thing as his
brother and apologized.

"Never thought I'd see the day when Fullmetal initiated a hug and
apologized." Mustang teased.

Ed growled and slammed his foot on the coffee table again. "Shut up. Why
must you tease me about everything?"

Mustang shrugged. "It is fun, and you always give good reactions."

"Argh." Ed grumbled and turned away from the man.

"You boys have nothing to be sorry for." Izumi said.

Ed glanced at her, frowning. "Do too. I yelled at you and hurt you because I
was blind."

"You actually noticed what your actions did?" Al asked shocked.

"I always do. I just choose not to dwell on it." Edward retorted. "It just makes
you feel worse if you do."

Zampano coughed. "Well, if you are all done, maybe we should continue
on?"

A/N: So very long….please excuse any mistakes you found. It is so long,

there are bound to be some, especially since I proofread a part of this
when I was absolutely exhausted from a long day at college.

I had Ed talk to Scar because I love Scar, but since everyone distrusts
him since he is an enemy, it is difficult to include. To break a bit of
tension, I had Ed talk to him. The whole Ishval thing was also to help the
Briggs soldier have a bit more revelation about the brothers and learn to
respect and trust them more as it would take too long if I waited until I
got to Briggs.

[1] I couldn't help it! My little brother's first words were 'Clara did it.'
How cruel my brother is to me.

So Dr. Marcoh appeared….For future reference, does Dr. Marcoh know

what the Homunculi are or does of just know them as monsters? I can't
recall.

Have you ever noticed how sexy the Japanese voices of the FMA
Brotherhood characters are? Especially at serious or sad times. I never
watched the Japanese version of Brotherhood so I never noticed, but
they are amazing sexy.

Please Review!
*Chapter 6*: Episode 6: Road of Hope
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Truth Revealed

A/N: It feels like it has been forever since I updated when in reality it
was just last Monday. I think it's because I have finally been able to play
World of Warcraft again. I have been spending so much time on that so I
am a bit (actually a lot) behind on this story.

Thanks for reviewing!

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 6: Road of Hope

"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and

reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is
impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain
something, something of equal value must be paid. This is the law of
equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy. Alchemists have a taboo, and it
is human transmutation. It is that which no one must commit."

The opening song began once again.

"Road of Hope"

When the title disappeared, a train station was shown with train whistles
and bells going off.
A train window was shown being knocked on, causing Edward, who was
on the other side of the window to look up. Hughes was shown standing
outside the window. "Yo." Hughes said with a wave.

"It's amazing you could find him with how big the trains are. He could have
been anyway on it." Kain said.

"Isn't it that Fullmetal is just so small?" Mustang asked.

Ed twitched and had to bite his tongue for a moment to keep from yelling and
ranting that he wasn't short. "Damn it, Colonel! Just once, ignore the chance
at the jab, would you?"

"That's all I get?" Mustang asked, a bit disappointed.

"You weren't creative enough this time to get anything else." Edward
muttered, hoping that his lack of reaction would get Mustang to stop with the
teasing as he said it himself earlier that he did it because he liked Ed's
reactions.

"Aw, is little Eddie finally growing up?" Havoc teased.

'I'll kill you all.' Edward thought angrily.

"Lieutenant Colonel." Edward said.

"The folks at the Eastern Command Center were a little too busy to
make it down here today so I came to see you off instead." Hughes
explained.

"It's not like they really ever came to see me off before." Edward said.

"That's because you usually leave without a word or we say goodbye to you
at the office before you leave." Havoc pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "I don't like goodbyes."

"Why?" Karin asked curiously.

"It feels like you're saying we won't see each other ever again. Saying
goodbye just sounds like the last parting words of those who are going to
die." Edward explained. "Or, they never want to see you again, so they just
up and leave. I hate goodbyes. They just make it sound like the end. Why say
it when I'll always come back?"

Al looked at his brother in surprise. He knew about the first part, but that
second part he didn't know. It sounded like he was referring to how dad just
left them when they were kids. Maybe his brother was hurting from that more
than he let on. He was like Al and just wanted his parents back, but he hid it
under all his anger for dad.

"I'm not sure if that is sad or sweet." Maria said.

"Then why do you never write or call home?" Armstrong asked, recalling the
conversation he had with Pinako.

"Because it is just turning back. When I leave, I never turn back because I'll
crumble down and want to go back home. I can't give up. Besides, even if I
did want to call or write, I have no idea of what to say." Edward said.

"How about, 'I'm still alive.'" Darius suggested sarcastically.

Edward shot him a glare.

"You spend all this time researching and fighting. I can't imagine how many
times you almost died. I'm sure all your friends want to know that you are
still alive." Darius added.

"Why worry them needlessly by telling them what I am doing? It's to be

expected since I'm a Dog of the Military." Edward retorted.

"And you, Al? Why don't you call or write?" Dr. Young asked curiously.

Al shrugged. "Same as, Brother. I'll break and just want to quit and go home.
It's easier to just focus on our goal. If we think too much about home or the
past, we'll just run home."

"They really are still just children." Dr. Young said.

"But those eyes aren't." Maria said. Whenever she saw Ed's eyes, they were
fill of determination, stubbornness, fear, and horror that just didn't belong in
eyes of one so young.

"Great," Edward said, turning his head to side to reveal a displeased

expression. "But would you mind telling me," The scene pulled back to
reveal a sparkling Armstrong sitting on the bench Ed was standing next
to. "What the major is doing here?"

"For protection." Hughes replied.

"If you want to give the kid protection, you should have given the job to
someone stronger." General Armstrong scoffed.

"Do they not get along?" Ed asked Al.

"I still don't know the answer to these questions, Brother." Al replied.

"What would happen if Scar came after you again? You're in no shape
for a fight now, Ed." Ed gripped his red coat tightly where his automail
port was.

"Defenseless." Avery said, causing Ed to glare at him.

Riza grimaced as she looked at the Ed on the screen who was missing an arm.
At his best, he was strong and powerful, looking ready to take on the world.
But now, he was missing a limb, which made him look so much smaller and
vulnerable. And just thinking that made her feel horrible. Vulnerable was
never a word one used when thinking about or describing Edward.

"The major's here to help." Hughes shrugged and smiled. "Just try to
grin and bear it."

"Why is it so difficult for you to accept help?" Brody asked, sighing.

"Because Fullmetal is an idiot and feels guilty whenever someone gets hurt
trying to help him." Mustang replied for the boy, causing Ed to turn his glare
to him.
"But if they are helping you willingly, it means they know the risks, but they
don't let that stop them because they care enough to want to help you and see
you succeed." Luke pointed out.

Havoc shrugged. "Chief is too stubborn to see it that way."

"Hey, I am sitting right here." Edward snapped.

"Good, listen carefully to what we are saying." Mustang said.

Ed sighed in an agitated manner.

"Children shouldn't be so stubborn." Armstrong said.

Edward turned to him angrily. "Hey, shut up! I'm no child." He calmed
down and sighed as the major turned to look at him. "Anyway, are you
sure Al made it on board?"

"Of course." Armstrong said and the screen changed to a train cart full
of sheep with Al in a crate surrounded by them. It went back to a
sparkling Armstrong. "I thought he would get lonesome all by himself."

"Idiot." General Armstrong scoffed.

"My brother isn't some kind of farm animal." Edward yelled at the
major.

The bell in the train station rang to say the train was leaving.

"Oh, it's time." Hughes said and the train whistle blew. Hughes saluted
to the two. "Okay, you boys have a safe trip. Stop in and give me a shout
the next time you make it to Central."

Ed and Armstrong were shown saluting to Hughes.

"What? You'll salute to him, but not me?" Mustang asked.

"No, because you are a jerk." Ed growled. "Not going to waste my time
saluting you."
Mustang sighed. "Well, seeing as how you can't even salute with your proper
hand…"

"Damn it! You know my right arm was gone." Edward snarled.

The train pulled out of the station and Hughes was shown, still saluting
as it left.

A setting sun was shown next as the train moved along the tracks. Inside
the train, Armstrong was reading a book while Ed slept next to him.

"Do you ever do anything besides sleep?" Avery asked.

"Brother is always sleeping. He tends to sleep about ten to thirteen hours a

day, unless we have serious research to do." Al said.

"That is way too much sleep. Even a teenager only needs about nine hours a
night." Armstrong said, frowning. "You should be more active during the
day, waking up at an early time."

"I can'thelp it if I'm always tired." Edward muttered as a yawn took over his
body. "Think it's about time for a nap."

"You fall asleep and I'll punch you." Mustang growled.

Ed growled. "Why can't I sleep?"

"We are in the middle of watching something." Mustang said, motioning to

the screen.

"Yes, something I already lived through." Edward retorted, lying on his back
on the ground. "And now I'm tired. Good night." And with that, Edward
closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep.

Brody chuckled. "Good night? It's only three in the afternoon."

"That damn brat." Mustang growled, getting up to go through his threat.

Al threw his hands up in a please-wait motion. "Colonel, please don't wake

him. Brother gets a lot of nightmares as you saw earlier so he doesn't sleep
well at night. He sleeps best in the afternoon or early evening because he isn't
subjected to nightmares then. So can you please allow him this nap?"

Sighing, Mustang let go of his anger. If Al was pleading like this, it must
really be that bad. He sat back down. "Does he get them every night?"

"No, but when he does have them, they are usual bad and he can't get back to
sleep after I wake him." Al said.

"It is strange that he sleeps so much." Izumi mused. "When I was training
you boys, didn't I get you on a sleep schedule that required you to wake at
dawn?"

'Dawn? Way too early!' A few soldiers thought. Even they weren't required to
get up that early unless they were on duty.

"Yes, and we continued to follow that schedule when we left, Teacher, but
Brother just sleeps a lot now." Al replied.

"Been too slack." Izumi grumbled.

It was the next day when the train was stopped in a small village.
Edward was yawning and stretching his arm above his head when
Armstrong suddenly stood up and slammed his chest into Ed's head so
he could look out the window at the man who just passed the train.

Edward twitched slightly in his sleep from Armstrong slamming his chest
into his head, but it was ignored and he rolled onto his side. His hand found
his way under his shirt to rest on his stomach.

"Dr. Marcoh!" Armstrong yelled at Marcoh as he walked away.

Armstrong and Ed were shown looking out the window as Marcoh
stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "Dr. Marcoh, that is you,
isn't it?" A look of horror passed over Marcoh's face. "It's me, Alex
Louis Armstrong, from Central!"

Marcoh took off running down the platform to get away.

"Friend of yours?" Edward asked.

"He's from Central, a talented State Alchemist." Armstrong replied. "He

was researching into possible medical applications of alchemy, but after
the Ishvalan Civil War, he went missing. Just disappeared."

"Why did you leave?" Mustang asked.

Marcoh sighed. "Edward has already said he decoded my notes. When we get
to that part, you will understand just why I left."

"What? You're going to keep secrets too?" Brody asked annoyed.

"The Elrics have been keeping this a secret from us since we arrived here."
Armstrong said, frowning.

Marcoh looked at Al. "How much do you know so far?"

"So far, we only decoded your notes, but Brother believes there is more that
we don't know yet." Al told him. "But since we're stuck here, we can't do any
more research on the matter."

"Can someone fill us in?" General Armstrong demanded.

"Soon, very soon, you will have your answers, but when you have them, you
may wish you never knew." Marcoh replied.

Havoc groaned. "Again with the riddles."

Ed pushed off the window and ran around the major. "Let's go, Major."
Armstrong watched him run off, confused. "A guy like this doctor might
know some useful things about bio-alchemy."

Ed, Armstrong, and Al, being carried by Armstrong, stood in the village
talking to one of the villagers. A portrait of Marcoh was shown.

"Excuse me, but do you know who this person is by any chance?"
Armstrong asked.
Edward stared at the picture. "Wow, Major, you can really draw."

Armstrong sparkled. "The art of drawing likeness has been passed down
among the Armstrongs for generations."

"That man looks like Dr. Mauro," The villager replied.

Armstrong and Ed both turned their attention back to the man.

"Mauro?" The former asked.

Another villager joined the group as the first said, "All of our town's
doctors were drafted to help on the battlefield during the civil war. Then
Dr. Mauro came here. He's really been a lifesaver."

Another group of villagers were shown in another part of the village.

"He'll see any patient and he never gives up on anybody. We're lucky
he's here." One of them said.

The scene changed to two females standing in a horse stable. "You see
this big bright flash of light, and then you're cured just like that."

Ed and Armstrong were shown staring at her before they glanced at

each other.

Edward was shown standing at the top of some stairs in front of a door
with Armstrong climbing up them after him. "This is it." Ed said and
knocked on the door. He grabbed the door handle and pulled the door
open. "Hello…!"

A gun was pointed in his face, surprising him.

"A gun? Really?" Mustang sighed. "Such a troublesome subordinate I have."

"Wasn't that Dr. Marcoh's fault for pointing a gun at Brother?" Al asked since
his brother was too busy sleeping to argue with his boss.

"If it was anyone else, yes, it would have been. But, considering it's Fullmetal
and trouble just loves to find him, we'll just blame it on him." Mustang said.
Al chuckled nervously. Good thing his brother was still sleeping. Speaking of
his brother, Al glanced at him to see him still sleeping on his side with his
mouth opened a bit. Sighing, Al noticed that his brother was sleeping with his
stomach out again. Honestly, was he ever going to kick that habit?

Ed jumped to the side to avoid the bullet that was shot at him.

"Alright, tell me what you two are doing here?" Marcoh demanded.
"Have you come to take me back?"

"Why did you attempt to shoot my brother?" Al asked since he didn't get to at
the first meeting. "You didn't even know he was a State Alchemist at that
time."

Dr. Marcoh chuckled a bit nervously. "Well, we'll say it was nerves and fear
about the unknown, Alphonse."

Armstrong held a hand up. "Please, Doctor, calm down."

Edward was shown staring at the doctor with a disgruntled look while
Armstrong just tried to calm the man.

The gun in Marcoh's hands shook. "I don't ever want to go back.
Anything but that."

"That's not it." Armstrong replied. "Please listen."

Marcoh was shown, frowning. "So you're here to silence me then."

Armstrong was shown next. "No, nothing like that."

"I won't be tricked by you." Marcoh said.

"That is some serious trust issues." Havoc said.

"Why did you fear they were there to kill you?" Mustang asked.

"Does it have to do with that?" Al asked.

Marcoh nodded. "It does."

"Again, what are you talking about?" Breda demanded.

"It's not yet time." Marcoh said, causing many people to groan from
frustration.

A frustrated look passed over Armstrong's face and he threw the crate
with Al in it onto Marcoh.

Myers sweat dropped. "Don't you think that was a bit much?"

"Well, he probably should have put the gun down." Armstrong said.

"But you didn't have to throw me!" Al shouted. "I was just the innocent
bystander."

"You and Major Elric really are brothers. I see it now." Myers said.

Al blinked. "Major? Wow, don't hear that one often. It's a bit strange
actually."

"Sorry, should I call him something else?" Myers asked.

Al shrugged his metal shoulders. "Call him whatever you're most comfortable
with. It's just strange to hear people actually use his rank."

"So brat?" Darius suggested.

"Loud mouthed punk?" Heinkel asked.

"Pipsqueak?" Brody gave.

Al sighed. "Something that he won't kill you over when he wakes up."

"I'll ask you one more time, please calm down!" Armstrong shouted.

Edward leaned into the house with a look of fear and shock. "Alphonse!"
He shouted.
Shelves full of medicine bottles were shown as birds whistled in the
background.

Ed, Armstrong, and Marcoh were shown sitting at a table with Al sitting
next to it.

"So, you changed your name and decided to live in hiding way out here
in the countryside. If the rumors I heard can be believed, when you
disappeared, you took top-secret materials with you." Armstrong said.

"I couldn't handle it anymore." Marcoh said. "Order or no order, to

have to dirty my hands researching that thing…was too much."

Edward was shown staring at the doctor. "What thing is that?" He

asked.

"It took so many lives. During the Civil War, so many innocent died
because of it."

Al looked up, surprised. Now he understood what that fully meant. At the
time, he just thought it was used by someone in war, but if humans really
were the main ingredient to the Philosopher's Stone, then they had to have
been made somehow. Just who was being used to make them? The Ishvalans
or people from their own country? Where did these stones come from?

Marcoh bowed his head. As he continued, Armstrong was shown. "I

could spend my whole life trying and still never atone for the things I've
done." Al was shown this time. "But I had to do something, so I came
here to be a doctor to save lives, instead of taking them."

"Doctor," Armstrong said as everyone was shown around the table.

"What exactly was it you were ordered to do research on? What thing?"

Marcoh opened his eyes and raised his head. "The Philosopher's Stone."

Edward looked up in shock and Al gasped in surprise while Armstrong's

eyes narrowed.

"Now, that is a surprise, but it makes sense. That is the only thing Fullmetal
researches, and if he was looking at your research, it is obvious that was it."
Mustang told the doctor, frowning darkly. "So, the question remains, what do
you know and what did the boys find out that has you all being secretive and
calling it a dark secret of alchemy."

"Please, Colonel, you will know soon enough." Al pleading, wishing he was a
bit brash like his brother to just stop this.

Mustang slammed a hand on the coffee table. "Enough! I am tired of being in

the dark about this." He shouted.

A groan was heard throughout the room as Mustang finished and Edward sat
up, yawning. "What are you yelling about?"

"Perfect timing, Fullmetal. Maybe you would care to inform us of what is so

dark about the Philosopher's Stone." Mustang suggested, though it sounded
more like an order.

Edward blinked tiredly at him. "The stone?" He yawned again. "That's too
dark for someone who has just woken up, don't you think?"

"No, I do not think because I do not know what you are hiding about it."
Mustang growled. "It keeps being brought up, and I am tired of not knowing.
This is just like we were talking about earlier. How can we help each other if
you constantly keep things to yourself?"

Edward bowed his head, hands clenching into fists on his laps. It had nothing
to do with trust or anything like that; it was just so difficult to say. The thing
he has been searching for the last three years was made of something like
that. It used all those human lives. How could he say he wasted three years of
his life searching for something that he could–would–never use? He just
couldn't use humans like that. The moment he discovered the truth, he knew
this truth. The Philosopher's Stone was the devil works and he would never
be able to bring himself to use it. He was giving up on it.

"Fullmetal, I order you to tell me." Mustang snapped.

The State Alchemist scowled. Of course, of the three people in the room who
knew the truth, only he was in the military and could be ordered around like
this. "Damn it, Colonel." He growled, slamming his automail fist onto the
ground. His flesh hand came up to cover his face. Why did his damn superior
have to be so curious and demanding? What was wrong with waiting a little
while to find out the truth? He didn't want to say it. "I refuse that order." He
said, even surprising himself with what came out of his mouth.

"What?" Mustang growled.

"I don't want to say it when it will be revealed soon. I just can't admit that all
of this has been a waste." Edward said.

"A waste?" Riza echoed, frowning.

Edward shook his head. "Forget it." And he refused to say any more after
that.

"The top secret materials I took were my research documents and the
stone itself." Marcoh said.

"You have a stone?" Mustang said shocked.

"You mean you still have it?" Ed asked shocked and urgently to a
shocked Marcoh. "It's here?"

Marcoh reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a tiny jar with a red
liquid inside of it. He began to uncork it as Ed asked, "How can that be
the stone? It's a liquid."

Marcoh poured the liquid over the table, surprising his guests. It fell to
the tabletop to form a gelatin. "'The Sage's Stone,' 'The Grand Elixir,'
'The Celestial Stone,' 'The Red Tincture,' 'The Fifth Element'…."
Marcoh said while the other three all looked at the Philosopher's Stone.
Edward was leaning forward, poking it. "Just as the Philosopher's Stone
is called by many names, so it can take on many forms. It is not
necessarily a stone."

The tiny jar was shown with the red liquid back inside it.
"This is an incomplete product however. There is no way to know when
it will reach its limit and become unusable." Marcoh said as his face
appeared on the screen.

"Finished or not, it demonstrated plenty of power during the Ishvalan

Civil War, right?" Edward said, causing Marcoh to look up in surprise
before Cornello appeared on the screen using his ring. "It's just like the
stone that false priest had in Liore. It was incomplete but it still
amplified his powers considerably." Edward smirked. "If imitations
stones this powerful can be produced, who's to say a complete product
can't be created." He slammed his hand on the table as he stood up.
"Please Dr. Marcoh, I need access to your research materials."

"How demanding." General Armstrong said, smirking.

Marcoh turned to Armstrong. "Major, who exactly is this boy?"

"Wait, you revealed this all to two kids without even knowing who they are?"
Mustang asked, frowning. "That's dangerous. What if they were the enemy?"

"Since they were with the major, I figured they were trustworthy." Marcoh
said.

"And what if the major betrayed you?" Havoc asked.

"I met Major Armstrong in the war; I know he is a good person." Marcoh
said.

Ed frowned. "And yet you pointed a gun at us."

Marcoh smiled. "Never hurts to be a little careful."

Armstrong turned to the doctor. "This boy is a State Alchemist, Doctor."

Marcoh gasped in surprise. "What?" The scene snapped to Ed, who was
staring at the doctor, determined. "But he's only a child."

"I know that is a small village you were in, but I'm still surprised you haven't
heard of him before." Mustang said.
"We don't get much news there and not many people leave the village which
is why it is such a great place to hide." Marcoh explained.

"I see, so that is why you were never found." Mustang mused.

Marcoh sighed and pinched his nose. A scene of smoking buildings in

Ishval was shown with gunshots going off in the distance. "After the war,
there were many State Alchemists who turned in their certifications,
because they refused to serve as human weapons anymore." The scene
went back to Marcoh, who was still pinching his nose. "And now a
child…"

"You think I don't know what I signed up for?" Edward shouted.

"I think you know, but you truly do not understand the horrors and pain of
what you signed up for." Izumi said, frowning.

"That is how it is for any soldier. They know what they are signing up for,
but knowing and experiencing it are two different things." Mustang agreed.

Izumi glared at him. "You're the one who offered this to him."

Mustang frowned. "Would you rather I had left him in that miserable state? I
simply offered him the chance to find a way to get back to normal."

"Could you two please stop arguing about this?" Edward asked, glaring at
them both. "It happened three years ago. It is done and over with. I'm a State
Alchemist of my own choice."

"Why do they keep arguing about this?" Havoc asked quietly.

Al leaned towards him so Ed, Izumi, and Mustang wouldn't hear him. "It's
because Colonel and Teacher care for Brother a lot. They both want what is
best for us, so it leads them to argue with each other about how to go about
it."

"That makes sense." Brody said, glancing at the three in question. "I hope
they get over it so we don't have to constantly hear this argument."
"Don't worry. Brother will get really fed up with it too and get them to stop
somehow. Though, I can't say he'll come out of it in one piece. His only
saving grace is that we don't have alchemy here." Al told them.

"We're never going to get anywhere if people keep arguing like this." Kain
said, sighing.

Marcoh glanced up surprised. Edward was shown, gripping his red

jacket where his automail port was. "I know what I'm doing, but I don't
have any choice. If this is a mistake, then it is a mistake I have to make.
There is no other way." Ed's sharp, determined gold eyes were shown,
then Marcoh's fearful ones were shown.

"With such raw determination, I can't see how you would ever break with
calling home once in a while." General Armstrong commented.

"And it's because he says things like that, that people forget he is only
fifteen." Riza said with a sigh.

Mustang smirked. "Fullmetal just loves to contradict himself in that aspect.

He acts so determined, but at the same time, he acts childish. He keeps going
back and forth in a conversation that it just gets hard to keep track of."

"Okay." Edward said, turning around to glare at him. "Tell me now. Which
do you want and I'll be that one. Do you want the fifteen year old me or the
me that is older than my actual age?"

"How about–" The Colonel started but was cut off by two females whacking
him in the head. "Izumi! Lieutenant?!"

Riza glared at her superior. "Don't change for the Colonel, Edward."

"Yeah, Chief, your contradictory self is amusing." Havoc said.

Ed stared blankly at them before turning back to the screen. What strange
people.

A white basin was shown.

"I see." Marcoh said. "So you've committed the taboo."

"Damn it, Fullmetal. How many people are you going to tell? What happened
to secrecy?" Mustang grumbled.

"He lives in a little town in the middle of nowhere!" Ed protested. "And he's
hiding from the military! Who is he going to tell?"

"That's not the point." Mustang said with a sigh. "The point is, too many
people are being let in on this secret. The more people that know, the more
dangerous it is."

The doctor looked down at Al in the crate while Ed and Armstrong

watched him. He put his hands on the crate and leaned over a bit to look
at Al. "Amazing. The ability to transmute a specific person's soul like
this." Ed was shown staring at the doctor. "Maybe one as talented as you
would be able to produce a complete Philosopher's Stone."

Edward smiled. "So…?"

"But I can't show you my research." Marcoh continued.

Edward leaned forward angrily. "Why not?"

Marcoh stood up. "You must not seek after the stone."

"Not even if it's to get our bodies back?" Edward asked.

"Never." Marcoh looked away while Ed glared at him. "This is the

devil's research. If you chase the stone," Ed's teeth clenched angrily.
"you will go through hell!"

Edward jumped to his feet. He threw his arm out to the side. "I've
already been through hell!"

"No doubt about that after what we saw." Brody said, frowning.

"What did you see?" Marcoh asked.

"Their human transmutation and this gate thing and some guy called Truth."
Liran replied.

Marcoh frowned, confused. "A gate? Truth?"

Sighing, Edward went about explaining it properly. Since only he and Izumi
(Al doesn't count since he doesn't have his memories) saw it, only they could
truly explain what it was.

"That sounds terrible." Marcoh said when he was finished.

"I called it hell for a reason." Edward replied darkly.

"Please," Marcoh said as the outside of the house was shown. "Please
just leave."

Ed and Armstrong, carrying Al, walked down the steps outside the
house. Edward stopped halfway down and glanced back up before
continuing back down. Marcoh was shown sitting on his bed as a train
whistle blew.

"I've already been through hell!" Edward's voice echoed to Marcoh.

Sighing, Marcoh opened his eyes.

The trained station was shown where the group was waiting for their
train.

"Are you sure about this, Ed?" Armstrong asked. Edward looked up,
confused. "Even an incomplete a Philosopher's Stone could be useful.
You could've taken it from the doctor by force."

"What was the point of asking that?" Brosh asked confused.

"He was testing Ed's morals." Hughes told him, smirking.

Ed twitched. "What is with people doing that to me?"

"You're just such an interesting specimen." Hughes said, laughing.

"How so?" Ed asked confused.

Hughes shrugged. "Well, you're a fifteen year old State Alchemist."

"You can do alchemy by just clapping." Mustang added.

"You have two automail limbs." Havoc said.

"Your brother is a soul trapped in a suit of armor." Skylak said.

"You have a short complex." Brody said.

Edward twitched angrily.

"You have a supreme intelligence." Armstrong contributed.

"Even though your life is already so hard, you still do all you can to help
other people to save them from a difficult life." Riza added, smiling at the
boy.

Holding up his hands to get them to stop, Edward sighed. "I got it. I'm strange
and you want to examine the interesting specimen."

"You dislike milk." Al provided.

"Okay, you are a traitor, Al." Edward growled, punching his brother's armor.

"I was just pointing it out." Al replied, chuckling at his brother.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "No, you just think it is fun to betray me."

If Al could have, he would have smirked at his brother.

Edward closed his eyes. "Yeah, I wanted it so badly I could almost taste
it." He opened his eyes and looked at Al. "But still…"

"But still," Al continued. "We don't want it so badly that we'd being
willing to deprive this town of their only doctor to get it."
"You two are amazing." Maria said.

Ed blinked. "How so?"

The Second Lieutenant smiled. "You've been searching for years, and when
finally you get close to it, your care for other people override your own
selfishness for the stone."

"Wouldn't most people do that?" Al asked confused.

Miles shook his head, amazed at how naïve these two still were. "No. Most
people would find their needs more important and not care about other people
before themselves. It is human need to be selfish."

"Being selfish just brings more pain to yourself and all those around you."
Edward said, remembering the scared and pained look Winry wore after their
human transmutation and how she cried when they burned down their house.

"We gained plenty just by finding out that the Philosopher's Stone can be
made." Edward finished and looked back at Armstrong. "Now we'll just
have to look for some other way to do it."

"Do you even have an idea of where to begin to do such a thing?" Mustang
asked.

"At the time, no." Edward replied. "I was just going to take it by day. First, I
get my arm back. And then, I would work on it from there."

"You should really learn to plan ahead." Breda said, frowning.

Ed raised a brow. "How do you plan ahead for something like this?"

"I don't know. Alchemy is not my area of specialization." Breda retorted.

A train whistled again and Ed and Armstrong were shown standing on

the platform as the train arrived. "What about you, Major? How do you
feel about not reporting back to Central on Dr. Marcoh's location?"

"I met a simple small-town doctor today. I can't see any real reason to
report that." Armstrong replied without looking at the boy.

Ed turned away from the major and gave an evil smirk.

"There's that evil look again." Avery said, laughing.

"So tell me, Fullmetal, how much do you keep from the military that you
should be reporting?" Mustang asked casually.

Ed smirked. "I'm not telling you anything, Colonel. Those are my secrets."
He said arrogantly before the smirk slipped off and he sighed. "Why do you
even ask that? You know every single thing I do before I even report back to
you so you know there are no secrets. I still don't get how you do that."

"And you never will." Mustang replied, smirking.

"We'll see about that." Edward grumbled.

"Wait." Marcoh's voice sounded, surprising the smirk off Ed's face. The
doctor was shown with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Dr. Marcoh." Edward said as the train came to a stop.

Marcoh held out a note. "This is where my materials are." Edward took
the paper from him. "If you're certain you won't regret learning the
truth in the end, then start looking here. Look closely. Maybe you'll find
the truth hidden within the truth. But," He turned away with a smile.
"I've said too much already."

"The truth within in the truth?" Izumi asked.

Ed frowned. "Even we don't know the full truth. So, only Dr. Marcoh knows
the most. Do you care to tell us?" He asked, looking at the doctor with a grin.

"If we are keeping the secret of the stone until it comes up, then I will also
keep my secrets." Marcoh replied, smiling.

Sighing, Ed shrugged. "I figured as much." He turned to Mustang. "There,

now we are both in the same boat of not knowing."
"You still know more than me." Mustang pointed out.

"And you always know where I've been and what I've done before I even
report to you. So, we're even." Edward retorted.

Mustang shrugged. "Fair enough."

Marcoh walked away, waving to them without turning back around. "I
hope the day will come when you are able to restore your bodies."

Armstrong saluted to him while Ed back to his back.

"Huh, so you do have manners." Havoc said.

Ed growled. "Only to those that deserve it."

"I get the boy in the military and I get nothing." Mustang grumbled.

"Are you still harping about that?" General Armstrong asked, smirking at the
man.

Mustang frowned. "Why shouldn't I be? He is a disrespectful punk!"

"Must be part harpy on his mother side." Edward mumbled, causing General
Armstrong to smirk again. What a witty brat.

The Colonel growled. "Careful, Fullmetal. I can still court martial you when
we get out of here."

Ed snorted. "Like you'll even remember this conversation by the time we

leave."

The countryside was shown passing by as Al asked, "Brother, what does

the note say?"

The note was shown in Ed's hands. "National Central Library, First
Branch."

"I get it. Like hiding a tree in a forest." Armstrong said. "Finding one
book in that giant library will be difficult indeed."

Ed smirked. "Finally another clue about the stone."

"See? It all worked out. I didn't even need to plan my next move. Dr. Marcoh
did that for me." Edward said.

"Stop relying on other people." Brody said.

Ed smirked. "I don't rely on anyone. They just come to me with what I need."
He frowned. "Hopefully it won't get you into any trouble, Doctor. I tend to
bring trouble with me wherever I go."

"Now that he's mentioned it," Luke said. "He has gotten into some type of
trouble in every episode we've seen so far."

"So, what type of trouble will you get into this time?" Mustang asked.

Ed blinked and thought back to this trip with Armstrong. Did he get into any
mishap? "None! This was a clean and easy trip. No problems whatsoever."

"Really?" Mustang said in disbelief.

"I'm not that bad that I am always in some type of danger." Edward growled.

Dr. Marcoh opened the door to his house and went inside. He closed it
and sighed.

"I've been looking for you, Marcoh." Lust's voice said and her silhouette
was seen behind Marcoh.

"Ah, shit. Sorry." Edward grumbled, hanging his head.

"And there is the trouble. I don't know how you brought it to him, but you
did." Mustang said, sighing.

"Maybe they're stalking Chief." Havoc suggested.

Ed blinked. "Havoc, that isn't funny."

Havoc shrugged. "Wasn't trying to be. Do you remember? They said they
can't let you die. And the best way to make sure you don't….."

"Is to follow him." Armstrong finished, frowning. "Which means we did lead
them directly to Dr. Marcoh."

The youngest State Alchemist groaned. "I am really sorry, Dr. Marcoh."

"Do not worry about it, Edward. They did not harm me." Marcoh replied
reassuringly. "I was just under house arrest in the village."

"That's good." Edward sighed in relief. At least he didn't cause too much
misery for the doctor.

Marcoh's eyes shot open in fear and a light was turned on to reveal Lust,
who smirked.

The scene changed to the Rockbell's house with Den outside barking.
Winry was shown to be working in her workshop when Pinako called,
"Winry! Winry! Our best customer is here!"

"Best customer?" Avery asked.

While Ed chuckled nervously, Al sighed. "Brother messes up his automail a

lot."

"That is not surprising with how reckless he is." General Armstrong said.

"Perhaps I should beat the recklessness out of him." Izumi suggested, causing
sweat to pour down Ed's face and neck. Damn these two women.

Ed shook his head. "I'm okay! Really, Teacher, no need for more violence
today."

"So she can beat you up tomorrow?" Al asked.

Scowling, Ed kicked his brother. "No."

"Hey!" Al shouted. "You just said no more violence."

"When do I follow rules?" Ed asked.

"You said it!" Al retorted.

"Just goes to show, we can't trust Fullmetal even with what he says." Walkers
chuckled.

Winry looked up from her work. "Huh?"

Back outside, Ed and Armstrong finished walking up the path to the

house, stopping in front of Pinako. "Yo, Granny!"

"We're home." Al called.

"Oh dear, what have you done now?" Pinako asked.

"A lot has happened." Edward replied. "Can you fix us up?"

Armstrong put Al's crate down, causing Den to claw up it and stick his
tongue out at Al, while the Major shook hands with Pinako.

"This is Major Alex Louis Armstrong." Edward introduced.

"I'm Pinako Rockbell." Pinako told him before stepping back. "I know I
haven't seen you for a while, Ed, but you've gone and grown smaller."

Mustang and some other soldiers laughed, causing Ed's face to turn red with
anger.

"Is it time for another one of your arguments with Pinako?" Riza asked, one
of the few not laughing at the boy.

"Yes." Al said, chuckling. "They can be quite amusing at times."

"Al," Ed whined. "Why are you such a traitor to your older brother?"

"I'm not betraying you. I just find amusement in this." Al said.

Ed grumbled. "And that is the level of betrayal for us."

"Levels?" Al asked confused. "Since when did we have levels?"

"Since we got here since you keep revealing stuff." Ed grumbled.

Al blinked, silencing a chuckle so his brother didn't hit him. "Oh, well, could
you tell me these levels so I don't betray you again?"

"You shouldn't need to know the levels." Edward mumbled to himself,

causing Al to stifle another laugh. His brother was so strange sometimes.

"Well, alright." Al said.

Edward twitched angrily as a dark aura spread over the two. "Granny,
you've got it wrong. You're supposed to say 'how big you've grown
lately, Ed.'"

"Why would I say something so clearly untrue?" Pinako asked.

"I'm still taller than you, you minimum hag!" Edward shouted before a
wrench was shown flying through the air and whacking Edward in the
head with the end result being him falling to the ground, while Pinako
watched unmoved.

Edward shouted in shock and grabbed his head. "She's a demon." He

mumbled, rubbing his aching head.

"She has remarkable aim." Armstrong commented.

"You're going to encourage her too?" Edward asked annoyed.

Izumi, on the other hand, hmphed. "I trained you better than that, Edward.
Why didn't you dodge?"

"She'd just get mad." Edward grumbled.

"Really? I thought it was because you were a masochist when it involves

Winry." Al commented causing severe laughter throughout the room.

Edward, forgetting his aching head, looked at his brother in absolute shock
and dismay. "Wh-what?! Who the hell has corrupted my sweet, innocent
baby brother?"

Attempting to stifle his laughter, but failing, Havoc barely managed to get
out, "I think you did, Chief," before he collapsed into another fit of laughter.

Edward blinked at the Lieutenant before turning back to his brother. "One, I
am not a masochist!" He shouted. "And two, you have just betrayed me
again, Al. That is strike two!"

"There are strikes now?" Al asked, even more confused than he was earlier.

"Yes, you get three and you're out!" Edward shouted.

Al blinked. "What does that mean?"

A smirk crossed over Ed's face, a very evil looking smirk.

"You know what? I don't want to know, Brother." Al said worriedly.

Armstrong was staring up at Winry, who was standing on the balcony.

"Edward, I thought I told you to call first when you're heading back
here for maintenance."

"I don't know why she still tries after three years. You never call her
beforehand." Al said.

Edward sat up angrily. "Winry, are you trying to kill me?" He

screamed, which just caused the girl to laugh.

Buccaneer glared at the screen where the teenager stood.

"How are you so smart?" Falman asked.

"What was that?" Edward asked.

Falman shrugged. "I just figured if that happens all the time, you should have
severe brain damage."
"Brother just has a hard head." Al said.

"It can't be that–" Havoc started, but cut himself off when Buccaneer's arm
landed on Ed's head, sending the boy spiraling to the ground with blood
trailing down his face.

"DAMN IT!" He screamed, clutching his head. "What was that for?"

Havoc snickered. "I stand corrected. His head is hard."

"It's not fair." Buccaneer grumbled.

Edward blinked at the soldier, absolutely confused. "What's not?" The soldier
just ignored him, grumbling to himself. "What's not fair?" He demanded, but
was just ignored and left to deal with his aching head and confusion about the
whole situation on his own.

Winry's eyes opened and she smiled. "Welcome back."

Edward, still sitting on the ground, just muttered angrily, "Yeah."

"Really, Chief? That's it? A pretty girl like that is smiling at you and that's all
you say?" Havoc said annoyed. He would give anything to get a smile like
that from a pretty girl.

Ed glared at him. "She just whacked me in the head with a wrench. Who
would be happy after that?"

"Well, if it was by a pretty girl…." Havoc said.

Rolling his eyes, Ed scoffed. "You're an idiot."

Ed's automail arm was shown to be in pieces on a table. "Oh no!" Winry
cried. She was shown, trembling in angry, with pieces of the arm in her
hands. Behind her, Edward sat on the couch, contently drinking from a
mug in a smug manner.

"Yeah, sorry. It's a little smashed up." Edward said.

"Is that your revenge for the wrench?" Kain asked amused.

"Of course." Edward said, nodding.

"What a friendship you two have." Brody said sarcastically.

"Hey, she is a demon! You won't believe all the extra fees she's charges me
with for my automail. Rush fees. Transportation fees. I swear she takes some
sort of evil pleasure in charging me all that money." Edward grumbled.

"It's not like you can't afford it." Hughes pointed out.

"I need that money for living expenses." Edward mumbled. He flashed an
innocent smile at Hughes. "If I start to go hungry because of all my expenses
going towards automail, will you save me, Hughes?"

"Go mooch off someone else, you brat." Hughes teased.

Edward sighed. "Why is everyone so cruel to children?"

"Only to you, Fullmetal." Mustang corrected.

Ed frowned. "Guess I'll have to put that survival training to the test some day
then."

"A little smashed up?" Winry asked. "A little. Ed, do you see what
you've done to my beautiful creation. I slaved over this."

"So she really doesn't know it was Scar?" Riza asked.

"Nope, and she never will. Though, I have to wonder what she imagined
about how it happened though." Edward mused.

Edward lowered his mug and grinned. "It's basically the same. It's just
in smaller pieces."

Winry slammed her fist into Ed's face.

"She really loves hitting you." Avery laughed.

Edward groaned, clutching his cheek. "I don't see it being all that funny."

Winry looked down at the scared Al, while Ed twitched in the

background. "Don't tell me, you a little smashed up too, Al?" She asked.
"What kind of trouble have you two been getting yourself into?" Al
twitched and Winry slammed her foot into his helmet to send him
twitching next to his brother.

"She is one violent girl." Darius laughed.

"Again, I don't see it being funny." Edward muttered.

Al nodded, agreeing with his brother.

"It your guys' fault for not telling her anything and worrying her." Izumi
pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "She'd just be scared if I told her a crazy man with a deep
hatred of State Alchemists came after me and almost killed me before I was
saved. Do you go around telling all your friends and family not in the military
about how you almost died recently?"

"Fair enough." Mustang said.

"You idiots." Winry said as Armstrong and Pinako stared at the

twitching boys. "All you ever do is worry me."

"Alright." Pinako said she tapped her pipe on her ashtray. "I see." Den
was shown eating out of his food dish. "In order to get this information
you need, you want to go to Central as soon as possible? Am I right?"

"Yeah." Ed said. "This is kind of a rush order."

Pinako was shown looking at Ed's leg to see if they were the same size.
"It's not just the arm, your leg needs adjusting too."

Winry leaned in next to Ed, smirking, causing Ed to glance up blankly.

"Guess your growth not completely stunted after all."
"Oh, shut up!" Edward said angrily.

Pinako tapped Ed's metal knee with her pipe. "Leg aside, we'll have to
build the arm from scratch."

"Is there any chance you can have it done in a week?" Edward asked.

Pinako stood up and put her pipe to her lips. "Give us some credit, Ed."
She blew the smoke out of her mouth. "Three days." A spare leg was
shoved onto Ed's leg port. "But you'll have to make do with this spare
for now."

"Mm-hmm." Ed said and stood up, stumbling a bit. "It's a little difficult
to walk on a leg I'm not used to."

"So that now makes you completely defenseless." Heinkel said, frowning.
The word defenseless felt strange rolling off his tongue when it was being
used to describe Edward. From what he had seen so far, the boy didn't seem
to be the defenseless type. He and his brother were so strong and determined.
It was strange to see them in pieces.

"Defenseless?" Ed asked insulted. "I resent that."

"Resent it all you want, what he said is true." Mustang retorted with a frown.
How could Edward ever be so weak? In mental and physical terms, he wasn't
weak. He was weak in the sense that he couldn't protect himself with an arm
missing and a leg he wasn't used to. If he could barely walk properly on that
leg, then how was he supposed to escape danger?

"We'll be finished before you get used to it." Pinako said as Winry stood
up with Ed's leg over her shoulder.

"Three days, huh?" Winry said as Ed looked at her with a frown.

"Between machining, assembly, connecting, and finishing, that's three
all-nighters."

"I'm sorry for all the trouble." Edward said.

"He apologized?" Havoc said shocked.

"Stupid annoying soldiers." Edward grumbled.

Winry turned to him with a smile. "Well, you want to get to Central as
soon as possible, right? Then I'll work my butt off for you." She said as
the scene changed to Armstrong cutting wood with his fists. "But you
better believe, you're going to pay a fortune in rush order fees."

"She is a demon in disguise." Edward groaned.

"There, there, Brother. It will all be better if you just took better care of your
automail." Al said in a somewhat condescending tone, at least that is what it
sounded like to Edward.

"You make it sound like I never do my maintenance." Edward grumbled.

"You do slack on it sometimes." Al replied.

"Yeah, sometimes, not all the time." Edward retorted.

A sparkling and shirtless Armstrong continued to punch more wood as

Al was shown sitting on the ground with chickens around him.

When he was finished, Armstrong entered the house with some wood
under one of his arms. "The wood you requested." He said.

"Oh, thank you." Pinako said without looking up from her work.

Armstrong looked over his shoulder and out the door. "I haven't seen
Edward anywhere around the house in a while."

"Really?" Mustang put two fingers to his forehead. "The point of sending
Major Armstrong was for him to be your guard, and you go and wander off
already?"

"I'm in Resembool! Nothing happens there!" Ed muttered.

"Don't assume things." General Armstrong growled. "Scar could have

followed you there or another enemy that wants revenge against you."
"Okay, but no one knew I was heading to Resembool." Edward pointed out.

"And here I thought I trained you to be more alert to danger." Izumi said,
sighing.

"Yeah," Pinako said as a picture of Den, carrying flowers in his mouth,

and Edward was shown walking down a path as a soft song began to play
in the background. "He said he was going off to visit his mother's
grave."

Two of the villagers glanced up from their work and grinned upon seeing
Ed. They stood up straight and waved at the boy to which Ed waved
back.

"Major," Pinako said as she screwed in a screw in Ed's leg. "What kind
of lives are the boys leading these days?"

"Hmm?" Armstrong replied.

"They have yet to send us so much as a single letter." Pinako said.

"Ed and Al are well-known for their alchemy, even in a high profile place
like Central. Sometimes that gets them into trouble. They seem to have a
knack for finding it. But don't worry, they're all right. The Elric
brothers are strong boys." Armstrong said.

The screen changed to Ed who was stopped in front of the two villagers.
The adult patted the boy on the head, talking as he did.

"Strong, huh?" Pinako asked. Edward yelled at the villager as the boy
with them laughed. "Yes, I think you could call them that."

Armstrong was holding a picture of the boys and Winry as kids with
Pinako and Trisha standing behind them.

"Aw, what a cute picture." Hughes said.

"And like always, Fullmetal is frowning and glaring." Mustang chuckled.

"Don't you have any other facial expressions?"
Ed scowled. "Oh, shut up, Colonel."

"Apparently you don't." Mustang said, grinning, while Edward groaned for
falling into that trap.

"I'm curious, Madam Pinako. You speak of the Elrics as though they
were your grandsons." Armstrong said.

"Of course. I've been watching over them since they were born." Pinako
replied.

"And she means that literally." Edward said, smiling faintly.

"How so?" Karin asked curiously.

"She was our midwife." Edward explained.

Edward was shown walking away from the two villagers, waving to them
as they waved to him.

"I'm a friend of the family, you see. The boy's father is an old drinking
pal of mine." Pinako said as the bouquet of flowers was shown resting on
Trisha's grave. "One day he up and left the village, abandoning his wife
and sons." Ed and Den were shown standing in front of the grave. "I
don't even know whether he's alive now or not." The wind blew around
Edward. He gasped and looked over his shoulder towards the hills.

"What's wrong?" Hughes asked.

"Nothing was wrong. I was just looking at something." Ed replied sadly,

glancing at his brother.

"You went back there?" Al asked surprised. Edward usually avoided going
back to their old home whenever they had to head back to Resembool. It held
too many bad memories for them.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, why do you think I was so late in coming back?"

"I don't know." Al said. "You were taking a long time at Mom's grave?
However long you stay there depends on your mood."

A picture of Ed, Al, and their parents were shown with the father's face
being covered by another picture. "Come to think of it, Madam, where
are young Winry's parents?"

Pinako was shown, pausing in her work. "Gone, Major. They both died
in the civil war."

Armstrong was shown, face shadowed with a frown covering it.

Winry was shown working on a design for automail in her workshop.

"My son and his wife were surgeons. They went to the battlefield to do
what they could. There were never enough doctors for all the injured
soldiers." Pinako's voice said.

The Rockbells? Scar frowned as he recalled the name that he saw on the sign
outside the house earlier. He knew that the Winry girl looked familiar. He
just couldn't believe that there was such a connection between the daughter of
the doctors he killed and the State Alchemist he tried to kill. With how close
the three teenagers were, he would obviously be facing some very severe
hatred if it was revealed what he did. Those doctors' death was a mistake on
his part, but it was a mistake that he had to live with. He never meant to kill
them, but he had freaked out after just waking up and suddenly seeing his
brother's arm on his body.

Armstrong was shown, looking down. "It was…a terrible war."

"Yes it was indeed." Pinako replied as she went back to her work. She
paused again though. "Oh, it looks like it's about time for me to get
supper started." She hopped off her stool and began to walk away. "You
look like you could eat a lot, but don't worry, there's plenty."

Armstrong held up a hand to stop her. "Oh, no, please don't trouble
yourself on my account."

Pinako went over to another table where her pipe was. "Food always
tastes better with guests anyway. We also have an empty patient's cot
and some spare bedding if you like." She picked up her pipe before the
scene changed to Al, still sitting outside with a bird sitting on his hand.
"The boys don't have anywhere else to stay but here. Adding one more
guest won't be any more inconvenience to us."

"Nowhere else to stay?" Mustang asked confused. "What about your house?
I've been in it. It's a nice house."

Ed and Al glanced at each other. The burning down of their house was a
private matter, but it seems it must come up. Now that they thought about it,
Armstrong did mention it to Ed when he returned to the house that night. And
it seems, it was going to come up.

Armstrong blinked. "What about the house they grew up in?"

Armstrong felt tears well up in his eyes once more. It was such a tragic, but
beautiful story he heard in his visit to Resembool. These boys had such a hard
life, and they weren't even adults yet. It made him want to do whatever he
could to help and protect these boys. If he could lift some of the stress and
hardness of life from their young shoulders, he would gladly do whatever he
could.

Pinako blew smoke out of her mouth. Ed was shown standing in front of
a pile of ashes that used to be his home. "It's gone now. The brothers
don't have any home to return to." Ed's face was shadowed by his bangs
as he stared at the remains of his house. "The day they left, after Ed had
gotten his state certification, they burned down their own house."

"You did what?" Maria said shocked, covering her mouth in shock. She could
never imagine burning down the house she grew up in. It was filled with so
many memories. Burning it down would be like destroying all those
memories and walking away from it all.

"So, you would go that far, Edward, Alphonse?" Izumi said sadly, though she
was not surprised. These boys did say they couldn't turn back, no matter
what. It was horrible that they felt the need to burn down their house just to
do that.
Edward bowed his head, bangs hiding the pained look that crossed his face.
Their childhood house held dark memories, but also some of the happiest
memories he ever had. He and Al would both agree. Making the decision to
burn their house down was one of the hardest decisions they ever had to
make.

"Why did you do it?" Hughes asked, frowning sadly. "Your childhood home,
though filled with dark memories, was also filled with happy memories. That
was the last place filled with the memories and warmth of your mother."

"We didn't want anything tying us back to Resembool." Al said when it was
obvious his brother didn't want talk about this. "It was already hard enough
leaving. To have our home there, it would just be an anchor constantly
pulling at us to come back home."

"How much did you leave in the house?" Sheska asked sadly. She could not
imagine how difficult it was for these boys to burn down their own home.
When she looks at her mother having to live in a hospital and all the
possessions of hers that Sheska kept, she just knew she would never be able
to get rid of any of it.

"Everything." Edward whispered. "All the pictures, clothes, toys, books, it

was all left in the house. Nothing was saved."

"That's not completely true. We did save the important books." Al corrected.

"That's so sad." Hawkeye said with a frown. Her father was an estranged man
and cared so much about his Flame Alchemy and its secret that he tattooed it
onto her back. Their relationship was not the best it could have been, but he
was still her father and she would keep his secret, only giving it to one
person.

Ed glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "What's so sad about it? It was
our decision. We were the ones to do it. No one else had a say. It was solely
us."

"But you shouldn't have had to." Luke pointed, for once not feeling up to
joking.
"It's not that bad. So we don't have a home anymore. Big deal." Edward
scoffed.

"Then why did you go back?" Havoc retorted, which caused Edward to falter.

"He's got you there." Mustang commented with a smirk.

Edward scowled at his superior.

"For someone who doesn't want to be tied to the past, you shouldn't be
visiting your old home. It will just remind you of the painful and happy
memories that you had in that house. Won't that just cause conflicting
emotions in you?" Mustang continued with a slight frown.

"I just needed to look at it again. I don't usually go there when I head back to
Resembool, but it caught my attention that day." Ed snapped before rubbing
his face. "We aren't discussing this. We burned the house down so we
wouldn't have the house filled with the lingering presence of our mother and
all those happy, simpler times pulling us back. End of story. Moving on."

"Impatient much?" Izumi chuckled.

Ed frowned, crossing his arms stubbornly. "I'm just tired of having so many
personal things revealed."

"You know there will be a lot more revealed probably." Havoc pointed out.
"You should just get used to it."

"Well, if you guys didn't have to comment on it all." Ed grumbled.

"Sorry, Chief." Havoc said, smiling a bit sadly. "But your past is much darker
than any of us realized. Even though some of us were informed of a bit of it,
we really had no idea of how bad it was until we saw it."

"We can't help but talk about it since it helps us better understand it. None of
us have ever had to see or deal with something like this before." Kain added
apologetically.

Ed's shoulders sagged a bit and he sighed.

"Don't worry, Brother. At least you don't have to go through it alone." Al
said.

Ed chuckled a bit. "Yeah, at least I have you by my side as all our dark
secrets and past are revealed."

"My guess is they did it because with no house to come home to, there
could be no turning back." Pinako continued as Ed's face was zoomed in
on.

Den whined, which caused Ed to blink back to reality and look down at
him. He smiled. "Yeah, you're right." The setting sun was shown. "We
should head back."

The Rockbell house was shown. Edward opened the door, saying, "I'm
back." Just as he said this, Armstrong was shown with tears spilling
down his face.

"Oh, Edward Elric." The major grabbed the boy in a hug, causing
Winry to laugh in an unsure manner, Al to stare blankly, and Pinako
just took it as normal as she smoked her pipe.

"You guys could have helped." Edward grumbled to his brother.

"What did you want me to do? I was missing the whole right side of my
body." Al protested.

"Gyaah!" Edward shouted from being trapped in a death hug.

"What a yielding love to try to bring your mother back to life. What a
tremendous sacrifice to give up your arm in order to transmute your
brother's disembodied soul. What determination to burn down your own
house to make sure there was no retreat. Come, Edward." Armstrong
pulled his shirt off. "Allow me to offer you this comforting embrace."

"Idiot brother." General Armstrong said, sighing. Why did he have to

constantly strip and hug people? It was just destroying their family name as
making them out to be wimpy babies who got emotional over every little
thing.

"Though he is right in what he says, it is a sad, but beautiful tale." Maria said
thoughtfully, causing Ed to frown at her. She waved her hands in front of
him. "Not that I'm saying that I'm glad it happened. I'm just saying that it
would make a good story someday after all this is fixed."

"Is that so?" Edward said, unsure of how to really respond to that.

"Yes, it would make a nice tragic tale." Brosh agreed, eyes shut and hand
resting on his chin thoughtfully.

"It's not just the soldiers in the east that are strange." Edward mumbled to his
little brother, who just chuckled at his brother.

"Could all these hugs from Major Armstrong be considered harassment?"

Havoc asked, chewing on his cigarette.

"Stay back!" Edward shouted as Den was shown looking at the group.
"Don't rub your chest on me."

"Definitely." Breda, Luke, Avery, Brody, and Rufus said blandly.

"Can I file a harassment suit against him then?" Edward asked hopefully.

"No." Mustang said. "He's your comrade and we all have to endure it."

Edward mumbled under his breathe about how it was unfair as he didn't see
anyone else being subjected to bone crushing hugs or forced to see the major
strip in their hospital rooms like he had to. Maybe it was just because
Mustang wanted to crush all his hope. Yeah, that was it. It was all Mustang.

A rooster was heard crowing in the morning as the outside of the

Rockbell house was shown.

A sleeping Edward was shown, waking up as he heard the sounds of

machines at work. He leaned out his bedroom door and, upon noticing
the sounds coming from Winry's workshop, heading towards it to see
Winry working at her table.
"Look at you, working hard so early in the morning." Edward said,
smirking.

"Been up all night." Winry said.

It was nighttime when Winry was shown still working hard on Ed's arm.

"You're still at it. Busy as a bee. At this rate, you must be almost done."
Edward said.

"One more all night." Winry replied.

"Oh."

The next time Winry's workshop was shown was during the day.
Edward peaked over her shoulder at various angles before Winry got
annoyed and dropped him out of her workshop. "Get out." She said,
slamming the door shut behind him.

"Why do you have to bother her?" Hughes asked amused.

"I was bored. I hate sitting around." Edward muttered.

"Learn some patient, Edward." Izumi said.

Edward cocked his head to the side. "Teacher, you tried to teach me that
when I was training under you. You know I'm not as impatient as I was then."

"Oh, mercy, he was worse than he is now?" Mustang asked horrified.

"I'm not that bad." Edward mumbled.

Izumi nodded. "Oh, he was. Perhaps it comes from being too smart for his
age."

"I know that." Havoc mumbled. "If we don't understand something when he
explains it once, he gets so annoyed with us and just glares at us as he
explains it over and over again until we all understand it."
"I hate repetition." Ed said when he got a few looks from the soldiers.

The sky was shown with birds flying around it, chirping to each other.
Edward was shown lying on the ground with Den and Al on either side of
him.

"They said it would take three days, right?" Al asked. "So give them
three days."

"Yeah, I know, I know." Edward replied. "It's just when I think of a clue
to the stone sitting in Central Library somewhere," He started to fidget
on the ground and threw his limbs around. "I get so impatient."

"At least he can admit that he is impatient." Rufus said, grinning.

"An impatient brat. It would be nice if he would admit that part." Buccaneer
said.

Ed twitched. "I think you have something against me, Buccaneer. And to
think, we only met today."

He settled down and stared at the sky with Den barking next to him
before he heard the footsteps racing towards him. He looked to his side
to see it was Winry with his new arm.

Grinning, Winry said, "Here you go! It's all ready!" She held the arm up
with a smile.

"At long last!" Ed cheered.

"Are you cheering for the pain?" Al asked amused.

His brother's question caused Ed to deflate. "I forgot about the pain factor."

A grimacing Edward appeared on the screen.

"Ready?" Pinako asked.

Edward shut his eyes and relaxed his body. "Uh, yeah."
Pinako was shown at Ed's leg, getting ready to connect the nerves. "On
one."

"Oh, great." Edward muttered and mentally prepared him for the sharp,
painful jolts that would travel through his body in a moment.

Winry was shown at Ed's arm, doing the same thing. "Two." She said as
the screen pulled back to show Ed on the couch with Winry and Pinako
at his metal limbs.

"Three!" They said together and they connected the nerves together.

Edward, clenching his teeth, had his head tilted back as the connection
took place.

Just like the Edward in the show, Edward had his teeth clenched as he felt
sharp needles piercing his body for a few moments.

Soon the pain ended, and Ed turned his head down, eyes closed.

"Stupid automail." Edward grumbled, rubbing his shoulder. It was just lucky
for him that he was used to that kind of pain.

"That's the worse part every time when the nerves have to connect like
that." Edward said before Pinako was shown working on his leg. "Once
we have the Philosopher's Stone, I can kiss that pain goodbye."

"Our biggest source of income. I'll be sad to see you go." Pinako said as
she connected the nerves again.

"Ah, shit," Edward grabbed his leg. "Forgot she did that."

"Did what? Her job?" Mustang asked.

"She didn't warn me that time." Edward grumbled.

Edward shouted in shock.

"Hold still." Winry ordered, still working on the arm.

"Easy for her to say!" Ed grumbled. "She's not the one with pain coursing
through her body."

"Is it really that painful?" Falman asked with a frown.

Ed groaned.

Al grimaced himself. "Let's just say that the first few times Brother got his
automail reattached he passed out and slept for a few hours afterwards before
he was well enough to move around."

Kain shuddered. "I would never want to get automail. It sounds horrible."

Dr. Marcoh chuckled a bit. "That boy looks so strong, but the moment you
take away his automail, he is just another small child in this big world."

Mustang smirked. "It's so hard to think of Fullmetal like that." He looked

down at Ed who was smiling at his brother who was asking him about
something. "Then again, I was the first one to meet him after his limbs were
ripped off and saw truly how small and helpless he can be. It is not a look I
ever want to see again. It doesn't fit him."

"But it makes you want to help and protect him and his brother." Hughes
said, smiling a bit. "They are both so bright and ready to take on the world.
Doesn't that just make you want to see where they will go?"

"Yes, we'll open the path for those boys and see just what they can do." Riza
said. "They are the next generation of this country after all. It is our duty to
make sure the next generation will be better than ours."

"Do you want me to do this right or not?" She pulled her lever, causing
Ed to shout again.

"Damn it," Edward grumbled, moving his hand back to his arm.

"Seems fun." Havoc said sarcastically.

"It's just so lovely. The smell of the oil, the hum of the bearings, the
rugged, yet amazing beautiful form created through anatomical
engineering…" Winry said as if she was in love. "Ah, how wonderful you
are, my automail."

"She likes automail that much?" Kain said shocked.

"Which is why she is crazy." Edward said.

"Crazy gearhead." Edward said.

"You're lost without me, alchemy freak." Winry retorted.

Edward was now standing up with his automail completed.

"All right," Pinako said. "We're done."

Edward had his automail leg on the wall, above his head, as he stretched
it out.

"What the hell?" Havoc said. "You are way too damn flexible."

"Especially for a boy." Luke added, grinning.

"What's wrong with being flexible?" Edward asked.

"It's not natural." Havoc and Luke shouted at the boy.

"But it certainly fits for his fighting style." Breda somewhat defended the boy
as he recalled all the spars he saw Ed have with soldiers in the military
training rooms. His flexibility and short stature were fitted perfectly for his
fighting style. Or perhaps his style of fighting was created specially because
of his characteristics.

Edward then stretched his automail arm.

"Well?" Pinako asked.

Edward glanced over at her, Winry, and Armstrong. He started to roll

his arm. "Yeah, feels good."
"I increased the percentage of chrome this time so it should be less prone
to rusting." Winry closed her eyes and raised a finger. "The tradeoff is
that it's not quite as strong, so don't try anything crazy…"

The sound of door being slammed opened cut her off. Her eyes snapped
open and she spun around to look at Ed, who was running out the door.
"Hey, listen up!" She shouted.

"You really should listen to her. It's best to know about all your weapons and
tools in case something were to ever go wrong in a fight." Riza reprimanded.

"Al, it's your turn!" Edward shouted.

Ed was kneeling in front of his brother, getting all the parts of his armor
set up.

"You can fix him right here?" Armstrong asked as Ed stood up.

"Yep," Edward replied as he put his hands on Al's helmet. "You have to
know the trick to it though." Al's helmet was removed to show the blood
seal inside. "Major, you see that seal on the inside of his back. That's the
medium between Al's soul and the armor, so I have to be sure not to ruin
it."

Edward clapped his hands and put them on the ground, and soon Al
appeared in one piece in front of the two. "There you go. You're good as
new." Edward said. "You ready to try it out?"

"Yeah." Al said before Pinako was shown blowing smoke out of her
mouth. She watched as Ed ducked under his brother's leg, threw his
hands on the ground, and went to kick his brother while upside down,
but Al dodged. Edward flipped back to avoid his brother's attack, then
jumped off the ground to punch Al, then sent a kick at him before
pushing off his brother to dodge a punch. "It'll be quiet around here
without those boys."

Al continued to throw punches at Ed, who punched them to the side.

"Well, Brother?" Al asked.
"It's time to head to Central and find Dr. Marcoh's documents." Edward
said as he continued to punch Al's fists away. "We leave first thing
tomorrow morning!"

"So it is time for the truth to be revealed very soon." Dr. Marcoh said,
sighing.

"Well, the first truth at least." Edward replied.

Dr. Marcoh nodded, wearing a determined look. "Well, it is time that people
learn the truth of what is going on. It has to stop."

The sky turned to nighttime before Edward was shown to be sleeping on

the couch with his hand pushing up his shirt. "Sleeping with his tummy
out again." Al said. "What am I going to do with him?"

"I think it's cute." Karin cooed.

A red twinge filled Ed's cheeks and he ducked his head, causing his brother to
chuckle at him.

"Does he sleep like that often?" Hughes asked, trying to hide an amused
chuckle from Ed since he knew the boy would get mad at him.

"Ever since we were kids." Al said, sighing.

"Can't help it. It's a sleep habit." Edward mumbled.

Pinako appeared behind Alphonse. "It's like you're the older one, huh,
Al." She said as Al stood up and looked at her.

"What's that mean?" Edward asked offended.

"That you are quite childish at times." Mustang offered, earning himself
another glare.

Izumi smirked. "They both are. We can't just say Ed is the only childish one.
You've seen these two fight, right?"
"She makes a very good point." Havoc agreed, nodding his head in a
completely serious manner.

"And there is the fact that he follows his brother willingly into his reckless
endeavors." Riza added.

It was Al's turn to hang his head in a dejected manner. "I understand your
pain now, Brother. I won't turn my back on you anymore." He muttered.

A grin took over Ed's offense and he patted his brother's shoulder. "Thank
you, Al. We must work together to protect ourselves from these evil adults."

"What? Are we your enemies now?" Mustang asked amused.

"Anyone older than me is my enemy." Edward retorted, smirking at his

friends. [1]

"That's a lot of enemies." Brody chuckled.

Al sighed. Just like his brother to make that declaration.

Mustang pressed his thumb and index finger to his forehead. "No wonder he
never asks for help."

"He can be a handful. Someone has to look after him." Al said as Winry
approached the two with a blanket draped over her arm.

Edward grinned at his brother, who tilted his head at his brother in return.
Yes, they had to look after each other. They were all they had when they
were out there in the real world, running into all that trouble.

"How old are the two of you now?" Pinako asked as Winry covered Ed
with the blanket.

"I'm fourteen and Brother's fifteen." Al replied.

Winry sat down next to Ed's head, looking down at him fondly. "To
think that someone as young and as small as he is could be used as a
'human weapon.' It's almost funny." She smiled.
"Until you see him on the battlefield." Havoc interjected, shuddering.

"What's that mean?" Fuery asked confused since he's never been on a mission
with Edward.

Breda smirked. "He's probably the most destructive State Alchemist ever."

"Considering what we were shown from the Ishvalan war with the State
Alchemists," Edward snapped. "I don't want to hear that I am the destructive
one."

"Well, that's a good point." Alexandre said, recalling watching the hell that
the State Alchemists created. It was frightening to watch just how dangerous
they were.

Dr. Marcoh felt guilt and horror squeeze his heart. What was shown probably
wasn't as bad as it truly was. Those people were killed by State Alchemists,
but he was the one to steal their souls to make them into a Philosopher's
Stone, putting them in an endless, torturous hell until the stone was used up
and they could be set free to go on to the next life. Nothing could top the hell
he put all those innocent people in.

An angry frown crossed Scar's lips. What was shown to them wasn't even
half of it. It was so much worse than that. They had given up the fight after
seeing what the State Alchemists could do. They knew they couldn't win, so
they were fleeing to show they had given up, but those alchemists refused to
stop. It was claimed to be an extermination of his people. But they had given
up, but they just refused to stop. They continued to kill them, even after they
quit resisting. They had lost everything because of those damn State
Alchemists. It was a pure destructive genocide.

"Especially watching him sleep."

"Thank," Al said. "Both of you."

Winry looked at Al in surprise. "What's this? Why so formal?"

"Granny, Winry, I'm so grateful to you for always welcoming us like

we're really family." Ed's face was shown. "He won't ever say it, but I
know Brother feels the same way."

"So there is a family waiting for you." Hughes said, smiling at the boys. "So
you do have a place to return to."

Ed scratched the back of his head. "I guess that is one way to look at it."

"Aw, you don't have to be so shy about admitting it." Hughes teased.

The golden haired alchemist shot him a glare. "Who's shy?" He growled.

"Al…" Winry whispered.

Hughes smirked. "She'll make a good wife for you some day, Ed."

"W-What?" Ed shouted with a full on blush. "We're just friends! Sheesh,

Hughes, so annoying."

Havoc snickered. "Someone's shy."

"I don't love her!" Edward hissed, turned away from them to hide his blush.
Winry was his best friend from childhood and his automail mechanic.
Nothing more! Damn these soldiers. They didn't know anything.

Al chuckled at his brother. At one point he too was in love with Winry, but
he noticed that she was beginning to fall for his brother, who would never
admit his true feelings. Yes, he knew they loved each other, and since he
decided his brother deserved some happiness in life, he would step aside and
try to forget his feelings for the dangerous mechanic.

"Don't you worry, dear. We know he feels that way too. He doesn't have
to say it." Pinako replied.

"Granny, Winry…" Al said as Armstrong was shown standing in the

hallway, wiping tears away with a handkerchief. "Thank you."

"Eavesdropping, Major?" Edward said, smirking devilishly. "Have you no

shame?"
"It was such a beautiful scene. I couldn't help but listen in." Armstrong cried
which made his sister roll her eyes at him.

The scene faded away to Edward pulling his gloves on the next morning.
"Thank you again for everything, Granny." He said as Al kneeled
behind him playing with Den and Armstrong stood to the side.

"Sure." Pinako said as Al stood up.

"Hey, where's Winry?" Al asked.

"Resting." Pinako said. "She stayed up three nights in a row. Want me to

wake her?"

Edward walked passed his brother, waving his hand. "Oh, that's okay.
She'd just nag me. Make sure to do your maintenance, or whatever." He
said as Al and Armstrong followed him down the path.

"It doesn't matter how much she nags you, you still don't do it." Al muttered.

"I do it like once a month." Edward retorted.

Kei sighed. "With you, you probably should do it once a week."

"Argh," Ed grumbled. "I have no time for such things."

"Spending a few hours isn't going to set you back. What will set you back is
having to go back to Resembool all the time to get your limbs fixed."
Mustang said.

Al shrugged. "I think those visits are good. It means Brother has to take a
break and relax a bit. He tends to overwork himself sometimes."

"I do not." Edward said.

"Do too." Al replied.

"Hold on a second, boys." Pinako called, causing the three to pause and
look at Pinako. "You should come back once in a while and have dinner
with us."

"Mm-hmm." Al replied, chuckling.

Edward gave a mocking smirk. "Heh, you want us to come all this way
into the mountains just for some dinner?"

"It would be a nice break." Riza said.

"And it's a beautiful place. I wouldn't mind seeing it." Maria added. "Though,
I suppose growing up there, you boys have gotten bored of the view."

Al shook his head. "Never. It is really beautiful when the sun it setting or
rising. I love watching it."

"Yeah," Ed agreed quietly.

Pinako smirked. "Heh, heh."

A soft tune began to play as the backs of the three alchemists were shown
and Winry was shown standing on the balcony. "Edward, Alphonse,"
She said, looking tired and a mess, but still smiling a little as she waved
to them. "Come back soon, kay?"

Edward turned around, rubbing the back of his head before raising his
hand as he started down the path again. "Yeah." He said.

Al waved in farewell before turning back to follow his brother and the
Major.

"So next would be Central, as long as you didn't make any detours." Mustang
said. "You seem to have a knack for finding them."

"I finally got a big lead on the stone and you think I'm going to make a
detour?" Edward asked, a bit offended. "I thought you knew me better than
that, Colonel. It's straight to Central from here!"

Avery blinked. "Hey, look, the screen is back on."

"What?" Ed asked confused, turning back to see the screen. "I thought it was
over."

The Rockbell house was shown once more as Winry yawned. She was
shown walking down the stairs, rubbing her eye. "I just about slept
through the entire day." She stopped in front of a table to clean up.
"Whenever Ed comes over, it's like a tornado hit this place." When she
picked up one of the pieces a bolt was shown with a tag on it. Winry
picked it up, staring at it. She scratched her head with an uh-oh look on.
"Whoopsie."

"Whoopsie? What does whoopsie mean?" Edward asked with his eyes
narrowed into slits.

"Well, if I had to guess, I believe that was to be a part of your arm." Dr.
Young told him.

Ed's eye twitched. "And would this part happen to be vital?"

Dr. Young shrugged. "Possibly, but your friend's design is different than what
I am used to, so we'll just have to wait and see if your arm breaks or not."

"Don't say that so nonchalantly!" Edward shouted, raising his automail arm.
"That's the arm I have now! I'd rather it didn't break while we were here."

"Well, don't do anything reckless while we're here and you'll be fine." Kei
told him, grinning at his misfortune.

Ed hissed. "Do you realize who is in this room? Reckless, I don't have to be
as I'll get killed by these people and they'll break my arm."

"We're not going to touch your arm, Fullmetal, especially if it will just
malfunction. You're enough of a pain as it is without you breaking on us."
Mustang replied, smirking.

Gold eyes glared daggers at the man. "I am not a damn toy!"

"Really?" Hughes asked.

"You hug me again and call me cute and cuddly and I'll break your arms."
Edward snarled at the man.

Hughes pouted. "But you let Al hug you."

"He's my family." Ed argued.

"Then what am I?" Hughes asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Obviously a demented, sadistic family man who takes
extreme pleasure in annoying and torturing his comrades."

"I do not." Hughes said childishly.

"What a cruel boy you are, Fullmetal." Luke said, grinning.

Havoc laughed. "Not that he isn't right."

"As much fun as this is, let's move on." Mustang said impatiently.

Ed raised a brow. "Wow, and here I thought you were a patient man. What's
so urgent?"

"I want to know about this stone already." Mustang snapped.

The kid raised his hands. "Alright, alright, no need to get so angry. You'll
hear soon enough…probably." He said, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I
guess it should be next, but since we're not in control of these episodes,
anything can be shown.

"Which is why we are moving on now." Mustang said.

"Though I would much rather avoid it." Ed mumbled to himself.

A/N: [1] Anyone who can tell me who said that and from which anime
(actually, I believe it is only in the manga), I will give you a prize. First
two reviewers to answer it correctly! I just love this game and the prizes.

Please Review!
*Chapter 7*: Episode 7: Hidden Truths
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

I have a really bad obsession with World of Warcraft. Seriously, I put so

much of attention on it so I can keep my level above my brother's, that I
put on stories to the side. Whoops.

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 7: Hidden Truths

"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and

reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is
impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain
something, something of equal value must be paid. This is the law of
equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy. Alchemists have a taboo, and it
is human transmutation. It is that which no one must commit."

The opening song began once again.

Ed screamed. "Dr. Marcoh's research." The scene pulled back to show

that the library was burned down. "It's all gone!"

"Well, that's just horrible luck." Brody said.

Dr. Marcoh frowned. "You said you decoded it. How did you get the notes if
they were gone?"

Ed grinned, despite the answer in the notes being dark. "Wait and see."

"Fullmetal always finds a way." Mustang muttered, while Hughes grinned

and looked at Sheska. So that was how the boys found his newest addition to
his team. He was wondering how they met.

Eastern Command Center was shown as Lust's voice said, "In the end,
burning the entire place down was easier."

"Argh, of course it was them." Edward grumbled.

Al patted his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry, Brother. We got one up on

them since we got the notes anyway."

Edward smirked. "Yeah, that will teach those stupid monsters that I won't
lose to them."

"Oh, is that what you were doing in Central?" Gluttony asked as a tower
was shown.

"Yes, the Fullmetal boy found out about Marcoh's research." Lust said
as the two were shown on top of the tower. "Something had to be done
about it."

"What is the big deal if he reads your notes?" Mustang asked confused.

Dr. Marcoh sighed. "Because of the dark secret that revolves around the
Philosopher's Stone, those monsters don't want it revealed."

"So they are involved with the stone." Edward said, frowning. Earlier he had
been confused about that since Dr. Marcoh wasn't here yet. But now that he
was, it seemed clear that all this had something to do with the stone. So the
stone was made of human lives, but what did that mean to these monsters?
How were they involved with the stone?

Gluttony looked away from her and sniffed.

"With that issue taken care of, I thought I would come to see how things
are progressing in East City." Lust added. She looked at Gluttony. "Is he
here?"

Gluttony stood up.

"Gluttony?"

"I smell him." Gluttony said, sniffing again. "I can smell him." The city
was shown. "The scar faced Ishvalan. He's close. I can taste his stink."

"So, what does that mean?" Luke asked confused.

"It means he was able to locate me by his heightened sense of smell." Scar
explained, frowning.

Ed raised a brow. "So he is just like a tracker dog? That could be

troublesome."

"Not as troublesome as the damn shape shifter." Mustang pointed out.

The kid nodded. "Yeah, nothing could be more annoying than not knowing
who the enemy is."

"Like blood. I still get to eat him, right?" Gluttony asked.

"Oh yes, down to the last strand of hair." Lust replied.

"Well, you made some dangerous enemies, Scar." Edward said, frowning.

"Yes, but it is your fault." Scar replied.

Ed twitched. "Not everything is my fault! I don't even know why they need
me!" He glared at the Ishvalan. "Besides, you were the one who started
killing State Alchemists, so you were the one who angered them and made
them have to come after you."

"I hate to agree with Scar," Hughes said, frowning. "But you did something
to get these monsters interested in you and that is why they are after you. If
you didn't do that, they probably wouldn't be hunting down Scar."

A scowled marred Ed's face. "I think you all just like to find any reason to
blame everything on me."

"Hidden Truths"

"Well, with a title like that, it must obviously be the truth is revealed." Dr.
Marcoh said.

"That will make Colonel happy." Edward muttered. Just great. It was time for
it all to be revealed.

The sewers were shown with Scar walking leisurely in them. Multiple
rats ran past him, causing him to stop and glance over his shoulder
where a pair of red eyes was shining in the darkness. It was Gluttony
standing in the sewer water, grinning evilly. Scar turned around,
shocked, before Gluttony charged at him.

Scar's hand tensed and he slammed it into Gluttony's head.

"Well, there he goes." Brody said.

'No, it's not that simple.' Scar thought, frowning. Those things were true
monsters.

Gluttony grabbed Scar's side, causing Scar to move his attack to his arm,
cutting it off. Gluttony screamed and Lust was shown coming up behind
Scar. There was a loud explosion and the outside of the sewer was shown
where the wall was destroyed, creating a big dust cloud.

"That explains what happened there." Mustang said.

"And it also tells us that we were looking for Scar's body for no reason."
Havoc muttered. "We should have known he wouldn't die that easily."

"Scar hasn't been sighted." Hawkeye's voice said. She was shown to be
reading from a report. "Not once since that incident with the Elric
brothers."
Havoc leaned over a map that had red markings all over it. "Maybe he's
not even in East City anymore."

"I hope you're wrong about that." Mustang said. He was shown sitting in
his chair, looking out the window. "This case has obviously gotten to be
too much for Central to handle. If I can close it quickly enough, I'll be
golden."

"Clearly wants a stupid promotion." Edward mumbled.

"Of course, because unlike you, Fullmetal, that is the goal of all soldiers."
Mustang said.

Ed snorted. "Funny. I thought the goal of soldiers was to protect this country
and its people, not just get promotions and more power."

Mustang smirked and spun his chair around to face the two. "I've got a
ladder to climb, and this is how it's done. I need every mark in my favor
that I can get….at least until I've assumed the office of Fuhrer, that is."

"Argh, figures." Edward grumbled, pulling at his hair. "Of course you would
do this all just to obtain more power, and the position of Fuhrer, nonetheless."

"Ha! You as Fuhrer? As if, Mustang! That position is mine." General

Armstrong said, glaring at the Colonel.

Mustang glared back. "While you are stuck up at your Briggs wall, I will
make my way to Central and get the respect and promotions I need to get to
the top."

General Armstrong smirked. "Sorry, but I already have a big head start on
you. I'll reach it first."

"I climb the ranks fast. I'll surpass you soon enough." Mustang retorted.

General Armstrong frowned. There was a reason she disliked this man. He
climbed the ranks too fast. She did not believe he should have gotten all those
promotions he got.
Ed slapped his forehead. "What the hell? Is it the dream of every high ranking
soldier to be the damn Fuhrer?"

"Of course. Why do you think they work so hard to get up there?" Miles said,
smirking.

A groan escaped Edward. "Stupid power crazy psychopaths. What the hell is
so great about being Fuhrer?"

Mustang frowned. "The Fuhrer gets power, respect, and can run the country.
Only the Fuhrer can make the changes that need to be made. I will reach the
top and fix this country. Honestly, Fullmetal, perhaps you should start
thinking about getting in the higher ups' good graces."

"HA!" Edward shouted, laughing. "As if, Colonel. The moment I get Al's
body back, I'm gone. I have no reason to get in anyone's good graces,
especially those stuck up snobs in Central."

"You really are planning to leave?" Havoc asked, a bit sadly. They all knew
Edward claimed he wasn't going to stay in the military long, but it would still
be sad to see their friend leave.

"Of course."

"The people will be sad to see their hero leave." Mustang said.

"Tch," Ed scoffed. "They'll survive, like they did before I appeared."

"I hope not. The lives of the common people weren't the best before their
'hero of the people' appeared." Falman pointed out.

Ed sighed. "I mean, they'll live better, but they have to rely on themselves. It
is not my sole duty in life to improve their lives."

"You may not want to display your ambitions quite so nakedly, sir,"
Hawkeye said as footsteps were shown slamming into the ground.

"Yeah." Mustang said, turning his chair back around. "I'll be sure to
remember that in the future."
The office door was opened, allowing a soldier entry. The soldier saluted
and said, "Reporting in, sir. We just received word of an explosion
occurring on the Marl River."

Mustang looked around sharply. "What?"

The river was shown where a couple buildings, the road, and the
sidewalk were all crumbled and destroyed.

"Was it a gas explosion?" A soldier asked.

"With everything else that's been going on around here, who knows."
Another soldier replied.

A piece of Scar's yellow jacket was shown with blood on it.

"You were injured?" Maria asked, frowning as she looked at him. "I don't see
any injuries."

Scar nodded. "Yes, they disappeared when I was brought here."

"V.H.?" Mustang called, hoping to get to the bottom of this.

A golden flash of light appeared and a letter landed in Ed's laps.

"Why do they keep appearing to you?" Hughes asked.

"Because he's trying to annoy me!" Ed shouted at the ceiling before ripping
the envelope open and pulling the letter out. "I healed his injuries as he was
brought here as they would get in the way with how injured he was. V.H.
Well, apparently that idiot man can do medical alchemy." [1]

Scar nodded.

Hawkeye held the jacket up. "There's no mistaking it. This was
definitely Scar's jacket."

Mustang turned to the side, looking at a soldier out of the corner of his
eyes. "Have you found the body?"
Havoc sighed and scratched his head. "Not yet, but we're still
searching."

Hawkeye was shown to be looking at the jacket. "Either way, he can't be

in good shape after losing this much blood."

Mustang put a hand to his chin. "Yeah, but we do this by the book. We
need to find hard proof that he's dead. Alright." He looked at Havoc.
"Lieutenant Havoc."

"Yes sir?" Havoc asked.

"You and your men will work day and night to clear out this debris. I
want his body found." The rubble was shown as the scene swept over it
and to a bridge where a crowd of people was standing, looking at the
accident. "Don't take so much as a coffee break until that's done. Do you
understand?"

"I was right. You are a slave driver." Edward said.

"At least you understand our misery, Chief." Havoc said pitifully.

Mustang scoffed. "Slackers."

"I don't want to hear that from the man who puts his paperwork off unless
Lieutenant Riza has her gun pointed at his head." Edward shouted at his
superior.

General Armstrong raised a brow. That most certainly was not Hawkeye's
duty. "How exactly did you get the promotion to Colonel?"

Mustang pointed at Ed. "I found him."

Ed raised his head. "What? This is all my fault."

"Fault? But you did nothing wrong, Fullmetal. What you did was a good
thing." Mustang said, smiling.

"That, Colonel, is a matter of opinion." Edward retorted, a bit unnerved out

by the smile.

"C'mon, Colonel, can't you cut us some slack? At this rate, you're gonna
work us all to death." Havoc said as Lust and Gluttony were shown
standing in the crowd.

"Ah, great, they were there." Havoc grumbled.

"Don't worry, Havoc. I understand your pain of being worked to death."

Edward said sympathetically.

Havoc laughed. "Yes, I know, Chief, but you see, unlike you, the rest of us
can't fall asleep in the Colonel's office."

Ed blushed and ducked his head. "That was only a few times." He muttered.

"You slept in your superior's office?" Miles asked surprised. Now that was
most certainly not regulated.

Ed scratched his head. "Well…"

"It was by my orders a few times that he slept there." Mustang intervened,
shrugging. "The other times, I would just find him sleeping in there when I
arrived back to my office for our meeting."

"Why would you order your subordinate to sleep on your couch?" Brody
asked confused.

Mustang shrugged. "He looked dead on his feet sometimes, probably

overworked himself."

"Because you work me dry!" Ed shouted.

Mustang waved him off. "You are a young, healthy boy with a lot of energy.
You should be able to handle it."

"Even the best and strongest of us need a break!" Ed retorted.

"Shut up!" Mustang turned away from Havoc with an angry twitch. "I
don't get to relax until I've seen his body, and that means you don't get
to either."

Sighing, Havoc turned away from the Colonel. "Guess we'll get to work
then."

Gluttony was shown with his finger in his mouth and a tear in his eye.

"Looks like he got away." Lust said.

"I didn't get my snack." Gluttony said.

"I found him to be one of the most disturbing of the monsters we've met so
far." Avery muttered.

"Yes, I know. Maybe next time." Lust replied. "Though, I think we can
safely assume that Scar will be out of the game for a while. I suppose I'll
be heading back to Central again. I need to report to Father about
everything that's happened here." She turned away from the accident
and walked away.

"I wonder who this 'Father' person is." Breda said, frowning. "Must be some
powerful person if they report directly to him."

"How worrying." Al said.

A burned up book was shown.

"Guess this means we are back to the Elric brothers." Jackson said.

Ed's hand picked the book up and it fell to the ground in ashes. He
stared at the part left in his hand, frowning. "There's nothing left here
but ashes." The ashes in his hand crumbled and fell to the ground.
"Everything's gone."

Edward stood up as a voice behind the three said, "Major Armstrong."

They turned around to see Denny Brosh and Maria Ross standing there,
saluting.
"Oh, Second Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh," Armstrong said,
looking at them. The two stopped saluting. "To what do we owe this
pleasure?"

"You have been order to report back to the Command Center, sir."
Maria said.

"We'll be taking over supervision of Edward Elric and his brother

effectively immediately." Denny said.

"And I get sacked with more escorts." Edward moaned. "What a waste of
time, especially since we now know it was a waste of time since Scar is off
being injured somewhere."

"And once again, you show your problem of accepting help." Maria sighed.

Armstrong sparkled and smiled. "Hmm, very well. He's yours."

Edward was shown, rubbing furiously at his hair while Al just stared.
"What is this? Just when I think I'm home free, they saddle me with
more bodyguards? This is getting old!" He complained.

"They just want to protect you." Sig pointed out.

"Yeah, what makes me so special? I don't see any other State Alchemists
having to deal with this." Edward grumbled.

"They're older, have more experience, and are stronger in some cases." Izumi
said, sighing. "Honestly, just accept the help, Edward."

Mustang nodded. "Izumi is right, but it is also because you are so well-known
and famous." When Ed looked at him confused, he sighed. "It means the
civilians will be very angry if we let their favorite State Alchemist get killed,
and some of the officials in the military wouldn't be too happy if something
happened to their prodigy."

Edward groaned. "Annoying."

"Normal people would find it flattering." Kain pointed out.

"Well, I'm not normal." Edward retorted.

"Not surprising considering you're a genius." Brody said.

"There is something strange about all geniuses." Havoc agreed with a grin.

A car tire was shown, then the car itself while Maria said, "All might not
be lost. There's a woman who's well acquainted with the materials in the
first branch." Ed, Al, Denny, and Maria were shown sitting in the car as
she continued. "Unfortunately, she wasn't working there anymore."

Edward crossed his arms as an annoyed looked passed over his face.
"That sounds incredibly helpful."

Denny was staring intently at Al, who tilted his head slightly.
"Something wrong?" Al asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." Denny said. "Although if you don't mind me asking,
why are you wearing a suit of armor?"

Ed and Al looked at each other nervously, sweat pouring down their

faces.

"You just had to ask." Edward groaned.

"Can't wait to heat what your excuse for it is this time." Mustang said,
smirking.

Al groaned. "Brother, we really have to start working on our excuses for this
matter."

"I don't have time for such things!" Ed shouted.

Hughes sweat dropped. "You seem to not have time for many things, like
visiting me when you're in Central!"

"I told you I was busy!" Ed mumbled. "Don't want to see a happy family
obsessed man anyway."
Hughes raised a brow. "What was that?"

"Al don't say such things." Ed scolded nervously.

Al growled jokingly. "Don't get me involved in your affairs!"

"I thought we were in this together from here on?" Ed said.

"Not in this." Al replied. "Everything else, maybe, but I want no part of this
one."

Ed groaned. "How can you abandon your brother in such a coldhearted

manner?"

"Easily." Al said.

"Traitor."

"It's quite fun."

"Betrayer."

"Like you've never done it."

"It's a hobby." They said together nervously.

The soldiers laughed.

"A hobby? Really?" Mustang asked.

"As we said, we don't plan this in advanced!" Edward said. "No one should
ask!"

"But it's so strange. We can't help but ask." Havoc replied.

Brody smirked. "What did they tell you when you asked about it?"

Havoc snickered. "The Chief yelled something on the lines of, 'Got a problem
with my brother wearing a suit of armor? What's so strange about it? If that's
what he wants to do, that's what he going to do. Don't ask about it!' I think he
almost busted my eardrums with that one."

Kain groaned. "I couldn't hear properly for days."

"Really, Brother?" Al sighed.

"Ah, that." Ed grinned. "That was fun."

"Only you'd consider destroying eardrums fun." Havoc muttered.

Maria and Denny turned to each other, covering their mouths.

"A hobby? What kind of freaky hobby is that, Lieutenant?" Denny

asked.

"Who are these boys anyway?" Maria asked.

Ed and Al were both shown looking out their windows.

"Soo, what do you say, Al?" Edward asked, still sweating. "It's a lovely
view, isn't it?"

Al, also still sweating, replied, "Ah, yeah, yeah, it's gorgeous."

"Your voice was a bit too high pitched, Al." Izumi said amused.

"So we can't lie." Al muttered to himself.

"How you two haven't gotten discovered and arrested yet is still an unknown
miracle to me." Mustang said to himself.

"To be fair, it seems that most people they meet who discover the truth
simply wish for them to get their bodies back." Dr. Marcoh pointed out.

"And those that don't," Havoc said, frowning. "Well, they don't seem to last
long."

"It's almost like fate is protecting them." Sheska said, smiling softly at the
boys.

"Great, now fate is screwing with us. The moment it gets bored with us, we're
done." Ed groaned. "Life will be over. Everything will be discovered. The
end is here!"

"Did you ever have a desire to be an actor, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked

amused.

"Theatrics is fun." Ed replied simply.

"Perhaps that is where his rants come from." Falman mused.

The car was shown stopped outside an apartment building. Ed had one
of the doors open, and the group was all staring in shock at the
mountains of books inside.

"Wow, there's got to be millions of them." Ed said.

"Damn, that is more than even Chief reads." Breda said shocked.

"Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if Edward does read that much." Izumi

replied. "He just travels all the time and has nowhere to store the books so he
doesn't buy them."

Mustang nodded. "I can believe that."

"It's like a crime to like reading." Sheska muttered, much to the amusement
of the Elric brothers.

Denny was shown walking sideways in front of the bookshelves. "Is there
really someone living in this place?"

Maria came next. "Miss Sheska?"

Many looks of disbelief were shot at Sheska.

"What is with all the books?" Myers asked.

"Well," Sheska started, but was cut off by Ed.

"Don't bother, Sheska. It will be explained in another minute or two." Edward

said.

"Are you here? Miss Sheska?" Maria asked.

"Is someone there?" Sheska yelled as Ed was shown walking normally

through the mess.

"I'm not surprised you're not struggling to get around with how small you
are." Brody commented.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Edward screeched.

Al reached up and pulled his brother back down by his shirt. "Brother, please
don't attempt to kill your comrades."

"Al," Ed said patiently. "I never try to kill anyone." Fire suddenly lit up in his
eyes. "I just send them on a burning, painful trip to hell!"

"Well, it seems Fullmetal has lost it again." Mustang commented.

"Lost it?" Edward asked, eyes gleaming with an evil tint as he looked at his
commanding officer. "I have lost nothing, Mustang! I have everything
perfectly under strict control in my noggin!"

Mustang blinked and looked at Al. "Care to explain?"

"I think he's hungry." Al shrugged. "Sometimes he gets like this when he is
hungry and hasn't eaten in a long time. I think the last time he ate was
yesterday."

"Perhaps we should eat after this episode?" Riza suggested.

"Is there food here?" Al asked.

There was a flash of golden light and a letter appeared to Al this time.
Surprised, he opened it. "Since Ed has lost it, I'll send this to you, Al. There is
a cafeteria nearby with ingredients. Have fun. V.H."

"I'm telling you I'm perfectly clear in the head!" Ed said, but was grinning.
"But food sounds goods. No one say anything. We need to get through this
quickly." And he sat down again like he didn't almost seem like a madman.

Al followed his brother, walking like the soldiers.

"Please, help me!" Sheska said.

Al glanced through some of the bookcases when he heard the voice and
saw a hand with glasses hanging off the fingers sticking out from a pile of
books.

"Um," Al said, pointing at the hand. The hand was shown closer.
"Brother, there's somebody under there!"

"You were buried under your own books?" Karin asked incredulously.

"ARGH!" Edward shouted. "That wasn't even a minute!" He jumped to his

feet and walked away.

Luke blinked. "Um, where is he going?"

Al shook his head. "Don't ask. He'll be back before you know it."

All four members of the group screamed and started throwing the books
all over the place. "Dig! Dig! Dig this place up!" The outside of the
building was shown. "Hang in there!"

"Never a peaceful day when Fullmetal is around." Mustang said, smirking in

amusement.

Edward appeared on the screen, breathing heavily with a book on his

head while Al was behind him, dizzy.

Maria stood to the side with her arms full of books while Sheska was
kneeling in front of the boys, bowing. "Thank you! I'm so sorry!" She
turned to Maria and bowed. "I got myself trapped under a whole
mountain of books." She put her glassed back on. "I thought I was going
to suffocate under there. Thank you so much."

Edward removed the book from his head and closed it. "So, uh, are you
Sheska?"

"Yes." Sheska breathed.

"And you worked at the library?" Edward asked.

Sheska flinched. "Oh, the library?" She said happily with sparkles
around her. "The word itself is so beautiful."

"You remind me of Winry when she talks about automail." Al said.

Sheska chuckled. "We've all got things we love greatly."

The library was shown in the background. "I've loved books my whole
entire life. Ever since I first learned to read as a girl. That job was
heaven."

Ed and Al watched with deadpanned expressions.

"We really should be used to eccentric people by now." Al commented.

"I don't think I'll ever be used to it, seeing as how everyone is eccentric in
their own unique way." Edward replied as he returned with a plate that had a
sandwich and an apple on it. In his other hand was a glass of juice.

"Really? You couldn't wait?" Mustang asked.

"You guys never shut up." Edward snapped as he sat down with his meal.

"And this is what happens when Brother gets desperate for food." Al said.

"I don't get desperate for food ever!" Ed said.

If he could have, Al would have given his brother a look of disbelief. "You
ate ants."
Ed blinked. "Yeah, when I was nine!"

"Ants?" Brody asked shocked. "Why did you eat ants?"

Ed waved him off. "You don't need to know." He said and picked up his
sandwich to eat it.

"But I forgot that I was supposed to be working, and all I ever did was
read so they fired me."

Al sweat dropped.

"If I don't find another job, I'll never be able to move my poor, elderly
mother into a better hospital," Sheska cried. "But I'm hopeless. The only
thing I can do well is read." Ed gave a deadpanned thought to himself.
"I'll never find another job as long as I live." She suddenly started
crying loudly, frightening the brothers. "I'm a useless good-for-nothing.
I'm scum."

Ed half raised his hand. "Excuse me. There was one thing we wanted to
ask you."

Sheska pointed at herself. "Yes?"

"Do you remember seeing any research belonging to Tim Marcoh?" Ed

asked.

"Let's see…Tim Marcoh…Where do I know that name?" Sheska

suddenly clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh, yes, of course, I
remember now!"

"Really?!" Ed asked, leaning forward.

"Oh, yes, I'm absolutely positive. There were some handwritten notes
stuffed into a bookcase where they didn't belong." Sheska explained.

"The notes really were there after all." Ed said, grinning, before he and
Al both became severely depressed with the burned down library in the
background. "Which means they burned up along with everything else
in the library."

"Did you want to read them? Is that why you're asking?" Sheska asked.

Ed, now on his feet, began to leave. "Yeah," Al stood up to follow his
brother. "But it's too late now. They're nothing but ashes."

"Sorry to bother you." Al said.

Sheska stood up and pointed to herself. "I remember everything that

was in them. Would that help at all?"

Ed and Al froze in their steps.

"That's how you got my notes?" Dr. Marcoh said surprised.

"I think you two rely too much on luck." Buccaneer added, laughing.

The grin in Al's voice could easily be detected as he said, "We don't rely on it
at all, but it seems to always find us when we need it most."

The brothers spun, staring shocked at Sheska, who leaned back in

surprise. "Huh?!" Both of them said.

"It's just how I am." Sheska held up a finger. "I'm able to remember the
content of any book I ever read."

"Are you serious?!" Ed and Al pretty much screamed together.

"It will take a while, but I could write them out for you." Sheska said.

Ed grabbed her hands. "Thank you, bookworm!" He said, causing her to

laugh. "You're my hero."

"I don't think you call the person who is helping you a bookworm."
Buccaneer

"It was a term of endearment at the time." Edward mumbled.

Al chuckled. "Well, that's Brother's excuse."

"You're welcome?" Sheska said unsurely.

Sheska put a stack of papers down on a table. "Here you are," She said,
gesturing to all the piles of paper on the table.

"Those aren't all for you, are they?" Havoc said shocked.

Ed blinked. "Of course they are. Who else would they be for?"

"But there is so much!" Avery moaned. "And you can't just read it. You have
to read them a bunch of times until you fully understand them."

"That would take forever." Luke groaned. The idea of having to read alchemy
notes just made his head hurt. Like Havoc, he was more street smart then
anything.

Ed snorted. "I can't believe how weak minded you all are!"

"Complete copies of all Tim Marcoh's notes." Sheska said, to the

amazement of the soldiers and brothers with how much there was.
"Sorry. I know five days is a long time to wait," Ed picked up one of the
packets. "But there was quite a lot to write down."

"Five days?" Hughes said horrified, glaring at the brothers. "Five days, Ed,
Al! And you couldn't find a moment in all of that doing nothing for five days
to pay me a visit?"

"Who's to say we weren't busy?" Ed retorted, inching away from the man and
closer to his brother. He lowered his voice so only his brother could hear him.
"Avoid the family man. He is a dangerous guy."

Al chuckled. "Brother, he's just teasing you."

"No, he's dangerous." Ed muttered and turned to his escorts. "Lieutenant

Ross, Sergeant Brosh, a little help?"

"Al and Major Elric went around the city during those five days just
relaxing." Brosh told Hughes.

"NO!" Ed shouted and jumped to the other side of his brother to use as shield
to get away from Hughes's glare that suddenly appeared.

"Were you two ignoring me?" Hughes asked, mostly joking around.

Ed glared at Brosh. "That's not what I wanted."

"I can't lie to him." Denny said, shrugging.

Scowling, Ed turned back to Hughes. "I told you before. I want nothing to do
with the obsessive family man."

"Aww, how cruel." Hughes whined.

"Brother, please don't use me as a shield." Al muttered, pulling his brother

away from him.

"But Hughes is an evil slave driver." Ed said, turning to Sheska as he did.

"Right, Sheska? You've been working for him for about a week, right?"

Hughes jumped off the couch and knocked Ed gently in the back of the head.
"Don't turn my employees against me."

"You work for him?" Mustang asked, looking from Sheska to Hughes.

"Thanks to Edward and Alphonse." Sheska said.

Mustang looked at the boys with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "She helps
you and you repay her by handing her over to Hughes?"

"It's not like I know him that well. I didn't even know he was a kidnapper
until he dragged poor, poor Sheska away." Edward mumbled, much to the
amusement of those who knew Hughes.

"Unbelievable." Al said as his brother flipped through the packet he

opened. "There are some amazing people in this word."
"These are really Dr. Marcoh's research notes?" Edward asked as Al
moved forward to look at the papers.

"There sure are. Come and take a look at them." Sheska said. "Written
by Tim Marcoh, 1,000 Easy Recipes."

Denny, Maria, and Al all looked shocked by what she said, while Ed
didn't bother to glance up from the packet he was reading. "Huh?"

"A cookbook?" Falman, Brody, and Luke echoed.

"How is a cookbook going to help?" Havoc asked confused. He turned to

Sheska with a frown. "Did you get it wrong?"

Ed sighed, shaking his head. "Alchemists hide all their research in codes.
Otherwise, anyone could get to their notes and use it for their own needs or
claim it as theirs."

Al nodded. "Dr. Marcoh's research is hidden in a cookbook and Brother

codes his research in the form of a travelogue. It would take a very skilled
alchemist to be able to decode, but they also have to know where the research
is hidden. If I didn't know Brother's research was a travelogue, for example, I
would assume he was just writing about our travels and not try to decode it."

"Try?" Breda asked.

Al bowed his head dejected. "I can't even get the first paragraph of it
decoded. It is impossible."

Ed stared at his brother. "You tried to decode my research?"

"For two years I've been trying!" Al said frustrated. "I travel with you
everywhere, and yet, I can't get it decoded!"

"I accept that challenge." Mustang said and leaned forward, confusing the
brothers as he snapped his finger at Ed. "Fullmetal, give me your travelogue."

"What?" Edward snapped his head around to glare at his superior. "No way!
Why do you even want it?"
"I will decode it." Mustang declared.

Ed snorted. "If Al can't decode it, there's no way you can."

"Then could I have it?" Dr. Marcoh asked intrigued.

Groaning, Ed rubbed his eyes. "None of you will take my notes!"

"But Dr. Marcoh gave you his notes. Shouldn't you give him yours?
Equivalent exchange?" Mustang asked.

"Look, Colonel, you are not getting my notes. You can't decipher them."
Edward said.

Mustang nodded. "Maybe not alone, but there are five alchemical geniuses
here. I'm sure we can get it decoded.

Al blinked and looked around. "Colonel, there's six alchemists here."

"Fullmetal doesn't count. They are his notes so it would be quite pointless for
him to join in." Mustang explained.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "You are not touching my research, ever!"

"Six cups of rice, one carrot, two onions, salt," Maria read from the
packet she was holding with a look of disbelief while Ed and Al stood at
the table behind the adults looking at the packets. "Oh, great. Does this
mean we came all this way for a cookbook?"

Brosh looked up from the packet he was holding, pointing at it. "Miss,
which part of this made you think it was an important document?"

"Is it not what you're looking for?" Sheska asked worriedly. "All I did
was copy down what I remembered."

Brosh scratched his head. "Wonderful, so this was just a wild goose
chase."

"Sheska," Ed asked. "Are you absolutely sure this is a flawless

reproduction of the notes?"

"Oh, yes, I'm one hundred percent certain." Sheska replied

enthusiastically.

Edward turned around with papers in his hand and wearing a smirk.
"Then thank you very much. You're incredible."

"Now that is what you should have said to her before." Mustang said.

"Well, I didn't know if she could really do it or not." Edward replied. "I had
to wait until I got proof she could do it before I gave a proper compliment."

"Alright," Ed said, picking up a stack of the packets. "Let's get these

back to the library."

"Hmm." Al said as he picked up some stacks and handed them to Brosh.

"They should have related materials there." He turned around and
picked up a stack for himself to carry.

"Mm-hmm." Ed replied.

"Oh." Ed stopped leaving and turned around. "I almost forgot Sheska's
fee." He took out a book and wrote something down on a page before
ripping it out and handing it to Maria with his pocket watch.
"Lieutenant, here. This is my registration number and the pocket watch
for ID. Withdraw that amount out of my annual research grant, and
make sure Sheska gets it. Okay?" And without bothering for a reply, he
turned back around.

"You do realize that Lieutenant Ross is with you as an escort, right? It's not
really here duty to go collect Sheska's fee." Hughes said.

Ed waved him off. "Well, someone had to do it, and Lieutenant Ross didn't
seem to mind."

"You could have done it." Havoc said.

"I was busy." Ed said.

"You hadn't even started you deciphering yet." Brody pointed out.

"Exactly!" Ed shouted. "And that's why I had to leave. I was already behind
by over a week. I wasn't putting it off any more." He frowned. "This is so
stupid. This was days ago. We are not arguing about this."

"Right. I'll get on that right away, sir," Maria said to his back. "I assume
I can just take this note down to the State Alchemist office?"

"That should work!" Edward called back. He leaned back in the door
with Al and Denny standing behind him. "Well, Sheska, you're a
lifesaver." He waved. "Bye!"

Sheska waved back.

Maria looked down at the note with Sheska as the door closed. "From
his research grants, huh."

Both females yelled.

"Aah! Did he miss a decimal point somewhere?" Sheska shouted.

"Wow!"

"Damn, Fullmetal, how much did you pay her?" Mustang asked.

"A fair amount. Nothing that was terribly a lot that it would put a noticeable
dent in my grant." Edward replied.

"Seriously?" Sheska asked shocked. "But it was so much, and it wouldn't

even be noticeable to you?"

Ed shrugged. "I get a lot of money."

Edward was shown leading his brother and Brosh down the hall, all of
them carrying packets of paper. Maria's voice said, "How does a boy like
that have this kind of money to throw around?"

"And that amount means nothing to you." Maria said blandly.

"Was the amount really that surprising to you?" Edward asked.

"YES!" Maria and Sheska shouted to a surprised Ed.

The main branch of the library was shown with birds chirping around
before a hallway of the place was shown with Brosh saying, "I-I don't
understand." The inside of the room was shown with Ed sitting at a
table, Al at the bookcase, and Brosh facing Ed. "These are cookbooks.
What could they possibly have to do with alchemy?"

Ed, not looking up from his packet of papers, replied, "Alchemy's a

powerful art. It can be incredibly dangerous if misused. In order to
prevent that," He turned the packet he was reading to face Brosh,
pushing his fingers on it. "Alchemic research is always encrypted." A
man working at a desk was shown with words overlapping over him.
"These are designed to look like recipes to the average person, but
they're actually advanced alchemical notes." A book appeared on the
screen. "Only the alchemist who originally wrote them can understand."

The scene went back to Ed and Brosh. "If they're so heavily encrypted,
then how are you going to be able to decipher them?"

Edward turned the packet back towards him. "It's not going to be easy.
We'll have to use all our alchemical knowledge."

Brosh scratched his head. "Wow, sir, that sounds really complicated."

"Agreed." Many of the normal soldiers said.

Ed gasped and looked at Al. "Al, there's a section in here on green tea."

Al turned around to look at his brother. "Green tea. Are you thinking
what I am?"

"Uh-huh. It might refer to the Green Lion, the philosopher's month."

"I'm lost already." Havoc said.

"Me too." Brody said.

Ed smirked. "Never attempt alchemy then."

"Do we have copies available of Flamel's Codes or Lambspring's

Concerning the Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked.

Al put a stack of books down on the table. "Of course."

"All right. Take a look at this here." Ed said, pointing at something in

the package. Al leaned over to look at it.

"Mm-hmm."

"And here too." Ed said. "You see." He glanced at his brother out of the
corner of his eye.

"Yeah, you're right." Al pointed at something in the notes. "Maybe here

too."

"Great," Ed said as Denny was shown to be watching them. "We've got a

place to start." Denny shut his eyes and smiled. "Let's do this."

"I was so lost." Denny said.

"We don't blame you." Darius said. "They went all over our heads."

"Well, except for the fellow alchemists here." Heinkel corrected.

A dark aura had its rein around both Ed and Al, who had their heads
lying on the table. "Why does this encryption have to be so damn hard to
figure out?" Ed asked as Al was shown with the spike on his helmet
sticking in the table.

"Having some difficulty?" Mustang asked amused.

"I want to see you try to figure it out!" Edward retorted.

"Give me your notes and I'll show you how good I am." Mustang said.

Ed glared at him. "I already told you. You're not getting my notes!"
"I have to hand it to you, Dr. Marcoh." Al said, ignoring his brother and
Mustang. "You are a really good alchemist. I don't know many alchemists
who can stump my brother like that."

Dr. Marcoh smiled. "Thank you, Alphonse, but it seems I am not that good
yet since you two still managed to crack it."

"Your brother needs to fail at something." Izumi said.

"What was that?" Edward asked, breaking his glaring contest with Mustang.
"I fail all the time."

"Perhaps not enough as you are still very prideful." Armstrong told him.

Ed twitched. "I don't like what you people are saying. I feel like it is me
against everyone else."

"Brother," Al said. "Maybe we should ask Dr. Marcoh about this

directly."

Al's words caused a look of anger to pass Ed's face and his grip on his
papers tightened. "No way. That'd be admitting defeat." He said as Al
lifted his head.

"Prideful." Maria, Denny, Darius, Havoc, Heinkel, and Brody chorused.

"I just like to do these things on my own." Edward objected.

Miles raised a brow. "So you like testing yourself to see if you can do
something?"

"Yes!" Ed exclaimed. "At least someone gets it."

Buccaneer snickered. "It doesn't change the fact that you are still a prideful
boy."

"In this case, it was good. I would not have been able to help you since I have
been placed under house arrest." Marcoh said.
Ed nodded. "Yeah, it might have been more dangerous to go back to you after
those monsters found you."

"So this is a contest now?" Al asked.

"Al, it is always a contest with your brother." Izumi said.

Al sighed. "I know. I always hope he'll stop though."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "I'm beginning to think you were never on my side, Al."

"I'm just speaking the truth, Brother." Al replied.

"Excuse me." Sheska said, causing Ed and Al to look at the door where
she was standing.

"Sheska," Ed said and the woman bowed.

Brosh and Maria were shown to be sitting in chairs outside the room as
Sheska said, "Thanks to the money you gave me, Edward," The inside of
the room was shown. "I was able to move my mother into a better
hospital."

"Just how much money did you give her?" Havoc demanded.

Ed shrugged. "You should be able to get a rough estimate from what she just
said."

"Don't you think you might have overpaid her?" Kain asked.

"I believe it was a fair amount for getting me the research I need and getting
all of that written in just five days." Edward replied.

Sheska bowed again. "I really appreciate it."

"Ah, it was no big deal, really." Edward replied, waving her thanks off.

"Have you had any luck deciphering it so far?" Sheska asked, only to
create a dark aura around the boys once more.
"Ugh."

"Have you found another job yet?" Al asked her. This time it was Sheska
with the depressed aura.

"Anyway," Sheska said, pulling herself out of it. "You two made me feel
better. It was nice to know that even a pathetic mess like me can help out
sometimes." She bowed to the brothers again. "So thanks for that as
well."

"You're not a pathetic mess." Al objected. "I think that the kind of
dedication you show to reading is a talent all on its own, and besides that,
your memory is incredible. You should have more faith in yourself."

Sheska smiled a little bit. "Thank you, Al."

"At least one of the brothers is good with words." Havoc said.

"And what does that mean, Havoc?" Ed growled dangerously.

"I don't deem it necessary to answer that as it should be obvious what I

mean." Havoc replied, smirking at his young friend, whose eyes had
narrowed to dangerous slits.

Brosh was shown to be yawning outside of the room when he paused at

the sound of footsteps and stood up, shocked.

"Yo!" A hand was held up in greeting, causing Sheska to look over her
shoulder.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." Edward said, surprised.

Hughes walked farther into the room, hand still held up as Ross and
Denny continued saluting behind him. "Major Armstrong told me you
two were here." Hughes slammed his hands on the table the boys were at
and leaned forward. "What gives, Ed? I told you to give me a shout the
next time you were made it to Central."

Ed scratched the back of his head. "Oh, er, something urgent came up.
Sorry."

"Lies! You had five free days!" Hughes grumbled, much to the amusement of
the brothers and Mustang and his crew.

"Well, who cares now?" Edward asked. "Honestly, your little surprise visit
was nice. It gave us time to take a longer break and rest our fried brains."

"It's just as well. I've been busy too, and haven't been able to get away
from the court-martial office." Hughes replied.

"They talk to Colonel Hughes like he's an old friend." Denny said.

"Just how high up are these boys?" Maria asked.

"You two just love to gossip behind our backs." Edward said slyly.

"We must be very good gossip." Al chuckled.

Mustang snorted. "Understatement, Alphonse. You're the Elric brothers.

Every single thing you do and about you is a very interesting topic. Do you
have any idea of how many rumors about you two are flying around? There
are still soldiers in the east wondering why you wear armor, Al, and you,
Edward, they are still curious on how exactly your limbs were lost. They
aren't satisfied with it simply happening in the war."

"Especially considering it was a lie." Breda said.

"But no one knew it was a lie." Edward pointed out.

"Still, there is never a boring day with you two around. I don't think you guys
understand what a quiet, relaxing day is." Havoc said.

Maria nodded. "I can believe that."

Hughes smirked. "What happened during the five days you were waiting for
the research to be rewritten by Sheska?"

Both of Ed's guards looked at Hughes with pained looks.

"What did you do to my men, Edward Elric?" Armstrong demanded.

Ed waved his hands frantically in front of him. "Nothing! Nothing! They are
just overreacting."

"So what did you do?" Izumi asked curiously.

Al shrugged. "We just wandered around the city."

"Yes, the first day of 'wandering around' led us the dark part of Central where
the two led us to a brothel. A brothel." Maria stressed.

Silence fell over the room while all the soldiers looked at the brothers.
Brothers who were only teenagers and one didn't even have a body. Not to
mention the fact that they shouldn't even be allowed in them with their ages.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING IN A BROTHEL?!" Izumi

demanded, breaking the silence.

Ed slapped a hand to his forehead. "Nothing like that! We weren't there for
anything sexual!"

"Then why were you there?" Mustang demanded.

Ed sighed. "Look, one night when I was thirteen…"

"Thirteen?" Havoc yelped shocked.

"How the hell did you get in the door at thirteen?" Brody demanded.

"I'm getting there." Ed snapped. "Look, Al and I were in Central at the

military dorm. We got in a fight, destroyed part of the room, and we both left,
going our separate ways. It was midnight, I was tired, lost, and just wanted a
place to rest when I came across the brothel. I just thought it was a regular
inn. It made sense the next morning why the room was so expensive looking.
I showed them my pocket watch and they were more than willing to let me in
the place."

"So why did you go back?" Havoc asked.

Ed shrugged. "The girls there are really nice. Al likes talking to them while I
sleep. And plus, they always make me dinner and breakfast when I stay there.
They are really good at cooking."

Brosh snickered. "They even have a picture of Major Elric on the wall to
prove that the famed Fullmetal Alchemist has been there."

"Is the food really that good, Brother?" Al asked curiously.

Ed nodded. "We should go back there sometime when you have your body
back to try the food." A thoughtful look came over his face. "The beds are
really soft too, much better than the ones in the dorms."

"Really, Mustang?" General Armstrong asked the man. "You should really
stop this child from entering establishments when he is not the proper age."

Mustang smacked his forehead. Why? Why did he get saddled with the child?
He may have been the one to find him, but still…. "Fullmetal, you don't
happen to enter any other places you shouldn't be in at your age, do you?"

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Well, we've been to some bars and clubs before."

Mustang groaned.

"Don't worry, Colonel. We never go there to socialize, or drink in Brother's

case. Brother uses his watch to get in so we can gather some information. It's
all for the missions." Al told the Colonel, to his relief, before Al continued.
"Though there was that one time he drank when we were in Youswell."

Ed blinked. "Did I really? Wait, wasn't that where that Yoki fellow was?" He
scratched his head. "Maybe that's why I don't remember him." He looked at
his brother with a smirk. "So what's your reason for forgetting him?"

"Why were you drinking?" Riza demanded. She had always thought the boy
more responsible than that.

"How do I answer since I can't remember that night?" Ed grumbled.

Al sighed and turned to the Lieutenant to cover for his brother. "They pushed
the alcohol onto Brother. He told them not to give alcohol to a minor, but he
ended up drinking a little bit anyway with his food."

"Oh, yeah," Ed looked at the ceiling in thought. "Was there something like a
party going on?"

"Yes, Brother. You kicked Yoki out of the town and freed the town from his
corrupt ways." Al said patiently. "I told you this before after you woke up."

"I had a hangover. Most of what you said didn't process and I just wrote it
down for the report as if in a trance." Edward replied.

"So I've realized." Al muttered.

Ed grinned at him, then looked at Mustang. "So only bars, clubs, and
brothels. I've never done anything else inappropriate for my age."

"What about the car?" Al asked.

"Car?" Havoc asked while Ed looked from Al to Mustang nervously.

"Nothing!" Ed yelped in a panic. "There is nothing about a car that needs to

be discussed." He looked at his brother with a scowl and said quietly, "Never
mention the car incident."

Mustang groaned. "Half of me wants to know, but the other half is telling me
that if I don't know, then the military doesn't know, and it is probably for the
best."

Ed sighed in relief. "Other than the brothel, we just wandered around Central
during those five days." He said to get back on topic.

"You say that, but we ran into five thieves, you got into a fight with a gang,
you and Al destroyed the training grounds with your sparring…." Maria said
frowning.

Ed held up a hand. "We don't need to go any farther. And it's not like I was
looking for those thieves. They ran into me. And that gang was tormenting
those two girls. I couldn't just overlook that. Besides Al was backing me up."
"You don't need to take down a whole gang to save two girls from five
members of said gang." Maria said distressed.

Al shrugged. "It gave us a way to spend the five days of waiting."

"You took the gang, leader, members, and the base, down in one day." Denny
argued.

"They weren't even that big of a gang." Ed replied, scratching his head.

"Never a dull day with the Elric brothers." Mustang laughed.

Hughes, on the other hand, frowned, "Is that why there was a flood of people
being transported to the prison and why there was now a destroyed
warehouse? It had my men so busy that day when we were already extremely
busy because of the library being burned down."

"Okay, to be fair," Edward said. "It was not my aim to destroy the warehouse.
One of the support beams got destroyed in the fight so it all came down, and I
thought the police would handle it since it was a small time gang, not your
men."

"Ed, it was a major drug dealing gang that we have been trying to locate!"
Hughes yelped.

Ed laughed. "Really? That would explain all the crates full of that strange
white powder. I guess we really should have asked what their gang did when
we stopped them from terrorizing those girls."

"How did you find their base?" Havoc asked.

"Oh," Ed smirked. "Just knocked around those ones that were terrorizing the
girls for a while. They were really eager to talk after that."

"Note to self, never give Fullmetal time off." Mustang muttered. "He just
causes us more work when we are already swamped."

"Just because I don't like being idle." Edward grumbled to himself.

Hughes scratched is head. "We've had a lot of cases to deal with lately,
and we're still working on getting the Tucker Chimera situation settled."
He paused when he saw the distressed look Ed was wearing. "Sorry. I
guess that brings up some unpleasant memories, huh?" He pulled out
one of the chairs and sat down. "Anyway, as if things weren't bad
enough for us already, the First Branch had to burn down in the middle
of all this."

"That's been a problem, huh?" Ed asked.

"A big one. All our case records were stored in the stacks at that location,
and trying to work without them hasn't been a picnic, let me tell you."
Hughes told them.

Ed and Al stared at him.

"Uh, what?" Hughes asked.

Both boys turned to look at Sheska as the same time, causing Hughes to
look at her too.

Sheska blinked and pointed at herself.

Ed leaned forward on his arm. "Hey Lieutenant Colonel, I think I've got
exactly the person you guys are looking for."

"Well, I have read the military's criminal case records, and I do

remember them all." Sheska said.

Hughes smirked. "That's all I needed to hear, lady. You're hired. My

office pays well so don't worry."

"That was too quick." Mustang said deadpanned. "You should check her
background at least."

Hughes waved him off. "No way. I was already so behind. I don't have time
for such things. If she was with the brothers and friends with them, she is a
good person. I trust their judge of character."
"Oh, uh, you're saying you want me?" Sheska said before looking at the
brothers. "Oh, thanks so much! I'll have faith just like you told me to."
Hughes grabbed the back of her shirt and started dragging her away.
"Thank you. Thank you."

"Kidnapper." Al and Ed said together.

"At least we never had to endure that." Al whispered to his brother.

Ed shook his head. "Don't say that, Al. You're going to jinx us."

Ross and Brosh saluted again as Hughes dragged Sheska away. "Come
on now. Right to work." Hughes said.

Ed and Al were shown waving as they left. Ed was smirking with a pen
in his mouth. "Who is this guy? A kidnapper?" He asked.

"Yes, he is." Mustang said.

"Have you endured it to, Colonel?" Edward asked amused.

"More than once." Mustang answered, sighing. How he ever became friends
with such a cheerful fellow he still didn't understand.

Al chuckled. "Someone should teach him some manners."

Al and Ed laughed as they put their hands down and a cheerful tune
started playing.

Edward dropped his head to the table. "How did you put it again, Al? 'I
think dedication is a talent all on its own?'" Edward played with the pen
in his mouth. "Very smooth, little brother, very smooth."

Al looked at his brother. "Well, it's something I always think whenever I

see a certain someone I know."

Edward threw the pen up in the air using his teeth. It spun a few times
before it was caught by the boy.
"You threw a pen like that with your teeth?" Brody asked, raising a brow.
"Freak."

Ed glared at him. "How is it strange?"

"Most people can't do strange things like that." Luke said, chuckling.

"Guess I'm just abnormal." Edward said.

"We already knew that." Hughes teased, then glanced at Al. "The Elrics are
just weird people."

The brothers glanced at each other with Ed grinning. "And proud of it!" They
said together.

Edward was shown to be sitting up straight again. "In that case, a

certain someone should hurry and get back to work, or you're gonna
have to come up with a new motivational phrase!"

The table was shown to be covered in books, papers, and scrunched up

papers. Edward came next as he wrote something down, then the table
was shown again. Al put some more books down on the table when Ed
suddenly stood up, slammed one foot onto his chair and screamed,
throwing papers all over the place causing his little brother to jump up
straight and scream in surprise.

Chuckling, Mustang turned to the boy. "Going crazy, Fullmetal?"

Ed ignored him and looked at Marcoh. "Your notes were so damn difficult to
crack."

"Not hard enough it seems." Dr. Marcoh replied, chuckling.

"Oh, there were plenty hard, Dr. Marcoh. Please don't try to make them any
more difficult." Al said, almost sounding as if he was pleading. "I think we
really would have gone insane if they were harder than they already were."

"You seem pretty sane, Al." Izumi said, smirking. "After trying so hard to
crack Edward's notes for three years, I would have imagined you'd have lost
it by now."

Al laughed. "Well, there were a few times I was contemplating hitting

Brother while he slept for making his code so damn difficult."

"What?" Edward said, a bit scared. "While I was defenseless? How cruel,
little brother!"

"I really want those notes now." Mustang said, frowning. "If they can almost
convert Al to wanting to hit his precious older brother then I have to see
them."

Edward twitched. "If my notes can cause Al to want to hit me, I don't even
want to see what they might cause you to do to me!"

"He might just make you into fried shrimp." General Armstrong said,
smirking at the boy, who paled a bit.
"Never, never let Colonel get the notes." Edward mumbled to himself as he
picked up his apple. "Never. Remember, Al. Never. Not even after I'm died.
He'll find a way to get to me after death or maybe he'll fry my corpse. Never
let him, Al."

Al blinked. He had thought his brother was talking to himself, but then he
went and mentioned him. If it was going to make his brother insane, maybe
he should keep the notes away from Mustang.

Next, Al was shown to be working while Ed had his head resting on the
back of the chair, snoozing away.

"That won't be good for the neck." Brosh said.

Ed rubbed his neck. "Nope, it definitely didn't feel good when I woke up."

Packets of Dr. Marcoh's notes was shown with a few more being casually
tossed on top of them. Then Ed was shown to be writing some more
things down, eyes determined. Al was shown turning the pages of a book
he was looking through.

"How many days do we have to go through?" Havoc asked.

"Be lucky you are only being shown brief views of those days." Brosh told
him. "We had to actually sit outside that room all day since they didn't leave
that room."

"Hey, I left to go to the bathroom." Ed objected. "And to get food."

"Half the time. The other half either I or your brother went to get the food
since you were determined not to leave until you finished the portion of notes
you were working on." Brosh retorted.

Ed nodded. "Fair enough, but we did leave the room at times."

"And for sleeping?" Havoc asked.

"Oh, we left for that." Ed said. "Forgot it since it seemed obvious."

"You left the minute it closed and arrived right when it opened the next day.
That didn't really leave a lot of time for sleep." Maria said, frowning.
"Especially since you stayed up half the night to continue working on the
notes in your room."

"None of us got much sleep." Brosh muttered.

Ed raised a brow. "How do you guys guard us at night?"

"When a guard has to be placed, sleeping arrangements are made so one

soldier sleeps while the other guards for half the night then they switch."
Mustang explained.

"Oh," Ed mumbled. "Sounds horrible."

Breda snorted. "Considering how much you sleep, you probably wouldn't be
able to do it."

"Ha, I bet I could. I could stay up if I had to." Edward retorted.

"If you had the determination," Al said. "If it isn't something you care about,
you would just let yourself fall asleep."
Ed grinned, unashamed. "Yep, I would."

More packets of papers were shown to be tossed on top of some other

packets. Next came Ed's determined face as he continued to write some
stuff down.

And the music came to an end as a bell tower was shown with the bell
ringing.

Brosh woke up to the bell. "I'm awake." He said.

Maria stood up. "The library is closing."

Brosh stood up. "They've been at it for ten days now." He said as he
approached his partner.

"Finally!" Brosh said. "It's present time."

"Well, moving into the future time in a few seconds." Maria corrected.

Dr. Marcoh's eyes widened. If the future was coming and the boys said they
already decoded the notes… "You decoded my notes in ten days? That is
quite impressive. I thought it would take you longer than that."

"You are dealing with prodigies. Did you count that in?" Izumi asked, quite
proud of her ex-students.

"I did, but I guess I really did not realize just how smart these boys were." Dr.
Marcoh replied.

Riza nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes, they do manage to still find ways to
shock us all."

"I'm impressed they're still going after all this time." Brosh said before
turning to the doors and grabbing the handles.

As he grabbed the handles, though, Edward screamed, "To hell with it!"
And there was the sound of books and papers flying and slamming into
ground, surprising the two soldiers outside the room.
"Oh, the boys are upset now." Riza sighed. "Did you have to make a mess of
the place?"

Ed snorted. "We were upset. It's just a habit when you learn something this
disturbing."

"And at last, the rest of us will know what makes this research so dark."
Mustang said, ears ready to hear just what has happened. If he knew Edward,
he would tell these soldiers just to get it out. It was surprising that he and Al
managed to keep it to themselves for so long.

Dark music entered the scene as the soldiers looked at each other with
frowns. They opened the doors a bit and looked inside. Books and papers
were all over the ground. One of the chairs was knocked over and sitting
on the floor in the middle of the mess were the brothers. Al was holding
the side of his helmet with one of his hands while Ed had his back to the
door.

"What did you guys do to this place?" Brosh asked as he walked in with
Maria.

"Don't get angry because you can't crack it. Throwing things won't
help." Maria said.

"We did crack it." Al said, surprising the soldiers as Al was shown next.
"We cracked the code and decrypted the notes."

"Really? You did, but that's a good thing, isn't it?" Brosh asked
excitedly.

Edward's right hand slammed into the ground. "There's nothing good
about this, damn it. This is the devil's research. It should've been
destroyed." He lifted his hand off the ground and covered his face with
it. "Dr. Marcoh was right. It's evil."

"What's so evil about it?" Brosh asked.

Ed's face was shown, half covered by his hand. "The main ingredient for
a Philosopher's Stone…" The books and papers covering the ground
were shown. "…is human life."

"Human life?" Mustang asked quietly as he was absolutely shocked.

Anger seeped into every pore of Scar's body. That despicable stone was made
using humans lives and Ishval may have been attacked on purpose by those
monsters. This was becoming more and more distasteful. Alchemy was even
more horrible then he ever realized. It practically ruled this country and the
reason why it was so strong. How many humans were truly used as simple
tools for their horrible ambition and greed?

"Human life?" General Armstrong growled, staring unwaveringly at the

young alchemists. "Are you telling me that our country made Philosopher's
Stones with innocent lives?"

Edward, face half covered with one of his hands to hide his despair, half
nodded. "They had to have been. To make a Philosopher's Stone that would
even work properly would require hundreds of lives."

"Hundreds?" Maria said horrorstricken. How could their country, the one
they swore to protect, make such things?

It wasn't just Maria who was in shock by this. Most of the soldiers had gone
extremely pale. They had joined the military to help and protect their country,
but how could they do anything properly if this was what their country was
aiming for?

"I-is that really possible?" Havoc asked, frowning. "I mean, we would notice
if hundreds of people were just suddenly gone, right?"

"Which means no one could have created one." Brody said, creating a bit of
hope in the room.

"Is that what you think?" Al asked, getting ready to break that hope which
was something his brother usual did and not something he was used to doing.
"Dr. Marcoh had an incomplete Philosopher's Stone. How do you think he
came about that? It didn't just magical appear in his possession."
"And since you are the only one with knowledge on it, you must have made
it, correct?" Izumi demanded, one of the few not shocked by the sudden
revelation. She was disgusted and horrified that anyone would make such a
thing and to sacrifice so many lives to do it, but there was no shock in her
system. She couldn't be shocked. She had to be ready for anything.

"Yes," Dr. Marcoh admitted shamefully, catching everyone's attention as they

wanted to learn more, to try to understand this. Creating that vile stone was
his biggest regret in life. So many died pointless deaths because of that stone.
"Countless lives were loss in the research and making of the vile stone. They
were such pointless deaths. It should have never happened."

"How?" Ed whispered hoarsely. "How did you come across the truth that
human lives were needed?"

Dr. Marcoh hesitated for a brief moment before saying, "Those monsters told
me." Everything was going to be revealed, he might as well just reveal some
of it now. "They work in the shadows of the military and informed me how
the stone was made, and then continued to provide me with the humans to use
for the research done on the stone."

"And you went through with it?" Edward screamed, looking at the doctor
angrily. "You went through with it even after learning the truth from those
horrible monsters?"

"I worked on that stone in the lab for years, hating every part of the research,
but I never left. I continued with it for a long while, soiling my hands so
much more with each imperfect stone I made." Dr. Marcoh said darkly,
staring down at his hands. His eyes decided to play tricks on him and show
him that they were covered in burning blood. "I finally ran after a few years,
hiding my materials and taking the stones I did make."

"And why didn't you inform someone? Tell them what the hell was going on
in the shadows of the military to stop them?" Izumi growled.

"I didn't know who I could trust with this information, who wouldn't turn me
in or agree with the side of those monsters." Dr. Marcoh said.
"Bullshit." Edward snarled angrily. "You trusted Armstrong when we
appeared in that little town of yours. Hiding out in that little town of yours,
healing as many people as you can is a nice goal in life, but it will make up
for nothing you did. You should be out there, finding comrades you can trust
with your life that you can tell so you can stop these monsters." His golden
eyes lifted to show an infuriated, but determined glare. "You want to make up
for the hell you have put those innocent people through? Then help stop these
damn monsters and make sure another stone is never created. Stand up and
help save this country! You were in the military and you ran instead of
searching for comrades that could actually help you." He lowered his voice a
notch. "Keeping all the information about the stone and the fact that this
country has monsters working in its shadows is just putting us all in more
danger. You ran because you were too scared!"

Dr. Marcoh was shocked into silence and all he could do was stare at this
fifteen year old boy, a boy that shouldn't know the horrors of this country or
going through hell like he had. He should be in school, hanging with his
friends, but instead, here he was, ready to face the hells of this world. And
yet, he, an adult and a State Alchemist, ran because he didn't want to face it
anymore, not after everything he had done.

A proud look crossed Izumi's face as she heard Edward's words. She looked
at her husband to see that he was just as proud as she was of Edward. The
boy might have made a lot of mistakes in his short life, but those mistakes
were what helped him to grow into the man he was today. He was still a child
and got scared, but he would never show it. Instead, he would stand tall with
his comrades to save all those who needed saved because of these monsters.
He was an amazing boy.

Al would have smiled if he could have. Despite the harshness of how his
brother had said it, his intentions were good. He wanted to help Dr. Marcoh
find the way to make up for what he did. He wanted to help the man to find
some way to alleviate some of the guilt he was feeling. The guilt would never
fully disappear, but he could help lessen it and make the doctor feel a bit
better about himself. He would never find that by spending the rest of his life
saving lives as a doctor. If he could help, even just a bit to save this country,
the man would feel better. The lives of these people would be saved.
Hughes and Mustang shared looks of pride. Both knew where the boy was
coming from when he said that. He may not be a fully trained soldier, but he
understood his role as a State Alchemist. It was for the people. He was meant
to help the people of this country. And that would be what he did, but his
speech was also saying that he knew he couldn't do it alone. The soldiers
were horrified at the truth that was revealed and these strange monsters, but
they knew what they had to do. They were to stand up and fight for this
country.

"Nicely said, boy." General Armstrong said quite impressed and breaking the
silence that had taken over the room at Ed's speech. "As soldiers, it is our
duty to stand up and stop those monsters that are controlling this country
from the shadows. Those that are too scared should leave the military. This is
no place for wusses."

Dr. Marcoh sighed. "Yes, you are right, Edward. I was a coward. I was scared
of those monsters. I was scared of what I had done, and all I've ever wanted
to do these past years was make up for it all, but I was too terrified to go back
to the military where it all began."

The anger in Ed's eyes dissipated a bit to be replaced by understanding and

kindness. "There is no reason to be afraid when you have comrades by your
side. A true loyal comrade would never abandon you in a fight so there is
never a reason to be afraid knowing that person has your back." He looked at
his brother, smiling faintly.

General Armstrong smirked again. This boy just got more and more
impressive the more he opened his mouth when the situation was serious. He
sure was very insightful and smart.

"That was very wise of you, Edward." Hughes commented, smiling at the
boy.

Ed nodded briefly at him. "It's been known to happen." He said smartly.

Dr. Marcoh looked down, frowning slightly. Comrades, huh? He had a team
of researchers, but he left them all behind when he decided to run. Did that
make him not loyal to his comrades? His hands clenched tightly on his knees.
No, that was then. As young Edward said, if he wanted to make amends, then
he would have to stand up and do what he could. He may not be able to fight
like the young people could, but he had knowledge that surpassed a lot of
them. Perhaps he could find something to do that could help them all.

Maria and Brosh were shown with faces of horror and shock before the
scene went back to Edward, who was now covering his mouth, eyes
hardened as he looked at the ground. "In order to manufacture even a
single stone, you have to make multiple human sacrifices."

"How could the military authorize research into something so horrible?"

Brosh asked.

"It makes sense now that we know the truth." Brosh said darkly.

"I can't believe it. How awful." Maria said.

"Do us a favor. Don't speak to anyone about this." Ed said.

Brosh kneeled on the ground. "But, sir."

"Please." Edward said. "Just pretend you never heard any of it."

"You just told me not to hide it, and now you are?" Dr. Marcoh asked
perplexed.

"Course, because at that time, I wouldn't fully understand anything. I knew

nothing about these monsters or what they did in Liore. I barely understand
anything. It's best that nothing gets out yet." Edward replied.

A part of Central was shown at nighttime. The outside of a military hotel

was shown.

"What's this now?" Armstrong's voice asked. The lobby of the hotel was
shown where Armstrong was facing Maria and Brosh. "The Elric
brothers are holed up in their room again tonight?"

"Yes," Maria replied. "They haven't been eating either."

Izumi sighed. "Not eating isn't going to change anything. The truth of that
stone will still be the truth."

"Okay, can I just point out that this is now the future so anything that Al and I
happen to do, we should not be scolded for as we have not done anything
yet." Edward told her.

"No, I think we're still scold you two." Mustang replied.

"Why?" Al asked.

Hughes sighed. "So you two will learn your lesson without actually having to
go through whatever it is you two are going to do."

Ed raised a brow. "And what if we do nothing?"

Izumi, Sig, Dr. Marcoh, and all the soldiers, even the Briggs soldiers who
haven't met the brothers outside of this room, gave the brothers looks of
complete disbelief.

"It's you two." Havoc said. "You two can't stay out of trouble for five
minutes."

"Hey, Brother may not be able to, but I certainly can." Al objected.

Ed glared at his brother. "Traitor." He hissed. "What happened to being in on

this together?"

"I'm beginning to think it just might be better to have it every man for
himself." Al teased.

Armstrong turned around, putting a hand to his chin. "Hmm, the fatigue
must be catching up to them. They seem to have devoted all their energy
to these notes." He said as Maria and Brosh turned around to whisper to
each other behind his back.

"They worked so hard to decipher those notes, only to find out that."
Maria said.
"It disturbs me too, just thinking about it. I bet I'd act the same way."
Brosh replied as Armstrong turned back around to face them.

"What was that?" Armstrong asked, surprising them.

The two soldiers turned around, throwing their hands up nervously.

"Oh, it was nothing, sir!" They said together.

Armstrong towered over them, scaring the two soldiers. "Your behavior
is most suspicious."

"They're going to cave and tell him what is going on." Al grumbled.

Ed sighed. "Don't give into that!"

"Why don't you try facing up to that?" Brosh retorted.

"Oh, I would love to, then I could show you how it is done when you are told
to keep a secret." Edward responded, smirking at the soldier.

"We don't even know if they cave or not since this is the future!" Brody
intervened.

The brothers and Brosh gave him deadpanned looks.

A bedroom window was shown with a creaking fan being heard then
shown. Edward was shown to be lying on the couch with his arms resting
under his head, coats abandoned, while Al sat behind the couch.

"Brother," Al said. "You should really get something to eat."

"No thanks." Ed replied as he continued to just watch the fan.

"Really, you boys can be so troublesome sometimes." Sig said, sighing.

"Oh, great, even Sig is reprimanding us." Edward grumbled.

Al chuckled. "Actually, Brother, only you are being reprimanded as I do not

require food with this body."
"Continues to betray me at every turn." Edward mumbled to himself.

"Pretty awful, huh?" Ed asked.

"Mm-hmm." Al replied.

There was a clinking noise as Ed stretched his automail arm towards the
ceiling. "You know, Al, it's like we try so hard to grasp the truth," He
moved his hand a bit before curling his fingers into a fist. "But it always
slips away. And now that we finally have caught it, it turns out the truth
is too dangerous to hold." He covered his eyes with his automail arm,
smirking at the irony. "I'm starting to think this is God's special way of
torturing people who committed taboos."

"I thought you didn't believe in God." Hughes said.

Ed smirked, but it was a pained smirk. "I don't."

"Brother has a habit of referring to God in private." Al explained.

"Not that it's any of their business." Edward said annoyed. Sheesh, how much
of their private lives was going to be displayed for them all to see?

"Well, it was a nice speech, even if it was dark and sad." Maria said.

"And here I thought you weren't good with words." Brosh added.

Ed's eyes narrowed at him. "Not good with words?" He mumbled. "I'm a
damn prodigy. There would be a hell of a lot of problems if I had problems
with words."

"Surprisingly, despite his short temper and rants, Fullmetal is quite good with
reports, oral and written, and knows what to say when it needs to be said."
Mustang said.

Ed's annoyed eyes turned to the Colonel. "I don't like how you said
'surprisingly.'"

"Well, it is a surprise, not something that would be expected from someone

like you." General Armstrong said.

"Someone like me?" Edward mouthed to himself, confused. Damn soldiers.

Ed's arm moved to cover his eyes completely as he now frowned. "I
wonder," He started as Al was shown on the screen. "if it will be like this
all our lives." The screen changed to look down at the boys from the
ceiling. "You know, Al, there's something I've been wanting to tell you
for a while," Al tilted his helmet up a bit. "But I guess I've been too
afraid to say it."

Edward's eyes narrowed as his skin went pale. Now, this was definitely no
one damn's business. "Shut the hell up future me!" He shouted.

Al looked at his brother in surprise. "What do you want to say?"

Golden eyes snapped to him then back to the screen. "It doesn't matter. Just
forget it."

"How can we when we are going to hear it in a second?" Mustang asked.

Ed growled softly. "Damn future me, shut up. Don't ask."

Al turned his head to look at his brother. "What?"

Ed was shown, still shadowing his eyes with his arm. "I–"

A hand slammed onto the bedroom door.

"Yes! Thank you for the interruption!" Ed cheered.

"Brother, what was it you wanted to say?" Al asked.

Ed shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"No, it does." Al argued. "But, as Future Ed just said, you are just scared to
say it. Brother, please just tell me what is wrong."

The young State Alchemist looked at his little brother with a little frown. He
wanted to desperately ask his brother, had wanted to do so for years, but just
could never find it in himself to bring it out in the open. It was easier if he
didn't know the truth, the truth that his precious baby brother truly hated him
for what he did to him. If he didn't know that he was hated, he could move
forward more easily. To know the truth would just be like a heavy weight on
his heart dragging him down farther and farther into the dark abyss.

"It's nothing." Edward replied after a moment, looking away from his brother.

Alphonse stared at his brother, feeling hurt. He and Ed were so close that
they could tell when the other was lying, and it was so plainly obvious this
time that even the most oblivious person could notice he was lying. That
wasn't really the problem though. The real problem was that it hurt Al deeply
that his brother couldn't trust him enough to just tell him what was going on.
"Brother," He said softly with the hurt in his voice masked.

"Al," Izumi interrupted, leaning forward and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Perhaps you should wait until later to talk about this. I believe it is a private
matter."

Al wanted to refuse, to demand to know why his brother was upset and
hiding things, but the rational part of him knew that Izumi was right. And
even though he didn't want to let it go until he got his answer, he nodded and
backed down, much to Ed's relief.

"You should know, Edward," Riza said, surprising the boy. "The longer you
keep something hidden, the more likely that a misunderstanding will occur."

Ed shook his head. There was no way this could be misunderstood. It was so
obvious…

The hand slammed on the door again. "Elric brothers, I know you're in
there." Armstrong's voice shouted through the door, causing Edward to
sit up and stare at the door. "Open up!"

Edward was shown sitting on the couch, one arm resting on the back of
the couch as he stared at the door while the other leaned on the couch to
hold him up. Al sweat dropped as he stared at the door.
"This is the Major."

Darius snorted. "You don't have to announce that it's you. I believe it is pretty
obvious who's voice that is."

"It would be quite rude to not inform them of who it was knocking."
Armstrong said.

Heinkel sweat dropped. "It was pretty obvious, and you were pounding, not
knocking."

"What do we do?" Al asked as the pounding at the door continued.

"We ignore him, that's what."

"Well, that is quite rude." Dr. Marcoh said.

"It's not like we are up for visitors at the moment." Edward muttered.

Edward said as the door handle suddenly came flying forward with
Armstrong's hand on it as the door was destroyed.

"And that is even ruder!" Edward screamed before saying pitifully, "My door.
Why does everything have to get destroyed?"

"Isn't it you who usually destroys everything?" Zampano asked.

Ed glared at him. "Stupid soldiers. No one asked you."

Armstrong was shown, sparkling, as Maria and Brosh stood behind him
with tears cascading down their faces. "I know what it said, Edward
Elric."

"We were right." Ed, Al, and Brosh said.

Edward and Alphonse screamed.

"How tragic!" Armstrong cried. "To think the legend of the

Philosopher's Stone is such a terrible secret."
Ed glared at Brosh and Maria, who held her hands up in defense. "W-
we're really sorry." She said, looking away from the boy.

"It's hard to stay quiet when someone like him asks you." Brosh added.

"Imagine the military being behind something like that." Armstrong said
as Ed scowled behind him. "Often the truth is more cruel than we
bargain for."

Ed's eyes widened.

"I must have remembered your note." Edward said.

"In your despair, you forgot?" Dr. Marcoh asked.

"Why do you think I was moping in my room?" Edward countered.

"The truth?" Ed asked.

"What is it, Brother?" Al asked.

"Do you remember what Dr. Marcoh said at the station?"

"Huh?" Al said.

Dr. Marcoh standing in front of Ed at the station appeared on the screen

as music began to play in the background. "Look closely. Maybe you'll
find the truth hidden within the truth." Dr. Marcoh said.

The scene went back to Ed who put a thumb to the side of his mouth. "I
didn't have a clue of what he was talking about then, but now, it's the
same as with alchemical notes. What you can see on the surface is only a
portion of the truth. There's still more to find here. There has to be."

The lights in the room were now on as the soldiers and the brothers
looked at a map of Central. Ed and Armstrong were sitting down while
the other three stood. "Currently there are four operational alchemy
laboratories in Central that have connections to the government. We can
narrow it down even farther. Marcoh worked in the 3rd laboratory. We
should start with that one. It's the most suspect." Armstrong pointed at
the lab on the map.

"Hmm. Al and I have been to all the laboratories in the city." Edward
said, eyes scanning the map. "None were doing any remarkable
research–" His eyes stopped on a section of the map. He pointed at a lab
that was 'x' out in red. "Here. What's this building used for?" He turned
to look at Maria for the answer.

"It was designed for the fifth laboratory, but it isn't currently in use."
Maria explained. "The building isn't structural sound so it's been
classified off-limits."

"Well, that just reeks of suspicions." Mustang said.

"It's there." Edward said.

Brosh leaned forward, looking at the map. "Huh? How can you be so
sure that's it?"

Ed's finger moved to the building next to the lab. "There's a prison right
next door."

"You can't be serious?" Riza said horrified.

"What?" Kain asked confused.

"They're using prisoners for experiments." Havoc muttered, feeling sick.

"Just how messed up is this whole thing?"

"Okay." Brosh said confused. "So?"

"What was the main ingredient for a Philosopher's Stone?" Edward

asked.

Brosh stood up straight, putting a hand to his chin. "You said it needed
live humans." A horrified look passed over his face.

A rope was shown, ready to hang someone. "They'd be plenty of

condemned criminals in the prison. Officially they'd be recorded as
executed," Al and Brosh were shown, watching Ed followed by
Armstrong, then a disturbed looking Maria.

"They're using the prisoners to make the stone." Maria said.

Edward held his hands up. "Don't look at me like that. I don't like
talking about this anymore than you do." He leaned back on the couch.

"Prisoners from other jurisdictions could be used to. I wonder if the

government is involved." Al said.

A horrified Maria and Brosh were shown. "Why do I have the feeling
that we're getting involved in something really dangerous?" The former
asked.

"That's why we told you to pretend you never heard anything." Al said
frantically.

Armstrong rolled the map up and stood up, walking over to the door.
Before leaving he turned around to face the four other occupants. "This
has the potential of becoming a political nightmare before long. I'll look
into what we talked about tonight." He said before looking at the two
soldiers. "In the meantime, officers, speak of this to no one."

"Sir." Brosh and Maria replied, saluting.

Armstrong turned to the boys. "And you Elric brothers, behave

yourselves!"

Al and Ed jumped, screaming.

Armstrong twitched and towered over the boys. "I know you two boys.
You were thinking about sneaking into this building and taking a look
around, weren't you? Admit it!"

"They were." Mustang, Hughes, Izumi, and Mustang's crew all answered.

Al and Ed held their hands up, shaking their hands as they frantically
said, "We weren't, we weren't. We promise."

"Lies!" Havoc accused loudly.

Ed and Al glanced at each other warily. Their stupid future selves were going
to get them into a lot of trouble at this rate.

The crescent moon was shown.

"Yeah, sure we weren't." Ed's voice said as the screen moved down to
show Ed and Al running through the night streets with a tone playing in
the background.

"You damn brats!" Maria screamed, wanting to strangle the both of them.

Ed and Al yelped. "We haven't done anything yet!" They yelled.

"How the hell are we supposed to protect you when you do things like this?"
Maria scolded.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, make a note. When giving guards to Fullmetal, make

sure there are multiple guards posted outside his door and below all the
windows of his room." Mustang growled.

Ed snarled. "That is making it sound like a prison, Colonel."

Mustang's eyes lit up. "Great idea, Fullmetal. We'll lock you in in a prison
cell when we have to guard you for some reason."

"You will do no such thing!" Ed shouted before lowering his voice. "Never
again."

"'Again?' Havoc asked confused.

Ed blushed and scratched the back of his head. "There was this incident…"

"You mean the one where the Colonel told some officers to arrest you?" Al
asked.
"You did what?" Riza growled at her boss.

Mustang held up his hands. "Now to be fair, it was for the mission we were
on. It wasn't done as a prank."

"Sometimes I wonder about that." Edward grumbled to himself.

Breda snorted. "It's a wonder you never got sent to a Juvenile Detention
Center."

"Do you guys think that lowly of me?" Edward asked blankly and a bit
offended. He may be a bit reckless, but it always to get the job done….unless
someone calls him short. Then it is just plain personal.

"Forget that!" Izumi growled. "What do you two think you are doing going to
a laboratory in the middle of the night by yourself? Do you have any idea of
how dangerous this is, and how reckless you are being?"

"Honestly, we expected better of you, Al." Hughes said.

Ed smirked. "I don't have to convince him to do as many of my reckless

endeavors as you believe I do."

"Traitor." Al grumbled, now understanding how his brother felt when he did
it to him.

"Why must you boys do this?" Izumi growled. "We have no idea of what is
there. You could get yourselves killed!"

Ed winced under his former Teacher's harsh glare. "We haven't done it yet."

"And you never are going to, correct?" Armstrong demanded.

"We won't! We won't!" Ed and Al cried together, cowering under the intense
glares of Izumi and Armstrong.

"They are more reckless than I first thought." General Armstrong muttered.

The gate of the fifth laboratory was shown with a soldiers standing in
front of it. A keep out sign was shown.

"Hmm, a guard posted at an unused building. Interesting." Ed's voice

said as the guard stretched his arms above his head.

Ed and Al were shown hiding behind one of the walls that surrounded
the lab, watching the guard.

"At least you two do know to be inconspicuous." Mustang said.

"Why do you think Future me isn't wearing my red coat?" Ed asked, rolling
his eyes. "We know how to be covert. It's just that we usually don't do it since
it isn't needed, but of course, here it is, especially since it is the military we
are investigating."

"I'm not sure if I should be relieved or upset that you are good at being
covert." Hughes sighed.

Al stared at his friend. "Why would you be upset?"

"Because you're good at it, it means the guard won't catch you and stop you
from sneaking in." Hughes explained, frowning.

"Considering it is a single guard, there wasn't much chance of them getting

caught anyway." Mustang sighed.

"They're not even in the lab yet." Jerso pointed out.

Havoc smirked, despite the dangerous situation the boys have put themselves
in. "It is the Elric brothers. They always find a way in."

"Unfortunately." Breda muttered.

"That is suspicious." Al agreed.

They moved farther behind the wall.

"How do we get in?" Al's voice asked as the top of the walls surrounding
the building were shown to have barbed wire on them.
"We could make our own entrance." Edward said as the screen moved
slowly down.

"They'd notice the light from the transmutic reaction." Al replied as the
boy appeared on the screen. Edward was looking up at the top of the
wall.

"Well, in that case." Ed said.

Al's hands were cupped together and Ed put one of his feet in them,
allowing Al to throw him into the air. "And up." Al said. Ed landed on
his automail leg on the barbed wire.

"You guys actually do things like this?" Brody asked shocked.

Ed laughed. "Yeah, the first few times we did that," He cut himself off and
shuddered. He'd never admit it, but the first few times he let Al throw him
like that, he had been scared, but trusted Al to catch him if he messed his part
up. Doesn't change the fact that it was scary though.

"It did take a while to get it just right." Al murmured.

"You guys must really trust each other to do that." Avery said. Just seeing Al
throw his older brother like that caused a slight shudder in his body. That was
never something soldiers were trained to deal with. None of them would ever
have to deal with being thrown in the air like that. And for that, he was glad.

"Considering the variety of the assignments Colonel sends me on, we had to

get our skills improved to get the jobs completed." Ed replied, shrugging.
"We had to spend hours working on some of the skills before we could
actually do some of the job without getting caught."

General Armstrong looked at Mustang. "Was that how you got the boy
trained in some areas he needed to?"

Mustang shrugged. "In a way. In fact, I am amazed at how much this reckless
punk actually spent on getting ready for his missions."

Ed scowled. "I don't believe I am all that great. I know I need more training
before I can be great."

"As long as you know that, then you will be able to grow." Izumi said, a bit
proud of her ex-student.

Ed's automail hand grabbed the wire and started to pull it as his gloved
cover flesh hand led it down to Al.

"Automail is really useful at times." Ed muttered, opening and closing his

automail hand a few times.

"And yet you are working so hard to get rid of it." Luke said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm working so hard to get Al his body back. I don't care
whether or not I get my limbs back. If I do get them back, it is just an added
benefit."

"Brother," Al said. "If we're going to get my body back, we have to get your
limbs back."

Ed nodded a bit, but didn't reply. Right now, he was at a loss of how to get
Al's body back. There was no way they could use a Philosopher's Stone now
that they knew the truth of it. So where would they go now? He had no idea
of what to do now. He needed help, as much as he didn't want to admit it, but
he would look for it because Al had been trapped in that armor prison for
long enough. That meant that he would look for all other options and do
whatever he had to. Al would get his body back. That was all that matter. He,
Ed, had a body and could sleep, eat, feel, smell, and all those other human
senses. His automail, no matter how much it hurt him, meant nothing
compared to the pain living in his heart about his brother. Like Al forgetting
his brother's warmth, Ed has forgotten Al's warmth and he missed it. Al was
all that was important right now.

Al grabbed the bard wire and used it to climb up the wall.

"Of course you can do that." Brody muttered. "Just what are you boys doing
to train?"
Ed and Al chuckled. The former pointed at Izumi. "She taught us a lot, then
told us to go train on our own after a few months."

"I expected you boys to return for more training after a while." Izumi replied,
frowning. "What I never expected was for you to try Human Transmutation,
then to join the military."

"Really?" Al asked excited before deflating as he remembered they were

expelled. "I wish we knew that. I would have liked to train with you more."

"They want to continue to train under such a scary lady?" Havoc asked his
comrades quietly.

Kain shuddered. "If they can handle her, they should be able to handle
military training easily."

Ed jumped from the wall and landed on a crouch on the other side of it
with Al following him a moment later while Edward looked around to
make sure it was clear. They ran across the grass to get to the building,
stopping in front of a boarded up door.

"They're not taking any chances, are they?" Edward asked, putting a
hand to his chin in thought. He looked around until his eyes spotted a
vent. He took the gate off the vent before handing it to Al, who's
shoulder he was kneeling on.

"Argh, see? They always find a way in." Mustang groaned.

"Actually, I think I'm going alone." Ed pointed out. "No way Al can fit in
there."

Al looked at his brother in worry. "I hate it when we have to split up like
this."

Ed nodded. They would worry for each other a lot when they split up, but
always trusted the other to be alright until they met up. "Yeah, but we just
have to believe each other is alive and we'll always find each other."

"No turning back." Al said.

"So you trust each other not to get killed?" Jackson asked.

"Yep." Al and Ed replied.

The brothers glanced at each with Ed grinning. "I'll never forgive Al if he

gets killed."

"Same here." Al replied.

"Al, you need to wait here." Ed said before turning to the vent.

"You're fine on your own?" Al asked as Ed pulled the upper part of his
body through the vent.

Ed looked over his shoulder towards the opening so his voice reached Al.
"Whether I'm fine on my own or not isn't the issue here. You're too big
to get through here."

"So you know the danger is there?" Darius asked, frowning. "And you still go
by yourself anyway."

Ed shrugged. "We don't know the type of danger, and there is no time to be
afraid. Besides, I know adults. They have a habit of keeping information from
me."

Mustang twitched.

"Because you are still just children." Riza said, sighing. Why couldn't these
boys just sit still and let the adults handle it?

Ed started to army crawl through the vent while Al was shown sitting on
the ground, dejected. "It's not like I asked to get this big."

Ed laughed, tapping his brother's arm. "Sorry, little bro. You usually take the
jokes well."

"Jokes?" Zampano asked.

"Brother and I tend to joke about our bodies to keep our spirits up and remind
us of what we are aiming for." Al explained. [2]

"After everything that happened, you still joke about something so horrible?"
Hughes asked shocked.

"It's because we know we'll get our bodies back someday." Edward said
determined.

The inside of the lab was shown with the sound of steam hissing.

"66," A voice said.

"What is it, 48?" 66 replied.

Two suits of armors were shown. "It looks as if we've got guests."

"Hahaha," 66 laughed. "Some daredevil idiots came to visit, did they?"

As he finished, Ed's determined face was shown.

"You guys are going to get attacked." Hughes groaned in worry.

"Looks like it." Al muttered. "Why is there always someone waiting to attack
us?"

"It's our horrible luck." Ed replied, sighing. Just great. How was this going to
turn out?

"Damn," Ed said, putting a hand to his forehead as he looked ahead.

"It's even tighter in here than I thought. I couldn't get through this far if
I was regular sized. Lucky I got a small body."

"WHAT THE HELL, FUTURE ME?!" Edward screamed. He could not

believe that he just insulted himself.

While everyone else just laughed.

"So you finally started to accept the truth?" Mustang asked through his
laughs.
"There is nothing to accept as I am not short!" Edward retorted, furious with
himself in the future. How the hell could he possibly make that mistake?

"It's about time we heard it from your own mouth." Havoc said, getting his
laughter under control, but he couldn't wipe the grin from his face.

Ed growled. "It was a mistake. Future me is just exhausted from getting very
little sleep and it accidentally slipped into his mind."

"And now you're trying to defend future you?" Brody asked amused.

"All against me." Ed grumbled to himself. "'M not short. Everyone else is just
freakishly tall. Stupid jerks. Stupid future me for letting his mouth run. No
one understands."

Al sweat dropped when he heard his brother's mumbling. Perhaps the teasing
was getting a bit much if it was making his brother go crazy and start talking
to himself.

"OH NO! I JUST CALLED MYSELF A TINY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK!"

Edward yelled, twisting around in the vent and pulling at his hair.

Riza chuckled. "You even rant at yourself?"

"It's only fair." Ed grumbled. "I did call myself s-s-small." He fell into a
dejected state, much to everyone's amusement.

Ed kicked the gate of another vent entrance off and jumped through it to
land in a crouch in the hallway. He looked around to see the lights that
lined the walls were on. "There are lights on." He said as he stood up.
"'Not currently in use.' Who are they trying to fool?" He wiped his chin
with a smirk appearing on his face when he removed the hand. "This is it
alright."

Al was shown standing outside with his arms crossed. "Ed's taking a
long time."

"Hey, crawling through those small vents is difficult." Ed protested.

"You're the only one here who would know that." Mustang pointed out.

"ARGH!" Ed screamed. He heard the subtle insult in there. Damn, he should

have just kept quiet.

The screen changed to an angle that looked up at Al so that the edge of

the roof was seen. A suit of armor appeared on the edge, staring down at
Al with his glowing red eyes and a meat cleaver in his hand.

"Damn it." Mustang growled.

"Al should be fine. I mean as long as this freak doesn't get to his blood seal."
Edward said. That was what he always said to convince himself that Al was
fine. Al would be fine as long as his enemy never got to his blood seal.

Al nodded. "It's Brother we've got to worry about."

"Hey, I'll be fine." Ed said.

"I think he means since you're flesh and bone, unlike him, you're in more
danger." Luke explained.

Ed scratched the back of his head. "This could be troublesome."

"This is why I told you to stay away." Armstrong said, frowning.

His cleaver clinked, alerting Al to a presence and he turned around in

time to see 66 jump from the building and swinging his meat cleaver at
him. There was a sound of metal clinking together, but it was not seen
what happened as the screen went dark.

"That's where it's ending?" Riza growled.

"Looks like it." Edward said, frowning, but he trusted his brother to be safe.
That looked like a weak attack, for Al at least. Shrugging, he stood up,
grabbing his plate as he did. "Time for dinner."

"What?" Quite a few voices shouted.

Ed stared at them blankly. "We said we were going to eat after this episode."

"That was before we realized you and your brother were going to run into
danger." Hughes growled. "Now sit down. We are continuing on until we
make sure you two are safe."

Ed scratched the back of his head, agitated. "Look, I'm sure we'll be just fine.
We get into messes like this all the time. You just have to have patience, isn't
that what you guys tell me? Whether we watch the next part now or not won't
change the outcome. Besides, I trust Al and myself to get out of this like we
always do. We may not be in one piece by the end, but we'll be fine. Now
seriously, we're going to take a break. You guys are too stressed about this."
And with that, he walked away towards the kitchen.

"Or maybe he's not stressed enough." Mustang growled.

"No, Brother is pretty stressed with everything that is going on, but it calms
his nerves to take a break and eat. It might do you all some good as well." Al
added to the soldiers.

"He could have just said that." Myers said.

Al shrugged. "Then you would know how he was feeling."

"In any case," Izumi said, pushing herself to her feet. "I agree with Edward.
We need to take a break, clear our minds, and eat. I trust my boys to make it
out of this mess that they got themselves in. I'll go help Ed with dinner.
Anyone with any skill in cooking come too. With this many people to cook
for, we'll need all the help we can get."

As some of the soldiers and Sig followed Izumi to the kitchen, Mustang
turned to Al. "Can't you cook?"

"I can cook a bit, but not in this body. Since I can't smell or taste the food, I
might mess something up." Al explained.

"Oh."

"I don't care what any of you say, the tension in my body will not drop until I
see you two get away from that lab." Hughes said, staring at the screen,
wishing they could just move on.

Al tilted his head slightly, but turned to the Colonel. "You'll finally see why
Brother tends to get injured a lot sometimes, I think. He isn't as reckless in
fights as you think. It's just that we fight against some skilled people."

"Al," Hughes groaned.

Al shrugged. "I believe Brother will be fine, as will I."

"You trust each other a lot." Dr. Marcoh said, smiling a bit faintly.

"If we didn't, we would never leave each other's side and we would get
nowhere in anything we do." Al replied.

Sighing, Hughes pushed his glasses up. "So about Winry."

"Huh?"

A smirk crossed Hughes's features. "Your brother must really love her."

Al sweat dropped, but was also feeling a bit mischievous. "You could say
that. Why else would he let her hit him all the time?"

"He's so strange." Mustang chuckled. "The best way to get a girl to forgive
him would be to buy her a gift. She wouldn't hit him so much then."

"But we did a few times when Brother first joined the military." Al replied,
surprising the soldiers. "Those earrings she wears. Brother bought them for
her to keep her from hitting him."

Brody frowned. "Why doesn't he do that anymore? It might just save his
brain cells."

"Every time we bought her a new pair, she would pierce her ears again so she
could wear them without taking the other ones out." Al groaned. "We stopped
buying them so she would stop putting holes in her body."
Brody sweat dropped. "That was probably a good idea."

"What about other jewelry then?" Miles asked.

"It gets in the way of her work." Al replied, shaking his helmet.

"Some more tools then." Buccaneer suggested.

Al shook his helmet again. "Brother said she'll just use them to hit him some
more."

"He could take her on a romantic date." Hughes said excitedly.

Al wanted to hit his head. "Brother will beat you to a pulp if he heard that
suggestion."

"Heard what?" Edward asked as he walked into the main room covered in
flour.

"Nothing." Mustang said, staring at the flour. "So, what happened to you?
Was there a flour bomb in there?"

"Huh?" Ed glanced at his clothes. A flour bomb? There wasn't that much
flour on him. "It doesn't matter. Al," He looked at his brother with a grimace.
"Teacher said to get your ass in there and help with dinner. Even if you can't
cook the food, you can at least help with the preparation part."

"Alright," Al replied with a sigh and stood up. He should have known that
this was coming from Teacher.

When Ed went to follow his brother back to the kitchen, there was a flash of
gold light and a letter slowly floated in the air to the ground. He caught it
before it could hit the ground and took the letter out, reading it to himself.
There is a room for you and Al separately. It is filled with clothes. You should
take a shower and change clothes later. V.H.

Ed scowled at the initials, but those weren't really his concern at the moment.
Did he really look that filthy? There wasn't even that much flour on him! He
pushed the letter into his pocket and returned to the kitchen before Izumi
came to find him and beat him up for slacking with helping making dinner.

A/N: [1] Okay, honestly, I wasn't sure when Scar got injured by the
Homunculi, so obviously I made a mistake here. So, this is just my excuse
to make up for it.

[2] I sometimes use references from the first series of FMA because I love
how close the brothers are. This time I am referring to the spar Ed and
Al had before Ed became a State Alchemist. Ed and Al mock each
other's body before the spar. I really liked that scene.

Can someone answer me this. I know from trivia that Al can't decode
Ed's notes. Was that said anywhere in the manga or extras? I never fully
read the manga. In fact, I have just glanced at it a bit so I was curious.

Please Review!
*Chapter 8*: Episode 8: The Fifth
Laboratory
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

For whatever reason, I have changed to using what they say in English,
instead of the subtitles.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 8: The Fifth Laboratory

"Wow, this is really good." Mustang said. Everyone was packed into the
cafeteria enjoying their dinner that was so nicely prepared for them.

"Even better than what we get at the Command Center." Havoc added before
shoveling more stew into his mouth.

Mustang nodded, but didn't reply as there was already food in his mouth. He
hadn't realized how hungry he was until he had started eating. It seems Ed,
Izumi, and Sig were really good cooks as he heard those three were the ones
who were in control of the kitchen. Speaking of that. "Where is Fullmetal?"
He asked frowning since he didn't notice the boy anywhere. And trust him,
that boy was so noticeable, he would have spotted him in this huge crowd.
"And Alphonse." That, and Al would always be with his brother, and a suit of
armor was impossible to miss.
"Izumi wouldn't let Edward eat until he got cleaned up and Alphonse went to
the bedroom with him." Riza replied without looking up from her meal. "I
believe he wanted to talk to his brother about what was said earlier."

"He better hurry up or the food will be all gone." Mustang said before going
back to his meal.

"Izumi put a plate aside for him in the kitchen so that wouldn't happen." Riza
responded as she was in the kitchen helping with the meal earlier so she
noticed this.

*Ed and Al's bedroom*

The bedroom that V.H. made for the brothers was easily found since the door
had their names on it, plus the fact that it looked different from all the other
bedrooms when the inside of it was shown. The bedroom had a single bed in
it as it seemed he knew that Al didn't need to sleep before he prepared all this.
The bed, which was in a corner of the room, had red covers and black pillow
cases, which made it seem that he also knew Ed's taste for colors. Like all the
other bedrooms, it had a bathroom attached to it which was where Ed was at
the moment, taking a shower. Unlike the other bedrooms, there was a
bookcase with books on it for the brothers to read, which was nice since Al
couldn't sleep. Added in with the books was a desk which had a small bed
light on it so Al wouldn't disturb his brother with a bright light while he slept.
Surprisingly, when the boys entered the room, they found Ed's red coat,
which he abandoned in their hotel room while they were in Central, on the
bed along with his travelogue, which was really his notes. Next to the door
was a dresser that Al found had some clothes in it for Ed.

Right now, Al was sitting on the floor, reading one of the books that was in
the room while Ed finished his shower. Normally, he would have stayed in
the cafeteria and talked with his friends while his brother cleaned up, but Ed
told him about the note from V.H., which made him curious and plus, this
seemed like a good time to talk to Edward about what he said earlier.

It wasn't long until Al heard the shower turn off and he perked up. He could
finally talk to his brother now. A minute after the water turned off, Edward
came out of the bathroom dressed in boxers and a couple of towels. One was
on his hair as he worked to dry it with one hand while the other carried the
other towels.

Al closed his book and stood up. "I'll help."

"Huh?" Ed said, glancing out from under his towel. "Oh, Al, you don't have
too."

"It'll be faster if you have help, Brother. Then you can go eat." Al insisted.

Ed shrugged, but agreed. Al was right. He was starving and couldn't wait to
dig into his dinner so he sat on the bed with his back to the edge of it so Al
could kneel on the ground and work on drying his hair while Ed started to dry
his automail arm before it rusted. It wasn't something they often did together
unless they were in a hurry so it wasn't often that Ed got to feel his brother
gentle fingers rubbing his hair dry. It was something he treasured as Al was
gentle and soft when he did it. If only Al had his body, then he could feel his
warm, soft finger trending through his locks.

But he didn't have time to enjoy it as he had to get his automail dry, so after
giving himself a moment to enjoy the gentle hands working on his hair, Ed
went back to his automail.

It didn't take Al long to get his brother's hair dry and he was grabbing a comb
and a hair tie from the dressing. Since he didn't have the dexterity to do a
braid, he simply handed them to his brother, who took them and tossed a
towel to Al and turned around so his little brother could help with his leg
since he just got his arm done.

Al gently dried his brother's leg, not wanting to get the towel caught in
anything as it might mess it up. He glanced up at his brother's face a few
times as Ed worked on combing his hair out. Ed saw the glances, but didn't
say anything about the odd behavior. Usually when Al decided to help him,
they both stayed focused on their tasks to get this done as quickly as possible.

"Are you going to do your maintenance?" Al asked.

"No time. I want to eat and those guys probably want to start the next episode
as soon as possible." Ed mumbled around the hair tie he had between his lips.

Al sighed. "You're going to have to do it soon, Brother. You've been ignoring

it since we've been focused on the notes."

"I know." Ed said as he grabbed the hair tie out of his mouth and tied the
braid. Sighing, he leaned his arms on the bed behind him as Al continued to
dry his leg. "So, what's wrong?"

Al paused in his drying. "What makes you think something is wrong?"

Ed shrugged, staring at the ceiling. "You kept glancing at me. Is this about
our future selves? Because I promise you, I'll be fine. And even I'm not, this
is the future. We can make sure it doesn't happen."

Al went back to his brother's leg. "It's not that."

"Oh? Then what is it?" Ed asked curiously.

"It's about what you said earlier." Al replied, and watched as the muscles in
his brother's flesh leg noticeably tensed.

"Al–"

"Why won't you tell me?" Al demanded, interrupting his brother. "Do you not
trust me?"

Ed felt his heart clench. "No!" He almost shouted as he leaned forward and
gently held the side of Al's helmet in his flesh hand, a sign of affection that
hurt both boys as they couldn't feel each other's warmth. "I trust you so much,
Alphonse. So much that I would even put my life in your hands because I
know you wouldn't throw it away."

Al dropped the towel he was holding to reach up to grab Ed's wrist. "Then
why won't you tell me what the problem is?"

The elder brother bit his bottom lip, looking anyway but at his brother. How
could he admit that he didn't want to say it because he was scared? Scared
that his thoughts were true? Frightened that he wouldn't be able to handle the
pain of it being revealed that his precious baby brother really did hate him?

"Brother."

The hurt in Al's voice caused a slight tremble to run down Ed's spine. He was
upsetting his brother by keeping quiet, and he didn't want that, but he was just
so scared. His mouth opened, but he just couldn't form the words on his lips.

"You can tell me anything." Alphonse whispered.

Ed's eyes closed. "I know." He replied quietly. "But, Al, I'm just not ready to
say it. I'm scared. I can't bring myself to say it, not yet."

"Whatever it is, you don't have to be scared to tell me. I promise I won't be
upset." Alphonse said pleadingly.

Ed shook his head. "Please, Al, can we just let it go? When I'm ready to say
it, I will say it. But right now, I'm just not prepared for it."

"Prepared for it?" Al echoed.

'For your anger and hate.' Ed thought, but didn't say anything as he stood up,
knocking his automail hand against Al's helmet. "Thanks, Brother." He said
as he moved over to the dresser to grab some clothes. Whether he was
thanking Al for the help in drying his hair and automail or thanking him for
dropping the subject was unknown to Al as he watched his brother get
dressed. He dressed himself in black slacks and a long sleeve black dress
shirt.

"Time to eat at long last!" Ed cheered as he left his bedroom. He stopped

outside the room when he saw everyone already out in the main room,
chatting with each other. "You guys sure ate fast."

"No, you just took an hour to shower!" Mustang retorted before raising a
brow. "Where'd you get the clothes?"

Ed motioned to the bedroom as Al came out. "They were in my room, and I

didn't take an hour to shower! I had to dry my hair and automail or would you
rather I rust?" He turned on his heels and marched to the kitchen to get his
dinner.

"Eat quickly so we can move on." Hughes yelled at his back, but Ed only
waved a hand at him without bothering to turn around.

Izumi turned to Al when Ed was gone. "Did you guys talk?"

Al huffed in irritation, crossing his arms. "I tried to, but he told me to leave it
be until he was ready."

"I thought he wasn't one to beat around the bush." Avery said confused.

"He's not." Al grumbled, not used to this side of his brother. He just wanted
to know why his brother was upset.

Within ten minutes Edward was back from the kitchen, grinning in
satisfaction. "That was good. Ready to continue?" He asked as he sat on the
floor next to his brother once more.

"We've been ready!" Havoc and Luke shouted at him.

"You're the one that made us wait." Brody added, nodding his head.

Ed rolled his eyes. "So sorry that I got messy trying to make you guys all a
great dinner. Ungrateful jerks." He muttered the last part to himself.

"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and

reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is
impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain
something, something of equal value must be paid. This is the law of
equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy. Alchemists have a taboo, and it
is human transmutation. It is that which no one must commit."

The opening song began once again.

"The Fifth Laboratory"

"Great, a whole episode devoted to the lab." Maria groaned.

"You better not die, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Ed twitched. "O ye, of little faith."

Al turned around to see 66 jumping from the roof of the building with
his meat cleaver ready to attack. Al jumped to the side to avoid the
attack. 66 slammed into the ground, but was back on his feet
immediately, swinging his meat cleaver at Al who dodged by taking steps
backwards. When 66 brought the meat cleaver down from above, Al
jumped in the air and back away from him, letting the meat cleaver slam
into the ground. Al landed on the ground as 66 pulled the meat cleaver
out of the ground.

"You move pretty well for your size. If you didn't though, it wouldn't be
worth the effort to cut you down." 66 said.

"Who are you?" Al demanded.

"I'm number 66." The enemy suit of armor replied. "Well, that's the
name they gave me when I came to work here anyway." He leaned
forward slightly, crossing his cleavers. "I'm going to cut you up, nice and
neat."

"This guy sounds like a total freak." Edward muttered.

"Does he actually take pleasure in hurting people?" Al asked.

"There are those psychopaths out there that like that." Izumi said, frowning.
"You'll probably meet people like him more often."

"I'm more surprised that you haven't met more people like this." Hughes said.

Ed shrugged and pointed at Mustang. "Talk to Colonel. He's the one who
assigns me my missions."

Hughes looked at his friend with a raised brow.

"I sort through the missions on my desk so I don't have to give him ones that
would put him in extreme danger or require him to kill." Mustang explained
to his friend quietly so no one else would hear him.

"And here you told me just a few weeks ago that you are his superior officer,
not his guardian." Hughes muttered.

Mustang shrugged. "I won't make a kid kill."

Al got into a stance, ready to face 66.

66's helmet was shown. "All you have to do is sit back and scream!"

"Freak of nature." Edward muttered. "Have fun with that, Al."

"I'll be sure to." Al said sarcastically.

A tan ground was shown with a transmutation circle on it. Edward was
seen standing in front of it. A short pillar with another transmutation
circle on top of it was shown in the middle of the bigger one. Then the
scene flashed to one of the circles of the bigger transmutation circle
which was splashed with dried blood.

Ed's frowning face was shown as he stared at it. "What is all this?"

"It is the transmutation circle to make the Philosopher's Stone." Dr. Marcoh
said with a sigh and frown. "It seems that they really have continued with the
experiments, but in a different lab."

"So there is more than one alchemist doing research on the stone?" General
Armstrong asked.

Dr. Marcoh nodded. "There must be."

"Must be someone without a conscious." Darius growled angrily. How could

anyone use lives to make Philosopher's Stones? Or to use him and his buddies
to turn them into chimeras? What kind of sick freaks existed out there?

"I bet this is what they use to transmute a Philosopher's Stone." Edward
said.
"Yes, that's right." A voice replied causing Ed to look towards one of the
doorways of the room where a suit of armor was walking in from. "I
don't know who you are, kid, but you sure figured out a lot just from
looking at a transmutation circle."

"I'm just good like that." Edward replied. "Who are you, pal?"

"Is that a sword?" Izumi asked since the suit of armor was shown again.

"Oh? I guess it's a bit of blade on blade action." Edward said.

Mustang scowled. "Do you see this as a joke, Fullmetal?"

"No," Ed replied. "But I trust myself well enough to not let myself die here,
especially with Al so close."

Havoc grinned. "I have complete trust in Chief to survive as well."

"Thank you, Havoc." Edward said, grinning.

"He's just like a cockroach, couldn't get rid of him even we wanted to."
Havoc added, now smirking.

Ed twitched. "You shall die a very slow and painful death in your sleep
tonight."

"The one in charge of guarding this place from curious brats."

"You are too curious for your own good." Zampano stated.

"I am investigating it because it involves the Philosopher's Stone, which is

my research for the military." Ed argued.

"Don't even try to argue this point, Fullmetal. You were trespassing, end of
story." Mustang said.

Ed shrugged. "Had to try."

The suit of armor continued to walk forward. "For the moment let's just
so my name is Number 48."

"What is with the numbers?" Al asked confused.

Mustang and Hughes shared troubled looks. "Most likely, they are prisoners
and that was their number on death row." The former explained.

"And that is how they decide to introduce themselves?" Edward said

incredulously.

"Is it really the time to be concerned about that?" Brody demanded, frowning.
"This guy is going to attempt to kill you. And if he has been tasked with
guarding this place and was a former prisoner, what do you think his
occupation was in life?"

"A murderer." Izumi growled. "A skilled murderer would have the skill
needed to guard a place."

Ed twitched. "So there's a chance we're in trouble?"

"That's what we've been trying to get through your head." Hughes growled,
mostly out of worry.

Edward glanced at his brother.

"He won't know about my blood seal unless I show it to him, so I should be
fine." Al told him reassuringly, since he knew his brother was more
concerned for him at the moment.

48 stopped. "And believe me, I'm not your pal."

"Sheesh, it was just a figure of speech." Ed grumbled.

"My orders are to dispose of anyone who wanders in here, poking his
nose where it doesn't belong. Try not to take it personally, boy."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Alright, I won't." He clapped his hands and

transmuted his arm into a blade. "You try not to take it personally when
this boy kicks your ass!"
"Hmm, you're an alchemist, are you?" 48 said before it was suddenly
moving so quickly that Ed didn't have time to react as the suit of armor
was suddenly in front of, causing Ed's body to tremble slightly.

"Damn, he shouldn't be able to move that fast." Avery growled.

Ed's eyes narrowed. Even Al didn't move that fast, and he didn't have a body
inside his armor. How was this guy able to move that quickly while wearing
that armor?

"How fast are you?" General Armstrong asked.

"Fast enough, but I have never moved that fast." Edward replied.

General Armstrong crossed her arms and looked back at the screen. "You are
going to have more trouble than what we expected then."

"I am the better fighter, but Brother is still a very skilled martial artist." Al
said, half explaining to his friends and half reassuring himself that his brother
would be fine.

"And an alchemist." Luke added.

"No. That means nothing now." Edward said, staring at the screen with
narrowed eyes that were filled with a bit of concern. "There is no way I can
transmute fast enough with how fast this guy is moving."

"This is just turning out to be worse and worse in your favor." Sig said,
frowning.

Ed nodded, but didn't reply as he was staring at the face of the armor and
himself. This would be a difficult fight.

"Alright then, let's see what you got." 48 said and was suddenly swinging
his sword up at Ed's head. Edward ducked under the sword as 48 raised
his sword above his head. He brought his sword swinging down, causing
it to clash against Ed's blade as he moved back.

Ed gritted his teeth as he stared at 48, who was suddenly charging at him
again with his sword held in both hands and pointed at him.

"A prosthetic arm, huh?" Ed continued to move back away from the
enemy, eyes locked on the enemy. "No matter."

"Once again." Mustang muttered. "That arm of yours has saved your life."

48 was shown, still charging at the boy. "My sword can pierce steel as
well as flesh." He swung his sword at Ed, but the boy blocked it with his
blade again. He pushed the sword aside and lunged at 48 with his blade
ready, but 48 jumped back to dodge. His sword swung forward again,
but Ed ducked under it before kicking 48 in the chest, which caused a
hollow echoing sound to resound.

"Oh?" Edward said, eyes narrowed. "So that's it."

"What's it, Brother?" Al asked.

Ed smirked. "It seems that I am not the only idiot around. Those suits of
armor are empty."

"You mean like Al?" Havoc asked.

"Yep."

Karin paled. "But why would anyone do that if they would have to sacrifice
something for it?"

Ed looked down at his automail hand before gripping his metal shoulder.
"Think about it," He said softly. "They made Philosopher's Stones, even if
they were incomplete, they would still work."

"They used the stones to bind prisoners' souls to armor so they wouldn't lose
anything." Dr. Marcoh said darkly.

"That is horrible." Maria said, quite disturbed. "How could anyone actually
do something like that to another person?"

Ed stiffened, hands curling into fists on his lap. Yes, it was a horrible life. It
meant that person's soul would be trapped on this planet, unable to eat, sleep,
feel, or anything else that a normal human could do. How could he be so
selfish as to do something like that to his own brother?

When Maria turned her head back to the screen, she saw Ed's clenched fists
and paled. "Oh, Edward, I didn't mean it like that."

"Didn't you?" Ed said through gritted teeth. "I took my brother's soul and
trapped it in a metal hell."

"Brother! I don't see it like that." Al retorted quickly. "You saved me from
the Gate. If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead, but now I have a way to find
another chance at life thanks to you."

"And besides, you pulled your brother's soul from the Gate, but these two that
you are facing had their souls ripped from their bodies. They were forcibly
separated while your brother was being deconstructed when you took his soul
back. It is a bit same, but it is also different." Mustang argued.

'Say it all you want, but that doesn't change anything. Al hates me.' Edward
thought sadly. That was the part that hurt him the most.

"Edward, I really didn't mean it like that. It is as Colonel Mustang says. It is

different. You did what you did to save Alphonse, while these guys were
used as experiments. Your reasons and environment were completely
different." Maria told the boy softly, hoping her young friend would
understand.

Ed tilted his head at her. "I'm not blaming you for what you said. You were
just the one with the guts to say it."

"Brother." Al said quickly. "Please don't blame yourself like this."

Izumi sighed. "He wouldn't be Ed if he didn't feel guilt for everything."

"I resent that." Edward grumbled. "I don't feel guilt for everything, but this
time, it is my fault."

Al sighed in frustration. What was it going to take to make his brother realize
that he wasn't alone in the fault of what happened that night? All Al wanted
to do was help his brother and be there for him like Ed was for him.

48 stumbled back a bit from the blow.

Edward gasped and stared at where he hit 48. His brows furrowed.
"Hey, hey, hey!" [1] "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're
hollow inside."

"Must you refer to your limbs?" Brody asked. "You already lost two."

"Hey, it's not like I'm saying he can take one of my limbs if I'm wrong."
Edward retorted. "Besides, I know I'm right."

"Doesn't mean he won't take one from you anyway." Kain said with a
grimace. "You have a knack for losing body parts."

Ed raised a brow. "What? Just because I lost a couple limbs?"

"That, and because you had tonsillitis and had to have your tonsils removed
when you were twelve." Riza said with a sigh.

"And then you got appendicitis." Havoc said thoughtfully.

"I remember that. It was when you were thirteen. You passed out in the
middle of our meeting." Mustang said with a frown. That had been a scary
moment for the adults and Al, who almost proved it possible that a soul
bound to a suit of armor could have a heart attack. "I know you like parting
with your body parts, Fullmetal, but can it please stop? You can only lose so
many before it becomes a serious problem."

Edward twitched.

"I don't know, maybe he wants to be full metal." Karley suggested with a
smirk. "Can they make automail organs?"

Ed twitched. "No way in hell would I ever get automail organs, even if they
did exist."
"Then stop having so many problems." Havoc growled. "I don't think any of
us could take many more scares from you."

"You fight in the Ishval Civil War and yet almost have a heart attack because
I pass out?" Edward asked amused.

Havoc glared at him. "You're Chief! You're not allowed to pass out like that."

Ed shrugged. "Whatever. It's not like I need my tonsils or appendix."

"And it was really nice after you got your tonsils removed." Mustang sighed.
"Too bad it can't happen again."

Miles chuckled. "Was it because he couldn't talk?"

"Couldn't talk, couldn't yell. It was so peaceful." Mustang smirked.

Ed growled. "No, what you liked, jerk, was that you could put me on desk
work while I recovered and give me all your damn paperwork while you
lazed around!"

"That was great too." Mustang smiled brightly. "We should do it again!"

"No!" Ed shouted. "Never again will I be forced to sit at your desk, doing
your damn paperwork." He looked at Hawkeye. "Is that even allowed?"

Riza glared at her superior. "That's what you did when he was recovering
from surgery?" She narrowed her eyes at her cowering superior before
turning to Edward. "Technically, you are allowed to review his paperwork
since your rank is high enough and you're a State Alchemist, but you cannot
sign it. It was supposed to be signed by Colonel Roy Mustang, not Major
Edward Elric."

Mustang laughed. "But it was. This kid is damn good at forging signatures."

Riza turned back to Mustang, glaring and wearing a dark frown. "Edward, I
am never again leaving you in the Colonel's office alone when you are there
to do desk work. And you, Colonel, are going to have a nice chat with me
later."
Edward laughed while his superior cowered behind Hughes, who was torn
between laughing and glaring at his friend.

"Ed, why didn't you protest? Surely you knew it was wrong." Hughes asked
instead.

"Protest?" Ed growled, but was still grinning. "To who? I had no voice, was
twelve at the time and only been in the military for three months at the time,
and Colonel basically had me trapped in that office all week since Lieutenant
Riza was on vacation. Besides, I was too weak and tired to even think of
arguing or realizing it was wrong at the time."

"V.H., you better give me back my gun now!" Riza shouted angrily while
Izumi cracked her knuckles, thinking up a thousand ways to torture this man.
How dare Mustang take advantage of Edward when he was sick?

"Colonel." Al growled dangerously. Like Ed was protective of him, he was

quite protective of his brother as well.

General Armstrong shook her head, but was smirking. "You are one dead
man, Mustang. You should know better than to take advantage of children.
How lazy can you be?"

Mustang spluttered protests.

"I was wondering what you were doing in there all week." Havoc said, not
noticing or not paying attention to the dark auras Al and all the females in the
room had. It seems his boss becoming the number one enemy in the room,
making him above Scar, was unimportant. "I thought you would have stayed
at the dorm to rest."

"I did for a few weeks as I couldn't leave since there was a chance I would
get infected with germs and get really ill afterwards." Edward replied, also
ignoring the dark auras. "But after I could start eating solid foods again, it
meant I could go outside, which Mustang took as a sign it meant I could
return to work." [2]

"I see." Havoc said.

Avery, grimacing at all the dark auras, looked at the Colonel. "You might
want to sleep with one eye open tonight."

"Why is everyone so upset? It was three years ago." Edward said, frowning.
He hadn't meant for the Colonel to become blacklisted because of that. It just
came up. Besides, he had gotten his revenge for all of the paperwork he was
forced to endure that week.

"What else have you done to Edward while my back was turned?" Riza
demanded, ignoring what Edward had said.

"Nothing." Mustang growled. Damn it, he was the superior officer here. Why
was this happening?

Riza raised a brow and turned to Edward. "What has happened?"

Ed twitched. Why was this happening? "Nothing too bad, Lieutenant. Colonel
would never hurt me or do something that could intentionally make things
worse, so there is nothing for you to be worried about."

Izumi frowned. "We'll see about that."

Mustang groaned. "Great, I was already in Izumi's bad book for dragging
Edward into the military. Now she dislikes me even more." He muttered
quietly.

"It's your own fault." Hughes whispered back. "You took advantage of an ill
twelve year old."

The Colonel twitched. "Don't say it like that. It makes it sound like I did
something sexual to him."

Hughes patted his friend's shoulder in a mocking manner. "If you did that, I'd
have to kill you."

"I hate today." Mustang growled.

"Oh, relax." Hughes sighed. "I know you would never touch a child like that.
You're not that bad of a person."
Mustang raised a brow. "Are you saying that I am bad person, just not that
bad?"

"Yes." Hughes replied with a smirk.

Mustang just shook his head, amused. Hughes was certainly a strange person.

48 stood up straight. "You're a perceptive one."

"I can tell from the sound. I spar against someone like you all the time."
Edward replied.

"So there are people like me on the outside too, are there?" 48 asked.

"Only one that I know of." Edward said, glancing at his brother, who was still
glaring at Mustang. Laughing, Ed knocked his automail fist against Al's arm.
"Let it go, Al. Three years ago, remember?"

"Alright." Al grumbled.

"That's surprising."

Ed smirked. "Yeah, it makes me sick to think there's more than one idiot
in the world who came up with the brilliant idea of bonding a
disembodied soul to a suit of armor."

48 was shown again. "Hmm, perhaps I should introduce myself once

again."

"And that means what?" Jackson asked with a frown.

"Perhaps this time he will give his real name." Armstrong said.

"Only one way to find out." Ed muttered.

"48 is the number I was assigned when I was on death row. Back when I
still had a living body, I was better known as Slicer."

"Slicer?" Hughes yelped. "You just had to meet Slicer!"

Ed blinked. "You know him?"

Mustang sighed, rubbing his eyes. "It was four years when they first
appeared."

"They? Who the hell is they?" Edward demanded.

"They are the Slicer brothers. They are serial killers. Hughes and I worked
together with our teams to catch them. They were quite elusive. It took us a
year to catch them. After spending a year in prison, they were to be executed,
that was two years ago." Mustang explained, frowning.

Al tensed up. "Brothers, Colonel? Does that mean the other brother could be
lurking around?" He asked worriedly.

"It is hard to say. We know nothing about who ran this lab or how they
picked their victims." Dr. Marcoh answered for the Colonel. "We don't even
know if they took all the prisoners on death row to be used for experiments."

"What we do know is that they are highly dangerous and skilled swordsman."
Armstrong said, frowning in worry for Edward. This was not going to be
pretty fight. "We can only hope that there is only one brother around. If you
have to fight both together, it is likely you won't survive."

Ed sighed. "Just my luck."

"I was a mass murderer, you see."

"So you were slated for execution. Tell me something then, this
laboratory, are they using condemned prisoners like you to make
Philosopher's Stones here?" Edward asked.

"That I can't tell you." 48 replied. "It isn't my area. They simply
recognized my skills, gave me this body, and made me the trusted guard
dog."

"If it has to do with skill," Mustang growled.

"Then where is the other brother? They were both highly skilled." Hughes
said.

"Can we stop talking about the second brother?" Ed shouted. "Right now, this
brother is the problem. It is likely the other one won't even show up!

Mustang raised a brow. "Worried, Fullmetal?"

Ed scowled.

"And here I thought you did so well in brawls."

"Even I don't try my luck against highly skilled opponents." Edward growled.
"I have no desire to die."

"Really?" Mustang asked sarcastically. "It's so hard to tell, considering your

actions. How about you try being less reckless then say that to me again, I
might believe you then."

Edward glared at his commanding officer. "If I wanted death, I would have
died a long time ago, but I don't so I will fight until there is no fight left in
me. If I am to die, I'll die fighting for my chance at life."

Brody smirked. "That was a good one. You are full of good sayings and
rants."

"There's that never give up attitude." Mustang said, smirking. "I'll hold you to
that promise then, Fullmetal. Don't ever show something like what happened
with Scar again."

"Right, right." Edward muttered.

"Interesting," Ed replied. "I'm sure they gave you a seal too, to serve as a
medium between soul and armor."

"Yes," 48 said as he pulled the cloth off of his helmet. "I have a blood
seal." He lifted the front of the helmet to reveal a bloodseal on the back
of it. "This is it right here."

"He actually shows it to his enemy?" General Armstrong said, quite

surprised. That was just giving an advantage to Edward.

"Despite being murders, the Slicer Brothers did have some honor." Havoc
said. "I guess he wants a fair fight in which Chief knows how to kill him as
Slicer can kill him as well."

"How nice." Edward said sarcastically.

"He's actually giving you a chance to survive in this fight. Be grateful." Izumi
snapped at him.

Ed scowled. "I'd be more grateful if he'd just let me go."

"Not happening." Hughes, Mustang, Havoc, and Brosh all chorused since
they all worked on this case together.

"If you destroy this, the fight's yours." Slicer said.

"That's awfully considerate of you to show me your weak spot." Edward

replied.

"I like to give myself a little extra challenge during a fight, now and
then." Slicer said.

Ed smirked. "As long as you're in such a giving mood, then how about
this? Why not just like me go?" He asked as Slicer closed his helmet and
put the cloth back over it.

"Keep dreaming, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Ed shrugged. "Had to try."

Slicer's glowing eyes were shown. "Nice try, kid." Ed's determined,
frowning face was shown. "But what kind of mass murderer lets his prey
get away so easily?" Slicer gripped his sword in both hands. "Now, let's
fight."

Ed raised his blade.

"Did you hear what I said?" Hughes's grinning face was shown as he
spoke into a phone.

"What the hell?!" Havoc shouted, annoyed. "The chief!"

"Yes, we know it is no longer his turn for screen time." Breda said, sighing.
"It would have been nice to know that Chief was safe before it changed
though."

"Where would the suspense be then?" Edward asked. "Would kind of ruin it
if you were shown the whole thing without interruptions."

"Fullmetal! Enough with the jokes, this is your life on the line." Mustang
growled.

Ed held his hands up.

The secretary was frowning as she had to listen to Hughes on the phone.
"My dear little Elysia's about to turn three."

Eastern Command Center was shown as Mustang's voice said,

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes! Do you think this could wait? I'm at
work." The Colonel was shown with piles of paper in front of him.

"And since when do you work?" Hughes asked.

"Since when do you?" Edward muttered. Honestly, didn't any of them work?

Izumi glared at Mustang. "Oh, yes, when? Because I don't think Edward can
be there all the time to sign your work for you."

Mustang scowled. One time he made the kid do that. All the other times he
worked with the others in the outer office.

"That's a lot of paperwork you have." Darius commented with a grimace. He

would hate to be stuck in an office all day signing that.

Ed twitched. "You have no idea how horrible that paperwork is."

"You do–" Darius went to retort, but paused. "Oh, wait, since you do Colonel
Mustang's you do know how bad it is."

"It was one time!" Mustang growled. "And it was only half of what is in front
of me on the screen."

Ed grimaced. Never again. He was going to make sure to escape the military
soon. There was no way he would be tied down with paperwork.

"Poor, poor, Brother." Al moaned.

"Don't I get any sympathy?" Mustang asked.

Al glared at him. "No, because you made my brother do your work for you."

Mustang twitched.

Hughes chuckled. "That's what you get. Even the compassionate and kind
Elric brother can get angry. Thank you for proving this for us, Roy."

Mustang knocked Hughes's hand off his shoulder with a frown. It was One
Freaking Time!

"Oh, what a coincidence. I'm at work too."

"Then how about you do some actual work?" Riza growled. "You are
distracting Colonel Mustang from his work which is putting us all behind."

Hughes just grinned at her.

"Hughes must be an idiot to not be affected by Lieutenant Riza's glare."

Edward muttered.

Al sighed. "Brother, be nice. And it doesn't bother you either."

"Well, yeah," Ed whispered. "But that's because it is never directed at me."

"Which still surprises me, considering your temper." Al said.

Hughes was shown, doing a little dance at his phone. "She's the cutest
little thing. You should see her!"

A picture of Elysia was shown in Hughes's hand as Mustang replied,

"I'm sure she's adorable, but stop calling me to gush over your daughter,
and on a military line too!"

"Not just my daughter, Colonel." Hughes said seriously as his hand

shifted so a picture of his wife came out from behind the picture of his
daughter. "I gush over my wife too!"

"You are absolutely insane." Edward grumbled.

"Just because I love my family?" Hughes asked amused. "I predict that one
day you will be doing the same thing."

Ed scoffed. "As if."

"Awww, don't you just dream of settling down some day with a beautiful
wife and cute children?" Hughes asked, grinning.

"No. I have no time for such dreams." Ed snapped.

"You never dream of the future?" Hughes asked surprised.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Where will dreams get me? Nowhere."

"You sure are negative about quite a few things." Havoc commented. "You
should be more positive."

Mustang was shown growling to himself.

The back of Hughes was shown. "I know, I know, it's your turn now. Go
ahead, Colonel. I know you're dying to gush over your very own–"
Hughes's mouth was shown. "scar-faced Ishvalan."

Al snickered. "Makes it sound like a love affair."

"Hughes," Mustang twitched while Scar glared at Al. "Could you, I don't
know, stop making things sound strange?"

"Where would the fun be in that?" Hughes retorted.

Mustang was shown again. "We found many bodies on the site where he
vanished," The river was shown with soldiers standing around with
many bodies covered. "but all of them are so decomposed that it's been
difficult to identify them." Havoc lifted one of the sheets. "He hasn't
been sighted anywhere in the east, so at the present, many people here
think it's most likely that he's dead." Mustang was shown at his desk
again.

"At least now we know that is false." Havoc said. "Which means we can stop
looking for his body in that rubble and just get it all cleaned up."

"If that's the case, I should be able to lift the body guard from the Elric
brothers soon." Hughes's voice said.

"That'd be wonderful." Edward said.

"He's not dead." Mustang retorted.

"And you can't even let your guards do their job properly." Hughes added
with a frown.

Ed shrugged. "We all know I don't do well with people looking over my
shoulder."

"Perhaps we really should use a prison cell." Maria muttered annoyed.

"Naw, I'll just find a way to escape." Edward said confidentially.

Havoc scoffed. "Even you're not that good, Chief."

"Oh, but I am." Edward replied with an evil smirk.

Al sighed, shaking his head. "Brother. Havoc, perhaps it would be best if you
just stop while you are ahead."
"Correction, Al. He should stop before he gets even farther behind." Edward
said.

"Cocky brat." Havoc scoffed.

"Is Major Armstrong still in charge of the boys' protective detail?"

Mustang asked.

Hughes was shown. "He was." Maria's shocked and angry face was
shown. "But a couple of his men have taken over now."

"It seems you guys have finally realized that they are missing." Breda said,
almost amused by the look on Maria's face.

Ed blinked. "Hey, who gave you permission to enter my room anyway?" He

demanded.

"Probably realized that it was too quiet in your room. If they have suspicions
that something is wrong, they are allowed to enter without permission."
Armstrong explained to the boy.

"Oh, doesn't matter. We're long gone by now." Edward replied.

"That's the problem." Maria growled. Why couldn't these boys sit still and let
her and Brosh do their job?

Brosh's crying face was shown. An empty bed was shown with a rope
tied to the bed post that went out the window.

"We've been played!" Maria said.

"Climbing out the window. Been a while since we had to do that one."
Edward said, grinning.

"Yeah, we haven't done that since training with Teacher." Al added.

Izumi's eyes narrowed. "You climbed out of windows when I was training
you? Who taught you such a thing?"
Ed and Al glanced at each other, then at Izumi. Both of the boys shook their
heads. Neither one of them were willing to admit that Sig had taught them a
few ways to sneak around behind Izumi's back. He first did it so they could
sneak food at nighttime, but then it developed a bit more from that.

"Oh, I will find out, boys, whether you tell me willingly or not." Izumi
growled.

The brothers shivered in fear and looked away from her.

"Hmm, maybe that's why I can't get those two to tell me anything when they
were younger, despite the threats." Mustang mused. "I am not scary enough it
seems."

Maria leaned on the window seal. "I thought it was suspiciously quiet in
here!"

Brosh grabbed his head. "Ah, Major Armstrong's going to take his shirt
off again and yell at us some more, isn't he?"

"I am more inclined to yell at the Elric brothers." Armstrong said, shooting a
disappointed and a bit of an angry look at the boys.

"We haven't done anything yet!" Ed protested.

"Yet?" Luke asked, smirking.

Ed blinked before clawing at his hair. "I don't mean that we're going to do it
the moment we're out of this room. I just meant that we haven't done
anything wrong yet. It doesn't mean we're going to sneak into the fifth lab
this time around."

"Of course you aren't." Mustang growled. "Because I will post every damn
soldier that is available under my command to watch you two as it seems that
just a few aren't going to work."

Al groaned. "That makes it sound like we are the criminals that are being
watched over."
"It would be a challenge to escape from that many." Ed muttered.

"You're not meant to escape." Brody snapped, rubbing his eyes. "Damn,
when you say it like that, it really does sound like you two are the criminals
here."

"Well, putting that many guards around us would make it feel like we were
prisoners." Edward retorted. "Can we just forget the guards?"

"No!" Mustang, Hughes, Riza, and Armstrong growled.

Ed held his hands up. "Alright. Keeping us alive is top priority."

"At least you are finally learning. So stop complaining about it." Hughes
growled.

Maria grabbed the rope, angry twitches all over her face. "Those brats
are going to pay. Did you even think about how this makes us look?"

"That probably wasn't on our list of important things at the time." Al

commented. "When we learn some new information, we tend to get
completely focused on that only."

Maria glared at him, causing him to yelp and duck his head. He hadn't meant
anything by it.

"Let's go, Sergeant." Maria said, tossing the rope down and turning to
leave the room.

"Huh? Where?" Brosh asked.

"Where else do you think, Brosh?" Maria snapped over her shoulder.
The fifth lab was shown. "To the Fifth Laboratory."

48 was shown charging at Ed again. Edward was doing the same thing.
They met in the middle with their blades clashing. 48 pushed Ed to the
side. The boy ducked down and slid to the other side in a crouch. Slicer
raised his sword and brought it down on Ed, who blocked it again with
his blade. Next, Slicer swung from the side, which was blocked again.
"At least we know you can block." Mustang said. "But what about actually
attacking?"

Ed growled. "Well sorry that there is no opening."

Some metal parts inside of Ed's arm were shown to shift.

"And there goes your arm." Dr. Young sighed. "It seems that missing bolt
was important."

"It might hold up for a bit longer, but not by much." Kei added with a frown.
"It depends on how much force and strain you put on the arm. Considering
you are fighting a skilled swordsman and need your arm for defense, I say
your arm is gone soon."

"Great, just freaking great." Edward grumbled.

A look of horror passed over Ed's face.

"You actually felt the shift?" Alexandre asked surprised.

Ed nodded. "It's a part of my body and when something goes wrong with it, I
feel it. It was probably a noticeably feeling of it falling out of place."

"It's always worrisome when you feel something go wrong in the middle of a
life or death situation." Charlie said.

Sighing, Ed rubbed his automail shoulder. "I'll probably try to finish the fight
quickly now."

"Don't try to finish it too quickly, or you are likely to make mistakes." Izumi
said.

"So the fight got even more dangerous for our side." Kain said worriedly.

"…."

"Damn, this just isn't your day, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

"It never is." Ed muttered to himself dejected.

'What happened? My shoulder doesn't feel right.' Edward thought

worriedly.

Slicer charged at Ed. "Oh?"

Edward snapped back into the fight with a gasp and a look of horror.

"You let yourself get distracted?" Izumi growled.

"My shoulder gave out!" Ed defended. "I'm sure I was only distracted by it
for a second or two."

"Which you cannot afford in a fight!" Izumi snapped.

Edward dropped down to his knees to avoid the sword that was aiming
for his head. He did a one handed back flip when Slicer brought the
sword down once more. As he landed on his feet, he stumbled back as
Slicer came running at him again.

A flashback of Winry was shown. "I increased the percentage of chrome

so it's less prone to rusting, but it's not as strong so don't try anything
crazy."

"You actually heard her say that? I thought you ran off without listening."
Riza said.

"I can hear and run at the same time." Edward replied.

"Too bad that isn't what the problem is." Dr. Young said.

"To be fair, I didn't think she would mess up the maintenance. She's never
done this before." Edward grumbled.

Kei shrugged, smirking. "Every mechanic has to mess up at some point. It's a
learning point."

"Couldn't she mess up on someone who doesn't get into life and death
situations?" Edward mumbled.

"I'm more surprised she thought you would actually try to stay out of crazy
situations." Havoc said.

Ed frowned. "It's not like I go looking for it…" Many skeptical looks were
shot his way. "All the time." He added.

Edward's worried face was shown. 'I have to find a way to end this
quickly.' He came to a stop before charging forward at Slicer. "Or else
I'm dead."

His blade came flying directly at Slicer, but it was pushed to the side by
his opponent's sword. He pulled back slightly to miss getting hit with the
sword. Slicer spun in a circle once before swinging his sword at Ed's
head. The boy ducked under it again and lunged forward with his blade,
but missed and was forced to jump back as Slicer brought his sword
down again. Ed took another chance and lunged at him and had his
blade back before he flipped in the air and landed in a crouch. He
pushed off the ground and charged at Slicer, who blocked his blade
again, causing sparks to fly through the air.

Slicer suddenly kicked Edward in the stomach, sending the boy flying to
ground on his back. He moved closer to Ed and brought his sword down,
but Edward flipped backwards away in time so the sword was stuck in
the ground instead of his flesh.

"You're actually doing quite well." Charlie commented.

Ed stared at him. "What? Did you doubt me?"

"Yes." Quite a few soldiers answered.

"So little faith. Did you think I survived on my missions solely on alchemy
and Al?" Edward grumbled offended.

"You can't blame us for thinking that. You are so reckless and end up in a
hospital a lot." Richard defended.
"But my missions were always completed successfully before I got sent to a
hospital. Surely that has to mean something to you guys." Edward retorted.

"Yes, you secretly love hospitals, despite what you say about despising
them." Havoc replied smartly.

Ed glared at him.

Edward landed on his back, rolled backwards, and climbed to his feet as
Slicer got his sword out of the ground and came at him with it again. As
Slicer swung his sword at him again, Edward flipped backwards again.
He landed on his hand and flipped himself again to land on his feet and
to get away from Slicer.

But, this time, when he landed, blood sprouted from his flesh shoulder.

"Shit," Edward growled, grabbing his shoulder. "When the hell did he
actually get my shoulder?"

"Ah, Brother, are you okay?" Al asked worriedly, already in fretting mode.

Ed managed a grin, though it was filled with pain. "Yeah, this is nothing
compared to losing my limbs. This is just a little scratch compared to that."

"I was wondering when the first injury would appear." Izumi said with a
frown.

"What?" Ed asked. "You were expecting me to get hurt?"

"Expecting, but hoping you didn't." Izumi replied with a troubled sigh. "It
was expected if this guy is as skilled as your comrades say he is."

"Well, at least you now have an identical cut on each side of your jacket."
Havoc said.

Ed twitched. "That doesn't make me feel better. He ruined my clothes!"

Havoc face palmed. "I forgot you have this weird thing about your clothes
getting ruined."
Edward continued walking backwards while Slicer continued coming at
him when his back suddenly hit one of the pillars.

"Great, you went and got yourself trapped." Izumi growled. "What have I told
you about keeping aware of your surroundings?"

"Not much I can do if he's leading me there." Edward muttered. "Not unless I
wish to become skewered."

Ed looked at the wall out of the corner of his eye before he was forced to
duck the sword coming at his head again. The slash of the sword caused
a deep gash to appear in the pillar.

"A sword should not be able to do that." Kain said worriedly.

"Damn, good thing I duck." Edward muttered, rubbing his left shoulder as it
helped lessen the pain. "Otherwise my head would have been completely
severed off by now."

Al groaned. "Brother, don't say that so calmly."

"It's a simple fact. Besides, I'm not going to be stupid enough to let that
happen." Edward replied. "I'm going to survive this."

Edward took this opportunity to flip in the opposite direction and roll
across the ground while Slicer repositioned his sword and turned to
follow him. Slicer's sword sliced down right next to Ed's head, causing
the boy to gasp and look at it.

"Too close." Al said, breathing heavily. This was all too close. Too many
close calls.

Edward knocked against his brother's arm. "Relax, Al. I'll be fine. You know
me. A stubborn idiot."

Al nodded, though wasn't much reassured after seeing the fight with Scar a
second time. That fight was weighing heavily on his mind as he watched this
fight. He hoped his brother wouldn't give up again.
Ed turned around and brought his blade up to block the sword from
getting any closer. Slicer drew his sword across Ed's blade before
bringing it in a motion to stab it down at Ed. To dodge the stab, Edward
half-flipped to the side. He stumbled a bit and fell on his butt as blood
began to pour down his face.

"Argh," Ed groaned, grabbing his head. "Who the hell adds a pain factor to
this?"

"And there is injury number two." Brody said.

Ed glared at him out of squinted eyes. "How about you shut up and not count
the number of injuries I get from this fight?"

"Well, somebody is in a bad mood." Brody quipped.

"You would be too if you had to deal with this damn pain factor!" Ed shouted
before turning to his brother. "Hey, Al, punch me."

Al stared at his brother. He was sure if he had a body, it would be a blank

stare. Who just suddenly asks someone to punch them? "Brother, you're in
enough pain. I'm not going to punch you."

"But, Al, I need adrenaline in my system to make the pain seem less bad."
Edward pleaded.

"I'm not punching you." Al replied determinedly.

Ed groaned. "How can you be so cruel to your brother?"

"Shouldn't it be the other way around? If he punches you, then he is cruel."

Avery said, quite amused.

"Not when I'm in pain!" Edward retorted, then turning to the soldiers. "Fine, I
don't care who it is. Someone just punch me!"

Mustang blinked. "I don't know how to reply to that." He turned to his friend.
"Hughes?"
"Why are you looking at me? I never had anyone ask me to punch him
before." Hughes replied, quite confused and worried.

"I'll punch him." Buccaneer offered.

"That'd be nice." Ed said, suppressing another groan of pain.

"Who actually volunteers when someone asks for something so

unreasonable?" Breda asked shocked.

Havoc pointed at Buccaneer. "Obviously him. Remember he punched Ed

earlier for having such a cute automail mechanic. Do you think he is still sore
over that?"

"Actually, I think he got over it after one hit." Breda said before a scream
echoed around the room.

All eyes went to Edward who was now unconscious with Al fretting over his
brother's still form. "Why the hell did you knock him out?" He demanded, not
realizing that he swore in his worry.

Buccaneer shrugged. "I was only doing as he requested."

"He didn't ask to be unconscious!" Al retorted, hands roaming over his

brother's head where Buccaneer hit him.

"Don't worry, Al. It's Ed. He'll wake up in a moment." Mustang said,
frowning a bit. He couldn't believe Edward, the brat with a head practically
made of steel, was knocked out from that. "Though, perhaps, we should get
some ice for his head."

Sighing, Riza stood up. "I'll get it." She said before disappearing into the
kitchen.

A groan was heard and golden eyes cracked open.

"Brother! Are you okay?" Al asked quickly.

Ed grinned. "Well, I no longer feel the pain factor, just the annoying bump on
my head."

Al sighed. "Idiot Brother. Lieutenant Riza just left to get you ice for your
head. Could you not ask to get punched again?"

A light chuckle came from Edward. "Sorry, Al. It was just a punch. I got a lot
worse from Teacher when I was nine."

"I guess." Al mumbled.

"Here you go, Edward."

A hand bearing ice wrapped in a towel was in front of Ed's eyes. He glanced
up to meet Riza's eyes and smiled. "Thank you." He said as took the ice towel
and held it to his head before shooting a glare at Buccaneer. "Really? You
had to use your automail hand? I don't want a concussion!"

Buccaneer shrugged, smirking. "You survived it last time."

Ed grumbled to himself.

"Maybe this will teach you not to ask people to punch you." Mustang scolded
before giving a long suffering sigh. "I never thought I would have to say
something like that of all things. Are you sure you're sane in the head,
Fullmetal?"

"I am completely sane!" Ed shouted. "I just despise this pain factor."

"Well, maybe if you didn't get injured so much." Hughes mumbled to

himself.

Breathing heavily, Edward stayed sitting on the ground while Slicer

released his sword which was stuck in the ground. "What a cute little
monkey." He said.

"Little?" Edward shouted.

"Brother, he called you a monkey too." Al said.

Ed twitched. "Damn bastard. Who does he think he is calling me little and a
monkey?!"

"To be fair, you are like a monkey." Charlie said cheekily. "Have you not
been watching this fight at all? You are jumping all over the place."

"We've been trying to tell him that for years, but he always denies it." Havoc
said, grinning. "Well, now he can't anymore since he just watched the proof."

Ed developed an angry look and sat cross legged on the ground. "Who
you calling little?"

"Forget that, and get off the damn floor." Izumi growled. "You don't just sit
around in the middle of a fight."

"Did you not hear my heavy breathing earlier?" Edward asked, frowning.
"My body is exhausted."

"And you are fighting someone who never gets tired. Seems unfair." Kain
said.

"Just another problem that he has with this fight. Most of it is against him."
Falman stated, frowning.

Slicer laughed. "It's been too long since I've had prey that was worth
hunting." He pulled his sword from the ground.

"I hate being called prey." Ed mumbled.

"That isn't what is important either." Hughes growled in worry. "Can you
please get your priorities straight and realize he is coming for you?"

Ed sighed. "I know, I know. It just feels strange to have another human call
me prey."

"And we are never going to get anywhere if we have to keep pausing every
few seconds." General Armstrong growled.

"Right, sorry." Ed mumbled.

He turned to the heavily breathing Edward. "With you tired and
wounded now, you won't last much longer. Right about now, my
companion should be finishing off the partner you left outside."

Ed got his breathing under control and asked, "Is this companion of
yours strong?"

"Yes, he is." Slicer said, glowing eyes narrowing. "He isn't as strong as I
am though."

Edward's eyes widened and he smirked before laughing.

"Have you gone completely insane?" Havoc asked. "Who the hell laughs in
this situation?"

"Mental Institution." Mustang muttered to himself.

Ed clapped his knee and stood up. "In that case, I don't need to worry."
He smirked. "You see, we've been sparring partners a long time and I've
still never beaten him."

"So that is one concern lifted from my shoulders." Edward said with a sigh of
relief.

"So our only concern is Fullmetal now." Rufus said, grinning. "How good is
your luck?"

"Let's not rely on luck." Mustang snapped suddenly. "Not when it is

Fullmetal."

"Oi!" Ed protested. "My luck isn't that bad. I have pretty good luck
sometimes."

Havoc and Breda gave him looks of disbelief. "Good luck?" The latter
scoffed. "Who was the one that was buried alive in a glass coffin?"

Ed twitched at the reminder of that incident. He shuddered when he

remembered how close he was to dying that one time. "That was…." He
scowled when he had nothing about luck there. "Okay, that was bad, but it
wasn't a glass coffin. It was a plexiglass coffin."

"My mistake, but my point still stands." Breda replied.

"Did you have to use that one as an example?" Al groaned. That had been a
very scary experience for all of Mustang's team and him. If they had just been
about a minute later, his brother would have died.

"Buried alive?" Rufus asked confused.

Izumi frowned. "You work in the east and you don't know either?"

"It was actually kept a secret." Riza explained. "We weren't sure of who we
could trust and who was actually involved in burying Edward alive because
the man who did it knew everything we were doing. He was eavesdropping
on us as we searched for Edward."

"How did you find him?" Sig asked.

"The bastard gave me a walkie talkie and mailed one to Colonel as a way of
teasing us." Edward replied with a scowl. "We used it to our advantage."

"It was lucky he gave us walkie talkies." Kain said. "We were able to trace
them after we fixed them up a bit."

"Fixed them up how? Chief was trapped underground." Brody asked

confused.

Ed scoffed. "Just like that jerk, you are underestimating me. I am an

alchemist."

"An alchemist whose automail arm was strapped down with metal plates that
were bolted into the plexiglass." Mustang pointed out.

"That is true." Edward said, but had a small grin as he turned back to Brody.
"Winry convinced me to get my ears pierced when I was thirteen so I used
one of the earrings to carve a transmutation circle into the plexiglass."

"You had pierced ears?" Hughes asked with a laugh. "I can see it. You are
already a punk. What happened to them?"

Ed jerked his head at Mustang. "He didn't like them and made me get rid of
them, even though the earrings saved my life."

"How often will you actually be in a predicament like that?" Mustang

scoffed.

"According to you guys I have bad luck." Ed retorted.

Al sighed. "Brother, what do you care? You didn't even like having pierced
ears that much."

"That's not the point, Al." Ed said.

Al stared at his brother. "And the point is?"

"Having an argument for the sake of having an argument." Edward replied

with a grin.

Avery shook his head. "Let's just say you have a mix of good and bad luck."

"I can believe that." Ed muttered.

Al's fist was shown slamming into 66's face. 66 went flying back with a
scream. He landed on the ground and had to climb to his feet. "Damn it.
Why can't you sit still for a second and let me cut you up, you big bucket
of bolts?" He yelled as he ran at Al with his cleavers raised.

Al dodged to the side when 66 sliced down his meat cleaver and slammed
his hand into 66's helmet, which sent the helmet flying. The helmet was
shown as 66 screamed, then Al appeared on the screen. The helmet
landed on the ground and bounced back a few times.

66 stood up straight and turned around to face Al to show his empty

armor.

"You're empty!" Al said shocked.

As he was laughing, 66 picked up his helmet. "There's a bit of a story
behind that." Al was shown in his stance. "Would you like to hear? It's a
pretty good story. You probably already know it though. It all starts
with a man by the name of Barry."

A childish drawing of a butcher shop was shown with a man holding

meat in one hand and a meat cleaver in the other.

"Barry? As in Barry the Chopper?" Armstrong asked with a frown.

"Who's that?" Al asked curiously.

"A serial killer that was roaming around Central about six months before
Edward became a State Alchemist. We'll probably hear his story now since
he enjoyed his serial killing so much, he's going to brag about it to you."
Hughes explained with a frown and crossed arms.

"Once upon a time, right here in Central, there was a butcher named
Barry who loved his work. His favorite part was cutting up the meat into
little tiny pieces." The background turned red. "But one day, Barry
found that cutting up beef and pork wasn't enough anymore." A picture
of a man with a mad grin was shown with a childish drawing of a city
behind him. "So he took to the streets." The background turned red
again, except this time it had chopped up bodies added to it. "And began
chopping up people instead, night after night." The man was shown
falling through a trap door with a rope around his neck. "In time, of
course, Barry was caught, but not before 23 victims had fallen prey to
him and his knife." The screen pulled out to show 23 crosses in the
ground. "Naturally, after terrorizing Central after so long, Barry was
sent to the gallows for his wicked deeds. And the world was happily rid
of yet another evil man."

The scene went back to Al and 66.

"What kind of psychos binds serial killers' souls to suits of armors and lets
them guard a place?" Edward asked with a frown. "That's so dangerous."

"I believe it is safe to say that someone in the military really doesn't care
about safety and is just looking for more power." Mustang said.

"At least, that's what everyone out there believes." 66 said. "But our
story isn't over yet. We haven't even reached the good part. Barry isn't
actually dead you see."

"Isn't that obvious since he told the story of Barry and he wields a meat
cleaver like Barry the Chopper?" Falman asked.

"Well, it would just be so anti-climatic if he just said that." Luke joked.

"Is this really a joking matter?" Miles asked.

Ed and Al shared a look. "Yes!" They said together.

Sighing, Ed grinned and leaned back on his hands. "Honestly, this Barry guy
sounds more amusing with his storytelling and he's not all that strong from
what we've seen so there is nothing to worry about here."

"Well that's good. It gives us more time to put all our worry towards you,
Brother." Al said nervously.

"Oh, yeah, I'm in a fight." Ed said, blinking. A sharp gasp of pain escaped is
lips and he grabbed his flesh shoulder. Damn, the pain was still there, but it
had died down a bit for some reason. Because he was distracted by Al, he had
forgotten about it. "Why'd you have to remind me?"

Al chuckled. "Sorry Brother."

"He's very much alive, and charged with guarding a certain place. Only
without his body." 66 said before he was suddenly much livelier. "Yes,
that's right! He's standing in front of your very eyes! I am the infamous
serial killer, Barry the Chopper!" He slammed his helmet back on and
his eyes glowed bright red. He crossed his meat cleavers over his head.

"Sorry, I never heard of you." Al said in his sweet, kind voice.

Ed chuckled. "You don't have to say sorry for that, Al."

"But man, you just completely ruined the scene, Al." Havoc said, laughing.

66 stood still in shock.

"I'm from a little town in the east, so…" Al said.

66 woke up from his shock and screamed, "Fine! But even if you don't
know who I am, shouldn't you at least be a little scared?! Shouldn't you
be going 'AHHH!' or," He pointed at Al. "'What happened to your
body?!' Or something?"

Al fell out of his stance and lifted his helmet off.

Barry screamed and pointed at Al. "What happened to your body,

freak?"

"Hey, now that's impolite." Al said.

Despite the serious situation, there was much laughter in the room.

"Okay, I admit. You boys were right. Barry is quite amusing, despite who he
is." Havoc said, grinning.

"Al, are you being sincere or are you teasing Barry?" Mustang asked amused,
lips twitching upwards, though he tried to stay neutral.

Al chuckled. "Probably a bit of both."

"Suffice to say, Al is not as innocent as we all thought." Falman said amused.

"He is just so good at hiding it." Kain added, smiling.

Ed chuckled a bit. It seems not everything being revealed would be too bad.
As long as people realized that Al was not as innocent as he seems. Maybe
then they'll stop telling him to act more mature like Al.

"Oh, I see. You were on death row too. You had me startled there." 66
said.
Al twitched angrily. "No way! I'm not a criminal!"

"Huh? Then what happened to you?" Barry asked.

Al put his helmet back on. "It's kind of a long story. When I lost my
body, my brother transmuted my soul and bounded it to this armor."

"Your brother?" Barry asked before he started laughing.

"And what is so funny about that?" Ed grumbled.

"I hope you guys remember these are serial killers you are playing with."
Mustang said with a frown.

Ed blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Serial killers are quite manipulative and tricky. You have to be careful when
dealing with them." Mustang explained.

"Of course. Your brother!"

"What's so funny about it?" Al demanded defensively.

"Are you sure you and your brother are really related?" Barry asked.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Ed demanded.

"This is what I was just talking about. You have to be careful with serial
killers." Mustang said with a sigh. "Don't listen to him, Al. It's probably just a
mind game."

Al hummed in response.

Al deflated. "Well, I guess we don't look that much alike anymore."

"No, no, no. That's not what I mean." Barry said. "Are you sure that
you're not a puppet created and controlled by your so-called brother?"

"Puppet? Created? So-called?" Ed grumbled under his breathe. Oh, this was
no longer funny. The moment things started to get manipulative, the humor
left the entire situation. Barry had no right to say any of this. He didn't know
anything about the situation so he shouldn't be talking about it. What went on
with the brothers was their own business.

Al stared at the screen with horror residing inside of him. A puppet created
by his brother? No, that couldn't be right. Edward wouldn't do that. He was
Alphonse Elric, a very real boy, not some little toy for his brother to screw
with and lie to.

"Is something like that even possible?" Darius asked confused. "I thought
people couldn't be created."

"I suppose there is a chance that Edward could have pulled back the wrong
soul and the owner of the soul could have accepted what Ed said as him being
Alphonse since there is a chance the shock would have given him amnesia."
Izumi said thoughtfully.

Heinkel frowned. "So there's a chance Alphonse isn't really Alphonse?"

"Alchemy is confusing." Kain groaned, rubbing at his forehead.

'Wrong soul?' Al thought in horror. Could that really have happened? Could
his brother really just be playing him for a fool and not actually care about
getting his body back? But, wait, if he was just a puppet created by Ed then
didn't that mean there was no body out there for him to get back! No, no, he
couldn't think like this. Ed wouldn't do something so cruel, right? He knew
his brother. That wasn't in his nature. But then again, if it was all a lie, then
wouldn't that mean he really knew nothing at all about his so-called brother?

"Alphonse is Alphonse." Ed snapped at them. How could they just discuss

that as if it meant nothing? This stupid serial killer was trying to hurt his little
brother with words and they were just casual discussing it!

'But am I? Is he still lying to keep his secret going?' Al thought hopelessly.

He wanted to desperately not to listen to Barry, but there was still a nagging
feeling in the back of his mind that it was true.
Al grasped.

"Were you ever a real person to begin with?" Barry asked.

"How can you ask something like that?" Al asked angrily. "I was a real
boy and my name was Alphonse Elric!"

Ed nodded to himself. 'Good. Don't listen to this freak, Al.´

Barry laughed again. "How can you be so sure of that?"

"I have memories. I remember who I was before." Al replied.

"And who's to say those memories aren't made up?" Barry asked.

Al gasped.

Ed's eyes narrowed. Made up memories for a puppet? He would never do

something like that. That was just cruel to make someone believe they are a
real person. And why was Al gasping? None of it was true. He couldn't really
be falling for this trap, could he? If Al was believing Barry, then did that
mean that his precious little brother didn't trust him at all?

The younger brother, on the other hand, was refusing to even take his eye off
the screen. He knew if he did, he would look at his brother, and he had no
idea of what would happen when he did that. He just couldn't do that, not
now. His mind was a complete mess. Al wanted to desperately believe his
brother with no questions asked, but Barry was making some fair points. And
with Ed being so skilled in alchemy, he was sure the boy could actually do as
Barry said. So did he? Was this all just a big fat lie?

"This is getting a bit suffocating." Darius commented, tugging at the collar of

his shirt.

"They haven't even said a word to each other, and yet the tension between
them is already filling up the room." Breda said, frowning as he looked
between the brothers. They were sitting a bit farther apart then usual and were
looking away from each other. Though, on Ed's part, he looked more worried
then anything else.
"You have to feel sorry for the kid." Jerso commented to his buddies.

"What do you mean?" Heinkel asked.

Jerso shrugged. "Wouldn't you hate it if everything you knew was suddenly a
lie? That you suddenly weren't a real person?"

"We don't know if that is true or not." Darius argued.

"No," Jerso agreed. "But just think, you don't have a body and are trying to
get it back, but suddenly someone is throwing speculations at you about you
just being a puppet and they sound plausible enough to believe. How would
you feel?"

Zampano shook his head, frowning. "I don't even want to think up such a
situation. I may not like the body I have now, but at least I have one. I could
never imagine a life without one. It must be difficult."

"Yeah." His buddies agreed.

"But Winry…and Granny. They know me." Al replied weakly.

'Good, good, Al. Remember that they are people who know you from before
all this happened. There are holes everywhere in what Barry is saying.'
Edward thought with a faint hope rising in his chest that his brother would
find those holes. He knew it was hard to find the mistakes in something when
you are feeling hurt and confused like Al was now, but he really hoped that
Al could see them.

"That's easy. They're in on it too." Barry said.

Al gasped.

Ed's eyes narrowed. Every single hole that Al found, Barry countered with a
simple statement and Al was just accepting what Barry said as true. It was
like he wasn't even trying to argue against it. Why? Why was Al listening to
Barry so easily? He was his brother, not Barry. Al should believe him over
some serial killer!
Al's hands curled into fists. How could Edward do something like create a
fake brother and get everyone in on it? He didn't seem like the type of person
to do something so harsh as to create a false human and then lie to them
about it. Then again, if it was all a lie, then what did he truly know about
Edward?

"Silly boy, you were never alive to begin with. It's as simple as that."
Barry said.

A black boot appeared on the screen.

"Then how do you know you were really alive?" Al retorted as a soldier
was shown inching along the side of the building.

Hughes groaned. "This is not going to end well for this poor guy."

"Next time we just knock the soldier out." Ed mumbled. "At least he won't
get killed that way."

"I was, trust me."

The soldier rounded the corner and pointed his gun at the two. "This
area is off-limits. Don't move."

Without even looking at him, Barry threw his meat cleaver and struck
the guy in the face.

Al gasped.

Havoc grimaced. "That would be a painful way to die."

"I'm sure there are more painful ways out there. You could be slowly burned
to death." Edward suggested but without his usual flame as his thoughts were
still on his brother.

"There, did you see that? There's nothing I love more than chopping up
live people." Barry pulled his bloody meat cleaver out of the soldier's
head. "I can't control myself. I kill; therefore, I am! As long as I know
that, it's all I need to prove to myself that I've always been me." Barry
laughed like a madman.

Slicer appeared on the screen. "Your brother is that good, is he? Then
I'll have to hurry up and defeat you so I can get around to taking care of
him."

Ed, still breathing heavily, appeared on the screen with blood cascading
down the right part of his face.

"You don't look too good." Hughes said worriedly.

Ed, who now had his legs pulled to his chest and his automail hand gripping
his shoulder, shot his friend a glare. "Probably from the blood loss and we
don't really know how long I have been fighting." He muttered while his cold
hand crawled under his shirt and rubbed his shoulder to try to lessen the pain.

Ed's golden eyes narrowed very slightly and moved towards the door of
the room. Noticing the movement, Slicer tensed slightly while Ed looked
fully towards the door. "Go Al! Do it now!"

"Al? He's outside." Kain said confused.

Izumi smirked. "It's a distraction. Slicer thinks Ed is too exhausted to do

anything and will get distracted."

"Playing dirty now, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked with a smirk.

Ed scoffed. "As if. There is no such thing as dirty in a fight. You do whatever
it takes to win."

Slicer looked towards the door. "What?"

In that moment, Ed moved. His pounding feet made Slicer turn back
towards him and swing his sword, but it was too late as Ed jumped and
severed his helmet from his body.

"That was dirty!" Slicer shouted.

"The only people who can still talk after getting their head severed." Luke
said, smirking, glad that this fight was finally over.

"There is no such thing as dirty in a fight." Ed retorted.

"Could you please not be repetitive?" Mustang asked.

Ed rolled his eyes before moving his cold automail arm to his forehead to rest
on his aching head.

The metal armor fell to the ground with a CLANG!

Slicer's helmet bounced across the ground and Ed landed in a crouch. He

stood up straight, clapped his hands, and transmuted his arm back to
normal.

"What's the matter?" Slicer asked as Ed stepped towards him. "You still
haven't destroyed the bloodseal I so kindly pointed out. You going to or
not?"

Ed picked the helmet up. "There's something I need to ask you about."

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Slicer asked.

"Yes. Tell me everything you know about it." Ed said.

"Sorry. I can't."

"Hey now, tell me, I did beat you at your own game." Ed said.

"That's where you're wrong." Slicer said.

"Wrong?" Falman mused. "Slicer can no longer move."

"Well something is obviously wrong." Brody said with a frown. "But then
again, when it is Chief, nothing is easy."

Ed growled. "My luck is not that sucky."

"I'm not beaten yet." As Slicer said this, his body was shown to be
standing behind a wide eyed Ed and the sword was poised to stab the
boy.

"Move!" Quite a few soldiers shouted, fearing for the boy's life.

"He shouldn't be able to move!" Edward growled, quite shocked at this turn
of events.

Miles, while worried for Ed, didn't show it like the others. Instead he asked,
"Ed, is it possible to bind more than one soul to a suit of armor?"

Ed shrugged. "I don't see why it couldn't be possible, but the bloodseals
certainly cannot be too close to each other. The souls would probably get
twisted together if that happened. Also in this case, the owner of the souls
would have to be close to each other, otherwise they would spend all their
time fighting for dominance of the body."

Hughes quickly composed himself. "Then it must be the brother. Those two
were extremely close, kind of like you and Al, though you two aren't
murderers."

"Don't compare us to killers." Ed said.

Ed looked over his shoulder at the armor. He managed to step to the side
so he wouldn't get killed, but the sword still sliced up his side, causing
blood to spurt through the air. Ed stumbled away from the armor as the
helmet flew from his hand.

Edward gasped and pulled his knees tighter into his chest. His flesh hand
flew down to his side to hold it tightly. "Why the hell do we even have to
have a pain factor? This is just so very cruel to us."

"It is strange." Izumi said with a frown. "If V.H. really is your father, I can't
understand the pain factor. He is your father, and despite what you say,
Edward, I'm sure your father would never want to hurt you, especially like
this."

"That's a good point." Mustang said, glancing at his hurting subordinate, then
at Al. "Why is there a pain factor then?"

To that, there was no answer.

Edward grabbed his side. "Impossible!" He cried as he looked at the suit

of armor.

He grimaced as Slicer's helmet was shown on the ground. "I forgot to

mention something about this mass murderer, Slicer."

The armor raised a hand. "His crimes were really done by a pair of
brothers."

"So cheap." Ed grumbled as he gripped his side tightly. "That fight was so
supposed to be mine."

"Fullmetal, that's not what is important right now." Mustang snapped.

Ed shrugged. "I know, but it was still supposed to be my win."

"An independent head and body? That's a dirty trick." Ed said.

"Weren't you the one who said there was no such thing as dirty in a fight?"
Brody asked.

Ed frowned. "True, but I have to restate that it seems, because souls bounded
to suits of armors was never counted into that."

"Now, now. Weren't you the one who said there's no such thing as dirty
in a fight?" Slicer said.

"And I am rephrasing that because souls bounded to armor need to be

counted in!" Ed cried.

"Are you ready? Round two is about to begin, short stuff." The second
brother said.

"Don't call me short!" Ed retorted as he moved his hands to clap.

"That's not really the important issue here, Chief." Breda said.

"It's important to me!" Ed retorted.

"I believe, at this point in time, your life should be more important,
considering a mass murderer is coming for you." Havoc said dryly.

The body of the armor charged at Ed. "I don't think so. I'm not giving
you time to transmute!" He swung his sword causing Ed to step back.

"Problematic." Avery commented.

"So how will this end now?" Havoc asked worriedly.

"Will you be alright?" Hughes asked.

Ed scratched his head. "Well, considering I can't get a weapon for myself and
I lost a lot blood, it will take a miracle."

Hughes growled softly. "Not the answer I want."

"Would you rather I lie and say that I have a plan to survive this?" Ed
retorted. "Because right now, I really don't have an idea of how to win."

Ed dodged another swing from the sword. 'Damn, I've lost too much
blood. I'm starting to feel dizzy.'

"Certainly not good." Fuery muttered to himself.

Slicer twisted his sword around to slam the handle of it into Ed's side.
The force of the blow sent the boy flying through the air before he
landed on the ground and bounced back a few times until his back
slammed into a pillar.

Edward coughed violently and grabbed his side once more. Damn, that stupid
murderer just had to hit him where his side was sliced earlier. That just made
the pain in his side intensify so much. Why? Oh why did he have to meet
such powerful people? He was going to end up dying at this rate.
"You okay, Edward?" Izumi asked.

Gasping for air, Edward sat back up straight and nodded. "Just fantastic." He
muttered, rubbing his side a bit.

"Maybe this will teach you not to go to places we have told you to stay away
from." Armstrong scolded a bit, but he was mostly worried for the boy so his
heart wasn't in it.

"Yeah, yeah." Ed muttered. "I got it."

'Not good. Not good.' Ed thought as he stared shakily at the armor that
was charging at him. 'Here he comes…I'm going to die…I'm going to die.'

"Don't think that!" Havoc and Hughes shouted out of worry.

"I'm more amused that he is actually scared." Mustang commented, only to

get hit by Hughes.

"Your subordinate might get killed right now, and that's what you say." The
Intelligence Agent growled.

Frowning, Ed looked at Hughes. "Don't take it so personally. That is just the

way he is." He muttered before curling up on himself a bit to hug his pain
filled limbs.

Scar appeared in Ed's mind from right before he tried to kill the boy.
The music in the background became more active.

"If you're thinking of Scar right before death, you must have been more
traumatized by that incident then we suspected." Mustang commented.

Ed groaned. "Seriously?" He turned to Hughes. "Forget what I said. He is

being a real jerk right now."

Mustang shrugged. "I think I know you pretty well, Fullmetal. And if there is
one thing I have learned about you in the past few years, it's that when it
looks like you are going to die, you always manage to surprise everyone and
pull yourself out of the danger."
"Aw," Ed said mockingly. "I didn't realize you trusted me that much. How
touching."

"Sarcastic shrimp." Mustang scoffed.

Edward shot out of his ball and glared at the man. "What was that, you
bastard? Don't call me small!"

Ed clapped his hands together.

"Die!" Slicer cried with his sword ready to stab the boy.

Ed pushed off the wall, dodging the sword and slammed his automail
hand into Slicer's chest to blow it up into pieces.

The soldiers looked from Ed to Scar.

"Did you just copy a serial killer?" Izumi asked.

"It seems so." Ed replied with a grin. "Well, at least I'm not dead!"

Mustang sighed. "And there it is. You always find a way to survive. At this
point, I don't think we should worry about you since you always find a way to
come out on top."

"You are hurting me so much." Edward snapped mockingly. "If you don't
stop soon, I just might die from the pain in my heart. How can you be so
cruel?"

Slicer's helmet was shown, showing shocked eyes, before Ed was seen,
sighing in relief, and collapsing onto his knees.

"You reminded me of someone I don't like." Ed said.

"At least that reminder saved you." Havoc said. "All I really care about is that
you are alive."

"And now I've done exactly what he did."

"How could you, you little brat?!" Slicer shouted and started shaking his
arms around while Ed jumped in shock and leaned his back against the
pillar.

"He's wiggling! That's freaky." Ed shouted.

"And that's what you're concerned about after all this?" Myers deadpanned.

"Well, now that the fight is over, yes, that's what I'm concerned about." Ed
said.

"Brother." The armor said, dropping his arms.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we've lost." The helmet said.

Ed poked the legs of the armor with his foot. "So you're not going to tell
me you're really three brothers, are you?"

"At least that is a valid concern." Brody said with a smirk.

"Concern this, concern that. How about we forget concerns?" Ed grumbled as

he rubbed his aching body parts.

The upper body of the armor waved his hand. "No, no." The brothers
echoed together.

"Come on, boy, you've won. Hurry up and destroy us." The helmet said.

Ed sat up straight. "No, I'm not a murderer."

"You're a soldier, boy. Soldiers kill." General Armstrong growled. "You

should get used to that fact."

"I will never kill." Edward retorted.

"Why do you hate killing so much? I know it is a difficult thing to do, but
you seem to have a very strong aversion to it." Brody said confused.

Ed shrugged, but didn't look at anyone. "Killing is just a way to bring more
pain into this world and pull family and friends apart. Our mom was ripped
away from us because of a sickness. Winry's parents were cruelly wrenched
away from her because of a war. They were just meant to be doctors, and yet
they were killed there. All that death just hurts the ones left behind. If I were
to kill someone, it would be destroying another family and it would be my
fault. I just can't do that."

"So instead of finding that as an incentive to join the military to protect your
loved ones, you developed a fear of killing." Mustang mused.

"I don't fear it!" Ed snapped. "I just don't want to do it."

"With bodies like these, are we really even people?" The helmet asked.

Ed frowned. "I consider you people whether you have physical bodies or
not. If I didn't, that would mean I didn't believe my own brother as a
person either."

'Right, that is my brother. If that is really what he thinks and he says it to

other people when I'm not around, doesn't that mean I really am his brother?'
Al thought with a bit of hope floating around. There was no reason for Ed to
lie to these two about whether he was real or not. Then again, what if he was
just being careful? The moment the truth was let out, didn't that mean it could
get out to everyone and eventually Al would hear it? Wasn't it just that the
truth could never be said?

He didn't know what to believe anymore. Edward has always been there for
him in the past few years so he knew he should believe him, but what Barry
said did make sense. Even he didn't fully understand how to bind a soul to a
suit of armor. It was so advanced and Ed did it when he was eleven! Is that
even possible? What if Ed grabbed the wrong soul or just created him?

Al's arm was shown blocking another attack from Barry.

"Come on, what's the matter, little puppet?" Barry asked as the music
continued in the background.

"I told you I'm not a puppet." Al said as he kept pushing the cleaver
back with his arm.

"You keep telling yourself that." Barry said before he swung his knife
down onto Al's arm. "But how can you know for sure? How can you be
certain you were really alive?"

Ed grimaced. How could Al listen to this guy? They were brothers. They
were supposed to believe and trust each other above everyone else. Nothing
could tear them apart. That was what Ed always wanted to believe, but there
was always this fear buried in his heart that Al truly hated him for what
happened, but never said it because he needed Ed to get his body back. There
was that fear inside of him that Al truly didn't care anymore. And now Al was
starting to distrust him because of a serial killer! It was hurting him so much.
Not only did his brother probably hate him, but now he was distrusting him.
This was the worst thing ever.

"There is one way you can prove that you're not just a puppet made
from scraps of armor. You've got a bloodseal too, right?" Barry asked as
Al's seal was shown.

Ed's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Destroy it. Go ahead and break it yourself. If you die, you were a real
boy all along just like you want to believe." Barry said.

Ed's hand curled into fists. He had never wanted to kill anyone, but this serial
killer made him want to kill him. He was filling his brother with poisonous
thoughts and making him distrust his own brother.

"No, there's no way I could ever do that!" Al said.

"Oh, no? Then I guess I'll have to do it for you, won't I?" Barry said and
charged at Al once more.

Ed was shown on the screen once more, gripping his bleeding side. "I
know my brother is a human being. That means you guys are human to.
I will not take the life of another person."
"Huh." Slicer's helmet said before he started laughing, surprising Ed.

"Brother?" The body asked confused.

"My brother and I have been lying, stealing, cheating, and killing
together for as long as we can remember. And now that we are in these
suito bodies, we are being treated like humans for the first time. Don't
you see the irony?" The helmet explained.

"They were never treated as humans before?" Ed asked confused. "Surely

they must have been at some point. They were kids once so surely their
parents…"

"Their parents were killed when they were toddlers and they were placed in a
foster home. When they were preteens they ran away from it and I believe
that is when their crimes started." Hughes said, trying to recall the
information from his investigation on them. "Apparently, they ran because
the foster home was abusive."

"So they chose to live on the streets." Ed grimaced. Was that really the only
choice that they could make in the matter?

"For that, boy, I'll give you a parting gift. I'll tell you everything."

"Of course you would get the answers you need here." Mustang scoffed.

As Slicer continued, a pair of feet was showing stepping into the room.
"I'll tell you who made the Philosopher's Stone and ordered us to guard
this place."

Spikes came flying through the air and stabbed 48 in the helmet. A
shocked look passed over Ed's face before a woman's lips were shown to
grow into an evil grin.

"And there goes your answers." Havoc groaned.

"Can you please get rid of your horrible luck?" Walkers complained.

Ed glared at them. "It's not my fault!"

"My, that was a close call."

"Ah, damn, her again?" Mustang groaned. "She just keeps appearing."

"And it figures that Ed would run into her." Hughes added with a tired sigh.
"Do you love meeting danger?"

Rubbing his eyes, Ed sighed. "It isn't my fault!"

The nails began to retract, pulling the helmet with them. "Number 48,
you should know better then to talk about things that don't concern
you."

Envy appeared from behind Lust.

"Oh, great, the shape shifter too? This is just not your day!" Breda groaned.

"I was so close to getting answers." Ed muttered annoyed.

"That's not important right now!" Hughes and Mustang shouted at him.

Riza nodded with a frown. "You are in a room with monsters now. Be more
concerned about that."

The young State Alchemist sighed. "I'm sure the me in the future is worried
and confused, but the me who knows they are not going to kill me is here.
Haven't we already heard that they need me for something?"

"Well, well, would you look at that? What's the Fullmetal pipsqueak
doing here?" Envy asked.

Ed stared at the two.

"Such a troublesome boy. How did you find out about this place?" Lust
asked. Her nails ripped the helmet in half.

"Brother! Brother!" The second brother called. "Brother!"

Ed grimaced when he heard the younger brother calling for his older brother.
Just hearing the younger desperately calling for the older reminded him of Al.
His brother would do the same thing when he was in danger. It even
reminded him of their human transmutation. His brother calling out to him
with his hand stretched out for Ed to save him….His eyes shut tightly. His
little brother held his hand out to him and he wasn't able to grab him and save
him. He missed his brother that one time. He would never do that again. Even
if Al hated and distrusted him, he would get his body back and prove that he
was a real person.

A sword was shown stabbing downward. It pierced through the armor

and the brother grasped. Envy was shown holding the sword. He picked
the sword up and began to stab the bloodseal repeatedly. "Quit your
pathetic blubbering, you idiot!" Ed was shown closer as he watched in
horror. "You were trying to kill one of our most important sacrifices."
The bloodseal was shown with multiple cuts in it. "Do you understand
me?"

"I know they won't kill you, but I really wish you weren't around them with
the state you are in." Riza said.

Ed frowned. "Right now, I'm just happy I wasn't killed by the brothers."

"You could've messed up the entire plan. What would we have done
then?" Envy asked. He was shown staring down at the armor with a
nasty look. "Huh?!"

Ed glared at him as Envy took the sword out of the armor and rested it
on his shoulder. He stepped over the armor's arm and approached Ed
with a smirk. The boy stared up at him with his glare. Lust moved closer
to stand at Envy's side as Edward used the wall behind him to pull
himself to his feet.

"Well, the only non-worrisome thing about this is that we know they won't
kill you." Hughes said.

"Yeah, why does there have to be a music background for these monster? It
just makes the scene all that more painful on my poor old heart." Luke
groaned pitifully.
Edward snorted. "Old? You look like you're in your thirties. That's not old.
It's only old when you have gray hairs like the Colonel."

Mustang's eyes narrowed at the boy. "Gray hair? I don't have gray hair!"

Smirking, Hughes decided to play along and pulled a hair from Mustang's
head. "That is definitely gray hair, Roy."

Growling, the Colonel smacked Hughes's hand away. "I'm twenty-nine. There
is no way I have gray hair!"

"Actually, sir, you have grey hair." Riza interrupted with a sigh. "You've had
them few a while now."

Mustang blinked once before turning to glare at Ed. "You!"

Ed pointed at himself. "Me?"

"This is all your fault. Everything was perfectly fine until you and your
reckless antics appeared!"

Ed blinked. "I'm causing the Colonel's gray hair?" A grin threatened to split
his face in two. "Awesome!"

Chuckling, Havoc shook his head. "Better be careful there, Chief. He might
smother you in your sleep tonight for this."

Ed yelped and turned to Riza. "Lieutenant Riza will protect me from the big
bad Colonel, right?"

Smirking, Riza nodded. "Of course. After all, you are without alchemy right
now. You are just a defenseless child right now."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended or not." Ed replied, scratching his head.
On one hand, she agreed to protect him, but on the other, she practically
called him weak. Well, to be fair, if he was caught off guard, he could
probably be pinned, especially if his opponent was a trained person, like a
soldier. If they kept up with their training and were strong, yeah, he could
probably be pinned. He wasn't a powerful, invincible soldier. But that didn't
mean he relied solely on alchemy and was weak without it!

"Tell me who you people are. What plan are you talking about? What do
you mean when you say important sacrifice?" Edward demanded.

"You are dizzy from blood lost and weak at this point, and you are
demanding answers?" Avery scoffed.

"I never know when to quit." Ed said.

"Don't we know it!" Breda retorted.

Envy got into Ed's face. "Oh, my, the pipsqueak is raring to go. I think I
made it angry."

"Don't call me pipsqueak again." Ed said as he continued to breathe

heavily.

"Then what would you prefer, eh, pipsqueak?" Envy asked.

Ed kicked his leg upwards at Envy, but he leaned backwards to dodge it

and stepped backwards.

"Damn, I missed." Ed growled.

"It is rather upsetting. Someone really needs to hit those monsters." Havoc
said.

"Woah, now. There's no need to fight here. Someone might get hurt, you
know." Envy said.

"When have they ever cared about that?" Miles scoffed.

"Besides, Fullmetal is already pretty injured." Karley added.

Ed shifted on the ground. The pain running through his body was pretty
uncomfortable, but he's had way worse so he could survive this at least.

Ed clapped his hands.

"You're really going to try to fight in that condition?" Clarink asked with a
frown.

"It's better than just lying still and letting them kill me! If I am to die, I'll die
fighting!" Ed declared.

"They're not going to kill you." Izumi said.

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but, once again, the me in the future doesn't know that."

"This is a fight that you started." Ed said. "So come on!"

Ed's automail arm fell limply to his side, leaving the boy shocked.

Ed blinked once, then twice. "Seriously?!" He screamed furiously. "You're

going to break right there! It just ruins the whole dramatic moment!"

"It is kind of silly." Havoc said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, how
can it be that exact for when it breaks?"

Ed looked down at his arm. "Eh?"

Envy looked at him in shock while Lust had a blank face. "Technical
difficulties."

"Wha-?!" Ed screamed.

"Lucky me!" Envy cheered as he jumped forward and petted Ed on the

head.

Ed growled. "Get your hand off of me!"

Envy kneed Ed in the stomach as his hand snatched the boy's braid.

Ed grasped and curled up on himself to grab his stomach as his breathing

became heavy once more. That hurt so much more than it should have. "I
really hate him." He gasped.

"It certainly looks painful." Darius winced.

"Not helping," Ed groaned.

"Envy, he is one of the most dangerous of them." Dr. Marcoh said with a
frown. "You should be really careful around him."

"Doesn't help me right now to know that." Ed grumbled, closing his eyes as
he tried to relax his tense body.

Envy held Ed up by the braid. "You're fortunate your arm's broken. If

not for that, you wouldn't be getting off so easily."

Envy let go of Ed, who fell to the ground facedown with his eyes closed in
pain.

"Listen to me well, boy. Don't ever forget this. Always remember we

allowed you to live." Lust said.

"The way she says that," Ed gasped through his pain, taking a moment to rest
his pain filled body before continuing. "Makes it sounds like they are gods
who decide who lives and who dies. It really pisses me off."

"We can't have him poking around this place again. It's too dangerous. It
will have to go. Blow it up." Lust said.

"Fullmetal! It is because of you that all these buildings are getting destroyed!
First the library, now a lab." Mustang grumbled. "What next?"

"It's not my fault!" Ed cried. "It's all those annoying jerks who are working in
the shadows. Blame them!"

A despaired Al appeared on the screen with Ed's voice in the

background, "You know, Al, there's something I've been wanting to tell
you for a while, but I guess I've been too afraid to say it."

"What was Ed about to tell me?" Al asked himself.

"It wasn't that." Ed mumbled, hurt rising up in his chest. Of all the pain he
had received today, knowing his own brother distrusted him this much was
the most painful of them all.
"He said he's been too afraid to say it before. What could've frightened
him that much?"

Barry flashed onto the screen. "Are you sure you're not a puppet created
by your so-called brother?" Al appeared on the screen once more.

"Al, don't listen to him. He is trying to trick you." Riza warned.

'It doesn't mean he is wrong though.' Al thought to himself.

"Were you ever a real person to begin with?"

Al blocked the cleaver again.

"What's the matter, little boy? You got something on your mind?" Barry
asked. He charged at Al again, scraping his armor with the knife.

Al's fist went over his head. "Shut up! You're wrong!" He blocked the
meat cleaver again.

"Just accept it! You'll feel better." Barry said.

Barry stabbed his knife forward, though it missed Al as he kneeled on

the ground. The serial killer raised his meat cleaver to bring it down on
Al. "You're mine now, little puppet!"

A shot rang out and shot Barry through the hand, which caused him to
drop his meat cleaver. "What?" He said.

The screen moved to show Denny and Maria pointing their guns at
Barry.

"Nice timing!" Havoc said.

"Too convenient." Ed commented, but he was relieved at their arrival. It

meant that Al was now safe and Barry would stop screwing with his mind.

"Stay right there." Maria said. "Or the next one puts a hole in your
head."
Barry scratched the back of his helmet. "This isn't going quite as I
planned."

The soldiers were shown, then Barry, and finally Al before the screen
started rumbling before there was the sound of an explosion. The
building began to fall to pieces, surprising the soldiers and Al.

"Sergeant, get down now." Maria said as she took a few steps back.

Rubble smashed into the ground from the building. Al glanced at it.

"What are you doing? Get away from there!" Maria shouted at him.

"But my brother is still inside the building." Al said.

"Ed's in there?" Maria asked shocked.

"Hmm, I know what this means." Barry turned around and ran away.
"Time to get out of here."

"Hey, you!" Denny yelled and turned to the fleeing armor.

"I'd get going if I were you." Barry said.

"Hold it!" Denny said and ran after him.

"Brother! Brother!" Al called.

Maria ran over and grabbed his arm. "Take cover, Al, or you'll going to
caught in it too!"

"Ed!"

The wall in front of the two blew up, filling the entire area with smoke
that swallowed them up. Envy appeared in the smoke, walking out of the
building with Ed swung over his shoulder.

"There you are!" Envy called. "I brought a little present for you."
"Brother?!" Al asked and ran forward.

Envy dropped Ed gently to the ground. "His life's not in danger, but he
has lost a lot of blood so you might want to get him to a hospital as soon
as you can." Maria was shown with Ed half on her lap while Al looked
down at his brother. "Also you really should keep a better eye on him.
Stop him from taking these crazy risks. He's a precious resource."

"But who are you?" Maria asked.

"Lieutenant Ross!" Denny called, running back to his comrade with his
arm covering his head. "We need to go!"

"Sergeant, help me with him." Maria said.

"What happened to him?" Denny asked.

Ed snorted. "Not much. Just met a few psychopaths, but that's nothing new
with me."

"You have a knack for finding them." Mustang agreed.

"We'll talk later." Maria turned to where Envy was. "And you should go
too…" She was surprised to find Envy already gone. "What? He's
gone."

Another piece of the building smashed into the ground, surprising the
three conscious people. The screen pulled back to show the entire
building falling down into pieces.

In the prison next door, the prisoners were yelling at the guards.

"Let us out!"

"It's an earthquake!"

"Are you trying to kill us?"

"All of you quiet! Calm down now!" One of the guards yelled.
Kimblee's cell was shown.

"What a lovely sound." Kimblee said, causing his guard to look up. "I
know it well. That's the sound of a building exploding." The guard
walked over to the cell door. "Close as it is, I'd say it's coming from next
door, the fifth Laboratory. Ah, it's such a comforting sound. The way it
reverberates your entire body."

"That guy is such a freak." Myers said with a frown.

"Which is why he is in his very own isolated cell." Havoc replied.

"You keep it down in there, Kimblee." The guard said.

"Oh, do excuse me." Kimblee said. "I was just recalling the Ishvalan
War of Extermination." His hands with the transmutation arrays on
them were shown. "And it put me in such a good mood."

Scar growled to himself. Of all the State Alchemists he wanted to kill, he

wanted to kill Kimblee the most of all. He was the one to kill his family and
so many others in that war. This man took so much pleasure out of it. He saw
it from the way the man would smile when he blew things up. He was a
psychopath that needed to be ended.

Kimblee's grinning face was shown, but his eyes were shadowed by his
hair.

Al and the soldiers were shown running from the collapsing building
while Edward was being carried on Denny's back.

"Are you sure you're not a puppet created by your so-called brother?"
Barry's voice echoed in Al's mind before the screen went dark.

"Well, dark thoughts are echoing in Al's mind. It seems we know where we
are heading." Havoc said which just caused Ed to throw him a dark glare. He
didn't have to mention that. It was already hurting Ed enough to have his
brother distrust him. He didn't need it said as well.

The screen lit up once more to show Central Command. Hughes was
shown talking into a phone. "So things here in Central are pretty hectic.
The senior staff in charge of State Alchemists are shorthanded, thanks to
Scar's killing spree."

Mustang was shown, smirking on the other side of conversation. "Oh?"

He asked.

"Rumor has it a promotion to Central for one Colonel Mustang isn't far
off." Hughes said.

General Armstrong scoffed. That annoying Colonel in Central? He would not

get there before her.

"Central, huh?" Mustang asked. "Not bad at all."

"Watch yourself though." Hughes said. "You can't move up the ladder
as young as you are without making enemies."

"I've been prepared for that from the start." Mustang replied.

"Just a word of warning from someone who knows the game." Hughes
responded. "You need as many people on your side as you can get your
hands on now, Colonel. Which means," He passed before quickly
whispering, "Get yourself a wife."

"Don't you ever give up?" Ed asked.

"I wouldn't be able to annoy Roy if I gave up." Hughes pointed out.

Ed nodded. "Good point."

"Fullmetal, Hughes, stop encouraging each other." Mustang growled.

An angry Mustang slammed his phone down. "Seriously!"

Hughes was shown staring at his phone while the secretary stared at her
book with a deadpanned stare. "I don't get it. He hung up on me, just
like that." Hughes said.
The secretary looked away from her book to glare at Hughes.
"Lieutenant Colonel, stop making so many personal phone calls, okay?"

"Oh, so sorry." Hughes tapped his head with the phone.

"How many times has she told you that?" Luke asked.

"A fair few." Hughes replied.

Ed shook his head amused as he stretched his limbs out. With the end of the
episode, it seemed the pain filling up his body was gone as well. "It seems we
didn't learn anything new."

"All we learned was that a certain pair of brothers can break into a building
and get themselves into serious jams real easily the moment we take our eyes
off them." Maria growled, glaring at the boys.

Ed scratched his head in a sheepish manner. "Is that so? Perhaps we should
continue onto the next episode?"

A/N: Okay, just so you know, I am doing my best to describe the fights
that happen in the show. I didn't realize how difficult that part would be
when I started this. Despite being difficult, it is so fun. Plus, I get all these
still images that are strange when I randomly stop it after a few seconds
to write something down. You should try it. Some of the images are quite
interesting and things I never noticed when it plays without stopping.
Some of the faces Ed makes in those paused moments are so funny. Then
there was the moment when I saw how skinny Ed's legs were in those
leather pants. They kind of look like girl legs. It's pretty funny.

How the hell do you create a puppet that can talk and think and feel
emotions with alchemy? Someone explain that one to me!

[1] The way he says that in the Japanese version is just so sexy!

[2] My friend had tonsillitis last summer so I am just using the

knowledge she gave me to how it work after the surgery. It might be a bit
wrong since it has been months since that talk.
Please Review!
*Chapter 9*: Episode 9: Created Feelings
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Let me make this very clear. I thought it was obvious, but it seems
it is not. The people viewing the future are the characters from FMA
Brotherhood. This is why Scar knows he killed Winry's parents! I didn't
think I needed to put Brotherhood in the summary twice when I said
they were going to see their future!

Also, I am constantly getting reviews or PMs telling me to update

already because I am late. I am never late. Back in chapter 3 I said it was
my plan to update once a week, not within a week of the last update. I
also said it might not happen some weeks because I am busy and have a
life outside of Fanfiction. But if you want it so badly, I can Bullshit this
whole thing when I have time and cause the quality of my work to go
down. Get the message? Don't rush me. I love the reviews, but don't just
send them to me to tell me to update already because I am late, especially
since I am never late! Unless there is a reason, like LIFE of course. I'm
not trying to be rude, but I really need you guys to understand. Unlike
some of you, I am in college, not middle or high school and these
chapters take a very, very long time to write.

I believe that is all the ranting I need to do this week, so on with the
chapter!

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative
Regular talking/actions

Episode 9: Created Feelings

The opening song began once again.

"What about that oh so special beginning about alchemy?" Havoc asked.

"Well, obviously, it's been forgotten or thrown out." Breda replied.

"How sad. I kind of liked that beginning." Brody commented.

"Created Feelings"

An annoyed Ed appeared on the screen.

"Well, that's a lovely way to start an episode." Mustang said sarcastically.

Ed rolled his eyes. Stupid Mustang.

"Looks like you can sit up now, huh?" Maria's voice asked before her
smiling face was shown.

"Damn, a hospital." Ed grumbled.

"Where do you think you were going to be taken?" Miles asked.

"Anywhere is better than a hospital." Ed said.

"So you'd prefer to bleed to death?" Maria asked with a raised brow.

Ed shrugged. "I've suffered worse. Does 'losing limbs' mean anything to

you?"

Maria sighed. What a stubborn boy.

"What happened with the fifth laboratory?" Ed asked.

"Well, it, um," Denny said and he and Maria each raised a hand as a
picture of the demolished lab appeared in the background.

"Somebody blew up the building and there's nothing left of it now but
rubble." Maria finished and the background disappeared as Ed
screamed.

"Damn it! You mean they wiped out everything?!" He yelled before his
body twitched violently in pain and he grabbed his side.

Edward groaned and grabbed his side. "I wish future me would calm down."
He gasped.

"Maybe this will teach you something about what happens when you don't sit
still when you're injured." Izumi snapped at him.

"I already know what happens, but I just can't sit still. I have things that need
to get done." Edward replied and subtle looked at his brother. His brother was
the most important thing in his life. Nothing, not even his injuries, were
going to stop him from saving Al.

"Aah! That didn't feel good." Ed mumbled.

"No duh!" Ed grumbled, holding his side tightly.

Ed's brow twitched. "This…isn't…fair." The soldiers were shown

looking at him. "Do you know how close I was to finding out the truth?"

"I doubt they know since they weren't there." Hughes said.

Ed twitched. "It was a rhetorical question, Hughes."

"This is no time for me to be lying around in a hospital!"

"Foolish boy." General Armstrong growled. "Injured people shouldn't be

running around like you do. That is the way you get even more injured or
killed."

The young State Alchemist sighed. He already knew that! But it wasn't like
he went off to fight or track down bad guys when he left the hospital when he
wasn't supposed to. Usually, at least. There were those few times he did have
to track down enemies when he was leaving the hospital without permission,
but most of the time he was just leaving to do research!

Maria and Denny shared a look and nodded. Ed was shown back on the
screen as the soldiers said together, "Fullmetal Alchemist, sir!"

"Why the hell are you calling me that?" Ed asked confused. "You never
called me so formally before."

"Actually, we have once or twice." Maria corrected.

"Yeah," Ed said slowly. "But in this context, it seems strange."

Ed looked up at them. "Hmm?"

"We do apologize in advance for this!" They said.

"Huh?" Ed asked.

A hand came forward and smacked Ed across the face.

Ed yelped in response and grabbed his cheek. "Ow."

Mustang slowly clapped in a mocking manner. "I love the idea. Maybe I
should try that sometime to get something through his thick head. It might
teach him not to go off and do such reckless things all the time."

Rubbing his cheek, Ed shot his superior a glare. "You hit me and I will hit
you back, Colonel."

"Then I just have reason to court martial you." Mustang retorted.

Ed snorted. "That's been your threat for three years. A threat that you never
go through on loses its intimidation eventually."

"Obviously his hand isn't firm enough." Izumi scoffed, causing Ed to shiver
in fear.
"I think I learned where Chief's violent streak comes from." Havoc whispered
to his comrades, staring nervously at the woman alchemist.

"Just be glad she's on our side." Breda whispered back.

Mustang shrugged. "It's not like I'm his guardian. Just his commander."

Izumi scoffed. "You can think that, but you've been watching over the two
for three years now. You've helped them grow up."

The Colonel gaped. Helped them? That was never in the plan. But, there
wasn't much in his plan to the top of the pyramid that involved two teenagers.
They were just a surprise in all this.

"Four years." Riza corrected Izumi.

The woman raised a brow. "Four years? Ed's only be a State Alchemist for
three."

Riza nodded, while Mustang paled and glared at her as his way of silently
telling her to shut up. "Colonel Mustang sometimes sent soldiers out to
Resembool undercover to check up on the boys so he has been watching them
for four years." She looked at Mustang with a shrug. Personally, she didn't
think it was that big of a deal.

"Oh, we're revealing secrets now?" Havoc piped up, grinning. "Okay, Ed, I
met you when you were eleven. You were in the middle of rehabilitation and
you collapsed at the river, coughing blood. I took you back to Winry's place."

Ed looked from Riza to Havoc. "What?" He yelped.

Havoc shrugged. "I was just ordered there to secretly see how this kid was
doing. I was told your name and said I would spot you easily because you
were the only person around with gold hair and eyes. Gold eyes are very
unique. You are the only person I have ever seen with them"

"I don't recall seeing you there." Ed said flatly as his eyes trailed to Mustang.

"You wouldn't. I was wearing a disguise." Havoc replied.

"I was sent too." Breda said.

"Same here." Falman added.

"Why?" Ed demanded.

Mustang shrugged. "Truthfully, at the time, I just wanted to make sure

nothing happened to you before you joined the military. You were my prize,
something to get me credit."

Ed scoffed. He knew that. He knew in the beginning he was just being used
by Mustang to get a few points, but it still hurt him to actually hear it. As if
he didn't have enough pain today…

"Bastard." Was all Ed could mumble. Maybe in the beginning, they disliked
each other and were just using each other, but Ed liked to think they could be
friends now. The arguments and anger was still there, but they trusted and
relied on each other. Mustang was someone he could trust to go to with a
serious problem. He wondered in the Colonel thought the same thing.

Denny winced while Ed wobbled in shock.

"You acted like a selfish child." Maria scolded. "You only escaped with
your life because you were lucky." Ed stared at her while her voice
softened with a gentle piano tone playing in the background. "You don't
have to do everything on your own, you know. You can lean on other
people." Maria stared sadly at the boy. "Like us."

"Can you do that now, please?" Karin asked hopefully. It was becoming so
scary to see how close the boy kept bringing himself to death.

Ed rubbed his sore cheek. "I can try, but Al and I have only ever relied on
each other. It's not easy for us to ask for help."

"Not all adults are the enemy. You can trust us." Maria said before the
scene showed Edward with his face bowed a bit.

"You are ruining Fullmetal's way of life." Mustang laughed.

Ed blinked in confusion. "My way of life?"

"You did say earlier that everyone older than you was an enemy." Havoc
pointed out.

Ed chuckled. "I was joking." He had thought that was obvious. He may not
lean on adults, but that didn't mean he didn't trust any of them. They were
there for if he ever needed help.

After a moment, Maria and Denny straightened up. "That's all." They
declared together, surprising Ed. "Please forgive our abusive words and
conduct, sir. It will not happen again."

Ed stared at them.

"Oh, right, Ed still has more power then them." Havoc said.

"Not that he ever uses the power he does have." Mustang pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "I didn't join for power like you, Mustang."

"Oh, thank god." Maria sighed in relief. At least now she knew she wouldn't
be punished for hitting the boy.

"No, you're right." Ed said softly.

"What?!" Mustang and Havoc shouted together in shock.

"Those words are not meant to be coming from your mouth." Mustang
muttered. In all the time he has known the boy, he has never admitted that
someone else was right. He thought he would never hear such a thing from
the boy.

"It's not that surprising." Ed grumbled at the two.

Brody laughed. "Chief, I only met you today, and I find it hard to believe that
you would say such a thing."

"Am I really that stubborn?" Ed mumbled.

"Yes!" Many soldiers shouted.

"I should be apologizing."

Mustang made a show of grabbing his heart. "If you don't stop, Fullmetal,
you might just give me a heart attack."

"I should kick your ass!" Ed shouted.

"I just think that it means he is finally growing up." Hughes said, grinning. "If
that's true, you are in for a lot of surprises, Roy, and should get ready for that
heart attack."

The Colonel rolled his eyes. "A mature Fullmetal. I would love to see that."

"You're really pissing me off." Ed grumbled.

"My punishment for slapping you?" Maria asked.

Ed looked at the two. "Nothing. I had it coming."

Maria and Denny both fell into relief. The former leaned one of her
hands on the wall and the other on her chest while Denny grabbed his
heart in relief.

The State Alchemist sweat dropped. "What's got you two so scared of
me?"

The two adults looked at the boy. "State certified alchemists carry a
military rank equivalent of that of a major." Maria explained with
Denny nodding in agreement.

"Don't worry about it." Ed replied. "I didn't get my certification so

people would kiss up to me." He looked down. "You don't have to talk to
me like I'm a high ranking officer."

Maria and Denny looked happy.

"Really? Oh." Maria said.

"Ah, I guess we were scared of the brat for nothing." Denny said.

"They changed quickly." Ed said angrily.

"You better be careful still." Havoc warned with Breda, Fuery, and Falman
all nodding. "He may not care about his rank or power, but he will use it if he
really has to."

Mustang raised a brow, amused. "So he has order you four around?"

Fuery groaned. "Yes, sir."

"He's a little demon when he actually wants or needs to use his rank." Havoc
said bitterly.

Ed blinked before smirking. "I thought you guys always considered me a

demon, whether I use my rank or not." His brows pulled together in irritation
and he waved his automail arm in Havoc's direction. "And, DON'T CALL
ME LITTLE, HAVOC, OR I SHOW YOU JUST WHAT THIS STATE
ALCHEMIST CAN DO WITHOUT ALCHEMY!"

While Havoc chuckled nervously at the metal fist, Izumi bonked her ex-
student on the head. "Enough, Edward, or do you want your arm to break on
you?"

Grumbling, Ed settled down, but he didn't stop glaring at Havoc with his
promise still smoldering in his golden orbs.

The outside of the hospital was shown as Ed asked, "Um, where's Al? I
haven't seen him."

"Alphonse got his own lecture earlier." Denny raised his bright red hand
and had tears streaming down his face. "But I was the one who did the
slapping."

Ed laughed before stopping with a grimace.

"Yeah, wounds still sore," Ed groaned as he grabbed his side.

A dark aura filled behind Ed. "I almost forgot. I have an even less
pleasant lecture in store for me today."

Maria and Denny looked at him confused then at each other before a
phone ringing was heard in the background.

"Argh, Winry." Ed grumbled. But to be fair, it was completely her fault this
time!

The Rockbell house was shown with the phone still ringing.

"Hello." Winry's voice rang out. "Rockbell Prosthetic Limb Outfitters."

Winry was shown as she turned her head. Her Grandma looked up from
an arm she was working on. "Oh, Ed? Since when do you ever bother to
call us? Is something wrong?"

"She should have been tipped off the moment she heard Ed's voice." Luke
said with a grin. "Something is broken!"

Ed was shown sitting on a couch with his arm in a sling and his other
hand holding the phone. "Yeah. Here's the deal. I hate to ask you, but do
you think you could make a service call out to Central for me?"

"A service call?" Winry asked.

"Has she ever done that before?" Havoc asked curiously.

"Nope. I can usually just head out to see her, but that is kind of difficult to do
with guards watching over me." Edward replied.

Maria smirked. "I guess we are watching you more closely this time."

"Yeah, you can be happy about that, but I will not be." Ed grumbled.

"Yeah, my right arm is messed up again." He moved one of his automail

fingers before Winry was shown again. "I can move the fingers, but
that's about it. I can't lift the arm at all."

A flashback was shown of Winry picking up the bolt she forgot to put in.
A disgruntled Winry appeared on the screen with the bolt in her hand.
"Yeah, that sounds about right." She said.

"Huh?" Ed asked.

"Nothing, just talking to myself." Winry said.

"Oh? So she isn't going to tell my future self what she did, is she?" Edward
grumbled.

"I wouldn't want to tell my client I made a mistake either." Kei told him with
a shrug. "It could cause problems."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't stop coming to her for my automail over it."
He smirked mischievously. "I would just tease her for a very long time over
it."

"Which is probably part of the reason why she didn't mention it." Mustang
said with a sigh.

"I wonder why she was surprised you called. She should have been expecting
it since she knew she forgot that bolt." Riza said thoughtfully.

"She was probably hoping it would hold out." Dr. Young commented,
shaking her head. "Which it probably would have if Major Elric was not so
reckless."

"Alright. We get it." Ed grumbled.

"So what were you doing when the arm stopped working?" Winry asked.

A worried look passed over Ed's face. "Uh, I was in a really rough
fight." He admitted.

An angry Winry appeared yelling in her phone. "You did it again,

moron? How could you taint my precious automail like that, alchemy
freak?"

Ed had his phone pulled away from his ear.

"My poor ear." Ed mumbled. "Stupid gear freak."

Ed looked at the phone. He put it back on his ear. "Are you there?
Hello? Winry?"

"Guess I got no choice. Tell me how to get there." Winry said.

Ed looked at his phone in shock. "You're sure in a good mood today."

He said as he was shown to be standing up now. "I thought you were
going to…you know what, never mind. Forget it. Yeah…Yep…Sorry
again. And thanks. Right…Good-bye." He hung up the phone with a
sigh.

Denny was shown to be standing nearby. "Aw, was that your

girlfriend?"

Ed pulled back in shock. "My girlfriend?!" He yelled, causing blood to

spurt from his wounds. "No way!"

"Damn it," Ed hissed as he grabbed his side. "I'm going to hit you,
Denny….as soon as the pain goes away."

Denny twitched in fear.

A wheelchair was shown with Ed in it being pushed by Brosh.

"Argh, I hate wheelchairs." Ed mumbled. It was bad enough he had to be in

one for a while when he was eleven.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about. When I was your age, I had a

different girlfriend every week." Brosh said.

"I'm going to hit you two times." Ed muttered.

Ed looked over to his left in surprise. "Huh?" He saw Al sitting in the

hallway. "What are you doing sitting there in the dark by yourself? Hey!
Hey, Al!"

Al looked up at his brother. "Brother…"

"You know you can come to the room, right?" Ed asked.

Ed's eyes narrowed. Was his little brother really mulling over what Barry
said? If he was that upset, then why didn't he just come out and say it?!

Al was shown before Ed's face slid onto the screen.

"I'll be there in a little while." Al replied. "You go on ahead."

"Okay." Ed said and Denny started pushing him again.

Al looked back down at the ground when he heard a soft clinking. He

saw a toy robot bump into his foot.

'Stupid toy.' Ed thought annoyed as he knew where this was going. It wasn't a
symbol that meant anything, but Al would take it as one and just remember
what Barry said.

Al stared at the toy robot with despair filling up his heart. So was he really
just a toy? Just something for someone else to play with? If that was all he
was and it was being revealed, then why didn't Edward just come out and
admit it already?! It would be so much better than having to sit through this
agony. He would much prefer to just know the truth already!

A little boy came into the scene and picked the robot off the ground. The
boy smiled at Al and waved to him as he ran away. "Bye!"

Al watched him go before remembering Barry, who appeared on the

screen. "Are you sure you're not a puppet created by your so-called
brother?"

The screen went back to Al, who clenched his fist tightly.

Edward looked over at Al with a dark look. His hands curled into fists. "So,
that's it." He said casually, glaring at his brother, who looked at him in
surprise. Voice raising, Ed yelled, "If you don't trust or believe in me, then
damn well say it!" He jumped to his feet and slammed his automail foot into
his brother's chest. "Don't sit there and mull over the facts. Say it instead!
You think you are a damn puppet!"
With one last angry look at his baby brother, Ed spun around and marched
out of the room with all eyes on either him or Alphonse, who was now lying
on the ground because of his brother's kick.

"It finally came out in the open." Avery commented, looking away from the
room Ed disappeared into.

"Al, do you really feel that way?" Mustang asked shocked. Of course the Al
in the future would feel it. He was the one who was….Oh, they made a
mistake. The Als were the same person, but they didn't fully connect it until
now. Al and his future self were both confused about what Barry said, which
was something Mustang never expected. These two were brothers and have
had each other's back for years. To actual believe another person over
Edward was something Mustang never expected of Al. He had no clue of the
torment that was raining inside of Edward over this pain of having his own
brother not believe in him.

"Alphonse Elric!" Izumi snapped angrily as she practically flew to her feet.
Her hand snatched up Al's arm and threw him across the room, scaring some
of the soldiers and causing them to dodge so they didn't get hit by the suit of
armor.

Unaffected, Al sat up angrily. "What did you do that for?" He snapped.

"You think your brother created you?" Izumi shouted. "I remember you
clearly from when I trained you. I would never condone Edward making a
fake brother. If you never existed, I would have said it from the start." She
glared at the boy. How could he ever turn his back on his own brother like
this? She would have to teach them not to listen to serial killers. Honestly.
"Not to mention that he gave up his arm for you! Do you really believe
anyone would do something like that for someone who never existed to begin
with?"

Hughes grimaced. "Only a very desperate person would do something crazy

like that. But Ed was not desperate for a fake brother, but his own flesh and
blood brother."
Izumi marched over to her ex-student and kicked him hard enough in the
chest to send him flying backwards. "Edward is a strong person, and as much
as some of us find it hard to believe, he is sensible. As such, I can never see
him giving up something for someone who never existed." She grabbed Al's
arm and threw him across the room so he was closer to the room Edward
went in. "Now, you are going to talk to your brother and bring him back."
Then, Izumi went back to her spot on the couch and sat next to Sig, who put
an arm around his wife, who leaned into his hold.

Al sat in shock for a moment, but after a glare from his teacher, he was up
and jogging to the room that his brother disappeared into. He found his
brother sitting on his bed with his legs pulled to his chest. Upon his entrance,
Edward looked up to look at him with a completely calm look, though there
was pain flashing in his golden orbs.

"Hey Al." He said quietly.

"Brother," Al started, but was caught off when his brother suddenly jumped
off the bed and slammed his foot into Al's head again. His brother's weight
sent Al flying to the ground with a clang.

*Main Room*

CLANG!

Riza looked at the bedroom with a frown. "They immediately start fighting,
instead of talking about it?"

Izumi laughed harshly. "That is the way the brothers are."

*Ed and Al's Room*

"Brother, wait!" Al cried as he ducked under a kick. "Please! I'm sorry. Can
we talk first?"

"What's to discuss with someone who doesn't even trust or believe in me?"
Edward retorted as he threw a punch at his brother and hitting in dead in the
chest.
When Ed went to pull his fist back, Al grabbed Ed's wrist to keep him from
pulling away and to get him to hold still. "Teacher knocked some sense into
me, Brother. I understand now. I was wrong. Ever since Barry started talking
about me being a puppet, I couldn't get it out of my head of how cruel that
would be and I couldn't believe you would do that. Even though I thought
that, I couldn't get it out of my head. I kept thinking and wondering if you
were faking it all these years. I didn't want to believe it, but I haven't had a
body in years. I'm even starting to doubt whether or not I'll ever get it back.
I'm scared I'll be stuck like this forever, Brother, and then doubts start
appearing and I don't know what to do."

"Al, even if I have to spend rest of my life stuck as a military dog and
searching, I will get you your body back. You know that." Ed pulled his wrist
free of his brother's grip. "You don't have to be scared of being stuck like that
forever. Even if you don't trust me, I'll get you your body back. I promised,
remember?" He knocked his automail fist into Al's chest.

"I know, but…" Al trailed off, while Ed rolled his eyes.

"Your memories aren't fake, Al. Don't you remember everything we've done
as kids? All those fights we had? Can you really believe that all of those fun
times, all of those hard times, were false?" Edward asked before grinning.
"Besides, if I was to make a puppet, I wouldn't give him a personality that
allowed him to argue with me as much as you."

Al sighed. "Honestly, Brother."

"What? You have to agree that we do disagree a lot." Ed said with a shrug.

"Even if you made a puppet that didn't argue with you, I'm sure it would end
up getting out of that so it can argue with you and knock some sense into that
thick skull of yours." Al argued.

"What?" Ed asked rudely. "My alchemy is not so weak, Alphonse!"

If he could have, Al would have rolled his eyes. "Brother, you could annoy a
mime out of his fifteen years vow of silence. I'm sure a puppet you create
would have no trouble breaking free to argue with you."
"Don't discuss mimes with me! Those people are creepy…and I have never
bothered one. I avoid those freaks." Ed retorted.

"Now really, Brother, that is just rude. You don't see the mimes insulting you
or your way of life." Al scolded.

Ed growled. "Not with words they aren't, but you can see it in their actions,
Al. The moment I get close to them, they start mocking me!"

Al slapped his head. His brother seemed to have a very great aversion to
mimes, which was just very strange to Al. Edward had some of the weirdest
aversion he has ever seen. "Brother, they were putting on a show, not
mocking you!"

Ed pointed an accusing finger at Al and shouted, "That's what they want you
to think! Now stop siding with them, you traitor!"

The suit of armor threw his arms in the air in disbelief. How many times was
he going to get called traitor and betrayer today? "This is so stupid. How did
we even get on the subject of mimes?"

Finger lowering, Ed shrugged. "You brought them up."

"To prove a point, not to discuss your hatred of them." Al argued.

"This has got to be one of the stupidest arguments we have ever had." Ed said
with a grin.

A metallic laugh rang throughout the room. "I don't know. That one about
who would grow the tallest was pretty stupid."

Ed laughed. "Or that time we fought over the top bunk."

"Or that time we argued about how to handle the terrorists in that warehouse.
We ended up beating them all up while we argued about how to take them
down because we were so loud that they spotted us before we could ambush
them." Al said.

"Dangerous, but at the same time hilarious." Ed laughed at that reminder.

That had been when he was thirteen. Al wanted to call for back-up, while Ed
just wanted to charge in and get them taken care of so he could leave. "Do
you really think everything we've done is fake? Or that I am really that
cruel?"

Al was silent for a moment, which scared Edward. "Everything you do is for
a reason, Brother. You really do care about other people and help them in
your own special way. You may have a temper and get mad at people, but
that has never stopped you from helping those people. You are a really nice
guy, but you hide it under your temper and tough guy exterior. I was stupid to
even think of you being that cruel."

"Well, it's great that you can admit it!" Ed said, grinning. "Now, I do believe
we kept everyone waiting long enough while you had your antsy fit."

"What?" Al yelped.

Ed smirked. "Yeah, I said it. You were so angst ridden."

"I was?" Al argued. "And what about you who got so upset and stormed out
of the room!"

"Oh, don't even go there, Al!" Ed retorted. "That wouldn't have happened if
you didn't distrust me."

"I do trust you though." Al said quietly. "I made a mistake. Sorry. I trust you
greatly, Brother. Let's forget the stupid thoughts that ran through our heads."

Ed knocked his hand against Al's chest as he walked passed his brother. "I
know, Al, I know."

"Wait," Al called after him.

Blinking, Ed looked back at Al. He had thought everything was fixed

between them. "What is it?"

"About earlier, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Al asked.

Ed stiffened. "What was it?" He asked quietly.

"Brother?" Al asked.

"My greatest fear." Ed replied.

Al paused for a moment. Could he really ask his brother to tell him about his
greatest fear when he wasn't ready? Whatever it was, he has feared it for
years and still wasn't ready to tell Al about it. Was it really right of Al to
force it out of him?

"Okay," Al said. "Tell me when you are ready."

Whether it was right to force Ed or not, Al just couldn't. He couldn't do that

to his brother.

Ed shot him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Brother."

*Main Room*

"About time you two returned." Mustang commented when he saw the
brothers, which just made Edward roll his eyes.

"Yeah, Yeah, you impatient git." Edward muttered.

"Are you two all better?" Hughes asked, looking between the two.

Ed grinned. "Great."

Nodding, Mustang turned to the younger brother. "Alphonse, I do apologize

for how insensitive we were being when Barry was manipulating your
thinking."

"What?" Al said confused.

"We made a mistake. We had only really thought about the you in the future
being drastically affected by Barry's words. We didn't even realize how much
the words were hurting you so we didn't pay attention to it or what we were
saying." Mustang explained with a frown.

"Oh," Al muttered before perking up. "It's alright, sir. I actually preferred you
did that. I didn't want it pointed out at the time. It was something private
between Brother and I anyway."

Mustang nodded. He could understand that. There were just some things best
kept between blood.

The train station was shown with Winry getting off one of the trains and
rubbing her sore butt. "Argh, that left me really sore." She said before
looking around. "I don't understand how Ed and Al can ride on these
things." She started walking through the station. "Ed said to look to the
west exit. Someone familiar would be there that I'd recognized right
away." As she said this, Armstrong was shown to be standing in the
crowd. "Hello Major Armstrong!" She called as Sig and Izumi walked
behind her.

"Teacher, why are you in Central?" Ed asked surprised.

"I like to travel. You know that." Izumi replied with a shrug.

"Well, as long as you aren't hunting Al and me down, it's all good." Ed said
cheerfully.

Izumi raised a brow. "Perhaps I should have done that. In all my travels in the
past few years, I have heard a lot about a certain Fullmetal Alchemist."

The young State Alchemist chuckled nervously. "I'm more surprised you
didn't hunt me down immediately after I became one."

"I only heard you called 'Hero of the People' or the Fullmetal Alchemist. If I
ever heard the names, I left or yelled at the person for praising you. I only
learned it was you a year and a half ago." Izumi explained.

Ed twitched.

"She was furious at the time and thought about coming to East City where
she heard you were at the time to drag you back to Dublith for some more
training." Sig added with a smirk, which just made feel faint.

"I'm so sorry it got brought up." Edward gurgled while his brother patted him
sympathetically on the back. They may have both broken Izumi's first
condition: to never attempt human transmutation. But only his brother broke
the second, which was to never become a State Alchemist. Poor Edward.

"Why didn't you come?" Al asked curiously.

"She got ill again." Sig explained.

"Oh," Ed muttered. He hated hearing about when Izumi got sick. Not that
he'd ever say it, but it scared him a lot when he was younger. He thought he
was going to lose someone that he cared a lot for again.

"It's Winry." Winry ran over to the soldier.

"Hello Miss Winry." Armstrong replied. "Did you have a pleasant trip?"

Winry looked around. "Where are those stupid Elric brothers?"

"You didn't tell her about the hospital?" Armstrong asked with a frown.

Ed scratched his head. "She would just worry the whole trip to Central if I
told her over the phone. Her trip would be better without that worry."

"It's always about keeping her from worrying or being scared." Buccaneer
said with a teasing grin to which Ed blushed bright red.

"It…she's a childhood friend. Of course I would be worried about her." Ed

shouted.

Armstrong looked surprised. "Well, you see…" Winry blinked and the
Major leaned down to whisper it to her.

"Why are you whispering it?" Ed asked confused.

"It's best not to be overheard about that matter." Armstrong replied with a
frown.

"Why not? Would it cause trouble?" Al asked worriedly.

Mustang shrugged. "Well, Fullmetal has his fans and enemies. If it was
overheard, it would get out. He would either get a bunch of gifts telling him
to get better or have people sneak into the hospital to finish him off. It's easier
for protection if as few as people as possible know."

Al sighed. "Brother is a very difficult person to handle."

"Hey!" Ed snapped insulted. "I think you are making that up Colonel. I never
get gifts."

"Well, actually," Fuery said with a little smile. "When you first joined the
military and got sent to the hospital for the first time, it kind of got out and
we were flooded with gifts for you. We had to get rid of them since you can't
really accept gifts. Plus, we found some of them were quite dangerous.
Someone even sent candy laced with poison."

Ed twitched. "Who did I anger when I first joined that they would send me
poisoned chocolates?"

"It shows you just how good you are to the State if someone has been trying
to kill you from the start." General Armstrong said with a smirk.

"Doesn't comfort me." Ed mumbled.

"Or me." Al groaned.

"The hospital?" Winry said shocked.

The exterior of the hospital was shown.

"What happened?" She asked.

Winry's feet were shown as her tool box fell to the ground in shock.

Edward was shown to be sitting on his bed with his shirt off to reveal his
bandaged chest. He and Brosh both stared at Winry. "Well, that didn't
take long." He said as nervous sweat went down his face. His bandaged
chest was shown up close. "You're going to charge me an express service
fee now, aren't you?"
"Those are some nasty scars." Luke commented since he managed to see the
scars around Ed's automail port because of the close up to his chest.

"Luckily those are the worst scars he has." Al said. Lucky because if he had
worst scars, then it would mean he had been more seriously injured at some
point. It was so relieving to Al that it has never happened.

Winry and Maria both stared at him. "No Ed. I won't charge you for
this. I didn't do a good enough job on your automail last time, and now
you're badly injured."

Maria, Armstrong, and Brosh all shot stares at Edward.

"Well, it's true!" Ed said. "She did mess up a bit."

"Yeah, but you were going to be badly injured either way." Maria pointed
out.

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but if she didn't mess up my automail then she wouldn't
have had to come to Central and see me all injured."

Ed looked at the three in shock before he frantically tried to explain.

"It's not your fault. You can't blame yourself for this. I broke it because
I was being reckless. Your repairs were as flawless as ever. This was all
my fault."

"Lies!" Ed cried.

'He has no idea.' Winry thought. 'He never noticed that I forgot to put in
that screw?'

Edward, still waving his flesh arm around, said, "Besides if my arm
hadn't broken when it did, I would have kept fighting and then I would
have been hurt even worse. So don't worry about it, okay? Okay?"

"Oh, so you admit that fact?" Mustang asked.

"If it keeps her from getting upset," Ed said with a sigh.

"And it is true." Al added. "So her messing up his automail actually worked
out well for us."

'So it turned out alright?' Winry thought. She jumped forward excitedly.
"Well then, let's go ahead and get right down to business, shall we? I'll
have to charge you the usual rush order fee, of course."

"Huh?"

"Evil gearhead!" Ed shouted, pulling at his hair. "Oh, when I get out of here,
she is going to fix my arm for free to make up for this mistake!"

"What does it matter? I thought you had a lot of money." Sheska asked
confused.

Ed sighed. "For my research and traveling. It's not really meant for my
automail."

"And yet you pull a lot of money from your research grant for your
automail." Al pointed out.

"How else am I supposed to afford it?" Ed shouted.

"Is it really that expensive?" Sheska said shocked.

Ed deflated. "Yeah. I pay her and Granny Pinako so much, and yet, Winry
still finds it in her to mooch off me. What the hell does she do with all that
money I give her?"

"Buy parts for the automail she makes." Dr. Young said.

"But she should still have some left over!" Ed protested.

"Why use it when she knows she can just mooch off you?" Al asked amused.

Ed growled. "I'm not her bank!"

"You will be when you marry her." Hughes said seriously.

Ed screamed and pulled at his hair. "I'm not in love with Winry!"

"You can keep on denying it all you like, but you have to face the truth
eventually." Hughes teased.

"At least I'm no longer alone in Hughes's teasing." Mustang said happily,
which resulted in a glare from Edward.

Winry looked at Ed's empty plate and saw a full bottle of milk. She
turned a glare to Ed. "You didn't drink your milk."

Edward turned away with sweat pouring down his face. "Why should I?
I hate it."

Winry screamed and pulled at her hair. "YOU'RE GOING TO BE

SMALL AND STUNTED FOREVER IF YOU KEEP USING THAT
STUPID EXCUSE!"

"SHUT UP!" Ed shouted back. "I DON'T HAVE TO DRINK IT IF I

DON'T WANT TO."

"You sound like a spoiled little brat, Edward Elric!" Armstrong

intervened.

"It is always so lively when you are around." Breda said with a laugh. "You
should come visit East City. It's been pretty boring lately."

Ed glared at him. "I'm not your toy that you can call on when you are bored. I
am not used for entertainment!"

"I don't know, Brother. It is pretty entertaining to see you arguing with
mimes." Al teased.

"Again with the mimes!? Do not mention those freaks again, Alphonse
Elric!" Edward shouted, waving his arm in the air like a crazy person.

"Mimes?" Miles asked confused.

Al shrugged. "Brother really hates them for some reason."

"It's a mutual hatred." Ed grumbled.

"No, it isn't, Brother!" Al said with a tired sigh.

"What actually happened with the mimes?" Miles asked curiously.

His question got him a glared from Ed and another sigh from Al. "I can't
answer because I fear that Ed will call me a traitor again if I leak the
information."

"Baby Brother," Ed cried dramatically and threw his arms out wide in
happiness. "You have come back to my side!"

"For now." Al said.

Ed deflated and pouted to himself. "You can't just keep changing sides like
this."

Al was shown to be looking in the room from the door while Maria said,
"Every growing boy needs his milk."

"Yeah, you want the girls to like you, don't you?" Denny asked and Al
closed the door.

Winry was shown to be pinching Ed's cheek while the two stared at the
closed door. "Was that Al?" Ed asked.

"Argh, you two are still not good in the future." Havoc groaned.

"I'm sure we'll be fine soon." Al said.

"But we still have to see you two fight again." Brody groaned.

Ed and Al glanced at each other. Neither one of them really wanted that seen.
It was private.

Al walked down the hallway.

Winry's toolbox was shown to be open now before Ed was seen lying on
his stomach on his bed while Winry worked on his arm.

"I don't get it. Al's been acting really weird lately." Ed said.

Winry reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the screw she forgot
to put in. "Weird how?" She asked as she screwed it in.

Ed put his face down on his pillow. "Just seems like something's been
bothering him."

Winry looked up from her work.

Al was shown to be standing in front of a sink in the hallway with a

mirror in front of him as gentle, curious music enter the background. Al
put a hand to the mirror. Barry's image appeared in the mirror. "Are
you sure you're not a puppet created by your so-called brother? Just accept
it. You'll feel better."

The mirror cracked under Al's hand.

Winry finished polishing Ed's arm. "Okay. You're all set."

Ed pushed himself up to a sitting position. "Well done." He lifted his

arm and put a hand to his shoulder. "It feels good to have it back." He
rolled his shoulder. "Wow. Thanks a lot."

Winry smiled. "Sure, no problem."

The door flew open to reveal Hughes. "Yo, Ed, my boy!"

"What the hell? I thought I escaped you!" Ed shouted.

"Hey, now that's rude." Hughes said teasingly. "I thought we were friends."

"We can be friends, as long as you let the injured rest!" Ed retorted.

Hughes snorted. "You don't rest even when you injured. You probably only
stayed in the hospital as long as you have because you needed your arm
fixed."
"Well that, and my men and I are probably keeping him confined there."
Armstrong pointed out.

"Ah, good point." Hughes said with a grin.

"Is it true you brought a pretty blonde girl into your room to service
you?" Hughes asked, causing Ed to fall off his bed with blood spurting
from his wounds and Winry to stare blankly.

"You're banned!" Edward screamed, gripping his side one more. "Colonel, I
understand your pain now."

Mustang laughed. "It's so much more amusing when I am not on the end of
his teasing. I understand why you two encourage each other now."

Edward groaned.

Ed pulled himself to his knees. "She's my automail mechanic! That's all,

nothing more!"

"Oh!" Hughes put a hand to his chin. "I see. You've seduced your
mechanic, have you?"

Edward grabbed his hair and screamed. "That isn't what I said at all.
Were you even listening to me?"

"Just give up, Fullmetal." Mustang advised. "He only hears what he wants to
hear. You won't win this fight."

"Oh, you don't know that. I have yet to beat you." Hughes told his friend.

Mustang shrugged. "I haven't won yet either. I'll only win when you stop
bugging me to get married."

"Yeah, that'll never happen." Ed snorted.

Hughes and Winry shook hands. "Maes Hughes. I'm pleased to meet
you, young lady."
"You too. I'm Winry Rockbell." Winry said as Ed slid back on his bed.

"Nice to see you, Hughes, but don't you have work to do?" Ed asked.

"Do any of the high ranking officers I meet do their work?" Edward groaned.
It would at least get them off his back for a while if they worked.

"You should be good if you meet General Armstrong." Miles said.

Ed looked at the General then at Al. "Do I want to meet the General in the
future?"

General Armstrong smirked to herself. She has barely talked to the boy and
he is already scared of her. Smart kid.

Hughes held a hand in front of Ed's face. "Nope, it's all under control."

Sheska was shown to be half dead at a table with books and papers all
around her.

"Demon!" Ed and Al shouted.

Sheska laughed at the two. "It's alright you two. I'm getting used to the
work."

"I gave Sheska some overtime." Hughes said.

"Devil." Ed muttered.

"Rude brat." Hughes teased.

"At least I don't overwork people!" Ed retorted.

Havoc snorted. "No, you just get overworked yourself."

Ed groaned. "Right, the higher ups are all evil."

"You're a real jerk, aren't you?" Ed asked.

"Oh, yeah, I think you'll be happy to know I just found out you and Al
shouldn't need to be kept under guard for too much longer." Hughes
said.

"Great!" Ed said.

"What'd you say?" Winry asked and she glared at Ed. "Hold on just a
second. How much trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"It's not my fault this time!" Ed protested, shooting a glare at Scar. "You
aren't even chasing me anymore and you still cause me problems!"

Scar shrugged. "Personally, I believe you two just love to find things to argue
about."

"Winry just loves to yell at Brother about everything." Al corrected. "And

that leads to arguments."

"She worries too much." Ed grumbled.

"Can't blame her." Maria argued. "With how reckless you are, anyone would
worry a lot."

"Er, well, you see…" Ed trailed off. He looked away from Winry. "It's
nothing that concerns you."

Winry glared at Ed for a moment longer before standing up straight.

"Of course not." She said and looked away from her friend. "I don't
know why I bother to try. It's not like you'll talk to me anyway." She
opened her eyes and looked at her toolbox. "Fine. I'll see you
tomorrow." She picked it up. "I have to go and see if I can find some
place to stay tonight."

Hughes smiled. "Come on. No need for that. Why don't you spend the
night at my place?"

"You'll invite anyone over, won't you?" Ed asked blankly.

"It gives him a chance to showcase his daughter and wife." Mustang said
blandly.

"Obsessive family freak." Ed muttered.

Hughes chuckled. "Now there is no reason to be rude just because I love my

family."

Shrugging, Ed looked over at his brother with a sad look.

"Really?" Winry asked.

"Yes, of course." Hughes said. "My wife and daughter will be delighted
to have you."

"It's a trap! Don't go!" Luke shouted, much to the amusement of quite a few
people.

Hughes pouted. "I am just being considerate to a friend of a friend. You

people are so rude."

Edward watched the two in surprise.

"No, I, uh…"

"It's settled. Come on."

"One second…"

"Here, let me take that."

It was shown that Hughes took Winry's toolbox and was dragging the
girl from the room.

"Brother, Winry is being kidnapped. Shouldn't you do something?" Al asked.

"Well," Ed said, shrugging. "I'm injured at the moment. I can't really handle
Hughes and his strangeness at the moment."

Al sighed.
"Why don't you do something?" Ed asked.

"I'm not around." Al replied.

"Then I guess Winry is out of luck." Ed said.

"What caring friends." Mustang teased, causing Ed to grin.

"Hey, if I have to deal with it, she can too." Ed replied.

Hughes raised a brow. "Aw, do you think I am that annoying?"

Laughing, Ed looked at Al. "Who knows?"

Al chuckled. Yeah, Ed will never admit it, but he really does like Hughes and
how cheerful he is.

"Do you really have to drag me?" Winry asked the laughing Hughes.

"He laughs while he kidnaps." Havoc said, smirking. "Well, that's a bit
worrying."

Happy music filled the background as party poppers were popped.

Winry stared blankly as Elicia laughed happily. All around were adults
and kids with a cake in front of Elicia.

"Happy birthday, Elicia!" Many voices shouted.

Elicia blew the candles out and a few people clapped while Winry turned
to Hughes. "If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Hughes, what is this all
about?"

"I'm so glad you asked that, Ms. Winry." Hughes replied with a grin.
"Today happens to be my darling Elicia's birthday."

"Yeah, my birthday." Elicia said.

Winry laughed in an unsure manner. "That's exciting. How old are you
now, Elicia?"
Elicia held up two fingers. "I'm two." She paused for a moment before
holding up another finger. "No, I'm three!"

Winry became like Hughes and excitedly they both said, "How
adorable."

"Great, she's as weird as Hughes." Ed said blankly.

"She'll be a great wife and mother some day, Edward." Hughes said with a
serious expression.

Ed glared at him, but he couldn't deny the blush that filled his cheeks at the
statement as a picture of Winry in a wedding dress entered his mind. "Th-
that's great, Hughes."

Hughes blinked at the strange response before smirking. "Oh, what's this?
Having inappropriate thoughts, Edward?"

"Shut up!" Edward shouted and hid his blush by bowing his head.

Havoc laughed. "Wow, you are already get to him, Hughes. That was quick."

The Lieutenant Colonel nodded, grinning evilly. "It is much easier to get to
someone when they already have someone they have a crush on."

"Manipulative jerk." Ed muttered to himself.

The apartment complex was shown from the outside before Winry was
shown with Elicia in her lap, talking to Hughes. "I've known the Elrics
for about as long as I can remember. We grew up together. They're like
my brothers."

Hughes laughed. "And I'm sure knowing those two, they must give you
plenty to worry about."

"Hughes is a traitor to." Ed said.

"For speaking the truth?" Hughes asked.

"The truth should never be spoken!" Edward declared. "It is assumed it is
known by everyone, but you never speak of it!"

Mustang blinked. "What the hell are you talking about, Fullmetal?"

Ed turned a blank stare to his superior. "We do not speak of it."

"What is it?" Mustang demanded.

"You already know." Edward replied with a smirk. "But we cannot say it out
loud. You will not trick me into saying it!"

"Your subordinate has finally lost it." General Armstrong commented.

Mustang glanced at her then Ed. "He is trying to screw with my mind again.
Well, I have news for you, Fullmetal. It won't work this time!"

"Oh? So it worked before?" General Armstrong asked amused.

Mustang chose not to reply.

"That's an understatement." Winry replied. "When they finally came

back for a visit, it was because Ed's arm was all busted up." Hughes's
eyes widened a bit at the sad look in Winry's eyes. "And now he calls me
out here because he's been seriously injured again. Something's
bothering Al too. They keep their mouths shut though. They don't ever
tell me what's going on. It's just like when they left Resembool for the
first time."

"Is she referring to when we left with Teacher or when we left after I got my
State Certification?" Ed asked confused.

Al shrugged. "I don't know. It shouldn't matter though. Hughes will probably
just think she meant the latter."

"I guess. She should still clarify herself though."

"You're one to talk." Mustang scoffed.

"Maybe nothing needed to be said." Hughes suggested, causing Winry to
look back at him. "You know these boys, Winry. It's possible they
thought you'd understand without them saying anything."

"So?" Hughes prompted the brothers. "Was I right?"

"We've been friends forever so we didn't think anything really needed to be

said." Al said. "It's not like we were planning to be gone forever."

Winry looked back down. "Maybe. But there are some things that I
actually need to be told."

Hughes smiled and removed his glasses. "Just what am I going to do

with you? In general, men prefer to let their actions speak instead of
words." He started to wipe his glasses clean. "When they're in pain, they
don't want to burden anyone with it, not if they can help it. They don't
want to make anyone worry about them. That's how they are." Elicia
shifted in Winry's lap. "Even so, there may come a time when they'll ask
for your help and when they do, I know that you'll be there for them.
Isn't that enough?"

"Elicia, we want to play. Let's go." A little boy said.

Elicia looked up at Winry. "Will you put me down now?"

Winry picked her up and set her on the floor. "Okay, down you go."

One of the boys grabbed Elicia's hand.

"Hey, you get away from her. Elicia wants to play with me, not you."

Winry smiled in amusement while Hughes was frowning.

"Huh? No way, with me."

"With me."

"She's quite the heart breaking already, isn't she?" Winry asked.
Hughes put his glasses back on. Then he had his gun out and he pulled it
back. "Listen up, boys, you try anything with my daughter and you'll
answer to me."

"Hughes! They'll little kids!" Ed shouted. "That's a little extreme."

"The fact that it is Fullmetal saying it means that it must be really extreme."
Mustang said, chuckling. "You might be a bit overprotective, Hughes."

"No one touches my daughter." Hughes growled.

Ed slapped his forehead. "They are three years old, Hughes. They don't
understand anything yet."

"This coming from the kid who joined the military at twelve and destroys
things on a weekly basis." Hughes retorted.

Ed shrugged. "Hey, I'm a kid. You just said it. I can go to extremes to protect
myself or others. But even I wouldn't do something to someone who is a kid."

Al chuckled. "Brother has a soft spot for little kids." He explained when the
adults looked confused. His statement caused Ed to blush and duck his head.

"Damn it, Al. Shut up." Ed snapped.

Havoc grinned. "The Fullmetal Alchemist, bratty teenager who destroys

things all the time and runs around the State causing chaos, likes kids?"

"Yeah?" Ed said sourly. "So what?"

"It's just so amazing. I never expected something like that from you." Havoc
said, but he was still grinning.

Ed shrugged. "I thought it was obvious from my interacting with Nina."

Havoc shook his head. "It may have just been that kid. But to hear you
actually like all kids…"

"Your actions speak too loudly." Winry protested.

It was the next day and Winry was standing outside Hughes's apartment,
saying goodbye. "Are you sure you have to go?" Gracia asked. "You're
more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you're in town."

"I don't want to put you out more than I have already." Winry replied.

Elicia grabbed Winry's sleeve.

"Elicia's gotten really attached to you." Gracia said.

Hughes laughed. "Well, would you look at that? The two of you could be
sisters."

"Sissy," Elicia said. "Be safe, okay? And come back and visit me real
soon."

Gracia smiled. "It's settled. You're staying with us again tonight."

"Wow, it's not only Hughes who is demanding." Ed said.

"Well, she did marry the guy." Mustang shrugged. "She had to be able to
handle him and get want she wants in return."

Ed grinned. "A perfect match."

"Oh, that reminds me." Hughes said with a grin. "My dear Gracia has been
asking about you two. She wishes for you guys to visit again. And Elicia
misses her big brothers."

Al looked at his brother. "Perhaps we should visit. It has been a long time
since we've seen them."

Ed shrugged. "Whenever we have time."

Winry kneeled down and hugged Elicia. "It looks like I found myself a
little sister."

The hospital came onto the screen once more with Ed being shown a
second later. He was shown to be glaring at something. It turned out to
be his milk.

"So we meet again, you little bastard! I'm not gonna drink you." Ed
growled.

"You realize you're talking to milk, right?" Miles asked.

Ed shrugged. "What's your point? I'm stuck in a hospital and bored. I tend to
get a little crazy."

"A little?" Al scoffed. "What about that time in New Optain when you were
stuck in a hospital for a few weeks?"

Buccaneer grinned. These two brothers, though beyond reckless and needed
that kicked out of them, tended to have very amusing stories. "What
happened there?"

"I think at least four nurses and a doctor had to go see a psychiatrist for a
while after we left." Al muttered.

"They did." Mustang twitched.

Ed smiled brightly. "Really? And how do you know, Colonel?"

Mustang glared at him. "Because they billed the military for the sessions! Do
you have any idea of how expensive psychiatrists are, not to mention we
were paying for five people?"

"Well," Ed drawled. "At least it wasn't coming from your own pocket, you
cheapskate."

"Next time, I'm making you pay with your own money. Maybe then you'll
learn something." Mustang snapped.

Ed twitched. He couldn't afford to pay for those sessions! He needed his

money for other things.

Al appeared on the screen. "Brother, you have a living body that needs
nourishment." Barry flashed on screen before it went back to Al who
looked down at the ground. "You have to drink it."

Ed bit off a piece of his bread before saying, "I don't have to if I don't
want to." Winry and Hughes were shown to be walking down the hall.
"It may not look like it, but I have grown, some," Denny and Maria
saluted Hughes. "But everyone still calls me a pipsqueak." A frustrated
Ed was shown. "I wish I was like you, Al." The door was shown to be
opening. "You've got such a big body now."

"Insensitive!" Ed shouted.

Many soldiers stared at him.

"You said it though." Havoc pointed out.

Ed blinked and deflated his energized self a bit. "Yeah, but usually it is used
as a joke. At this time, Al is really upset and confuse. He'll take it the wrong
way."

"Yes, but also at this time, you do not know what is wrong with your brother.
So you opened your mouth expecting a witty retort from Alphonse, not an
angry retort." General Armstrong replied as serious as ever.

Sighing, Ed shrugged. "Well, at least this gives Al a reason to get what is on

his mind out in the open. Then Al and I can fight over it now and get over it."

Al shot up from his chair and screamed, "IT'S NOT LIKE I ASKED
FOR THIS BODY, BROTHER!"

"Why are you still calling him that?" Havoc asked confused. "I mean, you
don't believe he is your brother anymore so why still call him it?"

Al shrugged. "That's usually all I call him. It's a habit it seems."

Ed flashed on the screen, then Winry, who was standing by the door in
shock, appeared.

"Sorry, you're right." Ed replied, looking down at his meal. "It's my

fault that it happened. But I'll make it right. I'll get you back in your real
body, you'll see, Al."

"That's what you always say, but you don't know that for sure." Al
retorted.

Ed turned to look at his brother. "Look, I promise I'm going to get you
back. Believe me, Al. I'll do it."

"Believe you?" Al put a hand to his chest. "How am I supposed to believe

anything when I'm stuck in this body?" Hughes, Maria, and Denny were
shown to be looking in from the hallway. "What should I believe in? My
memories?" Ed was seen to be staring in shock at Al. "Memories are just
scraps of information that can be made up as easily as anything else."

"Al, what are you talking about?" Ed asked quietly.

"Do you remember when you said there was something you were afraid
to tell me?" Al asked.

"You know, I think this is worse then how we just fought." Ed said.

Al nodded. "You are much more subdued in the future, then you were here."

"It's probably because the Ed in the future didn't know where your thoughts
came from or what actually happened with Barry." Riza suggested.

Al actually chuckled at that. "Yeah, probably. Brother would be more furious

if he heard the actual words that Barry said to me. Right now, he is just too
confused and scared."

"Scared?" Ed scoffed as everyone expected him to. "More like horrified."

And that was what no one was expecting from Ed, including Al.

"Petrified with fear?" Mustang mused. "What has got you so scared? This is
unlike you."

Ed shrugged. "Al's screaming probably has me thinking the worst."

"What is the worst?" Havoc asked.

Golden eyes looked at the suit of armor for a second before going back to
Havoc. "It's nothing you need to know."

"Then what about me?" Al demanded. "You have yet to tell me."

Mustang frowned at his subordinate. "You usually face the fears and horrors
head on, Fullmetal."

Ed glared at him. "This is just something I can't face so everyone just

LEAVE IT ALONE!" He shouted the last part before looking stubbornly
back at the screen. Even listening to Al and him fight would be better than to
have his one true fear revealed. Sighing, he looked at Riza. "You were right.
It did cause a misunderstanding, just like you said it would."

Riza smiled sadly. She was really hoping that Ed's statement wouldn't cause
one, but it was the likely course of action. "It is best you clear it up then, but
it seems you are not ready to tell Al what it is."

Ed chuckled weakly. "I'll never be ready." He said softly to himself so only

Al heard.

Al looked at his brother sadly. Why didn't his brother just tell him what it
was? Was it really that bad? He should be able to trust Al with anything, so
why couldn't he just say what it is he wanted to say?

Winry gasped.

"I think…I think I might know what it was." A dark image of a monster
like Al was shown. "Maybe you wanted to say that my soul and my
memories are really artificial constructions you created." Al said.

Ed's eyes widened.

Al's hand shook before curling into a tight fist. "You, Winry, and
Granny, you've been lying to me all along, haven't you? What do you
have to say for yourself, Brother?!"
Ed's fists slammed onto his table, messing up his meal.

Al gasped.

"You angered him." Fuery groaned.

"At least he isn't subdued in shock anymore." Havoc said with a grimace.

"So is Ed going to yell now?" Sheska asked worriedly.

Mustang's team shook their heads.

"I don't recall ever really seeing Ed yell at Al. Maybe scold him about
picking up strays, but never actually yell at him." Breda said with a
thoughtful frown.

Al nodded. "Now that you mention it, the last time I remember Brother
actually screaming at me is before our human transmutation."

"Really?" Mustang asked surprised before shooting a sly look at Ed. "If you
have that kind of self-control, perhaps you should use it more often and
towards people besides your little brother."

Scowling, Ed ducked his head. Why was it such a big deal? Al was his little
brother and the only family he had left. And he was the one to trap him in a
suit of armor. How could he ever yell at his precious baby brother after all
that?

"Is that what you really think?" Ed growled quietly. "You believe that
all this time?"

Al gasped.

Shaking in rage, Ed continued. "So you finished or is there more you

wanted to say?" When Al didn't reply, Ed opened his eyes and sighed.
"Okay." He pushed his meal away and stood up. He walked passed his
brother, then Winry, who turned to watch him go.

"Don't go." Winry whispered to him.

"She's right. You can't just walk away from this argument. You need to clear
it up." Riza said.

Ed shrugged. "I can't face it." 'Not the truth.'

Winry ran out the door. "Ed!" She called, but Ed didn't look back.

Al was shown to still be standing in the room.

"Al." Winry said calmly. "You…" An infuriated Winry was shown to be

swinging her wrench. "MORON!" Her wrench slammed into Al, scaring
the three soldiers outside the room.

Many soldiers shuddered in the room.

"At least Winry is there to fix the problem for you." Riza said calmly.

"It is just like Hughes said. She is there for when you guys actually need her."
Izumi said, smirking while Al shuddered. Why were there so many scary
women around him and his brother?

Al leaned back on the floor with his head wobbling all over the place.
"Where did that come from?"

A heavily breathing Winry was shown. Once her breathe came under
control, tears started flowing down her face, shocking Al.

"Winry…" Al said.

"You idiot!" Winry screamed as a soft, sad tone entered the background.
She slammed her wrench into Al's helmet again. "You have no idea how
Ed feels!"

"That makes it sound like she's knows." Hughes said.

Ed shrugged. "She does."

"You told Winry, but you won't tell me?" Al asked in a hurt tone.
"No, I never meant to tell them! I told Winry and Granny Pinako in a moment
of weakness!" Ed protested.

"Weakness?" Havoc mused. "Before today, I would have thought you having
a moment of weakness inconceivable."

"Haha." Ed muttered sarcastically.

"Do you know what he was so afraid to talk to you about?" Winry asked
through her tears. "He wants to know if you blame him for what
happened to your body, Al!"

"What?" Al asked shocked.

Ed's eyes widened in shock. His whole body stiffened in horror while his
eyes slowly moved to glance at his brother with petrified shock.

A flashback was shown of Ed lying in a bed with a cloth over his eyes
during his automail surgery. "It's all my fault Al lost his body and it's all
my fault; he can't eat anymore; he can't sleep; he can't feel cold nor
warmth. He's my little brother and I'm supposed to protect him and I
did this! How can he ever forgive me?"

"So that was your moment of weakness." Fuery said sadly. "The guilt was
eating you away because it just happened recently so it's no surprise you let it
slip to them."

"People tend to be most vulnerable after something very extreme and

shocking has happened." Skylak agreed.

Winry and Granny Pinako were looking down at Ed sadly. "Al isn't the
type of boy who would resent you for this. Just ask him, and I'm sure
you'll see."

"No. I'm-I'm too afraid." Ed replied. A tear slipped down Ed's face. "I'm
too scared of what he'll say."

"Brother," Al said weakly. Was this really how his brother had felt for the
past four years? Edward had saved him from dying that night so he had no
reason to hate his brother for that.

"That was private." Ed said weakly, ducking his head as he wasn't able to
face his brother.

"That's what you have been wanting to tell me for the past four years?" Al
demanded.

Ed nodded.

Al clenched his fist and slammed it into Ed's head. "You idiot!"

"Ow." Ed grabbed his head. "Not the reaction I was expecting."

"For being so smart, you sure are stupid, Brother." Al grumbled. "Honestly, I
never once thought that I hated you. You saved me from the Gate and gave
me a second chance. I may not be able to sleep, eat, or feel, but I can still go
on in life with the hope of getting it all back. I knew from the start of our
adventure that you were doing everything you possibly could. You gave up
your arm first, then you gave up your freedom by becoming a State
Alchemist. You have given up so much for me; how could I hate you for
that?"

Ed shrugged. "If it wasn't for me and my stupid idea, this wouldn't have ever
happened." He said as he rubbed his metal shoulder.

"But it's not your fault alone." Al argued. "I wanted my mom back just as
much. I went along with it. Even when I felt something was wrong, I didn't
stop you. We both attempted the human transmutation together. We were
both punished. I could never push all the blame on you."

"You lived with that fear for four years?" Havoc asked surprised.

"Yeah," Ed said, feeling a bit relieved now that he knew Al didn't hate him.

"That must have been so painful." Riza said softly. "You two were together
every day for four years and you were silently suffering under that thought."

Ed shrugged. "At least I know the truth now."

"And it's not bad like your mind kept telling you it was going to be." Mustang
added. "Maybe next time you'll realize you're overreacting about it on your
own."

The teenager shot him a glare. "Do you always have to be such a jerk?"

"It's his trademark." Havoc teased, which just got his superior to glare at him.

"I do not know what you are talking about, Havoc. I am a very charming,
sophisticated person." Mustang retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Which is your kind way of saying womanizer?"

Havoc snickered.

"At least I can get girls to fall in love with me, Fullmetal." Mustang snapped.

Al laughed. "Actually, Colonel, you might be surprised at how many girls

Brother accidentally makes fall in love with him."

Ed twitched. "What annoying girls."

Mustang laughed. "That hard to believe."

"But it is true." Al insisted.

Winry whacked her wrench against Al's chest again and again and
again. "And then…you idiot." She continued to hit him. "You said that."
The soldiers were still watching the two. Winry sniffed. "Who'd ever do
something like that? Who would be prepared to risk his own life to
create a fake brother?" Her wrench dropped to the ground.

"Don't you get it?" Winry wiped the tears from her face. "All the two of
you have left is each other." Winry pointed at the door of the room.
"Now," She glared at Al. "Go get your brother."

Al stood up.

"Start running." Winry ordered.

"Right." Al said and he ran from the room and passed the soldiers who
watched him go.

"Must be one scary girl." Luke teased.

Ed was shown to be standing on the roof of the hospital. His chin was
resting on his hands which were on the fence.

Al was standing in the doorway of the roof. "Broth–"

"You know something, Al, we haven't had a good fight in a while. I'm
starting to get flabby." Ed interrupted.

"Huh?" Al said quietly.

Ed kicked his hospital slippers off.

"Uh," Al mumbled as Ed turned around to face him.

"This just screams reckless." General Armstrong said.

"Naw, I've done more reckless things while injured. A little spar isn't going to
do much but agitate my wounds a bit." Edward replied.

"Which makes it reckless." Izumi snapped at him.

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but at least I am still at the hospital."

The soft, sad tone entered the background again as Ed ran at Al.

"Huh? Hey–" Al shouted before being forced to dodge a kick from Ed.
The suit of armor stumbled back a few steps. "Uh, hold on, Brother."

Ignoring his brother, Ed swung his automail arm at Al, which Al blocked
with his arms.

"Stop!" Al shouted.

Ed threw a kick at his brother, then punched his arm.

"Your wounds haven't healed enough for this." Al said.

Ed hit Al's arm again before back flipping away.

Al looked up from his crossed arms in surprise when he saw a white

sheet flying into his face. He screamed in shock before Ed put his hands
on Al's leg to flip his body upside down before slamming his automail
foot into Al's covered face.

Ed stood over the fallen Al. "I beat you! The first time I ever won." He
moved to lie on the ground.

Al pulled the sheet from his face. "That wasn't a fair fight, Brother."

"Don't give me that. A win is a win, and you know it, Al." Ed replied.
"We've always fought like this...ever since we were really little. Now that
I think about it, we've fought over some really stupid things, haven't
we?" Edward asked.

"That's not really surprising." Riza said with a soft smile as she was glad the
boys seemed to be fixing their fight. "Kids always fight about things that are
quite insignificant."

"Definitely. Like who would get the top and bottom bunk." Al said.

"Yeah." Ed replied.

"We fought over candy a lot too, huh?" Al added.

"And that toy, you remember?" Ed asked.

"I won that one. And when we played in the rain river too." Al said.

"Oh yeah...you shoved me into the water." Ed said.

"Well, that was quite mean, especially coming from Al." Hughes said
amused.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Honestly, haven't you realized by now that Al is not as
innocent as he seems."

"Yeah, I guess. Why did he push you into the river?" Hughes asked.

"We were fighting over something." Ed scratched the back of his head. "I
can't really remember what though. We fought a lot so I can't remember them
all."

"And that fight we had during our training?" Al stated.

"Teacher said we were being too loud, then she beat us up herself. Why
don't we call that one a draw?" Edward asked.

"I can't believe you two were actually stupid enough to fight around your
Teacher." Brody said blandly.

"What was it about anyway?" Fuery asked, curious to know what could
actually cause the two brothers to actually fight around their scary teacher.

Ed, brows furrowed in confusion, turned to Al. "I can't remember. Do you?"

Al shook his helmet. "The beating from Teacher was pretty scary and intense
so it kind of knocked the argument from my mind."

A few soldiers shuddered. Demon teacher, Izumi was if she could make the
brothers forget a fight just by beating them up as punishment for fighting.

"We even fought over which one of us would marry Winry someday." Al
said.

"Ooh, so you both have a crush on Miss. Winry." Hughes teased.

While Al laughed, Ed blinked and looked at his brother. "Did we really fight
about that?"

Al tilted his head. "You don't remember?"

Ed shook his head. "Not one bit." He scratched his head. So Al had memories
that he didn't recall or were even involved in. Then wouldn't that mean that
this really was Al, but that was only true if other people Al claims were in the
memory remembered it.

"What? Don't remember that one." Ed asked in a panicked tone.

"I won the fight, but she shot me down." Al explained.

"Not really surprising. She likes Brother too much." Al said in a teasing
voice.

Ed, blushing bright red, kicked his brother in the chest. "Shut it, Al."

"Oh, did she?" Edward paused before opening his eyes and saying,
"You're telling me that all those memories are lies?"

After another pause, Al said, "Sorry."

"So is that it?" Havoc asked hopefully. "Everyone is all good now?"

Al laughed. "Yep, everything is all good now."

"Boys are so simple with their fights." Karin said happily.

"And your determination to be whole again and to get your body back no
matter what, that's a lie too?" Ed asked.

"No, it's not a lie." Al replied.

Ed's automail hand curled into a fist. "That's right." Al's fist was shown.
"We're in this together, all the way. Don't forget that. We're going to
keep pushing forward." Ed's fist was shown again as he raised it into the
air. "We'll make ourselves stronger, faster, and better until we get our
bodies back."

Al chuckled. "And the milk?"

"Milk?" Ed asked surprised. Al's raised fist was shown. "Fine…I'll

drink a little."
Al and Ed laughed.

Ed's fist was shown reaching towards Al. "Whatever it takes, Brother."
Al's fist entered the screen to pound with Ed's.

"Hmm."

Hughes and Winry were seen standing in the doorway of the roof.

"Mr. Hughes," Winry said. "Maybe you don't have to hear some things
out loud, but it sure is helpful sometimes."

Hughes smiled and looked back at the brothers. "I guess it is."

Ed was shown limping back to the doorway with Al following him.

A bright light entered the screen before it vanished to show a sun. The
scene lowered to show a war-torn area with a white flag flapping around
in the wind. In the distance, a man was seen too be standing.

At a close up, it was shown to be Scar from during the war. "My
brother…" He whispered. "Master…They're gone…all gone."

"So is this Ishval after the war?" Al asked curiously.

"The outskirts of it at least." Scar told him.

A smirking mouth was shown. "Hey," The man drawled.

"You don't look like an Ishvalan. Who are you?" Scar asked.

"Oh, my, where are my manners? I should have introduced myself." The
voice was recognized as Kimblee's. His hands with the transmutation
circles on them were shown. "I'm a State Alchemist in the military. I've
been sent to exterminate this sector."

"What a sadistic bastard." Ed mumbled.

Scar's angry face was shown.

One of Kimblee's hand lit up bright red before the scene changed to an
injured looking Scar, whose eyes had snapped open.

"Hey, you're awake." An Ishvalan child sitting next to him said.

"Where am I?" Scar asked.

"In a slum outside of East City. You're among friends now." An old man
sitting next to Scar as well said.

"That's where Ishvalans have to live now?" Al said sadly.

"You and Fullmetal seem to really dislike this treatment." Mustang said
curiously. He did as well, but there was nothing that could be done by it with
his current power. That was something he could work on when he got more
power. But the brothers' dislike made him want to know why.

Ed shrugged. "Humans are all created equal. The color of skin and eyes
shouldn't mean anything. It doesn't make them any less human."

"It makes sense they would think that way, sir." Riza said. "They grew up in
the country. Their mother was a very kind woman from what I hear. They
were not taught to be rude to those who are different from them. Kids learn
from adults, and since they were never taught to be racists, their minds say
the treatment of Ishvalans is wrong, and they would be correct."

"Ugh, sounds like psychology." Havoc grumbled.

Ed smirked. "It is psychology. Lieutenant Riza seems to understand it well."

He pointed to himself and Al. "And we have our own thoughts."

"I wonder how you two would have been if you didn't lose your parents."
Mustang mused. "I imagine you would have completely different
personalities, morals, or behaviors had you still have your parents."

Al shrugged. "Even if that's true, you would never know, sir. It's only because
of our circumstances that we met. I imagine that had things been different,
Brother and I would have never met you guys."
"Never meet Chief and Al?" Havoc asked. "Sounds like a boring a time."

Al chuckled.

Scar lifted his head very slightly. "Who are you, you old man?"

"Me? Why, I'm a man of Ishvalan, just as you are, son." The old man
said. "There's nothing to worry about here. I won't sell out one of my
own."

"Are we the only ones here?" Scar asked. "Are there other Ishvalan
survivors?"

"Yes, indeed there are." The old man replied. "A rundown slum such as
this may bare no resemblance to our ancestral home, but you know what
they say, the world is god's bosom, our great loving god, Ishvala. Am I
right?" He chuckled.

"Yes, you certainly are." Scar replied before his eyes shut as he grimaced
in pain.

"You can't. You're not ready." The child said worriedly. A childish
flashback was shown of the old man and the child in the sewer watching
as Scar was washed away in the filthy water. "We found you floating in
the sewers. You were hurt bad."

"I am surprised you didn't die from that. Your wounds would have had to be
really infected." Miles commented.

"And the slums don't actually give proper treatment." Luke added.

Ed grimaced. That sounded really dangerous. "That just shows how strong
and determined Scar is to live. It took about ten, maybe more days, for him to
awaken. He must have struggled with living."

Scar was shown to be staring at the ceiling again. He recalled his fight
with Gluttony and Lust. He grimaced before shutting his eyes. "Boy, my
right arm. Did I lose it or is it still with me?"
The boy pulled off the blanket to reveal the arm. "Yeah, it stills there,
mister. It should be fine. Your tattoo." The boy looked away from the
arm to look at Scar's face. "It's really amazing."

Scar opened an eye. "Yeah, it's important to me. A precious gift from my
family."

The scene went dark.

"Well, we didn't learn anything new this episode either." Brody said

"Besides Chief's big fear." Havoc pointed out, only to receive a glare from
Ed. "But we won't mention that."

Ed nodded. "Good boy."

Havoc twitched. "This feels backwards."

Al chuckled. Ever since everything became better between him and his
brother, he had been feeling more cheerful. "Sir, it seems to be getting late.
Are we going to watch much more?" He asked the Colonel.

Mustang took his pocket watch out to check the time. "We should be able to
watch one more episode tonight, then we'll go to bed. Breakfast will be at
eight tomorrow, then we'll continue on. Does that sound good to everyone?"

While everyone nodded, Ed raised his hand. "I protest. That is too early."

"You don't get a vote, Fullmetal." Mustang retorted.

"Well, that's just unfair." Ed grumbled.

"Don't complain. Let's get on with the next episode before it gets too late."
Izumi said.

A/N: There is a poll on profile. It has to do with the story so please go

answer it for me.

Please Review!
*Chapter 10*: Episode 10: Separate
Destinations
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: So I was proofreading this today and putting the finishing touches
on it, but it took longer then I meant for it too. The power went out at my
house for about two hours today so I spent the time fooling around
instead of proofreading this because it is so fun at the house when the
power is out. It is much better than proofreading. So yeah…I was being
lazy.

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 10: Separate Destinations

Soldiers were shown to be running across a battlefield, firing their guns

as they ran.

"Well, this is a strange beginning." Havoc said.

"The power of one man doesn't amount to much." Mustang's voice said.

"Oh, great, the beginning has to do with Mustang." Ed grumbled.

Mustang smirked. "It's much better than beginning with a rude, uncharming
brat like you."

Ed just scoffed at him.

Ishvalan civilians were shown to be firing back at the soldiers. Soldiers

were hit and fell to the ground dead. Ishvalans were shown to be fighting
fiercely, then the soldiers were shown, getting shot more and more.
There was a snap of fingers and an explosion occurred, taking out all the
Ishvalans.

Mustang was shown to be walking through the smoke. "But however

little strength I'm capable of, I'll do everything humanly possible to
protect the people I love." His glove covered hand was shown to clench
into a tight fist.

"Is burning people alive actually considered humane?" Edward asked

distastefully. "Because honestly, that sounds like a very horrible way to die.
You are set on fire and slowly die as your skin is burned away. An
instantaneous death seems more humane then that."

Mustang sighed. "With my Flame Alchemy, I can kill a person within

seconds so they do not suffer much. On the other hand, I can also drag their
death out if I desire too."

"Certainly not someone I would want to meet in a dark alley." Al said.

Ed smirked. "Unless, of course, it was raining."

The younger brother sighed. "Brother, you don't need to keep pointing out
how useless Colonel is in the rain."

Mustang fell into a dejected state while mumbling "useless" to himself.

Hughes wasn't being much help either. He just patted Mustang on the
shoulder, trying to be sympathetically, while also trying to hide his own
laughter.

Soldiers were shown to be standing in straight lines with two on horses

walking away.
"And in turn, they'll protect the ones they love." Mustang continued. He
was shown to be standing next to Hughes. "It seems like the least we tiny
humans can do for each other."

"Sounds like a pyramid scheme." Hughes replied. He pushed his glasses

up as he continued to look at Mustang from the corner of his eyes.
"There's just one thing. If you hope to eventually protect everyone," He
pointed towards something that Mustang turned to look at. "Then you'll
have to figure out a way to stand at the top of the pyramid." Bradley was
shown to be standing at the top of some stairs as he looked down at his
soldiers.

"I can only imagine how good it must feel to be up there, Hughes."
Mustang said as he and Hughes were shown to be staring at Bradley.
"Although, I'll never be able to find out without all the support I can get.
There's no doubt about that."

Havoc snorted. "What obvious intentions."

"I thought you were known to be more subtle than that." Ed muttered.

Mustang bristled as he glared at the two. "Hughes is a friend. I didn't really

need to be subtle."

"Then why not just ask directly?" Al asked innocently.

"Roy is just a complicated person." Hughes laughed.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that is the reason." He muttered sarcastically.

Hughes pushed his friend's shoulder. "You're not very subtle you
know." He looked at his friend and smirked. "You've got my support,
but you could have just asked me."

"Hughes's agrees!" Havoc and Ed shouted together, causing said man to

laugh some more.
"It ought to be fun to watch though, and maybe your ideal naiveness
may actually do some good."
Bradley stared down at Mustang, who stared right back.

"Colonel…." Mustang was shown to be sitting in his office with his eyes
shut. "Colonel!" Riza tried again.

Mustang opened his eyes.

"There is an open bunk in the barracks if you need a nap." Riza said.

"Sleeping at the office?" General Armstrong scoffed.

"I've been working long hours lately." Mustang defended.

"The fact that you are actually doing work is astounding." General Armstrong
said.

Mustang sighed. "I am not as lazy as everyone thinks."

Mustang sat up straight and put a hand to his face. "I'm fine. I still need
to organize and pack up all of my paperwork before we transfer to
Central." Sighing, he leaned back in his chair. "I haven't had much time
for sleep."

General Armstrong scowled. So that useless man already got the transfer
orders to Central. That meant she would have to move faster to get to Central
as well. She couldn't let him get too far ahead of her and start to gain more
points in his favor.

"It looked like you were in the middle of a pretty vivid dream there."
Riza said.

Mustang gave a short chuckle as he moved his hand to the other side of
his face so he could look at Hawkeye. "Not really." He said as a
suspicious tone entered the background. "It was just an old memory."

"Separate Destinations"

"What? No opening song?" Havoc asked. "That's so strange."

The opening song began.

"It is structured very strangely this time." Al commented.

"It's trying to trick us." Havoc growled.

Brody rolled his eyes, quite amused. "It is just our future. Why would our
future try to trick us?"

The blonde smoker shrugged. "Why would we be shown our future in such a
weird, dramatic way? This whole thing is strange."

"Touché." Brody snorted.

Ed appeared on the screen, holding a picture of a somewhat bad and

somewhat good drawing of Envy. "Well, the last thing I remember is this
guy kicking me."

"Hmm, perhaps I should give you lessons in drawing." Armstrong suggested.

Ed twitched. "No thanks!" He said forcefully. "And it isn't that bad of a

drawing!"

Armstrong rubbed his chin. "But it could be so much better! A few lessons
would be all that it takes."

"NO!" Ed shouted. There was no way he was going to get stuck with
Armstrong any longer then he needed be. He could only handle so much of
having a man's chest rubbed on him….Oh, the images! Now he had to go
scrub his brain…

"I think that is one schooling that would leave Chief scarred for life." Havoc
chuckled to his friends.

Breda smirked. "And we don't need Chief any more scarred then he already
is."

"Scarred?" Ed echoed with a dangerous edge to his voice. "Who is scarred?

Do I seem like traumatized brat to you?!"
"Well," Havoc started, but was cut off when Ed threw his brother's helmet at
him.

"HEY!" Al shouted. "Brother! I need that."

"SCORE!" Ed shouted cheerfully, ignoring his brother in favor of looking at

the dizzy blond lieutenant who had blood trailing down his face.

Izumi scoffed. "How weak. He should have been able to dodge that."

Groaning, Havoc tossed the helmet back to Al. "Does no one care that I just
got hit in the face with a helmet?"

Mustang shrugged. "You kind of had it coming."

Sighing, Dr. Young got out the first aid kit and worked on treating the
lieutenant's bleeding nose.

Hughes, Al, and Armstrong were shown to be surrounding Ed's bed.

"It's odd that he let you live." Armstrong said. "What about this
sacrifice and other armored souls?"

The table in front of Ed was shown so the papers filled with notes and
arrays could be seen.

"Not to mention the Ouroboros tattoos and the transmutation circle."

Hughes added. "And Dr. Marcoh claims that they were using the
Philosopher's Stones in Ishval."

"Do you think we are going to get new information this episode?" Darius
asked.

Jerso shrugged. "We better. It's been a while since we have learned anything
new."

Armstrong looked at Hughes. "Every clue we have to work with seems to

lead to its own mystery."

"Not much we can do about that though." Hughes said. "Any answer we
might have found are under tons of rubble back at the lab."

A dejected air filled the room.

"Nothing is ever simple." Ed muttered.

"And isn't that usually your fault?" Heinkel asked.

Ed twitched. "It is not always my fault! Can we not just blame the monsters
for this one?"

"I agree." Dr. Marcoh said with a tired sigh. "This has all happened because
of those monsters. If they never existed, this would not have happened."

"Thank you!" Edward breathed, glad someone seemed to be on his side for
once.

Heinkel shrugged. "It's still more fun to blame the kid."

Ed twitched. Damn these soldiers.

Denny was shown to have his ear against the door.

"Are you still eavesdropping?" Armstrong asked dangerously.

Denny cried.

"And I thought it was supposed to be kids who had no self-control." Edward

muttered.

"They are talking about some seriously crazy stuff in there." Denny said.

Maria plugged her ears. "You heard the old cliché about how curiosity
killed the cat, right? Well, it's true." Denny stared at her blankly.

"Pardon me, Lieutenant."

Denny looked shocked.

"I'm looking for Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"How many visitors do you need from the military?" Maria asked. "And it
seems to be someone high up again."

"I hope it's not a stuffy General. Those guys are so annoying." Edward
muttered.

"How can you know, Brother? You barely have any interaction with them."
Al pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "Well, that General we met at Colonel's office was pretty

annoying and didn't seem to care for much but his power. He was really loud
too."

It took a lot of self-control to keep Havoc from laughing. "Chief, you

slammed a door open on his face. I would be screaming too if you kicked a
door open on me like that."

"That was his fault! Who the hell stands that close to a door when it could be
opened at any moment?" Edward retorted.

"What happened to him anyway?" Al asked curiously.

Mustang sighed and covered his face. "He got a concussion from the event,
and luckily, didn't realize it was a subordinate from my squad that hit him
with a door."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Luke asked. "Wouldn't only
Chief be in trouble?"

"We were in the middle of an inspection." Riza explained.

"Oh." Luke muttered. Lucky indeed. "But didn't he find out later when he
asked who it was that hit him?"

"We rescheduled the inspection because of it, then had Chief there for the
second try of the inspection. When it was realized he didn't recognize Chief,
we sent him on a wild goose chase to find out who it was who hit him with a
door." Breda explained, grinning to himself. "To this day, he hasn't found
anyone to post the blame on for that one."

"Didn't stop Colonel from lecturing me." Edward muttered.

"I couldn't let you get off scot-free for that." Mustang retorted.

Maria pulled her fingers from her ears. "Sure, this is his–" She stopped
when she looked up and looked shocked.

Inside the room, Hughes was looking at a drawing of the Ouroboros

tattoo.

"Well, at least that drawing is done really well." Armstrong said.

Ed growled.

"Well, it is more like an array so it's no wonder." Al told the Major.

"Are you saying that I can only draw arrays well, Alphonse?" Ed asked with
a twitch.

"Yes." Al said without hesitation.

"You are very mean." Ed muttered.

"I'll run a search and see if I can find some inquires on anyone with an
Ouroboros tattoo." Hughes said.

"Very good." Armstrong said as he picked up some papers to look at.

"And while you do that, I'll continue looking into the research team that
was working with Dr. Marcoh in Ishval."

A knock came from the door, causing the two soldiers to look at it.

The door opened and a soldier walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt." The soldier was shown to be the Fuhrer.

"Why the hell is the Fuhrer visiting you?" Havoc shouted.

"What is with you and high ranking officers?" Denny shouted.

"Uh, well," Ed blinked, then paused before he sighed and shrugged. "I got
nothing."

All four occupants stared in shock at the Fuhrer.

Hughes and Armstrong snapped salutes at the man. "Fuhrer Bradley!"

Armstrong said. "Your Excellency."

Bradley held up a hand. "Calm down, gentlemen." He said with a smile.

"This is just an informal visit."

Bradley walked forward to stop in front of Ed, while Al and Hughes

were slightly bowed. "Yes sir, but may I please ask the occasion, sir?"
Hughes had his eye opened a crack to look at the Fuhrer.

"This young man." Bradley said, looking at Ed. "I heard you're
injured." He held up a basket with a melon in it. "I thought a nice melon
would cheer you up."

Ed took the basket from him. "I guess." He said in shock before he
shouted, "Thank you, sir."

"When does the Fuhrer visit someone in the hospital?" Edward asked.

"Never." Hughes said with a frown. "Which is why this is a bit suspicious."

"It's no wonder." Ed muttered. "I can't take such a shocking and confusing
visit, especially when I'm injured."

"I understand you've been checking up on some of the senior staff, is this
true, Major Armstrong?" Bradley asked.

"You weren't careful enough if he already caught you." General Armstrong

growled.
Armstrong winced at the glare his sister sent him.

Armstrong looked surprised as a tensed beat entered the scene. "Um,

yes, sir, but, uh, how did you know I was…"

"You should know that nothing gets passed me, Major." Bradley said
before looking back at Ed. "And now you, my revered Fullmetal
Alchemist."

"Revered?" Ed asked.

"That's not the point, Fullmetal. Do you not hear the music in the
background? It does not sound like happy, safe music, now does it?" Myers
asked.

"So we are basing everything about how something is going to turn out on the
music now?" Al asked.

"Sounds like a good plan." Luke said amused.

"Tell me what you know about the Philosopher's Stone."

"In that situation, what would be the best choice?" Edward asked.

"What do you mean, Brother?" Al asked.

Ed shrugged. "It's a difficult situation. He is my boss, the Fuhrer! But I barely

know the guy and never worked with him directly. I can't trust a guy I have
never had any personal or work time with. But then again, he is also the
leader of the country, and I should trust and believe in him, right? So what
the hell is the best course of action?"

"That does sound very complicated." Walkers groaned. "I'm glad I have never
found myself in that situation."

"That doesn't help me!" Ed shouted. "This is why I hate the government and
the military and the whole politics thing!"

"Which is why you spend so much time doing things the rash way instead."
Falman commented.

Ed nodded. "Yes. At least someone gets it!"

Falman sighed. He did not get it one bit. He was just making an observation.

Ed appeared on the screen, staring at his boss.

"And I hope for your sake that you don't know too much." Bradley
continued.

Hughes and Armstrong were shown standing behind Bradley before Ed

and Al were shown.

Bradley was seen again, and after a few seconds, he started laughing,
surprising the four. "I'm only kidding." He said, putting a hand to Ed's
shoulder. "There's no reason for you to be so uptight."

"Not funny!" Ed cried, clutching his shirt where his heart was.

"Hey, at least now you don't have to tell him anything." Darius said
cheerfully.

"Brother, doesn't it seem like Fuhrer Bradley knows something?" Al asked.

Ed blinked. "What do you mean, Al?"

Al shrugged. "Well, he said he hopes you don't know too much for your sake.
It just seems like a strange thing to say if he doesn't know anything."

Hughes's eyes narrowed. "That does seem strange." So that meant there was
something more to this strange visit.

"Huh?" Ed said, looking absolutely shocked.

Bradley removed his hand from Ed's shoulder. "I know that there's been
some suspicious activity within the military lately. And I believe it's
necessary that something be done about it." He picked a paper off the
table.
"Oh, uh, that's…" Armstrong said.

"A list of the researchers assigned to study the Philosopher's Stone."

Bradley said, not taking his eyes off the list. "Every person listed in this
document has been reported missing. They all vanished several days
before the fifth laboratory collapsed. It seems the enemy is always one
step ahead of us. Even with my vast network of informants, I have no
way to determine how far our ranks have been infiltrated. The most we
know about them is that they know a lot about us."

"Isn't it strange that the Fuhrer isn't here?" Luke suddenly asked. "He seems
to know what is going on so why wouldn't he be here with us to see the
truth?"

General Armstrong frowned. That was a very good question. Maybe he had
nothing to do with saving this country, even if he did know what was going
on. If that was so, then he was a horrible leader. It was his duty to protect this
country. He should at least have a part in saving it.

"I'm fine with that. It would be so much more awkward if he was here."
Edward said.

"That doesn't cease the suspicions of why he isn't here." Mustang pointed out,
frowning just like General Armstrong. To be honest, he was wondering that
for a while now. If the country was in danger, then the Fuhrer should be
helping to save it. Now there were hundreds of theories running through his
mind as to why the Fuhrer wasn't here with them. Some of them seemed to be
plain ridiculous while others seemed plausible, but he just couldn't figure
which one of them was right.

"We won't figure anything out by just thinking about it. We need more
information so we should continue on." Riza pointed out.

"Right."

"In that case, this is proving much more dangerous then we imagined."
Hughes said.
Bradley put the papers back down. "Major Armstrong, Lieutenant
Colonel Hughes, Elric brothers, you've all proven yourself to be me of a
trustworthy character. From this point forward, I'm giving you the
direct order to forget this matter and all that it concerns."

Ed and Al were seen to be staring at him.

"At this time, suspicion is our strongest line of offense."

Hughes and Armstrong were shown.

"Your only form of defense is discretion." Bradley was shown. "Do not
trust anyone. Keep this to yourselves at all cost. However, when I deem
the time is right to confront the enemy, I expect you to be prepared to
join me in the effort."

Hughes and Armstrong saluted. "Sir." They both said.

"Where is he?" A voice yelled. "Has Fuhrer Bradley been through

here?"

Bradley saluted quickly. "Got to go." He walked away from the four.
"Damn bodyguards chasing my shadow."

"He doesn't seem to like his guards." Ed commented.

"You're one to talk." Maria and Denny shouted at him.

Chuckling nervously, Ed ducked his head down.

Hughes, Armstrong, and Ed turned to watch Bradley open a window and

start to climb out of it. "You see, I snuck away to get a few minutes of
privacy."

"He's climbing out of a window." Buccaneer said, grinning. "How indecent of

the Fuhrer."

"I think there is something wrong with this State." Edward said blankly.
"You didn't get that from the monsters working in the shadows or the
Philosopher's Stone being made from human life?" Dr. Marcoh asked.

Ed shrugged. "Okay, let me restate that. There is something wrong with the
adults in the military, and it is not comforting. I've yet to meet one normal
soldier."

"What about me?" Riza asked.

The boy eyed her carefully. "You're a good soldier, but you're a bit too trigger
happy. I decided that soldiers just aren't meant to be normal."

Havoc shrugged. "Well, it makes life more interesting."

"My life is interesting enough without adding crazy soldiers to it." Edward
replied.

"Ah, good point."

Bradley held a hand up. "Well, farewell for now." He put his other foot
on the window ledge and jumped out of the window. He stood up straight
and began to walk away while the four occupants of the room looked out
of the window, still in shock.

Winry opened the room door. "Hey Ed." She paused when Ed,
Armstrong, and Al looked at her blankly while Hughes continued to
stare out the opened window. "What the…? What's going on? Did I miss
something?"

"Not really. Just a tornado passing by." Edward replied blankly.

Winry closed the room door. "Well, I don't think there is anything I can
do about that, but I did go and buy the train tickets you asked for." She
held up a brown envelope.

"Thanks. Just in time." Ed replied.

Armstrong looked down at Ed. "You sure are a man on the move, aren't
you?" He said as Ed turned to look at him. "Your wounds haven't even
healed completely."

Ed looked away from the Major. "Yeah, well two days of sick people and
hospital food is enough for me. Thanks."

"You are leaving after two days?" Izumi growled.

"It's not like I was too seriously injured!" Ed protested.

"No, you just got sliced up with a sword. Why would that warrant you to
actually stay in a hospital and recuperate?" Mustang asked sarcastically.
"You need to start caring more about your health."

"I do care, but I just don't have the time to be resting around so much."
Edward snapped.

Hughes moved to stand next to Winry. He leaned down next to her to see
the tickets. "Where are you heading off to this time? What's in
Dublith?"

"What?!" Ed and Al shouted.

Izumi laughed. "Well, you two had to visit me at some point if I am getting
dragged to this place with you."

"We're going to die." Edward said blankly.

"You survived running into her in here, so I'm sure you'll be fine in the
future." Brody pointed out.

Ed stared at him blankly. "There are witnesses in here." He said with Al

nodding agreement.

Izumi rolled her eyes. What dramatic boys they were. She wouldn't hurt them
too badly.

Smiling, Ed patted Al on the back. "Well, with the way things have gone
lately, Al and I decided we should go back and visit our old teacher." As
he said this, Al started shaking.
"I think I'm too scared, Brother." Al said. The brothers grabbed each
other's hands and both had sweat pouring down them. "There's no way
she's not going to kill us."

"Look. Don't you chicken out on me now. I'm scared too, okay?" Ed
replied.

Quite a few soldiers chuckle, while the others shot nervous glares at Izumi.
They already knew they didn't want to get on her bad side.

General Armstrong smirked. "This is a visit I can't wait to see."

"Sadist." Ed hissed.

Winry sweat dropped. "What exactly does this person teach?"

Armstrong put a hand to his chin. "It appears you have a rather lengthy
journey ahead of you."

"How far is Dublith?" Winry asked.

A map of Amestris was shown. "Well, let's see." Al said before he

pointed to a spot on the map. "There it is. All the way down here."

Winry stared at the map for a moment before her eyes lit up and she
screamed, shocking the four males.

"W-What is it?" Ed asked.

Winry pointed at a spot on the map. "That! Right there! Right before
Dublith!" She said before going into her weird happy state with Ed and
Al staring at her blankly. "It's the holy land of automail engineering. It's
Rush Valley!" She turned to Ed and excitedly asked, "We have to go!
We have to go! You have to take me!"

"Yeah, whatever." Ed said with an angry twitch. "I don't have to take
you anywhere."

"Now, now, Ed." Hughes said.

"No." Ed growled. "She wants me to pay her damn fee. She should go use
that damn money I pay her with to go. I am not a bank."

"Well, somebody has to pay for my travel fare." Winry said angrily.

"I pay her all the time and so do her other customers! How can she not have
money for a stupid ticket?" Edward shouted.

"What's so wrong about going to Rush Valley? It is on the way." Maria

pointed out.

"I get enough automail freakiness from Winry, and now you want me to go to
Rush Valley, a home of automail?" Edward scoffed. "It won't end well."

"I think Brother just likes arguing with Winry." Al said.

Ed snorted.

"Why does it have to be me?" Ed asked angrily.

"Come on, Brother. What's the big deal? It's on the way." Al said.

Ed turned away and crossed his arms. "Only if you want to, Al."

While Winry squealed and spun in a circle, Armstrong just stared on

with a deadpanned stare. "Hooray!" She screamed before running to the
room door. "I've got to call and tell grandma."

As she left, Ed and Al stared blankly at the door.

"Great, more of wasting my time." Edward grumbled.

"You love Winry so much, but you still complained like this." Hughes said.

"I don't love her!" Ed shouted. "And besides, not only do I now have to buy
her a damn ticket, but the moment we get to that blasted place, she is going to
see all of this automail junk she wants and will try to get me to buy it for her
because apparently all the money I give her only goes to automail pieces and
tools. Oh, wait, I have to buy that crap with my own money at times to."
"But you would have to do that when you guys get married." Hughes pointed
out.

Ed screamed in frustration. "I'm not getting married to her, Hughes. Drop it!"

Hughes put a hand on Ed's shoulder. "She'll make you a fine wife
someday."

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up?!" Ed shouted.

"But that was future me!" Hughes protested.

Ed glared at him. "Anything you do, you know you'll do it. Future or not."

Hughes blinked. He wasn't sure if that made sense or not.

"Don't start that again!" Edward said angrily.

Laughing, Hughes put a hand to the back of his head. "I would rather
talk about my wife anyway."

Ed deflated.

Hughes was shown in different clothes. "It's time for bye-bye. Daddy's
got to go to work now."

Winry, Elicia, and Gracia appeared on the screen to be seen standing in

the doorway of the Hughes's apartment. "Daddy, come home early
today, okay?" Elicia asked sweetly.

"Hmm, well, I can try. But Daddy has a bunch of important work that
needs to be done." Hughes said. He squeezed his daughter's cheeks. "But
I promise I'll do it as fast as possible."

Elicia laughed. "That tickles, Daddy."

Smiling, Gracia looked down at her kneeling husband. "Alright. Don't

you be late now."
Hughes stood up and looked at Winry. "Well, Ms. Rockbell, I probably
won't see you again before your train leaves, but it's been fun. Oh, and
tell the boys I said good-bye."

"Thanks Mr. Hughes." Winry said before a happy tone entered the
background and the girl gave a bow. "I really appreciate your
hospitality."

"You just make sure to come back to visit us anytime you're in Central,
okay?" Hughes said. "Our home is your home too."

"That goes for you boys as well." Hughes told the brothers.

Ed shrugged. "Whatever, Hughes."

Al sighed. "Brother. Thank you, Hughes."

Hughes smiled. "Til then, take care of yourself. Bye hun." He began to
walk away from the three girls.

"Right." Winry said.

"Work hard, Daddy." Elicia shouted to his back as she waved. "Bye-
bye."

Hughes held a hand up in farewell. "You be safe out there." Gracia

called.

Ed shuddered. "I really hate those words."

"So insensitive. It likes you don't know what it means to have someone caring
for you." Mustang scoffed.

"To me, those words are just ominous. Anything like that, just feels like it is
giving off a bad signal for something to happen." Edward snapped with a
scowl.

"I didn't think you were a superstitious type of person." Zampano

commented.
Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm not. I have a thing about farewells. I don't like them
because of things like this. They scare me."

"Scare you?" Riza asked confused.

Edward shrugged. "Hughes just made quite a few promises. In my mind I

can't help but think, his family is telling him to be safe out there and to come
home early. A farewell like that makes me think that something is going to
happen. They are supposed to be pleasant, but nothing feels safe about them.
When you make a promise in a farewell, it's just scary because you know
there is always a chance you might not come back. It's the life of a soldier, I
guess."

"Well, I say good-bye to my family like that often and I'm still alive so you
shouldn't worry so much about farewells, Ed." Hughes said calmly.

The boy just shrugged again. It was different for each person.

A train was shown as it whistled. Ed, Al, and Winry were shown inside it
as the latter waved at someone out the window. It was shown to be
Maria, Denny, Armstrong, Gracia, and Elicia as the train pulled out of
the station.

The train was shown on a bridge as the sun was setting.

"So why is it suddenly so important you guys see your teacher?" Winry
asked.

"There are a couple of reasons." Edward replied. The passengers of the

train were shown. "For starters, I'm a little tired of getting my ass
kicked."

"Wait. Is this some kind of combat teacher?" Winry asked as the three
teens were shown. "Why don't you just quit fighting?"

"How naïve." General Armstrong scoffed. "The world is not so simple that
we can all simply stop fighting, especially soldiers and State Alchemists."

"To be fair, she hasn't left Resembool once. This is her time. She doesn't
know the real world works." Edward retorted in his friend's defense.

"That is dangerous." Mustang said. "Kids who grow up in the city see the real
world and how much trouble there is. Kids who grow up in the country don't
have that advantage and do not understand the pain of the world."

"She should though. She lost her parents to the war." Al said.

Ed sighed. "But she still doesn't understand. Maybe this trip will help her."

"This coming from the guy who was so against going to Rush Valley." Jerso
snorted.

Ed glared at him. "It is a dangerous place. I just know it."

Mustang rolled his eyes. What an overdramatic boy…or boys he thought as

he glanced at Al. They both seemed to have a thing for theatrics.

Edward looked at her with a glare. "Oh, that'd be nice. But sorry, it's
not as simple as that." He closed his eyes. "This isn't only about our
fighting. Our core needs a little work too." He opened his eyes to look at
Al. "Right, Al?"

Al nodded. "Exactly. We feel like seeing our teacher will help us grow
and make us stronger on the inside."

Ed looked out the window. "Yeah. We're going to need as much strength
as we can get."

Winry smirked as she looked at Al then Ed. "What's reason two?"

"To see what she can tell us about the Philosopher's Stone." Edward
replied.

As Al spoke again, the train passengers were shown once more. "And to
ask about the truth within the truth."

"Mostly, I believe I'll be scolding you two and beating you up." Izumi said.
"And I don't know much about the stone. It has never interested me."
Ed twitched. "Well, we can see if you heard anything at least."

"We haven't gotten any closer to figuring it out. There's a chance our
teacher knows something about it." Al finished.

"Let's hope she at least gives us a chance to ask her." Edward said. "You
should be more worried about explaining your appearance to her, Al."
His speech faltered as the happy tone also began to falter to an end.
"Considering…considering…" The boys fell into a miserable state.
"She's gonna to kill us when she finds out what happened."

"It would have been nice to at least have had a girlfriend before I died."
Al said.

Denny couldn't help but grin at that statement. At least one of the brothers
wasn't embarrassed at that idea.

"Maybe you guys should get a new teacher." Winry suggested.

"Argh, can't do that." Ed muttered. "No one is as good as Teacher."

"I'm not your teacher anymore." Izumi pointed out.

"You can expel us all you want, but we will still consider the fact that you
were our teacher at one point." Al said.

Ed nodded. "And we respect you too much to even think about getting a
replacement for you."

Izumi felt her heart warm up at that. Her boys were really sweet at times.

Central Command was shown at nighttime.

"Riots in Liore?" Hughes's voice said.

The office Hughes was in was shown. He was reading a paper with his
subordinate next to him speaking, "Yes, it's apparently in response to
that sham religion that was preying on the town's people. They finally
realized they were being suckered."
As the paper Hughes was looking was seen up close, he said, "Yeah,
Ishval and Liore. The east has been a real hunt bed, huh?"

Sheska was shown to be passed out at her desk.

"I'm afraid it's not just the east. There have been reports of uprisings in
the north and west as well."

"Sounds like a blood bath all around." Ed scoffed. "It's like the State values
violence over peaceful negotiations."

Hughes frowned darkly. Each time Ed opened his mouth with something
insightful or wise to say, he kept adding more and more thoughts to run
around in Hughes's mind. There were too many blood baths happening
around for his liking. Way too many for normal. Did it mean something?

Hughes's eyes were seen to still be focused on the paper. "The bodies are
piling up all over. The government's going to have a hard time keeping
control at this rate." Suddenly Hughes's eyes narrowed and he stood up
as he put the paper down. He started walking out of the office when
another tone entered the background, except this time it was suspicious
and dangerous.

His subordinate turned to watch him go. "Colonel Hughes, is something

wrong?"

Hughes opened the door. "I'll be in the archive room." He said before
closing the door behind him.

"You're acting stranger then usual, Hughes." Mustang commented with a

frown. "It looks like you realized something."

Hughes shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if I did, but at the moment, I'm not
sure what it is. I don't have the resources I need to figure it out." Even though
he said that, his thoughts were still spinning around and a map of the country
was forming in his mind.

His two subordinates stared at the closed door then at each other.
A pen was shown to be circling a city. "Liore." Hughes said. The dark
room was scanned over. "These endless uprisings…The Philosopher's
Stone…human sacrifices." Hughes appeared on the screen. "And the
outright genocide of the Ishvalan people." He picked up the map. "And
this means, how could this even happen? And who could have
orchestrated something as terrible as this?"

"Hughes knows what is going on!" Ed said, but he didn't sound excited. He
sounded nervous.

"What's wrong with you?" Hughes asked.

"You went to the archive alone after I told you about those strange people in
the lab. They came out of nowhere!" Ed shouted. "You don't go alone! You're
a soldier! You should know better then to go alone when you are dealing with
something dangerous."

"If what Fullmetal is saying is that you are in grave danger, then let's hope
your future safe gets out of there quickly." Miles said with a frown. That
ominous feeling that Ed had earlier…Miles really hoped nothing happened.

Footsteps echoed around as a shadow moved along the wall where

Hughes was.

"I have to tell the Fuhrer right away." Hughes said as the door to the
room was closed.

"Oh, shit." Ed groaned. "Someone's there. You need to pay more attention to
your surroundings, Hughes! Or take a partner! Don't you soldiers get a
partner for a reason?" He couldn't believe this! At this rate, someone was
going to hurt!

Hughes looked up in shock. Lust was shown to be standing by the door.

"That bitch!" Ed and Mustang shouted.

Dr. Marcoh sighed sadly. "There is no escape now."

"No. There is always a way!" Ed growled. "There is only no way when you
don't try!"

"Even if he does escape here, they will hunt him down to stop the spread of
this news. Not only that, his family will be in grave danger. These monsters
do not stop ever." Dr. Marcoh explained.

Hughes clenched his fists. His family? Oh, hell no. He would not let those
monsters anyway near his family. He would do whatever it takes to keep
them safe.

"Hello Lieutenant Colonel." Lust greeted. "It's nice to meet you. Well,
actually, hello isn't really the word I'm looking for." She lifted her claws.

Hughes backed away slowly while Lust moved slowly forward.

Hughes's eyes narrowed in on her chest where the tattoo was. "Cool
tattoo you got there."

"Those are your last words? Wouldn't you rather scream?" Lust asked
as Hughes continued to back up. Her nails suddenly extended rapidly. At
the same time that she thrust them forward, Hughes pulled a throwing
knife from his back and threw it at her.

Sheska gripped the edges of her skirt fearfully while biting her bottom lip to
keep from screaming. She was always scared watching Ed and Al fight, but
they were martial artists and alchemists. They were trained to be evasive and
to protect themselves. But Hughes was a soldier. His specialty wasn't martial
arts or the evasive skills that the Elric brothers had. She really, really hoped
that he was trained well enough and kept up on his training. If he didn't, he
was going to die here.

Hughes lurched forward suddenly in pain. A painful groan escaped from him.
"This certainly hurts a lot." He muttered out.

"Where all do you hurt?" Mustang asked worriedly.

"Just my shoulder. I should have been able to dodge mostly since it is just my
shoulder." Hughes commented.
The doors of the room were shown from the hallway before Hughes
opened one and stumbled out of the room. He fell to the ground where he
grabbed his bleeding shoulder.

"At least it is only your shoulder." Havoc said with a sigh of relief.

"Did you kill the freaky lady?" Edward asked, hoping that it was true. Then
Hughes would be safe and all would be good…Hopefully.

He rolled onto his stomach before pushing himself up to his knees. Once
he was back on his feet, he stumbled a bit before leaning on the wall,
leaving a trail of blood behind on the ground and the wall. "Damn it."
He muttered.

Inside the room, Lust was shown with a knife in her forehead. She
reached up and pulled the knife from her head.

"What the hell?" Edward shouted. No way. This could not be possible. That
should have killed the bitch. "There is no way she can still be alive after
that."

"I fear these monsters are more dangerous than you realize." Dr. Marcoh said
darkly. "Sadly, their core is a Philosopher's Stone."

A dark look passed over Ed's eyes. Monsters and Philosopher's Stones. Just
great! This could not be any worse.

"What does it mean that their core is a Philosopher's Stone? They can use
alchemy?" Brody asked darkly.

Ed growled softly. "I don't know about the alchemy, but it means they each
have a special power as you've seen. But I don't think that has anything to do
with stone. Since their core is the Philosopher's Stone, it means they can't die.
Any injury, whether it kills them or not, matters not. They'll just keep on
coming back."

"So basically, we are all screwed." Avery said darkly. How could anyone
create such monsters? What was this person hoping to accomplish by doing
this to them all?

"There is one positive side. They are not human, no matter how much they
look it and are designed like humans, and as such, they cannot use alchemy."
Dr. Marcoh said.

"That hardly makes up for the fact that we cannot kill them." Luke muttered.
"If we can't rid them of this world, how do we win? How do we stop this
madness?"

Ed, eyes narrowed, glanced at his brother then at Dr. Marcoh. "Human souls
are not infinite." He muttered, confusing some people while others began to
realize just what he meant. "Each stone has a limited amount of human lives
inside of it. The stone is powered by them so all we have to do is make them
use up the stone they possess. Eventually, there will be no souls left for them
to use."

Havoc snorted. "That is easier said then done. How many times do we have
to kill them? How do we get close enough to kill them without dying
ourselves? These monsters are strong."

"Strong, but not invincible." Izumi growled. She cracked her knuckles. "And
they will be sent to the fiery depths of hell where they belong."

Lust's eyes looked at the door. "'Damn it?' That's exactly how I feel."

The blond secretary was shown at her desk as Hughes stumbled into the
area to use a phone. "Oh my, you're back again already." She said as she
looked over her shoulder at him. "Who gets to hear about your daughter
this time–" She suddenly gasped and looked at him fully. "Lieutenant
Colonel, you're bleeding!"

"It's nothing." Hughes gasped. "I need a private line."

He stopped at one of the phones and picked it up. "I have to tell him."
He looked at the phone while the secretary watched him in worry. After
a moment, Hughes put the phone back down, leaving blood on it. "Sorry.
Forget I was here." He said as he walked away.
The secretary watched him go, but also shouted, "But, sir!"

"Why did you leave?" Al asked confused.

Groaning, Hughes glanced at the boy. "The military is not the most private
place. It will stop outsiders from tracing calls and eavesdropping on them, but
it won't stop them from doing the same thing to its soldiers. They want to
make sure none of their information is being leaked."

"How distrustful." Edward muttered distastefully, but without his usual fire.
Lust was still alive and was going to be coming for Hughes. He wasn't safe
yet and he was injured and moving more slowly. He wouldn't admit it to
anyone, but Edward was really, really scared at the moment. If it was him, he
would be fine. He was a little spitfire and knew he could take care of himself,
but Hughes had different training them him.

A phone booth in the park was shown.

"Good evening. Eastern Command." A woman's voice said.

"I need you to connect me to Colonel Mustang right away." Hughes

demanded.

"I'm sorry I'm not allowed to connect from an outside line." The woman
said.

"Che, annoying." Edward growled. "I really hate those people when you call
from an outside line. Especially when it is an emergency!"

"You are speaking to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, and this is a matter of

life and death." Hughes said angrily.

"Can I have your code please?" The woman asked.

"What?" Hughes shouted.

"That is why it is so annoying." Ed growled.

"Deal with it often, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, though without his usual
energy as well. Hughes was in so much danger right now. He knew that.
Hughes knew. All of them knew that. There were probably some who
thought Hughes might die trying to get this information out. That thought
crossed Mustang's mind, but he was desperately hoping that it wouldn't come
to be.

"When I call you like that, it is an emergency, but I also don't have the time
to give her a code." Ed growled. "Usually, I am keeping an eye on someone
for a mission. Sometimes, I know I need backup, but I have to go without
because I don't have time to call and give a code to some lady to get through
to you because my target is on the move."

"There is a flaw with the system, but we can't have civilians calling the line."
Mustang said tiredly.

"Are you trying to waste time?" He said as he pulled a book out from his
pocket. A paper fell from it. "It's Uncle, Sugar, Oliver, then Eight, Zero,
Zero!" The paper that fell from the book was shown to be a picture of
Hughes, his wife, and his daughter.

"Your code was verified. Please hold while I connect you." The woman
said.

"The music in the background is very eerie. I do not like this." Miles said
darkly.

"It just means the danger hasn't passed yet, but we don't need the music to
know that." Heinkel said darkly.

Footsteps sounded before a foot stopped next to the picture.

"Will you hurry? It's an emergency." Hughes shouted before the sound
of a gun clicking met his ears. He glanced up, sweating pouring down his
face. Glancing out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Maria pointing a gun
at him.

"What the hell?" Maria said fearfully. This could not be happening. She
would never point a gun at her superior, especially someone like Hughes.
Quite a few people stared at her in anger or shock, but others kept their eyes
locked on the screen or on others. This was getting so much more real. The
information was shocking. The monsters they were meeting were
unbelievable. And now they might be betrayed by one of their own?

"She wouldn't." Ed whispered to himself so only Al could hear him. "This

isn't her. It can't be."

Silently, Al agreed with him. From what he knew of Maria Ross, he did not
see her as a traitor. She was loyal and caring. Pointing a gun at a friend's back
was not in her.

"I need to ask you to put down the receiver." Maria said. "Please sir."
Hughes turned halfway around to get a better view of her. "Go on. Just
hang it up."

"You look just like..." A dark smile crossed over Hughes's face. "But
you're not."

"It's not me?" Maria said. She wanted to feel relief that she wasn't the one
pointing a gun at Hughes, but she couldn't. It just meant that Hughes was in
even more danger.

"Who the hell are you, lady?"

"I'm Second Lieutenant Ross, sir. You've lost too much blood." Maria
said.

"Drop the act already." Hughes retorted. "You're not Second Lieutenant
Ross. She has a mole under her left eye."

"It is good your observational skills are so good, but that isn't going to help
you now." Myers said with a dark frown.

An evil smile appeared on Maria's face. "You're observant. I can't

believe I forgot." Her hand passed over her face. There was a spark after
she tapped her face and the mole appeared on her face. "There. How do
I look now?"
Hughes gasped. He put his hand on top of the phone box. "This is not
happening. Please tell me I'm hallucinating or something."

The picture of Hughes's family was shown. "You really are a smart man,
Lieutenant Colonel. But did you ever think that would be the cause of
your death?"

Mustang growled quietly to himself. For this person's sake, he….she…

it….whatever…had better not kill his best friend. He could not promise he
would restrain himself if anything at all happened to Hughes.

"Come on. Have a heart, will you?" Hughes said as his hand was shown
on the screen. "I've got a wife and daughter waiting for me." His hand
jerked a bit and a knife came flying into his hand. "So the last thing I'm
going to do is die on them." He turned around to throw his knife, but
froze before he did.

Instead of Maria Ross, Hughes came face-to-face with his wife.

"It's not real!" Ed and Mustang shouted together.

"Don't fall for it." Ed added with a pleading undertone that only those who
really knew him could detect. There was no longer a doubt in his mind. This
was that bastard shape shifter, Envy, and he was screwing with Hughes's
mind.

An evil grin appeared on Gracia's face. "You look surprised."

"What the hell are you?" Hughes asked in shock and fear.

The streetlamp was shown before a shot rang out.

"No!" Mustang whispered hoarsely. Oh, he really hoped that it wasn't Hughes
that got shot. Please, please, let it have been another soldier that was there
and saw what was happening.

A phone was shown to be ringing. Mustang picked it up.

"There's a Lieutenant Colonel Hughes on hold for you. He claims it's

urgent." The lady on the line said.

Mustang stood up straight. "Of course he does. Put him through." There
was a click on the line. "Look, Hughes, I don't have time for daughter
stories." When there was no reply, Mustang opened his eyes. "Hey,
Hughes?"

The phone booth was shown to be covered in blood with the phone
hanging down.

A scream erupted from Hughes, who clutched at his chest.

Edward stared in horror at his friend, who slid off the couch to his knees in
pain. Tears clouded Hughes's vision, but he didn't let them fall down his face.
He got shot and was most likely dying, but this pain was nothing compared to
the pain that his death would cause his family and friends. The thought that
he was hurting them by dying was more painful then any other feeling of pain
he could receive.

"Hughes." Mustang practically flew off the couch to crouch next to his friend.
His hands grabbed his shoulders, but made no effort to pull his friend back
into a more comfortable position. Even though he did this, Mustang was in
absolute shock. His best friend was getting killed to get information to help
the boys. He was trying to save this country, and was losing his life for it.
That was the life of a soldier, but he never expected it to happen to his best
friend who was in the information department.

General Armstrong glared at the blood that was shown on the screen. Losing
loyal comrades would always hurt. It was never easy for comrades to get
killed, especially if one was close friends to them. All soldiers knew what it
felt like, except maybe….she glanced at the horror stricken Edward. He didn't
know what it was like to lose comrades in the thick of danger, and he knew
those boys would take this hard.

Armstrong felt tears sliding down his face. He covered his face with his big
hand. It could never stand to see such pointless deaths, especially when it was
a child or a dear friend. It just hurt so much.
Izumi briefly closed her eyes before opening them again. It was a tragic
death. Despite her harsh demeanor, she had really liked the cheerful man. He
seemed like a great and loyal friend. For him to die, it would be very
difficult, and it wasn't something he deserved. She did not know him as well
as her ex-students or the man's military friends, but she knew that much.

The soldiers had different reactions. Some had silent tears sliding down their
faces. Other were still in shock, absolute shock. One of their own got killed in
his research to help this country. Others realized the horror of this and knew
it was true, but they didn't show it on the outside. On the inside though, their
hearts were clenching in pain and they were grieving. Losing a comrade was
never easy for any of them.

Harsh, shaky breathing filled the air.

"Hughes, you okay?" Mustang asked as a hand was shown to be

desperately reaching for the phone. Another hand entered the screen and
took the phone first. "Hughes."

The hand hung up on the phone.

Envy stepped back from the phone.

"That bastard!" Mustang snarled angrily. "We should have known from the
start that it was this bastard."

"Especially since he was playing mind games." Dr. Marcoh said darkly.

Mustang's eyes narrowed angrily. This damn monster wanted to kill his
friend? Well, then he knew for certain that he was going to slowly fry that
thing to death and enjoy every damn moment of it.

Hearing his friend's harsh breathing, Mustang looked back at Hughes and
wiped the angry look away. His friend would never approve of it, but he was
going to get his revenge. And he knew for certain that Hughes was not going
to die after they were finished here. He would make sure of it. He would
personally hunt down all of those monsters and kill them before they could
ever kill anyone he cared about.
Envy looked down at Hughes, who was on the ground with blood pooling
around him. "You humans don't make any sense to me." He said. "You
throw away your lives for nothing." Hughes's blood trailed down to his
picture to cover it with the blood.

"Humans are emotional beings. We do not just care for ourselves, but our
friends, family, and country. To us, we are not throwing away our lives for
nothing. What we do, we do for other people. As long as we make a
difference, we do not believe that our lives were wasted when we die."
Edward said in a detached voice.

Mustang glanced at the boy, but did not say a word. What could he possibly
say? The boy looked absolutely shocked and miserable. He wanted to talk to
him, but Mustang did not feel he could. Even he was in a state of shock. He
couldn't say denial because he was a fully trained soldier. Denial was not in
his system. Neither was being able to comfort a fifteen and a fourteen year
old who were both scared and shocked at this outcome. They saw their
mother die of sickness, but have they ever seen a friend get killed? The
answer was most likely no. A friend was murdered and they probably were
still trying to process it.

The music got louder in the background before Hughes was zoomed in
on. "Gracia….I'm so sorry…Elicia." With Hughes zoomed in on, it was
shown that he was shot very close to his heart. "Remember Daddy loves
you. I'm sorry." His head dropped down to his shoulder.

Al wanted to cry, but at the same time he didn't want to. This was the future.
They wouldn't….couldn't allow to this to happen. And for once, Al was glad
he couldn't feel anything. He knew he was feeling upset and angry at Envy,
but he didn't actually feel the emotions coursing through his body, and for
that he was glad. From what he remembered from when he had a body to feel
anger…sadness….it hurt so much. Those emotions just swirled around inside
of you, clutching at your heart and making it so very hard to breathe.

Sheska had no problem crying. Tears poured down her face as she tried to
steady her breathing, but she just couldn't. She didn't know Hughes long, but
he was always kind and warm to her. He was a great friend and boss, and
now here he was dying. His poor family…It would be difficult for them as it
was difficult for her. She didn't have many friends because she loved to read
so much, and now she was making them. But now Hughes was getting killed
because of the corrupt darkness that was raging around this country. It just
wasn't right, and it just made it more difficult to accept a friend's death.

The train was shown.

Hughes gasped as the pain slowly ebbed away. The pain was still there, but it
wasn't as bad as before and was slowly disappearing to just an ache. But that
ache had nothing against the pain in his heart. It may be selfish, but he didn't
want to die. He didn't want to have to say good-bye to his family and friends.
He loved them too much. They were the most important thing to him. He
didn't want to cause them that pain.

"Oh, man, this is hands down the best apple pie ever." Edward said.

"Isn't it, though?" Winry asked. "Mrs. Hughes is a really excellent

cook."

Edward clenched his eyes shut. He knew. He knew that the three of them in
the future knew nothing about Hughes getting killed at this point, but it still
hurt so much to just hear them casually talking and hanging out like nothing
was wrong.

"If you put it mildly." Edward replied. "Not to mention that quiche she
made for us is also pretty delicious."

Al was looking down at a book he had in his hand. "I actually wrote the
quiche down on the list of things I'm going to eat when I have a mouth
again."

"Well, she gave me the recipe so when you're back to normal, Al, I'll
make it for you." Winry replied.

Al brightened up. "Awesome. Thanks!"

Winry chuckled. "I had such a good time staying with them. They're
both really great people."
"Yeah, but Hughes is obnoxious." Edward said. "He doesn't know when
to shut up and he spoils his daughter rotten." He put the rest of his pie in
his mouth.

"He did come by your hospital room a lot to talk to you." Al pointed out.

"Every damn day." Edward said. He swallowed his pie and turned to
look out the window with a smile. "He always made it a point to come
and keep me company, and it didn't matter when. He'd even blow off
work."

A smile graced Hughes's lip. It was hard for him to die, but he was glad to
hear the happiness in Ed's voice. The boy really did like him. It was nice to
know that he did care.

"We should figure out a way to thank him the next time we're there." Al
said.

Ed stiffened. The future him would never be able to repair Hughes for all he
has done because he lead him right to his death. It was all his fault. All his
fault that Hughes got killed. If he had never told Hughes about what was
going, he wouldn't have gotten involved and could still be alive this very
moment. It was all his fault!

"Yeah, we should." Edward replied.

Ed bit his lip. He would not cry. He would not. This was all his fault. He
caused Hughes to get killed. He had no right to cry, not when it was his entire
fault.

Soldiers dressed in black were shown to be carrying a coffin as sad music

entered the background.

"Do we really have to see this?" Al asked sadly. It was hard enough to see
Hughes getting killed, but to see his funeral would just make it more difficult.
He hated funerals. They were so sad and heartbreaking. He clearly
remembered his mother's funeral. That was hard enough, but now he had to
see Elicia, a little three year old who did not understand death yet.
There were shown to be in a cemetery.

A group of people dressed in black were shown before the soldiers fired
their guns into the air. All the soldiers not firing guns were shown to be
standing with their heads bowed in respect.

Gracia had her eyes closed with a handkerchief held to her mouth and
nose while Elicia clutched her hand and winced as each gun went off.

Mustang was shown with his head bowed before Hughes's coffin was
shown in the ground with dirt being thrown on top of it.

Elicia moved closer to her mom. "Mommy, why are they putting all that
dirt on Daddy?"

Izumi closed her eyes. That poor girl. She had no idea. It was hard for a child
to see his or her parent die and be gone forever. It was even harder for a
parent to bury her child. Her hand touched her stomach briefly. Yes, death
was never easy for anyone. It was something that hurt so much. All those
emotions whirling inside of her hurt a lot. It was a part of life, and not
something she wanted to think about. For now, she thought people should
live their lives to the fullest. But even so, the death of this world should still
be acknowledged, but not by children. Children should not have to see such
things, especially at such a young age.

Hughes's grave was seen with more dirt being thrown in it.

"They're burying him, dear." Gracia replied.

"But if Daddy gets buried, then he won't be able to do all his work."
Elicia said.

Gracia was shown with tears trailing down her face. She put her
handkerchief back against her mouth. "Elicia." She pulled her daughter
up to her chest and cried against her small shoulder.

Elicia reached out towards her dad's grave. "Daddy said he has a bunch
of work he needs to do." Armstrong was seen covering his own tear
streaked face at the little girl's voice. "No. Stop it!"

Silent tears poured down Hughes's face at his daughter's desperate cry. He
really didn't want to see his funeral because he knew how much it would hurt
him to see his friends and family crying over him. He hated to cause anyone
pain. To see his beautiful wife cry…..to see his precious daughter not
understanding what was going on and wanting him back…..it all made his
heart clench so tightly that it felt like he was going to have problems
breathing soon. He's seen this happen to other families, but he never really
thought about it happening to him. Oh, he knew of the possibility, but he
never thought about him dying because he knew it would be painful to think
about. He never wanted to leave his family like this.

Armstrong's shoulders shook as he silently cried. He hated having to see

children at funerals burying their parents. It was always so difficult for them,
and so very cruel to those kids. Kids should be able to grow up with their
parents watching over them, not burying them.

Bradley appeared on the screen. His hands shook from where they were
placed on the hilt of the sword. "Stop putting dirt on him!" Elicia
shouted as Mustang lowered his head a bit more. "Daddy!" The little girl
finally began crying.

Hughes's grave was shown later that day to be completed with a white
flower wreath on top of it. "Promoted to Brigadier General, just for
dying in the line of duty." Mustang said as he was shown to be standing
in front of the grave. "You were supposed to be helping me work my way
up through the ranks. You got it all backwards. You damn crazy fool."

Hughes chuckled, but it wasn't a happy chuckle. His death must be hurting
his dear friend so much. He wouldn't show it. Roy would never show his
emotions, but Hughes knew just how much his death was hurting Roy. He
was crying on the inside.

"Colonel…"

Mustang looked over his shoulder at Riza, who was approaching him.
"Alchemists as a whole. We really are horrible creatures, aren't we?" He
said as he looked back at the grave. "There's a side of me that is
desperately trying to crack the theories of human transmutation right
now. I think I understand what drove those boys when they tried to
bring back their mother."

Ed clenched his fists tightly. So they finally had common ground, did they?
Mustang finally understood them, but right now, Edward was wishing he
didn't. He was wishing that Mustang never had to know what they drove
them if it meant Hughes didn't have to die. It just wasn't fair! Nothing about
this was fair!

"Are you alright, Colonel?" Riza asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mustang replied as he put his hat back on. "Except, it's
a terrible day for rain."

"What do you mean? It's not raining." Riza said confused. When she
looked back at Mustang, she saw tears flowing down his face.

Mustang looked at the sky. "Yes, it is."

Even though he was so very upset at the moment, Hughes couldn't help but
have a tiny smirk. It seems he finally got his friend to cry. It was a horrible
way to get him to cry though.

"Ah, so it is." Riza replied. "Why don't we head back? It's getting chilly
out here."

Footsteps were shown to be walking across the ground. "He said he'd be
in the archive room, then he just left." One of Hughes's subordinates
told Mustang. When they stopped in front of the archive, the man
removed the rope in front of it. "But he had this look like he realized
something terrible."

The doors to the room were opened to show the floor was covered in
papers.

"So he must have been attacked in here." Mustang said.

"Looks like it." A trail of blood was shown. "He left a trail of blood that
runs all the way down the hall." The man pointed down the hall.
"Apparently he was heading straight to the phone room."

They were shown to be in the phone room, talking to the secretary. "He
was hurt and he said he needed to call someone." She said as she dabbed
her eyes. "But then he just walked out instead. He didn't even dial a
number."

Mustang was seen walking towards the phone booth that Hughes died in.
'He obviously picked up on something big. He was going to call from the
office.' The soldier standing next to the phone booth turned to salute
Mustang. 'But something occurred to him and he used an outside line.'
Mustang opened the door to the phone booth and looked at the blood
covering it. 'The code that he gave the operator was only supposed to be
used for military emergencies. So what was it? What the hell was he trying
to tell me?'

Riza and Armstrong were shown to be approaching the booth.

"Colonel." Riza said. She motioned to Armstrong. "I've found Major

Armstrong as you asked me too."

"Can't very well miss him with how big he is." Jerso snorted, earning quite a
few amused looks like he wanted. Though some of them were strained, it was
still better than the somber mood that entered the room.

Armstrong saluted.

The three were shown to be standing in a more private part of the park.
"We have a strong lead on some potential suspects on the murder of
Lieutenant Colonel Hughes."

"Then why aren't you hunting them down right now?" Mustang
demanded.

"We are currently confident we know who committed the crime, but
we're unsure of their identities." Armstrong replied.
Mustang glanced at the ground. "That doesn't make sense, Major.
Clarify for me."

"I'm afraid I cannot." Armstrong said.

"I'm telling you to explain as your commanding officer. You're

disobeying a direct order, Major." Mustang retorted.

Armstrong looked back at him. "I cannot tell you."

"Fair enough." Mustang said, surprising Riza. "I apologize for my tone.
You're dismissed."

Armstrong saluted. "Sir." He turned to leave. After a few steps, he

paused. "Actually, sir, there is another matter I neglected to mention."
Mustang and Riza turned to look at him. "The Elric brothers were
recently here. They only departed a couple of days ago."

"They were here in Central?" Mustang asked.

"Yes sir. For a number of days." Armstrong replied.

"And did they manage to find whatever they were looking for?" Mustang
asked, looking in the opposite direction.

Armstrong held a hand up in a manner of a half-shrug. "No, sir. That

would be rather difficult as they a pursuing a legend."

Mustang looked back at Armstrong with a smirk. "Is that so? Well,
thanks for your help."

"What the hell was the point of that?" Edward asked confused.

"Basically a code." Mustang explained. "When we are ordered not to mention

something but we need to get the message across, we ask the right questions
to get cryptic answers to decipher. That way we don't disobey orders, but still
get the information to the right parties."

"Hn, sounds like a pain." Ed muttered.

Armstrong walked away while Riza turned to Mustang. "So I guess he
wasn't as helpful to us as we had hope."

Mustang crossed his arms. "But not a waste of our time. He was more
helpful then he meant to be."

"Or I was as helpful as I meant to be." Armstrong murmured. He knew he

could trust Colonel Mustang and that he was a close friend to Hughes. He
didn't have a doubt in his mind that he wouldn't try to pass the information
onto Mustang, especially since the man was Ed's commanding officer.

"He said they had a strong lead. Singular tense on a few suspects,
multiple suspects. Which leads me to believe that they suspect a group is
responsible. And his obstinate refusal to talk, even though I ordered him
to, can only mean there's got to be an officer above me that ordered him
to keep quiet. Most likely someone of senior ranking. The last clue was
that he happened to mention the Elric brothers. They were researching
the Philosopher's Stone."

Riza gasped and put a hand to her chin. "I hate to say it but it sounds
like there might be some kind of conspiracy going on here. But how does
it all tie together?"

"That's the big question." Mustang said. "But Hughes, I say he deserves
answers. Once I'm transferred to Central, I'm going to start shaking
things up until I find one."

"Sounds fun." Ed murmured.

"You always think it is fun to shake things up and make a mess." Havoc
scoffed.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "But this time, it will be to find the truth."

"It doesn't sound like you to mix your public and private concerns." Riza
said.

Mustang ran a hand through his hair and walked forward as he said,
"There's no difference between the two. I will become the Fuhrer of this
country, and I will take vengeance for Hughes. I will do these things
because I have to do them." He took his hand out of his hair and looked
back over his shoulder at her. "I'm going after the senior staff. Are you
with me, Lieutenant?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Riza asked.

Hughes's grave was shown before the three teenagers were shown with
Winry and Edward laughing though it couldn't be heard since the music
had taken over the scene. Ed looked at Al, said something then started
laughing again before Mustang and Riza were shown to be walking
away.

Before the scene went dark, Mustang's narrowed eyes were shown up
close.

With the ending of the episode, it was silent for a few minutes before Izumi
stood up. "I do believe we should head to bed. We will need a lot of rest for
this as it seems everything is going to get much, much more difficult from
here on."

Some soldiers nodded while others silently moved to friends and went to a
room for the night. Ed glanced at Hughes, then at Al. The brothers, as silently
as they could, went to their own room. That was how it was for everyone
until only Roy and Hughes were left in the room.

After a few minutes of silence, Hughes spoke up. "I really wish you would
get those thoughts out of your head."

Mustang blinked. "Thoughts?"

Hughes laughed harshly and glared at his friend. "Don't try to play stupid
with me. We know each other too well."

"I won't let this go unpunished." Mustang hissed. "You're my friend and you
were killed in cold blood. I will make that bastard pay."
Hughes sighed. "Revenge brings nothing back pain. An avenger is never
satisfied. They only lose themselves on a path of darkness for something they
feel is right. I don't want you to lose yourself."

"I won't lose myself. I will kill Envy and that will be that." Mustang growled.
"I can't let these monsters stay in this country any longer. They need to be
disposed of."

Hughes shook his head tiredly. "I agree, but I don't want you to be the one to
kill Envy, especially if you have lost yourself in your rage over my death. It
won't make anything better."

*Ed and Al's room*

Al looked at his brother, who was sitting on his bed dressed in loose black
shorts and a white t-shirt. "Brother?" He asked quietly.

"Hughes wasn't supposed to die." Ed said.

"He's not dead yet. This is just the future. We can still save him." Al said
optimistically.

Ed glanced up at him then back at the bedroom door. "His family will be torn
up over his death." He murmured, clenching his eyes shut tightly. "And it's
all my fault! He should never have gotten involved with us. If he hadn't, he
wouldn't get killed trying to help us!"

The younger brother was silent. How was he supposed to be reply to that? He
knew his brother always took on the weight of everything that happened. He
constantly felt guilty for things that weren't his fault. It was just how Edward
was. And at this rate, he was probably going to keep it all to himself like he
did when he thought Al hated him. Al wanted to help lift the guilt from his
brother, but at the same time, he knew it wasn't his job this time. As Ed's
brother there was only one thing he could do.

"Brother, go talk to Hughes." Al demanded.

Ed's eyes snapped to his brother in shock. "W-what?" He hissed.

"Please, Brother. It will help you." Al said.

Ed shook his head. "I can't. I can't face–"

"Can't face what?" Al demanded. "His nonexistent hatred?" Ed stared at his

brother in shock, but Al didn't give him the chance to say anything. "You
thought I hated you all these years, but you were wrong. Now you are scared
that Hughes is blaming you for his death. Well, I won't let you feel that so
you either go talk to Hughes of your own will or I will ask him to come in
here to talk to you."

Still in shock, all Ed could do for a moment was stare at his little brother. It
was so shocking to see him demanding like this. It didn't happen very often,
but he knew the threat was real. Al really would go get Hughes if he didn't
move, but he was so scared. Hughes was a close friend and now he dies in the
future! He dies gathering Intel for him. How was it not his fault? He deserved
this painful guilt running through his heart.

Al sighed. "Brother, you have three seconds to get out there! One."

Ed glared at his brother, but shot off his bed and was by the door before Al
said two. He would not give Al the chance to take his will away like this.

*Main Room*

"No matter what you say, you can't stop my future self." Mustang retorted,
hands clenching angrily.

"You are so stubborn." Hughes grumbled.

Mustang rolled his eyes before looking over Hughes's shoulder and squinting
his eyes. The only light on was the one by them so it was hard to see who was
standing in the darkness. Even so, those gold eyes really do seem to glow in
the darkness. Sighing, Mustang stood up. He may not be able to comfort the
kid, but Hughes could do it really well. "I'll see you tomorrow, Hughes." He
said quietly before slipping away to a bedroom.

Hughes watched him go and only when he heard the bedroom door close did
he speak, "You can come out of the darkness."

Uneven footsteps approached the couch and sat about a foot away from
Hughes. "Hughes." Edward said.

Smiling softly, the man ruffled Ed's golden hair briefly. "Did my death scare
you that badly?" He asked with a sad undertone.

"You weren't supposed to die!" Ed shouted in a whisper.

"No one is supposed to be killed." Hughes replied softly. "But it happens. We

are soldiers. We know our chance of dying is likely."

"In a war, but in Central?" Ed snorted. His gold eyes looked at Hughes before
dropping down to his lap where his automail hand was clenching his flesh
hand tightly. "I'm sorry."

Hughes blinked, quite confused about his death. Yeah, his death was horrible.
No one wanted to die, but it's not like Ed was the one to shoot him. "Sorry for
what?" He asked softly, but he felt that he knew the answer. From what he
has seen so far, the boy had a tendency–

"For getting you killed."

–to feel guilty for things that weren't his fault.

The soldier sighed and rubbed his still aching chest. "It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was." Ed retorted angrily. "If I didn't tell you anything….I shouldn't
tell anyone anything. I just get them in trouble!"

"Then you would be in trouble without backup." Hughes reprimanded. "I'm a

soldier, Ed. This is my job. To gather Intel to help you out. You can't do it all
by yourself."

Ed shook frowned. "The moment I tell an adult what is going on to get help,
he gets killed!"

"There is a risk with every job in the military." Hughes replied. "I didn't want
to die, but I do not blame you, Edward. None of this was your fault. You are
a very dear friend to me, and I make it a point to help my friends whenever
they need it. I could never blame you. We all have a choice to make. You
gave me the information that you knew, but Major Armstrong and I were the
ones to choose to act on it. We could have let it go, but you are a friend and
this country is in danger. It is our job to protect it and help each other. It is
what friends do for each other."

Golden eyes clenched shut tightly to keep the tears filling up in them shut. He
would not cry. Too many tears were being spilled today. "I never wanted you
dead." He said hoarsely with his face turned to the ceiling, but he didn't see it
as his were still shut. "I found you annoying at times, Hughes, but I never
hated it. I never hated your actions. I liked that I could always find a place at
your house when I was in Central, even if I didn't take you up on the offer. It
was comforting to just know it was there."

Hughes watched the boy silently as he waited for him to finish. He would not
interrupt while he was talking. He knew if he did, Ed would stop and he
would never continue on with what he was going to say.

"You were the first person to make it feel like I had a father again.
Colonel….he's not like you. He cares, I know he does, but he and you are
different people. He is more like an overbearing older brother that likes to
aggravate me, but still watches over me closely. You are the one who is
always so warm and welcomes me with wide arms. It is just nice to know that
there are people waiting for me. I don't want you dead, Hughes." Edward
whispered, not opening his eyes for he knew if he did, the tears would come
sliding out.

Edward paused and licked his lips. This was so embarrassing. He hated to
talk like this. It wasn't who he was, but he didn't feel like he could stop. "You
guys are my family now. Al is my only blood relative left, but I feel as if
Mustang….Riza…the team….you….Gracia…Elicia…I want to think of you
as my new family. I have so much fun hanging with them all when we are off
duty. And now you…you've been killed because of my problems."

Eyes shining with sadness, Hughes shifted closer to the boy and pulled him
into his chest. He felt the boy stiffen, but didn't give him a chance to pull
away because he put his hand firmly on Ed's head to keep it on his chest. "We
all think the same of you and Al. You may be a strong alchemist, but you are
still a kid so I know Mustang and his team always felt the need to watch over
you when you were younger."

Ed sat limply on the couch. His head was still against Hughes's chest, but his
eyes stayed shut. It wasn't fair. Why was it that Hughes had to die? He had a
surrogate family now, but they were still drying…it wasn't fair!

"Hughes." Edward said softly. "I don't care if it will affect things, but when
we get out of here, I won't let you die a second time."

Hughes chuckled. "To be honest, I would love that, Edward. I don't want to
leave my dear family like this."

Ed snorted. "Always about the family with you."

Chuckling, Hughes buried his face in Ed's soft hair. If he couldn't get to his
wife and daughter right now, then he would take one of his surrogate sons.
Right now, he just needed some of his family by his side. Ed wasn't the only
one in need of comfort. Hughes was a mess inside. He didn't want to die, nor
did he want his best friend chasing at Envy with his mind full of rage and
revenge. It would hurt so much to see all that rage in Roy.

When Ed felt to first warm drop hit his cheek, he had thought it was him
crying until he felt the chest he was leaning on shaking. Another drop hit his
cheek and slid down his face to his neck.

Ed opened his mouth to say something, but chose not to and instead closed it
again. He didn't know what to say, but he also guessed that Hughes didn't
want words. It was difficult to see your death coming and leaving all the
loved ones behind. Right now, silence was the best option. That, and the
comfort that Hughes needed.

Hughes felt Ed shift in his sit and started to let the boy go until he felt one of
the boy's arms move around to his back. Smiling sadly, Hughes tightened his
hold on Ed. He was glad that Ed chose to stay. The boy was strong, but also
kind. He understood the pain that Elicia would be going through at having to
see her dad buried. And because he understood that pain, he understood how
much it hurt for Hughes to see his daughter and wife so upset. The pain of
losing a loved one…..

A/N: So, as I was writing this chapter, I noticed many scenes in the
hospital where Ed looked younger than his age or the age he is without
all the stress. It was mostly because of his innocent gold eyes. When his
eyes were shining so brightly and innocent like, it was so very cute!

I don't hate Winry, but I had to complain about some of the things she
does like try to mooch off Ed. I hate it when people do that to their
friends and family. It's just so annoying. If you have money, you should
use it to get the things you need or want.

Okay, so I'm not sure if I mentioned that the Homunculus are immortal
in an earlier chapter. So I am mentioning it now.

Argh, this was more difficult than I thought. I was trying to put angst in
it, but I don't think I got it right. I really just took from my memory how
I felt when I was sad and hurting. It works well to write, but towards the
end with Hughes and Ed's conversation, I tried to find some sad songs I
have to put the sad mood in my head to get it written right. Did I get it
right? I'm not really sure.

Please Review!
*Chapter 11*: Episode 11: Miracle at Rush
Valley
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 11: Miracle at Rush Valley

"Wake up." Mustang hissed. On the couch, Edward shifted, but didn't wake
up, which just agitated Mustang even more. "Fullmetal, Hughes, wake the
hell up." To emphasis his point, the man flicked Ed in the head and smacked
the back of Hughes's head.

Groaning, Hughes opened his eyes to glare at his friend. "What did you go
and do that for?"

Mustang ignored him for a moment so he could flick Ed in the head again.
"I'm ordering you to wake up, Fullmetal."

"Maybe if you stopped flicking me." Ed grumbled groggily. His eyes opened
a bit to glare at the man. "What do you want?"

The Colonel shrugged. "I was feeling nice today so I thought I would wake
you up before anyone else got out here to save you from any embarrassment."
"Embarrassment?" Edward mused before suddenly taking note of the fact that
he and Hughes had fallen asleep on the couch last night. Groaning, Ed pushed
himself up into a sitting position as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. "Thanks
Colonel."

Mustang twitched. Fullmetal did not thank him. It wasn't who he was, damn
it!

"Good, now go make breakfast. I'm hungry." Mustang said.

Ed twitched. "Bastard. You just woke me up to cook for you, not save me
from embarrassment." He snorted. "Should have known. And I'm not your
personal chef, damn it!" The boy jumped over the back of the couch and
marched to his room to get dressed and meet up with his brother.

Once Ed was gone, Mustang chuckled before looking at Hughes. "Are you
okay?"

Hughes shrugged. "Could be worse, could be better. A good night of sleep

was just what I needed."

"Something we all needed." Mustang murmured. "And it is only just

beginning. I have a feeling this is only going to get much worse."

Smirking, Hughes looked over his shoulder at the doors as people begun to
come out. "Well, it seems to be a conspiracy theory so that should be
obvious."

Shrugging, Mustang gave a sigh. "We're going to change this future so they
won't be any unnecessary deaths."

"Ed promised the same thing last night." Hughes murmured.

Mustang raised a brow, but he did not look surprised. He had noticed that
Edward was very distraught about Hughes's death. He wanted to ask what the
boy said last night, but restrained himself. It was a private conversation and
Hughes wouldn't tell him anyway.

A moment later Ed and Al emerged from their room. The former was, once
again, dressed in all black. It was his usual outfit without his gloves, jacket,
and boots.

"Yo, Chief!" Havoc called and jogged over to the boy. He casually hung an
arm over his shoulder, making the young teenager twitch.

"What do you want?" Ed asked suspiciously.

Havoc grinned. "French toast."

Ed's eye twitched violently. "What? Do you all think I'm some type of
personal chef?!" He pushed Havoc off of him and stomped angrily into the
kitchen with a sighing Al following after him.

"Thanks Chief!" Havoc called after him, only to receive a heated glare from
him.

*After Breakfast*

"Another wonderful meal." Jerso said with a sigh of contentment.

Ed twitched again as he took his place on the floor next to Al.

"You've been twitching a lot today, Brother, and the day has only just
begun." Al said worriedly.

"Stupid adults." Edward grumbled to his brother.

Al just sighed. "They just like your cooking."

"They're just deprived of good cooking because of the slop the military
serves." Ed retorted. "So they think anything else they get is amazing."

"Right, right. Whatever you say, Brother." Al said as he didn't wish to argue
about something so stupid.

"Alchemy is the science of understanding, decomposing, and

reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is
impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain
something, something of equal value must be paid. This is the law of
equivalent exchange, the basis of alchemy. Alchemists have a taboo, and it
is human transmutation. It is that which no one must commit."

After the opening song the title screen came up right away.

"Miracle at Rush Valley"

"Miracle?" Ed scoffed. "It is an evil land of automail fanatics! How can there
be a miracle there?"

"You don't have to hate on automail so much." Buccaneer said.

Ed snorted. "I don't hate it. I dislike crazy, obsessed freaks of automail." He
clenched his automail hand. "How could I ever hate actual automail when it
helps me so much?"

A town surrounded by rocky cliffs was shown.

"Rush Valley!" Winry cheered as the sign of the town was shown.

Ed twitched. Oh, the torture that was Rush Valley.

"Brother, I don't think being in Rush Valley will be that bad." Al said
soothingly.

"I really hate how you are so optimistic sometimes, Al." Ed mumbled.

"Aren't you just too pessimistic?" Zampano asked.

"I am the perfect amount of both!" Ed retorted.

Mustang snorted. "Sure you are, Fullmetal."

A man with an automail leg was shown. "Automail." Winry said. More
people with automail limbs were shown and then an arm wrestling with
automail was shown. "Automail! Automail!" Then Winry squealed.

Edward twitched again. "She has already gone into her obsessive state."
"I can see how that would get a bit annoying." Havoc commented.

"Thank you!" Ed said with a sigh of relief. "At least someone gets it!"

"Still, just suck it up. It's not like you'll be there long, right?" Havoc asked.

Ed shrugged. "I wouldn't know. This is the future!"

"I'm so happy!" Winry said as she jumped up and down while Al and Ed
just watched with deadpanned looks. She suddenly got very, very happy
and an automail arm was shown. "Look! It's the most recent God's
model!" She was in front of the window where the arm was being
displayed and staring at it. "I never imagined I would see such a thing
with my very own eyes."

Sweat dropping, both Ed and Al turned away from her.

"Welcome to the holy land of automail." Al said as more people of the

town were shown to be working. "This place is bustling."

"Yeah, remind me again why we let ourselves get dragged out in this heat
to look at a bunch of automail?" Edward asked.

"You would be fine if you stopped wearing all that black or if you put shorts
on and took your jacket off." Riza scolded.

Ed frowned. "I like black, and I am not changing into shorts in this 'holy land
of automail.' That is suicide!"

Heinkel sweat dropped. "I think you are overreacting a bit."

Gold eyes glared at him. "Obviously, you've never been around automail
freaks."

"We should've dropped Winry off at the station and headed straight to
Dublith." Edward said.

"Well, that certainly shows how much you hate automail." Izumi said with a
smirk.
Ed twitched.

"You would rather go and immediately get killed by Teacher?" Al asked

shocked.

"I hate walking in the heat with automail. It's killer. Plus, automail freaks!
They scare me." Ed growled. "I like to avoid them."

Breda snickered. "The great Fullmetal Alchemist is scared of automail

fanatics?"

Scoffing, Ed stubbornly crossed his arms. "None of you understand

obviously. It is horrible."

"Hey kid, come back here a sec." A voice called.

Ed paused and looked over his shoulder.

Ed twitched. This would not end well. He should know better than to stop
like that when around automail freaks.

Suddenly Ed was surrounded by people and one of the guys picked up

his arm. "I've never seen an automail model quite like this one."

"It really is unusual. Everyone take a look." An old man said.

Edward twitched. He really was doing that a lot today, but he hated Rush
Valley already! "Note to self, avoid Rush Valley at all costs."

Fuery smiled. "They are just admiring your automail. It's not like they mauled
you."

There were some 'ahhs' from the group as a teenager girl was seen
walking through the group.

"Hey. Stop that!" Edward said as he was getting jostled around by the
group. "Hey! Hold on a second! Get out of my personal space quick!"

Edward twitched and shot a glare at Fuery as if he jinxed him. "Avoid Rush
Valley!" He shouted while quite a few soldiers laughed at his misfortune.

"Sorry." Fuery said softly.

"No, no! Don't…don't undo that!" His clothes were suddenly flying
through the air and he was screaming.

Mustang chuckled. "Maybe you really should avoid Rush Valley."

"It's like they have never heard of personal space!" Ed growled.

"Automail freaks really don't care about that kind of stuff." Kei pointed out.

"I am realizing that." Ed muttered annoyed. "My real problem is the forceful
stripping!"

Groaning, Havoc covered his face. "Chief, please be more careful with your
words. You are causing me such strange images."

A faint blush spread over Ed's cheeks. "It's your fault for having such a dirty
mind! That's not what I meant. Stupid Rush Valley."

Brody chuckled. "Usually it is Hughes causing us such thoughts."

Once again, Mustang smacked Hughes. "You are corrupting my subordinate."

"I didn't it mean it like that!" Ed tried again.

Hughes chuckled. "My bad."

Winry smiled. "Don't be so rude. They just want a closer look."

"They are the ones being rude." Ed groaned before shooting his brother a
glare. "And where are you and why aren't you saving me?"

Al shrugged. "I'm probably laughing in a corner."

"So cruel." Ed whispered.

Ed screamed and knocked the people away from him. "A little help here,
Winry!"

Ed was shown to be finishing fastening his belt. "Geez, this is why I stay
clear of automail engineers." A look of horror passed over Ed's face as
his hands moved over to the side of his pants. "Oh, no." He said as he
patted both sides of his pants.

"Is something wrong, Ed?" Winry asked as she paused in her

conversation with the other automail engineers.

Ed twitched and had sweat pouring down his face. "It's gone."

Winry and Al were shown to be standing behind Ed. "What did you
lose?" They asked together.

"That's a little creepy the way you two said that." Avery commented.

Al just chuckled.

Ed pulled his pockets out.

In the room, Edward groaned and knocked his head against Al's arm. "Never
going to Rush Valley."

"You're lost your watch?" Mustang growled. "What did I tell you about never
letting that thing get lost or stolen?"

Ed frowned. "I know, I know. It's not like I lost it on purpose."

"What did you say about his watch?" Havoc asked curiously.

"Just that if someone outside the military gets their hands on it, it will cause a
lot of problems for the military." Ed grumbled. "And a lot of problems for
me."

"Hmm, that makes sense. We don't want any impersonators running around."
Havoc replied.
"Only the thing that proves I'm a State Alchemist." A picture of a silver
watch appeared on the screen with Ed appearing in front of it with a
look of horror. "My silver watch is gone."

Al and Winry shouted.

"Sounds like you guys had a run in with Paninya." One of the automail
engineers said, getting the three teenagers to stop screaming.

"Oh, look, it was stolen by a girl." Mustang scoffed.

"It's not my fault!" Ed protested. "I was being mauled!"

"For once, that is a pretty good excuse." Fuery commented.

"Paninya?" Ed asked.

"A pickpocket around here that likes to target tourists." The old man
said.

"Do you know how I can track down this Paninya girl?" Edward asked.
"She took something important."

The two automail engineers turned around with thoughtful looks. "Let's
see. Where is she again?"

"I know what might jog my memory."

"If we could have just one more look at that automail!"

A very angry Ed suddenly transformed his arm into a blade, scaring the
two engineers and leaving his friends staring at him in either shock or
blankly.

"Damn obsessed freaks." Ed grumbled.

"You're not very good at negotiating." Havoc muttered with a grin. "But your
scare tactics usual work."
"No wonder you always get information quickly." Luke added, smirking.

"I feel like you guys are encouraging Brother." Al muttered disapprovingly
and with a tired sigh. He was so used to this by now.

Immediately, the two engineers turned around and pointed in a direction

and said together, "The automail shop run by an engineer named
Dominic."

Birds crowing filled the scene before the three teens were shown to be
walking along a path on a cliff. Ed and Winry looked half-dead from the
heat.

"Apparently this guy lives deep in the mountains because he can find the
highest quality ore way out here." Winry said. "Are you absolutely sure
we are going in the right direction? Because those engineers could have
tricked us."

Ed growled. "Oh, if they did, they will be facing my wrath!"

"Being so scared of Ed, I doubt they would have tricked you." Riza said with
a sigh. "They would have to be fools."

Al chuckled nervously. "Someone lied to Brother before about information.

All I can say is that it didn't turn out well for him."

An evil grin split across Ed's face. "But we got the correct information in the
end."

"I am beginning to wonder if Chief is a sadist." Havoc muttered.

"What are you complaining about? This is all your fault for dragging us
to that stupid automail town in the first place." Ed said.

"My fault?" Winry shouted. "You were the one dumb enough to let his
watch get stolen."

"I was being mauled!" Ed shouted in protest.

Angrily, Ed turned around with a harsh laugh. "Oh, really?"

"I think the heat is driving you two crazy." Izumi said with a laugh.

Ed groaned. "It isn't funny. The heat is horrible."

"The cold is pretty bad too, especially for those with automail." Buccaneer
commented.

"Though it is fine when one has the proper automail." Dr. Young pointed out.

Confused, Ed turned to the two. "Proper automail?"

Mustang groaned. "Fullmetal, never go north. You'll get yourself killed if you
don't know about proper automail for the freezing north."

"Kid, there is something called northern automail. It is made from–" Kei

started but Ed held a hand up.

"Save that from me. What is the point of this special northern automail?"
Edward asked.

Kei shrugged. "It is much lighter than the average automail and it doesn't
freeze. The automail you have now would give you frostbite up north."

Ed twitched. "It must be very cold up there. I don't even get frostbite in the
winters in the east or Central."

General Armstrong smirked. "The north is a very difficult place to survive.

The weather can change in an instance there."

Ed shivered and both he and Al looked at Izumi. How the hell did she ever
survive up north for a month?

"Um, hey you guys." Al said, interrupting his brother and Winry's
glaring contest for them to glare at him.

"What, Al?" They both shouted.

Al pointed at something ahead of them. "Could that be her?"

Ed and Winry looked to where Al was pointing to see a girl a brown

skinned girl running across a bridge as an active tone entered the scene.
The girl stopped on the bridge to look over at the three. Clutched in her
hand was the pocket watch.

"Ah-ha! I got you now!" Edward shouted before alchemical light filled
the area he was in. Pillars started to sprout up all the way down to the
bridge, shocking the girl.

General Armstrong shook his head. "You are causing a mess again."

"I need that watch!" Ed protested. "I will not go to Colonel to tell him I lost
it!"

"I already know." Mustang said.

"The future you doesn't, and he doesn't need to." Ed said. "I don't need the
damn lecture when it wasn't my fault that I got mauled by automail freaks!"

Paninya turned around and started running again. She looked over her
should to see Ed running on the pillars as they sprouted up from the
ground.

"Doesn't that seem a little dangerous?" Avery asked weakly. "I mean, you
were really high up and over a river."

Ed shrugged. "I'm trained for this kind of stuff so it's not really dangerous.
Though, if I make one wrong move, I am done for."

"Especially since you can't swim because of your automail." Al added.

Riza shuddered at that reminder.

"Did something happen with water before?" Miles asked when he saw the
faces of Mustang's crew.

"Just an incident when Fullmetal was thirteen." Mustang commented, but

didn't elaborate. It wasn't something any of them liked to talk about.

Paninya jumped down before she jumped again. When she landed on the
ground, a wall suddenly sprouted up in front of her. She looked over her
shoulder to see Ed kneeling on the ground.

"I'd like my watch back."

Paninya grinned. "That was awesome. How'd you do that, mister?"

"I'm an alchemist. Want more?" Ed shouted as the ground around him

shifted as giant hands sprouted out from the ground.

"That seems a bit extreme just to get a watch back from a petty thief."
Hughes said.

"I don't want to hear that from the man who pointed a gun at kids because
they like his daughter!" Ed snapped.

"Well, someone's defensive." Hughes commented, crossing his arms.

The hands shot at Paninya, but she jumped in the air to dodge and let
the hands slam into the wall. As more shot at her, she continued to jump
around and dodge them.

"She is a monkey just like the Chief." Brody said with a grin.

"Wow. So cool." Paninya said while she was in the air.

"She is also a bit childish." Ed said blankly.

Ed chased after her. "Quit moving around."

"You're one to talk when you jump around like that in serious fights." Breda
scoffed.

"What's the matter? Can't catch a little girl?" Paninya taunted before
jumping down from a cliff. She landed in front of Al.
"This is a bit pathetic, Fullmetal." Mustang commented.

"What? Do you want me to seriously injure her?" Ed shouted. "She's just a

petty teenage thief who has no skill in actual fighting."

Al crossed his hands over each other. "I've been waiting for you." He
said as the air began to glow blue.

Paninya looked shocked as it was revealed she was standing in the center
of a transmutation circle. The ground began to form into a cage around
her.

"Nicely done, Al." Winry commented as Ed approached the cage.

"Now, why don't you hand it over?" Ed asked. "My watch."

Paninya suddenly sliced her leg at the cage, slicing the bars into pieces.

"Automail?" Izumi asked with a smirk. "You weren't prepared for that, were
you?"

Ed frowned. "I also wasn't prepared for her to have a blade as part of her leg!
Why do people put weapons into their automail?"

"Maybe for the same reason you transmute your arm into a blade." Luke
suggested sarcastically.

Ed scoffed. "She is a civilian. What does she need a blade in her leg for? It
just seems dangerous. Not to mention that she is a thief!"

Ed and Al jumped back while Paninya lifted her leg to show them the
blade in it. "Come on. You can't be too surprised. You've seen the town,
haven't you? Oh, and." She lifted her other leg and a bomb shot out of
her knee, causing Ed to yell and duck under it.

"She doesn't need that!" Ed growled. "She is a teenage girl who lives in Rush
Valley! She doesn't need a leg filled with bombs."

"I'll agree with you on that one." Mustang said. "It is quite dangerous, and a
bit reckless at how she just shot it at you. You were right about her being a
bit childish."

"My other leg's got a 1.5 cannon. What do you think of that?" Paninya
asked as she jumped out of the cage and began to run off.

"Come back." Ed said.

"No way." Paninya said. "Why don't we see if you can catch me?"

Winry suddenly grabbed Paninya's wrist. Paninya stumbled before

Winry pulled her up straight and held her wrist tightly. "Well, now, how
do like that? That wasn't so hard."

"You guys lost to a girl who is not a trained fighter." Brody snickered at the
brothers.

"I didn't realize it was a game." Ed said sarcastically.

"Nice work, Winry. Now don't you let her get away." Ed said and he and
Al ran over to her.

Winry moved her hand so she could grip Paninya's with both of them.
"No way I'm letting her go. Not quite yet anyway." Once more, Winry
was in her happy, obsessed automail mode. "Not until I've had a closer
look at that automail."

Ed and Al both fell over and skidded across the ground in shock. Al's
helmet tumbled across the ground.

"Shouldn't you be used to this by now?" Havoc asked with a chuckle.

Al sighed. "We should be. Actually, I'm not really surprised. Brother's watch
is no longer important. All she cares about now is the automail."

"She is so obsessed, I'm not sure it is even healthy." Ed said with a sigh.

A blue door was shown before it was opened by a woman with a man
behind her. "Oh, hello there, Paninya." The woman greeted.
The two looked at the two boys lying on the ground and Winry who was
jumping happily while gripping Paninya's hand.

"Friends of yours?" The woman asked.

"Not really." Paninya yelled back at her.

"I'm gonna study those." Winry was singing to herself.

The two adults looked at each other.

Winry shouted in happiness from where she was now kneeling in front of
Paninya to look at her legs. "I have never seen craftsmanship like this
before. It has an advanced suspension, and would you look at this
balance! The design of this piece is truly a work of art! It's incredible!"

"Uh, do you think we could have a talk about my watch?" Ed said

hopelessly.

"Let me have a close look." Winry said, ignoring Ed. She rubbed her
face against Paninya's knee, freaking the girl out. "This knee area is
amazing!"

"It's no use, Brother." Al said.

"I really hate it when she gets like this." Ed grumbled. "She thinks of nobody
when it is like this. She only cares about that stupid obsession."

"I'm sure that's not–" Fuery started but was cut off by the stares from the
brothers.

"It is." Al said. "She'll get obsessed with something and forget everything
else until she gets it out of her system, then she'll go back to normal. But until
then, she really only thinks about her love for automail."

"But she still cares for you guys." Falman pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "I'm not denying that, but when she gets like this, she only
thinks of automail."
Winry moved over to the man with glasses. "The work you've done is
simply fantastic! You're a wonderful engineer."

The man held his hands up. "Oh no, don't look at me, miss. I wasn't the
one who made them."

"I am." A gruff voice said.

A brown skinned man appeared on the screen. His eyes moved to Ed,
who looked confused.

A small hammer was shown to be tapping Ed's arm. The scene pulled
back to show Ed sitting on a crate in only his boxers with Dominic on a
crate in front of him. "This arm seems a bit heavy." Dominic said as he
lifted Ed's arm.

"Yes, I guess it is." Winry said softly.

"You ought to be more careful not to strain your outfittee. That could be
a reason his growth is stunted." Dominic said.

"That is a good guess." Mustang commented.

Ed twitched. "Great, another reason why I can't grow. How many guesses do
we actually need?"

"I think this is a good hypothesis." Al said.

Ed shrugged. "Propose it to Winry. Maybe she'll learn to not weigh me down

and then we'll see what happens."

Ed glared at the man and shouted, "Hey! Shut up!"

"He was just pointing out a fact, Brother. It's not like he was calling you
small." Al said with a sigh.

Suddenly, Ed got shocked. "Wait, are you telling me if my automail is

lighter, I'd grow taller than this?"
"It is a possibility." Dominic said.

An overdramatic daydream appeared in Ed's mind. "Wow, Brother,

you're so big." Al said.

"You've grown so tall." Winry said.

"Next to me, you guys sure look small." Ed said.

The group laughed at the daydream while Ed just scratched his head. Wow,
did he have strange thoughts or what? Though, he would really like to get
that tall someday.

"You three have the strangest dreams and moods." Riza said with a soft
smile.

"Well, they are still only kids. It's to be expected, despite their situation."
Hughes added with a grin.

Ed grumbled at being a kid, but couldn't really argue against it. Maybe he
was still a bit idealistic about the world, but so what?

A very happy Ed entered the screen.

"Right." Winry said determined. "That settles it." She turned around to
look at Dominic. "Mr. Dominic, I beg you." She bowed to him. "Make
me your apprentice."

"Not a chance, girl." Dominic said while cleaning out his ear.

"He didn't even think about it." Karley said with a chuckle. "How harsh."

Miles smirked. "With that attitude, he seems to be a bit like General

Armstrong."

"Really?" Ed asked interested, looking at the blond haired General.

"Yeah, except I'm meaner." General Armstrong replied.

Ed looked away. He had to wonder how she was compared to Izumi.

Winry looked defeated while Ed, Al, and the man with glasses just stared
at the two.

"Maybe you'd liked more time to consider the idea." Winry suggested.

"Wow, she seems dead." Hughes said.

"First time for everything." Ed added. "She has always been lively and
animated."

"Like you?" Izumi asked.

"Yep. I think Brother and Winry fight so much because they are so alike." Al
added. "In personality at least. Their likes are pretty different."

Ed grinned. "Well, she is an automail freak. All she really likes is automail.
Well, that and sweets."

"And you." Al added in a mysterious whisper.

Ed glared at him. "Shut up about that already."

"No need. I don't take on apprentices." Dominic said stubbornly.

"I understand, but maybe you could take time out of your busy schedule
to teach her how to make automail to make me taller." Ed said.

"Can it, you little flea." Dominic said, shocking Ed, who fell to the
ground in defeat.

"Sorry about that." The man with glasses said. "My old man can be
pretty stubborn."

Winry looked down.

The outside of the house was shown as rain was pouring down.
Al was shown to be walking down a hallway while also dragging Ed by
the back of his jacket. "Little flea…little flea…." Ed kept repeating
blankly. "He called me a flea."

"Where is the usual flair?" Mustang asked amused. "You usually scream and
rant."

"Brother probably doesn't want to anger the man by yelling at him since we
are staying in his house since there is a storm." Al said with a shrug.

"You actual have more control then I thought." Mustang said.

Al stopped inside a room to see the woman from earlier rubbing her
stomach. "Excuse me. Are you having a baby?" Al asked.

A sudden grin spread over Hughes's face. "Oh, this is going to be hilarious."

"What do you mean?" Riza asked confused.

"The best miracle out there is when a baby is born." Hughes said.

Mustang smirked. "So she is going to go into labor?"

Hughes shrugged. "That is my guess. I haven't seen anything else in Rush

Valley that looks like a miracle."

"And why is it going to be so funny?" Miles asked.

"My guess is the boys have never seen a woman go into labor." Hughes said,
causing Ed to pale.

"Oh, no." Ed groaned.

Hughes laughed. "It's not that bad."

"Hughes, we've already seen how these boys and Ms. Winry like to freak
out." Mustang said with a sigh.

The man laughed louder. "Good point."

Havoc shared a grin with Breda. "Oh, this should be quite fun."

Ed groaned. "They are having too much fun at our expense."

The woman looked at him with a smile. "Why yes I am." She said as Al
came over to her, still dragging his brother.

"Do you think…..would it be already if I touched your tummy?" Al

asked.

The woman laughed. "Go right ahead."

Izumi smiled sadly. Hughes was right. A baby being born was a really
beautiful miracle. She really wished she could have her own child. Being
pregnant was wonderful when she thought she would be able to raise her own
precious bundle of joy. Just training Ed and Al for a few months made her
realize how much she truly loved children. They were a bit rambunctious and
silly, but she loved training them. Having her own child would have simply
been wonderful. But seeing as she couldn't…her eyes traveled over to Ed and
Al. She would make do with her precious ex-students. She may not have been
able to see them much or do much to help them, but she was with them now,
and they still needed help. She would do what she could to help them along
the way.

Ed knocked himself out of his state to look over his shoulder to see Al
gently put his hand to her stomach. He looked really happy as Ed
watched. The woman looked at Ed and held her hand out to him.

"Aw, she is such a sweet woman." Hughes said with a grin.

Ed blushed.

"You don't have to be so shy about wanting to touch her tummy, Brother." Al
said.

She took his hand and put it on her tummy and held it there.

A picture of a baby surrounded by red was shown with a heart beating

sound in the background. The boys were shown to be staring at her
stomach. "It's like there is a miracle in your stomach." Ed said as he
took his hand away.

Izumi smiled softly. "It is a miracle, Ed. The best miracle that is out there."

Ed looked at her and sad looked passed over his eyes when he remembered
what she had confessed to him yesterday.

"Do you have a child?" Hughes asked her curiously.

"No, I don't." Izumi said, but only a few people could pick up her sad
undertone and they understood immediately what had happened.

Hughes looked at her sadly. His daughter was everything to him. He loved
her so much. He had no idea of how his life would be like without her in it
anymore. It would probably be horrible so he knew from his love of his
daughter that it was difficult for Izumi to lose her own baby.

"Yeah. We were inside Mom's tummy like this once upon a time too." Al
said.

The woman smiled softly before a look of pain passed over her face.
"Are you okay?" Ed asked.

"Y-yes." She replied.

Ed and Al sighed in relief.

A window was shown to be open as the rain continued to pour down

outside. Paninya was shown to be rubbing her leg. "Whenever it pours
down like this, my stumps always get achy." She told Winry.

Winry lowered her glass from her lips. "If you don't mind me asking,
what happened?"

Paninya put her leg back on the ground and crossed her arms. "I was in
a train accident when I was kid. It killed my parents. I round up losing
both my legs in the wreck. I couldn't even walk anymore, and I had
nowhere to go. I felt like my entire world had come crashing down.
That's when I met Mr. Dominic, and everything changed completely."

A flashback was shown with a wheelchair turned over on the ground

with a soft, sad jingle in the background. A legless girl was shown
leaning on the ground with a hopeless, angry look on her face. Dominic
was shown passing in front of the alley she was sitting in. He paused
when he saw here. "You look like the most miserable, pathetic girl in the
entire world." He said and approached her. He snatched her up around
the waist. "Nothing annoys me more than vultures like you."

"Let me go, you mean old man! Put me down!" Paninya cried.

"Well, that seems like a strange meeting." Al said with a nervous chuckle.

Ed shrugged. "At least he was good person and did it to save her, not hurt
her."

"He said I had 'eyes like a dead person.'" Paninya said. "He probably
wasn't far off. I'm sure I did look miserable." She slapped her knee. "So,
without anyone ever asking my opinion, I was outfitted with automail
legs. The surgery and rehabilitation were painful, by far the hardest
thing I've ever done. But then." A picture of Paninya standing on her
legs and looking at the sky was shown. "Soon enough, I was back up on
two legs and I was so happy. All thanks to him." Paninya was shown
staring at the ceiling of the house. "Mr. Dominic. I owe him everything.
I'm going to pay him back somehow, even if it takes my whole life. Of
course he's never willing to take any money from me so that makes it a
bit more difficult."

Winry put her glass down. "That's why you're a thief?" She pushed
herself into Paninya's face. "If you're so grateful to him, you should
clean up your act and stop picking pockets." She grabbed the girl's
knees. "Mr. Dominic gave you these legs out of a selfless act of goodwill
so if you really want to pay him back, use that act as an example." Winry
stared at her for a moment before she stood up. "Instead of stealing
trinkets from helpless tourists, stand strong on those two legs he gave
you." She tapped her foot on the ground. "Stand up and get to work."
Paninya stared at her.

"Just like Winry." Ed said with a smile.

"For someone who has never been out of Resembool, she sure understands
this well." Hughes commented.

Al glanced at him. "She loves automail. She probably doesn't want to see it
being used as a means to help with stealing and getting away."

Ed grinned. "She is also a very caring girl. She probably wants to set Paninya
on the correct path."

Winry smiled softly. "Mr. Dominic would respect you more for doing
that then for stealing."

Paninya lifted one of her legs and looked at it. "Probably." She moved it
around before putting it down and smiling. "You know what? You're
right." She stood up. "For now, I'll work honestly to pay him back
myself. So." She dug around in her pocket and pulled out Ed's watch. "I
should probably give this thing back."

"Mm-hmm." Winry said.

Paninya tried to open it. "Hey. What? Uh-oh. I think I've may of broken
it or something. I can't get it open."

Winry moved to her side. "Let me see."

Ed's eyes narrowed. They had better not open his watch. That was private.

"Brother?" Al asked.

"It's locked with alchemy." Ed hissed.

"Ooh, hiding something?" Hughes teased.

Brody rolled his eyes. "Chief is always something that he doesn't want us to
know. It's probably something private."
"It is." Ed muttered.

Winry put a finger on the watch when Paninya held it out to her. "No,
don't worry, Paninya. It wasn't you. It's been sealed up using alchemy."

"Why would he do that?" Paninya asked.

"I think I have a pretty good idea why." Winry said and suddenly she
had a bunch of tools in her hands. "Something's in here he's too
embarrassed to let anyone see."

Ed growled. "Don't you dare, Winry. There are some things that need to be
left alone." He sighed. "Why the hell is she so damn nosy?"

Paninya smiled slightly as Winry worked on getting the watch opened.

"Opened!" She said when it popped open. "Now, let's have a little look
at what Ed was hiding." She looked inside it when a surprised look
entered her eyes as Paninya joined her.

"Don't forget, October 3rd. Year 11." Paninya read. "A date?"

While everyone looked confused, Al looked at his brother in shock as he was

the only one who understood what that meant.

"What is that date for?" Havoc asked confused.

"Like everything else, I bet the damn meaning of it will come up later."
Edward hissed angrily.

"When did you ever carve that in there? I never saw you do it." Al asked
curiously, but with a sad undertone in his voice. How could his Brother go
around every day for three years with the burden of that memory in his
pocket?

"When I went off on my own at one point." Ed answered.

Winry closed the watch and held it out to Paninya. "Here. You should
give this back to Ed." She said as she wiped her eyes.
"Oh, great, she's crying." Ed groaned.

"Does she understand the meaning of the date?" Mustang asked curiously.

Al nodded. "She was there at the time."

Mustang looked at the roof thoughtfully. "That date is just a few days after
Fullmetal became a State Alchemist. You had gone off to Resembool for a
few days to get everything set before coming on active duty. So something
happened in Resembool that day?"

"Yeah." Al murmured.

As Paninya took the watch, she asked, "What is it, Winry?"

Still wiping her eyes, Winry turned around. "Nothing. I'm going to ask
Mr. Dominic to apprentice me again."

"She's determined." Havoc said with a grin. "And after she was shot down so
quickly the first time."

"She is just as stubborn as Brother." Al said with a sigh.

"In a battle of stubbornness, who would win?" Hughes asked curiously.

"Winry, without a doubt." Al replied without hesitation.

Ed glared at his brother. "Oi!" He said insulted. "So little faith!"

Al chuckled. "It has nothing to do with faith in you, Brother. She would win
because you love her too much to keep up a stubborn act."

Blushing, Ed ducked his head. "You don't know that for sure."

"Do too." Al said.

The outside of the house was shown once more before Winry was seen to
be knocking on one of the doors in the house. Footsteps sounded before
Ed appeared behind Winry, breathing heavily.
"What's wrong?" Winry asked.

"The ba–"

"The bay?" Winry asked confused and a picture of a horse appeared

above her head.

"The ba…The ba…" Ed shook his head.

"The bay is a type of horse." Winry said. "What about it?"

"The…the baby's coming…THE BABY'S COMING!" Ed yelled.

Hughes laughed, along with some other soldiers. "It's not even your own
child and you're freaking out. I wish I could see you when your own children
are born."

"Children?" Ed echoed. "I'm not going to have kids."

"You say that now, but one day you will mar–"

Ed growled. "Finish that sentence and I'll punch you."

Al chuckled. "I have to agree with Brother on this one. I can't imagine him
being a father. He is too rash, stubborn, hardheaded. He really doesn't seem
like the father type."

Hughes laughed. "You'd be surprised at who is a father type." He smiled

softly. "You are both growing up on difficult paths so your views of life are
growing and you're becoming more mature. I think Ed could be a great father
one day."

"I think he is crazy." Ed muttered.

"Well, I know one thing." Mustang said.

Ed raised a brow. "And that is?"

"You know the pain of a father abandoning his family. If you ever have a
family of your own one day, I know you would never leave your kids behind
because you know the pain that happens when that occurs." Mustang
explained.

Ed nodded. That was true. He could never abandon anyone like his own
father did. Abandonment hurt a lot. It was torturous to see his father leave
like that. He didn't even say good-bye to his kids. If Al didn't have to go to
the bathroom that morning, then they would never have seen him leave or
know anything.

Winry screamed.

The outside of the house was shown.

Mr. Dominic was seen to be buttoning up his rain coat. "In a storm like
this, we can't get to the hospital in town. I'll fetch the doctor myself." He
told Winry and Paninya before pulling the hood of his coat up and
leaving the house. He was seen riding a horse down the road.

"Pa will be right back with the doctor." The man with glasses told his
wife, who was sitting in bed with a pained expression. "Just hang on a
little longer for me, okay?"

"There's no hanging on here. It will come whenever it is ready to." She

replied before a horrible look of pain passed over her face.

"What's the matter, hun?" He leaned in closer to hear her.

"Eh, uh, eh, I said it's coming." She mumbled very quietly.

Everyone leaned in closer to hear. "I'm sorry. One more time. I couldn't
hear that." The husband said.

She groaned once before yelling, "I SAID IT'S COMING!"

Everyone yelled in shock and fear.

"Now that is quite a mess." Hughes mumbled. "She really needs a doctor."
"What do we do? The doctor's not here." Edward said while the husband
looked around in fear and unsure as to what to do. While everyone
freaked out, Winry stood watching them.

Ed nodded. "Should have known."

"Know what?" Jerso asked.

"Winry grew up reading doctor books because of her parents being doctors."
Ed explained.

Hughes smirked. "So she's going to take charge?"

"Most likely."

"We're just going to have to do it." Winry declared, making everyone

stare at her.

"Have to do what?" Ed asked.

"What do you think?" Havoc scoffed.

"Sorry, but I think future me is still in shock!" Ed retorted.

"Deliver it." Winry replied simply.

She was stared at for a moment longer before everyone screamed in

surprise.

"So…so you've seen a baby be delivered before?" The husband asked.

"No, I…I haven't, but we don't have any other options here." Winry
replied. The other occupants of the room were shown. "I need everyone's
help." Winry's determined eyes were seen. "We are going to do this."

A dramatic song entered the scene as Winry finished tying an apron

around herself.

Winry turned around. "Ed and Al, go get me some boiling water."
"Right." Al said.

"Sure, Winry." Ed said.

Winry turned to the next person. "Paninya, go find some towels and
hurry."

Sweat still pouring down her face, Paninya raised a hand in the air.
"Roger!"

"Mr. Ridel, do you have any rubbing alcohol we can use for
disinfectant?" Winry asked.

The man turned away from his wife. "I think we have some in the
storeroom."

Without a word, Winry turned around and took off.

"She is quite the leader." Hughes said with a whistle.

"She definitely has her moments." Ed said with a smile.

"That looks like a love sick smile, Chief." Havoc said teasingly.

Blushing, Ed ducked his head. "Will you shut up about that already? She is a
very dear friend of mine. Of course I love her."

"Excuses, excuses." Havoc teased.

The outside of the house was shown. "Oh, and some ice chips. We'll put
them by Mrs. Satera's bedside." Winry's voice said.

The three males left in the house were shown walking down a hall. "Ah,
are we sure your friend can handle this?" The husband asked.

Ed stopped. "Winry comes from a family of doctors. She grew up

reading medical textbooks instead of picture books like most kids her
age." He explained.
"That's all well and good, but it isn't actually the same as a medical
degree." Mr. Ridel replied.

"Well, it's clear she at least vaguely remembers some of it." Ed said.

"Some of it." Mr. Ridel said weakly.

Ed looked at him. "Right now the only choice we have is to defer to her
knowledge and the sheer force of her nerve."

Dominic was shown to still be riding his horse down the road.

Winry was standing in front of a door. "Boiling water…disinfectant…

towels…and what else was there? Remember it now."

"It is amazing that she remembers that much. How long has it been since
she's read those books?" Breda asked.

Ed shrugged. "I'm not sure. She may have read them in the past four years
while Al and I have been busy. If she hasn't though, then it was sometime
before she was ten."

"What is it with country kids and their amazing memories?" Mustang asked
shocked.

"It is impressive. She really shouldn't be able to remember all this." Hughes
commented.

"Winry." Ed's voice said.

Winry looked over at Ed. "You can do this." Ed, Al, and Paninya said.

"Mm-hmm." Winry said and she walked into the room. "Paninya, give
me a hand in here."

"Sure, you've got it." Paninya said and she raced after the blonde.

The door closed behind the two to leave the brothers outside the room,
listening to the gasps of Mrs. Satera. Ed's hand clenched.
"Brother." Al said.

"Now when it really counts, I can't do anything." Ed said.

"A feeling of uselessness?" Mustang asked.

Ed twitched. "Alright, I get it. I won't call you useless when you're wet."

Mustang smirked.

"Stupid jerk." Ed grumbled.

"OW-W-W-W-W!"

Ed and Al screamed at the loud wail coming from the room.

"I'm gonna die in here!" She screamed.

"What the hell?" Ed asked.

Dr. Marcoh chuckled. "Giving birth is very painful process. She'll be fine."

Ed and Al cowered away from the door.

"It hurts! I can't take it anymore."

A few soldiers laughed at the boys' reaction.

"You know, when you guys have kids of your own, your wife is going to
make you be in there for the delivery, right?" Hughes asked amused.

"Why the hell would I want to be in there?" Ed grumbled.

Havoc laughed. "Yeah, Ed's wife would probably glare at him and blame all
her pain on him because he is the one who got her pregnant."

"That sounds like Winry." Al piped up.

"I am not going to marry that she-witch!" Ed shouted.

"Denial, denial." Havoc shook his head in mock sadness.

Ed and Al sat on the floor as they waited. "I know we're not big believers
in God." The former said.

"Mm-hmm."

"Maybe he could help us, this once." Ed bowed his head.

"You sure are acting strange." Mustang said. "Are you that afraid?"

"More like worried for her since she doesn't have a doctor and this is being
down by inexperienced hands." Ed said.

"Well, don't worry. This is all a part the labor process." Dr. Marcoh said
soothingly. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

Izumi smiled sadly to herself.

Dominic was seen still on the road.

The couple was shown. The wife had a pained look while her husband
held her hand.

Winry wiped her chin while Paninya stood next to her with a towel. Ed
was outside the room with his hands clapped over his ears. Al was seen
next before the outside of the house was seen as the music ended.

The door to the room opened. "Brother." Al said and Ed looked at the
door.

Paninya was on her knees, breathing heavily.

"What?" Ed asked.

"All that blood." Paninya said.

Winry was on her own knees with her apron covered in blood.
"I can't do it anymore." Paninya said.

Ed ran over to her and looked in the room. He ran over to his friend and
kneeled next to her. "What's going on? Hey!"

Winry pointed ahead. Ed looked ahead and his eyes widened when he
saw the little baby crying in his dad's arms.

"Well, at least everything turned out okay." Ed said with a sigh. "But where
the hell is that doctor?"

"He's cute." Al added. "Don't you think, Brother?"

"He needs to be cleaned up to get the blood off of him." Ed mumbled.

Al sighed. "Brother."

"Right, right. He is as cute as you were when you were born." Ed mumbled.

"You remember the day your brother was born?" Havoc asked surprised.

"Vaguely. I was only about one and a half at the time." Ed mumbled. "I
meant the pictures I saw of him as a baby were cute."

The couple smiled at their baby.

"I-it's a baby." Ed said.

"Hooray!" Ed and Al cheered.

"Awesome! It's a real live baby." Ed said as Mr. Ridel washed the blood
off his child. "Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!"

Winry smiled. "Really? Awesome? That is all you can think of to

describe this?"

"You know, you are acting quite different than what we are used to seeing."
Breda commented.
"Best way to describe this is that I am pretty much on a day off." Ed said with
a shrug. "I don't solely work on my research. The moment I head to Dublith
though…"

"We'll be back to work." Al finished with a sigh. "Basically, Rush Valley is a

quick break before we get serious again."

"And seeing a newborn baby is just something incredible to see." Ed added.

"How else should I describe it? This is a birth of a new life." Ed replied
as Mr. Ridel took his child from the water with Paninya watching.
"Alchemists have worked for centuries and we're still not able to do that.
A person creating another person."

"You've got to be kidding me. Now you're lumping in alchemy with the
miracle of birth." Winry said.

"Occupational hazard. It's just the way I think." Ed replied.

"And considering you tried to bring your mother back, I am not surprised by
that." Mustang said.

Ed grunted. Yes, that was a reason why his mind worked the way it does.

The baby cried in his mother's arms.

"Besides, whatever you say, it really is awesome. People are awesome."

Ed said. With his arms crossed behind his head, he looked at Winry.
"Alright, the baby's born and everything's good, so do you think there is
anything else you're going to need me for?"

"Yeah, there is." Winry said. She grabbed the edge of Ed's jacket. "Do
you think you could pick me up please?"

Ed looked at her surprised. "Huh?"

He straightened a chair with Winry on his back.

"It's humiliating to be carried by a boy smaller than I am." Winry said

as Ed took a step away from the chair.

"I could easily drop you, you know." Ed said as he turned around.

As Ed started to lower her down, Winry said, "Ed…." Ed stood back

before letting her go.

"What is it?"

"I saw it." Winry said. "The engraving that's inside your pocket watch."

Without warning, Ed dropped Winry to the ground.

"Well, that was a harsh reaction to that." Hughes said with a frown.

"She had no right to force my watch open." Ed growled.

"Ow, ow, ow, that really hurt." Winry said as she rubbed her butt.

"You forced it open?!" Ed asked.

Winry looked at his back. "Yeah, I'm so sorry."

Ed sighed and turned to her. He held a hand out to her. "You idiot."

Winry looked up and took his hand. "Yeah." She said as she climbed to
her feet.

They went over to the chairs and sat down. "I haven't shown that to
anybody, not even Al."

"But why not, Ed?" Winry asked.

"It's private. It's an admonition to myself." Ed's hand clenched. "I hate
to admit how weak I am. I had to give that day substance, then carry it
around with me as a reminder."

"You are stronger then you realize." Mustang said. "Most people would break
if they had to carry around a reminder of something terrible or sad. But
you've carried this reminder for three years and you are still going at it. You
are not as weak as you think you are."

Ed shook his head. No, Mustang was wrong. He gave up his house, all his
memories, because he was weak. If his house was still there, he would have
gone running back. They burned down their house because it would just
make them want to turn back. That was what made them weak.

The outside of the house was shown.

A sad tone entered the background as Winry was shown with tears
trailing down her face.

Ed looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Winry, why are you doing
that?"

"You are definitely not the sympathetic type." Havoc said.

"I don't like tears." Ed said with a sigh. He especially hated tears when they
came from people he cared around.

Ed looked in the other direction. "What are you crying for?"

One of Winry's eyes was shown before a house up in flames appeared at

the screen. In front of the house stood the brothers, Winry, and Pinako.

"Is that your house?" Riza asked sadly.

"Yes." Al said.

"So October third is really the day you burned your house down?" Mustang
asked. He had pierced it together earlier, but wasn't sure if he was correct
until now.

Al nodded.

Ed's hand held his pocket watch. "Well, there's no turning back for us
now, Brother." He said.
"Mm-hmm." Al replied.

Winry looked at them. She glanced back at the house to watch the tree
set on fire. Inside the house, a glass cracked from the heat and a book
burnt to ashes. A picture of the boys and their mother was shown with
fire surrounding it. The house's support began to fall.

"How long did you guys stand there to watch your house disappear?" Hughes
asked sadly.

"Long enough to know that it would be completely gone by the time people
came to put the fire out." Ed said.

Tears trailed down Winry's face. The bottom half of Ed's face was shown
as he turned to look at her. He smiled grimly.

The scene pulled back to show to show the house from a distance. The
fire was big and the black smoke filled the night sky.

"What did you do to make such a big fire?" Breda asked.

"Oil." Ed replied. "We put it all over the house to make sure everything was
destroyed."

"It is sad." Riza said softly.

"The loss of our house is nothing compared to what we lost that night." Ed
murmured.

Brody frowned. "But add those two losses together, and you have lost a lot
for one mistake."

"It's the price we pay." Al said sadly. Nothing anyone said would make what
they did better. It was their mistake to bear.

"What are you crying for, Winry?" Ed asked.

Back in the present, Winry had a hand over her eyes. "You two won't
cry so someone else should do it for you, don't you think?"
Ed looked up. "Don't be an idiot." He stood up and walked a few steps
away with his hands shoved in his pockets. "You should get back to
Resembool. You've been gone a long time. Granny must be lonesome
without you."

"No. I'm not leaving." Winry said, causing Ed to look at her.

"Why?" He asked.

A picture of Ed's open watch was shown.

"Seeing your resolved inspired me." Winry appeared on the screen. "I
want to do more, Ed. I can't just commit halfway." Ed was shown.

"Don't do anything. There's no need to get more involved." Ed said.

"This makes me think of–" Hughes started but Ed glared at him.

"Now don't say anything stupid." Ed growled.

Hughes held his hands up. "I'm just saying it reminds me a sappy love story
between a badass gangster who falls in love with an innocent girl and wants
to protect her from his dangerous life."

Ed's eye twitched. "He said something stupid!" He growled and made to
lunge at the man, but Al grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Brother, you can't go around hurting your friends." Al scolded.

"But did you hear what he said!" Ed grumbled.

"Yes, and actually I find that to be quite funny." Al replied.

Mustang smirked. "It is quite a dramatic moment that one would expect to
find in a book."

Ed growled.

"Yeah, but you guys kind of ruined it by talking." Havoc pointed out.
"Too bad." Hughes said with a grin.

Ed glared at him. "This is not over."

"Yes, there is. I want to hone my skills so I will be able to make you the
finest quality automail prosthetics. That way you can continue your
journey knowing you are strong as you can be." Winry said as Ed turned
to face her fully. "I'm going to try again." She smiled. "I'll ask Mr.
Dominic to make me his apprentice."

Ed frowned before smiling. "Okay. Well then, good luck."

"Mm-hmm."

Paninya opened the door and came out of the room. "Winry, Mr. Ridel
said he wanted to talk to you for a–" She paused and looked at the two.
"What's up? Is there something wrong?"

Winry stood up. "Uh, no. Don't worry. It's nothing. I'll be right there."

Ed closed his eyes. "Paninya…"

Smiling, Paninya looked at him before colorful stars filled the screen.

"Hey! Ow!" Paninya shouted, grabbing the big bump on her head.
"Why'd you go and do that?"

"Quit whining, you dirty pick pocket!" Ed shouted. "And give me back
my watch right now!"

"You shouldn't hit girls." Mustang said.

"Ha! That's just sexist." Ed snapped. "Girls are not that weak. They can take a
hit!"

"You didn't have to hit me with your right arm!" Paninya shouted as the
outside of the house was shown.

"I can hit you again with my left if you prefer!" Ed shouted.
"You two are insane." Havoc said with a laugh. "It's so nice to see you two
acting like normal kids."

A happy tune entered the scene.

"Hello there. I'm your granddad." A very happy Dominic said. His
grandson was shown. "What a cutie."

Ed and Al stared blankly at the man.

"See? Anyone can change. So Ed will be a great father some day." Hughes
said stubbornly.

"WILL YOU DROP THAT?!" Ed screamed.

Hughes just laughed.

"That's sure out of character." Ed said.

Dominic glared at Ed, who looked away with a nervously smile.

"Mother and baby both look perfectly healthy." The doctor said. "It
seems like the delivery was handled expertly." He looked over at Winry.
"Well done. Sometimes even adults can't take being present in
childbirth."

Winry, blushing, waved her hands. "Oh no. We did what we had to.
That's all."

"We are truly in your debt." Dominic said. "What you did was amazing.
Especially you, young lady." He gave a bow of his head. "Thank you."

Winry held her hands up. "Please, sir. There's really no need to thank
me. Aw, my goodness. Now you're going to make me blush."

Ed smirked. "Maybe you could make an exception and take on an

apprentice."

Dominic looked away stubbornly. "One has nothing to do with the other.
I don't take on apprentices and that's that." He stood up with a blush.
"But if that's what your heart's set on, I can recommend you to an
accomplished engineer at the base of the mountain."

"Well, at least she has a master now." Ed said with a smile. "It may not be
who she was after, but if he is mentioning him, he must be good."

"So the trip wasn't as bad as you thought it would be." Havoc said.

Ed grumbled. "I guess. The beginning was a bit bad, but I guess it got better."

Dominic began to leave but Winry turned to him. "Pardon me, would it
be okay if I came by to watch you work sometimes?"

"She is very stubborn to see this man and his automail." Hughes laughed.

"I won't stop you from coming once in a while," Dominic replied as he
rubbed his head. "To see my grandchild. Same goes for the tomboy."
Paninya smiled.

A train was shown as it whistled.

"Move it, Al." Al and Ed ran passed some wanted posters. "We've got to
hurry." The train began to pull out of the station as a happy, suspenseful
tone entered the scene. "If we miss this train, they won't be another one
for three days!" Winry and Paninya were seen to be running after the
two.

"Now you two be careful!" Winry yelled as Ed tossed his suitcase to his
brother who was standing on the back of the train.

"You too, Winry." Ed yelled as he reached the end of the platform. He

jumped as Ed put down the suitcase and reached out to grab Ed's
outstretched arm to pull him onto the train.

"Must you two be that reckless?" Mustang asked.

Ed and Al looked at each other, then pointed at Izumi. "But she is the one
who taught us about jumping onto moving vehicles."
Mustang looked at her in shock. "I thought you were their alchemy and
martial arts teacher!"

Stubbornly, Izumi crossed her arms. "I taught them a variety of things that
would help them in life."

Havoc laughed nervously. "How do you teach someone to jump on moving

vehicles?"

"The only way there is! Through actual experience!" Izumi said.

"Oh, dear god." Havoc said, paling. "How did you two ever survive?"

"We thought the same thing over and over during training." Al said weakly.

"Thank you." Ed breathed as he landed. He turned around and grinned

at his two friends at the station. "And don't forget to call Granny and
keep her posted!"

"Oh, please. Like you're really one to talk, Ed." Winry shouted as she
continued to run down the platform.

Ed pointed at his automail hand. "And make sure to steal that old man's
techniques so you have something even better for me the next time I see
you, okay?" He yelled as he waved to the girls.

The girls stopped at the end of the platform and smiled. "Well, that's it.
They're gone." Paninya said.

"They'll be back." Winry said.

The scene went dark.

"Well, that was quite a happy episode." Havoc said with a smile.

"Just what we needed after all the dark episodes we just had to deal with."
Hughes said with a grin.

"So next is…" Ed groaned. "Meeting Teacher."

General Armstrong smirked. "This should be fun."

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 12*: Episode 12: One is All, All is
One
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 12: One is All, All is One

The opening song began.

"What no special beginning about alchemy? What is this?" Havoc asked

annoyed. "We are being ripped off!"

Quite a few people gave him blank stares, except for Luke who whole
heartedly agreed with his eastern counterpart.

"What is wrong with you?" Ed deadpanned. "This is our future, not a game."

"I just want to know why some have the special opening and why others
don't." Havoc retorted.

"One is All, All is One"

"What does that mean?" Havoc asked.

Ed and Al shared a look and laughed. "If we're right, you'll find out soon
enough." The former said with a smirk.

"Oh, so you know?" Breda asked curiously.

"Of course. It is something Teacher made us learn." Al replied.

Havoc and Luke twitched. If it was their Teacher, maybe they didn't want to
know.

A blond haired man appeared on the screen as a tone entered the

background. He was looking down at something as he stood in front of a
door.

"What the hell is that?" Brody asked.

"Bastard." Ed said softly himself.

"Brother." Al scolded. "It's our Dad."

"Ah, so this is a memory." Mustang said.

Al shrugged. "Most likely. Unless he is becoming a part of the future to help

solve the problem, which we still don't know what it is."

"It's so annoying not knowing." Ed grumbled.

Hohenheim's eyes were zoomed in on. A light appeared in one of the

corners of scene and spread throughout before Ed was snapping awake
with a shocked look. His eyes shook for a moment before he looked at the
ground with a sad look.

"I thought you didn't care for him." Avery said.

Ed snarled. "I don't."

"Sure doesn't look like that with that look in your eyes." Brody said.

Ed glared at him. "Drop it. I was surprised. Sue me."

"Brother, we've almost reached the Dublith station." Al told him.

Ed crossed his arms and slouched down in his seat with his eyes closed.

"Were you having a dream?" Al asked.

Ed looked at the alley of the train. "Yeah. I was dreaming about him."

Al looked at his brother then out the window, not replying.

The train was shown to be stopped in a train station.

"Well, Al, we're finally here." Ed's voice said.

"Yeah." Al replied as the brothers were shown to be standing in front of

a shop. Ed hung his head in a dejected manner.

"Quit stalling already!" Buccaneer said.

"I'll stall all I want!" Ed cried. "I must savor my last few minutes."

Izumi smirked. "Now really, Ed. I am not that bad."

The brothers looked at each other in disbelief. Izumi was the harshest person
they have ever met! And that is saying a lot considering how they have
traveled all over the past few years.

"How can she say that?" Havoc whispered. "From everything we saw from
yesterday."

"I think she just likes scaring Ed and Al." Fuery whispered back.

"Maybe she's sadistic." Breda snickered.

"Shh." Havoc hushed him. "She might hear us."

"It'd be nice if Teacher wasn't home." Ed said.

"Uh-huh." Al replied.
"Hey, she might not be." Avery said with a grin. "Remember? We saw her
and Sig in the Central train station earlier."

Izumi chuckled. "Wrong. I had my trip planned. Central was the last place I
was stopping before heading home."

Ed and Al groaned. "There is no escaping." The latter said.

"So you might as well just go in and get it over with." Mustang said
cheerfully.

"You are all sadists and just want to see us suffer." Ed muttered.

Loud footsteps echoed in the scene and a door to the shop was opened.
First a bloody knife was shown, scaring the boys, before Sig came out the
door.

"Oh, thank you! It's the nice one!" Ed said.

Sig chuckled. "Thank you, I believe."

Izumi shook her head, quite amused. If she didn't know the boys respected
and feared her so much, she might have been insulted that they didn't think
she was nice.

"Question! Why is he holding a bloody knife?" Havoc asked.

"Izumi and I own a butcher shop." Sig explained.

"Oh, so there are a lot of knives around." Fuery said weakly. "That's why Ed
said they had to learn to dodge knives."

"Uh, hello Sig." Ed said weakly.

"Long time no see." Al added.

Sig patted Ed on the head. "Good to see you. You've grown up a little,
huh."
"He's squashing me." Ed mumbled to himself.

"It is like dealing with Major Armstrong all over again." Ed groaned, rubbing
his head.

"I have never patted you on the head." Armstrong protested.

"No, just squeeze me to death in a hug." Ed grumbled.

"You probably don't recognize me, but it's me, Alphonse." Al told Sig.
"Sorry we've been away so long."

Sig moved his hand from Ed's head to pat Al's helmet. "Looks like
you've grown up more than a little."

"No one's patted my head like this since back before I lost my body." Al
thought happily.

Sig leaned in a window. "Izumi, the Elric shrimps have come for a visit.
Do you think you can see them?"

"Looks like you're stuck in bed again." Ed said worriedly, not even noticing
the shrimp part.

"HA, nothing can keep me down!" Izumi declared. "Especially when I have a
couple of brats to teach a lesson to."

Ed and Al twitched. Oh, dear god….

"I'll be right there." A gentle voice replied. "I'm feeling a little better
today."

"What the hell is that? Your voice is too gentle!" Ed cried weakly. "What a
bad omen. We're seriously going to die, Al."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mustang asked. "How is a gentle
voice supposed to mean death?"

Ed growled. "You obviously don't understand. Al and I spent our lives

growing up around women. When they use a gentle voice, it is just a
deceiving trick to make you lower your guard before they let their full wrath
out on you! How can you not know that? You are around Lieutenant Riza all
the time!"

Riza chuckled. "He has yet to catch on, Edward."

"I didn't realize he was so slow." Ed murmured.

"I am not slow, brat." Mustang growled.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Could have fooled me."

Mustang rubbed his bare fingers together. Oh, how he so desperately wanted
his gloves to make fried shrimp.

Ed and Al were shown to be standing next to Sig outside the house.

"Lying down? That's not a good sign."

Ed looked at his brother. "Guess she hasn't gotten any better since last
time."

The door behind Ed was suddenly kicked open.

"Ah-Ha! That's where you learned it was okay to kick doors open!" Mustang
cried. He shot a glare at Izumi. "I am noticing that Ed has learned a lot of
annoying behaviors from you."

Izumi grinned. "Usually that would bother me, but since it bothers you so
much, I say, good job, Ed!"

Ed sweat drop. "Wow, those two really don't like each other." He whispered
to his brother, who nodded in mute surprise.

Ed spun around in surprise, just to get kicked in the face.

"Ah, shit." Ed groaned and grabbed his face. "You never hold back!"

"The first thing she does is kick you?" Myers said weakly.
"Did you not see when we first arrived in here? She attacked us then too." Al
replied since his brother was busy moaning in pain.

Ed was sent rolling back, screaming, before he stopped by slamming

through one of the walls of the building across the street.

While some people winced, Hughes laughed. "Well, no wonder you can take
so much if your teacher had a habit of kicking you through walls."

Ed, who was laying on the ground and moaning in pain, just shot his friend
an upside down glare. "So not the time for jokes." He growled as his body
twitched a bit.

While Ed lay twitching on the ground, Al gasped as Izumi marched out

of the house with a scary, suspenseful tune in the scene. Izumi was seen
at an angle that caused the top of half of her body to be bathed in a
shadow. "Hello my stupid pupil."

"Her voice is harsh now." Al winced.

"It was a dramatic change." Mustang said as he glanced at his still twitching
subordinate. "Okay down there, Fullmetal?"

Ed raised a hand half off the ground. "Give me a moment. Flying through
walls isn't a habit of mine so I am not quite used to this pain."

General Armstrong smirked. "I quite like your entrance, Izumi."

Izumi smiled. "Why thank you. I simply hope this will teach these two
something."

Ed groaned to himself, while Al sweat dropped. Who thought it was a good

idea to put two scary women like those two in a room together? At this rate,
he and Ed weren't going to survive!

"I see why they fear her." Scar mumbled to himself. After his fight with the
woman, he found that she truly was a force to be reckoned with.

"I hear you've become one of the Military's Dogs!" Izumi continued. The
door behind her squeaked shut. The woman turned around to face Al
with a scary grin, which of course scared the already frightened boy.

"Ah, Teacher, you see, it's because…" Al shook where he stood.

Izumi turned the rest of the way around and the shadow disappeared
from her face. "Al?! Look at you! You've gotten so big." She said kindly.

"Don't fall for it!" Ed screamed, jumping back to his sitting position even
though his body was still sore. "It's a trap! Don't listen to the kind voice!"

Al sweat dropped. "Brother, if you keep screaming like, I'm going to think
you've lost it."

Ed blinked. "Who's to say I haven't? Do you have any idea of how much pain
I have felt in the past two days? All that pain is not good. It is bound to make
me insane at this rate."

Quite a few faces paled.

"I never thought about that." Hughes said worriedly. "With all the situations
you get it, you are going to be getting hurt a lot. That is fine since it is spread
out, but if you are forced to feel all the pain you are going to be feeling in the
next year all within a few days…."

"What the hell is with this damn pain factor?" Mustang growled in worry.
"This is more dangerous than anything."

There was a flash of gold light and a letter dropped into Ed's lap. Curiously,
he picked it up. "I am sorry that you must go through this pain, but there is a
reason. The pain that comes from seeing the future is the cost. V.H."

"What does that mean?" Brody asked confused.

"Of course." Ed swallowed weakly. "It makes sense now. It is like alchemy.
If we want to obtain something, we have to give something. We can't just
take."

"So to gain the knowledge of the future, we have to give into the pain that we
are to receive in the future." Izumi finished with a frown. She did not like this
one bit. Ed was so reckless that he was probably the one to get injured the
most, especially considering how this is mostly from his and Al's view.

Havoc frowned. "It is twisted and annoying, but I guess that makes sense. It
also makes the future more realistic when we have to feel the pain we are to
receive."

"You haven't even felt anything yet." Ed groaned.

"Well, all we can do is hope that we don't have to see Fullmetal get into
fights every single day. Then he might get a day of rest so he doesn't go
insane." Mustang said with a sigh. "Honestly, it would be nice if you could
stay out of trouble for once."

"What can I say? Trouble just loves to find me." Ed mumbled, but he was
worried. He had a tendency to find trouble wherever he went….so not good.

Al sighed and approached his Teacher to shake her hand. "Teacher, it's
really good to see you." He said before Izumi was pulling his arm and
flipping him over.

"You fell for it." Ed said blandly.

"You need more training." Izumi and General Armstrong growled, surprising
the boys since both said it.

Armstrong grinned. "What amazing strength you have, Izumi Curtis!"

Izumi smiled at him. "Thank you, Major Armstrong."

"He is still encouraging her." Ed groaned.

While Al groaned on the ground, Izumi crossed her arms and closed her
eyes. "Your skills are rusty."

While Ed limped over with a hand to his head, Al rolled over and
climbed to his feet as he said, "You've got a lot of energy for someone
who's not feeling well."
"NOT FEELING WELL?! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I'M
PERFECTLY–" Izumi yelling was cut off as blood suddenly spilled from
her mouth.

"Jeez, she is just like Chief when he doesn't want to be in the hospital."
Havoc said, snickering. "Are there any behaviors you didn't pick up from
your teacher, Chief?"

"Sure, Brother is more reckless and has a lot more crazy plans than Teacher."
Al replied for his brother.

Breda snickered. "I don't know. Izumi seems a bit…." He trailed off when the
woman shot him a glare. "Never mind." He would not get killed today.

Ed and Al screamed while Sig put a hand on his wife's shoulder while he
held a jar. "You shouldn't exert yourself."

Izumi smiled at him with a blush as a lovey-dovey tone entered the scene.
"How sweet of you to worry, dear. Thank you." They hugged each other
as little hearts fluttered around.

"Is that out of character or bipolar?" Falman asked curiously, but received a
glare from the brothers that said to shut-up-before-he-got-killed. Confused,
he looked at the couple to see them in their lovey-dovey state.

"You're lucky she didn't hear you." Ed hissed at him. "I swear she almost
killed me when I said something about it."

Falman shivered.

The couple and the brothers were shown to be sitting around a table in
the kitchen of the house. "The Philosopher's Stone?" Izumi asked. "No, I
don't know much about it. It holds no interest to me."

"I see. Okay." Ed replied.

"There was that one alchemist. The one in Central knew a bit about the
stone." Sig said.
Ed and Al looked at each other happily. "So who was this guy?" The
former asked.

Izumi put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Let me think. What's his
name? Oh, Hohenheim!"

"Ah, damn it! Not him!" Ed screamed, pulling at his hair.

"Brother, don't be so rude." Al scolded. "If Dad can help us, we should…"

"I will never ask him for help." Ed growled.

Mustang sighed. "These two will never agree when it is their father
involved."

Ed's eyes turned from hopeful to anger in less then a second at the name.
He looked down at the ground, shaking in anger.

A vision of Hohenheim turning towards the door was shown before Ed

was back on the screen. Izumi noticed his clenched, shaking hands, and
looked at his face. "What is it?"

"Then he's alive." Ed said.

"Someone you know?" Izumi asked.

"He's our father." Al replied, surprising Izumi.

"The one that ran out on you when you were little?" Izumi asked.

"Heh, small world." Izumi said. "Funny too that you three were in Central at
the same time but never ran into each other."

"I call that a blessing." Ed hissed angrily.

Al glared at his brother.

"Drop it you two." Izumi growled. "I don't want to hear any fighting about
your dad. You both have different opinions on the matter and that is alright.
Leave it at that."

The brothers nodded stiffly.

"Yeah, that's the one." Ed said harshly. "It's all because of that bastard
our mother's dead. If it wasn't for him…"

"Why do you blame your dad for her dying? I thought she got sick." Havoc
said confused.

Ed scoffed. "She got sick because her immune system weakened so much.
She was depressed and upset over his departure for such a long time. It
weakened her and made her more susceptible to illness."

"While that is true, it is not like your father actually gave her the illness."
Mustang said.

"No, but he caused her to get sick. He should have never left." Ed growled.

The scene whited out to show Trisha and Hohenheim standing in front of
a door to their house with a sad tone in the scene. The woman looked
over at something. "Oh, you boys are up early. What are you doing out
of bed?" She asked kindly.

Ed and Al, as little kids, were shown standing in the hallway. The former
yawned before saying, "Al said he had to go potty."

Trisha went over to her boys and kneeled in front of them. "And of
course his big brother took care of him." She said as she rubbed his hair,
making him smile. "Thanks a lot, little man."

Ed smiled sadly at the nickname.

"You look so happy and she called you little!" Mustang said shocked.

"Of course. 'Little man' was Mom's nickname for me. I liked hearing it." Ed
grumbled.

Riza frowned. "Do you hate being called little because of the nickname your
mom gave you that you can no longer hear?"

Ed blinked. He tried not to think about the past, but he knew he missed that
nickname, but he also despised being so short because everyone always
teased him about it. "I think it is a part of the reason, but not really the main
one."

"That just makes it hard to tease him now." Havoc mumbled.

Ed looked at his dad to see him staring at him. Because of the glare
coming from the window above the door, it was hard to see his face, but
it looked like he was glaring which scared Ed. Hohenheim turned around
and walked out of the door. Al rubbed his eyes and opened them to
watch with his brother as their dad walked away, closing the door
behind him, leaving them in darkness.

The outside of the house was shown before the brothers and their mom
were seen in the kitchen. While the boys ate, Trisha was working in the
cabinet. Ed glanced at the empty seat at the table. "Hey, why isn't Dad
here?" He asked his mom.

"You called him dad." Hughes said surprised. "I haven't heard you call him
that once here."

Ed scoffed. "I didn't hate him until he abandoned us."

"Before then, Brother really loved dad." Al said weakly.

Trisha paused in closing the cabinet for a second before she went back to
closing them. "Your dad left." She said.

Al was kneeling on his chair backwards to look at his mom. "When's he

coming back, Mom?"

Trisha turned around with a smile and a laugh. She raised her hands
and walked over to Al. "I'm gonna get ya!" She started to tickle her
youngest, making him laugh. "You silly boy." Trisha's face was zoomed
in on so tears could be seen pricking the corner of her eyes. "He'll be
back before you know it, Al."

Ed saw the tears in his mom's eyes as a strange look passed over his face.

"You are very observant, even at such a young age." Riza said softly.

"They weren't hard to see." Ed said sadly.

"Why didn't you ever tell me how upset Mom was?" Al asked.

Ed shrugged. "There was no reason for us all to be upset."

"Now finish your dinner, boys." Trisha said.

Trisha opened a door to see her sons buried in a pile of books.

"Hey, same situation as me!" Sheska laughed.

Ed chuckled. "I guess so."

She huffed at the boys and spoke, but the words weren't heard.

"Mom." Ed's voice said.

Ed glared at his bottle of milk while Al drank his and Trisha smiled at
her son.

"Mom."

With Al standing behind him, Ed was shown to be transmuting a piece of

paper into origami for his mom. His mom clapped her hands when it was
finished.

"Mom!"

The boys were shown with their mother outside.

A crash was heard.

"Mom!" This time it was more anguished.

A tomato rolled across the ground to where Trisha laid collapsed on the
ground. The boys stood in the doorway of their house, staring at their
mother in shock and fear.

"That must have been scary." Hughes said sadly.

"Of course it was." Ed snapped. "We had no idea of what was going on and
we were afraid of losing our mom too. It's not something we like to
remember."

"Sorry." Hughes replied. This was a tough memory for the boys. He shouldn't
have said anything.

The scene faded out to back to the present where the brothers were at
Izumi's.

"Um, did our Dad say anything about the Philosopher's Stone?" Al
asked.

Izumi put a hand back to her chin. "Something about a lifelong dream
finally coming true. He seemed very happy when he said it." She looked
at Ed before standing up and whacking him in the head.

"Ow. What was that for?" Ed groaned, grabbing his head.

"Well, it got you out of your depressed state, didn't it?" Izumi retorted.

"There is more than one way to get someone to wake up." Ed grumbled.

"You seem to respond best to getting hit." General Armstrong commented.

Ed frowned. Never put Izumi and General Armstrong alone together. It was
dangerous for everyone's health.

Ed grabbed his head and looked at her. "Eh."

Izumi leaned over to look at him. "Now we're going to eat." She said and
walked away to the kitchen.

"Okay." Ed said.

"Didn't need to hit me." Ed muttered.

The closed sign of the butcher shop was shown with dogs barking in the
background before the four were shown to be sitting at the table. Al sat
there watching while the other two guys ate. "You aren't eating, Al?" Sig
asked.

"Oh, no." Al waved his hands while Ed paused in what he was doing.
"I'm fine. I had a big meal on the train ride here."

"Oh, right, Izumi doesn't know the truth yet." Havoc said.

Ed twitched. "That won't be a pleasant conversation." He paused and recalled

that Izumi performed human transmutation as well. Was that going to get
brought up too? He really didn't want to put his teacher through that again.

"Hey Al, you should tell her about Rush Valley. About the baby being
delivered." Ed said.

"A distraction technique?" Izumi mused. "Is that how you're going to play
it?"

Ed shrugged. "Whatever to keep us alive!"

Hughes laughed. "Perhaps you learned more from the military than we
thought."

Ed grunted. "Considering the missions I've had to go on with other soldiers,

it's not a surprise I learned a thing or two."

"Yeah, we helped deliver a baby." Al said while Ed grinned. "There was

this big storm and we couldn't get the mother to a doctor."

"Al, it's pretty generous to call what we did 'helping.'" Ed retorted while
Sig looked at his wife.
"Yeah, it was mostly Winry. And the whole family pitched in too." Al
told Izumi. "The mother was so brave. Everyone's blessed when a baby's
born, huh?"

Ed grimaced at the conversation. Because he knew Teacher was suffering

from a miscarriage, he had to wonder how much this conversation was
hurting her.

"Yes, that's right. That same miracle brings us all into this world." Izumi
said. "Always take pride in the lives that were given to you."

Izumi lightly touched her stomach. Yes, the lives that came into this world
were to be valued. Because they all survived, they should value the life they
were given since not everyone gets to live long or even make it to the world.

Ed grinned and looked at his brother while Sig looked away from his
wife.

The night sky was shown before Ed was seen lying on a bed while he
looked out the window while Al sat in a corner of the room.

"Hey Ed." Al said suddenly. "Teacher hasn't changed, has she?"

"Nope. She hasn't changed one bit in all this time." Ed replied.

Another flashback was shown of rain pouring down.

"What? Is this another flashback episode?" Havoc asked.

"We are just diving into Fullmetal's private memories." Mustang said.

"Great." Ed muttered. "But at least it is nothing too grave or sad. It just seems
to be focused on meeting Teacher and what she taught us."

Havoc suddenly perked up. "What she taught you? We get to see your
training?"

Ed twitched. "Now you sound so excited. Sadist!"

"Was it that horrible?" Riza asked.

"I wouldn't say horrible." Al said quietly. "We've faced worse, but it was very
difficult."

An overflowing river was shown as the men of Resembool tried to build a

wall with heavy bags of soil.

"Stack them up tight!"

"We need more!"

"It's collapsing."

Those who weren't helping were standing on the cliff to watch the men
work.

"The levee is breaking. Run for higher ground!"

Al tapped his brother. "Brother, look." He pointed at a woman walking

towards the river.

"Well, that seems quite dangerous." Riza said.

"What were you even doing in Resembool?" Ed asked curiously as he

thought about it. He never bothered to ask before. "There is nothing really
there so I can't see why you would come there."

Izumi smiled softly. "I just love to travel. I want to see every place I can
which is why I went to Resembool. I found it to be a very peaceful and quiet
place when it wasn't storming, at least."

"Yeah, I guess it is a nice place to stop if you wish to rest and relax." Ed said.

An active, determined song entered the scene as Izumi marched across

the ground.

"Hey! It's too dangerous!"

The wall burst down as the people ran away from the water rushing at
them. Izumi ignored them as she continued forward. She stood her
ground as the water wrapped around her.

"It is amazing that you did not collapse from the force of the water hitting
you." Armstrong said impressed.

"If she can survive in Briggs Mountain for a month, I'm not surprised she
survived that water." Ed mumbled to his brother.

Al nodded in agreement.

Izumi clapped her hands and slammed them into the water to reach the
ground. The ground sprouted up into a giant wall to block the water. As
she stood up and dusted her hands up, Sig came over with an umbrella
while she turned around with a smile. "Well, that ought to hold back the
water for a while."

"Lady, who are you?" A man asked.

"Just a housewife who was passing by." She said with a smile.

"A housewife?" Hughes, Havoc, Breda, and Luke echoed.

"Teacher doesn't like to identify herself as an alchemist. She doesn't live by

alchemy, but as a normal human with the knowledge of alchemy that she uses
when she needs too." Ed explained.

Al nodded. "Actually, I don't recall ever hearing her identify herself as an

alchemist. Not even when we went on some travels with her."

"Because I am just a housewife. Nothing more." Izumi said.

"Of course." Ed mumbled.

Scar looked at the boys' former teacher with a frown. She was definitely
different from all the other alchemists he has met. She seemed to value a
normal life more than anything else and had an extreme dislike of State
Alchemists. Not only that, physical activity seemed more important then
alchemy to her. She was definitely a different one. Perhaps he was wrong
about his stereotype of alchemists.

Blood suddenly sprouted from her mouth. While Sig rubbed his wife
clean of the blood, Ed and Al pushed through the adults and ran down to
the two.

"Hey old lady, could you be our teacher?" Ed asked.

Izumi turned to glare at the boys. "Huh?" She clapped her hands and a
hand shot up from the ground to punch the boys away.

The soldiers laughed. "Scary lady."

"And just as stubborn as Dominic not to accept apprentices." Hughes

laughed. "But as we know, she caves."

The boys screamed but came running back. "Pretty please old lady?"
Both boys said.

Izumi cracked her knuckles. "I'm a little hard of hearing so I didn't

quite catch that." She held up her fist. "Maybe you liked to repeat
yourselves." The boys shared a look of fear.

"Don't you know that you don't call a lady old?" Riza scolded. "You grew up
around women. You should know that."

"We were what: 8." Ed glanced at Al. "7 at the time. We were still learning!"

"We'll try again." Ed said as he and Al clasped their hands and had stars
in their eyes.

"Please, please teach us, pretty lady." Al said.

"No way." Izumi said.

"Why not?" Ed asked.

"Because I don't take on students and besides I'm in the middle of a

trip." Izumi replied.

They grabbed onto her arm. "Please."

She swung them around. "You brats! What about your parents?" She
shouted as a man approached them.

"Um, ma'am, these little ones don't have any parents." He said.

Izumi looked shocked before frowning and looked down at the two
hanging onto her arm. "How am I supposed to say no to that?"

"What a way to get a teacher." Mustang laughed.

"Not really the way we wanted to get one, but it works." Ed said. He never
wanted to use the idea of pity to get something he needed.

With a sun now shining, lush trees were shown. Ed and Al looked into
the forest before turning to look back at Izumi who was standing on a
boat in the water. "You two are on your own! This is your introductory
training. If you do well, you'll move on to the main training phase.
During this first stage, the use of alchemy is totally forbidden." The boys
stared at her with frowns and looks of confusion. "'One is All, All is
One.' You have one month to figure out what that means. You better
find the answer in the allotted time. If not, you're heading back to
Resembool." She cheered at the end as she threw a knife that spun in the
air before stabbing the sand between the boys.

"You abandon two boys on an island for a month?!" Riza, Sheska, Maria, and
Karin yelled in surprise.

"They had no training at all to survive in the wilderness." Karin said weakly.

Izumi smirked. "The best teacher is experience."

"But they knew absolutely nothing." Mustang said shocked. He had no idea
that the boys got their survival skills from being abandoned on an island. In
hindsight, he should have realized something was strange when he heard
from Havoc that Ed was really great at surviving in the wilderness without
alchemy when the two had to go on a mission together and couldn't use
alchemy.

"Which is why we almost died!" Ed shouted.

"Well, that and we didn't want to kill the cute little animals." Al said softly.

This earned the brothers a few blank stares.

"What? We were kids!" Ed protested.

"The fact that Chief didn't want to kill cute animals." Brody muttered.

Buccaneer snickered. "Seems someone is more a softy then we believed."

Ed twitched. "What? Do you think I'm evil?"

Havoc shrugged. "You did it without much thought when we were on that
mission."

Rolling his eyes, Ed shrugged. "Course I did. I got passed it because of my

training on that island."

With a smirk, Izumi waved. "Bye."

Ed and Al screamed. "WHAT DO WE NOW?!" They yelled together at

the sky.

"Already lost?" General Armstrong asked amused.

"What do you expect? We've never been in this kind of situation! Our skills
didn't just magically appear when I decided to join the military." Ed
grumbled.

"It does seem like a good training exercise. The military should implement
it." General Armstrong said, ignoring Ed.

Fuery frowned. He didn't really like that idea. "How bad was it?"
Al shrugged. "We mostly struggled because we didn't know anything. We
couldn't eat any of the fruits or flowers because we didn't know what was
good and what would poison us so that was a problem. I think food was the
biggest problem we had."

"What about the masked man?" Ed asked.

"Ah, that was annoying." Al said.

"Masked man?" Armstrong asked.

Izumi nodded. "I had one of my employees stay on the island wearing a mask
so the boys couldn't tell who it was. His job was to make sure they didn't die
and also to attack them every single day and even steal food from them if he
felt like it."

"Why?" Havoc asked curiously.

"It was the start of them learning how to fight." Izumi said. "I didn't want to
start from scratch if they did pass so he was to start making them learn to
fight."

Miles smirked. "Yes, best teacher is experience, right?"

"Must have been hell." Buccaneer laughed.

"Very good training method." General Armstrong said with a smirk.

Ed frowned. "Doesn't the military do survival training once a year or

something?"

"Yes." Mustang said, frowning. "But when it happens, the soldiers get
survival packs and are left somewhere. All they have to do is get to a
temporary military base to pass."

"What's in the packs?" Al asked.

"Bottles of water, some food, a map, a knife. Just general stuff." Havoc
explained.
"Doesn't that defeat the purpose?" Ed asked blankly.

The scene pulled out to show the boys on an island in the middle of a lake
in Dublith.

It was now nighttime and the boys were seen lying on the ground near
the edge of the forest. "I'm so hungry." Ed mumbled.

"I want to sleep in a real bed." Al groaned.

Frogs were shown to be croaking. An owl was perched on a tree and a

lizard was crawling up another tree. A fox lifted its head from the
ground. Al was lying on his back on some leaves while Ed was on his side
with his arms wrapped around his chest.

Ed shot up angrily. "How is this supposed to be considered alchemy

training?" He said, shocking Al up to a sitting position.

With their stomach growling, both boys fell onto their backs.

"I'm so hungry…" Ed moaned.

"So go get food." General Armstrong growled.

"We're still lost." Ed grumbled.

"How long do you starve before you get food?" Mustang asked curiously.

Ed blinked and looked at his brother with a shrug. "I think it was almost a
week before we got the hang of it I think."

"A week without food?" Brody said shocked. "That's like a fourth of your
test."

Ed nodded. "Yeah, it was hell."

"I wonder if they're doing alright out there." Sig said as he hung up some
meat on a hook.
"You know what they say. No better teacher than experience." Izumi
said as she sharpened a knife. "This is the best way for them to learn the
essentials of alchemy. I'm teaching them the same way I was taught. If
they don't learn anything from this, it means their talent as alchemist
will be limited." She lifted her knife to examine it. "And I'll have to give
up on them as pupils." She flipped the knife in her hand before throwing
it at Sig, who caught it between two fingers.

"How dangerous." Sheska said.

"It can only be done because you are both fighters, correct?" Dr. Marcoh
asked the couple.

Izumi smiled. "That is correct."

"Despite everything, Sig and Teacher really are a good couple." Ed mumbled.
"Even if they have a habit of throwing and catching knives like that."

"Seems a little crazy." Al mumbled to his brother.

"It's not their education I'm worried about." Sig said. "Their lives could
be in danger out there."

Hands on her hips, Izumi frowned. "They're not doing anything that I
haven't." A picture of Izumi facing off against a bear in the snow was
shown in the background. "My training began with a whole month in
Briggs Mountain in the winter."

"What?" Quite a few Briggs and Eastern soldiers shouted in shock.

"In Briggs?" General Armstrong asked shocked. "Now that is indeed

impressive. When was this?"

"About twenty years ago." Izumi smiled.

General Armstrong looked surprised for a moment before she covered it up.
"So you were the one who was stealing from the Briggs soldiers?"

Izumi smirked. "Of course. When one is in a dire situation, they will do
whatever it takes to survive. Right, Ed?"

Ed looked up confused and surprised. "Huh?"

"Well, don't you do some pretty reckless and sometimes crazy things to
survive?" Izumi asked.

"Oh," Ed mumbled. "Yeah, I guess I do. We'll probably see a lot of crazy
things soon."

Havoc blinked. "You mean more than what we've already seen?"

"You haven't seen anything yet." Al said blandly.

"What else is there?" Breda asked.

Al shrugged. "Everything Brother does is different from the last time so we

have to wait and see."

"It's only different because I am never in the same situation twice." Ed said.
"Each situation requires a different crazy plan to survive. Besides that, why
was everyone so shocked to find out that Teacher trained in Briggs?"

Miles smirked. "There was a story that someone was attacking and stealing
food from Briggs soldiers for a month before it suddenly stopped. No one
really understood what was going on."

Al and Ed gave their Teacher blank looks. "You attacked soldiers?"

"We do what we must if we are to survive in this world." Izumi replied.

"I thought she just killed a bear to survive off of for a month." Ed muttered.

Sig started to cut some meat. "You know you shouldn't compare yourself
to normal people."

"That island has plenty of things to eat." Izumi said as the forest was
shown once more. "They're not going to die."
A rabbit appeared on the screen and hopped forward as a happy tune
entered the scene.

"Ah-ha! That rabbit!" Ed cried.

Mustang stared at him blankly. "You remember that rabbit?"

"Course I do." Ed grunted. "It's the first that got away."

"You know there's more than one brown rabbit in the world, right?" Havoc
asked.

Ed shrugged. "So? These are mine and Al's memories. So of course we are
going to remember how we failed in the beginning and that rabbit was a
failure!"

"Whatever you say."

The rabbit was suddenly pulled back and snapped into the air by a trap\.

"So how did you do that?" Brody asked curiously. "For kids who don't know
how to survive, you sure seem to know how to make effective traps."

"We're smart and read a lot. We know a thing or two." Ed muttered. "It's just
putting it into practice and making those traps was a bit hard in the beginning.
We eventually got the hang of it though."

"Got one!" Ed and Al cheered as they popped up from the ground with
leaves on their head.

With the rabbit tied up at their feet, Ed and Al stared at it. "How are we
supposed to eat it?" Al asked as Ed pulled the knife out.

"We kill it." Ed said.

"Kill it." Al repeated and both turned to stare at the rabbit which now
had tears in its eyes.

"You guys fell for its cuteness, didn't you?" Sheska asked amused.
"It was crying!" Ed cried.

The soldiers laughed.

"You are going to lose your badass reputation at this rate, Fullmetal."
Mustang said with a chuckle.

Grumbling, Ed crossed his arms and looked away.

Ed held the knife out to his brother. Al grabbed his brother's hand and
pushed it back towards him. "No way. You take care of it, Brother."

Ed pushed it back towards his brother. "Catching them is more my

area."

Al pushed it back to Ed and glared at his evil grinning brother. "You

always make me do the dirty work."

"Really?" Breda asked. "And here we always see Ed being the evil one."

"Hey!"

Al sighed. "Well, it seems Brother has gotten the hang of being evil over the
years."

"Hey! I am not evil!"

Still ignored.

There was a yelp which made the brothers look back at the rabbit, only
to see it was gone and in a fox's mouth.

"You lost to a fox." Mustang said, smirking. "You just can't win today,
Fullmetal. First Paninya and now a fox."

"Oh, shut up." Ed grumbled.

The fox took off into the forest with Ed and Al screaming before chasing
after it.
"Hey! Come back here!" They screamed.

They chased the fox to its den, but stopped a distance away to watch the
fox drop the rabbit in front of its babies.

Breathing heavily, the boys leaned on a log and watched them.

"Fox cubs, look." Ed said.

They tore into the rabbit and ate its insides, disgusting the boys.

Covering his mouth, Ed looked away. "Maybe we should just switch to

fish."

Ed and Al looked into the water as the fish swam around.

"Great! How are we supposed to catch a fish?" Ed screamed from where

he was kneeling on a rock. "We don't have any rods, or lines, or hooks,
or bait, or anything!"

On a higher rock, Al hung his head, dejected.

Havoc snickered.

"You shut up." Ed growled at him. "I want to hear nothing from soldiers
whose survival training includes a pack of the essentials."

Havoc growled to himself.

"We really should train the same way as you two." Buccaneer said. "It would
be more effective training."

The boys were shown to be lying under a tent made of leaves at

nighttime.

"Well, at least you made yourself shelter." Mustang said. "Even if you can't
get food."

Ed stared at his cut and blistered hand.

"Here we are." Al said. "No food. No fire. No nothing."

"Don't remind me." Ed shot over his shoulder.

Rain was shown to be pouring down as a tree with four slash marks in it
was seen.

"What's with the marks?" Havoc asked.

"We were keeping track of how long we were there." Ed said.

"So it's already been four days and you still haven't gotten food?" Mustang
clarified.

"Shut up! We were kids!" Ed growled.

"Hey, Brother, did you notice the masked man hasn't been seen yet?" Al
asked.

Ed blinked. "You're right. He hasn't. Didn't he attack us on the first day?"

Al nodded. "Maybe that part of our suffering isn't going to be seen."

"Too bad." Brody said a sigh. "I was hoping to see a part of your training that
involved fighting."

"Just wants to see us get our asses handed to us." Ed grumbled to himself.

Ed and Al were shown sitting under their tent.

The slash marks on the tree were seen with two more slashes before the
boys were shown to be lying on a pile of leaves under the sun.

"The fact that you are alive after six days of no food means that you guys are
solely relying on water, correct?" Havoc asked.

Ed nodded. "Yep. We were in a great amount of pain though. I never realized

how much it hurts to not eat in so long."
"Well, at least if you get captured by the enemy, you know what starvation
feels like beforehand." Mustang commented.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Al asked confused.

"It's torture. They either give you little or no food out and very little amount
of water. They want you to suffer and plead for food so they can get
information from you." Avery explained.

Ed twitched. "Cruel."

"Physical torture you could probably handle, though you would be in very
bad condition by the end." Mustang said with a frown. "But mental torture,
there is no way in hell you could handle it."

"What was that?" Ed snarled.

"I'm just saying." Mustang retorted. "You're too emotional. It would be used
against you. You would crack under mental torture."

Ed frowned, but didn't reply. Emotional torture, huh?

Ed turned onto his back. His eyes were seen to be dull as he stared at the
bright sun.

"Hey, isn't this when you bit me?" Al asked.

Ed shrugged. "Probably."

"Bit him?" Breda asked.

"I was hungry and Al looked good." Ed defended.

"Geez, Chief." Havoc laughed.

"Starvation does that to you!" Ed growled.

Ed sat up and looked over at his brother for a moment. His brother
transformed into a piece of meat. Ignoring it, Ed turned back around
and grabbed his head before gasping and looked back at Al.

"That's why you bit me?" Al asked shocked. "Your hallucinations…"

"It happens when you are starving!" Ed protested.

He bit his brother's arm. Annoyed, Al pushed his brother off of him.
"Hey!" Al protested. While Ed stared at the ground, Al pushed his sleeve
up to see what Ed did to his arm. "What are you trying to do to me?"

Ed stared at the ants crawling in front of him. His hallucinations

overtook as he saw them as pieces of candy this time.

"You're not going to eat those, are you?" Luke asked disgusted.

Ed gagged. "They were disgusting."

Ed picked one up and put it in his brother.

"Uh, Brother." Al said nervously.

Ed grimaced, surprising his brother. Then Ed went back and ate another
ant. He grimaced again and fell onto his back. "So gross!"

"And sour." Ed grimaced.

"That's disgusting." Karin said, almost gagging.

Ed stared at the sky. "Al," He said slowly. "I'm still alive." Tears perked
at Ed's eyes. "I'm alive because I ate the ants."

Pictures of ants, wheat, chickens, pigs, a bull, fruits, fishes, and Ed eating
were shown to be spinning around.

"I'm alive because I consumed life." Ed said. The tears fell down Ed's
face. "I'm still alive."

"Were you that scared?" Armstrong asked.

"Course. We didn't want to die." Al said, grimacing. That was the first time
he and his brother ever came so close to death. It was a horrible experience at
first.

Armstrong nodded. "I see. It must have been a horrible experience for you
two, especially being so young."

"At first." Ed said before grinning. "But afterwards, when we got it figured
out, we began to enjoy our little adventure."

Music entered the background as Al and Ed were shown with wood in

front of them. Ed was holding some rope around a stick that Al was
holding down with a rock.

"We're not going to die." Ed declared.

Al nodded. "Mm-hmm."

The boys were shown running through a bush after a rabbit. Both of
them were wearing capes made out of leaves.

"So were you having fun or trying to survive?" Mustang asked, smirking a
bit.

"A bit of both!" Al declared.

Both boys were seen to be wearing leaf crowns. Al carried the knife while
Ed had a stick with the end carved into a sharp point.

A rabbit got strung up by its legs.

"I'm sorry." Ed said as he got ready to kill it with Al praying in the

background.

As Ed brought the knife down, the scene changed to the wooden spike
being thrust into a fish. Ed brought up the spike while Al caught a fish
with a line behind him.

"You two seem to be adapting well now that you realize you have to take
life." Scar commented.

Ed jerked in surprise and looked over his shoulder at the man. "I forgot he
was here." He whispered to his brother, who nodded in agreement. Louder he
said, "Scar, were you trained to hunt as well?"

Scar nodded. "It was part of my training as an Ishvalan warrior. Though I

adapted easier and faster then you two."

"Well excuse us for being kids." Ed grumbled to himself.

Ed was shown to be pulling the stick in the wood to make a fire. "Just
keep going a little longer." Al said.

With a small flame started, the boys added some sawdust and blew on it
until the flame lit up. The boys cheered and hugged each other.

It was now nighttime and the boys appeared in front of a fire. They were
sitting on logs as they scarfed down their dinner.

Ed paused in his eating and pointed at something behind Al. Al looked

over to see the baby foxes from earlier.

"They are such cuties." Karin said before glaring at the boys. "You didn't hurt
them did you?"

"No. I don't want to eat a fox." Ed protested.

"That doesn't mean you didn't hurt them." Karin said.

Al tossed his food at the two foxes and they both grabbed an end and
pulled at it.

"Aww, what sweet boys you are." Karin said.

Ed sweat dropped at the sudden attitude change. What was she? Bipolar?

The tree was shown with twenty-nine marks in it.

"Tomorrow will be one month." Ed said.

"Hey Brother," Al said as the two were shown to be lying on the ground.
"Have you figured out what Teacher meant by 'One is All, All is One?'
I've been thinking about it this whole time, but I still only have a few
vague ideas."

"I'm not really sure about this." Ed started. "But do you remember
when I was weak from hunger and I ate those ants?"

"You ate a lot of them." Al said.

"I sure did." Ed replied. "And boy did they taste nasty. But then that got
me thinking, if I hadn't eaten them, I might have died. Then I would
have been eaten by them." The screen pulled back to show the two boys
from the sky. "I go into the Earth and become grass. Then the rabbits
would eat that."

"You're talking about the food chain, right?" Al asked as the whole
island was shown.

"Yeah, but it's not just that either." Ed replied. "A long time ago, this
whole island was probably at the bottom of the sea. And tens of
thousands of years from now, it could be the peak of a mountain for all
we know."

The night sky covered in stars took over the screen.

"All things are connected?" Al asked. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Everything we see, everyone we meet is caught up in a great unseen

flow." Ed said as he lifted his finger with an ant on it. "But it's bigger
than that. It's the entire world, the entire universe even." The boys were
shown to still be watching the sky. "And compared to something as big
as that, Al, you and I are tiny, not even the size of ants. We are only one
small part in a much greater flow. Nothing more than a faction of the
whole. But by putting all those 'ones' together, you get one great 'all' just
like Teacher said. The flow of this universe follows laws of such
magnitude that you and I can't even imagine them."

"And once again, another great speech done by Edward Elric." Mustang said
sarcastically. "You seem to have a knack for giving good speeches."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "This coming from the guy who declared he wanted to
reach the top during the Ishvalan War so he could protect people?"

"What is it with you alchemists and your speeches?" Hughes asked.

"Hey, my speeches are awesome!" Ed defended. "Much better than

Mustang's, that's for sure."

"Brat." Mustang growled. "I've only given one. You can't compare my one to
yours. How many have you given already?"

"I've lost count, but mine are always awesome!" Ed shot back.

"Are they arguing about speeches they give?" Havoc asked blankly.

"I still think they just argue for the sake of arguing." Breda mumbled.

The screen turned dark for a moment before the boys were seen to be
kneeling in the ground in front of their Teacher. "Today is the day. Let's
hear what you've learned about 'One is All and All is One.'"

"'All' is the world." Al said.

"And 'One' is me." Ed finished.

"You're not going to give her your long explanation?" Havoc asked.

"She already knows! She only needs a simply answer." Ed defended.

"Or you're being lazy." Breda teased.

"Me? Lazy?" Ed scoffed at such an absurd idea.

Izumi laughed for a moment, making the boys look at each other,
confused. "Very well." She said after a moment of laughter. "Now the
real training starts."

Ed and Al high fived before knocking their elbows together. They

cheered. "Yeah!"

A different happier, action tone of music entered the scene as the boys
were shown to be fighting their Teacher, who was reading a cook book.
"The basis of transmutation is the power of the circle." She said as she
dodged their attacks. She ducked under their attacks. "Which denotes
the circulation of power," She tripped Al before going back to dodging
their attacks. "In order to call upon an artifact, one must draw a
structure matrix over the circle." She punched Ed to send him back to
the ground before Al jumped and swung a kick at her. Izumi closed her
book and threw it in the air as Al got closer to her. When his leg hit her
arm, she spun his body in a circle in the air before he slammed into the
ground. "This is also the circulation of power." She said as she caught
her book.

Quite a few soldiers twitched. "This is how you were trained?" Havoc asked
shocked.

"Yeah." Al and Ed said.

"This isn't even the worst part of the training." Izumi said.

"It isn't?" Luke and Brody shouted.

Ed groaned. "Nope, this was only the beginning of our training. This was the
easy part."

A few nervous chuckles. No wonder Ed and Al were so good at what they

did.

She turned to a scared Ed. "It's best if you experience it for yourself."
She said as motioned with her hand for him to come.

"You seem to be enjoying this too much." Zampano commented.

"Perhaps she is a sadist." Ed said sarcastically, which earned him getting a
sandal thrown at him. "Ow!"

"You should know better, Brother." Al said with a sigh. When was his
brother going to learn to keep his mouth shut, especially around Teacher?

Ed ran at his teacher and was sent flying through the air as a result.

With both boys lying on the ground, Izumi said, "Enough of that. Keep
reviewing the morning's lessons until lunch is ready."

"That was just morning training?" Avery muttered. "What did you do after
lunch?"

The boys groaned and chose not to reply. They were really grateful for the
training, but they rather not be reminded.

Al sat up and drew a circle in the dirt. "Let's see, the circle denotes the
circulation of power. In order to call upon and harness this power, one
must draw a structural matrix over the circle." He said as Ed lifted his
head off the ground before sitting up. Al suddenly put his hands
together. "But Teacher, you just put your palms together to perform
transmutations, don't you?"

Izumi opened the door to her house.

"You can do it without drawing a structural matrix?" Al asked.

"Just like Brother." Al murmured to himself. How did the two of them learn
to do such a thing?

"If you think about it a certain way, I myself am the matrix." Izumi
explained, looking away from her students.

"How do you do it? Tell us, Teacher." Ed asked.

Izumi closed her eyes before opening the door the rest of the way.
"Perhaps it is something you learn when you see the truth." She went
inside and closed the door behind her.
"Truth?" Al said shocked. "The Truth that Brother met?"

Izumi and Ed shared a look.

Al whipped his head around to look at his brother. "You knew, Brother? You
knew what Teacher did?"

"I only learned it yesterday, Al." Ed murmured. "To be honest, with

everything that happened yesterday, it slipped from my mind."

"But wait, if seeing the Truth is all it takes to perform alchemy with just your
hands, why can't Al do it?" Havoc asked confused.

Ed frowned and looked at his brother. "You don't remember it, do you?"

Al shook his head.

"It was probably the shock. Because of losing so much, you went into shock
so you don't recall anything." Izumi explained with a sigh.

"Oh."

Ed hummed. "But since you gave up so much, you must have seen a lot as
well. Maybe something you saw can help us."

"You think so?" Al asked excitedly.

"Perhaps, but you'll need to get your memories back first." Izumi replied.

Al hung his head. "How?"

"We'll figure something out." Ed assured him, patting him on the arm. "We
can think about it later."

As the green door closed, the gate suddenly appeared and Ed's eyes
snapped open to bring him back to the present. He sat up on his bed,
making Al look at him. "Our teacher has seen the truth too."

Izumi appeared on the screen to be reading a book in her room.

Ed and Al were facing their teacher's back the next day as she looked at
a wall. "So, what is it you wanted to ask me?" She asked.

Ed rubbed his head. "Well."

Izumi clapped her hands and brought a lance from the wall. She swung
it at Ed as she turned around. Ed blocked the lance with his arm. As it
was pulled away, he grabbed the end of it, but had to let go to duck
under a kick. He jumped back, twisting his body around to avoid getting
stabbed.

"How dangerous." Buccaneer commented.

"It usual is when Teacher wants to prove something." Ed groaned.

Ed gasped when Izumi suddenly sent the spear straight at him. He

clapped his hands and transmuted his arm into a blade. He swung it
forward to cut the spear off of Izumi's weapon. It spun in the air before
landing in the ground.

"As I suspected, you can transmute without a matric." Izumi said.

Ed looked at her surprised.

"You fell right into that trap." Mustang said.

"It's become second nature. I probably didn't even think about it when I did
it." Ed mumbled.

"You should be more careful." Izumi growled. "What if I was an enemy and
you made a slip up?"

Ed frowned. Why was everyone so against him?!

Izumi pointed at Al. "On top of which, Al is now a suit of armor." She
pointed at Ed. "And two of your limbs are made from automail."

"Teacher, how did you know?" Ed asked.

Izumi stuck her staff in the ground. "Please, I could tell from sparring
with you." She said angrily. "You saw it, didn't you, Edward?" Ed
stared at her with a disgruntled look. "YOU SAW IT!"

"What a scary lady." Armstrong murmured.

"Y-yes!" Ed replied.

Izumi sighed. "It seems both of us are beyond hope."

Ed looked up at her with a sad look as a sad tone entered the scene. He
grabbed his arm. "Teacher, you saw it too. Could you tell me…."

Flashing lights were shown with bottles strewn about all over the place.
Izumi was seen to be kneeling in front of an array. An eye opened up in
the middle of the array, surprising her. There was a flash of a blue spark
that hit Izumi in the stomach. She grabbed her stomach in pain.

Suddenly she found herself in front of Truth.

She was back in the room, blood sprouting from her mouth. Sig picked
her up and Izumi turned around to see her baby, but it was completely
deformed. Izumi cried out.

Izumi closed her eyes. She never liked to remember that night, that horrible
night. She made a mistake, but she so desperately wanted to save her baby.
He shouldn't have suffered just because she got sick. All she ever wanted was
a precious baby of her own.

The four were back in Izumi's kitchen with Izumi being the only one
sitting. Izumi and Sig shared a look. "For a while, it seemed we were
barren. We wanted a child, but couldn't conceive."

Ed clenched his fists. He felt so bad for his teacher. She had already
explained the story to him, but to hear it a second time…

"When we were finally able to conceive, I ended up falling gravely ill."

Izumi said.
Hughes looked down at the ground, sadly. So this was the truth. He didn't
need to hear the rest to know what had happened. A mother will do whatever
it takes to save and protect her child. A mother would do anything, even
break the law. He loved his daughter so much so he knew he would be lost if
she died. Even knowing what it would do, he found that he might do the same
thing to save his daughter.

"And our child as well. He was not able to take a living breathe in this
world. And so I committed the taboo." Izumi said.

Ed gripped his arm. Izumi was holding her stomach. "As a result, I lost
part of my inner organs. What an idiot I was." The boys looked down.

"Does that mean you will never be able to conceive again?" Karin asked
sadly.

Izumi shook her head. "The organs I need to conceive were taken from me."

Maria looked down at the ground. As a woman, she hoped to one day get
married and have a family. It must be extremely difficult for Izumi to never
be able to have a child again after one mistake.

"Now I realize I should have told you sooner. It must have been awful."
Ed gripped his arm tighter.

With a fake grin, Ed looked back up at her. "No. I did it to myself after
all. It hasn't been that big of a deal actually."

"Besides, now I got this long list of things I get to look forward to eating
when I have my body back." Al added, showing her his book.

"You stupid boys." Maria said with tears in her eyes. "You don't have to
always hide your pain. We are your friends. You can show us when you are
hurting so we can comfort you."

Ed and Al looked away from everyone. They never wanted to both each other
with their pain. After all, it was all their fault. They deserved it for what they
did. They caused their mother to die a second time in a much more painful
way.

"Right, Brother?" Al asked.

"Yeah, it's nothing." Ed said.

"You darling idiots." Izumi said as she wrapped an arm around Ed's
shoulder. She brought both boys into a hug. "It's okay to hurt." Ed's
eyes widened.

Slowly Ed's eyes shut and he wrapped an arm around Izumi. "Forgive
us."

"We're so sorry, Teacher." Al added.

"Please forgive us."

"We're so sorry."

"Please forgive us."

"We're so sorry."

Mustang grimaced, but didn't say anything. This was a private moment
between teacher and students that they were intruding on. And the boys were
hurting so much from this. He wanted to tease, but he knew it was wrong.
The boys didn't need to be upset any more or be given any more pain.

The scene went dark before a night sky was shown.

"The flow of this universe follows laws of such magnitude that you and I
can't even imagine them." The boys were shown to be lying on the
ground on the island. "You have to understand that flow, deconstruct it,
then reconstruct it." Ed said.

"That's what alchemy is, Brother." Al said.

The land was shown with birds flying around. "You're right. It's also
what living is." Ed added.
"So the basis of alchemy," Al said as the two boys were seen once more.
"Deconstruction and then reconstruction is just like the food chain then,
isn't it?"

Ed nodded. "Like when you eat a rabbit and your body breaks down its
flesh. Then it's restructured as part of yourself. And even before that, the
rabbit restructured the grass it ate into part of its body." The boys were
seen standing on a small cliff as they watched the sun rise. "Alchemy is
part of that flow, and the flow is life itself." The tree was shown with
thirty slashes.

The screen went dark.

"Ha! I got another awesome speech!" Ed shouted.

Mustang frowned. "Well, this is from your point of view. You have more
chances to give speeches."

Ed smirked. "You're just jealous cause you can't give awesome speeches like
me."

"Hey, I was a part of that speech, Brother." Al protested.

"Right, right. We give awesome speeches." Ed corrected with a grin.

Jerso smirked. "Alchemists are such insane people."

"It makes life more fun to be a little crazy." Al told him happily.

"Or you kids just have way too much energy." Hughes said. "And are going
crazy from it."

Ed grinned and shared a look with his brother.

A/N: As for the poll, I have thought about it. I will most likely do Izumi's
training at some point, but I am not too sure about the movie yet.

Please Review!
*Chapter 13*: Episode 13: Beasts of
Dublith
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 13: Beasts of Dublith

The outside of Izumi's house was shown. "To think you saw it and
managed to survive." Izumi said before she was shown with her back to
the brothers. "I doubt you even know how impressive that is."

"Uh," Ed replied. "No."

"Regardless, I can't accept the decision you made." Izumi continued. She
turned around. "You're expelled."

"How harsh." Havoc said with a grimace.

"But it was fair." Ed grimaced. "We broke her rules."

"Rules?" Fuery asked.

"I had two conditions when they became my students. One, Never attempt
Human Transmutation. Two," Izumi shot a glare at Ed. "Never become a
State Alchemist."

"Chief broke them both! Shocker there." Luke said sarcastically.

Mustang looked at his subordinate. It seems that they both had masters who
despised State Alchemists and told them to never become one. And yet, they
both broke their master's rule. Perhaps they had more in common then either
of them wanted to realize.

Ed looked downcast. Izumi was shown to be staring at them before Al

appeared on the screen. "But Teacher…"

"Al…" Ed put his hand in front of Al to stop him. With a bowed head,
Ed fell quiet.

"I didn't think you were one to accept something quite so easily." Breda
commented.

"I'm not, but there is no use arguing here." Ed mumbled. "Nothing we say or
do will change her mind. And you're wrong. It's not an easy decision. It was
difficult to quietly accept the fact that we were expelled."

Izumi gave him a look before turning back to the window. "The trains
are still running. Get on one."

"Now that is really harsh." Heinkel said with a low whistle. "You are one
tough lady."

"I actually think she is being really soft at the moment." Ed retorted. "She
hasn't thrown a single knife at us throughout this entire visit!"

"No," Havoc said with a twitch. "But she is kicking you out because you
made the same choice as her."

"They'll be back though." Sig said with a frown, glancing at the boys. "I'll
probably have to set them straight again though."

Laughing nervously, the boys glanced away from the big man.
Ed swallowed before bowing to her. "Thank you…for everything."

The opening song began once again.

"What a way to start an episode." Jerso said.

"Was that a good enough beginning for you, Havoc?" Edward asked
sarcastically. "It wasn't your special alchemy beginning, but it was certainly
different."

Havoc shrugged. "I'll take what I can get. It wasn't as special as seeing
Colonel Mustang's memory of war though."

"How do you top seeing a memory of war?" Edward grumbled.

As a train whistled, the station was shown with the words "Beasts of
Dublith" at the bottom of the screen for the episode title.

"Hey, where the hell is the special background for the episode title?" Havoc
demanded.

Hughes rolled his eyes. "That's what you are going to ask? My question
would be about the whole 'beast' thing in the title. Are there beasts in
Dublith?"

"Not as far as I know." Izumi replied before sighing. "But seeing as Edward
and Alphonse most likely aren't leaving yet, they are probably going to mess
something up."

"Hey!" Two insulted voices shouted.

"We were in Dublith as kids for about half a year and we didn't meet any
beasts! Why would we now?" Al asked.

"You find trouble more easily now?" Mustang suggested.

Al huffed. "Brother might, but I don't."

"You are in the same amount of trouble I am." Ed retorted.

"Only because we travel together and you drag me into your messes." Al
retorted.

Ed raised a brow.

Al twitched. "I'll admit I do find my own messes sometimes, but not as often
as you, Brother!"

"Fair enough." Ed replied.

"So you admit it!" Breda declared.

Ed and Al glanced at each other then at Breda. "We admit nothing." They
deadpanned.

Sig was shown to be with the boys in front of the station. "Feel free to
drop by if you're ever in town." He told them.

"I'm not so sure about that." Al replied.

"You idiots!" Sig shouted. "You're so busy pouting you can't see what
your expulsion means. You aren't her students anymore so now you're
finally able to speak to Izumi as equals."

The brothers shared a look.

Sig crossed his arms. "Unless of course you're too chicken to try it."

"Are you baiting us?" Ed asked.

"I think he is!" Al said.

Sigh smirked. "I am."

Ed crossed his arms. "Well that won't do. Even if it means dying, we must
return to Teacher's place!"

Fuery chuckled nervously. "He's not seriously about the dying thing, is he?"
Havoc and Breda glanced over at Izumi, who was smirking, and grimaced. "I
think he is." They said together.

"Ugh," Ed said with an annoyed look. He hit himself in the head. "Damn.
Al, we haven't done what we came here to do in the first place."

Al gasped.

Ed turned to Sig. "Thank you. We're heading back there right now."

Both boys ran off down the street. Sig turned around to watch them go.
"Don't let her kill you."

"You all keep mentioning death with Izumi." Riza said with a blank look.

"She is dangerous." Sig, Ed, and Al all said.

Izumi was shown to be sharpening a knife.

Ed twitched. She just had to be sharpening a knife.

The door near Izumi slammed open and Ed came in. "Teacher."

A knife was suddenly seen to be flying at Ed. With a scream, Ed ducked

under the knife.

"She threw it!" A few soldiers shouted in shock.

"We told you we might die." Al and Ed told them blankly.

"That really would have killed you if you didn't duck." Mustang said in
complete shock.

"That's what we've been saying!" Ed and Al shouted.

Everyone turned to look at Izumi, who just shrugged. "I trust they are skilled
enough to dodge my knives. If not, then I wasted all that time training them."

'Heartless.'
"What the hell are you doing coming back?" Izumi asked with the flames
of hell raging behind her like she was a demon.

"I would have run away the minute I met this woman." Avery said. "I
commend you two for being able to train under her."

"Same goes for me!" Havoc, Fuery, Jackson, and Walkers cried.

Neither boy replied as they were shaking in fear over the evil demon looking
Izumi on the screen. It didn't matter if they were there or not, just seeing her
like that was enough to scare them.

"And you call me Teacher." Izumi continued while the brothers shook in
fear. "I do not teach scum like you. Get out of my home!"

"Wow, you can be one cruel lady." Miles said with a smirk.

"You should come to Briggs. With you and General Armstrong, we only need
a two women army and the Drachmans wouldn't dare to try to breech our
borders." Buccaneer said with a smirk.

Ed twitched. "Unless they felt like committing suicide they wouldn't even
come within five miles of the border if those two were together."

Ed kneeled in front of her and slammed a fist in the ground.

"Teacher." Ed said.

Both brothers were shown to be kneeling on the ground. Ed kept his

head bowed.

"We came to you because we're trying to find a way to get our bodies
back." Al explained.

Ed raised his head. "We won't leave without your help."

"Get out now!" Izumi growled.

"We're staying!" Al and Ed shouted, both staring at her in

determination.

Mustang smirked. "Now I see why you two are able to face your enemies
without fear if you had Izumi as a teacher."

"That, or they are just foolish, foolish idiots." Izumi said with a smirk.

"Why can't they be both?" Hughes asked amused.

"Everyone is against us." Ed grumbled. "We must show them, little brother!"

"Show them what?" Al asked confused.

Ed blinked. "I don't know…yet…"

Al sighed. Just like his brother.

Izumi glared at the two. The boys stared back her. After a while, Izumi
closed her eyes. "You idiots."

"You always cave to them." Scar said suddenly.

Izumi shot him a glare. "They are my boys. It is hard to say no to them."

"But not hard to beat us up apparently." Al said with a twitch.

"I am simply teaching you." Izumi replied.

"That's some harsh teaching." Dr. Marcoh said with an amused smile. It was
only amusing because the boys respected and loved their Teacher very much
from what he could see. If they only feared her and didn't like her, then it
would be a whole different case.

A light tone entered the scene as a candle was shown to be burning. "Al,
you didn't see 'The Truth,' did you?" Izumi asked as the three were
shown to be sitting in a sitting room.

"No, I don't even really know what that means." Al replied.

"Oh, maybe this will give us ideas of how to get your memory back." Ed said,
perking up out of his dark thoughts of how to prove whatever it is that he
wants to prove.

"Oh, so you are done plotting some dark thoughts over there?" Mustang
asked.

Ed glared at him. "Never! But I will take a temporary break to listen to this."

"You must have lost your memory from the shock." Izumi decided. "We
need to get Al's memory back. His entire body was taken from him." Her
eyes narrowed. "Just think what he must have seen."

Ed perked up. "Oh, yeah, we only exchanged parts of our bodies for
what we saw. But Al paid the toll with his entire physical being."

"Must have been hell." Brody commented. "With how much we saw Chief
suffer from what we saw, you must have suffered even more since you got to
see more."

Al grimaced. "Then it's no surprise that I lost my memory."

"That, and you weren't supposed to make it back here. If you pay your whole
body, you learn the whole Truth, but you are not supposed to bring it back
here." Ed commented.

"Yeah, but we already decided that you like to break the rules, Brother." Al
replied.

Ed smirked.

"He must have seen more of 'The Truth' then either of us did." Ed said
as he glanced at his brother.

"So, if I can remember what I saw, then we'll know how to get our bodies
back." Al said.

"But the memory of that thing." Izumi said, looking away from the two.
Ed and Izumi looked at Al.

"What? Is it something bad?" Al asked.

"No, it's more like awful." Izumi suggested.

"Yeah, horrifying." Ed added.

Al froze in fear.

"It could drive you insane." Izumi said.

"Or even leave you brain dead." Ed added.

"You two are very cruel gaining up on me!" Al cried.

Ed chuckled. "But it's not often I get to side with Teacher!"

"How have you ever sided with your Teacher on anything when she was
training you?" Mustang asked curiously.

"Well," Ed drawled, looking at his brother with a grin. "There was that time
when Teacher made us face our fears. Neither of us wanted to tell her our
fears, so Al sided with her to tell her my fear. And to get payback, I sided
with Teacher to get Al to face his fear."

Al laughed. "Oh, yeah. Thinking back on it, that was a lot of fun."

Izumi snorted. "At the time, you two were scared shitless."

"Who wouldn't be?!" Ed and Al shouted.

The candle was shown again before Al's hands tightened into fists. "That
doesn't matter. If there is a chance that it can help us, then I want to do
it."

Izumi put a hand to her chin. "All right. I have an acquaintance that
might know a way to retrieve your memory for you."
"You've got an acquaintance for everything." Ed mumbled.

"Of course. That's what happens when you travel as much as I do and help
those who cannot help themselves." Izumi replied.

Al snickered. "Sounds a bit like Brother's way of life."

"At this point, that isn't surprising. Fullmetal is a lot like Izumi from what we
seen." Mustang said blankly.

Ed and Al perked up. Izumi smiled. "But, let's eat dinner first." She
stood up. "Give me a hand."

"Okay." The boys said.

The scene pulled out to show someone holding onto the wall outside the
window of the room.

"How the hell is he on the wall?" Edward asked.

"Forget that!" General Armstrong growled. "You are being spied on and your
information is being spread around. No wonder you get into trouble if this is
what happens."

"Oh." Ed said with a frown. "This could be troublesome."

"Maybe he is a beast." Armstrong suggested suddenly.

"Huh?"

"This is about beasts in Dublith. Perhaps he is able to be on the wall like that
because he is a type of beast." Armstrong explained.

Mustang nodded. "And once again, you brothers have gotten yourself into a
mess."

"Hey! This one is not our fault!" Ed growled. "How were we supposed to
know that someone was watching us?"
"The rumors are true. He's able to transmute human souls." The person
started to climb up the wall, revealing that he had a tail.

"So is he human or a beast?" Ed asked confused. His face looked human, but
he was climbing walls and had a tail…

"Once again, that is not the important matter." General Armstrong growled.

Ed twitched. "Right. He is after us, for whatever reason."

"It seems to have to do with transmuting souls." Al replied.

"And that just screams that this is not good." Hughes said with a sigh. "You
two never make anything simple."

With eerie music filling the scene, the beast climbed to the roof and
disappeared over it. The night sky was shown for a moment before the
scene faded away to show Eastern Command Center with birds chirping
around.

General Grumman was shown to be holding a chess piece with a game in

front of him. "There's only one week left until the big transfer, huh?" He
asked as he put his piece down.

"Yes sir." Mustang replied as he watched the game.

"Just won't be the same without you. You brought a little color to this
drily dessert." The General said.

Mustang laughed. "I'm boring compared to the stories I heard about

you." He said as he moved a piece.

"Are you trying to get in in his good graces or are you serious?" Edward
asked confused.

"It's a bit of both actually." Mustang replied.

Ed snorted. "Of course it is."

The General moved another piece, then Mustang moved.

"Well, all of your hard work has made my life easier. Finally got to
relax." The General said as he moved another piece.

"Hard work?" Edward echoed.

"I do work, Fullmetal." Mustang growled.

"I never see it." Edward replied.

Riza sighed. "That's because he chooses to fool around a bit more when you
visit, Edward."

"Why?" Ed asked incredulously.

Mustang shrugged. "Why not? We all need a lazy day."

"You take too many." Ed grumbled.

"And I feel I've grown as an officer thanks to the variety of work you've
allowed me to take on." Mustang said as he moved his piece.

The General moved a piece back, making Mustang smirk. "Checkmate."

He declared as he slammed his piece down.

The General stared at the game and sat back with a gasp.

Mustang swept all the pieces together. "It took me long enough to beat
you." He said before putting the pieces away.

"You can consider that my going away gift." The General said as he
pulled out a book to write something down.

Mustang folded the board up. "Well then, if you're in a gift giving mood,
there is something else I'd like."

"Greedy." Ed said.
Fuery appeared on the screen.

"Master Sergeant Kain Fuery." Mustang said.

Falman appeared next.

"Warrant Officer Vato Falman."

Next was Breda.

"Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda."

Havoc appeared after him.

"Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc."

And finally, Riza appeared.

"First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye."

Mustang was shown standing behind his desk with the people just named
standing in front of him. "Gather up your things. All five of you are
transferring to Central with me." He put a hand on his desk. "And no
objections. Understood?"

The five of them saluted before Havoc gasped. "I've got a problem, sir."

"Didn't he just say no objections?" Izumi asked amused.

"That's never stopped Havoc before." Mustang said with a sigh. "Or
Fullmetal now that I think about it."

"It's expected from Chief though." Walkers pointed out.

"See I just started dating this girl and I really like her." Havoc said.

Mustang looked at him with a deadpanned look. "Dump her."

Ed snickered. "You are so cruel, Colonel. How you and Teacher can dislike
each other, I will never understand."

"We don't dislike each other." Mustang protested. "We just different views
on…."

The blond raised a brow. "On?" He prompted.

Hughes snickered when Mustang didn't reply and Ed was forced to look at
Izumi.

"On the best way to help you and Al." Izumi said as bluntly as always.

Ed blinked and looked at his brother. Now how the hell was he supposed to
reply to that? Well, when in doubt, shut up.

Havoc fell into a dejected state. Riza patted his arm in a sympathetic
manner with Breda holding his shoulder while Fuery cried in the
background.

Scar was shown to be lifting weights made of stone with his chest still
heavily bandaged. The flap of the tent was pushed aside and a boy's
voice said, "Come on. Not again."

Scar looked up from his lifting.

"Your wounds are never going to heal if you don't give it a rest." The
boy said.

"I hate to say it, but Scar and Fullmetal do have something in common."
Mustang muttered.

"How so?" Ed demanded.

"Because you two never let your injuries heal." Mustang snapped.

He pushed the flap farther aside as someone approached the tent. An

older man pushed the tent flap aside more and entered the tent.

Scar felt his eyes widened. He had thought that everyone had died. But there
was his master alive and well. He didn't think he would see anyone again.

"Master…"

"Master?" Ed and Al echoed.

Scar raised a brow. "Yes, I have a master. Is that so surprising?"

Ed and Al shrugged. "Honestly, you are so strong, we find it a bit hard to

believe that you have a master that trained you. Same with Colonel…and
Major Armstrong…."

"And Dr. Marcoh…and Teacher." Al added.

Mustang smirked. "That just proves it. It is hard for kids to realize that the
ones who train and look after them had to have had their own masters."

"What does it prove?" Ed demanded.

"That you are really kids from a different generation." Riza replied simply.

"I thought it was always known we were kids." Al mumbled to his brother in
confusion.

"I'm glad that you're well." Scar said as his master sat in front of him.

"I've been informed that you've been targeting State Alchemists for
execution."

Scar raised his head.

"I know the animosity you feel. A State Alchemist is responsible for the
burning of our village and the death of our loved ones. But your
vengeance will only sow the seeds of further violence." Scar's master
explained.

"It's like the circle of life." Edward commented. "Revenge will cause more
revenge will cause more revenge. The desire for revenge against others will
never end, and it will just cause people to want revenge against you."
Al glanced at his brother.

Ed suddenly groaned. "Great, saying that reminded me of what that damn

woman, Lust, said in Liore about how humans never learn and just spill more
and more blood."

Hughes's eyes narrowed. If he recalled correctly, those monsters also

discussed soaking this land in blood. And from what Ed figured out earlier…
there was something there. But there was still something missing. Then there
was what Ed said about the Philosopher's Stone and how to wear them out
through death and injury…

"What you are doing is senseless revenge. And it is feeding a fruitless

cycle of death. You must end this cycle once and for all."

The flaps of the tent were pushed aside by two big guys. "Anybody
home?" One of them asked. "Would you look at that? He really is here.
He's got the scar and everything."

The second guy looked over his shoulder. "Looks like you've got yourself
deal. We'll split the bounty three ways with you." He paused. "What
the? Guess he didn't want the reward." A small man popped up behind a
ruined wall.

Falman blinked. "Is that Yoki?"

"Who's Yoki?" Ed asked curiously.

Falman gave him a deadpanned look. "We already discussed this. He is a

soldier's who life you ruined. We reminded you yesterday."

"Huh," Ed said, scratching his head. "He must be unimportant."

Hughes smacked his forehead. "And they say you are a prodigy?"

"Yoki!" An Ishvalan male exclaimed.

"How could you do something like this?" Another Ishvalan male said.
"We took you in and treated you like family when you had no way else to
go." An Ishvalan woman said.

"Just shut up! I never even wanted anything to do with you Ishvalans."
Yoki exclaimed.

"Seem like an annoying idiot." Ed said. "Especially with that voice."

"You lost your war and I will rise again. I'll rise up! I will rise!" Yoki
yelled and a picture of an evil grinning Ed and Al designed like a robot
appeared behind him. "And I'll use my powers to annihilate Edward
Elric."

"Wow, he really holds a grudge." Edward said, blinking.

"Well, you did ruin his life." Riza said.

Ed shrugged. "I always ruin people's life. Are they always crazy enough to
want to kill me like this?"

"I would not know since you have not ruined my life." Riza replied.

"You are one person who's life I do not want to ruin. You would probably
just succeed in getting your revenge." Ed mumbled, shuddering in fear.

Scar appeared on the screen, staring at the scene playing out. "Now then,
capture him please so we can catch our money." Yoki said as Scar stood
up.

Scar walked out of the tent. "It's obvious I'll only bring more trouble if I
stay here."

"Well, thanks for making this easy." One of the bounty hunters said,
reaching out to grab Scar.

There was a flash of alchemical light and part of the man's arm was
sliced off.

Ed groaned. "How grotesque."

"Says the person who lost an arm and a leg." Brody retorted.

Twitching, Ed grabbed his automail arm. "Because I lost my limbs, I know

how painful it is." He gulped. Just seeing someone else lose limbs reminded
him of his own pain and he didn't like to be reminded of it.

"I guess it would be worse to see someone lose a limb after you yourself had
to deal with it." Havoc said with a grimace. Even if he never lost limb, he
knew he never wanted to. Automail may be able to replace it, but it would be
so strange and painful.

The man screamed as his sunglasses fell to the ground. He collapsed as

he grabbed his arm.

"The hell? What'd you do to him?" The second man asked, getting ready
to punch Scar.

Scar ducked under his punch and grabbed his face. "I'll give you a
moment to pray to God." He said.

The man pushed Scar's hand down from his mouth to say, "You should
be the one praying, freak!"

Angry, Scar blew the man's brain up. The Ishvalans watched in horror.

"You never change." Ed hissed, disgusted.

Scar looked at him with a frown.

"But it's to be expected. One does not change just because their Master says
to stop this pointless revenge." Ed continued.

"Brother?"

Ed shrugged. "Whatever."

"N-no! Wait!" Yoki cried as Scar moved forward. "Please, I'm sorry!
Please don't kill me! Please, I'm begging you to spare my life! I'll do
anything."
"Pathetic." Buccaneer sneered.

Scar ignored him as he picked the bounty hunter's glass off the ground.
He began to walk away.

"So you're leaving then?" Scar's master asked. "Your brother would be
sad."

Scar put the sunglasses on. As he put his arm down, his cloak blew
around his arm to show his tattoo off. "Still it's too late to turn back
now." He said before walking away.

"What's that remind me of?" Ed said with his brows furrowed.

"Brother?"

Ed slammed his flesh fist into his automail hand. "That's it! It was a book
about the terminator! Scar is just like the terminator!"

"Brother, I thought it was Hughes who said stupid things like that." Al
deadpanned.

"What? Can't you see it?" Ed asked.

Hughes laughed. "Don't worry, Ed. I see it. You are totally right about that.
Though, I didn't know you read fictional books."

Ed shrugged. "It's something to do when I need a break."

The Ishvalans watched him leave. Yoki glanced around before screaming
and running after Scar.

Izumi's shop was shown once more with Al outside sweeping. A

crumpled up piece of paper appeared at his feet, making him pause in
his sweeping. He looked around to see where it came from. When he
didn't see anyone around, he picked it up to read it. As he read it, the
beast from the night before was seen sitting on a roof watching him.

A sign reading the 'Devil's Nest' appeared on the screen.

Izumi growled. "You would end up there."

"What is it?" Ed asked.

"A gang hideout." Izumi replied.

"Seems like the trouble the boys would get in." Mustang said with a sigh.

A man's face appeared. The man sniffed before saying, "He's here." The
man jumped down to the ground where two of his partners were resting.

Al was shown approaching them.

"Al, only I get to walk into a strange situation by myself." Ed groaned. "Why
do you have to do it too?"

Al shrugged. "I learned it from you."

"Such a bad influence on your little brother." Mustang teased.

"Aren't any of you worried about what Al is getting into?" Brody asked.

Ed shrugged. "Well, he doesn't actually have a body so he can't get injured

and unless these guys know about the seal, they can't kill him either."

"Thanks for the concern, Brother." Al said mockingly.

"Always here for you." Ed replied, whacking his brother's arm.

"There you are." The man from before said. "Bout time."

Al lifted up the paper. "'We know your secret. Meet us at the Devil's
Nest if you want to talk.' I'm guessing you're the people that wrote this
note."

"It was just a suggestion to meet them, so why did you go?" Havoc asked.

Al shrugged. "I was curious probably, and it was a bit worrying that they
knew somehow."
"That's right." The man said, walking forward. "And we know a lot
about you."

"Well, that's good. Cause there's a lot about me that I don't know." Al
replied.

"Are you being sarcastic or asking them to tell you what the secret they know
is?" Miles asked.

"With Al, it's probably a bit of both." Ed replied. "He is such a complicated
person to understand. He seems all innocent, but he has sarcastic undertones
in his voice at times."

Al chuckled. "Brother is the rash one who you always know what is feeling."

"And Al is the mischievous one who hides everything under that fake
innocence!" Ed cried indignantly. "And none of you ever believed me. Well,
now you have to!"

A few people chuckled.

"Then I'm the guy you want to talk to. Why don't you come with us?" He
suggested as he pointed at himself.

"But my teacher always said I'm not supposed to go with strangers." Al

replied.

Ed laughed. "There's that little fake innocence again."

"I thought he was being serious." Havoc said confused.

Ed shook his head. "You guys have been fooled by Al's innocent façade far
too long."

The man deflated and blinked. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen." Al replied.

The man turned around and drew a few circles in the air with a finger.
"Well, come on then. I'd say fourteen is old enough to think for yourself,
kid. You've got to act like an adult and start taking some risks."

Al perked up. "You think so? I should think for myself!"

The man turned around with a smirk. "Yes, and you could start by
coming with–" He was cut off by Al slamming his foot into his face.

Ed laughed along with a few soldiers.

"Okay, okay," Hughes said, rubbing his eyes while trying to end his laughter.
"I get what you mean now, Ed. He totally just played that guy."

"Well, I still say Alphonse is the most mature of the two," Riza said, smiling.
"But it seems he does have his evil side as well."

Al put his leg down and stood up straight. "So I thought it over for
myself, and I decided that I should just make you tell me what I want to
know."

"That sounds like the way Teacher would handle the situation." Ed said with
a grin. "Perhaps I am not the only one who inherited a few of Teacher's
methods."

Chuckling, Al nodded. "Well, it's only natural. She was my teacher as well."

"Dear god, what is with these two?" Luke said in horror. "I thought Fullmetal
was the only violent one. Now Al is resorting to violence too."

Havoc laughed. "Well, I guess Al does have his moments as well."

Al walked forward to the man that was lying on the ground. The man
raised his head. "So you want to do this by force." He said before leaping
to his feet and pulling his sword out. Before he could stop it, Al slammed
his hand into the guy's face, causing blood to spurt around. Though, he
managed to slide his sword under Al's helmet and snap it away. The only
girl of the group landed on top of Al and slithered her way inside of him.
"Sorry to drop in." She added.
She twisted around inside of him while Al freaked out. "You're inside
me!" He cried.

Ed twitched. "No fair. You never let me inside."

"Brother, so not the time! And I didn't let her!" Al growled.

"Hey, be a good boy and hold still." She said as her arms stretched
towards the arms of the suit. Her arm reached the end of his arm. "So
what's it like having someone control you from the inside?"

"Her arms didn't look long enough to do that." Havoc said confused.

"And her movement…these guys are probably beasts like the one who was
spying on us." Ed groaned.

"It's so hard to tell. They look so much like humans." Luke commented.

A certain group of four soldiers frowned. They were just like this group that
was attacking Al. Did that make them monsters too?

"No." Ed said with a frown. "These guys are human, but it looks like they
were experimented on."

Maria grimaced. "Again with the horrible experiments?"

Al shrugged. "There are some really horrible people out there that use
alchemy for horrible tests. Why anyone would want to do something like this
is beyond me."

"You can't stop me from moving." Al said as he started to clench his fist.
"And you're not strong enough to hold this up forever."

"You're right." She said with a smirk. "But, all I'm doing is slowing you
down a little."

"For my time." A gruff voice said behind Al.

Al spun around to slam his fist at the guy, but he caught Al's arm and
pushed the armor down and leaned on his back. "You alright in there?"

A picture of the girl with a bump on her head appeared. "Oh, I'm
wonderful."

The man with the sword approached them. "You're making this way too
hard, kid." He said as he tossed Al's helmet on the ground.

"You people aren't human, are you?" Al asked.

"Good guess." Another voice said. "They're Chimeras, and they happen
to work for me." He said as he picked up the helmet. As the screen raised
to his face, his hand was seen with an Ouroboros tattoo.

"Shit! Why is a monster like that in Dublith?" Mustang growled.

"You guys have the worst luck." Hughes told the groaning brothers.

Izumi cracked her knuckles. "I don't like monsters in my town. I also don't
like it when they mess with my boys."

"Note to self, never mess with Elrics around Izumi." Brody muttered to
himself, causing a few soldiers to laugh, though some of them were nervous
laughs.

The man smirked.

"You got kidnapped." Ed said blankly. "How does a suit of armor get
kidnapped? I never prepared for anything like this because it seems so
unbelievable!"

Al wished he could roll his eyes at this moment. "I'm so sorry that life is
unpredictable."

"Oh, cool." The leader of the group said as he looked inside Alphonse
where the woman was still sitting. "You're acting hollow." He put the
helmet back on Al. "The name's Greed."

"Of course it is." Ed growled.

"Why's that?" Fuery asked.

"Because it is a one of the seven deadly sins." Ed said, rubbing his eyes as he
did. "Where am I supposed to know this from?"

"And I want to be your friend."

"That is one twisted way to start a friendship." Luke said sarcastically.

"Well, he is one of those monsters so it shouldn't be surprising that this

happened." Dr. Marcoh replied with a tired sigh. These boys just did not have
any luck whatsoever.

Greed started to walk away when Al lifted his head. "Then why don't
you tell me what you people really are." A picture of Nina as a dog
appeared next to Al. "You're not Chimeras. It's impossible. No one's
made a Chimera that can talk."

Greed kneeled in front of Al. "You can't believe everything the

government tells you, kid." He poked Al's shoulder. "You've got all the
proof you need inside you. The girl in there is part snake. And this big
guy here." Greed looked at the guy behind him. "Roa, what were you
made with? Cow?"

The man nodded. "Yeah."

"We've also got a lizard, and a crocodile." Greed added as two more of
the beasts were shown. "And the little runt you took down earlier today
tends to lift his leg when he pees."

The guy glared at Greed. "Only once!"

"That is quite a variety they've got." Havoc mumbled.

"Greed said government." Ed said with a frown. "The government did this?"

"Once again, it is something that was hidden from us all." Mustang growled.
"Besides that, if they are government experiments, how the hell did they get
to Dublith? They would never let go of their experiments this easily."
"Probably escaped. They seem to be able to use their new skills from the
experiments quite efficiently." Armstrong said with his own frown.

Ed rolled his eyes. "The military can't keep track of anything or one in this
case. Well, that's what happens when the higher ups keep secrets like this."

"You part dog?" Al asked.

"Yep, it's really not so bad." The man replied.

"I don't believe it. It's not possible." Al said, lifting his chained arms a
bit. "Who would even be capable of creating one?"

"The military." Greed replied.

"Are you saying…"

"You got it. There's a shadow world beneath yours that's jammed pack
with the impossible. Hell, I'm more uncommon then they are." Greed
said. He raised his hand to show his tattoo. "I'm a Homunculus."

"Homun–" Havoc started in confusion.

"HOMUNCULUS!" Ed and Al screamed, cutting off their friend.

"Oh, shit, shit, shit, this is bad, so very bad." Ed said, eyes narrowing. "No,
this is worse then we ever thought it could possibly be."

"You know about Homunculi?" Dr. Marcoh asked in surprise.

"Wait, what is a Homunculus?" Riza asked confused.

Ed swallowed. "They're artificially created humans brought into this world by

alchemy. Al and I studied them a bit when we were beginning our study of
Human Transmutation."

"Our dad had a lot of notes about them for some reason." Al added. "We
didn't think anything of them at the time…."
"So why is it worse then you thought?" Mustang asked.

Ed glared at him. "Why are you even asking such a stupid question? First of
our, these monsters have thoughts of their own. They may only feel one
emotion, but they have their own thoughts still. That shouldn't even be
possible. I mean, where the hell did the soul come from? Second of all, they
are made with a Philosopher's Stone as a core. Can't kill them easily. Thirdly,
they each have a strange power. And so far, we've met four of them. And
they each have to have their own stone. Who could possibly create so many
stones and when? Not to mention, they are incredibly difficult to make which
is why there has never been one before."

"And?" Havoc prompted.

"The person who created them….he's made four so far that we know of. How
strong do you think that person is?" Al asked quietly.

A dreaded silence fell over the room with each person sitting in shock or
horror before Hughes broke it. "Wait, all these Homunculi weren't necessarily
created by the same person."

Ed shook his head. "You're wrong. Homunculi are very difficult to make. The
fact that there is one person out there that was able to do it is amazing. It's
hard to think they are two, let along two in the same generation."

"And even if there was more then one person, it wouldn't change just how
skilled and powerful this person has to be, especially since he or she must be
in possession of a Philosopher's Stone." Mustang added with dread.

"So, we are royally screwed basically." Havoc said, frowning.

"Looks like it."

"A Homunculus?" Al asked.

"You know what that means, right?" Greed asked. "I'm an artificially
created human." A dark tune entered the scene. "Really. No joke."

A flashback appeared on the screen of Ed and Al reading a book as kids.

"Homunculus?" Al asked.

"It's a person made from alchemy." Ed said.

"Doesn't that book say you're not supposed to try and make people?" Al
asked.

Back to the present, Al said, "You're lying. A Homunculus is just a

theory. Nobodies made one."

"Oh man," Greed took his glasses off as he stood up. "Guess I've got to
prove it."

Roa suddenly swung his hammer forward and knocked the top half of
Greed's head off, causing blood to go flying everywhere.

The group stared in horror at the screen, except for Al, who couldn't show
emotion, the very strong scary ladies, and Ed, who knew this was not the end.

"What the hell?" Brody asked.

"It's not enough." Ed said. "But damn, that must be painful."

Al gasped as Greed's body hit the ground. "Why'd you do that to him?"

Greed lifted a finger as red light surrounded his head. Without moving a
muscle, Greed practically glided back to his feet as his head repaired
itself. He cracked his head when it was done then wiped the blood from
his mouth.

"Oh, god." Maria whispered. "They can even come back from something like
that?"

"We said any injury." Ed replied. "But hey, at least he was killed once. Just a
few more hundred to go."

The soldiers stared in horror. They were supposed to fight these inhuman
things? How? They were just normal soldiers with guns, not alchemists!
What was the kid thinking of them doing to help?
Greed raised a finger. "That's one time I've died."

"No way." Al said.

"You get it yet? Nothing is impossible, alright?" Greed said. "I'm a little
surprised you'd have such a hard time accepting that, considering you're
just a soul in a suit of armor."

"Who told you that?" Al asked in horror.

"People like to talk in the shadow world." Greed said with a dark grin.
"And I've got plenty of friends." He leaned down in Al's face. "Well,
let's forget this casual chitchat. I'm more interested in hearing what's it
like to have a body that'll never die. An individual soul transmuted and
bound to an object. It sounds like that's the perfect recipe for
immortality to me."

"He already can't die. Why the hell is he curious about something such as
immortality?" Avery asked confused and still horrified.

"Because he's greedy." Ed said sarcastically.

"Greedy?" Al asked confused.

Ed shrugged. "Well, his name is Greed, right? Just makes me think that he
could be a very greedy person."

"Let me explain. See, I'm Greed." Greed pointed at himself. "I want
everything you can think of. Money and women. Power and sex. Status.
Glory. I demand the finer things, and of course, I crave eternal life."

"And there it is!" Mustang said. "Your guesses are getting too good,
Fullmetal."

"You can only say that when I figure out their master evil plan." Ed growled.

"Aren't you already immortal?" Al asked.

"Well, I guess I was put together a littler sturdier than most." Greed
replied. "I am nearly 200 years old."

"Seriously?" Karin said in horror. "They've been around for that long?"

"Then the person who created them can't still be…" Myers cut himself off at
Ed's dark look.

"If the Homunculi can live that long, the person who created them is probably
using his stone to stay alive too." Ed said darkly. "You need to stop thinking
in terms of these monsters or their creator being normal humans. There is
nothing normal about this."

"But I wouldn't exactly say I'm immortal." Greed continued. "So, I've
spilled my guts all over, told you my darkest secret. Now it's your turn.
How'd you get your body?"

"Just make this easy and tell him." Martel told him. "Unless you'd
rather be examined, which means he'll have to take you apart."

"I wish I could tell you. That would mean I actually remember how I got
it, but even if I could, I'm not the one who did the transmutation." Al
replied.

"Al, you're going to get these creeps coming at me next if you don't quit it."
Ed groaned.

"Brother, I would be more concerned for their safety then yours." Al replied
in a bored tone. "Well, except for Greed. He could probably take you without
a sweat."

"Oh, ye of little faith!" Ed cried in outrage.

"That's not a problem. In that case, I'll just ask the person that did."
Greed said.

Ed was seen walking down the street with a broom in his hand. "Now
where would a 7 foot tall suit of armor run off to?"

"I'd be happy to tell you where you could find him." A creepy voice said.
Ed grabbed the broom with his other hand and looked into an alley to
see the creepy lizard man.

"Should we feel bad for him or not?" Havoc asked.

"Ed, you wouldn't really beat up the person who is going to lead you to your
brother, are you?" Riza asked.

Al sighed. "It wouldn't be the first time he's done something like this."

"But first you tell me what his secret is."

"Well, he's done for." Al said.

A door was slammed opened with a beaten up lizard man flying in. Ed
followed after him.

"No mercy." Richard said with a snicker.

"Well, his interrogation methods do seem to work for him." Charlie added
with his own smirk. "So why change them?"

"Exactly!" Ed exclaimed. "All that matters is the answers."

'Crazy, sadistic brat…'

"Brother!" Al said.

"Never really crossed my mind that you could get kidnapped." Edward
commented.

"You should always expect the impossible." Izumi growled.

"Yeah, yeah, because nothing is impossible." Ed replied with an aggravated

sigh. "But seriously, who would have thought a suit of armor could get
captured?"

Al snickered. "Does it annoy you that much?"

"It's just such a bother that it had to happen in Dublith." Ed mumbled.

The snickers subsided. "Oh….well, we can hope that this is solved quickly
before Teacher finds out."

"Why?" Havoc asked while Izumi smirked.

Ed shuddered. "I wouldn't wish Teacher on my worst enemies."

"Really?" Hughes asked in disbelief.

Ed paused and he and Al shared a look. "Okay, I might wish her on Envy."

Hughes smirked. "I would too."

"It should be a fun fight." Izumi said, cracking her knuckles. She would love
to teach Envy not to mess with humans and manipulate them with his shape
shifting.

"Brother," Al said as Ed walked farther into the room. "This guy's a

Homunculus."

Ed paused. "Are you serious?"

"Hey," Greed said, looking at Al with a sigh. "Way to ruin it."

"You might be able to get some leads from him on how to get our original
bodies back." Al said.

"Yeah, I'm not making any type of deal with this guy. He seems like an
arrogant jerk." Edward commented.

Al sighed. "You've never had a problem getting things from enemies before."

"Yeah, but this guy is with those monsters. I want nothing to do with them."
Edward replied.

Greed raised his hand with the tattoo and smirked.

"An Ouroboros tattoo." Edward said.

"Aren't you observant?" Greed replied.

"Is he being sarcastic with me?" Ed asked annoyed. "Only I can be like that
in a serious situation!"

Havoc sweat dropped. "Chief, no one should be sarcastic in a dangerous

situation. It could just make everything worse."

"If I am in control, I do not see the problem with it." Edward retorted,
smirking. "In fact, I find that it sometimes riles my opponent up and makes
them make mistakes. You must be prepared to do whatever it takes to screw
over your opponent."

"Just how did you train these kids?" Maria asked shocked.

Izumi frowned. "I didn't train Edward something like that."

"No, Brother and I learned that from our experiences in the last few years."
Al explained. "We had to adapt quickly to it since we are in a lot of danger at
times."

"I was hoping that I would only have to deal with the little armored
giant." Greed said and began walking forward.

"Why don't you just ask your partners whatever you want to know?"
Edward asked, making Greed stop.

"Partners?" Greed asked.

"Yes, the rest of the Ouroboros gang from the Fifth Lab." Edward
explained. "They had a couple of armor bonded souls with them as
well."

"You don't say?" Greed asked interested. "Well, it's kind of a long story,
but we don't talk much anymore."

"So, does that mean he defected from them?" Mustang asked interested.
"Sounds like it. Why?" Edward asked curiously.

"From all you learned in the military, and you still have to ask?" Mustang
retorted.

Ed scowled at him.

"If he defected, then it means he has no more loyalty to them." Hughes

explained. "We might be able to work that to our advantage."

"You want info from him?" Al asked. "I don't think he will talk that easily."

"If you play your words right," General Armstrong said.

Al and Ed shared a look. "Sorry, but that's not happening." The latter replied.
"I look too mad to want to negotiate for information."

"Rash punk." Havoc said with a sigh.

"I've got a little proposal for you." Greed said. "You guys are pretty
desperate to get your bodies back, right? Because I could teach you how
to fabricate your own Homunculus in no time at all. In return, all I ask is
you teach me how to transmute a soul."

"That actually sounds like a good deal." Havoc commented.

"I don't want to know how to make a Homunculus." Edward growled.

"No, but it might be good for us to know." Dr. Marcoh pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "Also, even if Greed knows how to do it, he can't perform

alchemy. So who the hell would do this for him?" He added with a frown.
"I'm not losing another limb for this guy. I'm not accepting it."

"I guess that is a good point. We really don't want that knowledge getting
around either." Mustang said with a frown.

"Classic equivalent exchange." Greed finished.

"Still not accepting." Ed grumbled.

Smirking, Greed turned to look at Al. "But I really don't understand

why you would want your old body back." Ed shifted on the ground at
Greed's words before Al was shown with chains around his feet and
hands. "Seems to me like you've got one that's perfect already!"

"No, I don't!" Al retorted.

Ed was shown with a dark look on his face as Greed continued. "You're
joking right? You don't need to eat. You don't need to sleep. You don't
even need to use the toilet! Sounds great to me!" Greed argued.

"They would be no point to living if you had all of that." Avery snarled. "You
may live forever, but you do not get to enjoy the pleasures of life with a body
like that."

"Fullmetal is going to yell soon." Mustang commented.

"How do you know?" Avery asked.

"Just look at the dark look he has on his face. He's getting pissed." Mustang
said, smirking now. "This should be good."

Ed scowled at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your rant is going to be good and I can't wait to see how Greed reacts."
Mustang explained.

"That's enough… Shut your damned mouth!" A furious look passed over
the boy's face. "AHHHH! SOUNDS GREAT TO YOU?! IT SEEMS
PERFECT?! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE HELL
HE'S HAD TO GO THROUGH STUCK WITH THAT BODY! AND
YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW TO TRANSMUTE A SOUL?!" Ed's
hand curled in anger. "YOU KIDNAPPED MY BROTHER AND YOU
WANT TO TRADE SECRETS WITH ME?!" The gang all watched in
shock and with looks of pain from the boy's volume. "I'M GONNA
CRUSH YOU, CREEPS! I'LL SMASH YOU! END YOU! AND I
WON'T GIVE YOU SLIME ANYTHING!" This time, the flames of hell
were behind Edward as his voice lowered and he looked like a devil. "In
other words there won't be an exchange with you SCUM!" Ed yelled
angrily, ending by pointing a finger at Greed.

"Sheesh, I think you made me go deaf, Chief." Havoc said, holding his ears.
"You still have one hellish pair of lungs."

Mustang laughed. "Oh, that was a good one, Edward. That has to be one of
my favorite speeches that you have done so far."

"I really liked the hell's flames that wrapped around him and made him look
like a devil." Darius said, smirking to himself.

Ed twitched. "I'm so glad I could entertain you, but I wasn't trying to."

"No, your points were very clear on why you didn't want to help Greed." Riza
said, but even she was smiling. "But we still loved the rant. If not for the way
you presented it, because your drama is simply amazing, then for the
reactions you are bound to get."

"Even Lieutenant Riza." Ed moaned to himself.

While the gang and Al gave him deadpanned looks, Greed clapped in a
slow way.

"I guess we're doing this by force then." Dolcetto said, grabbing his
sword.

"Don't kill him alright." Greed said.

"Yeah, yeah." Dolcetto replied. As he pulled his sword out, he also swung
it at Ed, but the boy jumped in the air.

Ed spun around in the air. "You're a lot smaller than a prisoner I

know." He said before slamming a fist into the man's face. As the man
fell to the ground, Ed transmuted his arm into a blade. "Next."

"Seriously? You are making this sound like it is a challenge of 'You think you
can beat me? Then come up here and fight me.'" Hughes said, smirking.

"Hey," Ed shrugged. "They are the ones coming at me one-by-one. If they

can't handle it, they should charge me full-force! I'll still beat their asses into
the ground!"

"Roa, get the armored kid out of here." Greed said as he walked
forward. "Guess we'll dismantle him."

The big man ran forward and snatched Al up. "Wait, hold on." Al said
as Ed ran forward.

"Drop him!" Ed shouted.

Roa threw him over his shoulder and walked away.

Ed slammed his blade forward, but a black hand stopped him.

"Is that Greed's hand?" Ed asked shocked.

"But it's black!" Havoc protested. "What is going on?"

Mustang rubbed his eyes. "Nothing is ever simple."

Ed tried to push his blade forward, but the hand didn't budge. He threw
a few kicks and punches at the man, but they were all dodged. Greed
attacked back, but Ed dodged his blows as well. They both swung an arm
forward, but just blocked each other's attack with the same arm, causing
sparks to fly between them from Ed's metal arm and Greed's black one.

"Brother! No. You can't fight Greed one on one!" Al cried in horror.

Ed scowled. "There is no choice. And now I want to know what is with his
black arms!"

"Maybe it is his special ability?" Dr. Marcoh suggested. "After all, each of
them has one."

Mustang nodded. "And this one seems dangerous if it can stop a blade from
piercing him. You do seem to meet the most dangerous people, Fullmetal."

"I just have rotten luck." Ed replied with a groan.

Ed ducked under the next blow and did a half flip to the side as he tried
to kick Greed's head, but the man just ducked under it.

The two separated briefly before Greed's clawed hand came flying
forward. Ed ducked under, but a few strands of his hair were still cut off.
The boy slammed his hand in the ground, causing alchemical light to fill
the scene. Pillars shot up from the ground, which Ed used to propel
himself at Greed. He slashed his blade down, but Greed blocked it with
both of his arms crossed in front of his face.

"Nope. Sorry, that little hand sword of yours is kind of neat, but it can't
even scratch my ultimate shield." Greed said.

"Ultimate shield." Edward repeated dryly with a scowl. "Of course it would
be an ultimate shield. I mean, why wouldn't he have it? The world just loves
to complicate things for me!"

"Let's just hope you don't get hurt." Mustang growled. "I can't believe you got
in a fight already today."

"Oh, yeah, we have to worry about the whole going insane form pain thing."
Havoc said with a frown.

"You know, there is a small chance Brother will get out of this fight without a
scratch." Al commented.

Miles raised a brow. "Ultimate shield vs. a State Alchemist who is

completely human?"

"As I said, it was a very small chance." Al replied.

Ed scowled. "You are all doubting me!"

"So you believe you'll be fine?" Mustang asked.

Ed paused before frowning. "No, I don't believe that. This guy is highly
dangerous."

"Then stop complaining."

Greed went to move forward, but Ed put another hand on the ground to
create spikes that shot up from the ground where he was at that traveled
to Greed. Greed swung a hand forward to stop the spikes from hitting
him. Ed transmuted the spike resting under his hand so it blew up and
shot rocks at Greed. With Greed distracted by that, Ed jumped into the
air and wrapped his legs around Greed's neck. He spun around once
before his legs locked themselves around Greed's neck and Ed used his
momentum to slam the man into the ground.

"Ah, damn." Brody said with wide eyes as he rubbed his own neck. "That
looks pretty painful, Chief."

A few of the soldiers twitched.

"That's a perfect and painful way to kill someone." Scar commented. Despite
his hatred of the State Alchemist, he was quite impressed by the boy's
fighting skills.

"Not necessarily. I could just be trying to break his neck." Ed retorted.

"Where the hell did you learn such a move?" Luke demanded. "A kid should
not know how to do something dangerous like that!"

Ed growled at the word 'kid.' "I'm a State Alchemist and I get into a lot of
trouble. I have to constantly improve myself to face off against all my
enemies. Now more than ever since it is Homunculi we are dealing with."

"But still," Havoc said, rubbing his own neck in fear. "Don't ever use that
move against me when we spar."

Ed sighed. "I don't want to seriously injure you in a spar, Havoc, so why
would I?"

"But you had to have practiced the move somewhere." Havoc retorted.
Sighing once more, Ed pointed at Al. "I got the perfect partner here who
won't be affected by the new moves I decide to try."

"Oh, and what will you do when Al is back to normal?" Breda asked.

"Get a practice dummy or something. Sheesh, you guys make it sound like I
want to use you guys as test dummies and kill you." Ed grumbled.

"We have our misgivings." Breda said dryly. "Since you are one highly
dangerous fighter."

Blood sprouted up from Greed's neck as he grunted in pain.

"Guard your head next time." Ed said before jumping away as Greed
slash his claw across his chest.

"Shit," Ed growled, grabbing his side. "Future me doesn't know these guys
are practically immortal."

"Ah, that could cause you some problems." Hughes said worriedly.

"How's your side?" Riza asked worriedly.

Ed waved her off. "It's just a cut. I am used to getting cuts so the pain is not
that bad."

Ed stumbled back as Greed sat up. "Ah, that hurt." He said. "That move
would have hospitalized most people."

"But you're not like most people, huh?" Ed retorted.

"Well," Greed bowed his head and put a hand on it. "My body is." He
lifted his head as red alchemical light surrounded his neck. "All that sets
me apart are my ultimate shield and advanced healing powers. Nothing
special, but you're never going to beat." He added as he stood up. "So I
suggest making a deal." He paused as Ed glared at him before saying,
"Oh, you're one of those guys. You don't care if somebody beats the crap
out of you, but if someone lays a finger on a family member, you
completely freak out."

"Well, that comes from the fact that they are all they have left." Hughes said.

"Which makes them very protective of the other, but not themselves."
Mustang finished with a sigh. "Honestly, you two are a bit crazy in that part."

Ed scoffed. "I don't want to hear it from you. I've seen you freaked out the
moment one of your team is put into a highly dangerous situation. You will
forget a plan in a moment if someone you care about is in danger of getting
killed."

Mustang smirked. "Just another thing we have in common, I guess."

Ed screamed. He didn't want to have anything in common with Mustang of

all people!

"What a waste." Greed continued. "You lose your temper like this and
you're going to lose my information and your brother."

"My brother's fine. He's just waiting for me to kick your ass." Ed
retorted. "You've already told us you're not immortal, remember? And
your ultimate shield doesn't cover much."

Greed laughed and removed his jacket. "Sorry to let you done, but I've
been holding back." The black shield moved up Greed's arms. "This
obscures my handsome face so I try not to wear it that much." He added
as the shield move to the rest of his body.

Ed stared in horror.

"You are so screwed." Jerso said, staring in horror from watching Greed.

"This is impossible." Riza said in horror.

Ed swallowed. No, no one was this powerful and safe in a fight. There was
always a way to win. It is not impossible to hurt him. There has to be a way
to save himself.
"You had better clear your head." Izumi growled at Ed. "Don't let this guy
scare you."

"But it's an ultimate shield. Nothing can get passed it." Havoc pointed out.

General Armstrong slammed a hand on her arm rest. "Wrong! We are

soldiers. We do not go down without a fight. There is always a way to win.
You just have to find it."

Miles nodded. "We cannot lose to these monsters. Even if they are powerful,
they still have the makings of humans so we can still kill them.

'Makings of humans?' Edward thought. They are human, which means they
still have all the same structure. A smirk crept onto Ed's face. "Oh, that's
how."

"What was that?" Hughes asked confused as he saw the boy smirk.

"Thanks for the hint, Miles." Edward said, grinning. "Now, we just have to
wait for future me to realize it and I will tear Greed down!"

"You know how to beat him?" Armstrong asked.

"Oh, yes." Ed said with a devious look in his eyes.

"Are you going to tell us?" Al asked.

"No. Just wait and see." Ed replied.

Mustang raised a brow. "But what if you don't figure it out?"

Ed scoffed. "I will. If I can figure it out here this quickly, I'll figure it out in
the future. It may take me longer because I'm in a fight and need to
concentrate more so I don't get killed, but I'll figure it out. I don't go down
without a fight."

"I wasn't kidding, kid." Greed said as a hurried, active song entered the
scene. "Try all you like, but you're not going to beat me."
"Like hell I won't!" Edward cried. "I'm going to take your arrogant ass down
a few pegs!"

The scene changed to Sig holding a broom. "I found this lying in the
alley."

"Then you're saying, they're both missing?" Izumi asked.

"Oh, shit." Ed groaned. "Teacher's coming."

"That's a good thing." Mustang snapped at him. "You need all the help you
can get against Greed. And Izumi is the best person to help you."

Ed groaned. "I know that. That's not why I'm worried. She's going to kill me."

A few people stared at him confused, while the others just gave up on trying
to understand or being surprised when it involved Izumi. She was just too
strange and different.

Izumi turned around and cracked her knuckles with the flames of hell
surrounding her once more. "Those idiots! They can't even sweep the
street without getting into trouble! They're lucky I expelled them!
Otherwise I'd kill them!"

Al and Ed shuddered in fear. Lucky indeed.

"I share her sentiments. Trouble finds you two so easily." Mustang said dryly.

Ed twitched. "You are so very cruel."

Mustang sighed. "I just wished I knew your teacher before you joined the
military. It would have been nice if she could help me teach you two a thing
or two about running recklessly into danger since you obviously don't listen
to me."

The boys twitched. "Why do you think we've never mentioned her?" Al
mumbled.

"I think I can help!" A voice called out to them. "Here, catch." Mason
tossed a small box to Izumi. "A friend of mine noticed a short blonde
haired kid entering a bar called the Devil's Nest."

Izumi looked at the box in her hand with narrowed eyes.

Ed's blade appeared on the screen. Next his leg was shown before Ed was
sheen to be leaning against a wall with the outer part of his automail arm
missing. As the screen raised, blood was seen to be smeared on the wall.

Ed screamed at the sudden pain raging in his pain. The biggest pain came
from his head so that is where his hand flew to while his other continued to
grab his side. "Hell, this is horrible." He groaned before falling onto his back.
A blinding pain was in his head. It hurt so much that he couldn't even keep
his eyes open.

"You okay?" Al asked worriedly.

"No," Ed snapped, but it hurt his head so he softened his tone. "No matter
how many head injuries I get, they will always be very painful. I can never
get used to them."

Greed took a step forward. "You dead yet?"

Ed looked up with a glare. He pushed himself back to his feet.

"There you go. You chop full of piss and vinegar." Greed said before Ed
charged at him.

The boy slammed his fist into Greed's chin, resulting in pieces of his
automail flying off.

"It doesn't matter if you survive this fight or not." Al said with a wince.
"Either you die here or Winry kills you."

Ed groaned. "I choose Greed over Winry."

"Seriously?" Al asked.

"Come on. We both know how it is to deal with an infuriated woman." Ed

muttered, but didn't bother to open his eyes. He just had to focus his mind on
the darkness and on other things to distract from the pulsating pain inside of
him. It wasn't there. It was just an illusion to teach him something. It would
go away soon. He just needed to remember that.

Al nodded. "I guess you have a point."

"Is this really the time to be discussing this?" Denny asked.

Ed frowned. "Um, yes. It's a nice distraction from the evil pain."

Greed slammed his hand in Ed's face and pulled him up into the air. "I
appreciate the effort, but you just can't win." He said as he threw Ed
into a crate.

Ed screamed and arched his back. 'It's not real. The pain isn't real.' Taking
deep breathes, Ed forced his body to relax back onto the ground. This pain
was nothing. He could handle this.

"Why do I always have to meet the most dangerous guys?" Ed asked with
another painful groan.

"Because your luck sucks." Havoc replied.

Ed gasped as his body slid to the ground.

Greed pulled Ed up by his shirt. "So, you ready to tell me your secret
now?"

"So I guess Chief isn't the only one who uses violence for interrogation."
Havoc said.

"Shut up." Ed mumbled as he rubbed his temples.

Ed chuckled. "Thanks for toying with me."

"What?" Greed asked.

"You've given me just enough time to cool off and start thinking clearly."
Ed explained.

The Ed in the room overcame his pain for a moment to smirk. "And here
comes my awesome plan!"

"So, we are going to learn how to beat the shield?" Mustang asked.

"You will, but only me and Teacher can actually do it." Ed replied.

"Why?" Hughes asked.

"Just watch."

Ed's hand twitched. "Is my mechanic amazing or what?" His hand

curled a bit. "Even after all this, it's still working." Once again, an active
and excited tone entered the scene as Ed clapped his hands. He put his
hand on Greed's arm, throwing blue light around the room. This caused
Greed to throw the boy to the ground, but Ed easily landed in a crouch.

"How long you want to drag this on?" Greed asked as he walked
forward. "It'd be so much easier if you'd just stayed down." He swung
his first forward but Ed transmuted spikes onto his hand and slammed
his fist into Greed's. The black shield on his hand fell to pieces to reveal a
red area below it. Greed pulled his hand back in pain.

"What? How?" Mustang demanded.

Ed smirked. "Carbon."

"Carbon?" Hughes asked confused while the alchemists smirked in

understanding.

"What?" Havoc demanded when he saw the smirks. "What did we miss?"

"Just watch." Mustang said.

The soldiers groaned. Stupid alchemists and their secrets.

Ed swung his bloody fist to the side.

Greed's hand healed itself before being covered in the shield again. He
slammed it into one of the spikes Ed created earlier, destroying it. "Well,
that was pretty bizarre. Good as new." He said as he looked at his hand.

Ed raised a finger and motioned for Greed to come. And Greed

complied, charging at the boy. He swung his leg at him, but Ed pushed it
to side before clapping his hands and slamming one onto Greed's
stomach.

Greed grunted in pain. "What was that for?" He asked as he swung a

claw at Ed.

Ed jumped over it, landing a bit clumsily on the ground before he flipped
himself and slammed a hand into the ground. More spikes sprouted up,
flying at Greed.

"Come on. Again?" Greed shouted. "Try a new one." Two of the spikes
slammed into his sides and actually went through him. Greed yelled in
pain and stepped back from the bloody spikes.

"What are you doing?" Jerso demanded. "Before you couldn't even land a
blow on him."

Ed smirked. "It's as General Armstrong said. There is always a way."

"But how?" Brody asked.

"You will know soon enough. After all, I'm sure Greed will want to know as
well." Ed replied.

Greed fell to his knees as blood poured from his mouth. "What the hell
did you do to my shield?"

"It's actually pretty simple once you think about it." Ed replied. "You
may be a Homunculus, but you really shouldn't have told me that your
body is human, considering that a third of it is made of carbon." Greed
started to stand up. "The hardness of carbon varies depending on how
the atoms are arranged." Greed's wounds began to heal themselves. "So
it's obvious that's what your shield is made of. Once I got that figured
out, the rest was just simple alchemy." Ed wiped the blood away from
his mouth as he smirked.

"So you are basically lowering the level of hardness of the carbon in his
body?" Falman asked curiously.

"You got it." Ed grunted from the ground where he was still laying.

"But why can only you and Izumi do it? It sounds like something any
alchemist can do." Havoc said confused.

"No. First, you have to know how the body is made, what it consists of and
how much of each one. Second, performing alchemy on a living body is
highly complex and shouldn't be done like I am doing it. I am doing it
without any tests or studying of it beforehand. And third, Teacher and I are
the only ones because we are the only ones who can perform alchemy
without an array. No other alchemist would have the chance to perform the
transmutation on Greed in the middle of the fight." Edward explained. "So,
really, I just got lucky on my first shot that I actually performed it correctly.
But it was risk I needed to try."

Greed charged at him. "I'm glad to hear it. It's no fun if it's not a
challenge."

Ed dodged his punch and slammed his hand into Greed's stomach again.
"And there's one other important thing I noticed!" Edward shouted
before slamming his elbow into Greed, sending him flying back. "You
can't harden your shield and heal at the same time!"

Greed stumbled back, grabbing his side. "I think it's safe to say that I
underestimated you." He stood up straight. "But, how much longer can
you keep this up in your condition?"

"Doesn't this situation seem familiar?" Mustang asked. "Oh, wait, now I
remember. Similar situation as the Fifth lab."

Ed growled. "No need for the sarcasm, Mustang. These guys I am facing are
highly skilled fighters. It's not a surprise that I am getting injured."

Ed's eyes narrowed. Before anything could be said or done, the door
behind them came busting down with smoke all around it. Ed turned
around in shock.

"Sorry to barge in like this." Izumi said as she stepped through the
smoke while dragging a body with her.

"Thank you." Riza breathed a sigh of relief.

"You have really good timing." Hughes said, also very relieved.

Ed lifted his head off the ground to see his Teacher on the screen. He blinked
once, as he thought about himself going crazy. "Teacher, did you change into
a black dress before coming to save Al and me from trouble?"

"Now that you mention it, she did change clothes." Maria said in surprise.

"Oh, so I'm not going crazy from pain?" Ed asked, dropping his aching head
back to the ground. "That's good to know."

"Who changes into a dress before going to kill?" Al wondered.

"Teacher?" Ed asked surprised.

"You damned imbecile!" Izumi shouted while throwing the body she had
at Ed.

Ed screamed as the body slammed into him and sent him flying into a
wall. All Greed could do was turn to stare at the boy.

"You think it's funny not to put the broom away?" Izumi asked as Greed
looked back at her. "I asked you a question!"

The soldiers sweat dropped.

"Is this really the time for such a thing?" Havoc asked blankly.
"You don't just leave a broom lying in the alley." Izumi growled dangerously.

"Alrighty then." Havoc said, dropping the subject.

"Women are insane." Ed muttered to himself.

"What was that, brat?" Izumi snapped.

"Nothing!" Ed shouted. "Nothing at all, Teacher! Don't hurt the hurt boy!"

"No, I'm so sorry!" Ed said.

"Thanks for your hospitality." Izumi said with a blank look. "He
definitely needed the exercise."

"You are so caring, Teacher." Al said blankly.

"That's Teacher for you." Ed groaned.

"Teacher, careful." Ed said. "He's a–"

"Yes, I know. I could hear the two of you all the way down the hall."
Izumi interrupted.

"Oh, give me a break. Don't tell me you're going to try and start
anything, lady." Greed said. He looked away. "It's no fun fighting a
woman."

Footsteps sounded before Izumi was shown to be slamming a hand into

Greed's head. After she transmuted his head, she slammed her leg into
his face. With her power, she sent him slamming into a wall. Red light
flashed around his body as he looked up with a laugh.

"Well, now. Just what the hell are you?" Greed asked.

Izumi stepped forward. "You ask what I am?" She pointed at herself
and glared at the man. "A HOUSEWIFE!" She screamed with lightning
flashing behind her.
The scene went dark.

The soldiers couldn't help it. They started laughing!

"What a way to end an episode!" Brody cried.

"That is definitely Teacher for you." Al said, chuckling.

"Her introductions are really something." Hughes said, grinning.

Mustang nodded, but turned to the teenager. "And you, Fullmetal? How are
you?"

Ed groaned. "In pain. Can we just start the next episode already? The faster
we watch it, the faster the pain will disappear."

A/N: So, obviously, Greed and Ed's fight moved really fast. I couldn't get
all the moves in. In fact, I may have messed up on some of them. But I
tried my best. In fact, I watched it in regular motion and then where I
paused every few seconds. There are so many things I missed when
watching it in different speeds. It's a hard fight to follow when writing it
down. But hopefully I did good on it.

Please Review!
*Chapter 14*: Episode 14: Those Who
Lurk Underground
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: So here is the next chapter. Again, sorry that it is late. Also know,
that working outside without sunscreen on is a VERY BAD IDEA! I will
now go and suffer in the misery of sunburn.

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 14: Those Who Lurk Underground

The opening song began.

"Damn, the special beginning is still missing!" Havoc cried.

"Will you forget about that damn beginning already? It isn't coming back!"
Ed snapped, but didn't bother to get up from the ground to knock some sense
into his friend. His body was still so sore and in pain from his fight with
Greed.

"Well, someone's not a happy camper." Havoc huffed.

Ed twitched. "Why don't we trade places?"

"Uh, no thanks."

"Then shut up."

Central Command Center was shown before Mustang was seen to be

walking down a hall of the building.

"So that's Roy Mustang?" One of the faceless soldiers said.

"The Flame Alchemist, huh?"

"I wonder what connections he used to be selected at his age."

"When your rise is this rapid, your fall will be rapid as well."

"And I thought I had problems with my age." Ed snorted. "You seem to have
a lot of enemies inside the military, Colonel."

Mustang smirked. "While I make enemies and have them fear me, they just
want to use you for their own nefarious purposes."

Ed growled. "Oh, so they don't fear me? How saddening."

Breda smirked. "Oh, no, there are some that fear you greatly, but they fear
Colonel much more than you."

Ed huffed.

When Mustang made it passed the soldiers, he smirked.

"Is the stupid Colonel smirking?" Ed asked annoyed since he didn't feel he
could get off the ground and actually watch what was going on.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Al asked.

Ed frowned. "Because it is Colonel! He's so arrogant. Hearing all those

people talk about him doesn't unnerve him, but makes him satisfied. They are
doing what he wants, damn it!"
"I'm touch, Fullmetal. I didn't know you knew me so well." Mustang said
sarcastically.

"One's got to know about his enemy before he takes him down." Ed retorted.

"Brother," Al said with a sigh.

A hand was shown to be knocking on a door.

"Come in."

Mustang opened the door and walked in. "Good morning." He greeted
the secretary as he closed the door and walked over to her desk.
"Colonel Roy Mustang."

"Oh, yes, Colonel Mustang. I'm terribly sorry, but your transfer was
poorly timed. His Excellency the Fuhrer is away." The secretary
explained.

Ed snorted. "How could that possibly happen? Isn't he the one to approve
what happens and when?"

"Yes." Hughes said.

"Then he should be there to greet his soldier when he transfer at the Fuhrer's
order!" Ed exclaimed.

"Where is he?" Mustang asked.

"Conducting an inspection at southern HQ." She replied.

Mustang looked surprised. "He's in the south?"

"Heh, we're in the south too." Ed said, grinning like a fool. "What are the
chances that we run into him at some point?"

"Brother, he went to southern HQ, not Dublith. You are delirious from pain."
Al said without looking away from the screen.
The scene changed to the sewers which the chimeras were running
through.

They paused and Dolcetto sniffed the air before an angry look passed
over his face. "Something doesn't smell right to me." He said.

"You know what it feels like to me?" Roa said. "Old times."

Bradley appeared on the screen. He was shown to be standing outside the

Devil's Nest.

"I stand corrected, Brother. You were right." Al said shocked.

"About what?" Ed said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"The Fuhrer is at the Devil's Nest." Mustang explained shocked.

"What?" Ed shot up into a sitting position now, eyes wide in shock for a
moment before a look of pain flashed in his eyes and he was groaning as he
fell back to the ground. "What the hell is he doing there?"

"It is strange." Hughes said with a frown.

"I was only joking." Ed muttered.

"What an interesting discovery from such a routine inspection." Bradley

commented. He was shown to have soldiers all around, including
Armstrong.

The title screen appeared on the screen. "Those Who Lurk

Underground"

"Move in." Bradley's voice commanded before the title screen

disappeared.

Ed and Izumi stood side-by-side with Greed in front of them.

Greed laughed. "A housewife and a hotheaded brat. What a team.

Though to be honest, it's not one I'm particular interested in fighting."
"Same here!" A few soldiers exclaimed.

Ed snorted. "You guys wouldn't even last a minute against such a team."

"Are you doubting your military?" Mustang retorted.

There was a pause before Ed laughed. "Now, you Colonel, you would
probably survive a one-on-one fight with Teacher."

"Oooh, now there is a fight I want to see." Havoc said, smirking.

A smirk caused Izumi's lips. "It's a fight I would like."

"I wonder who would win." Al said thoughtfully.

"Teacher." Ed said without a hint of hesitation.

"What was that?" Mustang growled.

"You're both talented alchemists, Colonel, but Teacher relies on martial arts
as well, but you don't have that kind of skill. Sure, you know hand-to-hand
combat, but it's not on our level. The moment she gets close to you, and she
will despite your Flame Alchemy, you are done for." Edward explained.

"Oh, ye of little faith." Mustang retorted, throwing Ed's words back at him.

"I'll just be on my way now." Greed finished.

"He's running away?" Ed shouted. "After all that?! I think not!"

"You should count your blessings that you are still alive. Do you think you
could finish him off in your condition?" Maria retorted.

Ed grumbled. "I don't like leaving things unfinished."

"What?" Ed asked.

"You coward!" Izumi growled before spitting up blood.

"You should both count your blessings." Hughes said with a sigh. "Both of
you are just so stubborn about your fights."

"Teacher! What's wrong?" Ed shouted as Greed ran out of the room,

changing back to normal as he did.

"Coward!" Izumi cried.

Izumi looked up with blood coating her lips. "He ran away…how
pathetic…"

Ed, who was holding his teacher up, frowned. "You okay now?" He
asked worriedly.

Izumi vomited more blood, surprising Ed.

"Teacher, just hang on." Ed cried as some soldiers appeared in the

doorway of the room.

Al struggled to get free.

"Will you stay put?" Martel asked, struggling to keep Al still. "Quit
struggling you oaf!"

"I don't wanna!" Al said as he scooted himself forward.

"Weren't you just being carried by Roa?" Brody asked confused.

"Yeah, where did your chimera buddies go?" Avery asked.

"I didn't realize that they made the transition into buddies so quickly after
kidnapping me. I thought it took me time than that." Al said sarcastically.

Ed snickered. "Yeah, he hasn't even developed Stockholm's Syndrome yet."

"I'm not going to develop Stockholm's Syndrome." Al said.

"Of the two of us, you are the one most likely to have it." Ed retorted.
Footsteps approached the two. Surprised, Martel lifted up Al's helmet to
get her head out to look out. "Greed!" She cried.

"Ah, Martel, I'm glad to see that you're safe."

"What's going on up there?" Martel asked. "No one else has made it
back yet."

"Where did they go?" Hughes asked. "They just suddenly disappeared. I
thought they were supposed to escape."

"They probably sensed the soldiers and went back to fight." Ed muttered.

"Breaking orders to run. Now who does that sound like?" Havoc asked and
him and a few other soldiers gave Ed a look.

Ed growled. "I always have a good reason to disobey orders."

"Like?" Richard prompted.

"I don't like the order." Ed said.

"That's not a good reason!" Heinkel and Darius shouted at him.

"Sure it is." Ed said.

Mustang sighed. Stupid damn brat.

"Yeah, things have gotten a little out of hand so we need to figure a way
out of here." Greed replied.

"I can't let you do that." Bradley said.

"I thought you were supposed to protect the Fuhrer." Al said confused. "So
why is he in the sewers getting ready to challenge Greed?"

"Well, the Fuhrer likes to get into the fights as well and do his job as a
soldier." Armstrong replied with a frown.
"Hn," Ed smirked. "Sounds like something General Armstrong or Colonel
would do if they ever became Fuhrer."

"Of course." Mustang agreed, smirking.

"Being stuck behind a desk all day would be boring." General Armstrong
said.

"Then why the hell would you want to be Fuhrer?" Ed exclaimed at the two.

"Huh?" Greed said as Martel disappeared back inside Al. "Just what do
you want, old man?"

"It's the Fuhrer." Al said as Bradley was shown to be holding two

swords. "Why is he here?"

"King Bradley?" Martel asked.

"Huh, what's the most powerful man in the land doing down here?"
Greed asked.

"It does seem like an inappropriate place for our leader." Ed said
sarcastically.

"When does our leader ever care?" Al asked.

"Not that you know, but growing old isn't easy." Bradley said.

"Huh?" Greed said.

"Can he say nothing but 'huh?" Ed asked annoyed. "Where is the confident
bastard that I just fought?"

Buccaneer smirked. "You do realize that Greed is the enemy and that it
shouldn't matter where his arrogant self disappeared to right?"

"It matters to me! He can't just keep changing who he is on me!" Ed growled.

"This year marks my sixty birthday. It's frustrating how your body stops
moving the way you want it to." Bradley said.

"Isn't that just more worrisome?" Izumi said with a frown.

"Well, the Fuhrer does seem to like to charge into battle." Armstrong said
worriedly.

"But if his body isn't moving the way he wants it too…" Karin trailed off
worriedly.

"So I'd like to finish this job as quickly as possible to return home."
Bradley added as he started to walk forward.

"Heh, I've got an idea." Greed said as his hand turned into his shield.
"Retire!"

"There's the arrogant bastard!" Ed said.

There was a slash of a sword and Greed's forearm went flying into the
water.

"Wow, one move in, and King Bradley is already doing better than you,
Chief." Havoc said, smirking at the kid.

"What?" Ed groaned. He rubbed his aching head before he sat himself up.
"There's no way."

"Well, to be fair, he does have more experience than you." Hughes said,
grinning.

"I'm losing to a sixty year old?" Ed said offended. "That can't be allowed!"

Greed looked at his arm as Al gasped when an active tone entered the
scene. "Well, look at this. The old man's got some moves!"

Bradley suddenly dashed forward, swords slashing so quickly that they

were hard to follow, though Greed managed to dodge them at first. Soon,
it became too fast for him and he started getting hit multiple times
without being able to stop it. Bradley kicked Greed in the chest, which
sent him flying into one of the sewer walls.

"Greed?" Martel cried shocked.

"Okay, Bradley's got some moves." Ed admitted in shock. "How is an old

man that fast?"

"Logically, it shouldn't even be physically possible." Hughes said with a

frown.

Ed snorted. "Logically? Did we not already conclude that logic has no place
here? Let's just say Bradley is a damn enemy. Let's even go as far as to say
he's a Homunculus while we're at it!"

"Fullmetal, that's not funny." Mustang growled.

"Funny?" Ed echoed. "You think I'm joking?! These damn monsters are
controlling the government from the shadows! How the hell do you think
they are doing that so easily? Someone from high up is helping that. Well
that, or all the higher ups are in on it. Either way, it's trouble."

"Got any evidence for your claim?" General Armstrong growled, but what
she didn't say was that it was a good guess. They had to be missing
something, something none of them wanted to think of because they were
supposed to trust their higher ups.

"Yes, like the fact that the Fuhrer isn't here even though he's got skills like
this." Ed's arm swept up towards the screen. "And you said before it was the
job of the Fuhrer to help when the country is in danger. What does that tell
you?"

Silence. Dreaded silence had its deathly grip over the room.

Roa swung his hammer forward while Armstrong slammed a fist

forward. They knocked against each other and the end of the hammer
was transmuted into a mini figurine of Armstrong.

"Behold!" Armstrong exclaimed with sparkles all around him. "You just
had the rare pleasure of witnessing the famous Armstrong statuary
technique."

"Since when was it rare to see your alchemy?" Al asked.

"We see it all the time." Ed added.

Roa gave him a blank stare. He tossed his hammer away. "Well then,"
He said as he removed his shirt. "I guess my ordinary methods aren't
going to work." His body began to bulge as his muscles expanded and
horns sprouted from his forehead.

"What the hell is this madness?" Havoc cried.

"Well, that certainly is different." Ed said blankly.

"So, we're all lost then?" Karley clarified.

"Yes!" Ed and Havoc cried together.

Only the Chimeras in the room stayed quiet. They had yet to tell anyone what
they were. It wasn't something they particularly wanted to share.

"Now that's certainly peculiar." Armstrong commented in surprise as he

took a few steps back from Roa as his eyes glowed red.

"He's got glowing red eyes!" Ed yelled. "He's a demon!"

"That coming from the guy who was surrounded in the flames of hell in the
last episode?" Jerso retorted.

Ed paused for a moment. "I'm aspecial kind of demon." He said finally.

Roa swung a fist at him, but Armstrong ducked under it to let it create a
crater in the wall behind him before swinging his fist up into Roa's chest
then face. Rao took the fist to the face, but just gritted his teeth against
the pain.

Chimera bodies were shown to be covered in blood and lying dead as

gunshots sounded from another hallway over.
"Well, at least the Central forces can handle something like this." Kei
commented.

"I don't think the Central forces are weak." Ed said, frowning. "Compared to
you guys, they might be weak, but that doesn't mean they don't have the skills
they need."

"They are still too weak." General Armstrong growled.

Ed sweat dropped. He felt sorry for the Central soldiers if General Armstrong
ever became the Fuhrer. They would be put through hell.

The soldiers were shown to be firing their guns nonstop. "We've secured
the boy and the woman." A soldier said as the chimeras they were
shooting were shown. "Now eliminate every last one of these freaks."

"I'm getting called boy? Really?" Ed growled.

"It's probably just easier and faster to say that then go with the formalities."
Mustang said with a shrug. "Stop complaining so much. You don't even like
being referred to with military titles."

"It's the principle of the matter!" Ed retorted.

"Those are the Fuhrer's direct orders!"

Armstrong was slammed into the wall with Roa's hand around his neck.
Roa pushed him harder into the wall to create a bigger crater. Then he
dragged Armstrong across the way, destroying it.

Armstrong grunted and rubbed his face. This amount of pain was
uncomfortable but nothing he couldn't handle from his extensive training and
hardships over the years.

Armstrong brought his hand forward to smack Roa to escape from the
attack. The two stumbled before getting their footing back and were
back to slamming their fists in each other's faces.

Armstrong frowned and rubbed his face again. Just feeling this pain, he could
tell that this Roa fellow was a powerful opponent. He would be difficult to
fight for sure.

After a few punches they stumbled away from each other.

Armstrong chuckled. "You are a most amendable adversary, sir." He

said as he wiped some blood away.

"And you're just as tough as ever, Major Armstrong." Roa replied. "The
last time I saw you was in the Ishvalan Civil War."

"A former ally, eh?" Armstrong asked.

"Ally?" Al echoed faintly. "The government is using its soldiers for

experiments?!"

"Oh, my." Karin said with wide eyes in fear.

The four chimeras in the room growled to themselves. Yes, the military was
far worse then any of them realized. It would use anyone who fit the criteria
for an experiment. They didn't care if it ruined their lives and took them from
their families. All they cared about was their damn experiments.

"Even more reason to end this. No need for such bloodshed. Surrender!"
Armstrong said.

"And just let myself be killed?" Roa asked.

"Major!"

Armstrong looked over his shoulder to see a group of soldiers with their
guns ready to shoot Roa. The Major jumped to the side, covering his face
as the soldiers started firing. Like Armstrong, Roa covered his face.
Suddenly, there were slices and the soldiers fell to the ground dead.

Dolcetto ran forward with his sword drawn. "Roa!" He shouted as his
sword sliced one of the pipes to create a smoke cover while the soldiers
still alive continued firing.
"They sure are loyal to each other." Hughes said surprised.

"You will find that gangs like this are usually loyal to their comrades." Ed
muttered.

Hughes raised a brow. "And you know this, how?"

"I've dealt with gangs enough times to learn that they are deadly loyal to their
friends and comrades." Ed said with a shrug.

Armstrong continued to cover his face as he watched the two chimeras

stand up in the smoke before they ran off.

Greed screamed as he swung a fist at Bradley, whose eye patch fell off.
Greed froze as Bradley's sword pierced Greed's throat. "I understand
why you think you have an advantage over a man like me since I don't
possess none of your impenetrable Ultimate Shield nor an Ultimate spear
that can pierce any substance."

"How does he know about that?" Riza said surprised. "He didn't overhear
your conversation, did he?"

Ed frowned. "Just more evidence to support my theory."

"Were you really serious about that?" Al asked.

Ed growled. "Of course. You don't joke about Homunculi that are trying to
ruin this country!"

Bradley's eye patch was shown to be floating in the water. "But I'll tell
you a secret. Do you know how I managed distinguished myself amongst
the storms of bullets on the battlefield time after time?" Greed forced his
head forward, blood pouring out of his mouth. "To rise to my current
position?"

"Y-you're…" Greed gasped out.

Bradley opened his left eye to reveal his Ouroboros tattoo.

"No way." Luke said in shock.

"It only makes sense." Ed hissed.

"So the betrayal goes that high." General Armstrong growled. "At this point,
we should believe Fullmetal when he says all the higher ups are in on this
since his guesses so far have been this good."

Ed frowned. This was so not good. If the Fuhrer was with them, this could
only get much, much worse.

"How did you know, Brother?" Al asked curiously, but also darkly. The
dangers that they were all thinking about just got even greater with the fact
that Bradley was just revealed to them.

"A guess." Ed grunted. "We all thought it was strange the Fuhrer wasn't here
with us when he should be if he is going to lead this country. I just acted on
that and put my thoughts together. Seeing how skilled a fighter he is just
added to my suspicions."

"However you figured it out doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the
fact that we have been betrayed by our leader." Mustang growled.

Ed snorted. "I'll say. Dark experiments and the constant bloodshed on our
borders. We should have realized something was strange sooner."

"Bloodshed?" Hughes echoed, eyes widening as his thoughts went into

overdrive. "Remember Liore?"

"Yeah, everything in Liore got worse when the Central forces were sent in."
Mustang said, frowning.

"Not just that, but also the fact that Lust said something about bloodshed and
soaking the land in sea of blood." Hughes expanded.

"With a Homunculus leading the country, they can easily cause conflicts and
soak the land in blood. Which means whatever they are after requires a lot of
blood." Riza said confused.
Ed looked up, face extremely pale. Blood….human
lives….Homunculi….Philosopher's Stones…."Oh, that is so sick." He
swallowed his horror that was bubbling up inside of him.

"What?" Havoc asked.

"Dr. Marcoh?" Ed asked. "A stone?"

Dr. Marcoh closed his eyes. So the boy came up with the same conclusion as
him. "That's what I imagine it could be. The land will be soaked in blood at
certain areas from all these battles."

"Someone is trying to create a Philosopher's Stone using everyone from the

country?" Izumi growled, catching on.

Ed rubbed his head. "Most likely, but I don't know how. I'm not sure where
all the bloodshed has taken place or where the array is. And plus, the
Homunculi mentioned sacrifices. What do sacrifices have to do with creating
a stone? I don't understand enough of this."

"But seriously a stone?" Havoc said in horror, face growing pale. "Someone
is going to sacrifice us all to get another Stone?"

"Probably the same person who made the Homunculi." Ed growled. "Some
sick bastard who just doesn't want to die because he's greedy about life."

"I really don't want to become a stone." Zampano said, frowning darkly.

Jerso snorted. "Who would to deal with that?"

"That's why we're here. To stop this and save this country." Mustang
growled. "We can't just sit back and wait for death."

Ed brought his hand down his face and smirked. "Then let's learn what needs
to be done so we can stop it more easily this time around."

Mustang smirked. "I like the way you think."

Bradley leaned in closer to Greed's face. "I may not have the protection
of your Ultimate Shield, but I clearly see a weakness with my Ultimate
Eye."

"Damn, that is such an unfair advantage." Havoc said.

"All of their abilities are an unfair advantage." Ed argued.

"Ah, I guess that is true, but the shield and eye seem like really horrible
advantages in a fight." Havoc replied.

Brody nodded in agreement. "Lust seems to have spears with her nails.
Compared to the eye or shield, that is a pretty weak ability."

Bradley ripped his swords out of Greed's neck. Greed cried out as he hit
the wall, then fell to the ground.

"Now then, Greed," Bradley said as Greed started to heal himself. "How
many times am I'm going to have to kill you before you stay dead?"

"I guess he really did defect from them." Avery said, frowning.

"And they don't like it one bit." Ed added, grimacing. "It's like one of those
gangs where the only where out is by dying." [1]

Al appeared on the screen.

"Where the hell is Greed?" Martel asked.

"I don't know. It's too dark to see anything." Al replied.

Hearing footsteps approach them, Al looked up to see Greed with red

light flashing around. When he got closer to Al, he fell to the ground with
a sword through his neck.

"Bradley has no compassion." Ed grimaced.

"He's a Homunculus. Why would he?" Mustang retorted.

Ed shook his head. "No, I meant that he played everyone for a fool. He was a
strong leader with a cruel side, but to the civilians and when he wasn't in a
battle he was a kind man."

"He was playing us with a kind man attitude outside of battle to keep us
trusting him." Hughes finished, eyes narrowing to slits.

"Homunculi believe that humans have too many emotions and are controlled
by their emotions so they play to that. They use what we feel to cause us
pain." Dr. Marcoh explained.

Al stared at the fallen Greed on the screen. "They may look like humans, but
they are monsters at heart."

"No. Greed!" Martel cried, lifting Al's helmet, but Al pushed his helmet
back down.

"That idiot. She is being led by her emotions. Showing herself now will only
get her killed." Ed said without any emotion. He didn't want to deal with this
so the best way was to keep his emotions locked for the time being.

"She's going to get killed either way." Mustang said, frowning. "Bradley has
the Ultimate Eye so he sees all, and even if he didn't, he probably heard her
voice. She has no chance of escaping this unless she leaves with Al now."

"Quiet!" Al said as Bradley pulled his sword from Greed's neck.

"Let me out! Come on, damn it!" Martel cried.

"She's not leaving the sewers. The only way out for her is death." Hughes
said sadly.

"All because of loyalty." Ed murmured.

"No way." Al said.

"I said, open up!" Martel cried.

"I can't. He'll kill you." Al said.

Bradley swung his sword, causing the blood to go flying off of it. "That
makes fifteen times you died now. How many lives have you got left?
Hmm?"

"D-damn you." Greed said, trying to push himself up.

"Ah, crap." Dolcetto said, and he and Roa were seen to be standing
covered in blood in front of the group. "I kind of wish we died back
there."

"Why?" Kei asked.

"Bradley does not seem to be an enemy that anyone would want to face." Al
said with a shrug. "It would be a scary fight."

"There's still plenty of time to tuck your tail and run away." Roa said.

Dolcetto started to walk forward as a sad tone entered the scene. "Trust
me, I'd loved to, but I've got this obnoxious canine sense of loyalty." His
sword came down and cut Al's chains. "Do us a favor, kid, and get her
out of here."

"It's another one of those self sacrifice things to save a comrade." Edward
said.

"So she won't die?" Al asked hopefully.

Ed shook his head. "From what I've seen, she's too stubborn and she can
control your limbs to slow you down. She's not going to leave her comrades
to die for her, even if it means her death as well."

"How can you say that like it means nothing?" Al asked angrily.

Ed sighed and ran a hand through his bangs. "Look, it's sad, but it's her
choice. You can want to protect her all you want, but she is too loyal to run
away while her comrades die to protect her. She's a former soldier. If she is
going to die some day, as a soldier, even if she isn't one anymore, she would
want it to be on the battlefield, fighting with her comrades, not being
protected and thrown in the back where it is safe."
"But she has to know this will only lead to death. I mean if Greed–" Al
retorted.

"Yes, it means death. She saw that they were no match for him, but…"

"We know there is a chance we will die every single day. We are always
prepared for it." Hughes finished.

Hearing such a thing from Hughes, Al went quiet. How could he argue with
someone whose death he just saw yesterday?

"Protect her." Roa said.

"Roa! Dolcetto!" Martel cried, trying to get out of Al.

The two chimeras charged at Bradley, while Al kept a tight hold on his
helmet.

"Hey! Quit trying to stop me! Let me out!" Martel cried.

"I can't." Al said.

Martel banged on his chest. "I don't have time to argue, now open up.
They need my help, damn it!"

"I said no. I can't let you out." Al said.

"Just shut up and let me out of here." Martel replied as blood was seen
flying across the screen.

"If you want to save her so badly, Al, you shouldn't have just sat there while
Roa and Dolcetto ran to their deaths. You should already be up and running
away." Edward said tiredly. He didn't know how much more of this he could
take seeing. It was just getting worse and worse with each episode.

Bradley was shown with Dolcetto's body cut in two behind him. "You're
not going to make me sit here and watch my friends get killed, are you?"
Martel asked.
"He cut him in two?" Karin cried, covering her mouth. "That's such a horrible
way to die."

"And painful." Ed murmured. "He'll bleed out quickly, but he will still feel
the pain until death captures him, though it should only take a few seconds."

"They asked me to protect you so quit struggling." Al said as Dolcetto's

body hit the water and blood spurted out from his mouth. The bottom
half of his body hit the water next. "And be quiet!"

"Dolcetto?! No!" Martel cried.

Roa charged at Bradley. Bradley turned around and sliced each sword at
him.

"Roa!" Martel cried. She slammed her hand against Al's chest.
"Please…I'm begging you…"

"I'm sorry. I can't." Al said as Bradley was shown to be standing in the

water.

Greed approached Bradley. "Woah, that was a little excessive."

"I forgot that Greed was still there." Ed murmured.

"Why didn't he help his friends?" Al demanded.

"Even Greed can't keep up with Bradley. Besides, see his arm? He is still
healing from Bradley's last attack on him, which means Dolcetto and Roa
were killed within seconds." Edward pointed out.

"He really has no mercy." Mustang murmured.

"Well, he is one of those monsters so it's not surprising." Hughes said.

"Killing me is one thing, but they're not coming back." Greed said.

"Pitying the lost lives of your pawns?" Bradley asked without turning
around to face Greed. "Pathetic."
"Pathetic?" Mustang snarled. "So that means he doesn't care if his men get
killed?"

"He's a monster so why should he care?" Zampano growled.

"Lust, Gluttony, Envy–" Ed murmured suddenly.

"What are you doing?" Havoc asked, but Ed just held a finger up.

"Greed, Sloth, Pride, and Wrath." Edward said, frowning. "Those are the
seven deadly sins of humans. We've already met four, and of the last three,
Bradley seems more like Wrath so I think that is his real name."

"He does seem to have the anger for it in his fights." Hughes commented.

"Excuse me? Are you senile? Did you forget who I am, old man?" Greed
asked. "I'm the living incarnation of Greed." He lifted his hand that had
skin starting to cover the bone. "Those weren't my friends, Bradley.
They were my possessions! Money! Women! Henchmen! They're all
possessions!"

"So damn greedy." Buccaneer sneered.

"So killing my henchmen is the same as stealing from me." Greed

growled. "And I don't let people take what's mine."

"Greed," Bradley said as he turned around. "You grow more pathetic by

the second." He charged at Greed, kicking up water as he did. He
slammed into Greed, sending him flying back. Bradley spun in the air.

As Greed landed in the water, he had to block a sword with his hand.
With it blocked, Bradley landed in the water behind Greed, stabbing his
sword forward, but Greed blocked it and stumbled away. With his sword
blocked once more, Bradley jumped forward, swinging his sword. When
Greed jumped away again, Bradley charged after him and managed to
stab him with both his swords backwards. Greed cried and fell into the
water with four swords in him.

"Where the hell did the four swords come from? I thought there were only
two swords?" Havoc said confused.

"Bradley moves too fast to tell." Hughes commented, frowning. "I don't envy
the guy that has to kill Bradley."

Ed smirked. "Just leave it to Scar."

Scar raised a brow. "Oh, really?"

"What? You're fast enough to dodge Lieutenant Riza's bullets and Bradley
was the one to order the extermination of Ishval and sent the State Alchemists
in there. You get to kill the person who was the cause of Ishval's destruction
while getting rid of a monster." Ed said with a shrug. "Besides, you are here
for a reason, right? So far, you are the fastest moving person I have seen yet."

Mustang frowned. "I hate to say it, but Fullmetal has made another good
point."

"Hey! I always make good points!" Ed shouted.

Scar smirked at the thought of killing Bradley. Maybe, just maybe, Edward
had a good point. If he was here, then he obviously helped this group settle
some problems with the military. And killing the one directly responsible for
the order would be very satisfactory.

"Now you stay put, I'll be right back." Bradley said.

Al tried to crawl backwards. "We've got to run." He said.

"Not so fast." Bradley said as he climbed out of the water. "Aren't you
the younger brother of Edward Elric? They didn't hurt you, did they?"
He started walking towards Al. "Can I help you at all?"

Al held his hands up. "Oh, sure. I mean no, I'm fine. Thanks, but I'm
alright."

Martel looked up with tears in her eyes. She took control of Al's hand
and grabbed Bradley's neck.
"Martel! No. Don't do this!" Al cried. "Stop it, Martel! Please!"

"Die, Bradley!" Martel cried.

With an impassive look, Bradley slid his sword under Al's helmet and
inside his armor. Blood suddenly sprouted out from all the holes in the
armor.

Al froze. Someone was just killed inside of him. Someone was just killed
inside of him. Someone was just killed inside of him!

Hughes shivered. "God, that has got to be horrible. Seeing someone die is one
thing, but having them killed inside of you."

"Absolutely traumatizing." Riza whispered horrified.

"Haven't we been traumatized enough?" Edward growled to himself. This

was so not what he wanted his baby brother to have to deal with.

The blood splashing around was shown. Al's blood seal was shown
before Al's face was seen. The scene went white before Ed, as a child, was
shown to be reaching out towards something. "AL!" Ed screamed.

"I didn't expect you to get your memories back from that." Izumi whispered.

"I think I'd rather lose my memories if it meant Martel didn't have to die." Al
replied softly. He could not believe this was happening. Bradley was truly
one of those damn Homunculus if he did something so cruel like that. He
may not know Martel, but he didn't want the girl dead. That was just too
horrible. He didn't want any more people to die, not if he could help it!

The scene was wrapped around with blackish red lines before it turned
white again and Al was shown in front of the Gate. Truth looked at him
as the gate behind Al opened and Al's eyes widened. Truth was shown
once more before Al was being dragged into the Gate, screaming. Like
with Ed, strips of information flowed all around him, pouring into his
mind. With tears in his eyes, Al felt himself being taken apart. The eye
was shown again.
"It's Mom! Mom! Wait! Mom!" Al cried, reaching out towards a figure,
who stretched out a white hand. Truth gave a nasty grin as the white
hand turned to flesh and grabbed Al's wrist. The figure that grabbed Al
was half his body. Al gasped before the rest of his body was
deconstructed.

The scene changed to be viewed from the body of the thing that boys
created. It was looking at Ed as Ed's distorted voice said, "Al! Wake up!
AL! Say something!"

"AL!" Ed shouted as the present time Ed appeared on the screen.

"Al? Were you inside that thing we created?" Ed said horrified.

Al nodded. "It looks that way."

"But how?" Hughes asked.

The brothers shared a look. "I don't know, maybe the body needed a soul and
Al's soul just latched onto it." Ed said, frowning. "It was probably because
Al's soul had nowhere else to go since his body was gone."

"But you said before that Al was never supposed to come back to this world
after his trip through the Gate." Breda pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "He wasn't. His soul latched onto a body that was going to die
soon, and no one would have known it was him. He was to be gone from this
world, and would have been if I didn't do something like bond his soul."

"So it wasn't just all the information that traumatized me, but the whole
experience of grabbing onto a body that wasn't mine." Al said.

"Sounds like a rough time." Havoc grimaced.

Ed didn't reply, but developed a thoughtful look. If Al's soul was what was
attached to their creation and what caused it to move, then did that mean that
they didn't create their mother? They didn't kill her a second time? If did Al's
soul attach to the body along with their mother's soul? They could have
fought over the body. He bit his bottom lip. He just didn't know. He didn't
have enough to go on to understand this.

"Brother," Al breathed.

Ed sighed. "You okay?"

"Are you okay? You're covered in blood!" Al said.

Ed looked away.

Al looked down in shock to see himself covered in blood.

"I guess the shock made you forget about what happened to Martel." Ed
grimaced.

"As if it couldn't get more traumatizing." Havoc murmured.

"Well, it could if he woke up with her still inside of him." Brody pointed out.

Havoc nodded. "Good point. If I had to wake up to that, I'd probably go into
shock."

Armstrong kneeled next to Al. "We thought it best to open you and
remove her before you awoke."

Al covered his face. "I couldn't save her."

As Al shook with his own form of cries, Ed looked down at the blood
sadly. "You can't blame yourself, Al." With a fake smile, he looked up.
"Come on. Let's go home, kay?" After a moment of nothing, Ed asked,
"Al?"

Al took his hands from his face with a sigh.

"Hold it you two." Bradley said.

"Ah, shit, I forgot. He didn't know about Al." Mustang groaned.

Ed's eyes widened. "He's not going to do anything, is he?"

"I don't know. If we didn't know he was a Homunculus, I would say he would
have you arrested on the spot." Hughes said, frowning. "But now that we
know he's with them, anything could happen."

Ed and Al groaned. Just great.

Ed and Al looked up in shock as Bradley approached them.

"There are a few questions I need to ask the both of you before you could
leave." He said. Armstrong stood up and walked away as Ed stood up
too. "Have either of you had previous dealings with a man who referred
to himself as Greed?"

"Course not." Ed said with a small shake of his head.

"Did you happen to trade any manner of information with him?"

Bradley asked.

"That's all he cares about?" Havoc asked.

"Perhaps he'll ignore Al's lack of body?" Ed asked hopefully.

"Or he is waiting until the end to ask you to throw you off." Mustang
suggested.

Ed grimaced. He could not deal with this. They managed to keep this secret
for four years, and in a matter of weeks, it was all falling apart. What the hell
was that all about?

Ed's eyes slid to look at the wall with a glare. "None at all."

"We know you didn't give any information away so why are you looking
away? You know some might take that as you are lying." Mustang pointed
out.

Ed shrugged. "I am probably thinking about the deal that Greed tried to make
with me. I probably don't want to mention it."

"And the military wasn't even mentioned, not once." Ed added.

"That isn't my concern." Bradley said. "Let me be more specific. You
arranged a deal to share any knowledge with him then I'll execute you
both right now." The scene pulled out to show all the soldiers pointing
guns at Ed.

"Why are the guns always pointed at me?" Ed cried. "And this time, from my
own allies?!"

Mustang snickered. "You know, Fullmetal, you have to meet the Briggs
soldiers at some point."

"So?" Ed asked confused. What did that have to do with this?

"Well, they don't trust anyone just from words. You have to prove yourself to
them, until then, they won't trust you or even like you." Riza explained.

Ed twitched. "So basically, the Briggs soldiers are going to be worse than
these soldiers pointing guns at me?"

"Yes." Miles, Buccaneer, Karley, Kei, and Brody said.

"Good luck." Luke said, smirking.

Ed twitched. "Damn allies."

"I'll ask again. Did you share any knowledge that might affect the
military?" Bradley asked.

Ed turned to look at Bradley again. "No. Can we go now?"

Bradley's eye narrowed slightly. "I am curious about your steel arm and
leg and your brother's armored body."

"And there it is." Al said.

"Bradley seems so cold right now. That is how I always imagined him." Ed
said, leaning back on his hands.

Mustang raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Ed shrugged. "The guy has always been polite and kind to me, and a bit
strange too, like he was getting immense enjoyment out of things. It just
seemed strange. Seeing him all cold and serious now is rare for me."

"You have a point there." Hughes said, frowning. "Plus, he always did seem
more lenient with you then the rest of the soldiers."

Riza sighed. "It's because Edward is not a real soldier and is only a kid most
likely. Even if Bradley is a Homunculus, he gave Ed the chance to still act his
age for some reason."

"I don't think it is something we will ever understand." Mustang said after a
moment of silence.

"Is there any connection between the two?" Bradley asked, surprising
the boys.

"Don't act surprised!" General Armstrong growled. "That is how you get
caught!"

Ed shivered. "Well, we don't have that kind of training." He said weakly.

"Then somebody had better train you to control your emotions." General
Armstrong said, shooting a glare at Mustang. "Should have done it a long
time ago."

Mustang just shrugged. He didn't want to make the boys emotionless. It

would ruin them.

Bradley and Armstrong were shown to be staring at the boys. The scene
went back to Ed who narrowed his eyes slightly. Bradley appeared once
more, smiling slightly. "You really are an honest kid." He said before
turning around, leaving Ed to gape at his back. "Alright men, pull out."

"He changes his mood so quickly." Ed said blankly.

"And once more, you escaped from punishment." Mustang added.

"Lucky." Al said.
Ed sighed. "I really don't get Bradley at all."

"You make sure to take good care of your younger brother, Edward."
Bradley added as the brothers just stared at his retreating form.

Izumi's shop was shown. "I appreciate everything you've done for the
Elric brothers." Izumi's voice said.

"Oh, no, it's nothing at all." Bradley said as he appeared on the screen,
talking to Izumi who was resting in bed. "It's simply one of the many
duties of the military to protect our State Alchemists. But what about
you? I'm sure you could use a little extra protection."

Izumi blinked a few times.

"What the hell is he playing at?" Izumi growled.

"I'm so confused." Ed said. "What these Homunculi are doing is making no

sense."

Izumi smiled wryly. "You mean as a State Alchemist?"

Bradley nodded. "Why yes, exactly."

Izumi closed her eyes. "You're asking a bedridden housewife to join the
military?" She asked gently. She looked back at him with soft eyes. "You
can't be serious. Is the country really in so much trouble that you need
the help of someone like me?"

"So soft and gentle." Al said blankly.

Ed twitched. "It's a trap!"

Izumi growled. "You two, shut up. He's the Fuhrer. I can't be my usual self."

"I didn't realize you were so good at acting." Ed muttered. "I mean, inside, I
know you are screaming at him to get the hell out and not come back with his
lousy offer."
Izumi smirked. "You know me so well, Edward."

Ed twitched again. "Only because I had to deal with it during all that evil
training."

Bradley laughed. "There's no need to be harsh."

Izumi raised her brows and blinked again.

Bradley stood up. "Well, I will be back." The scene flashed to his eye
patch before Bradley smiled at her. "I'll keep my fingers crossed that
when I do return, perhaps you've had a change of heart."

Izumi watched him leave. When the door closed behind him, her kind
look was changed to narrowed eyes and a frown.

"There's the real teacher!" Ed cried, only to get hit in the head with a sandal.
"Ow. Why must you throw your shoes?"

"Because you're an idiot." Izumi said, taking her sandal back from Al, who
was kind enough to return it. "Thank you, Al."

Ed shot his brother a glare. "Stop giving her ammo back."

Al chuckled to himself.

The outside of the shop was shown with Ed cleaning Al's armor while
Armstrong stood watching him. "There's something I forgot to
mention." Ed said, still polishing Al's chest plate while his little brother
watched from where he was sitting on the stairs. "Greed had an
Ouroboros tattoo."

"I'm not sure I follow." Armstrong replied.

Ed looked up. "Think back. The Fifth Laboratory, the Philosopher's

Stone. Remember the guys I told you and Colonel Hughes about." He
went back to polishing Al's chest plate while Armstrong stiffened.

"I forgot. You do not know the truth of what happened to Hughes yet."
Armstrong said sadly.

Ed frowned. "That's going to be difficult for Al and I to hear."

"Colonel Hughes…I…" Armstrong said before a soft, sad tone entered

the scene. Armstrong looked down. He walked over to Edward and
grabbed his shoulders, surprising the boy. "Listen, Edward Elric." The
Major stared at the boy. "Do not do anything rash."

"Wow, that was the most demanding I have ever heard you." Ed said
shocked.

"Hopefully you will understand to think more first." Armstrong said,

frowning.

"Ah, I see. It was your way of warning him to be careful." Mustang said, also
frowning. Armstrong was trying to protect the boys. He knew he couldn't
stop them, but he could warn them not to be rash. As adults, it was their job
to protect the boys the best they could.

Ed stared at the Major. "Sure." He said softly.

"Wow, I didn't think your voice could be that soft." Havoc said with a low
whistle.

Ed scowled at him.

"Brother is just unsure and confused at the moment." Al said, chuckling at his
brother's dark look shot at him.

Armstrong stood up and walked away, making Ed turn to watch him.

"Well then, good night." Armstrong said.

"Wait." Ed said, surprise filtering into his eyes. "You're just going to leave
and not tell me what happened to Hughes?"

"Well," Armstrong said.

Ed's hand curled into fists, slamming one into the carpet. "What the hell? You
have no right to keep that from me! Knowing that you knew the truth when I
find out later will just make it hurt all the more! It will feel like a betrayal that
you didn't tell me what happened to a friend!"

"I can't bring myself to say it." Armstrong said. "I'm sorry, Edward, but I do
not wish to be the one to inform you of this matter."

"That doesn't make it better." Ed mumbled, glaring at the carpet. Yes, the
truth would be hard to hear, but it would hurt more to talk about a friend that
is dead and not knowing that the friend is dead. It would hurt him and those
who knew the truth.

Al looked up at his brother. "Brother, they're back. All my memories

from when my body was taken away. I remember."

Ed looked at his brother shocked. "What'd you see?"

"Hmm, well, it was definitely weird." Al said. "But unfortunately, I

didn't find out anything about how to get our bodies back."

"That's okay." Ed said.

Al snapped his chest plate back on while Ed stood up, grabbing the
bucket he was using.

"Well, I guess we haven't made any progress." Al said.

"No, that's not entirely true." Edward replied. "Remember what the
Fuhrer told us back in Central? About the unrest amongst the ranks of
the military?"

"Mm-hmm, and it all had something to do with the Philosopher's Stone

and those Ouroboros guys." Al replied. "He said they were trying to
gather info on them."

Ed turned around with a hand resting on his hip before a picture of

Greed with his tattoo appeared on the screen. "Well, Greed was
obviously connected to them somehow." Ed appeared on the screen once
more. "But if so, why'd the Fuhrer slaughter everyone?" Al appeared on
the screen. "If he was trying to figure out what they were up to, why
didn't he catch them and make them talk?"

"Well, we know the answer now. He is part of the conspiracy." Avery

growled.

Mustang nodded. "Which mean, he lied to you about searching for info."

"All part of his grand scheme, it seems." Al said with a sigh.

Al looked at his brother. "Yeah, good point. It also seems a little weird
that the Fuhrer himself would lead an attack against such a small
group."

"Sure does." Ed said. "No matter how you look at it, none of this adds
up."

"I guess the Fuhrer made a mistake." Mustang said, smirking.

"And what's that?" Armstrong asked.

"He underestimated how smart Fullmetal and Al are." Mustang answered.

"Just with a few conversations and seeing the Fuhrer in action, they will start
working it out. They may be kids, but they are geniuses. Bradley didn't
calculate that, it seems."

Ed turned to the side and looked over at his brother slightly. "We've
been warned. We need to get closer."

"That's not what you do when you're warned!" Hughes cried.

Mustang sighed. He should have known that this was going to happen. It
always did when they told Fullmetal to stay down.

Central Command was shown before a dark tunnel with pipes on the
sides of the wall took its place.

"Welcome back, Fuhrer." Lust's voice said. "How was your inspection of
the south?"

Bradley appeared on the screen, standing under a spot lot. "To say the
least, it was a very productive visit. It seems both Fullmetal's younger
brother and teacher are both worthy candidates for human sacrifice."

"Ha! I'm not alone anymore!" Edward said before deflating. "But why does it
have to be them?"

Hughes's eyes narrowed. "Besides being alchemist, you all have one thing in
common."

"What's that?" Al asked curiously.

"Human Transmutation." Hughes said, frowning.

A frown fell over Ed's face. "So basically, these guys need people who
committed the taboo for something that has to do with the stone. We already
know they are going to make a stone using Amestris, but what about the
sacrifices?...ARGH! I seriously need to research this."

"Or you could be patient and find out by watching." Havoc pointed out.

"Where's the fun in that?" Ed grumbled.

Havoc sweat dropped.

"I think it's more fun then being stuck inside all day reading." Luke retorted.

"You would." Ed grumbled.

"Oh, and one other thing. I made an unexpected catch."

The scene moved up to see Greed chained to a board with the swords still
in him and hanging in the air.

"Talk about a blast from the past." Lust said. "It's been a century since
I've seen that face." Lust's smirking lips were seen. "Rise and shine,
Greed. You can't sleep all day."
Greed's eyes scrunched up for a moment before they opened. "Well,
well, the gang's all here." He said.

"Looks like your ultimate shield let you down after all." Lust said before
she appeared on the screen.

"Maybe, but you never do, Lust the Lascivious. Feel free to pierce me
with your Ultimate Spear anytime you want." Greed said. When he
finished, Gluttony appeared on the screen. "Hello Gluttony the
Voracious. Still haven't found the right diet for you, huh?" Envy
appeared next. "And little Envy the Jealous. Please, for the last time, get
a new outfit."

"I have to agree with Greed on that one. What is he hoping to accomplish
with that skimpy outfit?" Edward asked, smirking.

"It does seem a bit girly." Al said. "Perhaps he is a girl in disguise?"

Ed snickered. "Well if that's true, then he should stop dressing like a

prostitute."

Hughes coughed. "Ed! Al!"

"It's the truth." Ed and Al argued.

"And where is Sloth the Indolent these days?" Greed asked.

"I'm sure he'd loved to be here slacking off." Lust said as a dark picture
of Sloth appeared on the screen. "But we have to keep him working."

"That's a big guy." Ed said blankly.

"Think you could take him, Chief?" Brody asked.

Ed frowned, examining Sloth. "Who knows? I don't know his special ability
and with muscles like that, if he's anything like Major Armstrong, it wouldn't
be a walk in the park."

Major Armstrong grinned.

Greed appeared on the screen once more. "Sorry to say it, but it's kind
of depressing that none of you have changed in the past one hundred
years." He looked down at Bradley. "So, who's the new addition?"

"I am Wrath the Furious." Bradley said without turning around.

"Yes! I was right!" Ed said.

"How did you know?" Havoc asked.

Ed stared at him like he was an idiot. "Do you not see the trend here?"

Havoc shrugged. "Hey, I'm just saying. He could have thrown us all for a
loop and not have a deadly sin name."

"That would just ruin the whole thing!" Ed retorted.

"He just doesn't seem all that wrathful at times." Brody argued.

Ed paused for a moment with a thoughtful look. "He does seem to have more
emotions then the other Homunculi. That, or he is just a really good actor.
Seeing as how no one knew he was a Homunculus in all this time, I say it's
the latter."

"Fuhrer King Bradley and Wrath, one in the same." Greed said.

"Indeed." Lust said. "The humans know him as the leader of Amestris,
but the truth is that he was created by Father for the final stage of the
plan."

"A Homunculus that can grow older?" Greed asked.

"How do you do something like that?" Fuery asked confused. "I thought they
didn't age."

When no one replied, everyone looked at the alchemists in the room.

"I didn't study Homunculi or the stone." Izumi said with a shrug.
"Nor did I." Mustang said.

"Same." Armstrong said.

Ed and Al both shrugged. "There was nothing in Hohenheim's notes about

this." The former said.

"Even I do not completely understand. I knew about them, but not much
more. I specialized in the stone." Dr. Marcoh explained.

"So we are being forced to wait for the answer once more." Havoc sighed.

Ed shot him a glare. "You can't always expect alchemists to be able to give
you the answer."

"No, but it would be nice if they could." Havoc replied.

Scoffing, Ed rolled his eyes and turned back to the screen.

"That's impossible." Greed said.

Envy laughed. "Oh, really? I thought nothing was impossible. You used
to toss that one around like it was your catch phrase. You change your
mind or something?"

Greed looked away from Envy. "Shut your worthless trap, ugly."

Envy glared at Greed.

"Oh, that's a scary face." Greed said as Envy stood up. "Go on and let it
out. Show us what you really look like."

"That's not Envy's real appearance?" Breda asked, frowning.

"Well, if he can shape shift, I guess he would choose a look he likes more
than his regular appearance." Scar said, frowning at the group on the screen.

"Abusing his power." Ed snorted. "Just like how some people abuse
alchemy."
"Abuse it?" Jerso asked.

Al nodded. "They use alchemy for every little thing, even the things that we
can do with just our hands."

"Is that a bad thing?" Havoc asked.

"Yes!" Ed and Al cried.

"Alchemists and those who cannot do alchemy will become too self-reliant
on it. They will forget how to do things themselves if they continue to only
rely on alchemy for everything." Izumi explained.

"You hideous freak." Greed said.

"Well, it seems Envy and Greed really hate each other." Al said.

Ed grinned. "I like Greed more and more."

"Brother," Al sighed.

"What? He's amusing and he is angering Envy. That's always a plus." Ed

shrugged.

"You scum!" Envy said and his back flashed with red light. "Call me
that again and I will destroy you!"

An opened book appeared on the screen. "Stop your nonsense. Both of

you." A voice said.

Greed looked up while Lust and Gluttony looked over their shoulders.

All the pipes led to the center of the room where a man was sitting. "It's
time you resolved this sibling rivalry. Your father does not wish to see
such ugly behavior."

"Is he the Father guy?" Ed asked.

"Probably." Al replied. "Why do they call him Father?"

Mustang frowned. "Well, this is just a guess, but what if he created them? If
he created them that would make him their father."

"That seems logical. He would be the only one that they took orders from."
Hughes said.

"But seriously? Father?" Ed said. "Couldn't he think of a better name?"

"That's not the point here, Fullmetal." Mustang said dryly.

"Maybe not for you." Ed muttered.

"Hey Pops, long time. I know it's been a hundred years and all, but you
sure do look decrepit." Greed said.

The opened book was shown once more. It was closed. The screen moved
to shadow the man's face. "Greed, you are both my son and a piece of
my soul." He said.

"You know, from this angle, he kind of looks like your dad." Miles told the
boys.

"We noticed." Ed and Al said, though Ed's sounded more like a growl.

"So why would you betray your loving father?"

Greed appeared on the screen. "I'm surprised you asked. I mean, you
know the answer to that better than anyone, Dad. I'm Greed the
Avaricious. You were the one who made me this way after all. I'm just
being myself." His tattoo was shown. "I simply have larger ambitions
then spending my life working for you."

The bottom half of Father's face was shown. "And if I were to ask you to
return and work for me again?"

Greed smirked. "Never!" He growled.

"As you wish." Father said before gears started to move to open a
container that was below Greed. Greed shifted before he smirked as the
container rose out of the ground.

"Is that lava?" Zampano asked.

"Guess he is going to kill Greed." Ed said, staring at the screen in a bit of

horror.

"By throwing him in lava?" Sheska said in horror.

"Seems like a quick solution to the problem. Mustang murmured.

"Quick and painful." Ed corrected. "Certainly not a way I'd want to go."

"Geez, talk about cheesy." Greed said before he was dropped suddenly
into the lava. Well, his feet were. He screamed out in pain.

Lust and Gluttony watched coldly.

A few soldiers grimaced.

"Should we feel sorry for Greed?" Hughes asked.

Mustang shrugged. "It means one less Homunculus for us to deal with, but
that is still a cruel way for them to end it, especially since they are doing it
slowly."

"Perhaps they are more sadistic then we realized." Ed said.

Greed's screams turned to sarcastic laughter. "Why don't you come on

in kids? The waters fine."

"He is still so sarcastic, even during this?" Breda said.

"I guess he never learned to hold his tongue." Havoc replied, grimacing. Still
such a horrible way to go.

Envy appeared on the screen as Greed said, "Nice and hot. Just like the
flames in hell. I'll send you a postcard." Bradley appeared next. "Let you
know what there like. And when the rest of you get there, I'll be waiting
for you!"

Ed smirked. "The way he says he'll be waiting for them makes me think he's
rooting for us to kill these bastards."

"I wouldn't be surprised since he says he hates them." Mustang replied,

smirking at well.

Father raised a hand. "Return from whence you were born. Return to
my depths and rejoin my soul. Return Greed!"

Greed appeared on the screen, surrounded by red hot chains. He was all
black with fiery red eyes. "If that's what you want, Dad."

"He looks like a demon that has risen from hell." Ed commented.

"For some reason, he reminds me of the little demons in Hercules." Hughes

said, grinning at the strange thought.

"Again with the stupid thoughts, Hughes?" Ed asked.

Al snorted. "Brother, you can't talk. You were referring some scenes to things
you know too."

"Humph." Ed grumbled.

"Just don't blame me when I give you a stomachache. You did it to

yourself!" Greed said as he was lowered into the lava.

The pipes hummed as a red liquid flew out of a tube and into another
liquid, mixing them. This liquid poured into a glass which Father picked
up. "I propose a toast, my children. I shall drink to the promised day
and to your undying loyalty." Eyes shining red, Father raised his glass
and poured the liquid in his mouth.

"Was that Greed's stone?" Ed asked, paling. "Oh, that's so gross."

"I guess he wanted those souls back." Havoc said.

"Forget that, Father just mentioned a promised day. I want to know what that
is!" Hughes said.

Ed shrugged. "Sorry, Hughes, but none of us have a clue as to what that is

either. We just have to wait."

The scene faded out to show a full moon in the sky. Bradley was seen
walking down a hall.

"Father!" A childish voice said.

Bradley stopped as a child and woman ran came over to him.

"Welcome home, Father!" The kid said. "I'm so glad you're back."

Bradley turned around with a smile. "And it's good to be back, Selim."

"Sooo, if Bradley is a Homunculus, how does he have a son? Can Homunculi

pass on sperm?" Havoc asked.

Ed resisted the urge to whack his head. "No, they most likely can't, Havoc."

"Then where did Selim come from?" Breda asked.

"How would I know?" Ed cried. "He's adopted or something! Let's leave it at

that. It's not important."

Selim hugged his dad's legs. "Did you have a good trip?"

"Why yes. I'll say it was productive at the very least." Bradley said,
ruffling Selim's hair.

"I do wish you would act your age, darling. Why couldn't you just retire
and enjoy peace and quiet for a change?" Mrs. Bradley asked.

"Hey, now I'm not quite that old yet." Bradley said. He looked at his son
with a smile. "Oh, Selim, you'll never guess who I ran into down south.
The Fullmetal Alchemist."
"You saw the little alchemist?" Selim asked. "Can I meet him sometime,
Father?"

"That brat called me little!" Ed cried angrily.

"What is it with kids and wanting to meet you?" Mustang asked, ignoring
Ed's indignant rants about little brattish kids.

"What do you mean, Colonel?" Al asked, shaking his head at his brother.

"I always get requests from schools for Fullmetal to come do a presentation
there for them. I always turn them down because I don't want Fullmetal to
scar the kids for life because they called him short." Mustang explained.

Al sweat dropped as his brother continued his furious mumbling. "Uh, wise
decision, sir."

"You sure do like to hear about Edward, don't you, Selim?" Mrs.
Bradley asked.

Selim looked at his mom. "Well, he is the youngest State Alchemist ever,
right? That's so cool. I mean, he's not much older than me!"

Bradley chuckled.

"And if he can learn alchemy at his age, then maybe I can too." Selim
said as he held both his parents' hand and walked away with them.

"Why would you want to learn something like that?" Mrs. Bradley
asked.

"So I can get my state license of course. And then I could help Father!"

Bradley chuckled. "You never know, Selim. Maybe you will help me out
some day."

The scene went dark.

"Well, that was an interesting end." Mustang said.

Four blinding lights entered the room.

"Great, more people!" Ed cried in annoyance.

When the lights disappeared, four foreign people stood in front of the group.

"Uh," Ed's eyes narrowed. "Are these guys foreign?"

"What is going on?" A teenager with black hair demanded, hand dropping to
her waist before it froze. "My weapons are gone!"

"Your first reaction is to attack us when we did nothing?" Ed growled.

"Of course, you did drag us here." A boy that looked around Ed's age said.

"We did not!" Ed growled before another flash of light appeared and a letter
landed on Ed's lap. He snatched it up. "Just listen, you freaks. Dear New
Arrivals: This is not a trap nor is it a dangerous place for any of you. You
have been brought to this room to see the future of Amestris because you play
a part in saving the country. Edward will explain the rest to you, but know
that you are safe here. V.H. What the hell does he mean that I'll do the rest of
the explaining? That BASTARD!"

Mustang coughed into his hand as Ed started ranting, this time about his
father. "Before Fullmetal explains anything, your names?"

A/N: [1] I was so thinking of the Akatsuki from Naruto when I wrote
this. My mind is so full of anime stuff when I am writing this story.

Sooo, I have finals this week. Yeah! Almost done! As such, though, I
might not be updating this week. Sorry. I'll see what I can do, but there
probably won't be an update.

Please Review!
*Chapter 15*: Episode 15: Envoy From The
East
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: I was hoping to get this posted earlier this week, but I was, once
again, very busy with life. It wasn't even college this time since I finished
last week. I was just very busy.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 15: Envoy From The East

The teenager with squinty eyes smiled a bit. "My name is Ling." He
motioned to the black haired girl. "She is Lan Fan." He motioned to the old
man. "And he is her grandfather, Fu."

The little girl smiled this time and gave a short bow. "And my name is May."
She petted the panda on her shoulder. "And she is Xiao-Mei."

"You guys are from Xing, aren't you?" Al asked curiously.

"Yes, we are," May said, staring at Al for a moment. "Who are you?"

"Ah, sorry, I'm Alphonse Elric." Al introduced himself before motioning to

his ranting brother. "And this is my brother, Edward Elric."
May turned to look at the ranting boy, eyes suddenly lighting up before they
turned wide and angry when she saw that Edward was angry and not all that
happy. "You're the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Ed paused in his rant that no one was listening to to look at the little girl.
"Yeah, why?"

"YOU BIG JERK! How can you mess with a maiden's heart like that?"

"What is with this kid?" Ed asked confused as the soldiers just stared blankly
at the teenagers.

Al glared at his brother. "What did you do to her, Brother?"

Ed scowled. "Nothing! I don't even know who she is! How could I have done
anything to her?"

"Well, she really hates you if her ranting is anything to go by." Ling
commented, grinning at the blond.

"You have a real talent, Fullmetal. I don't know anyone else who can piss
people off without even having met them first." Mustang commented.

Ed shot him a glare. "Al, deal with the big mouth, will you? I'll explain
everything to the ones not trying to make me go deaf."

Ling snickered. "You are quite the rude one, aren't you?"

"She sounds annoying." Ed grumbled.

Izumi clapped her hands. "Well, while the brothers deal with this, let's start
getting lunch made."

"Hn, at least I don't have to cook this time." Ed said happily.

"You're happy about that?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "Cooking for this many people is a real big pain."

Once the soldiers had left and Al took May aside to talk to her so she would
stop yelling at Ed, Ed sat on one of the couches with Ling sitting on one
opposite of him. The other two, Fu and Lan Fan, for some strange reason
disappeared, but Ling just said they were hiding as was their nature as ninjas.

"So Edward, what exactly is going on?" Ling asked.

Ed winced. "Firstly, Ling, call me Ed. I prefer it. And secondly, we are in the
process of seeing the future of Amestris. You and the other three who arrived
here with you have joined us because you have contributed in the future of
saving Amestris, I guess."

"Saving it?" Ling asked. "Is there something wrong with it?"

Ed shrugged. "Possibly, the first seven episodes that we saw were events that
already took place and starting with episode eight is when we began to see
the future."

"This seems very unreal, Edwa–" At Ed's glare, Ling faltered for a moment.
"Ed, I mean. Sorry."

"I know it seems unreal, but the first seven episodes were all true events. And
considering my past…my past is a secret, only a select few knew about it
before we came to this place. But then it was shown, now everyone knows it.
If this wasn't real, there would be no way someone knew my past." Ed
explained.

"Your past?" Ling asked.

Ed paused, frowning darkly as Ling's question. He really didn't want to

discuss it, but he couldn't just leave that part out of this. It was an essential
part of everything and might be mentioned on later. "My father abandoned Al
and I when we were kids. Shortly afterwards, our mother died. We didn't
want her gone. We were lonely so we found an alchemy teacher, Izumi who
is also here with her husband. She taught us martial arts and alchemy and
after training with her for a few months, Al and I did self-study for a few
years before we attempted to bring our mother back."
Ling leaned forward a bit, interested. "And what happened?"

Ed looked down at his automail hand that was showing, opening and closing
it a few times. Sighing, He made quick work of the buttons on his shirt and
pulled his automail arm out of the sleeve to show it to Ling. "I lost my leg
and Al lost his entire body. Sacrificing my arm, I bound Al's soul to that suit
of armor." He motioned to where Al and May were sitting and talking
quietly. Distracted with Ling, Ed didn't notice May looking over at him or the
shock looked she had when she saw his arm before Al grabbed her attention
again.

Ling stood up from the couch and walked over to where Ed was sitting.
Without asking permission, he grabbed Ed's automail hand and just looked at
from all angles.

"Uh…Ling." Ed said.

Realizing what he was doing, Ling dropped Ed's arm. "Sorry, never saw
automail before. We have it in Xing, but I just never had anything to do with
it before."

"Right," Ed said, scooting a bit away from Ling on the couch. He pulled his
arm back through is sleeve and started to try to button his shirt. "Anyway,
after that, Colonel Mustang found me, realized what I did, and instead of
arresting me, kept my secret and gave me the chance to become a State
Alchemist so I can try to find a way to get my brother's body back."

Ling nodded. "I know you became one at twelve."

When Ed looked up from glaring at his the buttons on his shirt that weren't
cooperating with him, it was to look at Ling in surprise. "How do you know
that?"

"Even people in other countries have heard about the amazing Fullmetal
Alchemist who is just a kid." Ling replied.

Ed nodded and went back to trying to button the second button at the bottom
of his shirt. "Well, nothing important happens during that time after I became
a State Alchemist, at least we weren't shown anything. So I'll just go into
what we saw. I'm going to skip some things that I don't find important to tell
you since this is already going to take a long time."

"Alright."

"Let's see. The first thing we saw was about Isaac the Freezer. He was a
former State Alchemist that attacked Central to get rid of Fuhrer Bradley. He
ultimately failed and was killed by Bradley. But he did have a Philosopher's
Stone, but he overused it and it was destroyed. At the very end of the episode
we met Lust and Gluttony, which are two Homunculi who are working with
others in a plan to do something to this country. The next episode does not
matter because it was about Al and mine childhood so onto episode three."

"So, Al and I went to Lior because we had a lead on the Philosopher's Stone,
which we have been looking for. Turns out the guy only had a fake stone and
was the leader of a religion, which was completely false and he was fooling
all the people. Al and I revealed that he was false, his stone was destroyed,
and he was later killed by Lust. Argh, I really hate these type of shirts." Ed
snarled as the button slipped away from him again.

Ling raised a brow. "Why do you hate them?"

"They are annoying to button with automail." Ed grumbled. "Anyway, next

was…." He trailed off, eyes widening in horror.

"Ed?" Ling asked softly. "What's wrong?"

"Next is about Nina." Ed said softly. "Colonel introduced Al and me to

another State Alchemist, called Tucker, so we could research the alchemy he
specialized in. He made a talking chimera to become a State Alchemist two
years ago. And to pass his certification test this year, he made another talking
chimera, but…" Ed leaned his head back on the couch, closing his quivering
eyes. "I found out that the talking chimeras he made…he made the first one
using his wife. And the second one he made using his own daughter and her
dog. I discovered the truth, Ling, but it was too late when I did. I couldn't
save her…I couldn't."
"His family?" Ling asked, eyes opening in shock. "He used his own family to
gain that certification? How could he just throw away his family so easily?
That's horrible."

Ed nodded, not opening his eyes as he imagined the Nina chimera he met.
She shouldn't have died like that. It wasn't supposed to be that way! "S-she
was just a little girl, Ling." He whispered. "Four years old! Just a child and
her own father used her for an experiment. S-she didn't even have a clue of
what he did to her."

Ling stared silently at the teenager next to him that was whispering angrily
and sadly. "This world isn't a fair place for anyone, not even children." Ling
said as he reached forward and pulled Ed's immobile hands off of his shirt
which he was still trying to button. He made quick work of buttoning it,
which made Ed open his eyes and watch in silent shock. "I know it will be
hard for you. You were the one who discover the truth and see Nina like that,
right? It's a hard memory, but use it to make yourself stronger. Make sure
something like it never happens again."

Ed blinked as Ling finished buttoning his shirt for him.

"I understand a thing or two about life being difficult and unfair, Ed." Ling
said before moving out of Ed's personal space.

Ed looked down at his neatly button shirt then up at Ling, blinking in

confusion.

Ling grinned. "It didn't look like you were going to finish anytime soon and it
was distracting you so I finished it for you." He said.

Ed rolled his eyes, but decided to take the change of subject and jump back
into story mode. "Whatever. So, next was Scar and the Homunculi. In Lior,
the Homunculi made things worse and started a rebellion. Then they
discussed how they need me alive because I'm a sacrifice. We don't know
what this is though. As for Scar, he is a serial murderer who goes after State
Alchemists. He killed Tucker and the Nina chimera, which made Hughes and
Major Armstrong come to East City because they are investigating him…or
were. Scar is here as well. He is the Ishvalan with an x shaped scar on his
face and a tattoo covering the length of his right arm. He is…" Ed paused,
thought about it then shrugged. "You're learn for yourself."

"I thought this was seeing our future because Amestris is in danger. Why is
he here?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "We think it's because he helps us somehow. We don't really

know much more than that. Anyway, Scar then came after me, which ended
up with us running all over the city, destroying a lot of it. Because I was so
upset over learning Nina was dead, I…I wasn't in the right state of mind to
fight and eventually, after Al's armor and my automail arm were destroyed, I
gave up the fight to let Scar kill me."

"You what?" Ling half-shouted in shock. "You can't just give up, Ed! Life is
just too precious to be given up so easily."

"What is with people and yelling at me about that?" Ed grumbled. "Ling, shut
up. I'm still talking."

"You can't speak to me, a prince of Xing, like that!" Ling said offended.

"I can talk…Wait." Ed said, lips twitching a bit. "Did you just say prince?"

Ling nodded. "And that girl, May, is a princess."

Ed looked over at May then back at Ling. "That would explain the ninja
bodyguards. But where are May's?"

"May comes from a lower clan in Xing, so her princess status while still
important is not as high as my prince status since I am from a higher clan
then her." Ling explained.

"Sounds confusing." Ed said, grinning. "Anyway, Colonel and Major

Armstrong showed up with a group of soldiers and saved me at the last
minute. After being saved, Colonel told us a bit about the Ishvalan war before
Al and I decided to head back to Resembool which is our hometown. Winry,
a childhood friend of ours, lives there and is my automail mechanic. I needed
another arm so we went there with Major Armstrong to protect us since we
were in pieces. On our way there, we stopped in a small town when we saw
Dr. Marcoh from the train. He told us that he created a Philosopher's Stone
during the Ishvalan war and ran away afterwards because he was horrified by
what he had done. After some convincing, Dr. Marcoh told me where he hid
his notes about the stone and Al, Major Armstrong, and I continued onto
Resembool…What is with you?" Ed asked when he saw Ling's excited look.

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Ling asked.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, what about?"

"I need that." Ling said. "What can–"

"You need it?" Ed asked, frowning. "What could you possibly need it for?"

"I need it to become Emperor." Ling said.

Ed sighed. "Xing. I don't think I'll ever understand it. Ling, I can't help you
find the stone. I've been looking for three years and never found it. I know
how to make it, but I would never do it."

"Why not?" Ling demanded.

Sighing, Ed shook his head. "Don't interrupt, got it?"

"Demanding." Ling scoffed.

"Wow! Interrupting already?" Ed retorted. "Seriously, shut it, Ling. I got a

new arm, which apparently Winry forgot a screw and since I don't have the
screw in my arm if I swing it around too much, it will break."

"Is it like that now?" Ling asked.

Ed nodded. "I don't get it fixed until episode nine, which is the future me, not
me. After I got my arm, I fixed Al's body and we headed to Central to get
Marcoh's notes. By the time we got there, the First Branch library, where
Marcoh hid his notes had burned down in a fire that was started by Lust, who
didn't want me to get Marcoh's notes. But Ross and Brosh introduced us to
Sheska, who read the notes and had them memorized so she made an exact
copy for Al and me to decode. We got them decoded right before we were
brought here." Ed looked down, frowning as he thought about that horrible
stone. "We found out that the stone's main ingredient is several human lives."

"Human lives?" Ling said darkly. He crossed his arms and stared at Ed. "You
mean, sacrificing them just to make a stone? Why would anyone do that?"

Ed shrugged. "Dr. Marcoh was ordered to do it by our military. He sacrificed

countless lives to make the stone and the thought still haunts him. Their souls
are trapped, suffering, in the stones that are made. Al and I were prepared to
give up hope on the stone when Major Armstrong reminded me of something.
Though the stone had a horrible truth hidden inside it, there was still more to
discover so after talking to Al, Major Armstrong, Ross, and Brosh, we
discovered it had something to do with the Fifth Lab. Al and I snuck away
from Ross and Brosh, who were our guards, and went to the Fifth Lab to
discover the truths hidden within the truth. While there, Al was attacked by
Barry the Chopper while he waited outside while I snuck inside the place. I
discovered the transmutation array for a stone inside of the lab before I was
attacked by the Slicer brothers. By the way, both of the people who attacked
us were like Al, souls attached to suit of armors. The Slicer brothers had their
souls put in the same armor."

"Must be real close brothers then." Ling said. "Why were they there?"

"They were the guards of the lab. They were serial killers before being used
as experiments after they were convicted." Ed explained.

Ling frowned. "Prisoners were used for experiments? That is sick."

Ed nodded. "A lot of disgusting experiments have been taking place without
our knowledge. Envy, another Homunculi, and Lust showed up and killed the
Slicer brothers since they tried to kill me. Envy knocked me out and carried
me out of the lab as he blew it up. Ross and Brosh showed up to help Al, then
they got us out of there." He fell silent for a moment and thought about
episode nine that they saw. It was all about spreading information and
learning about Al being mad at him. Maybe he should just skip that part. "I
called Winry after I was admitted to the Hospital and she came to fix my arm.
I gave the information I gathered to Major Armstrong and Hughes. Bradley
told us to stop investigating when he realized what we were doing."

"Why would he tell you to stop?" Ling asked confused. "If something was
going on, you should continue to look into it."

"It was strange, but there is a reason he did it." Ed said.

"And that is?" Ling prompted.

"Shh, we aren't there yet." Ed hushed.

"Seriously?" Ling asked. "Why can't you–"

"Because we had to wait to figure it out, so you can too." Ed said. "Now
hush, Ling."

Ling raised a brow. "You are very demanding."

"This is taking longer than it should! Now, quiet!" Ed snapped. "Now, where
was I? After that, I headed south with Al and Winry. We went to Rush Valley
for Winry. Stayed there for a day before Al and I continued on to Dublith to
meet our teacher to see if she could help us with the Philosopher's Stone or
learning about another way to get our bodies back. While we did that, Hughes
continued investigating in Central. He discovered a dark secret, which we
still do not know. Lust attacked him after he discovered it, but Hughes
escaped from her by killing her with a knife, but since she has a Philosopher's
Stone as a core, she was able to regenerate and come back to life. Hughes ran
to a phone booth to call Colonel. As he was on the line and waiting to
connect to Colonel, Envy came up behind him. Envy can change his
appearance so he was disguised as Ross, but Hughes noticed Envy missed a
part of her appearance and knew he was false. Then Envy changed his
appearance to Hughes's wife, who Hughes couldn't attack because of the
appearance of his wife so he was killed."

"Killed?" Ling asked shocked. "Did he get the information out?"

Ed shook his head, looking down sadly. "He was killed right before Colonel
got on the line."
Ling frowned. "What happened?"

"They had a funeral for him, but Al and I didn't know. In fact, our future
selves still don't know he is dead. There is a flashback episode that shows Al
and I training under Teacher while we are meeting her. We learn that Teacher
created Human Transmutation as well and then while we are discussing what
to do next with her, a human chimera is eavesdropping on us and the next day
Al is kidnapped by a group of human chimeras and taking to their leader,
who is a Homunculus called Greed. When I learned this, I went after him and
Greed and I got into a horrible fight while the human chimeras dragged Al
away. Eventually Bradley showed up with a group of soldiers, including
Major Armstrong. They killed everyone while Bradley went after Greed, who
ran away from his fight with me when Teacher showed up to help. They
fought in the sewers where Bradley was revealed to be a Homunculus as
well."

"What?" Ling asked shocked. "Seriously? Your ruler is the enemy?"

Ed nodded. "Yes, but our future selves do not know this yet. Bradley only
revealed it to Greed."

"Ed, the more I hear, the more messed up I realize your country is." Ling told
him.

Ed snorted. "I know. It was bad enough with all the wars and rebellions
happening, but this just keeps getting worse. With each episode we see, it
gets darker and darker. The only other thing to significantly happen that you
need to know is that Greed was captured by the Homunculi and they killed
him for betraying them."

"Wow, they are even betraying each other? They sound just like humans."
Ling admitted.

"Well, they are artificially created humans." Ed pointed out. He hummed.

"You guys fight a lot in this country." Ling told him.

"I know. It's actually a lot worse than any of us ever thought."
"Edward?"

Ed and Ling both looked over to see May, standing by him, blushing a bit and
looking down, with Al standing behind him with crossed arms.

"I wanted to say sorry for screaming at you earlier. It was unfair of me to
scream at you like that when you had no idea of who I am." May told him.
She gave him a quick bow. "Sorry again." And then she was running off
towards the kitchen, tugging Al along by his hand.

Ed blinked. "Huh, weird. I wonder what Al said to her to get her to

apologize."

Ling shrugged. "Let's go eat too! I'm starving!"

And that was how Ed found himself watching in shock as Ling ended up
eating a lot, even more than him which was incredible.

After a delicious meal, the group was back in the room, ready to take on the
next episode. The three teenage males relaxed on the ground while Fu and
Lan Fan disappeared, though Ling assured them they were watching. May sat
down next to Al, smiling brightly up at him, which made Ed have to wonder
what the hell his brother did to make her so happy and WILLING to
apologize him. Al really had a real skill for that.

Blue alchemical light flashed through the street that appeared on the
screen. It was followed by an explosion and smoke filling the vicinity. A
mad grinning man appeared followed by Scar, who was glaring at him.

"So we are back to seeing Scar's murderous streak." Mustang growled.

"He had to reappear at some point." Riza pointed out.

"What happened to wanting him back so you could arrest him and get
brownie points?" Ed mocked.

Mustang shrugged. "Now he's just in the way of my finding the bastard who
killed Hughes."
"You just jump from one murderer to the other when it suits you." Ed
mumbled under his breathe. "It's a surprise we capture any."

Giolio held his hands up, which had writing and transmutation circles all
over them. "So you dare to challenge Giolio Comanche, The Silver
Alchemist, to battle, do you? You've got guts, I'll give you that.
However…" His hands started to glow before he slammed them down on
the ground.

"He sounds egotistical, like no one is better then him." Ling commented.

"That's how alchemists are. They act like they can do anything and that no
one can beat them, especially someone like Scar who is not an alchemist."
Edward said, shrugging.

Ling raised a brow. "Aren't you an alchemist?"

"Yes, and I paid for being egotistical." Ed replied, raising his metal arm a bit
to show his point.

Chains shot out of the ground and at Scar, whose hand tensed. He
destroyed one of the chains, while he knocked the other away. Giolio
transmuted shuriken out of the ground and threw them one after the
other at Scar, who jumped over them and came with his hand out to
attack Giolio. The State Alchemist jumped back to dodge, hand
slamming on the ground as he did to transmute a sword. He scratched
the ground with it before he started to spin really fast and shot at Scar
like a bullet, but once again, Scar just dodged.

Giolio landed on the ground before performing the same attack, but this
time, Scar charged back at him. They crossed paths. A slash appeared in
Scar's pants, blood spurting out, as Giolio landed on the railing.

He turned around and grabbed his hat. "Not bad, not bad at all. You got
off with just a scratch."

Scar looked over at him. "You can't say the same." He said before
Giolio's peg leg shattered and he fell backwards into the river. There was
a splash before Giolio's shock face was shown as he sunk into the depths
of the river. Before he could get away, Scar's hand slammed into his face.
There was a flash of alchemical light before the top of the river was seen.
Blood spread throughout the river.

"You are a very cruel person in your fights." May said horrified.

"You do what you must to survive in a fight." Scar replied.

"I hate to agree, but Scar is right." Ed mumbled.

The opening song began.

"Oooh, it's a new song!" Havoc said happily.

"It's about time that it changed." Breda agreed.

"You guys are like children." Ed muttered.

A white background appeared on the screen with Ed standing in it. His

back was turned to the screen and he was completely white himself,
except for his black pants, boots, and shadow. He raised his automail
hand. Al was shown next, standing completely still.

"Masshiro na keshiki ni ima sasowarete"

"And once again, it is about the brothers. What about the rest of us?" Havoc
muttered.

"You are still on about that?" Ed asked dryly.

The scene zoomed in on his dark eyes and went inside to show a brief
glance of his blood seal. The scene continued to move to the side to show
a bright light that it went into. When the light was gone Ed was shown to
be standing on top of a hill, reaching his automail hand to the sky with
the grass and his red jacket blowing around in the wind. The screen
turned upwards to look at the blazing sun.

"Boku wa yuku yo mada minu sekai e"

"I never stood on top of a hill before." Ed muttered.

"It's for entertainment, Fullmetal." Mustang said with a sigh.

"But how did they get an image of me standing on a hill reaching towards the
sky?" Ed retorted.

"I don't know!" Mustang snapped. "Maybe you stand on a hill in the future.
Don't question things."

The words "Fullmetal Alchemist" appeared on the screen as the music

got faster.

Ed's legs appeared on the screen as his pocket watch dropped, but was
stopped before it hit the ground by someone holding the chain. It
bounced around in the air a bit before it turned to show the insignia on
it.

"Maigo no mama tabi shiteita"

The scene pulled out to show Ed sitting on one side of the tree and Al on
the other as rain poured down on them. Ed turned his head slightly to
look at something.

"nezumiiro no sora no shita"

"You two have a thing for sitting in the rain, don't you?" Mustang asked
dryly.

"It's a good, soothing place to think." Ed defended.

"You like to think in the rain?" Ling asked in disbelief.

Ed shrugged. "It can usual clear my head, okay? It doesn't always work, but it
does most of the time."

The boys and their tree turned to shadows as Central was seen from the
distance. Light started to come out from the clouds, lighting up Central
as Edward stood up.
"Higawari no chizu ikutsumo no yume ga nijinde ita"

Xiao-Mei was shown doing a sort of kung fu move on top of May's head
before May was shown doing some of martial arts with a pink
background and green strips moving along it.

"Itsuka wa sa"

"We were shown!" May cheered to Xiao-Mei.

"Even the foreigners get shown." Havoc moaned.

Ling was shown standing on top of a pillar. The scene moved back to
show some pillars behind him which Fu and Lan Fan landed on.

"chippoke na boku no kono hohaba demo"

Ling grinned. "There we are."

"Why are you on top of pillars?" Ed asked dryly.

"Why not?" Ling asked, shrugging.

"Can you really talk, Chief? You like standing on roofs." Brody pointed out.

Ed scoffed. "There's a difference."

"Sure there is." Luke said sarcastically.

Havoc appeared, turning with a grin. Fuery was next, turning to the
screen, then Falman with Breda next with a sandwich in his mouth.
After him was Riza, raising her guns to the sky as she turned to the
screen. At the head of the line was Mustang, wearing his long black
jacket on his shoulders with his hands in his pockets and staring at the
green flag on Central Command. He turned to the screen with a frown
and narrowed.

"Ano kumo no mukou made yukeru kana"

"Look, Havoc! You appeared with the rest of the team!" Ed exclaimed with
false cheerfulness. Maybe now Havoc would shut up.

Havoc grinned for a moment before it died down as he looked at his young
boss. "You're wrong."

Ed blinked. "What? I clearly saw you grinning at the screen with that damn
cigarette in your mouth!"

"Not about that. You said 'with the rest of the team.' You're wrong about that.
You weren't with us, and yet you are a part of this team so you can't say that
unless you are with us. Remember that, Chief." Havoc said, grinning once
more.

The young State Alchemist blinked once, before ducking his head. He wasn't
used to people actually admitting he was a part of Mustang's team. People
usually just passed over him cause of his age, the fact that he mostly travels,
or because he fights with Mustang a lot.

Breda and Havoc shared an amused look at Ed's embarrassment. Even after
three years, he still wasn't used to being on their team. Not that they minded,
it was a great way to get him to show his almost nonexistent shy,
embarrassed side.

Ed appeared on the screen with a setting sun background, glaring at

something as the wind blew around him. Hohenheim was shown next
with the same background. He turned his head slightly before the scene
pulled out to show the setting sun and that the two were staring at each
other in a graveyard.

"Tsuyogatte kizutsuita kokoro sukashita you ni"

"What the hell?" Ed growled.

"Are you in a graveyard with Dad?" Al asked surprised.

"That's your dad?" Ling said shocked.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Oh, don't tell me! I have to meet up with that bastard?!"
"Brother!" Al scolded.

Mustang smirked. "That should be an interesting reunion."

"Never! No way! It isn't happening!" Ed exclaimed. "I don't want to talk to

him!"

"I don't think Future You actually gets a chance to get out of it." Hughes said
with a grin. "Come on, Ed. It might be a good way to get over your hatred."

Ed scowled to himself. Why him? Why couldn't it be Al? At least Al doesn't

hate him! Why was it him staring at Hohenheim?

A screaming Ed was shown being dragging back by tiny black hands and
into the Gate. A hand reached out towards him as the doors started to
close.

"Furdashita"

"What was that?" Lan Fan asked in horror.

"The Gate I was telling you about earlier." Ed said quietly.

"Ed…what the hell were you doing at those Gates?" Izumi asked worryingly.

"I-I don't know." Ed said, eyes widened in horror. He never wanted to go

back there!

Hughes's hands clenched. "It looked like Ed was at least fifteen in that scene
so maybe it is going to happen in the near future."

"That's so freaking great!" Ed groaned. What would possess him to actually

go back to that place?...Unless, was it Al? He did see that hand stretch out
towards him. And Al did have to be someplace there…

Winry appeared on the screen, sitting at a desk. Her head bowed a bit as
the bulletin board next to her was shown up close with a picture of the
Elric family being seen.
Scar was shown next, fire and crosses all around him as he stared at the
screen with glowing red eyes.

Gluttony and Lust were sitting on a roof before a dark shadow figure
with glowing red eyes and skulls with faces shining in pain were shown.
Next, Bradley raised his head to show his Ouroboros tattoo in his eye.

A figure sitting half in the shadows was shown. He was holding a glass of
red liquid out as another drop fell from the sky and splashed into his
cup.

"amatsubutachi ga ranhansha kurikaesu"

"Those were some strange scenes." Ling said, frowning. "Who was that last
person though?"

"We saw him a few times, but it is never actually said who he is and we've
never seen his face." Miles explained.

"He seems to be creepy though." Al said.

Ed appeared, clapping his hands before slamming them on the ground. A

bright blue alchemical circle surrounded the boy before the ground all
around him turned into pillars that shot out of the ground at an angle.
Envy and Gluttony twisted around the pillars as they moved towards Ed.
Ed ran up the pillars, dodging Gluttony and then blocking a kick from
Envy with his arms. They slid down the pillar, twisting around it until
Envy was slammed into the ground, completely destroying it.

"Massugu na hikari ga kousa shite"

"You always seem to be fighting the Homunculi, don't you?" Avery asked
dryly.

"What can I say? We don't like each other." Ed growled.

"I say, don't complain. Ed's fights in the opening are always so interesting to
see. He does so well in them." Havoc said.
Ed's eyes narrowed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You don't get injured in them. That is a miracle itself." Havoc said, grinning.

"…Jerk."

Mustang was shown next, snapping his fingers and creating a big burst
of flames that took over the screen. Lust appeared out of the flames,
grinning cruelly. Wolf chimeras with sharp, scary looking teeth took
over the screen. Kunai flew through them before May was shown with an
array in front of her, activating it. Blue alchemical light shot out of it,
hitting the wolf chimeras, showing a similar array on the head of the one
in the middle from her kunai.

"Yukusaki mo tsugenu mama dokomademo tsukinukeru"

Mustang whistled. "That is pretty amazing, May. What is it?"

May nodded. "Alkahestry and that is only a small sample of it."

"I can't wait to see more of it." Mustang said.

Something clashed on the screen. Ling was shown to be clashing swords

with Bradley on a destroyed bridge. Lan Fan flipped over the two,
blocking a blow with her kunai. When she landed on the bridge, Ling
was kicked away by Bradley and she charged at Bradley, clashing her
kunai with his sword. Ling interrupted the fight, fighting once more as
Fu ran across some walls before jumping into the fight with Lan Fan.

"Awai zanzou ryoume ni yakitsukete"

Ed whistled. "You guys seem to be a good team."

"We have been working together for a long time. It's all about trust." Ling
told him.

Scar was shown on the screen. His hand came flying forward. Next, Ed
was shown, throwing his automail hand forward. The two hands
slammed into each other, causing alchemical light to spark around the
hands and spread around the area. The ground started to get destroyed
as a bright light overtook the hands and filled the vicinity.

"Kono sora no shita donna toko ni ite mo"

"Must you attempt to fight Scar again after what happened the first time?"
Mustang said with a groan.

"It looks like he was doing better that time." Scar pointed out.

Mustang shot him a glare. He never wanted Ed to face off against Scar again.
The first time was scary enough. Besides, what could possibly possess Ed to
want to fight against Scar again? Sure, Mustang had his reasons, but Ed didn't
have any.

The screen went completely white before it faded out to show the
engraved words in Ed's watch. Ed snapped his watch shut before the
screen pulled out to show him sitting on railroad tracks with Al standing
in front of him. He stood up and started to walk down the tracks with Al.

"Todoku hazu nanda mada minu sekai e"

The sun in the sky was shown as the song ended.

"Okay, explain this one to me, Fullmetal." Mustang said calmly. "Why the
HEL WERE YOU ON THE TRACKS? Do you have any idea of how
dangerous that is?"

"Damn, now even the opening song has betrayed me." Edward grumbled.

"Wait, so you guys really walk on the tracks?" Havoc asked shocked.

Ed sighed. "Maybe a few times."

"Why weren't you on the train?" Ling asked confused.

Ed shrugged. "There are just times when something happens and we can't get
on the train."
"Like?" Riza prompted.

"One time we followed someone out of a city and got lost afterwards. We
found the train tracks and just followed them until we got to a city." Al
explained sheepishly.

Mustang almost slapped his forehead. That was just like the boys.

Scar appeared on the screen. "What's going on? Who is this?"

Yoki, who had a little girl kneeling in front of him, looked back at him.
"Oh, sir, you're back? Welcome back."

"So May is with Scar and Yoki?" Al asked.

"Have fun with that May." Edward said, grimacing.

May looked scared. "Why did I have to run into the scary guy?"

Ed sighed. "Don't be so scared, May. Scar isn't really a bad person, just….just
misguided in life."

Scar shot a glare at the boy, while Mustang snickered at Ed's choice of words.

"I said, who is this?" Scar demanded, frightening Yoki.

May shifted to face Scar. "Pleased to meet you. My name is May Chang,
sir."

"What the hell is with the sweet, innocent tone?" Ed deadpanned.

"Brother." Al scolded.

"She tried to make me go deaf earlier!" Ed shouted.

"You try to make people go deaf every day." Al retorted.

"I already apologized for that. I was expecting something different." May
retorted at the elder brother.
Ed shrugged. "Delusional girl."

"Envoy From The East"

A destroyed building was shown.

"I was collapsed by the side of the road. Your master, Mr. Yoki, revived
me and brought me back here." May explained.

Buccaneer snorted. "Master?"

"Seems Yoki has not changed." Falman said. "He still just wants power and
recognition."

Ed rolled his eyes. "He'll be recognized for being a big liar and thief at this
rate."

"Master?" Scar asked.

"I can't believe he said such a thing, considering how dangerous Scar is."
Ling said, laughing.

"I'm surprised Yoki hasn't been killed yet." Ed added.

They both looked back at Scar.

"I don't like killing so I only kill State Alchemists." Scar replied.

"Messed up." Ed said.

Yoki looked away when Scar looked at him.

May blinked innocently.

"If you've recovered, there's no need for you to stay." Scar said.

"If only May knew who she was dealing with, then she would have run away
by now." Ling said since he recognized who May was, even if they have
never met.
"Why do you say that?" Ed whispered.

Ling frowned and lowered his voice. "May is from a lower clan then I am so
we have different lives before this. She doesn't understand how dangerous the
world is. She has never seen its horror. She is still too innocent and naïve."

"And you do understand?" Edward asked curiously.

"People have been trying to assassinate me for years so yes, I would assume I
understand better." Ling replied.

Ed raised a brow. Assassinate him? What the hell has Ling been doing to
deserve assassins coming after him? He opened his mouth to ask, but then
closed and looked away. Maybe he didn't want to know.

"Be on your way at once."

As Scar walked passed her, May noticed the cut in his leg. She stood up
and ran over to him as he sat down with a grunt of pain.

"What, girl?" He asked.

May kneeled next to him. "Allow me to close your wound." She said as
she drew a circle with a star inside of it.

"And this is?" Al asked curiously since he never saw a transmutation circle
like that.

"Like Amestris has Alchemy, Xing has something similar. Only what we do
is called Alkahestry. It is focused mainly in the medical aspect though." May
explained.

"Medical?" Al asked.

May nodded.

When she didn't say anymore, Al sighed. He was curious about Alkahestry
now. Maybe when he saw more of it, he could convince May to tell him more
about it.
Yoki looked over her shoulder as she put a kunai in each star point. She
smiled as Scar looked at it with a frown. Blue light surrounded Scar's leg
and the cut began to close itself up until it was gone.

"That is quite impressive. Alchemy here is only destructive. I've never seen it
used for something like that." Mustang said.

"It definitely seems the purer of the two." Dr. Marcoh agreed. "I would like to
know about it a bit more. It might be helpful to us."

May smiled. "I can tell you more about it later if you liked."

Dr. Marcoh smiled and nodded. It would be nice to know something that was
not so destructive and ruined lives. Perhaps he could learn a bit of Alkahestry
to help with his job as a doctor.

"I would like to know more too." Al piped in.

May smiled brightly at Al. "I'd be glad to help you, Alphonse."

Ed almost snorted. What the hell did his brother tell this girl to get her to
fawn over him already? If it wasn't for the fact that he was still sore about the
girl yelling at him, Ed would probably ask to hear more about Alkahestry.
But since he was sore, he could just ask his brother later.

"It's healed?" Yoki asked shocked.

May looked at him, grinning. "It's a skill called Alkahestry from the
land of Xing."

"She's from Xing?" Scar asked.

"That's right, sir." Yoki pointed down at her. "This girl crossed the
desert from the east by herself to come here. Huh, clearly ridiculous."

May stood up. "No, I wasn't alone. I had her with me too." The panda on
May's shoulder turned to look at Scar, who tensed at the sight of it.

"What's wrong?" May asked worriedly, while Izumi smirked.

"Does the big bad murderer like small, cute animals?" Izumi mocked.

While Scar shot a glare at Izumi, Ed and Ling both looked at each other,
faces twitching as they tried to hold back their laughter at what Izumi said
and the fact that Scar might like little animals. But upon seeing the other
fighting laughter, they both lost it and started laughing uncontrollably,
making Scar move his glare to them. The boys felt his glare and its intense
anger, but they couldn't stop their laughter.

"What's wrong with them?" May asked confused.

Al sighed. "Ignore the two idiots, May."

"I can't believe how well those two are getting along this quickly." Hughes
said, nodding at the two laughing boys.

Mustang nodded. "I know what you mean. I thought Ed would have tried to
kill him already."

"Perhaps he is more relaxed then usual since he is not running around looking
for a way to save Al." Riza suggested, smiling softly as she looked at the little
girl. "Or maybe all his annoyance is shot at May so he feels none for Ling
yet."

"I thought Ed had enough annoyance inside of him to be able to shoot it at

more then one person at a time." Hughes said, chuckling.

"Her? You mean this little creature here?" Yoki asked as Scar reached
out towards the panda.

"That's right. Her name is Xiao May." May said. She stopped and looked
over her shoulder in shock to see Scar's arm stretched out towards her.
"Oh, your arm. That's Alkahestry, right?"

"Really?" Ed asked interested now. "No wonder I couldn't understand any of

it when I saw it."

"When did you see it?" Al asked.

"When Scar was trying to kill me." Ed replied.

"You were trying to understand his arm in that instance?" Havoc asked
shocked.

Ed shrugged. "My eyes were just drawn to it. I couldn't help but be curious!"

"The art of reading the dragon's pulse, of knowing the power that flows
through the ground and how to use it. That tattoo matches the flow of
Alkahestry used in my homeland." May said.

"What the hell is dragon's pulse?" Edward asked, scratching his head.

"You mean you don't know?" May asked shocked. "What kind of alchemist
are you?"

Ed scowled. "We don't use any of that here, girlie."

May huffed. "It's May."

"Whatever."

"So what is it?" Al asked more politely.

"It's a part of Alkahestry." May explained, smiling at Al. "I'll explain it to you
later."

'What the hell? She changes attitudes so quickly!' Ed thought.

"My brother was a student of alchemy and Alkahestry. He conducted a

great deal of research into both fields." Scar explained. "The tattoo that
I bear is a result of that research."

May gasped. "That's incredible. Your brother must have really been
something."

"I'm not pretty sure what you two are talking about, but your wound is
healed now, sir. We can be on our way to Central without any further
delay." Yoki said.
May clapped her hands. "Oh, that sounds great. I'll go get my things."

"You are seriously going to go with them?" Miles asked shocked.

"It's not like I know at this time that Scar is a murderer and he hasn't harmed
me yet so I should be fine, right?" May asked.

"If Yoki can survive, you'll probably be fine." Ed replied.

"You all have something against Yoki?" May asked.

Ed shrugged. "Honestly, I still can't remember him, but from what I've seen
of him, I find him annoying."

"Is that why you hate him?" Ling asked.

"It's more of the fact that he has a thing against me and wants to kill me."
Edward replied.

"Ah, so you understand my pain as well." Ling said.

Ed blinked before remembering the thing he said about assassins. Oh, he

understood well alright.

"What do you think you're doing?" Yoki asked. "Didn't he tell you to
shove off, kid? We're not exactly going to Central for a picnic, you
know."

"I know, but I meant what I told you." May replied.

"You mean all that immortality stuff you were blabbering about
earlier?" Yoki asked. "There's no such thing."

"Yes, there is. And I came here to find it." May retorted.

"Freeze!" Ed screamed, frowning. "Why exactly did you both come to

Amestris?"

"For the secret of immortality." May and Ling said together.

Ed almost slapped his forehead. Go freaking figure. "Were neither of you
listening to me earlier?"

"You said that the Philosopher's Stone was made from human lives." Ling
replied, frowning. "But it's not like we would make one. I just need one or the
secret to take back home."

"Why is that?" Havoc asked curiously.

"So I can become heir/heiress." Ling and May said together before shooting
looks at each other.

"What does that even mean?" Mustang asked.

"I'm a Prince and May is a Princess." Ling explained.

Ed shared a look with his brother, both imagining the two as royalty. A grin
threatened to split across Ed's face and he and Al fell into a huge fit of
laughter.

"Y-you two are royalty?" Ed cried, laughing.

Ling stared blankly at the two. "That was not the reaction I was expecting."

"We're sorry. It's just so hard to believe. Your personalities are not really fit
for royalty." Al said, getting his laughter under control to look at the angry
May. Whoops.

"It's alright. It's not that impressive, considering how many heirs and
heiresses there are." Ling replied. "If I take back a Philosopher's Stone, then I
can become the next Emperor. May is heading towards the same goal it
seems."

"Always a fight for power." Ed mumbled before growing serious. "You can't
tell your country the secret of the stone. It could cause a lot of problems, and
not just for our country."

Ling nodded. "I understand. After hearing the stone's main ingredient I had
no plans to inform the Emperor. He is growing old and does not wish to die.
If I told him its secret, I fear he will do something drastic and foolish."

"It's like they've bloody known each for years." Havoc mumbled staring
between the two boys.

"Oh, shut up! Kids don't know anything–" Yoki said, but stopped when
Xiao May bit his finger. He screamed in pain, shaking his arm around to
try to dislodge the panda.

'I already know that immortality can't be accomplished by Alkahestry, but it

is possible through the use of alchemy. That is why I have to find him. The
incredible man I heard so much about.' May thought as roses filled the
background to fill her delusion.

"And who would that be?" Ed said, twitching.

May laughed nervously.

Ed's body twitched. "Delusional girl."

Ling snickered and patted Ed's shoulder in a mocking manner. "Sorry, Ed,
but you are known all around and people make you sound a lot more amazing
then you actually are so be careful if you decide to travel to other countries."

Ed twitched violently.

A delusional handsome picture of Ed appeared on the screen. 'They say

his hair and eyes are golden like the sun. He wears a dashing red coat as he
strides forth to save people in need. The brilliant State Alchemist, Edward
Elric!'

Ed twitched. "Perhaps I will drop off the face of the planet if this is what
people are spreading about me."

"Don't worry. It is only May and other children. They are children." Lan Fan
said, shocking Ed and causing him to jerk his back as he looked up to see Fu
and Lan Fan kneeling on the bloody chandelier above him.

Ling smirked at everyone's shocked expressions to see the two up there.

"See? I told you they were still here."

"The hell?" Ed asked.

"They are my body guards. They have been serving my clan for a long time."
Ling explained.

"Why doesn't May have any?" Riza asked, frowning.

May sighed. "I'm from a much lesser clan so we don't have things like that."

"But you are still an heiress." Izumi pointed out. "Shouldn't you have more
protection?"

"We already said that doesn't mean much in Xing." May explained.

While May laughed, Yoki turned to Scar. "What do we do about her?"

Scar closed his eyes. "Suit yourself, girl."

Central was shown from the sky before Riza was seen to be walking
down an empty street with Black Hayate at night. When her dog stopped
and turned around to growl, Riza stopped to. "Black Hayate?" She
asked confused. "What's gotten into you, boy?"

Metallic laughter sounded and Riza looked up to see Barry leaning out of
an alley as a creepy, dangerous tone entered the scene. "It's dangerous to
be out walking the streets alone at this hour." He said as he walked out
of the alley.

"I forgot about Barry escaping." Maria said, horrified.

"Well, this won't end well." Mustang said.

Ling raised a brow. "For who?"

There was a pause before Mustang, his crew, and Ed said, "Barry."

Riza dropped Black Hayate's leash.

"You never know when you might meet the terrible serial killer feared
by all, Barry the Chopper." Barry shouted, cleaver raised to kill her.

Riza pulled a gun from her grocery bag and shot it multiple times at
Barry.

"You just have guns everywhere." Ed said blankly.

"There is a reason she is a feared and respected soldier." Fuery said, smiling.

Barry yelled and fell to the ground after a few hits. "No fair." He cried
as Riza dropped her bag and pulled a gun out from a holster under her
skirt. "What'd you have to pull a gun for?"

She shot it at Barry, making him yell more as the bullets hit him.

"Pretty and skilled with a gun." Ed said, almost laughing. "A dangerous
combination."

"Why's that?" Ling asked.

"Deception." Ed replied, smirking.

Barry stood up and grabbed his head. "Alright, that's enough, lady. Now
I'm going to hear you scream." He said as he removed his helmet.

Riza gasped. It was silent for a moment before she shot her gun again
and hit Barry's helmet.

Ed snickered. "Nice reaction, Lieutenant Riza."

"It's a strange reaction to have." Al grumbled.

Barry's helmet fell to the ground. "Hey, how come you're not paralyzed
with fear?"

"You actually remind me of someone else I know." Riza replied.

"Your reaction isn't to shoot me too, is it?" Al asked.

Riza chuckled lightly. "No, it isn't, Alphonse."

Al sighed in relief. "That's good."

"Let me guess. Alphonse something-or-another." Barry said.

"Oh, the crazy psychopath still remembers you." Ed said mockingly.

"I don't think that comforts me, Brother." Al replied.

Ed laughed.

"You've met Alphonse before?" Riza asked as her dog bit Barry's leg.

Barry laughed. "Oh, so the guy's a friend of yours, is he?" He asked as

he put his helmet back on. "I'm going to tell you something, sweetheart.
You are one strong woman!" Hearts flashed around him.

"I think someone has a crush." Fu said amused.

"You would make a psychopath fall for you." Ed snickered.

Riza sighed. Great, just what she needed.

A group of warehouses were shown with the door to Warehouse 5

opened a crack. Black Hayate sat outside the door.

"The Philosopher's Stone." Mustang's voice said as the scene moved

through a bunch of crates.

"Can't believe the Fifth Laboratory was being used to make something
like that." Falman said as Mustang, Riza, and Falman were seen with a
tied up Barry in front of them.

"It gets worse. There's a chance that the military's senior staff was
involved as well." Riza said.

"Plus there were those other two, Lust and Envy." Mustang said.
"We never did inform them about the Fifth Lab incident." Al said.

Mustang growled. "You didn't. What is the point of being your commanding
officer if you don't tell me this stuff yourself? Can't believe we had to find out
through a murdering psychopath."

"Well, at least you found out somehow." Ed replied.

"This could have helped me sooner." Mustang growled.

"Why is that?" Ed asked.

"It would have saved me time in searching for Hughes's murderer if I knew
what he was doing when he was killed." Mustang explained.

"It is quite disturbing to hear people talk about me as if I'm already dead."
Hughes commented.

"Sorry Hughes." Mustang replied.

"Are they the ones who made you into what you are now?" Mustang
asked.

"Nah, it was the researchers who did that." Barry replied. "Ripped my
soul right out of my body and slapped it into this suit of armor you see
here."

"We can track down these so called researchers. If we find them, maybe
they can tell us who ordered the experiments." Falman said.

"Fat chance of that." Barry replied. "They were all used to create
Philosopher's Stones. There's not a single one of them left alive."

"They are covering their trail." Ling said darkly. "It is no surprise no one
realized what was going on sooner."

"Shouldn't be surprising, especially since our leader is with them." Ed

scoffed.
"Silenced and then used as ingredients. How efficiently planned."
Mustang said.

"Do you think this means they have what they need or will they try to
make additional stones?" Riza asked.

"I have one more question for you." Mustang said as a dark look crossed
his face. "A little over a month ago a military officer was killed in a
telephone booth in Central. Were you the one who did it?"

"Phone booth? Doesn't sound familiar. Was he all chopped up?" Barry
asked.

Mustang snapped the little book in his hand shut. "Never mind."

Rush Valley appeared on the screen. Winry walked out of Garfiel's shop
with a box.

"Hello there, Winry." Ed greeted.

Winry paused to see Ed and Al standing there.

"You look like you're in a very generous mood today." Ed said.

"Hey Ed. Hey Al." Winry greeted, smiling brightly. "What are you doing
showing up like this?"

Ed and Al pointed to Ed's mutilated automail arm.

"What happened to your arm?" Ling asked shocked.

"A very nasty indestructible shield." Ed replied with a grimace. He knew

what was coming soon.

"Huh?"

Al sighed. "Just a very nasty fight. Brother gets into a lot of those."

"Sounds like you are a very busy person." Ling said with a laugh.
Winry's happy background was replaced with darkness before Winry
was seen pulling gauze apart to bandage Ed's automail while the boy lay
on a bench with blood pouring out of his head.

"Ah, damn. Yeah, there it is." Ed groaned, gripping his head tightly. "She has
absolutely no mercy."

"She hits you with tools?" May said horrified. She thinks she is more scared
of Winry then Scar now.

"Whenever I anger her." Ed muttered.

May twitched. What was wrong with the people of this country?

"Even Paninya is holding down an honest job now, and you two still can't
stay out of trouble." Winry said.

"Oi! That one was not our fault!" Ed protested.

"Well, maybe if you told her the truth about what you were doing for once."
Hughes suggested.

"She'd probably still blame us and hit Brother again." Al said.

Ed groaned and muttered to himself.

"Really, she is?" Al asked.

Winry looked up from her work. "Yeah. She's given up her former life
as pickpocket and now she earns her money by fixing roofs and doing
other odd jobs around town." She turned to look at Ed with a glare.
"And what about the two of you?" She looked at Al. "Made any
progress yet?"

"Yeah, we have." Al replied. "It's slow going though."

Ed sat up. "We're still moving ahead, little by little…I guess."

Winry closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them. "Good. I'm
glad to hear it."

"Alright." Ed was seen to be walking down the street with gauze holding
his arm together and a drink in his other hand. "I've done all I can for
now."

"Thanks Winry." Ed replied.

"I'm missing some parts so you'll have to make do with a patch job."
Winry's voice said as the boys continued to walk down the street. "I'll go
get what we need, but until then, you've got some time to kill."

"Knowing Fullmetal, he'll come back with his arm completely destroyed. She
should have known better than to let you out." Mustang said, shaking his
head.

"It's already destroyed! What more could I do to it?" Ed protested.

Mustang shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not you and I haven't seen everything
you've done to that arm. But I'm sure you'll find a way to mess it up in the
time that Winry is gathering the parts for your arm."

"Lies! It will not get worst!" Ed protested.

"How about a bet then?" Mustang retorted.

Ed raised a brow. "A bet?"

"If your arm gets worst before Winry can fix it, you let me see your research
notes." Mustang said, smirking when an unsure look passed over Ed's face.
"What? Scared, Fullmetal?"

Ed glared at him. "Never. If my arm is in the same condition by the time

Winry gets to it, you pay for my automail the next time I need it fixed!"

Mustang almost twitched. He knew how expensive that was for Edward. He
didn't want to pay for it, but then again, he knew he wasn't wrong. Ed would
make his automail worse. He just knew it. "You've got a deal, Fullmetal."
Riza and Al sighed at the two.

"Kill some time, huh?" Ed said as flashes of other people around were
shown. "Yeah, how do we do that in a town entirely made up of automail
shops?" When Ed reappeared on the screen, Al was shown to no longer
be standing by his side. Ed looked around upon not getting a response
from Al. He looked over with narrowed eyes and his straw still hanging
from his mouth to see his little brother kneeling in front of an alley.
"Al?"

"Brother…" Al said.

"What now?" Ed asked, walking over to Al. "Find a stray cat or

something?"

"It better not be!" Ed cried. "I told you no more cats."

"What?" May asked confused.

Ed glared at Al. "He has a tendency to pick up strays and then runs off when I
say he can't keep it."

"That's so kind." May said.

Ed rolled his eyes. Crazy girl.

"Uh…" Al raised up an unconscious Ling. "Well, no."

Ed spit out his drink.

"Great job, Al! Did you really have to go pick up a stray?" Ed said
exasperated.

"I thought you liked Ling." Al said confused.

Ling pouted. "I thought he did too, but it seems Ed is just too cruel!"

Ed shot a glare at Ling then turned to Al. "You saw the way he pigged out
earlier at lunch! Who do you think is paying for his food? It's bad enough
having Winry mooch, but now you want me to buy food for this pig?"

"You won't leave me starving in the streets, will you?" Ling whined.

"I damn well should!" Ed cried out. "But stupid Al and his big heart won't let
me. How did you get to Dublith anyway? It's in the south! You came from
the east!"

Ling shrugged. "I don't know. The desert is big."

Ed groaned. Just his rotten luck.

"What is it with you foreigners and passing out on the side of the road?"
Mustang muttered, rubbing his temple. They were lucky it wasn't soldiers, or
proper soldiers in Ed's case, that found them.

Ling and Ed sat at a table with a bunch of empty dishes in front of the
former. "Ah, I feel so much better. You guys are life saviors. Thanks a
lot! Your treat right?"

"When did I say I was paying?" Ed asked.

"Let's not quarrel over something so small." Ling said.

Fu sighed. "I apologize for him."

"You better damn well pay me back!" Ed shouted.

Ed screamed. "Who you calling small?"

"How lucky I am to have found such hospitality so far from home." Ling
said, dotting his eye with his handkerchief.

"Far from home?" Al asked. "You mean you're not from here?"

Ling looked back at the brothers with a smile. "That's right. I came from
Xing."

"Oh, Xing." Ed said. A map of Amestris appeared on the screen behind

the boys. "That's the country to the east of the desert?"

"Yeah, and crossing that desert was rough, let me tell you." Ling replied.

"It'd be easier if we had a trade route or a train to Xing." Ed said.

"Why don't we?" Al asked.

"Probably because our country is ran by a murdering psychopath who works

for another psychopath." Mustang replied. "He would much rather spill
blood, then negotiate."

"Why in the world would you take that route?" Al asked.

"I wanted to visit the ruins of Xerxes." Ling replied. "That route goes by
them."

The map disappeared.

"Xerxes ruins?" Ed asked. "I heard there's next to nothing out there."

"I wanted to see for myself." Ling replied. "Anyway, I was heading here
to do some Alkahestry research."

"Alkahestry?" Ed asked.

"Yes, I believe it's what you here in this country call alchemy." Ling
replied and an old picture of foreigners appeared in the background. "In
Xing it's known as Alkahestry. It's mainly used in the medical
professions."

"Huh, different countries, different customs, I guess." Ed replied. "Here,

alchemy is mainly used as military." A map replaced the scene. "It's not
hard to see why." The soldiers were shown to be firing guns. "Even now
we have skirmishes at the border of Aerugo to the south." The map came
back. "And Creta to the west." This time the Briggs Mountains
appeared. "North of us is the huge country Drachma. We have a
tentative nonaggression pact with them and Briggs Mountain stands
between us, making invasion difficult, but our relationship is still dicey at
best."

Ling whistled. "You guys really are a war country."

"Does Xing have many wars?" Al asked.

"It depends on who is emperor at the time, but we tend to focus on the
medical field so we usual do not have many." Ling replied.

The boys appeared on the screen once more. An old lady finished taking
their dishes away.

"Sounds like you guys have got your hands full alright." Ling replied.

"Things began to move to the more militaristic when the current Fuhrer,
King Bradley, first came into power."

Al looked at his brother. "I have to say I'm curious about Alkahestry, a
branch of alchemy that's medically specialized."

Ed looked at Al with a smile. "I'm curious too."

"By any chance, are the two of you guys alchemists?" Ling asked.

"Oh, yeah, we are actually. I'm Edward Elric, a State Alchemist." Ed

replied.

"And I'm his younger brother, Alphonse Elric. It's nice to meet you." Al
added.

Ling stood up. "My name's Ling Yao." The three boys grasped hands.
"It's a pleasure."

"So, Ling, what else can you tell us about Alkahestry?" Ed asked. "We
sure loved to learn more."

"Nothing." Ling said with a huge smile. "Yeah, sorry, but I'm not
actually an alkahestrist."
"Are you kidding me?" Ed shouted in disbelief. "How do you plan to do
anything if you don't even know Alkahestry? At this rate, the little punk there
has more of a chance of becoming heiress!" He pointed at May as he said
this.

"What's wrong with that?" May huffed.

Ed sighed. "You're too young, for one thing. You are also not mature or wise
enough to be an empress. Ling is the better choice of you two right now."

"You don't even know us so how can you even say such a thing?" May
shouted angrily, crossing her arms and pouting.

"An heiress does not pout or shout like a child." Edward said blandly. "You
want to be the next ruler of your country so bad then stop shouting and
having those delusional fantasies about a stranger coming to save you like he
is a prince."

May opened her mouth to yell, but then shut it. What was she supposed to say
to that?

Ling leaned closer to Al. "Your brother can be really harsh at times."

"He's just trying to teach her. This is his own way of doing it. He knows she
can handle herself if she can cross the desert by herself so he is just helping
her along without really helping." Al explained.

"I see."

Ed and Al fell to the ground in shock.

"If you don't practice Alkahestry, why come all the way here to research
it?" Ed asked angrily.

"Well, see, I'm looking for something." Ling said. "It's possible you two
have heard of it before." His eyes opened. "The Philosopher's Stone."

"Look your eyes opened!" Ed laughed. "Why do you not open your eyes?"
Ling shrugged. "Maybe they are open and you just don't realize it."

"What the hell kind of answer is that?" Ed asked.

"My kind of answer." Ling retorted.

"Why not give an answer everyone will understand and that makes sense?"
Ed snapped.

"I don't feel like it." Ling replied.

"Lazy."

Ed and Al stiffened.

"I'm very eager to find it." Ling said, appearing on screen once more
with an evil smirk as he rested his fist on his face.

Ed whistled. "Wow. You've got an evil smirk. For someone so calm and
collected, I didn't expect such a thing from you."

"You only just met me today." Ling pointed out.

"Yes, and I had to talk to you for a long time to explain everything that is
going on. You can learn a lot about a person when being forced to explain
things to them." Ed replied.

"Do you know anything about it?" Ling asked.

"No." Ed turned around and began to walk away. "We can't help you."

Ling watched him leave, smirking. "You wouldn't be lying to me, now
would you?" He snapped his fingers.

Lan Fan suddenly appeared behind Ed with a kunai to his neck while Fu
was behind Al with a sword on him.

"They appear like magic!" Havoc laughed.

"We are ninjas." Lan Fan snapped. "Not magicians."

"Did you really have to call your dogs out for this?" Ed grumbled.

"We are ninjas, not dogs." Lan Fan growled.

Ed shrugged. "Whatever you say, Ms. Ninja."

"I don't like unnecessary bloodshed so they won't kill you." Ling said,
smiling.

"What makes you so sure they'll win?" Ed retorted.

"From what I've heard you are an excellent fighter, Ed, but right now, you are
not in top condition. That is what makes me sure they will win." Ling replied.

Ed scoffed. "If I can't win while injured, I don't deserve my certification."

General Armstrong smirked. Spoken just like a true soldier. Soldiers were
required to fight in times of war and they got injured then too. But a small
injury does not mean they get to leave. They have to fight injured to survive.

"So, do you have something to tell me?" Ling asked.

"Why the interest in the Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked.

Ling grinned evilly.

"What is with all the evil grins?" Buccaneer asked.

Ling laughed. "I like Ed and Al so I am playing around with them by

pretending to be evil. That, and I probably want the information they have."

"You're a cruel person." Al commented.

"What's wrong with having fun?" Ling asked.

"Your fun is wicked." Al retorted.

"I want to achieve immortality." Ling stood up as a tone entered the
scene. "Out with it. What do you know?"

"Immortality. Please. What a bunch of nonsense." Edward replied.

"Not to me it isn't." Ling replied.

"In any case, I can't say I care too much for your way of asking
questions." Edward replied before pushing the kunai away with his
automail hand. He swung his flesh fist back at her. "Kind of rude, don't
you think?" Lan Fan jumped in the air and flipped over Ed to avoid it.
As she landed, she kicked Ed.

"Ow." Ed grumbled, rubbing his chin. "You guys really are well trained."

"That's all you have to say?" Hughes asked amused.

Ed shot him a glare. "I'm in pain here. She has one hell of a kick."

"Brother!" Al said. He grabbed the sword and Fu jumped away.

"You want to fight us too?" Fu asked.

"Hey, hold on!" Al said.

Al groaned. "I don't want to fight."

"You shouldn't have grabbed his sword then." Ling replied.

"Well, it's kind of rude to stick someone you just met with a sword." Al
grumbled.

Fu grabbed hold of Al's arm and kicked his head. Al stumbled away. He
fell next to Ed.

"Geez, is that guy an acrobat?" Ed asked.

"Must be a Xingese fighting style. Could be tough to beat." Al replied.

Ed and Al pushed themselves off the ground. "Even so…"

"Mm-hmm." Al replied.

"They're still not as strong…." Ed said.

"…as Teacher." Al finished.

"Really?" Teacher asked, smirking.

Ed nodded, finishing rubbing his jaw as the pain disappeared. "Yeah. After
one or two hits from those guys, we can probably tell that they have nothing
on your strength."

"Do you guys always compare your opponents to your Teacher?" Riza asked
curiously.

"No. But then again, we are probably taking this more like a spar then
anything. The danger here doesn't feel as real as when we are actually
fighting someone who wants us dead." Al explained.

"Yep, it's a good way to waste time until Winry is ready to fix my arm." Ed
said with a grin.

Lan Fan and Fu charged at the brothers. There was a flash of alchemical
light and an explosion as Paninya was shown on a roof, watching it.
"What's happening down there?" She asked.

"Yes, what." Mustang said dryly. "Just my foolish subordinate destroying

another town!"

Ed growled. "I always fix it!" He muttered to himself.

Ling laughed as he looked at the damage on the road and the alchemical
light flashing in the distance. "Off they go." He said amused.

"Why don't you join in?" Ed asked.

"Eh, I'd rather not. This is more amusing to watch then join in." Ling replied.
Ed rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Pops, let's add some dessert to my tab!" Ling said.

"Sure." The man said.

"You had better be damn paying that tab." Edward snarled at him.

Ling chuckled.

"You will suffer in the fiery pits of hell one day." Ed growled.

Lan Fan slid down a pipe with Ed following her. He clapped his hands as
he did and put one on the pipe, creating a staff as he did. He stabbed it
down at Lan Fan, but she blocked it as she continued sliding down the
pipe. She jumped away when she reached the end. When Ed got to the
end, he jumped off and landed on the ground.

"Are you a ninja now too, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked sarcastically.

"I just got very awesome training." Ed retorted.

The teens charge at each other. Lan Fan jumped over Ed, who twisted
his staff around to hit her in the air, but she blocked it with her kunai
again. When Ed stabbed his staff at her again, she pulled some strings
out from inside of her hood to wrap around the staff. With the staff
stuck, she slammed her kunai on it, destroying it. She spun around,
slamming a fist into Ed's face, but he just grunted. She did it again and
Ed gave a small shout as he stumbled back.

Edward rubbed his agitated face. All he had to say was at least she was not as
strong as Teacher or those punches would have really hurt him.

"Having some trouble, Chief?" Breda asked.

Ed scoffed. "I'm doing better then you would be."

Breda shrugged. He couldn't argue that. He wasn't a martial artist.

Ed swung a punch at her but she dodged and wrapped her arm around
Ed's arm. "Crap." Ed said. He fell to the ground, lifting the girl up and
throwing her over him. Lan Fan flipped in the air and landed on her
feet. She fell back into her stance.

"Damn." Ed said, frowning. "You're persistent. Picking a fight like this

just because I won't give you information. What are you guys after? You
and your boss with the freaky closed eyes?"

"My eyes are not freaky." Ling said.

"I stand to argue that." Ed retorted.

Lan Fan charged at Ed, ready to stab him in the eyes, but Ed leaned
back in time to avoid her. He swung his leg up at her head, kicking her
and using the momentum to slam her into the ground.

Lan Fan grasped in pain and fell from the chandelier. She got over the pain
quickly and landed in a crouch next to Ling, rubbing her head as she did.
"The pain factor is horrible." She commented.

Ed grimaced. "Yeah, we can only hope you guys don't get any horrible
injuries from helping us out."

"Hey, I landed one." Ed said.

Lan Fan slammed her foot into Ed's face.

Groaning, Ed rubbed his face. "Do you have a thing about hitting my face?"

Lan Fan shrugged, kneeling next to Ling now. "It's always in the path of my
attacks. It's nothing personal."

"Sure it isn't." Ed grumbled.

Ed slammed into a pipe. "Ow, that hurt." 'That's strange. As soon as I

insulted Ling this guy completely lost it.' Edward smirked. "Aha…"

"Going to play dirty now?" Miles asked amused.

"You know it!" Ed said.

Al was seen running away from Fu when Paninya landed next to him.

"Hey, long time no see, Paninya." Al greeted.

"Seriously? In the middle of a fight?" Izumi asked amused.

"It would be rude not to greet her." Al replied, shrugging.

"What in the world are you doing here, Al?" Paninya asked before
looking over her shoulder at Fu. "Besides getting yourself in more
trouble."

"Doesn't she know? Trouble is the Elric brothers' middle name." Armstrong
said, chuckling.

"We don't get in that….I don't get into that much trouble. Brother, on the
other hand…" Al trailed.

"OI! You are always right by my side when trouble starts. I don't want to hear
it, Al!" Ed protested.

Al grinned in his mind.

"Yeah, about that. Can I ask you a favor?" Al asked.

Fu looked at the armor. 'Strange. Every living person emits a flow of chi,
and I don't sense one coming from this sense of armor. What is he?'

"What's chi?" Miles asked curiously.

"Chi is the life energy that flows through the earth and every living person."
May explained.

"And you guys can sense it?" Armstrong asked interested.

May nodded. "Anyone can as long as you train yourself in it. I can maybe
show you later?"
Armstrong nodded. "Perhaps, if there is time."

Al and Paninya turned around, coming to a stop.

"You think the aid of one person will do you any good?" Fu asked. "How
very foolish of you!"

Ed threw a punch at Lan Fan. She charged at him with a kunai. The
metals crossed. Ed threw another punch at her, which she ducked under,
then he spun around to kick her which she blocked with her kunai.

"What's the matter?" Ed asked, dodging the kunai. "You're started to

slow down a little."

Lan Fan swung her kunai forward, but Ed deflected it, knocking it from
her hand, so Lan Fan jumped back.

"If this is the best his flunkies can manage, that bastard Ling must be
pretty pathetic too." Ed taunted.

Lan Fan's eyes narrowed.

"You should know better than to let your feelings get in the way of a fight."
Fu scolded.

"I know, Grandfather. I apologize." Lan Fan said.

Ed raised a brow. "Lan Fan, are you still in training?"

"Yes, though I have been trained since young to serve the Yao clan, I still
have much to learn and experience to gain." Lan Fan replied.

Ed nodded his head. It was interesting to hear about how things worked in
other countries. It certainly was very different than what he was used to.
"Even so, you are really strong for your age."

Lan Fan nodded in response.

Lan Fan charged at Ed, who dodged to the side. 'Just like before. As soon
as I insult his boss, this guy completely loses his cool.'

"You think I'm a guy?" Lan Fan asked.

Ed shrugged. "I don't know at this point. You haven't really spoken and you
are hiding your face. I won't know until I see it."

'And when that happens…' Ed put his hands on the ground and flipped
back onto his feet in a crouch. "His attacks become weak and useless."

Lan Fan charged at Ed. When she was close enough to him, Ed slammed
his arm into her stomach.

Lan Fan grunted, half hunched over in pain as she held her stomach. "You are
strong as well, Edward."

Ed pulled his arm back. "Now then, I think it's about time…." He
clapped his hands. He slammed his face onto her mask. "For me to have
a look at your face!"

Lan Fan shouted as the mask broke to reveal her girly face.

"A girl?" Ed said shocked.

"Upset you were losing to a girl?" Lan Fan asked.

Ed scoffed. "Not really. Teacher, Lieutenant Riza, and Winry are all strong
and they are girls. I lose to Teacher all the time. Plus, we've had different
training."

Lan Fan smirked at him. "Sure…"

Lan Fan glared at him and pulled out a kunai which she threw at Ed. It
hit the wires in his metal arm, cutting them up.

"That can't be good." Ed said, frowning.

Lan Fan pulled the tag off of a bomb with her teeth.
Paninya was shown with her pant leg pulled up to show her own cannon.

"Oh, great, more bombs!" Mustang groaned. "What is it with you girls? Are
you trying to destroy the town?"

"And you always blamed the destruction of a city on me." Edward mumbled.
"Maybe now you'll realize it is not always my fault when a city gets
destroyed!"

Mustang twitched. If that was proven, he would have to apologize to the

kid…..Way to ruin him…

Ed looked shocked at the bomb falling before him.

Fu looked shocked at the bomb flying at him.

There were two bombs going off at the same time. The civilians yelled in
fear and shock.

"Seriously? You're going to make them think there is a terrorist attack!"

Hughes said, groaning.

"I think they'll be fine. A little angry when they see what happened, but fine
all the same." Edward muttered.

Fu jumped to the 'Rush Valley' sign. His feet were planted on the front
of it while his hand held the top of the sign to keep himself up. 'She has a
cannon in her prosthetic? This country is a place to be reckoned with–'

Through the dust of the explosion, there was blue light flashing around
before Al appeared out of it on a pillar. "What?" Fu shouted. Al clapped
his hands, slamming one into Fu's face and the other on the sign. Ropes
shot out of the sign and tied Fu to it.

Ed whistled. "So you can finally do alchemy without a circle…." He hung his
head. Damn, now he was no longer special.

"Yes!" Al cheered. He always wanted to do alchemy like that. It looked so

much faster and easier.
"Hmm, not too bad considering it was my first time." Al said as he pulled
away Fu's mask.

"It's Alkahestry." Fu said. "But without an array?"

"Now, I wonder how things are going on Brother's end." Al said, turning
around.

A pile of rubble was shown with an automail arm sticking out of it.

Lan Fan twitched. "I may have gone too far in my anger."

"You really need to learn to control your emotions in a fight." Fu scolded.

Ed frowned. He wasn't feeling any pain and he was buried in rubble….or was
he? If he didn't hurt, then that meant that something was going on.

Lan Fan climbed up the rubble, looking sad. "I overdid it. Look at this
place." She grabbed Ed's metal wrist and pulled it out of the rubble.
"Master Ling will be furious." When she got the arm out, it wasn't
connected to anything.

"Ha! Your arm just got way worse." Mustang shouted, grinning.

"What? Damn it!" Ed screamed.

"Now you will have to show me your research notes later." Mustang said.

Ed growled softly to himself, crossing his arms and shooting a glare at Lan
Fan.

"It's not my fault you made such a stupid bet." Lan Fan snapped at him.

"I wonder if I'm even alive." Ed grumbled, looking back at the screen.

Lan Fan flinched in guilt.

"But, man, is my arm ripped off strangely or what?" Ed said.

She looked at the arm before something snapped with it and a rope
suddenly appeared around her. Before she could do anything, it locked
around her and lifted her in the air.

"Oh, look, I'm alive." Ed said, smirking.

"What did you do?" Lan Fan demanded.

"It's called a trap." Ed replied.

Lan looked up at the rope when she heard Ed call, "Hey girly."

Ed was shown to be standing with his arm slung over his shoulder. "You
should be more careful about where you use that thing. It would have
killed anybody else."

"But how?" Lan Fan asked. "You removed your own arm?"

"I spent a fair amount of time hunting rabbits when I was a little kid.
Setting a trap for you was easy." Edward explained.

"Brother!" Al yelled.

Ed looked over his shoulder to see Al and Paninya approaching with Fu

under Al's arm. "Oh, hey Al."

Ling appeared out of nowhere, raising a hand. "Okay, good work you
guys!"

Ed looked at him angrily. "Why you! What are you so chirpy about?"
He asked as Al put Fu down.

"It was an interesting fight to watch." Ling said.

"You were pigging out on dessert!" Ed argued.

"I was also watching you guys fight. I am that good." Ling replied, smirking.

"Sure you are." Ed said disbelievingly.

"You guys have got some pretty impressive skills. I know. Come work for
me and together we can take over this country." Ling said.

Ed raced over to him. "I had enough of your idiotic chattering! Just go
back to Xing!"

"Look, there they are!" A man's voice shouted, drawing the attention of
the teens.

"Look at the mess you've made! You've practically destroyed our town."

"The funny thing is, besides Fu, it was all teenagers making the mess." Havoc
said, laughing.

"This is why teens should not be allowed to have bombs or alchemy or

anything. They just make a mess of things." Mustang said.

"Hey!" The teenagers shouted in protest, except May. (A/N: How old is May
anyway? I thought she was 12 or something. If so, she isn't even considered a
teenager.)

"You're covering the damages."

"And your restaurant bill too."

"Hey, wait! Just hold on a second." Ed protested.

"This is not my fault! LING!" Ed yelled angrily. "Take responsibility for your
subordinates!"

"I snuck into Amestris. I do not have money for such things." Ling said.

"What kind of emperor's son are you?" Ed shouted.

"This guy and his little entourage should be paying for everything." Ed
pointed to the side.

"So sorry. I don't understand much language of this country. Okay, bye
bye now!" Ling ran backwards away from them.
"LING!" Ed shouted, ready to strangle him. "DO NOT throw your messes on
me!"

"Your friend, Paninya, caused one of the explosions." Ling pointed out.

"And your subordinate caused the other." Ed argued.

"I have no power or money in Amestris. You do though." Ling argued.

"It's not my job to clean up your messes." Ed shot back.

"Hey! You get the hell back here!" Ed yelled.

"Huh?" Al looked at the ground to see that Fu escaped the ropes. "He
ran away!"

The rope holding Lan Fan was shown to be empty to. "The other one did
too!" Ed shouted.

"You guys have really rotten luck." Riza said.

"That isn't helping this matter." Al replied, hanging his head.

"Worst luck ever." Ed mumbled.

"You've got to be kidding." Ed looked at his metal arm. "How am I

supposed to fix this place up with only one arm?"

"It's okay, Brother." Al said. "I'll take care of it." He clapped his hands.

"What? You mean you can do alchemy without a transmutation circle

now?" Ed asked.

Al looked at him. "Yeah, I think it's because of the memories I

recovered."

'And then means…' Ed thought about a scale with his older brother
dignity and alchemic technique on one side while Al had height on his
side. Adding alchemic technique to Al's side ruined Ed.
"You destroyed my ego, Al." Ed said, laughing.

Al sighed, but was really amused. "Only you, Brother, only you." How could
height really mean that much to Ed?

"Don't worry. You can leave this all to me." Al said, getting ready to clap
his hands. He looked at his brother lying on the ground. "What's the
matter, Brother?"

Back at the Garfiel's place, the boys said, "We're back!"

"Hello. We meet again." Ling greeted.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Edward screamed, pulling at his hair.

Ling laughed. "Wow, what a coincidence."

Ed's eye twitched. "No, I swear this time, it is not a coincidence. You are
stalking us!"

"Perhaps, but maybe if you just answered my question…." Ling trailed off.

"Never!" Ed swore.

Al sweat dropped. What a strange brother he had. Or maybe it was Ling this
time…

Ed whacked Ling with his metal arm, making the prince fall off his chair
and to the ground. "What's your sorry butt doing here?"

Ling pulled himself up, laughing. "Now, now. We're all friends here,
right?"

"That's how your treat your friends? By sicking your dogs on them?
Those two didn't go easy." Edward asked angrily.

Ling grinned. "Let it go. I promise I'll give them a talking to later." The
girl appeared on the screen showing a part of her and Ed's fight. "The
girl's name is Lan Fan." Fu appeared on the screen, locked to the sign.
"The old man is called Fu." A cup of tea replaced Fu. "Their family has
served mine for generations. They're quite good at what they do."

"Oh, so you shake down strangers for food, and yet you can somehow
afford two personal attendants?" Edward asked.

"Well, I am the emperor's son, after all." Ling replied.

"Huh? Emperor's son?" Edward and Alphonse asked.

"That makes you..." Ed trailed off.

The Elrics imagined a Ling sitting in royal clothes. "A prince?!" They
both fell to the ground and started to laugh their heads off.

"Not the reaction I anticipated." Ling said blandly.

"Sorry! We just didn't see that coming!" Alphonse said, getting his
laughter under control.

"Yeah, the guy who collapsed on the side road and then mooched food off
us is the son of an Emperor!" Ed said.

"You two are enjoying this too much." Ling said.

"But the irony!" Ed laughed.

"Why Ling wants to be friends with you two, I will never know." Mustang
said, smirking.

"Because we're awesome." Al said, chuckling.

"I believe the term is amusing." Ling corrected.

"Naw, we are just very cool people." Ed retorted.

A kunai stabbed the wall next to Ed's head. He looked at it before

screaming.
Lan Fan's head appeared over the window sill. "You will not speak
badly about Master Ling." She said.

"Great to see you." Ed said blandly.

Breda chuckled. "You guys have some really interesting days."

"And it's not over yet." Ed said tiredly.

"Hmm?" Al asked.

"Winry."

"Oh, she's going to kill you when she sees your arm." Al said worriedly.

Ed nodded.

"No, you're probably right. It's not that big of a deal." Ling said. "The
emperor has a lot of sons. It's like this. My country Xing is broken up
into 50 different clans with an emperor at top, reigning over all of them."
A picture of an emperor appeared on the screen. "The daughter of each
clan's chief becomes one of the emperor's wives and bears his children."

"That sounds messed up." Ed commented. "Who would want that many
children anyway?"

"Whether the emperor wants that many wives or children is not his choice. It
is his duty." Ling replied.

Ed grimaced. He definitely would not want to be emperor if that was the case.
Why did Ling want it so badly?

"And if it was a female emperor?" Al asked. "I mean, I don't think the
Empress would want to marry 50 males and have at least 50 kids. I mean,
where would she find the time to actually do her job as Empress?"

"Sounds like a serious flaw there." Ed said, looking at May. "Willing to give
birth to fifty kids, May?"
"That's not how it works!" May protested.

"But only blood can ascend the throne. What happens when you die if you
were Empress? If you don't have a child in each clan, it would be unfair." Ed
pointed out. He turned back to Ling. "Serious flaw there."

Ling stared blankly at the brothers. They weren't even willing to listen to the
correct explanation.

"The current emperor has 19 daughters and 24 sons. I come in at

number 12 in that line up." Ling explained.

"43 kids? That's incredible." Ed said.

"The issue of succession must be tricky one." Al added.

Ling held up a finger. "Indeed it is. That's the problem we're facing
right now. The Emperor's health has begun to deteriorate recently. Each
clan is doing everything they can to curry favor. And I'm no exception."

"You're want to up your chances by discovering the secret of

immortality." Edward said.

"Exactly! Okay! The Philosopher's Stone...What information can you

offer?" Ling asked.

"Not happening! The Stone isn't a tool for some political game." Ed
replied.

Ling fell onto Ed in a hug. "Oh, then I'll have to stay with you until you
tell me!"

Ed hit Ling in the face with his arm. "Oh, no you don't!" He said, hitting
Ling repeatedly.

"Ow," Ling moaned, holding his aching face. "You are a cruel person, Ed."

"Then don't hug me, you freak!" Ed snapped.

"I'm back!" Winry called.

Ed froze at her voice.

"Did you see that? There was some kind of fight on Main Street," Winry
looked at Ed, holding up his arm while Ling hugged his leg. Garfiel
continued to sip his tea while Al froze.

"The moment she heard fight, she should have realized what it meant." Izumi
said blandly.

Ed and Al chuckled nervously.

Mustang nodded. "Whenever I know Fullmetal is in town and I hear the word
fight in a conversation, I immediately suspect it has something to do with the
Elric. I am right eighty percent of the time."

"We don't cause that many fights!" Ed hissed.

"So it took a while to…"

Winry stared at Ed's metal shoulder, frozen.

"What happened to your arm?" She shouted as the outside of the shop
was shown. There was a crash as Ed screamed. The inside was shown
with a laughing Ling as tools were thrown around.

"Are you laughing at my misery that was the result of your subordinate?"
Edward asked darkly.

"Perhaps."

"You careless little jerk! How could you do this!"

Ed screamed.

"Young Lord!" Fu appeared from the top of the window on the outside.

Ling looked at him.

Ling sat on top of the shop with Fu and Lan Fan standing behind him.
"Why do you put up with this boy? There's no need to bow to someone
so far beneath you." Fu said.

"Should I feel insulted?" Ed asked.

"Fu is just used to the old ways." Ling said, laughing. "But don't worry, Ed. I
still like you!"

"If you hug me, I can't be held responsible for my actions." Ed said blankly.

Ling moved away a bit.

"If all it takes is a little bowing, I consider it a small price to pay." Ling
replied. "The fate of 500,000 Yao clansmen rides on this." An evil look
passed over Ling's face. "We can't worry so much about appearance."

Havoc whistled. "You've got a big clan."

Ed's automail arm appeared on the screen. "So, where are you heading
to break your automail this time?"

Ed and Al sat behind Winry and Garfiel as they worked. "You just
assume I'll break it?"

"Because you always do." Sig pointed out.

Ed groaned. "It was Greed's fault."

"We were thinking about doing some digging in Central." Al replied.

Winry stopped working and turned to the brothers in excitement. "You

guys are going back to Central? I want to go to! Take me with you!"

"What do you want to go there for?" Ed asked.

"I'd like to go see the Hughes' family again." Winry replied.

Ed groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"So, it seems you guys will finally learn the truth." Hughes said sadly.

"But don't you have a lot of work to do here?" Al asked, causing Winry
to deflate.

"It's okay if you want to go, Winry. You should take a break every once
in a while." Garfiel said.

"Oh, really? Thanks so much, Mr. Garfiel!" Winry said.

The brothers smiled. "Okay, we'll all go." Ed said.

Al gave a thumb up. "Central here we come!"

Winry laughed happily. "Mm-hmm."

Ling hung over the window. "Oh, we're going to Central! How exciting!"

Ed twitched violently. "I told you, you're not coming with us!" He
screamed.

The scene changed to a cart being driven by a horse. Inside it May was
sleeping.

"So, the little girl is coming with us after all." Yoki said. Scar clutched a
nut. "Sir, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. You have
never told me what your name is. If you don't mind, I would very much
like to know it."

Scar frowned. It was bound to happen, someone asking for his name. But, his
name no longer existed for someone like him. He no longer deserved his
name.

"Ishvalan names are sacred. Ishvalan people take great pride when
speaking their names aloud as they are gifts from God." Scar said.

"Well, then, sir, yours must be a special one indeed." Yoki replied.

"I have renounced my Ishvalan name." Scar said. "Now go!" He broke
the shell of the nuts in his hand. "Keep moving!"

"Right!" Yoki said.

"I'm walking down a path of no return so I will leave behind me every

gift I have received from God." Scar said.

"Hmm, there is always a chance to return. It is called forgiveness. For

however great your God is, surely he has it in him to forgive? If one cannot
forgive and be forgiven, then that is truly when the path you have taken has
no return." Edward said, leaning back on his hands with his eyes closed.

When silence met his ears, Edward cracked an eye open to see him getting
shocked and surprised looks. "What? I may not believe, but I have studied
religion before as a child. We are humans, therefore, we always sin. No
human out there is perfect that they never sin. So, asking for forgiveness is all
we can do. Those who can forgive can receive it as well. It doesn't just have
to do with religion and God."

Scar looked at the boy thoughtfully. Forgiveness? For one so young, he

certainly was insightful already. He could probably have an interesting
conversation with his master if he continued to speak like this. But
forgiveness was a hard thing for Scar. Before he could receive forgiveness,
Edward was saying he had to forgive the monsters that killed his people. That
was something he didn't think he could ever do.

"Deep stuff." Hughes said, chuckling.

Ed opened his eyes and rolled them. "I thought we all already realized that I
can be a really insightful person!"

May smiled to herself. Perhaps her first reaction to Edward had been wrong.
He was mad at the time and very stressed, but that didn't mean his greatness
and the stories of him were wrong. There was something to him, but she just
wasn't sure of what it was yet.

"So back to Central." Dr. Marcoh said sadly.

Al and Ed shared a look. "Yeah, Central. Time to face the truth."

A green field with a stone wall in front of it appeared on screen.

Let it all out, Let it all out

"Wow, a new ending song as well? Well, isn't this great? I was getting bored
of the childish ending." Luke said.

"What is he talking about?" Ling asked Ed.

"Before you arrived, we had a different opening and ending song to watch."
Edward explained to him.

"Look at all that green." Brody whistled. "I haven't seen that much in a long
time."

"Yeah, I kind of miss it." Avery said.

"Did you live in a rural area before?" Al asked confused.

Avery nodded. "Yep, which is why it took such a long time for me to get
used to the north. It's so cold up there."

The scene continued to move to the side.

"Tsuyogaranakute iin da ne"

Winry appeared on the screen with the wind blowing her hair and a
bright blue sky with clouds filling it as the background.

"Dareka ga kaitetta"

"kabe no rakugaki no hana ga yureru"

Ed's back appeared on the screen with his hair blowing in the wind as
well.

"Jibunrashisa nante, dare mo wakaranai yo"

Al's back appeared on the screen next, but he was standing on green
grass with a blue sky filled with clouds as well.

"Nagai nagai michi no tochuu de nakushitari, hirottari"

The burned down remains of the Elrics's house was shown.

"What's that?" Lan Fan asked curiously.

"That is what is left of Ed's and Al's childhood." Hughes told her sadly.

"You mean their house?" May asked, recalling what Al told her about it.

Hughes nodded.

May cast her eyes to the ground sadly. Their childhood must have been so
difficult if this is what they decided to do in the end.

"Kyuu ni samishiku natte, naichau hi mo aru kedo"

The screen went dark for a moment before Ling appeared sitting on a
rock with Fu and Lan Fan standing on either side of him.

"Namida mo itami mo, hoshi ni kaeyou"

May appeared standing in a field with her braids blowing back behind
her from the wind.

"Even they are shown in the ending songs." Havoc grumbled. "Why are we in
them?"

"You're not that great." Ed suggested sarcastically.

"You can be so mean, Chief." Havoc said.

"Wasn't that obvious?" Ed asked.

"Ashita wo terasu akari wo tomosou"

Ed and Al were shown in a store. Ed put some change on a counter and
talked to someone as he pointed to something.

"Chiisanu te kazashite"

"Resembool must really be a peaceful and safe place if little kids can go
running to the store by themselves." Brody said. "Kids can't go anyone
without an adult watching them in the city."

"Rural areas tend to be safer. There is very little crime in them." Avery told
him.

"No doubt about that. Rural families find it hard to adjust to city life if they
move to one." Havoc added. "Some don't realize how dangerous it is to let
their young kids run off by themselves."

The brothers were shown to be walking down a road with their bags. Al
stumbled once as he walked. As the sun got lower in the sky, Al jogged to
catch up to his brother who turned his head to look at him.

"futari de tsukurou hoshikuzu wo"

Ed and Al ran down the road together.

"tsuyoku hikaru eien wo"

The bulletin board full of pictures was shown. The screen moved down to
show some of the pictures.

"Sayonara itsuka wa kuru kamo shirenai"

Hohenheim's back was shown with the wind blowing his ponytail
around. The scene slowly pulled out to show Hohenheim standing in a
field with Central in the distance.

"Kisetsu wa soredemo meguri megutteku"

Ed and Al appeared on screen with their backs facing it.

"Chiisaku mayotte mo aruite'ku"

The brothers started walking forward.

"Kimi to aruiteku"

The Rockbell's house was shown, but it was faded into the darkness of
the night sky.

"sore dake wa kawaranaide iyou ne"

The scene went dark.

"Nice ending. I really like the song." May said, smiling.

"All the songs so far have been really nice." Riza added.

"Though Ed and Al take up too much time in them." Havoc grumbled.

"Wow," Ed said. "I had no idea you want screen time so badly."

Havoc shot his friend a grin. "Well, we've been seeing you too much, Chief.
It's time for someone else to hog the screen."

"So needy." Ed retorted.

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 16*: Episode 16:Footsteps of a
Comrade-In-Arm
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: So, I was going through this story and all the reviews I got the other
day. I had only done that because I was looking for something in chapter
1, but I found myself so amused that I had to go through what else I had
written. I found that I might be a little crazy. I write some strange things.
But, that is countered by the awesome, emotional, truthful things I write
as well. Hahaha. So fun. It has helped up my inspiration a bit.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 16: Footsteps of a Comrade-In-Arms

The opening song began once more.

Central was seen from the sky before Ed was shown to be stretching his
arms above his head in the train station. "Man, I'm beat." He said.

"Being spied on for hours will do that." Al said.

"Mr. Fu and Lan Fan were keeping eyes on him?" Winry asked.

"Again with the spying?" Ed hissed, shooting a glare at Ling, who whistled
innocently.

"You are a very suspicious character." Ling said.

Ed snorted. "I think it is more that you are too nosy for your own good."

"I think you can be very suspicious, Chief." Havoc commented.

"Oh? How so?" Ed retorted.

Havoc shrugged. "Metal arm, metal leg, traveling with an empty suit of
armor, State Alchemist at twelve, need I go on?"

Ed twitched. "Wow, so I can't just have a strange life?"

"Hey, where's the Young Lord?" Fu asked. He and Lan Fan were sitting
on top of the train, looking down at Ed, Al, and Winry.

"You seriously can't keep track of your charge?" Al asked blankly.

"He is quite good at slipping away unnoticed." Fu replied dryly.

"Well, maybe next time, instead of watching me, you'll watch your charge.
He's just going to get himself into a mess at this rate." Edward retorted.

Ling pouted. "I will not."

Ed sighed. "Yes, you will. You seem like an over excitable child."

The three teenagers looked around. "He's not here." Al said.

"I don't know. Maybe he ran off again." Winry suggested.

Lan Fan and Fu fell into dejected states.

"So this happens often?" Mustang asked amused. He turned to Ed. "You and
Ling would make the best of friends."

"Why's that?" Ed asked.

"Because of the amount of trouble you two get yourselves in." Hughes said
dryly.

Ed huffed.

Lan Fan sighed. "I would prefer if he and Master Ling did not hang out then."

"I would love to hang with Ed then. It would make my stay in Amestris more
interesting." Ling piped in.

"NO!" Ed shouted, glaring at Ling. "You just cause me trouble."

"You are always in trouble." Mustang pointed out.

"That's not the point!" Ed retorted.

Sheska raised a brow. "Then what is?"

Ed fell quiet, not having an answer to that.

"Good grief. I can't take my eyes off him for a second." Fu said. He ran
down to one end of the train. "Young Lord! Where have you taken off to
this time?"

Lan Fan looked around. "What if he's collapsed somewhere again?"

"Wow." Ed said. "You really sound like a worried girl there."

"What was that?" Lan Fan growled.

Ed shrugged. "Well, during our fight, you were more like a warrior, but now
you are acting like a very concern teenage girl."

"I am not an emotionless warrior, Edward. I am not trained to be

emotionless." Lan Fan retorted.

"Well, that's good. I would hate to see you trained to be a mindless killer."
Edward replied before frowning. "You're not trained to kill, are you?"
"No. I'm trained to protect my lord, not kill, but if I must kill to keep him
safe, I will." Lan Fan replied.

Ed's frown darkly. "You've never killed."

Lan Fan's eyes widened. "How did you–"

"Because you talk about killing so easily." Ed explained. "If one is a good
person and has killed once knows how hard it is and will not like doing it.
Taking a life is not as easy as you make it seem."

Having no reply to that, Lan Fan just nodded. What could she possibly say to
Edward after hearing him talk so darkly about it?

Ed began to walk away. "If so, I say it's a relief. Let's go."

"Aww, you are so cruel!" Ling cried. "How can you not care for your friend's
safety?"

"When did I ever say we were friends?" Ed muttered.

"Oh, you shouldn't be in denial so much. It isn't healthy." Ling teased.

Ed's eyes narrowed when Ling's hand reached towards him. "Touch me and
you will suffer."

Ling quickly withdrew his hand. "How cruel of you! The stories of you LIE!"

"You can't trust a second hand story." Ed retorted. "It's best to hear it from
the source. And what do these stories say anyway?"

Ling poked his tongue out at him. "If you don't know, I'm not telling"

"And I thought you were more mature then that." Al muttered to himself.

"Coming." Winry and Al said, turning away from Lan Fan to follow Ed.

Fu jumped to the top of a lamppost. "Master Ling! Where are you?"

Ling was shown to be standing on top of a building.

"You sneak away to stand atop a building?" Rebecca asked, chuckling in

amusement. "Well, that's not very nice to your bodyguards."

Ling shrugged. "Even I need some time to myself to think and plan."

"But do you have to sneak away?" Fu asked, frowning.

"Yes, if I don't, you'll follow me and I won't be alone. Having bodyguards

around all the time is a bit suffocating." Ling explained.

Ed grinned. "At least that is one thing we can agree on."

"Oh, God," Havoc muttered, covering his eyes. "They'll like twins with their
way of thinking."

'Something about this country doesn't feel right.'

"And that means what?" Riza asked worried.

"If I had to guess from his words alone, I think he is thinking about the chi of
the country. Since I haven't arrived in Amestris yet, I haven't felt the chi of
the country so I can't really tell you what he is feeling." May explained. "But
that is the most logical explanation."

"It is probably because of the Homunculi roaming about." Edward replied,

frowning. "I don't know anything about chi, but Homunculi seem like the
logical answer to why something would feel wrong with the chi."

May nodded in agreement. "While I don't know anything about Homunculi,

from what you said, they seem evil and like something that would disrupt the
flow of chi."

"Footsteps of a Comrade-in-Arms"

A car came to a stop outside of a building and Havoc exited it with a

basket under his arm.
"Hey, it's been a while since we've seen you on screen!" Ed said, grinning.
"Maybe you'll finally do something now."

Havoc shot the boy a mock glare. "So sorry that this is mostly your point of
view."

"What can I say? I'm just awesome like that." Ed retorted.

Havoc's eyes looked around for a moment before he was shown to be

knocking on a door inside the building. "It's me. I'm just checking in."

The door open and Falman came out.

"You're doing well." Havoc commented, lifting the basket up for him.
"Here. It's from the Colonel."

"Well, if Colonel is sending a gift, it can only mean he has a rude or scary
message as well." Ed said, twitching as he thought about it. "Don't accept the
gift! It's a trap!"

Rebecca laughed. "You seem to really have something against your

commanding officer."

Ed shrugged. "What? You've never had a commanding officer that made you
want to punch him?"

"Ah, good point." Rebecca said.

The door closed as the two entered the room. Barry looked up from a
game of chess. "Hey! It's the smoking guy!" He said.

"Are you seriously watching over him rather than turning him in?" Ed said
dryly.

General Armstrong smirked. "Of course. With a conspiracy happening, we

are allowed to bend the rules a bit to save the country."

"You don't even know what is going on yet." Edward mumbled to himself
before saying loudly, "So how are you guys planning to get information to
each other without being tracked?"

Mustang smirked. "You're just going to have to wait and see how adults
work."

Ed growled at him before smirking himself. "Oh, I simply can't wait.

Destroying an evil conspiracy theory sounds simply awesome, especially
with all these soldiers breaking the law and going behind people's backs to do
it. It should be oh so fascinating to see."

"I'm glad to see you're having fun." Mustang said dryly.

"How can I not? How often do you see loyal soldiers breaking the rules and
working underground?" Ed said.

Havoc walked farther into the room. "How's it going? You won a single
game yet?"

"Not even close. But this game is boring anyway." Barry replied. "Hey,
since it's night now, I can go and cut someone up, right?"

Buccaneer snorted. "He has a problem."

"Why was he in jail and not a psych ward?" Edward asked dryly. "He seems
mentally insane."

"Just because he has different interests then you?" Brody asked.

"Enjoying cutting people up into little pieces should classify you as insane!"
Edward retorted.

"Of course not." Havoc said.

"You've got to give me something! At least bring that Hawkeye lady for a
visit!" Barry said.

Ed and Ling snickered, earning an evil glare from Riza, which they felt rather
then saw.
"Shutting up." Ed and Ling said together.

"Yeah, I'll let her know you're interested." Havoc said as Falman put the
basket down.

"He's not the only who's bored. How much longer am I stuck here
keeping a watch on this guy anyway?" Falman asked. He looked at
Havoc. "What does the Colonel say?"

"The Colonel apologizes for having to give you such a dangerous

assignment. He also says don't worry about your other duties. Your
absence is being treated as sick leave." Havoc said as Falman was shown
on the screen with an evil grinning Mustang appearing behind him. "But
if anyone, even military personal outside of our unit, sees you, he'll have
you court martialed before you can blink."

"There is the evil message!" Ed cried.

"How did you know it was coming?" Ling asked.

Ed twitched. "He's done it to me multiple times. The jerk. Though, half the
time, he is delivering the message himself. I think he likes to see my annoyed
expression."

"Or I don't want you killing the messenger." Mustang corrected dryly.

"I never do! You always send Breda, Havoc, or Lieutenant Riza! Do they
look dead to you?" Edward retorted.

Mustang sighed. "Yes, but when I come to give the message, it is because
they can't because they are busy. I can't send anyone else because of what
happened the first time I did that or do you not remember Warrant Officer
Kegan?"

Ed blinked. "Uh, no. Who is he?"

"Exactly! He resigned after meeting you!" Mustang growled. "And all he did
was deliver a message!"
Ed paused for a moment, opening his mouth, then closing it as he scratched
his head. "Uh…"

General Armstrong rolled her eyes. "If he can't handle a teenager, it was a
damn good thing he resigned."

Ed leaned over to his brother. "Do you remember this guy?"

"Brother," Al sighed. "You traumatized the poor guy because he woke you up
at two in the morning with a message from Colonel."

Golden eyes blinked, surprised. "Well, hell, no wonder I don't remember. It

was too early for such an event."

Al almost slapped his helmet.

"That is all." Havoc said.

Falman grabbed his hair. "I don't suppose you have any news of a
happier sort to report?"

Havoc smiled. "Indeed."

"What is it?" Falman asked.

"Falman, I've found myself a girlfriend!" Havoc cheered. Falman gaped.

"She's been really sweet, helping me adjust to the move here and
everything. Boy, is she hot!"

"I don't think that is what he was after." Riza said sarcastically.

"Yeah! I got a girlfriend! A hot girlfriend!" Havoc said happily, ignoring

Riza.

"He always seems to lose it when beautiful women are mentioned." Al

commented, sighing. At least he wasn't like his brother with his moods.

"Hey, would this new girl be fun to cut up?" Barry asked. "Come on,
what do you say?"
Falman had tears pouring down his eyes in the background. "Please, just
get out of here."

"What do you say? Can I cut her?" Barry asked.

Ling was lying facedown on the road with two Military policemen by
him. "Hey, are you okay?" One asked.

"F-food."

Ed scoffed. Idiot.

Mustang shook his head. "That might work in a place like Rush Valley, but
not in Central. There are actually soldiers doing their job."

Ed twitched. "I'm fifteen! What do you want from me?"

"You're going to get arrested." Hughes told Ling. "Unless you have an entry
visa."

Ling hung his head while Fu and Lan Fan sighed. They really should have
known better.

"Collapsed by the side of the road, huh?"

"Where'd you come from?" The military policeman cupped a hand

around his ear. "What's that? From Xing you say?"

"Well, you're a long way from home alright."

"I'll need to see your entry visa please."

Ling twitched.

"That's what you get!" Ed said viciously, still upset over his wallet in the
future. "You really shouldn't try to trick people into buying you food like
this." He turned to his brother. "And this is why I tell you not to pick up
strays. They trick you like this."
Al sighed. Maybe his brother was right. He really should be more careful in
the future…..with picking up humans. Cats meant no harm! They were cute
little innocent creatures that needed his help!

Ling pouted. "But I really don't have any money on me."

"Why didn't you just get a visa?" Hughes asked.

"It would be a paper trail and the other clans would realize what I was trying
to do and follow me to get it before I could." Ling replied with a small shrug
of his shoulders. "It was best to sneak into the country. At least then they
wouldn't know where I went."

"And what was your plan if you got caught and arrested?" Miles asked.

Ling twitched. "I haven't planned that far yet."

Ling began to sweat before he was dragged away by the officers.

"Out of the way everyone."

"Illegal alien, coming through!"

"Young Master, where are you?" Fu yelled.

"He's in trouble again! He's collapsed. I'm sure of it!" Lan Fan said.

Ed, Al, and Winry just kept walking on down the road, ignoring the two
ninjas.

"Why are you guys still near us?" Ed said, twitching.

"With any luck, you'll run into Ling again." Lan Fan replied.

Ed frowned. "If I run into him, I'll eat my boot."

"I'll hold you to it." Lan Fan retorted.

"Okay, guess we should stop by the military offices first." Edward said.
"Right." Al said with a small nod of his helmet.

"In that case, I'll think I'll head straight to the Hughes's house to let
them know I'm in town." Winry said, smiling. "I can't wait to see Ms.
Gracia and cute little Elicia."

"Well, that's good. We shouldn't be all that far behind you." Edward
replied.

"Kay. See you later." Winry said before turning around and running off.

"I wonder if Lieutenant Colonel Hughes has put together any more
information on the Philosopher's Stone since we left." Al replied.

"I believe I have, but I won't be able to share it." Hughes said sadly.

Ed sighed. "Maybe, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. We have to if we want to
save the country."

"I'm more worried about how we'll react to learning about your death." Al
added.

"The Fuhrer was pretty clear about his orders regarding that." Ed
replied. "I think it's best if we give Hughes the information we found out
first."

"The Homunculi." Al clarified.

Ed nodded. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure Hughes said he was in the court-
martial office." He turned around, grinning. "This way."

The park was shown before Ed and Al were seen running through it,
passing the phone booth Hughes was killed in.

"Isn't that just eerie?" Mustang said.

"What is?" Karin asked confused.

"The boys ran right passed the place I was killed in without even knowing
that I'm dead yet. Creepy." Hughes explained.

A military building was shown. "Sheska…Sheska!"

Sheska stopped. "Yes?"

"You have the key for room number three, don't you?" The woman
asked.

"Yes." Sheska said before she freaked out and put her back to the door.
"Oh, wait! You said room number three, right? It's still a total mess
from when I was using it earlier."

The woman smiled. "It's fine. I just need it to gather some documents.
That's all."

Sheska shook her head. "No really, please don't! If you can just wait a
moment, I can straighten it right up for you."

"You're hiding something in there." Ed said dryly. "You shouldn't freak out
so much. It makes you even more suspicious."

Sheska smiled. "I'll remember that in the future."

"Actually, I think it fits Sheska's personality. Her freaking out is probably

normal for the soldiers so acting calmly would just be suspicious." Hughes
argued.

"I guess that trues." Ed said thoughtfully. "I still think you should tone it
down a bit."

The woman gave her a strange look. "Okay then. I can come back later
for the key. Please make sure it is taken care of."

"Yes ma'am." Sheska said, nodding at her.

When the woman left, Sheska breathed a sigh of relief. She unlocked the
door and entered the room so a sleeping soldier could be seen.
Ed blinked. "Why is a soldier sleeping in there? Don't break rooms exist for a
reason?"

"I only know of two soldiers who don't use the break rooms for naps." Havoc
said dryly. He shot a meaningful look at Ed. "You, Chief, and the Colonel."

"You don't use the break rooms?" Ed asked.

Mustang shrugged. "Got a problem with that?"

Ed shrugged. "I can't really say anything, except that the couch in your office
is really comfortable."

"Um, excuse me." Sheska said. "Colonel? Colonel Mustang?"

Mustang reached up and pulled the book off his face. "Hello Sheska.
How long was I asleep?"

"About ten minutes I think." Sheska replied.

Mustang stood up, yawning as he pulled his pocket watch out and
opened it. "Ah, council meeting is about to start."

"Uh, Colonel, perhaps this is none of my business, but maybe you should
try to get a little more rest." Sheska said.

Mustang held a hand up in farewell as he walked out of the room.

"Hmm. I'll be back."

"I don't think that is what I meant." Sheska said shyly.

"Was that Colonel Mustang that just left?"

Sheska screamed in shock. "Oh, Captain Focker, sir. Good morning.

Nice day, isn't it?"

"Good morning to you, Sheska." Focker greeted. "Tell me, what was he
doing here? The Colonel?"
"Oh, uh, well, you see…" Sheska said.

Focker looked into the room. "The storeroom door is open."

Sheska bowed. "I'm sorry. I opened it, sir."

"I bet the Colonel twisted your arm, didn't he?" Focker said. "Don't
worry. I won't tell anyone."

Sheska stood up straight. "Oh, I really appreciate that, sir."

"Although, I do wonder what the Colonel was looking into." Focker said.
"Do you know?"

Hughes's eyes narrowed. There was something that was off about Focker. It
was normal to ask questions, but he was pushing the subject a bit much. Not
to mention that Mustang was ranks higher then him. If he was doing
something and did not inform Focker, it would be above his rank. Sheska
wouldn't understand that much, having not been there long, so she would
answer without hesitation.

A sad look crossed Sheska's face. "I'm not one hundred percent certain
of all the details, sir. He did ask if there were any materials having to do
with the Fifth Laboratory. And also, he was looking into the Hughes
case." There was a slight twitch of Focker's brow. "You know, I got my
job here through General Hughes."

"Ah, yes, I remember." Focker turned to Sheska. "Well, I got tons of

work to do." He put a hand to her shoulder as he walked past. "Carry
on, Sheska."

Sheska watched him go. When Focker looked up again, he was shocked
to see Focker walking in front of him.

Hughes frowned darkly. So that was it. Envy, the sneaky bastard. He was
sneaking around, gathering information through tricky means. After all,
soldiers trusted and followed their superiors. It was their duty. They wouldn't
expect a trick like this.
Sheska screamed. "Did I just talk to Envy? Oh, I am so sorry! I just gave
information away!"

To her surprise, Mustang just smirked. "Don't worry, Sheska. It wasn't any
information that was terribly vital, though it did grab their attention."

"And that's good how?" Al asked.

"It was cause them to do something, perhaps give us a chance to lay a trap."
Mustang replied.

"Maybe. Depends on how they feel about your moves." Ed added.

When Focker walked passed Envy, the Homunculus had just finished
changing his appearance.

Sheska was picking up her books when Focker walked into the room.
"Good morning, Sheska."

"Sir?" Sheska looked at him before looking away with a confused

expression. "What the?"

Mustang was in the bathroom, washing his face. He turned the water off
before drying his face and staring at himself in the mirror. There was a
flushing sound and Mustang looked up in the mirror to see Armstrong's
reflection.

"Hello, sir." Armstrong greeted.

"That's a bit creepy. Mostly because it is in the bathroom." Ed commented.

"It is always strange to run into a superior in the bathroom." Havoc agreed.
"You ever deal with it, Chief?"

Ed shrugged. "I'm not around often enough for that."

"I thought you avoided the bathrooms at work because you wanted to avoid
running into Colonel in one again." Al said confused.
Ed twitched. "Al."

"What?" Havoc said confused.

Shooting his brother a glare, Ed sighed. "Nothing. Colonel noticed me acting

strange in one of our meetings and cornered me in the bathroom later and
found out I had a horrible injury so I avoid those damn places now."

Breda snorted. "I forgot you had a tendency to hide your injuries from us
when you were younger."

"Well, that's just foolish." Miles said.

Ed sighed. "I wasn't hiding them! I went to the hospital, got them checked
out, and was done. There was no point in mentioning them since I was
released from the hospital!"

Mustang made a disgruntled face. "Hey."

Armstrong left the stall, approaching one of the sinks to wash his hands.
"Colonel, you look as if you lost some weight."

"Too much stress or too much work?" May wondered worriedly. Having been
trained in Alkahestry, she knew a bit more about medicine then a normal
child her age.

"Probably both." Ed muttered. "Knowing Colonel, he is overworking and

stressing himself to find Hughes's murderer."

May frowned. That was really dangerous. Mustang was going to drive
himself down a bad path if he kept this up.

"Maybe. But what happened to you?" Mustang asked.

"There was an incident down in the south." Armstrong replied. "But

don't you worry. It's just a scratch."

Mustang turned back to the mirror. "I see."

"I ran into the Elric brothers down there." Armstrong said. "Apparently
they'd gone to Dublith to pay a visit, an old teacher."

"You make it sound like you didn't know what we were doing." Al
commented.

"You never know who is listening." Armstrong warned. "I didn't want it
known that I knew about your activities before I happened upon you in the
south. It was safer to make it sound like I just ran into you."

Al nodded, not fully understanding. The ways of the military and all this was
a bit lost on him and his brother. It was just getting more confusing with all
the conspiracy stuff going on.

"Major." Mustang said suddenly.

"Sir?" Armstrong asked.

"Did you tell them about Hughes's death?" Mustang asked.

"No. I couldn't bring myself to do it." Armstrong replied.

"They'll find out eventually you know." Mustang replied.

"Yes, I know." Armstrong said, moving to the restroom's door.

"The Fifth Laboratory and the Philosopher's Stone." Mustang suddenly

said before Armstrong could leave. "The stone's main ingredient is live
humans."

"Barry knew that much?" Ed said confused. "Or did you do something to
piece it together?"

"I think Barry knew that much if he was guarding the place. It seemed the
Slicer brothers knew a lot more then they should have as well." Riza replied.

Ed nodded.

Armstrong stopped.
"Hughes always did enjoy helping other people. This time he stuck his
nose into the Elric brothers' investigation. He found out something he
would have been better off not knowing. Am I wrong?" Mustang asked.

Armstrong looked over at him.

"If the Elric brothers found out what really happened to him, that he
died trying to help them, they would blame themselves." Mustang said,
reaching up to grab his jacket. "So, you not telling them was kind."

"You really know us so well." Ed muttered.

"It's not hard to. You two really seem to love taking the blame for things that
are not your fault." Mustang replied. "You can't continue to think everything
is your fault. It's not healthy."

"I've never been good with my health." Ed retorted.

"I know." Mustang sighed dramatically. "It is such a pain to get you to eat
your fruits and vegetables."

Ed rolled his eyes.

"But in all seriousness, you can't keep blaming yourself. It will only make
your life harder and one of solitude." Mustang said.

"You want to give me advice? Then first look at yourself." Ed hissed angrily,
turning back to the screen. He was pushing Mustang. He knew it bad, but he
was seeing it. Mustang was after revenge for Hughes's death. This was going
to lead him down a dark path, which was something he really did not want to
see.

Armstrong smiled. "You've got it all figured out, don't you?"

"When doesn't he have it all figured out?" Ed grumbled.

"A good leader has to be able evaluate a situation and know what is going on
without asking for all the answers." Mustang retorted, smirking at the boy
though without his usual fire. Ed was pushing him for something, but he
wasn't exactly sure of what it was yet.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. It'd still be easier to just ask someone who
has all the answers though."

"Oh? Then why don't you ask your father for help?" Brody asked.

Ed flushed red. "Shut up. That is my business!"

"I'm almost there." Mustang replied, pulling his arm through the sleeve.

"Be careful, sir." Armstrong said. "You never know who might be
listening in on you or where. If you'll excuse me..."

Armstrong left the restroom.

"Huh? Lieutenant Hawkeye?" Ed asked.

Riza opened her eyes and looked towards the boys approaching her.
"Hey guys. It's been a while."

"If the Lieutenant is here, then that means so is…" Ed trailed off with a
disgruntled look.

"Thanks for waiting." Mustang's voice said before he walked around a

corner.

"Yep." Ed grumbled. "It's the Colonel."

"Aww, why so displeased?" Mustang mocked.

Ed shot him a glare. "I hate associating with you."

"Careful Fullmetal. You might actually make me cry." Mustang said, wiping
fake tears away from his eyes.

"That'll be a grand day. I'll make sure Hughes is around at the time so he can
take a picture for me." Edward mocked before frowning.
"Pictures….WHERE ARE THOSE BLOODY PICTURES, HAVOC?"
A grin almost split Havoc's face in two. "You forgot about them, didn't you,
Chief?"

"A lot has been going on!" Ed retorted in his defense. "Now give them here."

"But why?" Havoc whined. "I like them."

"So I can burn them!" Ed growled.

Havoc shrugged. "Eh, sorry, Chief, since you forgot about them, I gave them
back to Hughes."

Ed's eye twitched. "Hughes." He growled.

"Never!" Hughes cried. "You're not touching my pictures."

Ed's body twitched. "I know where you live, and when we get out of here, I'm
raiding your house and all your pictures shall die."

"Y-you…You FIEND!" Hughes cried.

Mustang patted Hughes's shoulder. "I suggest getting a moat and putting up a
huge defense around your house. From what we've seen, Ed has a way to
sneak into any place. You best be prepared."

Hughes nodded. "Good idea. Hey, Roy, I have an idea. Care to take up
residence at my house for a while for a chance for some fried shrimp?"

Ed scowled at the time while Mustang smirked.

"Oh, I would love for that chance." Mustang replied.

"Ha, you'll never hit me!" Ed retorted.

"We shall see." Mustang retorted. "Remember that I am soldier, Fullmetal. I

don't just rely on alchemy."

Ed rolled his eyes. "You have no chance of hitting me with your bare fists."
"Hello Fullmetal." Mustang greeted in surprise.

With a hand to his head in frustration, Ed replied. "Colonel Mustang.

What are you doing here in Central?"

"You didn't hear?" Mustang asked. "I was transferred to this branch
last month."

"Great." Ed said sarcastically.

"And you guys?" Mustang asked. "What brings you here?"

"We're just doing a little information gathering." Edward replied. "And

we were thinking we'd pay a visit to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes a bit
later today."

Mustang looked surprised.

"Where is he anyway?" Ed asked.

Riza looked down sadly.

It was silent for a moment before Mustang said, "Not here."

Ed looked surprised.

"He retired out in the country."

"Et tu, Colonel?" Edward asked sadly. "Do you think I can't handle the truth
or something?"

"I don't want to have to tell another friend when he will blame himself. It is
hard enough even saying it, but knowing you will blame yourself for his
death, I can't say this to you." Mustang replied, frowning. It wasn't that he
thought the boy weak that he couldn't handle death. It was because he didn't
want to see the boy blaming himself. The Elrics tried to take too much blame
for things.

"I know it is hard to say," Maria said, frowning sadly. "I wouldn't want to tell
them either, but someone has to tell them the truth. And it is best it come
from a friend before someone lets it slip for whatever reason."

General Armstrong scoffed. "You are all too soft on the boys. Fullmetal has
been in the military for three years now. If he can't handle something like this
after three years, he shouldn't be here."

"Thank you!" Edward said. "At least I know you won't feed me lies. I hate
being lied to, Colonel."

"I'm not good with things like this." Mustang defended.

"You are my Commanding Officer!" Edward retorted angrily. "It isn't your
job to protect me from the truth. It is your job to mentor me and helped me
along, damn it!"

Mustang's eyes widened in surprise. Edward accepted the fact that he was
mentoring him these past three years? He never expected Edward to even
realize he was doing that. But for him to realize it and accept it? His eyes
softened. "Sorry, kid. I'll be sure to remember that in the future."

"The Colonel was mentoring him?" Avery asked confused.

Havoc snickered. "Chief entered the military at twelve. Colonel didn't want to
turn him in a mindless soldier, so in his own twisted way, he mentored Chief
and helped him grow."

Brody nodded, staring at Ed then Colonel. "I can see that. They argue a lot,
but they really do respect one another. Their relationship is a strange one."

"And took his wife and daughter with him." Mustang continued as Riza
looked at him in surprise. "To take over the family business so he's not
here."

Ed looked down. "I see. Well, that's too bad."

"We were hoping to see him." Al said.

Mustang turned away and took a few steps away, before he stopped.
"Fullmetal, watch yourself. Don't do anything crazy."

"Argh, you are just like Major Armstrong. What is it with you soldiers and
your strange messages?" Edward groaned.

"I think I said it before, but it is because it is our job to help you as much as
we can. You have to let adults help you. You can't do it all by yourself. When
we tell you to watch your back and not be reckless, it's because we know
danger is coming. You are not the only one doing information gathering."
Mustang explained.

Ed shrugged.

"Aw, it's like you're a big, crazy family." Ling said.

Ed whacked him in the help. "What is wrong with you? We are soldiers, not a
family."

Ling rubbed his head, while Lan Fan glared at Ed's head, making the boy
twitch. "You're in such denial."

"I'll hit you again, this time with my automail if you continue to speak such
nonsense." Ed threatened, waving his automail hand around.

"Okay." Ed said softly.

"You spoke as softly as when Major Armstrong warned you." Al said

shocked. "And this time, it was to the Colonel."

"How often is it that I have soldiers warning me to watch myself?" Ed

retorted. "I'm not used to it!"

Havoc rolled his eyes. "We tell you that all the time, but you never listen."

Ed paused, thinking back. "Yes, but that is always in the middle of the
mission. Major Armstrong and Colonel both warned me when I wasn't in a
dangerous situation or even on a mission. It's confusing!"

"Then maybe you should take it to heart that something is going on." May
pointed out softly.

Ed nodded. "I think I'll realize that they know something is going on and
listen, though I'll still have my reckless acts."

Mustang and Major Armstrong groaned. This boy….

Mustang walked away with Riza following him.

Riza held the book she had to her chest. "Now you decided to treat them
like children." She accused.

"There's no need for them to know just yet." Mustang replied. "The
fewer obstacles that stand in their way right now, the better."

"Colonel, they are going to find out some day." Riza replied.

Mustang stopped walking. "It's funny. I accused Armstrong of being

soft, but right now, I'm no better than he is."

"I thought you said he was kind." Al said confused.

"And in the military, that is just another way of saying soft." General
Armstrong replied. "Soldiers cannot be soft. It gets in the way of our job."

Ed hummed. "I think a little bit of kindness is good in everyone. You don't
have to be tough and harsh in everything you do. A soldier being gentle with
a child…there is nothing wrong with that. Kids look up to soldiers, not
realizing the horrors they have gone through…that they have seen. Showing
gentleness to a child, it can go a long way in helping that child grow."

"Brother…" Al said.

"In his own way, Colonel was gentle with me when he saw what Al and I
done. He did it to reach his own goal, but at the same time, he was helping
me when he offered me the chance to be a State Alchemist." Edward
explained. "Anyone else would have turned us in or just left us as a mess
after they saw we were just children or saw what we done. And if they didn't,
they would have used the knowledge against for their own purposes. But
Colonel, he saved us from ourselves and gave us a chance to fix our mistake."

Ling listened to Edward carefully. The blond had not actually gone into detail
about his or Al's story. He gave the bare details, but it sounded like there was
a lot more to it. Perhaps he should get it from Ed later when they have come
to understand each other a bit more.

Mustang stared at Edward in shock. Because of all their petty arguments in

the past, he had missed just how much the boy had grown in the past three
years. He kept on showing he was wiser and more insightful then he realized.
Yes, he knew the boy was a prodigy, but he didn't know that he was this wise
about life until coming here. It made sense, considering his childhood though.

Izumi smiled softly at Ed's words. Until now, she found what Mustang did to
get Ed in the military a cruel act, but now Ed was throwing it in her face as
another perspective. If it had been anyone else to see what the boys had done,
it could have been so much worse. What Mustang did was actual to protect
the boys and kept their secret. Yes, it was to further his own career, but he
also did so much to keep the boys safe and mentor them in his own way.
They might disagree on how to raise the boys, but it seemed that Ed and Al
were growing up to be fine men.

"I fail to see anything soft about it." Riza replied, drawing Mustang's
eyes to her. "It's cruel, Colonel."

"It is very cruel to hide the truth that a friend is gone. It will make the pain of
discovering it later even worse, especially when it is known that friends were
the one hiding the truth." Ling said sadly.

Ed stared at the spot where Riza and Mustang left. "I can't believe
Hughes is actually gone."

"Oh, I almost forgot, Brother. We need to tell Winry all about this. She
went straight to the Hughes's house." Al said.

"Oh, look at that, your lie is going to fail." Ed said, frowning. "Guess it isn't a
surprise. You didn't know Winry was there."
Mustang frowned. "So the truth will be found out sooner then we
anticipated."

"Yeah, you're right." Ed said. He spun around and ran down the
hallway, but was forced to stop when he ran into Maria. He backed up a
few steps. "Lieutenant Ross."

"I haven't seen you two here in a while." Maria greeted. "You're in the
hurry. Why the rush?"

"We just heard about Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." Edward replied.

Maria looked down, sadly. "Yeah, it's rough news, huh?"

"Why did it have to be me you ran into?" Maria groaned, pulling at her hair.

Ed and Al stared at her. "What's with you?" The former asked.

"I don't know the lie Colonel Mustang told you. If you continue to talk to me,
I'm going to let it slip that he's dead. Let it slip by accident! That's a horrible
way for you to find out!" Maria groaned.

Ed shot an accusing stare at Major Armstrong and Mustang.

Mustang coughed into his hand. "Uh, sorry for putting you into such a
position."

"That doesn't make it better." Maria muttered.

"Yeah, there's still so much we wanted to tell him about." Ed said.

"We would have liked to say goodbye." Al said.

"We weren't able to reach you." Maria replied. "Don't worry though.
The military gave him a proper send off."

"You know, to our future selves who don't the truth, this probably sounds like
a very strange and confusing conversation." Al commented.
Ed nodded. "Yeah, we're probably thinking, 'what the hell is she talking
about?'"

"Wow. That was nice." Ed said.

"That's how it's done. Also, if you boys haven't heard already. I'm sure
you both be glad to know." Maria closed her eyes for a few seconds
before opening them. "He was promoted, two whole ranks." Ed jerked
back a bit, eyes widening.

"Up to Brigadier General?" Ed asked.

Ed groaned. "Well, you don't have to say it directly. You gave me all the
information I needed."

"You discovered the truth with just that?" Denny asked surprised.

"Major Armstrong and Colonel gave me strange warnings, then Lieutenant

Riza had a strange look on her face as Colonel fed us lies. Lieutenant Ross
just gave the biggest hint of all, which is why I pieced it together." Edward
explained.

"He retired to the country and they promoted him?" Al asked.

Looking shocked and horrified, Maria covered her mouth as a dark tune
entered the scene.

Ed blinked, eyes widening in horror. "Lieutenant Ross."

An apple stand was shown with a lady picking up some apples.

"And here you are miss." The lady said, giving a basket to Winry.

"Thank you." Winry said, taking the basket before leaving. She looked at
the basket with a smile.

"No." Ed said, staring at Ross. "Not the Lieutenant Colonel. Why him?"

A sad tone entered the scene.

Maria stared at Ed with wavering eyes.

Ed was shown to be running down the steps outside the building with Al
following after him.

"Brother!" Al yelled.

Ed ran down the sidewalk, away from the military offices.

"Brigadier General Hughes is dead. He was murdered shortly after you

were discharged from the hospital." Maria's voice said. "I'm afraid we
still haven't found the person responsible."

"Considering who did it and how he works in the shadow of the military,
that's not really surprising." Riza said, sighing softly.

"Considering he is a shape shifter makes it even harder." Ed added. "But, at

least we know about them now. We won't be fooled by them a second time."

"Since when do you look on the bright side?" Mustang asked.

Ed shot him an annoyed look. "It's been known to happen!"

There were flashes of Ed in the hospital explaining things to Armstrong

and Hughes.

Ed reappeared on the screen, still running. 'It's all my fault! I'm the one
who pulled him into this. It's all my fault!'

"Oh, it's time for the blame game!" Havoc said.

"You guys play this game a lot." Luke added.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I thought we already said that Al and I love taking the
blame for things?"

"And I thought we already said you can't keep doing that." Mustang retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes and looked over at Hughes, who smiled softly at him. The
soldiers could think whatever they wanted. He and Hughes had already
solved this problem, and Ed did not want to go into it again.

Flashes of Hughes from when the Elrics first met him appeared on the
screen.

After a few more flashes, Ed appeared on the screen. His running came
to a stop in the middle of a dark alley. He leaned against a wall,
breathing heavily.

"Okay, you boys have a safe trip." Hughes said as he appeared on the
screen, saluting the boys. "Stop in and give me a shout the next time you
make it to Central."

The first dinner the Elrics had with Hughes appeared on the screen with
Hughes saying, "Al, how are you going to eat wearing that armor? Take
it off. Relax."

The Elrics meeting Hughes the first time appeared. "Elrics, I understand
you two don't have a place to stay, which means you have to come with
me."

"Wow, there are a lot of flashbacks. What is it with you and flashbacks,
Chief?" Breda asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Obviously, I am trying to make it an emotional scene."

He said, smirking.

"Or dramatic. Perhaps you have too many flashbacks." Hughes suggested.

"We're only 16 episodes in! That's hardly enough time to have too many
flashbacks!" Ed protested.

Al caught up to his brother as Ed collapsed into a crouch.

The Hughes's apartment complex was shown with Winry entering it. She
was shown knocking on the door before Elicia opened it and exclaimed,
"Daddy?"
Winry smiled.

Elicia's expression turned to sadness and she hugged Winry's legs,

crying. She looked at her surprised as Gracia approached her.

Ed and Al were shown to be walking towards the building. They stopped

outside.

"What do we do?" Al asked.

"We tell it like it is." Ed replied. "You go on back. I'm the only one who
has to take the blame."

"Brother, this isn't just your problem." Al said. "It's both of ours. Like it
or not, I'm going in with you."

"You're going to tell Gracia the truth of what happened?" Mustang asked
shocked. "When you haven't even told me?"

Ed shrugged. "Sorry, was it your husband that just got killed by associating
with us?"

"No," Mustang growled, angry as the 'husband' part. "But it was my friend."

"Yeah." Ed drawled. "And you just lied to me. Besides that, I know you two
are friends and you wouldn't just let this case go cold. I expect you to do your
own investigating and realize he was helping me with something. After that,
it's up to you to figure it out or ask me. Gracia is not a soldier or
investigator."

"Thanks Al. You really don't have to–" Ed started.

"We've made up our minds." Al interrupted.

Ling shook his head. He could not imagine the life these two have had that
they felt the need to take the blame for a friend's death. A death of a friend
would never be their fault unless they were the one to deliver the killing
blow. Death is the fault of the one who did the killing.
"We said we were getting our bodies back no matter what." Al said,
shocking Ed enough to look at him. "But if people are going to die
because of that, then I don't want mine back."

Mustang turned to Riza. "See? This is why future me lied to them."

"You still shouldn't have lied to them." Riza argued. "They deserved to know
the truth, then have someone knock some sense into them."

Hughes chuckled. "Well, it's a good thing future Elrics are going to see
Gracia. She'll set them straight."

Ed stared at his brother.

Gracia was shown opening her door once more. She smiled at the boys.
"Winry's already here."

Ed nodded.

The boys walked into the living room where Winry was hugging Elicia.
"Winry." Ed said.

Winry looked up at them sadly.

"Ms. Gracia." Ed said, looking at the woman now. "I'm sorry but there's
something I need to talk to you about if I may."

"About Maes?" Gracia asked.

"Right." Ed said with a small nod before turning to Winry. "You too,
Winry."

A sad tone with bells entered the scene as a bowl filled with candy on a
table was shown.

"So Maes learned things about the Philosopher's Stone that someone
didn't want him to know." Gracia said as she held a sleeping Elicia. "His
death was a message. A warning to you from whoever did it to back off
from all this."
"Everything? You actually told her everything?" Hughes said shocked.

"Won't that put her in danger?" Sheska asked worriedly.

"No one knows that we told her." Ed answered, frowning. "And besides that,
she doesn't know what Hughes found out in the library that got him killed.
From what we just told her and the fact that no one knows we told her, she'll
be fine."

"Are you sure?" May asked.

Major Armstrong nodded. "Yes, I know as much as the boys and I haven't
been killed."

"Besides, if something does happen, we can just change this future." Ling
pointed out.

"Yeah, we basically dragged him into it." Ed replied. "I'm sorry….I'm so

sorry."

Winry looked up at Ed, who had his head bowed.

"That would be just like him." Gracia said. "Dying while trying to help
somebody else."

Ed looked up at Hughes. "What do you think, Hughes? Even though you

were killed, were you….uh, what's the word…satisfied with how you were
killed? No….I mean, ugh…"

Hughes chuckled. "I get what you are trying to say, Ed. I am not happy that I
was killed. I don't think anyone would be happy with being killed. But if I
died trying to help or save a friend, then yes, I think it is a good death. It is
better then dying in a bed or being killed while I was walking down the
street. I died trying to save my country and friends so yes, I can be satisfied
with that. Though, I would have been much more satisfied if I could get the
warning out before being killed."

Ed nodded. "I see."

"My husband…he was always a busybody and a meddler, and it got him
into trouble a lot. But you know, I don't think he ever had regrets. Not
any. Not even in his dying moments, Edward." Gracia said.

Hughes smiled sadly. He really didn't have any regrets. He may have not
gotten the information out to Mustang like he wanted, but he did live his life
fully. He lived it to help his precious friends and his country. It was the way
he wanted to live. Nothing about his life made him have regrets. Everything
was taken in strides, even all the scolding and warnings he got. He got them
for meddling, but they didn't change him, because helping his friends was
more important than risk getting scolded or thrown into jail for disobeying
orders. If he stopped and it caused his friends to get in more danger, then that
would be when he had regrets.

"But we…" Ed said.

Gracia finally looked at the boy. "Don't tell me you're going to give up.
You can't let what happened defeat you. If you do, then that means my
husband died in vain."

"Ah, my sweet wife, she has such a way with words." Hughes said, grinning.
"She was a good person for you two to talk to after my death. She really
understands me."

"She should." Ed said dryly. "She did marry you after all."

"You are so mean to me." Hughes said, mocking sadness. "And here I
thought you cared so much for me…"

Havoc snickered. "I think Chief only really cares about his baby brother."

"Lies!" Al cried. "You forgot about Winry, Havoc."

"Damn it, Al!" Ed swore. "I don't love her!"

Al and Havoc completely ignored Ed's protests.

"Good point, Al." Havoc said, nodding. "How could I forget about her?
Every man needs a woman."
Ling blinked. "Ed, I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"I don't!" Ed shouted.

"Your blush says otherwise." Lan Fan commented.

'Curse you all! Why did he bring them here?' Edward thought angrily.

"But you need more important people you care about in your life." Ling
added, patting his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll be a great friend!"

Ed's eye twitched and his hand came flying out to hit Ling in the stomach.
While Ling clutched his stomach in pain, Lan Fan growled and punched Ed
in the shoulder. "Do not harm Master Ling."

"Tell your 'Master Ling' not to touch me." Ed retorted, rubbing his pained
shoulder.

Izumi sighed. She had to give Ling a few points. He was really stubborn and
strong willed. He would be a good friend for Ed that was sure.

Gracia smiled. "Even if the Philosopher's Stone is a dead end, there

might be some other way."

Ed blinked a few times, still looking down. "Maybe, I guess."

"You boys have to keep moving forward, any way you can." Gracia said.

Ed closed the door to the apartment. He looked at his friend and brother,
but when he heard Elicia say, "Mommy" from the other side of the door,
he looked back at it. "Mommy, please don't cry."

As Ed listened to Gracia's sobs, a distressed look passed over his face

and a dark, heavy tune entered the scene.

"Argh, we made her cry." Al groaned.

"I'm not surprised. You told her some very heavy stuff about why she lost her
husband." Mustang pointed out. "I'm impressed that she was strong enough to
wait until you left to keep the tears in."

Hughes smiled sadly. Yes, his wife was indeed strong and amazing. She
would be able to survive through this. He just knew it.

"You know, your life is so much more interesting with the music." Buccaneer
commented suddenly.

"Not really the right time for that." Karley said.

Buccaneer shrugged. "You have to admit, the music is pretty interesting. I

wonder where it came from."

"It took 16 episodes for someone to wonder where the music is coming
from." Al said blankly.

"But he's right you know. The music is interesting." Ed said. "Though, really,
who depicts someone's life with music?"

Hughes chuckled.

The three teenagers walked silently back to their hotel. Winry entered
her room while Al entered his and Ed's. She laid on her bed with a pillow
pulled to her chest while Al just sat in his room. Ed sat in the restaurant
of the hotel, staring blankly at his meal.

Ed was shown knocking on Winry's door. "Winry, you in there?"

When Winry opened her door, she looked very sad, not looking at Ed.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Ed asked. "You might want to hurry.
The dining room is closing soon."

Winry nodded.

"You know you have to eat to keep up your strength." Ed said.

Winry nodded.
"Okay, well, I'll go back to my room." Ed said.

When he started to walk away, Winry reached out and grabbed his
hand.

"Aw, if it wasn't such a sad moment, that could have been a cute, romantic
moment." Hughes said.

Ed twitched violently. "How many times do I have to tell you, Hughes? I. Do.
Not. Love. Winry!"

"How much longer are you going to stay in denial?" Richard asked curiously.

Ed groaned and knocked his head against Al's armor. "Such…*bang*…

annoying…*bang*…soldiers."

Al patted his brother's head. "There, there, Brother. They're just teasing."

"Apple pie?" Ed asked as he sat across from Winry.

"That's right. I've practiced making it a few times. I know it

might...sound like...I'm bragging...but I've gotten pretty good at it. I'm
not nearly as good as Miss Gracia, but someday...I'd hoped...That Mr.
Hughes...would get to try some too!" Winry replied. As she finished, she
looked up at Ed with tears pouring down her face.

"Aw, that is so sweet." Hughes said.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"She'll make a wonderful wife and mother someday." Hughes added.

Ed twitched. "He said something stupid again!"

"Brother, let it go." Al said with a sigh.

"Never! He must pay for all the stupid comments!" Ed hissed.

"He's been making stupid comments his whole life." Mustang pointed out.
Hughes pouted. "How would you know? We only met in the military
academy."

"Because I know you." Mustang retorted.

Hughes rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not going to die this time around, right
Ed?"

"Huh?" Ed mumbled the nodded. "Yeah, you're not going to die on us a

second time."

"Good." Hughes clapped his hands grinning. "I can't wait to meet your friend
and try her pie."

Ed and Al chuckled softly. Why was Hughes such a cheerful person?

Winry buried her face in her hands, still crying. Ed just watched her.

"You're supposed to comfort her!" Havoc cried.

"I'm not good with that stuff! I don't know what to do." Ed protested.

Havoc groaned.

"Oh, come on. Have you ever seen me comfort someone?" Ed asked.

Mustang hummed. "Well, I've seen you do it in your own way." He said,
recalling a moment when he saw Riza having a bad day. She had run into Ed
and when she came back, she felt much better and she had a new hairdo. She
had never said what happened between the two, but he knew Ed did
something.

A room filled with vicious animals was shown. Lust was seen sitting on
Gluttony's back, staring at a soldier as she spoke, "So the nosy Colonel
Mustang is snooping around the Hughes matter?"

"Mm-hmm." The soldier said.

"Do you think he discovered anything yet?" Lust asked.

"It's a definite possibility." The soldier said before he transformed into
Envy. "So what now?"

Gluttony stared at one of the things in the cage.

"We already moved him to Central where we'd be able to keep a closer
eye on to him." Lust said.

Izumi snorted. "A closer eye on him? And here we thought it was because
you are so skilled."

Mustang shrugged. "With Homunculi working things in the dark, anything

that happens to soldiers can have something to do with them."

Zampano shared a look with his comrades. That was certainly true.

"But, they wouldn't want to keep a closer eye on me if they didn't see me as a
threat." Mustang said, smirking.

"You just like people thinking you are dangerous." Ed said blandly.
"Arrogant jerk."

"Why can't he be a good boy and behave himself?" Lust asked. "I hate
to waste an important sacrifice candidate."

Ed frowned. "Well, at least Al, Teacher, and I aren't alone."

Mustang frowned as well. "But I haven't performed Human Transmutation."

"That's right." Al said, looking back at the Colonel. "Why would they
consider you a candidate for sacrificing?"

Ed's eyes narrowed at the screen. Hughes had said yesterday that Mustang
once considered committing the taboo, then he made the guess that whatever
these guys wanted from them, it had to do with Human Transmutation. And
now Mustang was a candidate? "What about the fact that Colonel knows how
to perform Human Transmutation because he studied it before? What if these
guys know that and how skilled he is?"
"They want him to perform it to become a sacrifice?" General Armstrong
asked.

Ed nodded. "Human Transmutation is the only thing that is connecting us,

and since Colonel has the knowledge of how to perform it…"

"That would make me a good candidate. I just have to perform it." Mustang
finished off, sighing.

"For their own selfish needs." Hughes growled, glaring at Envy on the screen.
He would not allow these damn monsters use his friends like this. He would
survive this time around and do whatever he could to help.

"Haven't been able to learn anything from your new boyfriend?" Envy
asked.

Gluttony was shown feeding a bone to the thing he was staring at.
"Nothing. He's either a born idiot or a clueless hustler." Lust said as she
walked away from Gluttony and Envy. "I'm off to gather more
intelligence." She stopped and looked at Gluttony. "Let's go, Gluttony."

"Why is she always traveling and working with him?" Brody asked confused.
"All the others work by themselves from what we've seen."

Avery shrugged. "Maybe because he's an idiot who will eat anything if he's
not being watched."

Brody shuddered. "I wouldn't want eaten by that thing."

"Come on, Gluttony." Envy said, approaching a mess of bones on the

ground. "Don't leave your mess lying around. You slob." He stared at
the bones before smirking while Lust and Gluttony paused to stare at
him. "What you said before... about how much nicer it would be if the
Flame Colonel would behave himself…"

"Yes?" Lust asked.

Envy turned around to face her. "How would you feel, about us making
another play?"
"You have something in mind?" Lust replied.

"Well, we've got a noisy mutt... Perhaps all he needs is a nice bone to
chew on." Envy explained, smirking.

"So now they are gunning for Colonel." Havoc sighed.

"Better be careful, sir." Maria said.

Mustang smirked. "I am not like Fullmetal. I have a full time backing me up."
Ignoring Ed's insulted protests, he added. "I will gladly take on this
challenge. They are coming out for me. It is their own mistake. They deserve
what is coming their way."

The mess hall was shown before a hand was put on Maria's shoulder.
"Second Lieutenant Maria Ross."

Maria looked over at Henry.

"I'm Henry Douglas from Provost Marshal's Office." Henry said as a

suspicious, risky tone entered the scene.

"Do you need me for something?" Maria asked.

"You'll have to come along with us." Henry said, holding a hand out.
"Your gun."

Maria took her gun out and put it in his hand. "May I ask what this is
about?"

"You've been named the primary suspect in the Brigadier General

Hughes's murder case." Henry said after handing her gun over to one of
his comrades. "Please come along."

Maria groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Well, they sure put their plan into action quickly." Mustang said, frowning.
"But they are making it too obvious. If they are going to arrest someone for
suspicion of murdering a comrade, they should make it less conspicuous."
Breda said, staring at the screen with analyzing eyes.

Ed's eyes narrowed to angry slits. "They are framing Ross for this just to get
Colonel to stop?"

"Looks like it." Maria replied quietly.

With fear in her eyes, Maria took a step back. "That's absurd!"

"You can tell your side of it later." Henry said, turning away from her.
"Now let's go."

Riza was shown standing in front of Mustang, who was staring at some
papers on a clipboard. "Second Lieutenant Maria Ross pleading not
guilty on all charges." Riza said.

"Gather whatever information you can about her." Mustang said,

lowering the clipboard to look at his lieutenant. "Go now. Quickly, but
secretly."

"Right." Riza said, taking the clipboard back.

"What will you do?" Ed asked.

Mustang tapped a finger on the armrest. "What will I do? Unlike the
Homunculi, I plan to be discreet in my actions. I'm not going to be a fool and
just take revenge on Ross like they want me to without looking into this
accusation myself."

Ed nodded, while Maria looked a bit relieved herself.

Mustang stared out the window with narrowed eyes as Riza left.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I'd liked a bouquet of these." Havoc said, pointing
at some flowers.

"My, my, what's this." The lady said with a smile. "A hot date, lover
boy?"

Havoc grinned, scratching the back of his head. He jogged down the
road with his flowers in his hand before stopping in front of an outdoor
café, looking around for his date. When he found her, he smiled and took
his cigarette out of his mouth, putting it out with the bottom of his shoe.
He then approached her. "You've been waiting long, Solaris?"

Solaris looked up at him, revealing herself to be Lust. "Oh, no, I just got
here."

Havoc groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"You sure know how to pick them." Ed said, frowning darkly.

"You have the worst luck ever." Mustang added, glaring at Lust. How dare
she try to use his loyal team to gather information on him?

"I think…" Havoc paused before looking up at Mustang. "I believe she is also
a fool. I would never reveal information about my team or job to anyone, not
even a girlfriend."

Mustang smirked. "I know. Perhaps, we could use this to our advantage the
second time around?"

"Making plans to destroy them when we get out of here already?" Miles
asked.

"Of course. We can't waste a second." Mustang said. He would not let these
monsters just continue to roam around freely, not when they were hurting his
team and trying to destroy his country.

"It's so good to see you, Jean. Why don't you sit down and tell me all
about your day?" Lust asked.

"Idiot." Mustang growled. "I don't allow idiots who will let it slip what we
are doing so easily on my team."

"Well, she doesn't know that, which I really think is for the best." Riza said.
Mustang nodded.

"We could just let Barry chop her up now." Falman pointed out.

"If only." Havoc muttered. "Too bad she can't die."

"I'm going to jail." Maria groaned.

"I thought you would be executed for killing a comrade?" Ed said confused.

Maria groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"Probably not the best thing to say right now." May commented.

"Brother has always been known to be blunt." Al said. "Maybe too blunt." \

"Don't worry." Breda said, shooting Ed a look, but the boy just shrugged.
"I'm sure it will turn out fine."

"Can you guarantee that?" Maria asked.

Breda thought for a moment. With how staged her arrest looked, someone
should at least realize that something was going on. But since they knew it
was staged from the Homunculi's conversation, maybe it just looked that way
to their eyes. "Give me until the end of the next episode."

Maria sighed, but sat up straight. Right, this was only the future from before
they arrived here. It would not mean it would happen this time around. She
was going to survive this. She just had to put trust into her comrades that they
never faltered in their belief of her.

A/N: Ever notice how animes always over play flashbacks? I noticed
Naruto Shippuden really overdoes it….or maybe it is just me and the
animes I watch.

Please Review!
*Chapter 17*: Episode 17: Cold Flame
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Look, I got this week's chapter done early…way early! Aren't I
freaking amazing? Hahaha. Just kidding. I was trying to update early
last week….but it just didn't work out. This chapter was a lot more fun
since I had to delve into their minds for their reactions to things so I got
it done faster!

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 17: Cold Flame

The opening song began.

"So, anyone know why our future has an opening song with it?" Ling asked.

"Because we are awesome like that." Ed replied.

Havoc shrugged. "Try not to question it. Nothing is really making much
sense at the moment. Just enjoy it. The songs are pretty awesome after all."

A light one the ceiling was shown before half of Henry's face was shown.
Followed by his face, half of Maria's face appeared on the screen. Henry
picked up a bag and turned it upside down. A smashed up bullet came
out of it.
"This is the bullet that killed Brigadier General Hughes. It's a .45 caliber.
The killer used only this one bullet." Henry told her. "I'd say it was a
good shot, but it was at point-blank range."

Maria's arm was zoomed in on to show her prison bracelets.

"Despite the fact that they are prison bracelets, I really do like them." Edward
said.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. You kept yours?"

"Sure did! Only, I got rid of my prison number on the one silver plate and
replaced it with Fullmetal." Edward replied, grinning.

"Why do you have prison bracelets?" May asked confused.

Ed shrugged. "There was this one mission which required me to infiltrate a

prison. Not a fun experience…at first at least."

"And yet you kept the bracelet." Brody said dryly.

"Why not?" Ed asked.

He received many blank looks in return.

"Oh, come on! How often do you get to go to jail for an operation?" Ed
asked.

"Close enough that even a poor shot could have done it." Henry said.
"Now tell me. What is the caliber of the gun that you carry?"

"It's a .45, sir." Maria replied.

"And that proves what?" Ed asked angrily. "She's not the only soldier or even
person in the word who uses a .45."

"It's just to verify that her gun could have been the one to kill him."
Armstrong said.
Ed scoffed. "Please. It would make more sense to use a different type of gun
then. To make it less suspicious, take someone else's gun, kill the person, and
return the gun before the person realizes it's missing."

"Planning to murder someone?" Ling asked.

Ed glared at him. "No. I'm just saying, if I carried a gun, I wouldn't use mine
to murder someone. I would use someone else's."

Henry picked up a paper and showed it to Maria. "Here we have a copy

of your requisition form for addition ammunition. Does this look
correct?"

Maria nodded.

"It's a crime to ask for ammunition now?" Maria groaned.

"I think they are just fishing for things to make you look like the suspect." Ed
scoffed. "Honestly, if you were the one to kill Hughes, you wouldn't be stupid
enough to ask for more ammunition from the military, at least not right
away."

"Besides, you only used your gun in defense of the Elrics." Denny said,
frowning. "I can verify that."

"Aren't there timestamps on those forms to get more ammunition?" Al asked

confused. "Wouldn't you have gotten the ammunition before Hughes was
killed?"

"You boys just like to find the holes everywhere." Riza said.

"Homunculi are idiots." Ed scoffed. "But then again, they probably expect
Colonel to be blind with rage so he wouldn't see them."

"It says here you fired exactly one shot. What was that round used for?"
Henry asked.

"It lists the reason right there on the form. I fired my weapon in defense
of Edward Elric while in the Fifth Laboratory." Maria said. There was a
flash before Maria and Denny appeared on the screen, pointing their
guns at Barry, who was staring at his hand.

Henry was tapping the bullet. "But the Fifth Laboratory is no longer
operational. It remains unmanned."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lan Fan asked confused. "Just
because it was abandoned does not mean that someone could not sneak into
there."

Mustang nodded. "He really is just fishing for information and putting holes
into everything to pin this on her. It's like those Homunculi believes us to be
idiots that only follow our emotions and do not stop to think."

"It was definitely not unmanned." Maria said.

"Sure. According to your account." Henry replied.

"What is the point of having witnesses around if they are just going to be
corrupt and pin the blame on people so they don't have to do their jobs
properly?" Edward asked angrily.

"You just said it, Fullmetal. Corrupt. You said earlier that all of the higher
ups were probably in on this." Mustang pointed out.

"I wasn't serious." Ed muttered, rubbing his eyes. "But at this rate, I am only
convinced that there is something wrong with the higher ups in Central. They
are trying to frame Ross for this to anger you. Why would Henry try to do
that unless he at least knew who the Homunculi were or was ordered to by
someone else?"

Maria groaned. "I was just caught in the crossfire?"

"Yep, you were unlucky like that." Ed said.

"Shall I send someone to search for this bullet you say you fired?" Henry
asked.

"There was an unexplained explosion at the site. The Fifth Laboratory is

now a pile of rubble." Maria replied.

"So the place you claimed to have used your gun was unmanned, and if
we looked for the bullet, all we would be able to find was a pile of rubble.
Is that what you are saying?" Henry asked.

"That's just bad luck." Fu said.

Ed rubbed his eyes. "What would it matter anyway? You hit Barry in the
hand. The bullet was lodged in there."

"Barry!" Al suddenly yelled.

"What about him?" Maria asked confused.

Al shrugged. "If they put your arrest in the paper or someone mentions it
around him, he might mention something about you shooting him to one of
Colonel's men. The Homunculi don't know he is with them so they won't
expect Colonel to find out about the bullet."

Maria perked up before deflating. "But this is Barry, a serial killer. What are
the chances he'll learn of it? What are the chance he'll actually say
something?"

Ed sighed. "If he learns of it, I'm sure he'll mention it. Barry seems to have a
thing for strong women. He admires them. He likes Lieutenant Riza so he
probably likes you as well. The chances of him finding out about you being
arrested are less likely."

Maria groaned. Why did Ed have to be so blunt?

"But Lieutenant, we have eyewitness testimony. You were spotted leaving

the scene on the day of the murder at the same time as the shooting."
Henry said.

"Really? But when we saw Hughes get killed, it was night time and I didn't
see any people milling around." Avery said, frowning.

"Eh, it was probably Envy. You know, he just transform into someone and
claim he saw her there that night. Or someone was there and really did see
her. I mean, he did transform into her and follow Hughes there." Ed
explained.

Maria groaned pitifully. "Ed, you are not making me feel better."

"Ah, sorry." Ed said. "Hmm, okay, how about this? You had eyewitnesses at
the Fifth Laboratory. Al and Brosh."

"What about you?" Ling asked.

"I was inside the lab when she shot Barry and I was unconscious when being
carried out by Envy." Ed told him. "I saw nothing so I could not help with
this matter. But Al and Brosh could."

"If they listen." Scar pointed out. "They don't seem too willing to listen to
anyone on this matter."

Ed muttered to himself. "Stupid soldiers."

"That's impossible!" Maria cried.

"Calm down, Lieutenant." Henry said. "Fine then. What were you doing
at that time?"

"I had the day off. I was at my parents' house visiting." Maria replied.
"Please, check with them. They'll tell you."

"All you can offer us is your family's testimony. That is not admissible as
an alibi!" Henry said.

Ed grimaced. "That must be hard. You don't know what is going on and are
being framed just to please Colonel. It must suck being stuck in the middle."

"Confusing and scary." Maria said, sighing. "I just hope the Colonel realizes
it is fraud."

"From that interrogation, we should realize something. There just wasn't

something right about it." Breda said. "And the way they arrested you, and
the fact that the facts are too scattered. They don't flow with what you are
saying. It causes suspicions."

Armstrong stood outside the building, facing two saluting soldiers.

"Second Lieutenant Ross is being questioned." One of the soldiers said.

"No one is permitted inside to see her."

"I see." Armstrong said. He turned around to leave.

Brosh ran over to Armstrong as he finished walking down the stairs.

"Major Armstrong!"

"Sergeant Brosh." Armstrong said.

Brosh saluted him. "I'm glad to see you here, Major."

"Mm-hmm. Is this about Second Lieutenant Ross?" Armstrong asked.

"Yes, that's right, sir." Brosh said as Armstrong continued down the
path with Brosh following him. "Major, I can collaborate her story.
Lieutenant Ross and I both fired a round from our weapons at the Fifth
Laboratory to defend the Elric brothers."

"You did?" Armstrong asked.

"Yes, and it's all written in my report, but everyone's ignoring it, sir."
Brosh explained.

Maria sighed. She should have seen that coming. She knew that Brosh would
come to her aid, but she should have known that it would have been all
ignored since they were trying to frame her. Argh, why did it have to be her?

"They'll probably just shred your report so it doesn't get in the way of their
case." Mustang said.

"Sheesh, what is the point of reports then if they are just going to be
ignored?" Edward muttered.
'Are they trying to frame the Second Lieutenant for this?' Armstrong
thought.

The flag of the country was seen blowing in the wind.

"Cold Flame"

"Well, that certainly does not sound like a happy title." Hughes said, sending
a look at his friend.

"What?" Mustang hissed quietly. "Not everything that mentions flames has to
do with me."

Hughes's eyes narrowed at him. "I know the you in the future is out for
revenge. You are very angry and cold right now. I know how you get when
something tragic happens. You become a cold hearted bastard. If you do kill
Ross…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll have to face the wrath of many." Mustang growled
back. "But you should remember, Hughes, even in my rage, I can still see the
holes in their plan. And if I can't, my team will find them for me. I will not
accidentally kill an innocent person. I would never be able to live with myself
if I did that."

Winry appeared on the screen, polishing Al's armor. "When you look
close, you're all scratched up, aren't you?"

Al was polishing his helmet while Ed laid on his bed.

"You're having a rough time of it, huh?" Winry asked.

"You're really covered in scratches?" Havoc asked, staring at Al's armor with
careful eyes.

Al nodded. "Yep. We get into a lot of fights."

"Yeah, but I thought you were good at fighting and dodging." Havoc pointed
out.
Ed snorted. "Al can be a bit reckless in his fights sometimes because he can't
get injured."

"I thought you were the careful one." Mustang said.

Al shrugged. "Hey, if I can't get injured, it just makes it easier for me in the
fights. I might as well put this body to good use while I have it."

Al chuckled.

Winry stood up and looked over at Ed. "So, what have you got planned
now?" Ed was shown, staring blankly at his covers. Winry appeared on
the screen, staring sadly at him. "Well, Ed?"

Ed lifted his automail hand, staring at it. "What are we going to do…?"

"Are you really so lost in grief right now that you don't have a plan?" General
Armstrong asked.

"Grief? I know we are grieving, but we also don't have a plan at the moment."
Ed said, scratching the back of his head. "We've been focusing on the
Philosopher's Stone for years as the way to get our bodies back. Now, we
don't want to use it, so we are kind of at a loss of where to go now."

"Well, that makes sense. Honestly, I don't know of any other way besides the
stone." Mustang said with a sigh. "Sounds like your journey just got that
much tougher with your stubbornness to not use the stone."

"Why won't you use the stone?" Dr. Marcoh asked curiously. "Those human
lives are trapped in the stone. If you use it to fix yourselves, you could free
them from that torture and let them move on."

"You use incomplete stones on people who are sick or injured, right?"
Edward asked, but continued on without getting an answer. "Well, Al and I
sinned. We didn't just get hurt in an accident or have someone injure us or
make us like this. We did it to ourselves. We messed with our lives and our
mother's. We cannot use other human lives to fix ourselves for something that
we did to ourselves. It just isn't right to use them like that."
Havoc's brows furrowed. "So, if someone got severely injured and it would
forever affect their lives, you wouldn't mind them using the stone?"

"Those souls have to be set free somehow. We are going into dangerous
fights with the Homunculi soon. You guys will have a difficult time against
them. Using the stone to save you from them, it would not be bad at all. That
is what I believe." Al said.

"You guys are too selfless." Riza said with a sigh. She really wished these
boys would be greedy and think about themselves for once. That was what it
meant to be human.

An image of the three standing outside of Gracia's apartment was shown

with Elicia saying, "Mommy, please don't cry."

Ed's hand curled into a fist while Winry went back to staring at Al's
back. "What do you think?" He asked.

Winry looked at Ed, surprised. Ed rolled onto his back, lifting himself
halfway up to stare at her blankly. "What's with the face?" He asked.

Hughes snickered. "She's not used to you actually asking her for her
opinion."

"I-I'm just surprised. You've never asked for my advice before." Winry
said.

Ed blinked. Al appeared on the screen. "Oh." Ed said.

Winry drew a gloved hand over Al's back. "I'm scared, you know. You
and Al have been off somewhere fighting and digging up information."
Ed was shown to be lying on his bed with his hands folded under his
head, but he watched Winry form the corner of his eyes. "Information
that could get you killed like Mr. Hughes. Whenever I think about that,
it terrifies me."

"You're not going to comfort her?" Havoc asked. "Argh, you have so much to
learn!"
"I'm not comforting her because she doesn't need it!" Ed hissed. "What she
needs right now is to let what is on her mind out. She needs to get it out, not
for me to interrupt her. Winry is strong. She'll be fine."

"Such a caring friend." Breda said.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Brother does things in his method." Al defended. "In this, he is right. Winry
cares a lot and we grew up together. She is just afraid right now because of
suddenly finding out that Hughes is dead and about the stone, but she also
believes in us."

Ed's eyes moved away from her and narrowed as a sad tone entered the
scene. Al's helmet appeared on screen before Ed was shown again. "I
mean, you could die, but still be here…and just suddenly, not be there
anymore." Winry's eyes closed halfway in sadness. "Like my Mom and
Dad." Ed appeared on the screen for a few seconds before the scene
pulled out to show the three from a higher angle. "It's almost more then
I can handle, thinking about that. Honestly, sometimes I wished you
would just give this whole thing up." A table filled with mugs and papers
was shown before Winry reappeared. "I do want you to get your bodies
back, but I also want you to stay alive and safe."

"Safe?" Mustang asked. "I think, even in Resembool, you two could find
trouble."

Ed scoffed. "Do you think we get into that much trouble?"

"Yes." Havoc, Breda, and Falman said.

"Well, I'm insulted." Ed said.

Ling laughed. "What will you do after you get your bodies back? From what
I've seen and what you told me about, you don't seem like one to settle down,
especially if you get into that much trouble."

"What? Do you people think I get into a new fight every single day?" Ed
huffed.

When no one replied, the boy huffed.

Winry bowed her head. "It's just…I don't know…Sorry." She turned to
look at Ed. "I'm not sure what I think you should do. I really don't
know."

"You're sure being nice, Winry." Al said teasingly.

"And that disrupts the sad mood. What a good distraction." Dr. Young said,
chuckling softly.

"Al is good at those." Ed said with a soft smile.

Winry turned back to Al frantically, blushing. "W-w-why do you sound

so surprised?" Ed appeared on the screen, watching the two as it was
heard that she hit Al. "I'm always nice! Take that back, Alphonse Elric!
Take it back!" She screamed as she continued to hit him.

"AH!" Al screamed. "Stop it! You're adding more scratches! I already

have enough!"

Ed gave a small smile as he watched the two.

"I thought it was you who always fight with Winry." Riza said.

Ed chuckled. "Al has his share of fights with her when he teases her."

"Well, it put her back in a good mood at least." Havoc said, grinning.

"Fighting with Al is considered a good mood?" Sheska asked.

"For Winry at least." Al said.

The city was shown as the sun began to set. A sink full of dirty dishes was
shown. Barry put down a chess piece. "Your move." He said.

Falman raised a hand to move a piece when a voice shouted, "Evening

edition!" Falman twisted around on his stool. "Oh, it's here. Excellent."

A paper pushed under a door was shown as Barry said, "What? The
newspaper. Again?"

"I'm stuck here babysitting you all day." Falman said as he picked it up.
"This is the only entertainment I get."

"Hanging with a psychopath killer all day is not fun?" Brody asked. "I'm
surprised he hasn't twisted your mind yet."

"I'm surprised you turn your back to him so easily." Ed said blandly.

"We probably have a deal with him." Mustang pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "I'm still not turning my back to him."

He looked at the paper in surprise before running over to the phone.

"Lieutenant Falman, calling on an outside line. [1] Please connect me to
Colonel Mustang. Yes. That's right. My code is…"

Barry got up and walked over to him. "What's got you so excited?" He
saw the paper which had Maria's picture on it.

"Oh, look, Ross, your arrest made it into the paper that Falman gets." Al said.

Maria smiled grimly. "Now, we just have to see where this will take us. I
hope Barry doesn't hold a grudge."

Ed snorted. "He's a psychopath who likes chopping up women, but admires

the strong ones. He has no grudge."

"Airam, George, Oliver, Four, Six, Four, Nine." Falman said.

Barry picked up the paper, surprising Falman. "This is the lady from
the laboratory."

The military dorms were shown once more. The table in Ed's room was
shown still covered in papers and a mug. Ed was shown lying on a couch,
looking in his travelogue. 'The Philosopher's Stone. People with the
Ouroboros tattoo. The Homunculi.' The ceiling fan was shown. 'How are
they…' Ed's thoughts were cut off when Al slammed the room door open.

"Ah, geez, Al, you're going to give me a heart attack if you do that." Ed
muttered.

"Brother, this is in the future." Al replied.

Ed shot him a glare. "You still can't just slam a door open suddenly! Future
me or not!" He rubbed his heart. "My poor heart."

Al sighed. "You're fifteen. A little shock isn't going to kill you."

"Brother!" Al yelled.

Ed screamed. "What the–"

"See! You gave me a horrible shock!" Ed growled.

Al paused for a moment before saying, "You should be more alert."

Al held a paper out to him. "Here."

Ed leaned on the couch, throwing his arms over the back of it as he

stared at his brother. "Don't scare me like that."

"The newspaper, Ed." Al said, holding it out to him. "Read the front
page."

Ed perked up. He took the paper. "What is it now?" He sat back on the
couch, staring at the paper before gasping in horror. "What? 'Second
Lieutenant Maria Ross convicted of Brigadier General Hughes's
murder?'"

"Why does no one tell me what is going on?" Ed cried.

"What are you talking about?" Brosh asked.

Ed sighed. "Why didn't anyone tell me Ross was arrested before the paper got
to me? You had to know that I had to find out."

"I think you should just be happy Ross let it slip that Hughes was dead,
Edward." Riza said with a sigh. "Imagine if you didn't know Hughes was
dead before you got that paper."

Ed paled. "That would have been too much information to take in at once. I
would probably first be in shock then be really angry afterwards."

"Angry at who?" Hughes asked curiously.

Ed hummed. "Those who lied to me about Hughes. Those who kept the truth
from me. The bastard who convicted Ross."

Ed and Al walked through the lobby.

"I can't believe this." Al said.

"Maybe the Colonel or the Major will know something about this." Ed
said.

"What about Winry?" Al asked.

"We'll explain it to her later." Ed replied.

A building was shown before Ling's hand with the prison bracelets on it
was shown. "I'm not really a fan of these."

"He's in jail." Lan Fan said dejected.

Fu sighed. "We shouldn't be surprised."

Ling frowned. "Well, now I feel insulted."

"Doesn't feel so good, does it?" Ed retorted.

"Quit your complaining." The soldier standing outside his cell said.
"Every stray mutt needs a collar. Alright, I'm going to ask you one more
time. Are you honestly fifteen years old?"

Ed snickered. "Well, that's a strange question. And by his wording, they have
asked this of you a few times."

"Why is it so hard to believe that I am fifteen?" Ling asked. "Do I not look
fifteen?"

Ed shrugged.

"I sure am." Ling said.

"I don't buy it." The soldier said.

"It's the truth, I swear." Ling said, tears pouring down his face.

Ed laughed. "I think that guy is amused by you."

"Well, I'm glad there are some soldiers with a sense of humor, but he really
should believe me. I'm only fifteen!" Ling cried.

Footsteps ran across the ground in an adjacent hall. The soldier turned
to watch them. "What's that?" He took a few steps forward. "What's
happening?"

"We've got an intruder! Come on! Give us a hand." One of the soldiers
stopped and said.

"What?" The soldier said shocked before looking at Ling. "Behave

yourself. Got it?"

Ling waved a hand out. "I will!"

"Only you could be so cheerful in a prison." May said, sighing. Was this guy
really her half-brother? His moods changed from happy to serious so quickly
at times.

Soldiers stood in the hall, firing their guns.

The bullets were all shown bouncing off of Barry. "Lame. Lame. Lame.
Are you guys even trying? You can do better than that."

"Why is Barry in the prison?" Sheska asked confused. "I thought he was
confined to that apartment."

Mustang frowned, leaning back in his seat. He was sure he wouldn't let Barry
just escape the apartment. Ed said that Barry seems to have a thing for strong
women, so he could have escape to save Ross. But Barry was just too crazy.
He couldn't just come up with a plan to set Ross free and make sure she didn't
get caught again. There had to be more to this.

The soldiers stared at him in horror.

"He's still coming at us." One of the soldiers said.

"Guns don't even dent him." Another soldier said.

Ling frowned.

"Hold it." A soldier stepped forward, pointing a shot gun at Barry. "Stay
back." He fired the gun, hitting Barry in the head, which sent his helmet
flying off. Barry caught it and put it back on while the soldiers screamed.
Some of the soldiers were sent flying back while Barry knocked another
one on the head.

Hughes's eyes narrowed at that. If this was Barry's own doing, he would have
killed those guys without a second thought. Someone else was pulling the
strings here. His eyes slid over to Mustang. He knew his friend had a really
good team with some very smart people on it. It would be obvious that one of
them could smell something fishy about Ross's arrest. Avoiding pointless
deaths was something Mustang did.

"This would be a lot more fun if I was allowed to cut them up." Barry
said.

Ed frowned. From Barry's words and actions alone, he could see that
something wasn't right. Barry was under Mustang's command for the time
being, because of some deal or something. From the way things seemed,
Mustang ordered Barry into the prison to set Ross free, which is why no one
was dying. Mustang didn't want any pointless deaths. But, why did Mustang
send him to get Ross? Was it to save her or did he want to set her free to have
his own revenge? Mustang said it himself. He wouldn't go for his revenge
without absolute proof it was her. What was Mustang's plan in this?

"Hello, strange armor ghost man!" Ling yelled out. "Do you think you
could let me out of here?"

"Who are you?" Barry asked, approaching Ling's cell.

"Just an illegal immigrant from Xing." Ling said.

"How can you be so casual about it?" Jerso asked blandly.

"You should enjoy life more!" Ling said, grinning.

"Oh, yeah?" Barry asked as he continued to walk passed. "A foreigner.

Well, have a nice trip home."

"If you let me out of here, I can help you." Ling said.

"I don't have time to deal with you–" Barry paused. "Where did you say
you were from?"

"Xing. East of the desert." Ling said.

BANG!

The lock on Ling's cell was suddenly in pieces.

"And why did Ling's place of origin interest him?" Al said confused.

Breda frowned, tapping his armrest. If this really was a plan and Barry was
interested in Ling's place of origin, what did it mean? Barry should have no
interest for Xing. There was nothing there for someone who didn't have a
body and was stuck in Central by Colonel's orders.
"Come with me." Barry said.

Ross was shown sitting in her cage when gunshots went off which was
followed by yelling and grunting. She looked up in shock. "What?" She
asked.

Bodies were shown falling to the ground. Ross stood at her cell door
when Barry stopped in front of it. "Well, hello there sweetheart. I've
been looking for you."

Ross back up into a wall in fear as Barry broke the lock on her cell door.
"You're from the Fifth Laboratory!"

"Why did it have to be Barry to show up?" Ross moaned.

Hughes coughed. "Actually, Ross, I believe you will be fine. Barry is a

murderer, yet he hasn't killed a single person yet. He is letting them live."

"What does that mean?" May asked confused. Barry not killing was good and
all, but what did it mean in regards to Ross?

"I said it at the end of the last episode, the Homunculi were making a mistake
in trying to come after me." Mustang said, smirking. "If Barry is there with
orders not to kill, then I sent him."

"Yes," Ed said, frowning. "But we don't exactly know the future you
intentions. He could be setting her free to save her or kill her for his own sick
revenge."

Mustang sighed. Edward did have a point there, but right now, he was sure he
would never break a prisoner out of jail just to kill them for revenge. "She
either dies by the firing squad or she escapes with the chance of being saved
or killed on sight. Quite frankly, she has a better chance if she runs because
after this time, the security is going to be improved and State Alchemists
might be asked to guard her."

"Considering I am being framed, I'll escape with Barry, but I really hope you
realized the plan, sir." Maria muttered.
"You haven't forgotten me. How sweet." Barry said as he walked into the
cell. "I remember you too. I think of you every time I look at the hole
you put in my right hand, just like the hole you put in that guy Hughes."

"No, it wasn't me!" Ross yelled.

Barry held up the newspaper. "Oh, yeah. According to the newspaper,

you're one guilty soldier, girl."

Ross stared at the paper in shock and fear. "It can't be."

"Oh, but it is." Barry replied. "Right now it's looking like you'll be
facing the firing squad for sure."

Ross turned to Barry, but kept her eyes on the paper. "It's not true!
They're wrong! If they would just do a proper investigat—"

Barry stabbed his knife through the paper. "Here are your choices...Stay
here and be killed for murder...or bust outta this joint with me. Which
will it be?"

Tears pricked at Ross's eyes. "How is this happening? Isn't there

anything else I can do?!" She cried dejected.

"Am I upset about being framed or escaping with a psychopathic killer?"

Maria groaned.

Denny chuckled lightly and nervously. It certainly didn't sound fun running
away with a murderer after being framed for murder. It certainly did make
her seem guilty.

"It sure doesn't look like it!" Ling piped in, pointing out in the hall
before a horde of soldiers was shown.

"Where the hell do you keep coming from?" Havoc asked shocked.

"I may not be trained like Lan Fan or Fu, but I have been trained." Ling said.

"Hmm, perhaps you should train Fullmetal in the art of stealth then. He really
needs to learn it." Mustang commented.

Ed frowned. "Yeah, whatever. That is nice, Colonel, but can we focus? I want
to see what the outcome of this jailbreak is going to be."

"You know what jailbreaking is like." Mustang said drylu.

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but when I broke out of jail, it was for the job and I was
never in real danger. It's not the same for Ross." He turned to shoot a dark
look at his superior. "Especially since we are not too sure of your actions!"

"You broke out of jail? Was this for this mission where you were arrested?"
Armstrong asked curiously.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, it was scary at the time, but looking back on it, it was
quite fun."

Al sighed. "Brother…now that I am thinking of it, I don't remember this

mission."

Ed shrugged. "It was all hush hush. Colonel didn't want you around during it
so it was that time I told you to go visit Winry and Granny Pinako for a
couple of weeks because I had to work at the office for a while."

"….You lied to me?" Al asked.

"Uh…" Ed said, looking back at the screen. "Let's move on."

"I have no choice! Mom! Dad! Please forgive me!" Ross cried out,
burying her face in her hands.

"How dramatic." Brody said.

Maria twitched. "You try being framed!"

"You lied to me." Al repeated, staring at his brother, who twitched, but did
not look at Al.

"Fine, let's go...If this is how it has to be, I'll escape with you." She
marched determinedly to the cell door. "But you better know a way out
of here, metal boy." Ross said.

"Oooh! You've got spunk!" Barry said with a tiny heart appearing next
to him.

"He fell in love with you too!" Ed cried.

Al stared holes into his brother. "You lied to me."

Ed forced himself to keep his eyes on the screen. He would not look. He
would not look.

Ross slapped her cheeks. "I'll do what I have to do."

Henry appeared on the screen, talking into a phone. "Yes….yes, right

away." He put the phone down and sighed. "Notify every zone in the
city. Maria Ross has broken out." He told his men. "It appears she's
with a violent accomplice. They must be caught. If she resists…" He
turned to face his team before Mustang was shown walking down the
street with his black coat resting on his shoulders while he finished
pulling on his gloves. "The order is shoot to kill."

The screen zoomed in on Mustang, showing him tightening his glove

before his face was shown with dark narrowed eyes and a frown.

"That looks very ominous." Edward commented, staring at Mustang on the

screen. He wore such a dark look.

Hughes took one look at the Mustang on the screen and laughed. In hindsight,
it really shouldn't be funny because of the dark look, but he knew his friend.
He cared deeply for his friends and would do whatever it took to get revenge.
The look Mustang was wearing was dark, but it wasn't one of hatred or a lust
for revenge. It was a look of dark determination.

"What are you laughing at?" Mustang asked.

"Surely you can read your own expressions." Hughes said, smirking.
General Armstrong smirked to herself. Oh, yes, just like Hughes, she could
see it. She may not know Mustang as well as Hughes to know his
expressions, but she knew revenge, anger, and hatred. She saw it enough
times in her men when things happened, when they lost comrades. They used
it to fuel themselves to survive and avenge their fallen comrades. What
Mustang had now was not the right hatred. There was more to this.

Barry led Ross and Ling down a dark alley.

"How much further?" Ross asked.

"Just keep moving." Barry said.

Ed ran out of an adjacent alley, freezing when he saw the three.

Mustang groaned. If he was working a plan…."Why do you always show up

at the most inopportune times?"

"What was that?" Ed asked angrily.

"We," Hughes motioned to him and Mustang. "think future Mustang and his
team are in the middle of an operation to save Ross."

Ross perked up at that. If Hughes thought Mustang was going to save her,
then she really hoped he did. If it was Mustang after her…she shivered. He
would definitely burn alive. She did not want to feel that.

"But once again, you show up at the worst time! I think you like messing
with my plans." Mustang said.

Ed growled softly before smirking to himself. "Well, I have to keep you on

your toes, Colonel. I'll love to see how you deal with this unexpected
development."

Lan Fan poked Ed in the arm. "You ran into Master Ling."

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, and?"

"You said you would eat your boot if you ran into him again." Lan Fan
clarified.

Ed's eye twitched. "I didn't mean it."

"You lied to me." Al muttered.

Ed twitched again. "Can you let that go?"

"You never lie to me." Al muttered dejected.

"I'm sorry?" Ed said. "You know the military. There are just times when I
can't tell you things. It was easier to send you away then have you see me get
arrested. I thought you might do something rash."

Al sighed, but he could agree with that. He may not be rash like his brother,
but he certainly had his moments where he did reckless things. He probably
would have done something stupid if his brother was arrested, but still….his
brother didn't have to lie to him! He could have just said he was doing a
covert mission and needed him to leave for a while!

Al stopped behind Ed. "Lieutenant Ross?" They exclaimed.

"Edward! Alphonse! What are you two doing here?" Maria asked.

Barry stared at Al.

Al stared at Barry.

They both screamed and pointed at the other. "You're that guy!" They
yelled.

Ling laughed. "You guys are so strange."

"You're one to talk." Ed grumbled. He turned to his brother. "That is

seriously what you're going to yell after he tried to trick you?"

Al shrugged. "What else was I supposed to say? 'You're the psychopath killer
that tried to trick me into hating my brother?'"
"It would have worked." Ed said.

"Naw, it was too much to say." Al replied.

Ling scratched the back of his head.

"And Ling too?" Al asked.

"Hahaha. Hey guys, what are you up to?" Ling asked ad Maria stared at
him.

"You ask that so casually when you are a criminal on the run with a psychotic
murderer and a framed soldier." Ed said through gritted teeth.

"Well, I think we should just enjoy the crazy moments we get into in our
lives." Ling commented, grinning at the blond. "And I'm not a criminal. I just
snuck into the country. That hardly classifies me as a criminal."

"You know this is a life or death situation." Ed pointed out. "And anything
that you do that breaks the law makes you a criminal."

"So was your jailbreak, but you still enjoyed it." Ling argued. "But I'm such a
good person."

Ed's eye twitched. "I was never in any real danger with that part of my
mission. In whose eye are you a good person?"

"You're mean." Ling muttered.

"You probably made a decent amount of enemies from that mission though."
Fu said.

"I always make enemies." Ed muttered.

"I could ask the same of you!" Ed retorted angrily, causing Maria to look
at him.

Ed chuckled. "I'm sorry, Ross, but that expression you are making is pretty
funny, considering the situation you are in."
Ross smiled slightly. "It's alright, Edward. I seem to get a little lost with all
the situations and conversation that you get involved in that I really should be
used to it by now."

"Quit chattering!" Barry ordered. He swung his cleaver down at Al,

forcing the boy to dodge. "We don't have time for this!"

"Wow, I never expected a murderer to go so far for you guys in an

operation." Karley commented with a low whistle.

"He could just use this time to escape from you guys." Miles added.

"And yet he doesn't." Riza said dryly before looking at Mustang. "You did
put a lot of trust in him for this."

"Trusting murderers now?" Ed said. First it was believe the homicidal guy in
Al's case. Now it was trust the nutjob for a job in Mustang's case. Nutcases,
the lot of them. "Then again, he probably wants to stay around Lieutenant
Riza and Ross. They are so strong and independent. He must love them so
much."

Riza glared at the boy's back. Must he keep brining that up?

"Alright, sweetheart, take that back alley and run straight to the
warehouse district. The darkness ought to hide you." Barry said.

"Wait, hold on. Tell us about Hughes." Ed asked.

Ross stopped and looked at him.

"Get going. If the MPs show up, they'll shoot you." Barry said.

Ross closed her eyes before pushing on into the alley.

"Lieutenant Ross!" Ed called.

"Stay back." Barry said.

"No, wait." Al said. Ross was shown disappearing into the darkness of
the alley. "Lieutenant Ross!"

A heavily breathing Ross was shown running down the alley until she
almost reached the end. A pair of boots took over the screen. As the
man's coat flapped around, Ross came to a halt with fear in her eyes.

Mustang stood in front of her with narrowed eyes. "You're Maria Ross,
right?" He snapped his fingers. A huge burst of flames spread across the
screen. The last thing that was seen was Maria covering her face from
the light before the brothers and Barry were shown as the explosion of
flames reached the sky.

"What are you doing?" Ed demanded, glaring at the screen. His eyes snapped
to Mustang in angry before he frantically turned to Ross in fear that she was
in pain. Right now, that was more important then immediately killing
Mustang, but she was just sitting there, eyes wide in fear to his confusion.
That didn't seem right. Even Hughes felt when he hurt. So why wasn't she
yelling out in pain?

Ross sat frozen in her seat. Did Mustang just kill her? Hughes said he was
trying to save her! She didn't want to die. Did he really let his anger and
hatred about Hughes's death blind him so much that he didn't recognize that
the facts weren't fitting in?

"You're not burning." Ed said blankly. He had been feeling any type of pain
he could possible imagine in the past two days. Hell, his whole body felt like
it was on fire and being torn apart during the flashback of the human
transmutation. And now, Maria was set on fire by Mustang, and she just sat
there like it was nothing!

Ross broke out of her thoughts at Ed's words. His anger had dissipated into
confusion as he watched her. And he was completely right. She felt nothing.
No burn, no pull of the muscles, no aches, nothing. There was absolutely no
pain in her body from being burnt.

"As I said, Roy is saving Ross." Hughes said, smirking. "The best way to
save a falsely accused prisoner when that person is being framed by the
government is to fake death."
Ross's jaw slackened in relief. She wasn't dead! Mustang was really saving
her! In a rather scary, deceiving way, but still! Perhaps the Colonel was
someone she could trust and stick her neck out for. She would have to repay
him for saving her.

At Hughes's words, the tension in the room loosened up a bit. The moment
they all saw the snap of Mustang's fingers, they had been on high alert in
shock and anger. They couldn't believe what the Colonel was doing. Some of
them were ready to tear him limb from limb for killing their comrade in such
a horrible way.

Even Scar had been tensed throughout this experience. He did not like
soldiers, but his hatred was heightened in regards to State Alchemists. It was
horrifying to watch the Colonel in action. He heard about the Flame
Alchemist and his Flame Alchemy. It did devastating work in Ishval. He was
one of the few he really hated with a huge passion. When he saw Mustang
burning Ross, he felt extreme hatred. That Flame Alchemy of his was
horrible. No one should have that kind of power. It was too powerful. The
Colonel could wipe off so many with just a snap of his fingers.

And Scar hated it. Not only did he use it to destroy his people and Ishval, he
was now using it against his own comrades because of his hatred for the
person who killed his best friend. Which was why it was relieving to see it
was all an act…but, that act may have been false, but he saw it and he knew
he wasn't the only one to see it. The Colonel was after revenge for his friend's
death. If he lost himself in his hatred and anger to get this revenge, he was
going to be worst then before. He would never be the same if he went down
this path. And in that thought, he knew, they would be the same.

"Colonel and his operations." Ed whispered to himself. He had been involved

in a few operations with the Colonel and his team before. At first he despise
them for getting in the way of his work of finding the stone, but when he did
them, he saw they were so different from what he did on his journey. They
were more risky and involved a lot of daring. It took a while to get a hang of
them, but Mustang and his team did whatever they could to help him learn
how to handle them. It taught him that he loved working with the team. He
loved those operations. It was the only time he would ever rely on someone
besides his brother. Those missions are what helped him to learn to trust
Mustang's team to watch his back.

Grudgingly, Izumi had to admit that Mustang was good. Not only did he not
fall for the Homunculi's plan, but he made it look like he did to help Ross
escape and throw in his own mission. She was not stupid. She did not like the
military, but she could see it in Mustang's eyes and his team's eyes. They
knew there was more to this then just saving Ross. The Homunculi played a
plan and that brought them out to Mustang and his team. This was actually
getting pretty good. She was curious to see how Mustang and his team
handled this operation.

"What was that?" Ed asked.

"Looks like they got her." Barry commented.

Ed ran past Barry and into the alley that Ross ran down.

"Hold it! Get back here." Barry said.

Mustang's smirk vanished. The Ed in the room may know about the
operation, but the future him had no idea. He was going to come across him
in the middle of an operation after he just faked Ross's death and he couldn't
tell him.

"Edward is going to hate you." Riza said softly.

"I know." Mustang replied.

"Maybe at first, but it's you. You won't let him think his friend is dead."
Hughes said, frowning. "But you won't tell him right away either." His eyes
narrowed at him. "I know you. You are either going to do or say something
cruel to him in your rage."

Mustang grimaced, but didn't deny that fact.

Al ran at Barry while he was distracted.

"Oh, missed me!" Barry said.

Al turned around to punch him again, but missed again.

"Let's go, foreigner." Barry said, running away with Ling.

"Okie-dokie." Ling said.

"Wait!" Al yelled.

"You want the psychopath to come back?" Ed asked.

Al shrugged. "I want answers."

"Ling! What are you doing with a guy like him?" Al asked.

Ling turned his head and waved to him. "I'll have to fill you in later."

"Sheesh, know the guy for a couple of days and he is already acting like we're
friends." Ed mumbled.

"Aw, you're still in denial." Ling whined.

"I'll hit you again." Ed said.

Ling grinned. "Whatever you say, buddy."

Ed twitched.

Al stood alone in the alley. He looked to where his brother disappeared

then to where Barry and Ling were running off to. "What now?" He
shouted.

"That is a hard choice." Havoc said, snickering.

"Go after the more reckless person." Riza suggested. 'Your brother will
definitely need you right now when he faces Colonel Mustang.'

Ed stared in horror at the smoking corpse in front of him and Mustang,

who had his back turned to Ed as slow horrifying music entered the
scene.
Mustang turned his head to the side a bit to look at Ed from an angle.
"Hey there, Fullmetal."

"I really hate how calm and dark you are sounding right now when you have
a smoking body at your feet!" Ed growled.

"You know how operations go, Fullmetal. I have to act my part as a bastard
who just got his sweet revenge." Mustang said, shrugging.

Ed hissed. "Yes, but in all your operations that happened when I was around,
I was involved in them or aware of them. This is the first time I haven't
known of one and I've run into you in the middle of it. Not to mention, it
involved the fake death of a friend and I don't know it is fake!"

"Well, personally, I think it is good that you don't know and you ran into
Roy." Hughes said.

Ed glared at him. "Why is that?"

"It's a good lesson to believe in your commanding officer and not always
believe that what you see is the truth." Hughes said, holding up one finger.
He raised a second finger. "And, your reaction to this will be real, which will
make it all that more believable to the soldiers and Homunculi that Roy did
something horrible and really toasted Ross."

"That may be true, but I think this is very cruel to Edward." Sheska said
quietly.

Maria nodded in agreement. "I agree that it is a cruel and horrible experience
to Ed, but as a soldier, I have to say it will be a good lesson to him, though I
wish he didn't have to go through it."

"He is a soldier. This is just one of the horrible experiences that he has to
come across." General Armstrong said, frowning. She may find that the
soldiers Ed knew were weak to him. They did so much to protect the boy
from seeing any more horrors in his life, but now she saw it. They protected
him, but they also found the horrible lessons he came across to be good for
him. He didn't go through training or war like them, but he was being trained
in his own way. And since he was only a child, they were taking years to do it
so as not to break him and in a way so he wouldn't realize that what they were
doing was training him because it was all firsthand experience. Mustang and
his team were good. She would admit that.

Ed stared in horror at the burnt bracelet on the body's wrist. "What

happened here?" He asked, hands clenching in anger. "What happened
here, Colonel? Tell me!"

Mustang stared coldly at Ed.

"Why, Colonel? Why was Hughes murdered? Why would Second

Lieutenant Ross...?" Ed ran at Mustang and grabbed him by his coat.
"Why didn't you say anything!?"

Mustang's eyes narrowed even more, surprising Ed, before he was

suddenly punched across the face.

Ed yelped in surprise and grabbed his cheek. Mustang punched him! His own
Commanding Officer just punched him because he was upset and wanted
answers!

"Wow." Havoc said, gaping. Of all the people the Colonel could punch, he
never expected it to be Edward. He cared too much for the brothers.

"That was certainly a surprise. I didn't think I would ever see you hit one of
your subordinates." General Armstrong told Mustang, who looked surprised
at his future's actions. Though, it wasn't all that shocking. Even if it was just
an operation, he was probably still angry about all of this and Ed did step
across the boundaries.

But even so, he shouldn't have hit him. Ed was just an upset teenager who
didn't have a damn clue of what was going on because he lied to him. Which
just made Mustang feel worst. He may pick on the boy and intentionally
anger him, but he has never lied to the boy, except about court martialing
him, and he also never hit the boy. Ed was his charge. He was supposed to
protect and mentor and train the boy! Not do this.
Hughes seemed to agree because the man was shooting a glare at him. "You
don't hit kids." He hissed quietly.

Ah, the caring family man was back.

"Fullmetal gave up the right of a normal childhood when he became a

solider." Mustang retorted.

"That doesn't make him an adult." Hughes argued.

"You are definitely playing the part of a bastard." Ed growled, rubbing his
cheek.

Mustang turned away from Hughes, smirking at the boy, though his heart
wasn't in it, even though Ed sounded completely fine after he punched him.
"What was it you said earlier, Fullmetal?" He taunted. "That I couldn't hit you
with my bare fists?"

Ed snorted. "Lucky shot."

"You shouldn't doubt the military's training so much." Mustang retorted.

"Brother, are you okay?" Al asked worriedly.

Ed grinned at his brother, despite the pain flaring in his cheek. "Of course,
Al. Mustang's a wuss. His punches don't even hurt."

Mustang rolled his eyes. He saw the kid rubbing his cheek. He was in the
pain from that punch.

Ed turned back to the screen, grin slipping from his face and eyes shadowing.
His commanding officer actually punched him. Mustang had always been
there for him since he joined the military. He taunted him and gave him
stupid assignments to mess with him, but he never once went through with
his threats and he always made Ed get a physical after highly dangerous
missions. Ed always complained about them, but he knew it was Mustang's
way of showing he cared.

Or, that was what he thought. Ed could handle getting hurt by strangers in a
fight. They were his enemy. He could handle the spars he had with Al, Izumi,
and soldiers. He could handle Izumi punching and kicking him, throwing
knives at him, and all her yelling. It was how she showed she was concerned
for his wellbeing.

What he couldn't handle was his own Commanding Officer lying to him, then
punching him. Mustang was supposed to be the constant in his life that liked
to tick him off and mentor him so much that Ed wanted to destroy something.
He was supposed to be there to anger the boy and be normal around him
when everyone else pitied him and were being soft to him. He was supposed
to be normal so Ed could remain strong.

But now, all Mustang cared about was getting revenge for his friend. He
wanted to avenge his fallen friend who died trying to help Edward. That was
all Mustang cared about, and now because of that, he was lying and punching
Ed. This was not the normal constant in his life anymore.

Since Ling was sitting next to Ed, only he saw the dark, sad look that crossed
over his face. He frowned when he saw that. It seemed Ed cared more about
Mustang hitting him then he let on, and that upset him. Ed may deny them
being friends, but they both thought of each other as friends. He didn't like
seeing his friend so distraught.

Ed crashed into the ground, while Mustang straightened his jacket.

"You threaten a superior officer? You forget yourself, Elric."

Ed hid a wince at that. Mustang never called him by his last name. It was
Fullmetal, or in the rare cases, Ed or Edward. It was never Elric. He didn't
like that angry tone Mustang was using. It was not the angry tone he used
when usually scolding Ed or having one of their famous arguments. He didn't
like it.

Edward pushed himself to his feet. He turned around, glaring at

Mustang with his face scratched up where Mustang hit him. He charged
at Mustang with the intent to punch him, but Al appeared in time and
wrapped his arms around Ed.

"Should have seen that coming." Breda said dryly. "Chief was never one to
take hits sitting down."

"Well, it's a good thing Al showed up when he did." Mustang said with a
sigh. If Al hadn't gotten there, things would have just gotten so much worst
between him and Ed. In the room and in the future.

"Brother, don't!"

"I'm going to tear you apart!" Ed shouted.

"No, I won't let you." Al said.

"This bastard just killed Ross." Ed said.

"What? He did?" Al asked as Mustang walked away. He saw the body

lying at Ed's feet and gasped. "How could you do that, Colonel?"

"At least Al isn't attempting to kill me." Mustang said.

"He is the calmer of the two, even though he can be a bit reckless himself."
Izumi commented, not at all affected by this. She knew these boys, so the
reactions were expected and she couldn't criticize Mustang for punching Ed.
That boy needed it sometimes, and plus, that would make her a hypocrite
since she beat him and his brother up all the time.

"I also know it would not be wise to let Brother go just yet." Al piped in.

Mustang paused. "Maria Ross was a fugitive. Our orders were 'shoot to
kill.'" He glanced over his shoulder at the boys. "So I did."

"That's not shooting." Ed muttered.

"Figure of speech. It means take down the enemy." Mustang said.

Ed snorted. "You burnt whatever that is horribly. It's like it was thrown into
the pits of hell."

"The best way to fake death when it involves Roy. He makes the bodies
unrecognizable." Hughes said darkly. He never did like seeing his friend use
his Flame Alchemy like that.

"That's all you have to say?!" Al demanded.

"About Hughes' death...I apologize for hiding it. But you do not argue
against orders...or ask for explanations. Just follow them." Mustang
said. "That's what it means to be a soldier."

"….Sounds more like you're giving a lesson to Brother." Al said.

"He has yet to learn this lesson." Mustang commented.

"It's a hard lesson to learn, especially with the scene in front of him." Fuery
commented, understanding how hard to was for Ed. It would be very difficult
for him to learn, especially from Mustang after he just supposedly killed
Ross. Ed did not yet know in this future that Mustang had no qualms about
breaking laws and sneaking around his superiors. He did not yet know that
sometimes breaking the rules was for the best if it meant protecting friends
and comrades.

"It did teach me one thing." Ed muttered. "I am never entering a dark alley
with an angry Mustang on the loose."

Hughes laughed. "That does sound scary."

Maria's bracelets were shown before there was a flash. A soldier was
shown taking pictures of it with others soldiers around doing their job. A
solider was whispering something to Henry before Henry turned to
Mustang. Ed and Al were shown leaning against the alley wall.

"Colonel Mustang." Henry shouted, marching over to the man. "You

will explain to me what happened here at once."

"The message went out that if she resisted, we were permitted to shoot to
kill." Mustang said. "She resisted, so I killed her."

"I understand the Brigadier General was a friend." Henry said.

"Yeah. He was a good man." Mustang replied.

"Perhaps then it was one of your men who aided Lieutenant Ross's
escape." Henry suggested.

"One of my men?" Mustang asked.

"Oooh, someone is suspicious of you already." Hughes said.

"And that is why the body is unrecognizable. I'll take the shocked, surprised,
horrified, and angry looks while underneath it all is the truth." Mustang said
calmly.

"A solider must look underneath the underneath." Ed suggested.

Mustang looked surprised, but nodded. "It seems you did learn some things."

"Underneath the underneath?" May asked curiously.

"There are times when we can't say what exactly we need to because of
things we can't control. So we have to speak or write in a way that is strange
or in codes so the person receiving it will have to dig through it. Nothing is
what it seems." Edward explained.

"Sounds confusing." May replied.

Ed hummed. "It does take getting used to."

"But why?" Mustang asked.

"Why, Colonel?" Henry asked as the body was carried away. "I'll tell
you why. So you could burn her to death with your own hand."

"I think such speculation is best avoided." Mustang said. He looked at

Edward, who was glaring at him with wide eyes.

The hallway outside the morgue was shown with Ed and Al standing in
front of Armstrong. "I'm truly sorry for not telling you about Brigadier
General Hughes's death sooner." Armstrong said.

"It's my fault." Ed said.

Armstrong looked in surprise at Ed. "Don't be so hard on yourself. His
murder wasn't your doing, Edward."

Dr. Knox exited the morgue. "Is everyone here then?"

"Dr. Knox." Armstrong said.

Ed's brow furrowed in confusion. "Who is Dr. Knox?"

"A doctor that specializes in autopsy, specifically in fire-related deaths."

Mustang explained, smirking. "He served with me in Ishval, autopsying all
the bodies I burnt. Without even needing to inform him of the plan, he will
say that body is Ross."

"You sure have loyal comrades." Al said.

"Her body was almost completely destroyed." Dr. Knox said as papers of
the autopsy were shown. "But judging from what little dental work that
remained, I was able to conclude that this is indeed Maria Ross." Still
looking at the report, Dr. Knox said, "It's an awful thing you did,
turning a beauty like her into a pile of charcoal. You must have held
quite a grudge against her, didn't you, Colonel?" He turned to look at
Mustang, who was sitting on a bench in the hallway. Mustang opened his
eyes, staring at the man with dark eyes. "Is the vengeance as sweet as
you imagined it?"

Mustang closed his eyes and looked away.

Dr. Knox scoffed and turned away, walking off. "The famous hero of the
Ishvalan War, going this far against a little girl. It makes me sick."

The MPs behind Armstrong shared a look.

Ed gritted his teeth as Mustang stood up.

"Colonel, please allow me to apologize for what one of my own officers'

actions." Armstrong said. "I could never imagine that Second
Lieutenant Ross would commit such a harness murder."
Ross looked down sadly. Did Major Armstrong really lose his belief in her so
easily?She had thought that Major Armstrong was someone who would
always believe in her.

Ed and Al stared at him.

"She was so straightforward and earnest…" Armstrong's furious face

was shown. "Compassionate. A truly fine officer."

"You look very mad." Al commented.

"Because I do not believe that Lieutenant Ross did anything wrong and she
did not deserve this death." Armstrong explained.

Ross looked up, surprised. He didn't lose trust in her, but was throwing this in
Mustang's face. He was angry and upset and was trying to guilt Mustang?
Was that it? She smiled to herself. So Major Armstrong didn't lose his faith.
That warmed her heart.

Mustang stared at Armstrong. The brothers were shown before

Armstrong sat on one of the couches. He covered his eyes and sighed.

Mustang looked away. "Fatigue seems to be getting the best of you,

Major. Perhaps you should take some leave." He suggested. "Back east,
where I was. It's a nice place." He looked at Armstrong out of the corner
of his eyes. "None of the big city noise and lots of beautiful women."

Mustang smirked. "It seems I am a sending Ross east."

"What?" May asked confused. "But you didn't say anything about Ross."

"See what is underneath the underneath. Some might not see it because they
weren't trained to. Others won't see it because of anger or sadness." Ed
explained tiredly. He really didn't have the energy for this anymore. "Dr.
Knox called Ross a beauty. Mustang just said there were beautiful women in
the east. Hence, Ross is heading east."

"Oh, I see." May said, smiling. "It's a code then."

"In a way." Ed replied.

Ed gritted his teeth as Mustang walked away. He kicked a trash can

angrily.

A group of monsters in cages were shown, snarling.

"After a daring escape, the fugitive is killed by Colonel Mustang, eager to

avenge his best friend. And all's well that ends well." Envy told Lust,
smiling.

"Are you so sure about that? The plan was supposed to be designed to
get Mustang to behave himself." Lust said.

"He took the bait...Now he doesn't have a reason to snoop around

anymore." Envy said. He grinned evilly. "Besides...we did manage to sow
some animosity...His subordinates won't trust him much after this."

Mustang smirked. "And that is why all my plans are highly effective."

"You want them to think that no one trusts you anymore?" Ling asked.

"Colonel's operations are highly…advanced and sometimes involves a lot of

betrayal and hatred among the group for them to work." Havoc explained,
biting down hard on his cigarette. He shot a look at Ed, who was staring at
the screen with a frown. He had been like that since Mustang hit him. Even
when he talked, he still frowned. At this rate, he would lose trust. "But in the
end, it really comes down to how much we trust one another for them to
work."

"Sounds intense." Lan Fan commented.

"It's gets easier with experience." Breda told her.

A paper was slid across Mustang's desk. "What's this?" He asked.

"It's a request for leave." Riza said. The soldiers at their desks watched
the two.
"At a time like this?" Mustang asked.

"Is that a no?" Riza demanded.

"No, it's fine. Request approved." Mustang said.

Riza saluted. "Thank you very much, sir." She turned and began to walk
away, resulting in the soldiers hurriedly looking back at their work.

Mustang sat calmly at his desk with his face resting on his fist as he
stared at the wall. Riza opened the office door, walked out, and slammed
it shut behind her with the soldiers watching. They looked back at
Mustang, only to see him smirking.

A cleaver being sharpened was shown.

"What were you thinking going out on your own like that?" Falman
shouted frantically at Barry, who was calmly sharpening his cleaver and
ignoring him.

"You didn't inform me of the plan?" Falman asked, hanging his head in a
dejected state. "I was probably thinking of the horrible consequences of
meeting you when you found out I lost Barry all night."

"It does suck being left in the dark." Al agreed, hanging his head. There were
times when Ed had to leave him in the dark when he was doing certain
missions for the military. It was really scary for him because he didn't know
if his brother would make it back sometimes. Mustang seemed to recognize
his concern and told him that he would never let his brother die if he could
help it. He would protect Ed, and Al trusted him.

"Do you know what the Colonel would do to me if he found out?"

Falman asked.

Barry looked over at him, raising his sharpened cleaver. "Oh, pipe down
will you. Nobody saw me."

"That is a very huge lie." Al said, chuckling. "A lot of people saw him,
including Brother and me."
Falman grabbed at his hair. "Don't you get it? That misses the point."

"You're just a helpless soldier held captive by a big bad criminal." Barry
said.

"Isn't it the other way around?" Richard said dryly.

"Not when the big bad criminal is just a suit of armor with no body." Jerso
said, smirking. "Bullets won't work on it so really, Falman is at his mercy."

"Not necessarily. If he knows where the blood seal is, all he has to do is get to
that." Heinkel pointed out.

"Yeah, get to it. What are his chances? Maybe one of the brats could get to
it." Zampano nodded at the teenagers. "But I don't think a soldier has their
kind of flexibility to do that."

"Great." Falman dropped his head in a dejected manner.

"What were you supposed to do?" Barry asked.

"Huh?" Falman asked.

A fish was shown to be cooking over a fire.

"Hey! What are you up to out there?" Barry asked from the window,
looking at Ling, who was sitting next to the fire, holding a piece of
cardboard.

"It's about time!" Lan Fan said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What do you mean?" Riza asked.

Lan Fan smiled at the woman. "That is a signal Master Ling is doing so we
can find him."

"Building a signal fire." Ling replied.

"A signal fire?" Barry asked.

Falman pointed angrily at Ling. "Bringing someone back here you know
nothing about? How can you be so stupid?"

Al snickered. "I love your reactions, Falman. They remind me of Brother,

except that you are much calmer then him."

"I think it is a common reaction in a situation like this." Falman muttered.

A close up of Fu's face appeared on screen. "Young Lord." He said

before the scene pulled out to show Ling eating the fish with Fu kneeling
near him and Lan Fan standing by him. "We've been looking for you."

"Wow, impressive response time." Ling said.

"Looks like a party." Barry commented, causing Falman to groan.

Birds were chirping as some buildings were shown before soldiers were
shown staring blankly at someone.

"Hello Elizabeth, how are you?" Mustang said.

Havoc snickered. "I love seeing soldiers' facing when they see Colonel
constantly on the phone with different women."

"Why is it so amusing?" May asked confused.

"Because they think he is a womanizer when he really isn't." Havoc

explained. "Those women he is always talking to aren't dates. They don't
even exist."

Ling blinked for a moment before smirking. "Codenames?"

Havoc nodded. "You've got it. The second part of the operation has begun."

"It's great to hear from you as usual. Are you sure your assistant won't
give you grief for blowing off work to talk on the phone?" A woman's
voice asked.
"Nope." Mustang turned around in his chair, grinning. "The coast is
clear. She's out of the office at the moment."

Two soldiers standing out of the office listened to him.

"And a good thing too or I wouldn't be able to talk to you." Mustang said
before laughing.

"So how do you like that?" One of the soldiers asked. "He's whipped."

"The second the Lieutenant goes on leave, he gets like this." His
companion said.

A scary picture of Riza appeared behind them.

"You'd think Lieutenant Hawkeye was…"

"…Colonel Mustang's nanny or something."

Hughes snickered. "So that's what your men think of you two."

Mustang smirked. "Which is the best cover out there."

The inside of the office was shown with soldiers looking angry while
Mustang continued to talk. "Uh-huh, that's right. You know I haven't
had a day off since I got here, so I'm seriously thinking of taking some
leave time soon."

"Oh. Where are you going to go?" Elizabeth asked.

Mustang leaned back in his seat, holding a pen in his hand. "I could use
a nice, relaxing fishing trip. Care to come along?" He asked before the
outside of the military dorms was shown with dramatic music playing.

"Fishing?" Al asked.

"Of course. Fishing." Mustang smirked. "I'm fishing for those who are
pulling the strings. It's a good pastime."
General Armstrong smirked. Fishing, eh? She didn't get to see much of that at
Briggs. She kind of missed it.

Ed was shown to be lying on a couch in his room with Winry and Al

sitting around him.

A knock sounded at the door, catching Ed's attention. "Yeah? Who is

it?" He asked as he opened the door. "What are you–" He froze, looking
shocked as Armstrong raised his arm to punch him.

"What the hell?" Ed cried, shooting up in shock.

"You do end up in the strangest situations." Ling commented. "But usually,

it's not from your own comrades."

The ceiling fan of his room was shown before Ed was shown with his
metal arm raised in defense as he skidded across the ground. When he
stopped, he sat halfway up and glared at Armstrong. "Major! What the
hell did you do that for?"

Armstrong towered over the boy. "You listen to me, Edward Elric."
Edward gulped before Armstrong picked the boy up by his jacket and
moved his automail arm around. "Hmm, this is no good, no good at all.
Your automail seems to be broken."

"AHH! No! Not the arm, Major!" Ed cried. "That's it! You are so paying to
have that repaired!"

Armstrong chuckled nervously.

"Well, think of it this way, Brother." Al said cheerfully. "Winry totally saw
that so she can't blame you for it breaking this time."

Ed hung his head. "But why…."

"Uh…Okay." Ed said.

Armstrong put Ed down. "Yes, this is a serious situation indeed. We'll

have to repair it at once. There's no time to waste. Allow me to escort
you to Resembool for repairs."

Ed deflated. "Uh, Major, what's up?"

"It seems we're throwing you out of Central." Mustang said, laughing.

"Why?" Lan Fan asked curiously.

"So he doesn't get in the way of my operation again." Mustang said. "And
plus, I'm sending him east so I believe…"

"He's going to go see me?" Ross asked.

Mustang nodded. "I can only hope. It might make him not hate me anymore."

Winry and Al leaned out the doorway watching. "What's that?" Winry
asked.

"You're going back home to Resembool?" Al asked.

Ed moved closer to them, waving a hand. "I have no idea of what he's
talking about, Al."

Armstrong leaned into Al's face. "And you, Alphonse Elric, you would
stand out too much, so you remain here in Central."

"Okay." Al said.

"Don't agree so easily, Al." Ed groaned. "You are just going to let me be
kidnapped?"

"But it's Major." Al protested. "He's not going to hurt you."

"But we don't know what he wants!" Ed shouted.

"It's not like it's the first time." Al muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Ed said as he was dragged off by Armstrong with Al and Winry

watching. Winry was pointing at herself.
"But isn't that suspicious since Winry is there?" Al said confused.

"Don't question things." Mustang said.

"Well, alright then." Al muttered. Sorry for asking questions.

"We need to make arrangements for transportation right away! Come

along, Edward." Armstrong said.

"Cut it out, Major." Ed said weakly as Armstrong walked through the

lobby, carrying Ed under his arm. "Put me down."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Armstrong said. Ed stopped whining,

looking surprised. "These are my orders." Ed tilted his head up to look
at Armstrong. 'From him…'

Mustang's office was shown once more.

"Okay, I got it." One of the soldiers said. "Roger that." He put his phone
down and stood up. "Major Armstrong and Edward Elric have gotten
aboard the train, sir."

"Okay." Mustang said before smirking. 'Finally, everyone's out of the

way.'

"Hey! I resent that!" Ed shouted. "Why couldn't you just tell me about the
damn operation?"

"Because that would ruin the fun of kidnapping you." Mustang said,
shrugging.

Ed growled. "Major kidnapped me, not you."

"But it was by my orders." Mustang retorted.

"I wish you would stop ordering that." Ed hissed.

Ling laughed. "He's ordered you kidnapped before?"

"He's done it at least twice a year since I've joined!" Edward said angrily. "It's
getting really annoying."

"But this time it was done for a serious reason." Riza pointed out.

"And at least it's by us and not a criminal." Breda added.

Ed sighed. "We've already establish that criminals don't like kidnapping me

after that one time. It's only the damn military that does it now! What kind of
comrades are you?"

"The fun kind." Havoc said.

A soldier appeared in the room with the caged animals. "I was able to
find a witness who saw the man who orchestrated the breakout." He said
before turning into Envy.

"This is getting really annoying." Luke growled. "How many different

soldiers do we have to see him as? It's been too many times already."

Envy held a picture out to Lust. "Here, this is a rough sketch of the
guy."

Lust took the picture. It was shown to look like Barry. "Oh, he's still
alive then." As Envy walked away, stretching, Lust continued. "Is there
any direct connection to the Colonel?"

"Who knows? My money says he's the one behind it though." Envy
replied.

Lust looked at him. "Where did he run off to?"

Envy dropped his arm from his stretch. "Well, he did leave pretty
suddenly...and he's good at hiding."

Lust turned to him. "In other words, you have no idea...You're useless."

Envy looked at her with a blank face. "Don't blame this on me, you ugly
hag...I'm short on manpower."
"Manpower?" Hughes echoed.

"They're monsters. How can they be short of anything?" Dr. Marcoh said.

"They keep killing them off." Ed said dryly.

"Manpower?" Lust asked as a creature slammed his hands against his

cage. "But you have plenty of manpower right here."

Active music started once more as the thing in the cage looked up. "It
looks like you're finally on, Barry the Chopper." Lust said.

"Barry…" Havoc said.

"…The Chopper?" Breda finished, eyes wide.

"Is that his body?" Al asked shocked.

"How is that possible?" May asked scared.

Ed shrugged. "Barry and the Slicer brothers didn't lose their bodies. Their
souls were ripped from them to bind them to armor suits. It makes sense that
their bodies are still around."

"But how can it move? It has no soul." Fuery pointed out.

"It's a mindless creature now that doesn't think. It just acts." Ed rested his arm
on his knee and put his cheek in his hand. "There are some religions out there
that believe animals do not have souls you know. Some say they do have
souls. If we are going by the former, then it means that right now Barry's
body is an animal that only knows how to track and kill. It is a soulless
monster now."

"I didn't think you studied religion long enough to know something like that."
Hughes said.

"I didn't, but I read a lot. It's just something I came across." Edward replied.

"That's pretty dark and disturbing," Heinkel said, frowning.

Ed shrugged. "It's life. Life is not fair. It is a dark place where we struggle to
survive."

"Must you say dark things?" Ling asked.

"Time for a break!" Hughes suddenly declared.

Ed shot him a frown. "We just had a break not that long ago."

Hughes shrugged. "Yeah, but I need to find something so we're having a

break." He jumped to his feet and turned his face to Mustang so he was the
only one to see it. He gave his friend a look that said fix-him-now before
smiling and leaving to disappear into one of the rooms.

The soldiers shot the door he disappeared through a blank look before Ed
sighed and stood up, stretching his back. "Well, okay then." He jumped over
the couch Mustang was on, via the empty seat that was Hughes's and walked
away himself.

Riza shot a glare at Mustang. Unlike Ling, she didn't have to see Ed's face
earlier to know that something was wrong. "You better follow him, sir. This
is your mess."

Mustang nodded hurriedly and stood up. He disappeared to where Ed went as

well. When he passed through the door that Ed went through in the back
corner of the room, he was shocked by what he saw. Inside the room was a
huge training room. Ignoring the room's equipment, Mustang looked over to
where Ed was punching a punching bag.

"Fullmetal." He called, stepping farther into the room.

Ed slammed his fist into the punching bag. "Hey Colonel. Do you need
something?"

*Main Room*

"What was that about?" Darius said confused, staring at the door that
Mustang and Ed disappeared through.
Havoc shrugged, sharing an uncomfortable look with Breda. "Colonel and
Chief have a….an unique relationship…"

"And when Colonel Mustang punched him, it kind of hurt that relationship
and the trust between them." Breda finished. "They both stepped over a
boundary today so they need to fix that."

"A special relationship?" Sheska asked curiously.

Riza glanced at the men of Mustang's team. "Do you remember how we said
earlier that Ed almost drowned?"

*Training Room*

Mustang walked over to Ed, grabbing hold of the punching bag. "Fullmetal,
we need to talk."

Ed paused in his punching and looked at his superior with a raised brow. "We
do? Is something wrong, Colonel?"

Mustang moved the punching bag back and stood in front of Ed, pushing him
back away from the punching bag. "Not with me. With you."

"There is nothing wrong with me." Ed said, pushing Colonel's hands off his
shoulder.

"But there is." Mustang insisted. "You can play it off as much as you want,
but I'm not blind and neither is my team or your brother. You are upset over
me punching you."

Ed glared at his superior.

*Main Room*

"When Edward almost drowned, it was an operation that went wrong." Riza
said, frowning. Her eyes were closed as she recalled that mission. It was a
difficult and scary one because they almost lost their youngest team member.
"Colonel Mustang went undercover as a rich widower with a teenage son,
which was Edward."
*Training Room*

"You stepped over a boundary, Edward. You yelled at me and attacked me."
Mustang said, looking down at the glaring boy with calm, dark eyes. Ed
gritted his teeth. "But, I am also at fault. You had just learned Hughes was
killed, Maria Ross is a friend of yours that you thought I killed, and you were
really confused, upset, and mad. I had to act a certain way for the operation.
You know how it is. But even though I had to act a certain way, I was still
out of line. Punching you like that was not the best way to handle your
sudden appearance."

*Main Room*

"What was the mission?" Kei asked curiously.

"A drug bust. Colonel was going in as a drug addict who started taking drugs
after the loss of his wife because of depression. His son, Edward, was a
delinquent punk who started getting into fights and using drugs all the time
after he lost his mother." Havoc explained.

"That sounds like him now." Izumi pointed out. "Minus the drug part."

Havoc nodded. "That was the point. Ed was only thirteen at the time so we
thought it'd be easier to keep his role like his personality at the time."

"I was working for Colonel at the time as a butler while also going out to
meet Lieutenant Hawkeye or Havoc to share information. Fuery was our
communication expert while the others worked in the office and were back
up to Ed and Colonel when it was time to do the dangerous parts of the
mission." Falman explained.

*Training Room*

"Think what you like, but I am fine." Edward hissed, walking over to the
sparring ring.

Eyes narrowing, Mustang followed him while at the same time unbuttoning
his military jacket. He pulled it off and tossed it to the ground, revealing a
black shirt under it. "You said I could not touch you with my bare fists."

Ed turned around, staring at Mustang in shock.

"Military hand-to-hand combat vs. martial arts. Which is better?" Mustang

asked.

"Wha–" Ed was cut off by having to duck under a punch. "Colonel!"

"We've never sparred before, have we?" Mustang asked, smirking. "Are you
afraid?"

Ed snarled and charged at Mustang. He swung his leg up at Mustang's side,

but the Colonel blocked it with his arm. "Do you remember that mission
where you almost drowned?" He asked as Ed pulled his leg back.

Ed blinked blankly at his Colonel.

*Main Room*

"Colonel was trying to grab their attention to join the gang by offering them
lots of money for their drugs and buying often. He wanted to meet the leader
to know who he was before taking them down. The mission was going well.
The second-in-command of the group eventually came to Colonel's house
with some men to meet him and talk some things over, but the Colonel wasn't
home at the time. Edward was alone to meet them with Havoc watching the
house from outside." Breda explained. "When Chief invited them inside,
Havoc almost revealed his cover, ready to charge in to save Ed from them."

"You were that worried about him?" Ling asked.

Havoc shrugged. "I didn't trust them. I knew they each had at least one gun
on them. If they pulled them out suddenly, Ed would be in trouble."

"But, from the bug in the house, Havoc listened to them talking. Apparently,
they had been watching Colonel and Chief for a while now. Their boss
wanted to meet them. Colonel because he was influential and Ed because
they thought he would be good for the gang because of his expertise in
fighting and intelligence." Breda continued.
*Training Room*

Ed jumped away from Mustang's kick. "Why are you brining that up now?"

"Do you remember what happened on the boat?" Mustang asked, blocking
Ed's punch, which the boy followed up with a kick to Mustang's stomach.
The Colonel grunted from pain and jumped away from the boy, rubbing his
stomach.

"I don't remember much of it towards the end."

*Main Room*

"The meeting took place on a yacht that was on the lake a bit of a ways out of
East City. We followed them as back up. Because of past research, we
already had a boat ready for us to follow them." Riza explained, sharing a
dark look with the rest of the team. "The boys waited until the yacht was a
few miles away before they got into a speed boat to follow them, stopping far
enough away that it wouldn't be suspicious. They then took up the act of
fishing. I had snuck on board of the yacht with Colonel and Ed. We
discovered the main circle of the gang were foreigners from Aerugo. Talks
began. The plan was to talk then get out of there and come back with arrest
warrants, but something went wrong."

*Training Room*

Mustang grunted as he blocked Ed's foot from hitting him again. Before the
boy could pull away, his other hand came up and wrapped around the boy's
ankle. It was a good thing he wasn't wearing his boots or he wouldn't be able
to get such a good grip. With the boy balancing on only one foot, it was easy
for Mustang to yank him forward and cause him to lose balance. When Ed
slammed into him, Mustang quickly pushed the boy back before he could
regain his balance. He grabbed Ed's flesh wrist and painfully twisted it
around his back. He pushed the boy to the ground and buried his knee into
Ed's back so he couldn't get up.

Ed growled and tried to move, but it didn't do anything. The Colonel was
stronger and heavier then he looked.

"On the boat, talks went wrong. One of the drug dealers recognized you
because you protected a girl from him before this operation ever began."
Mustang told him, pulling his knee off his back. He released his wrist,
allowing the boy to roll over and stare at the ceiling while Mustang stayed
crouched next to him.

"What happened?" Ed asked.

*Main Room*

"Colonel Mustang was restrained by two men. He didn't have his gloves or
gun because he was undercover. Guns were pointed at Ed, keeping him from
being able to move." Havoc explained darkly. "Luckily we were watching
this with binoculars and Riza was communicating to us through her headset
so we were able to throw our act away and get over there. But we didn't get
there fast enough. Since they knew who Ed was, they also knew he had two
automail limbs."

"So they threw my brother into the water to let him drown?" Al asked darkly.

May cried out, horrified at that. She knew that Ed must have had a hard time
being in the military at such a young age, but all the stories she heard had
described a strong, loyal boy who helped anyone who needed it. There were
never stories saying how close he came to dying.

"Yes, they dragged him over to the edge of the boat and pushed him off."
Havoc said, glaring at the wall as he remembered that day. It was not
something any of them could forget. It was so terrifying for all of them.

*Training Room*

"I remember almost drowning." Edward said, frowning.

"Yes, they pushed you into the water to let you drown. I don't think they liked
you very much to give you that antagonizing death." Mustang said.

"Most people don't. That's why they try to give me slow, painful deaths. That
is also why I am still alive. If they were to shoot me down instead, then they
would have a better chance." Edward replied.

Mustang didn't reply. He just looked down at the boy with dark eyes that
displayed something Edward never saw before. Soft kindness. "We never told
you what happened afterwards."

Ed shook his head.

"I screamed bloody murder at them and tried to pull myself free to get to you
and their leader just laughed at my suffering, wondering who you were to me.
He loved my reactions and said he would keep me alive until he was sure you
were dead just to watch my suffering. He wanted to see the pain in my eyes
while I tried to escape to get to you." Mustang explained, angry flaring in his
voice. "But then…"

*Main Room*

"Riza lost it then." Havoc said, smirking. "She shot both of the men holding
Colonel before anyone realized we were around. The moment those two were
dead, Colonel wrenched his arms free and dived behind some crates. We," He
motioned to Falman, Breda, and him. "used that moment to open fire on the
ship while Riza hid behind some crates, pulling out her rifle."

"You guys sound insane." Ling informed them.

Breda laughed harshly. "I don't think it's insane. It's more like, we don't take
well to someone trying to hurt one of our own."

*Training Room*

"With my team covering me, I dived into the water and came after you. You
had already hit the bottom of the lake so I had to move quickly. I almost
thought I would be too late. When I reached you, I grabbed you and realized
that you were too heavy, being weighed down by water and your automail.
Luckily, Havoc jumped down into the water soon after I did. With his help,
we got you to the top of the water. Breda and Falman pulled you into the
speed boat. You weren't breathing." Mustang said, frowning. That had been a
very scary moment for the team and him. They had really thought they had
lost him then. It was the first time he had ever been so close to death around
them.

*Main Room*

"We were forced to give CPR. It was almost too late. In fact, we came close
to giving up." Breda explained.

Al froze. His brother never really told him what happened on this mission. He
gave the brief details, but never informed him of how close he was to dying.
He probably wanted to save him the fear of almost losing him.

Izumi growled to herself. Water was probably Ed's biggest weakness. In fact,
it was another thing he shared with Mustang. They were both weak against
water. Those men who tried to drown Ed were horrible. He was only thirteen
at the time and they tried to murder him. They tried to kill a kid! If they
weren't dead or arrested, Izumi would hunt them down herself!

*Training Room*

"You almost died from that incident. Havoc gave you CPR for five minutes
before you were revived." Mustang said.

Ed paled. Five minutes? He should have been declared dead! It was only
because his team didn't want to give up on him that he didn't die from that!
"Why are you telling me this now anyways?" He asked, pushing himself up
into a sitting position. "It's got nothing to do with now."

"It's got everything to do with now." Mustang retorted. "That incident…it

was the first time I ever saw you close to death like that. It scared me. You
are part of my team and I thought I had lost you. I thought I failed in
protecting you. I took you on that operation and you almost died. I was
almost ready to keep you away from all the operations and dangerous
missions after that, but Lieutenant Hawkeye told me that would only make it
worse since you have a knack for finding danger. She told me putting you in
dangerous situations would help you learn and get stronger so something like
that wouldn't happen again."
*Main Room*

"We were all scared and thought we lost him, but Colonel, he was the worst.
He'll never admit it, but he was crying and yelling at Edward to open his
eyes." Havoc said, smiling now. It was so rare for them to see Mustang
crying. "He resorted to everything. Threats, insults, pleads, promises. He was
saying anything to get the boy to open his eyes."

Riza chuckled softly. "I was still on the yacht, making sure the ones who
were alive were restrained and I could hear all of them yelling. I was scared
at the time that we were going to lose him. I think we were all ready to kill
everyone in the gang for what happened to the boy, especially if he didn't
wake up. They were quite lucky that Edward did regain consciousness."

Breda smiled at the memory of the boy opening his eyes. All of them had
cried in relief when he did, but the boy was pretty dazed and tired at the time
so he did not remember anything that happened then. Which was probably
good. He would probably mock Colonel forever if he remembered that
Mustang had hugged him in relief and told him to never go near water again.

*Training Room*

"I still don't get–" Ed started but was cut off when he felt Mustang wrap his
arms around his chest.

"I made a promise to always protect those who are below me and I almost
lost you in that moment. I almost lost someone who is precious to me."
Mustang said, pushing the boy's head forward to rest on his shoulder. "Full–
no…Ed, you mean more to me then you realize. I punched you, but I
shouldn't have. And I don't plan on making that mistake ever again. I'm sure
the future me regrets the action. I am sorry, Ed. I hope you don't lose your
trust in me from that one moment."

Ed sighed. Yes, the Colonel lied to him and punched him, but he has always
been there for him for three years. He couldn't really claim to hate the
Colonel for what he did. It was a mistake and he has made a lot of mistakes
in his life. If he could be forgiven, then he should be able to forgive others.
Wasn't that what he said to Scar earlier?
Ed snickered. "It's alright, Colonel. I know you're not good at this stuff.
There's a reason why you aren't a dad." He pushed off his superior. "There
was a reason why I was punk in that mission. That is the way I imagine your
kid turning out if your wife is gone….if you ever get a wife that is."

Mustang scoffed. "You have so little faith in me. I've been helping and
mentoring you for the past three years and you doubt my skills still?"

Smirking, Ed nodded. "Course, because you had your team to help you and
Teacher helped me as a child and my mom raised me before she died. You
weren't going at it alone. Alone, you would have tota–"

BANG!

Ed and Mustang jumped in surprise to look at Hughes standing in the

doorway, grinning like a madman. "Oh, Edward! I need your help in your
area of expertise!" He sang.

Ed raised a brow. "My expertise?"

"Well, yours, Al's, and Dr. Marcoh's." Hughes said, waving around the thing
he was holding.

Ed raised a brow. "You want to talk about…"

"Homunculi and The Philosopher's Stone."

A/N: [1] When the hell did he go from Warrant Officer to Lieutenant,
damn it! I swore he became a Second Lieutenant when he went to Briggs.
He is not yet a Briggs soldier! Seriously, I did not write that wrong. That
is what he said.

Sooo, I wasn't all too sure about how to go about this Maria Ross thing.
Do I have people hate Mustang until they realize he saved her or have
them realize the plan?...I went with the latter because when you look at it
from everyone's perceptive (Homunculi, Ed, Barry, Mustang, etc.), you
realize that things are not what you seem. Plus, you have all those genius
analyzers in the room.
We had a Hughes/Ed fluff moment earlier, so I decided to have a Roy/Ed
fluff moment as well….I actually wasn't sure how to do the whole
punching Ed thing, but I read all my 300 and something reviews last
week and I got sudden inspiration for this moment! So…THANK YOU!
I think I got it to where I like it. It was a bit difficult since I wanted to
keep the two in character as much as possible.

Please Review!
*Chapter 18*: Episode 18: The Arrogant
Palm of A Small
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Thanks for all the birthday wishes! And yeah for me! I actually got
this up in time for my birthday! I had to use the computer in the living
room to get this written and it could only be written at nighttime since
that's when I was able to use if freely and play the anime to write the
transcript without bothering people….it was actually quite enjoyable.
It's just a good thing I actually remembered that computer existed. I see
it every day, but never give it a thought since my little brother and Dad
are the only ones to use it. Using that computer also taught me that I
WANT MY FREAKING LAPTOP BACK!

Seriously though, I am going to still have troubles with updating now.

Why? Because the freaking new charger I got isn't helping my laptop.
*sigh* My oldest brother has looked at it and he knows what is wrong
with it. It's a very stupid common problem in laptops. He's going to try
to fix it, but he might make it worse! Hahaha. So annoying. Sooo, yes,
next week will be the same thing. I might not get the chapter up. I will be
busy with some things, but I will try my best.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions
Episode 18: The Arrogant Palm of A Small Human

"Colonel!"

Mustang looked up at Ed. "What is it? I thought you were in the cafeteria
helping Hughes and the others."

"Yeah, yeah." Ed grumbled. The group decided to work in silence in the

cafeteria to get their ideas about the stone down before telling the rest what
was going on. "But I have to fulfill my end of the bet." He held up a little
book before tossing it onto Mustang's lap. "There, it's fulfilled!" With that, Ed
spun around and stalked into the cafeteria.

Ed spotted Al, Hughes, and Dr. Marcoh at one of the tables so he walked
over to them, smiling a bit at them. "So, what are we looking at?" He asked
as he sat down next to Hughes, looking at the map in the middle of the table.
"Where'd you get the map?"

"Lots of digging around." Hughes replied, tapping his pen on the map for a
second before sending a serious look at the boy and holding the pen out.
"Circle the places I say."

Confused about why he had to do it, Ed took the pen. "Okay. Go."

"First, Riviere." Hughes said. "July 1558."

Ed circled the name.

"Then the civil war in Cameron. October 1661." Hughes said.

Ed circled it.

"Soapman incident, February 1799. That took place in Fisk….March 1811,

The Wellsley Conflict…The First Southern Border Conflict took place in
October 1835, northwest of where South City is today…The Second
Southern Border Conflict happened in May 1911, just south of
Fortsett….Ishval, 1901…Pendleton, border wars with Creta….Liore, 1914."

With each name, Ed circled it, frown deepening with each one. They had
discussed this possibility earlier, but to actually see all the bloodshed that had
taken place, it didn't just seem like a simple possibility anymore. He drew his
pen over the circles to connect the dots to make the transmutation circle for
Philosopher's Stones. "The only place without bloodshed is the north." He
commented.

"Which means that will be the next target." Dr. Marcoh said gravely.

"But we still cannot be sure about this. We haven't even seen a circle going
around the country." Al pointed out. "And even if they started making a circle
now, it would still take a long time. The country is big."

"This is verified then." Hughes said, sighing. He ran a hand through his hair.
"We may not know how the circle is going to be made, but it will be. This has
got to be what they are after, or at least a part of it."

"Only a part of it?" Ed echoed, frowning. "Well, immortality does seem a bit
outdated for them." He rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Hughes asked confused. Ed seemed to be sarcastic

when he said that, but there seemed to be more to it then that.

Ed shrugged. "Well, the guy they all call Father. He has to be human to
perform alchemy and make those Homunculi. And we know they've been
around for at least 200 hundred years, according to Greed at least since that
was his age. And he might not even be the oldest Homunculi. This Father
guy, they are the one they obey, so he has had to be around for a very long
time, using his stone to not age and stay alive. He probably needs another
stone after so long to keep himself alive, but doesn't making the whole
country into a transmutation circle seem a bit extreme for that?"

Dr. Marcoh looked at the transmutation circle that Ed drew on the map. "It
does seem a bit much to make a stone like that. Since he is immortal, he can
just subtle take humans and make them into stones for him. He doesn't need
to take the whole country at once. Even the incomplete stones that I made the
Homunculi were satisfied with. They took quite a few of them from me. I had
no idea what they wanted them for and I was tired of taking all those innocent
lives just for the stones so I took all the material and incomplete stones that
weren't confiscated yet and ran."

"And it would be suspicious if everyone in the country suddenly died." Al

added. "Wouldn't people in the other countries be suspicious? I mean, even if
they don't like us, they could be scared that whatever wiped out Amestris
could come to them next."

Ed's eyes narrowed on the map, going to the desert that was in the east. He
tapped the name. "That is not necessarily true. Xerxes, Al. It was wiped out
overnight and yet, we don't know why or h–….Well, shit."

"There is no way that a place could be wiped out in a single night." Hughes
said, eyes widening. "Unless….this Father guy had to come from somewhere
and he would need a big stone to survive this long."

"So, what you are saying is that the population of Xerxes was turned into a
stone?" Dr. Marcoh asked thoughtfully. "It's a possibility, but we really have
no proof of that."

Ed shrugged. "It was just a thought, but let's stop with assumptions until we
have more information."

"I don't think we'll ever know the truth about Xerxes." Dr. Marcoh pointed
out. "That incident happened centuries ago. We probably won't discover
anything about it at this point."

Al nodded. "And we do know that the Homunculi are causing some of the
bloodshed." He said, getting back on track. "They caused it in Liore, and
possibly Ishval. They could have been behind other incidents that happened."

"Wouldn't surprise me if they really are trying to make this transmutation

circle." Edward said, tapping the pen on the map.

*Main Room*

Mustang glared darkly at the words written in the little book. Alphonse had
been correct. The first sentence was impossibly hard to decipher. He had no
idea of what it could possibly mean. It was like that brat was mocking him
with this book. He didn't even have to be in the room! It was no surprise Al
wanted to hit him in his sleep.

"Yo, Colonel! We came up with a few theo–OW!" Ed snatched his

travelogue that just hit him in the head out of the air. "What did you do that
for, you baby? Upset that you can't get it?"

"When we get out of here, you and that book are being set on fire." Mustang
hissed.

"That's too extreme just because you can't get passed the first page!" Ed
protested, dropping his book onto the coffee table. "That's it! I'm not telling
you any of our theories!"

Al sighed. "Brother…Fine, I'll tell them what we thought of."

And so Al proceeded to explain that they believed that there was more to the
Homunculi's plan then just making a Philosopher's Stone but they had no idea
of what it could be, but all of the bloodshed that happened in the country had
to do with making a possible array. There was not a single incident of
bloodshed where it wouldn't be used for the array. The country was
practically designed for it! And then he told them of their theory of Xerxes…

"You think that Xerxes's wipeout had to do with the stone?" Ling asked
seriously.

Ed shrugged. "Do you know anything else that could wipeout an entire place
so easily and in a single night? It's only a guess though. There is really no
way to prove it since it happened centuries ago."

"While those theories are interesting, we still need more information and this
break has been long enough." General Armstrong pointed out.

Mustang nodded. "Agreed. We should move on."

The opening song began once more.

"Aww, where is that special beginning about alchemy and human

transmutation?" Havoc whined.
Ed twitched. "It's gone, Havoc! Stop asking about it. It is never coming
back!"

"Well, that just saddens me." Havoc said, crossing his arms.

"Resembool! This stop, Resembool station!"

Armstrong walked out of the station with Edward following after him.

"At least he really did take me to Resembool and not some strange place."
Edward said dryly.

"I would not lie about where we were going." Armstrong protested.

Ed shrugged. "Maybe you wouldn't, but others would…"

Havoc snickered. "Wow, Chief, you're not going to let that go?"

The State Alchemist teen shot him a glare. "Never. You took me to a freakin
battle zone."

Havoc waved him off. "It was a mock battle zone and we were only passing
through."

"They almost took my head off!" Ed protested.

"Unfortunate accident." Havoc replied.

Armstrong paused for a moment, looking at something while Ed gave

him a glare. When Armstrong started walking again, Ed ran after him.
"Will you ever tell me what's going on? This is starting to feel a little too
much like a kidnapping."

"I thought you already declared it one." Ling pointed out.

"Maybe I did, but I had to point it out to the Major just what it felt like." Ed
retorted.
"Why?" Lan Fan asked confused.

"Because I was…no..am…argh, damn it. Future me is annoyed, that's why!"

Ed declared.

"I haven't been fully informed on the details." Armstrong replied. "My
only orders were to retrieve you and to rendezvous here."

"Rendezvous? With who?" Ed asked.

The scene changed to show Breda sitting on a wall with a bag by his foot.

"With me apparently." Breda said, grinning. "I'm your guide."

"Except I know my way around Resembool, much better then you that's for
sure." Ed pointed out.

"But you don't know where to go to get the information." Ling pointed out.

Ed rolled his eyes. "No one does at this point!"

Upon seeing the two, Breda stood up and saluted. "I'm glad you made it
alright, Major Armstrong, sir." When he saw Ed, Breda smirked and
changed his salute to a wave. "Hey, what's up, big guy?"

Ed twitched and stared at Breda with wide eyes. "Lieutenant Breda?!"

Breda laughed. "You look so confused, Chief."

"When do you guys ever go to Resembool?" Ed protested. "And at such a

random time! Then again, considering that I have been kidnapped yet again, I
shouldn't be surprised. I usually run into more of you guys after you guys
kidnap me."

"Do they really kidnap you?" Miles asked amused.

"I wouldn't joke about that." Ed said dryly.

"I don't see why you are complaining." Havoc said, grinning madly. "Usually
when we kidnap you, it's for a fun adventure."

"That the Colonel somehow set up." Ed retorted. "And that scares me."

"What an ungrateful brat." Mustang muttered.

"The Arrogant Palm of a Small Human"

The outside of the military dorms was shown. "This is weird…" Al said
before the ceiling fan of the room was shown. Al and Winry were shown
to be sitting in the room from a ceiling angle. "Brother should have
arrived in Resembool by now, so why hasn't he called?"

"Because he's been kidnapped." Luke said, grinning. "Kidnapped kids don't
get a free phone call."

Mustang smirked and shook his head. "Sorry, Al. This time, Ed can't call you.
It's a sensitive matter and we can't have them tracked."

"Tell that to my worrying future self! He's the one who needs information!"
Al retorted.

"If it was that simple, he would have told me in Central." Ed muttered.

"Not to mention that he's got me here to do his repairs." Winry added.

"She makes it sound like I left of my own free will." Ed grumbled.

Al appeared on the screen. "And the stuff with Lieutenant Ross. I have
no idea of what is going on."

"Good thing I can explain it all." Ling's voice said.

"Are you kidding me?" Ed said way too calmly. "Ling is going to explain
everything that happened to Al in Central….And yet, you felt the need to
KIDNAP ME?! Justify that, Bastard!"

Mustang raised a brow, but smirked once more. "Okay, I will. You and I are
both soldiers. We could not get together alone for me to explain it because
people would find that suspicious and always keep an eye on us. Ling and Al
are not soldiers, so no one could possibly guess that Ling actually knows
what is going on. He's just an illegal alien who escaped from prison. And if
we are correct about sending Ross to the east, it means you are going to see
her hopefully. It will be all the proof you need that everything you guys are
told is the truth and you can tell Al when you return. But of course, this is all
assuming that we are correct in our guesses."

There was a silence for a moment, in which Ed's eye twitched violently. "….I
hate you."

Hughes laughed. "You only say that because he beat you this time."

"You. Do not talk to me, Hughes. I haven't forgotten that you asked Colonel
to come to your house after this to fry me when I destroy your pictures." Ed
growled.

Hughes innocently held up his hands, but his evil grin gave him away.

The bed Winry was sitting on was shown with Ling sitting next to her
suddenly. There was a pause before Winry turned her head to look at
him. After another pause, the outside of the military dorms was shown
before Al and Winry both screamed.

"Don't just appear in our room like that!" Al shouted.

"How did you even get in there?" Brody asked. "That room isn't on the first
floor nor the top floor."

Ling grinned. "Secret."

Ed twitched. "You better not do anything stupid while in my room."

"Uh, when'd you get here?" Winry asked.

"And how did you even get in?" Al demanded.

Ling pointed to the open window behind him. "The window."

Winry turned to look at it.

"That's not an answer considering the floor we're on!" Ed protested.

"It's the only one you are getting." Ling said, still grinning madly.

Ed turned to Fu and Lan Fan. "And?"

"It's the only answer you're getting." Lan Fan stated loyally for her master.

Ed hung his head. "Now I want to know even more."

"I mean, it seemed appropriate for a criminal." Ling said, grinning.

"And here you were trying to convince me you weren't a criminal." Ed said
dryly.

"I still believe I am a good person who does not deserve that term." Ling
replied.

Ed twitched. "You can't just claim you are a good person by your own word!"

"Is that so?" Ling asked. He turned to Lan Fan. "What do you think?"

"I believe Master Ling is a very great person who deserves to be Emperor."
Lan Fan replied, smiling.

Ling turned back to Ed. "There."

Ed pulled at his hair. "It doesn't work like that!"

'Illegal alien as well as lockup escapee' appeared on the screen.

Winry and Al sweatdropped while Ling went on smiling as if there was

nothing wrong. "First, there's no need for you to worry about Ed's
wellbeing."

Winry looked at him.

"I'm sure he's just fine." Ling said.

A miserable Ed wearing a tan cloak appeared on the screen.

"Just fine my ass!" Ed shouted.

"You look like you're baking." Sig commented.

Ed's head dropped. "Not…."

"Ooooh, fried shrimp." Mustang said, grinning. "Sounds pretty good right
now. We should have that for dinner."

"Shrimp does sound good. It's been so long since I've been able to have
seafood." Kei added innocently.

"….Helping…" Ed finished, collapsing on the ground like he was half-dead.

"…Hot…" Ed said as a gentle tune entered the scene as the desert was
shown. Armstrong was shown to be riding a horse with Ed on another
horse behind him. "The Colonel never said we'd be crossing the border."

"Border? Are we smuggling people now?" Ed asked.

"Probably. We can't have a paper trail." Armstrong pointed out.

"But I really hate the desert. It's worst then the south." Ed moaned.

"Tightlipped bastard." Ed grumbled.

Breda was shown to be on a horse following another man. "Mr. Han,

how much further do we have left?"

"We've almost made it." Han pointed at something ahead of them.

"Look, you can see the ruins ahead."

"Desert ruins?" Ed asked blankly. Of that huge desert, there was only one
place in it, even if it was destroyed. "….Oh, you've got to be kidding me?
Xerxes? I'm going to Xerxes?"
Dr. Marcoh chuckled. "And we just finished making theories about Xerxes.
Maybe you'll see something of interest there."

"It is an interesting place to visit. I'm not an alchemist, so I really didn't see
anything, so maybe you'll find something, Ed." Ling added.

A destroyed city was shown to be ahead of them. Different destroyed

parts of the city were zoomed in upon. Ed was shown sitting in a fountain
with steam rolling off of him.

"Are you okay?" Riza asked worriedly.

"Automail and heat do not go well together." Ed moaned, rubbing his aching
shoulder. It really felt scorched now that he thought about it. "How cruel to
send a kid with automail through the desert." He shot a glare at Mustang, who
just whistled as if he was entirely innocently.

"Phew," He sighed in relief. "My automail almost sheered through my

skin."

Fu, Breda, and Armstrong watched him. "Who's idea was it to bring the
kid?" Fu asked.

"Fu's there as well!" Ling said cheerfully. "I guess that we are all helping
you."

"Don't they just follow your orders?" Al asked.

"What does it matter? They are still helping." Ling pointed out.

"It was a direct order." Breda replied.

Ed was shown squeezing the water out of his shirt. He shook it out with a
smile. "So this is Xerxes, huh? Looks just like the fable described it."

"Did you say a fable?" Fu asked.

Ed looked at him. "Yeah, the Eastern Sage. It's a story about the origin
of alchemy in Amestris." A picture of a man wearing a white cloak with
his hands spread out appeared behind Ed as mysterious music appeared
in the scene. "It claims the entire kingdom of Xerxes was destroyed in a
single night and that the only survivor wandered into Amestris shortly
afterwards. He was the one who went on to spread the science of
alchemy."

Fu appeared on the screen with a black and white picture appearing

behind him that was designed the same as Ed's but with differences in
the face and background. "How interesting. We have a similar legend in
Xing about a drifter from the west. It's said that his teachings combined
with our ancient techniques to form the Alkahestry we practice today."

"That certainly is a strange coincidence." Mustang said, frowning.

"Both have been said to originate from Xerxes." May added confused. "But
there was only one survivor. The survivor couldn't have gone both east and
west."

"Figuring out the truths of these fables is not important." Izumi said, crossing
her arms. "Unless these fables will help with saving the country."

"It's not like we will be able to understand what is going on, no matter how
much we discuss it. There isn't enough information just from fables or the
end of Xerxes." Hughes added, sighing. He really did want to know though. It
sounded so interesting.

"Alkahestry is primarily used for medical needs, isn't it?" Ed asked.

"Yes. He guided this process, and we greatly revere him." Fu said. Ed

reappeared on the screen, watching him. "We know him as The Western
Sage."

Parts of the ruins was shown.

The group was shown to be walking through the ruins. "So the west is
supposed to refer to here?" Breda asked.

"I believe so, yes." Fu replied.

Ed looked at some things out of the corner of his eyes as he thought
about something. Ling appeared on the screen saying, "I wanted to visit
the ruins of Xerxes. That route goes by them."

Ed reappeared on the screen. 'Sure you did, Ling.'

"What? You don't believe me?" Ling whined.

"I barely know you. Why would I trust or believe you?" Ed argued.

"Because I'm your friend." Ling said.

"There you go again, throwing that term around like it's candy." Ed muttered.

'Now I know why.'

The group was seen to be walking through a new area of the ruins with
the sun shining down on them. "But if Xerxes was such a highly
advanced society, how were they wiped out in a single night?" Breda
asked.

"Now that I think about it. You said it was said that the survivor of Xerxes
taught Amestris alchemy?" Breda asked.

"Yeah, why?" Ed asked.

"It's from what you said earlier." Hughes suddenly exclaimed. "You were
thinking that Xerxes was wiped out to make a stone. And now we see that
alchemy might have begun in Xerxes…."

"So it would make sense if the stone was created there." Mustang finished.

"Back to assumptions I see." Ed said.

"It was your theory." Miles pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but I also said that we should stop making guesses and
just focus on getting facts for now. Those stories about the Eastern and West
Sage are just fables. We don't know how much truth they actually hold."
"Your other guesses and theories have been going well since we got here."
Buccaneer pointed out.

"One of them will be wrong yet." Ed retorted. "I'm not saying my theory
could be wrong, but even if it is true, what does it matter? We can't change
what happened to Xerxes. The truth of Xerxes will not help us save the
country. It would be interesting to know the truth; that is pretty much it."

"I think you just want to argue about this, even if it is against your theory
which we are saying might hold some truth." Mustang said dryly.

"Arguing for the sake of arguing. Maybe I like that." Ed said defensively.

Ed was shown looking at something as Fu said, "It could very well just
be a legend."

Ed came to a halt when he saw a destroyed wall. On it was something

that looked like part of an array, but it wasn't complete because of the
wall being destroyed.

Ed's eyes narrowed on that wall. That array looked just like….Damn, maybe
his theory was really true after all. Of course, it did make sense if it was true.
Alchemy was said to be born in Xerxes. But who would be crazy enough to
actually make a stone there?

"Going to share?" Izumi asked.

"It looks like the array for making a Philosopher's Stone." Ed explained.
"That's all."

"So who's theory–" Mustang started.

"Oh, shut up." Ed snapped.

"What are you gawking at? Come on!" Fu yelled back at him.

Ed looked forward once more before looking back at the wall once more
before he ran to catch up with them.
The array was shown again before the city of Xerxes was shown from a
bit away. It started at the top level of the city and the screen moved down
slowly before Ed's group was shown to be walking through them once
again.

"Going in pretty deep now, aren't we?" Ed asked.

"Edward!"

Ed and Armstrong paused and looked up to see the silhouette of a

woman. "Back east, where I was. It's a nice place." Mustang's voice said
as Ed's expression morphed into a happy expression before Armstrong
was shown. "None of the big city noise and lots of beautiful women."

The silhouette was shown to be Maria Ross.

"Yes! I'm alive!" Ross cheered.

"We already knew that." Denny pointed out.

"But now it's been confirmed that I am truly alive." Ross explained.

"I can see the point of going to Xerxes then." Ed said. "No one would expect
us to be meeting a fugitive in Xerxes. No one would even spy on us out there
since there is nothing around."

"But what am I going to do?" Ross asked confused. "As you said, I'm a
fugitive. I can't really go anywhere without being caught, even if it says in the
report that I am dead."

Ed snorted. "Can you imagine the trouble Colonel and Dr. Knox would get
into if it was discovered you are actually alive?"

Mustang grimaced at that thought. "I believe that is why Fu is helping us."

"I see." Fu said. "You do not need my assistance getting to Xerxes, but
getting into Xing would be another matter entirely."

Mustang nodded. "Yes. As a fugitive, the best place to go is another country.

I guess it is lucky that Ed met Ling and brought him to Central."

Ed sighed. "I'll admit that point, Colonel."

"Aww, so are we friends?" Ling asked.

"No."

"But I help save your friend. Doesn't that instantly get me into your friend
zone?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged.

Ling pouted.

"That damn Colonel." Ed said, smiling.

Armstrong had his shirt ripped off and tears pouring down his face.
"Lieutenant Ross!" He cheered before chasing Ross around, trying to
hug her. "Thanks the heavens!"

"No hugs, Major!" Ross cried.

Izumi chuckled softly. It was a strange, but happy reunion. There were like
little kids being reunited after a long time of not getting to see each other. It
was quite sweet and she was glad that everything had ended well, for this part
at least. But how was everything else going to go was the question.

"There really wasn't any place in Amestris that we could safely hide a
dead girl, especially one that's still alive, you know." Breda said.

"So the Colonel knew that Lieutenant Ross was innocent all along?" Ed
asked.

Breda smirked before the scene faded away to show a newspaper being
tossed onto a desk. The scene started in faded colors before it turned to
normal as Breda said, "This seems a little too showy, sir."

"I should have guessed it was you who first realized something was wrong."
Ed said, grinning. "You really are a genius analyzer."

"We're all on Colonel's team for a reason." Breda replied, smirking.

"Is that what you think?" Mustang asked.

"Yeah. They make a point of arresting in public and now they announce
her guilt to the newspaper before she's even had a trial. Something's not
right." Breda said.

"There were in too much of a hurry to get the bait out to Mustang." General
Armstrong said. "Hurrying causes mistakes."

"Or they are just idiots who don't know how to make a decent plan by
themselves." Ed said, frowning. "For Envy at least. He only cares about
causing pain to humans with his sadistic ideas. He just wants to see the pain
and humans destroying each other so he hurried this."

Mustang frowned as his phone rang. He picked it up and put it to his ear.
"I'm here."

"Warrant Officer Falman's calling on a public line for you." A female

voice said.

"I'll take it." Mustang said.

There was a click before Falman's voice said, "Colonel, we need to speak
to you about General Hughes's murder."

"Hey! Falman, give me the phone for a second." Barry's voice said.

Mustang opened his eyes. 'Barry?'

"Yo, Mustang! You've seen today's paper?" Barry asked. "Cause there's
an interesting article–"

Mustang suddenly sprung to his feet with a creepy look on his face. "Hey
Bunny! You know better then to call me at work." The park was shown.
"Let me call you right back! Just hang on, okay?" He hung up the
phone.

Ed and Ling shared a look and snickered. "Colonel, that was such a strange
and scary look you had." The former said.

"Hey, Fullmetal, no one asked you." Mustang retorted. "And while we're at it,
you all need to stop calling the office with sensitive information!"

Al raised a hand like a little kid in a classroom. "What if we came into the
office to discuss it?"

"Don't." Mustang said, sighing. "It may have not happened at this point, but
sooner or later Bradley or someone is going to trust me less and bug my
office. They already tap the phones. Having my office bug will just make
everything a whole lot harder so sensitive information that has to do with the
state of the country are discussed outside and away from military offices and
soldiers."

It was evening now and Breda was shown standing outside of a phone
booth as Mustang's voice said, "Really? You sure about this?"

Mustang was shown inside of the phone booth, arm leaning on the phone
box as Barry said, "Oh, yeah. The Lieutenant fired a bullet alright, but it
was at me, not Hughes." A bubble of Barry appeared on the screen,
pointing at a hole in his hand. "I still got a hole in my right hand from
where it passed right through."

"Well, that changes things." Mustang said.

"What do you mean it changes things?" Ross asked frantically.

"Sounds like he already had a plan to kill you before his team and Barry
informed him it was false." Izumi told her.

Ross had tears of relief in her eyes. "I may not like Barry, but I thank him so
much right now."

"You sure are hasty." Ed informed Mustang. "We already proved that Envy's
hurrying to get you a scapegoat caused him many failures. Maybe you should
learn from that so your team doesn't have to inform you of the things out of
place."

Mustang's brow twitched. "I don't want to hear that from the Prince of
Recklessness."

Ed growled.

Active, dramatic music suddenly began as Mustang turned to the side,

smirking. "Barry, I've got a proposition you might like."

Barry was shown to be on the phone with Falman behind him. "Oooh."
The murderer laughed. "Gotcha. I promise not to kill anyone." He said
as he turned to look at Falman. "How about the second street in the
warehouse district?"

Falman stared at him.

Mustang was shown to be scribbling something in a little book. When he

was done, he ripped the page out and left the phone booth, going over to
Breda. "I need you to gather everything on this list, on the double,
okay?" He handed the paper to Breda.

"Sixty pounds of pork, carbon, some ammonia…" Breda looked up from

the list. "What is this?"

"The ingredients for a well-cooked corpse." Mustang replied.

"I see. You made a fake body and burned it to be Ross." Ed said, smirking.
"And all those ingredients were to get the smell of a burnt corpse correct."

"You would be right." Mustang replied, having already figured it out earlier.

"The fact that you knew just what ingredients to get to get the corpse to smell
right is a bit disturbing. Did you make fake burnt corpses before?" May
asked, wrinkling her nose at the thought.

"No. Since I am an alchemist, I know my elements. Since I specialize in

Flame Alchemy and have burnt a lot of flesh in my life, I can tell the smells.
They are something I will never forget." Mustang replied.

Breda gulped. "Human Transmutation?"

"Of course not." Mustang replied before he started to walk away with his
hands shoved in his pockets. "I'm just going to whip up something that
looks like a human corpse."

"But, wait, what about when they do the autopsy?" Breda asked as he
followed his boss.

"Trust me, it will be too charred for them to ID it." Mustang replied.

"That won't stop them from checking the dental records." Breda pointed
out.

"I've got it under control." Mustang replied.

"Can you just not tell someone your full plan ahead of time?" Ed groaned.
"You trust your team so much, but you can't tell them everything?"

"There's no fun if they know everything beforehand." Mustang replied.

"What a cruel person you are." Al said, though he was chuckling a bit. He
really did like to see how the Colonel and his team worked like this. He didn't
get to see it often. He saw it maybe once or twice because of his brother
working with them on operations, but usually he didn't see it because his
brother and the team needed to work inconspicuously.

"Think you can pull it off? Breda asked.

Mustang stopped. "I'm not claiming to be an expert on human

anatomy," He paused for a moment before turning around, though he
looked like a silhouette because of the sun. "But I've got plenty of
experience burning corpses." Breda stared at him, blinking. "Let's go."

Maria was shown running down the alley before stopping with Mustang
in front of her. "You're Maria Ross, correct?" He asked. He opened a
dumpster near them and pulled out a fake body. Mustang threw the
body to the ground in front of her. She blinked at it as Mustang said,
"It's a dummy. From this point on, you're dead." The Colonel raised his
hand and snapped his fingers.

A burst of flames spread around the scene, blinding Ross and filling the
sky. When the smoke cleared, Ross was on her knees, covering her face
with a burnt corpse in front of her. Maria looked at it in surprise as
Mustang approached her, "Snap out of it."

"Sounds like a pun." Ed snickered. "Really, Colonel?"

Mustang rolled his eyes. "You're going to make a stupid comment now?"

Ed blinked. "Stupid comment? Damn it! Hughes is really rubbing off on me."

"Brother, you've been making a lot of stupid comments since we got here."
Al pointed out. "It wasn't just Hughes's influence."

Ed snorted. "No, Al. Hughes has been making more of them then me. He's
the one he kept going on with those annoying sexual jokes."

"Sexual jokes?" Hughes piped in. "Oh, that's right. I forgot about those. I got
so distracted that I stopped doing them."

"And you're not going to start again!" Ed and Riza shouted at him, much to
everyone's surprise.

"Sexual jokes?" Lan Fan asked confused.

"Do not start." Al said, sighing. "It was before you got here, and I think they
scarred Brother pretty badly."

Lan Fan stared from Al to Ed. Sexual jokes scarred him? He didn't seem to be
one that was scarred easily. What was said?

Mustang grabbed her arm and pulled it up to clip her prison bracelet
off. When it was off, he pulled her over to the dumpster and threw her
roughly into it.
"Sheesh, you could be a bit gentler." Ross moaned, rubbing her head.

"There is no time for gentle. We don't know when someone is going to show
up." Mustang growled.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Ross. He's rough with everyone in an
operation when there is little time and it is dangerous."

"Really? Perhaps he just likes it rough." Hughes suggested.

Ed fell over in shock while Mustang glared daggers at Hughes.

"HUGHES!" Ed and Mustang screamed.

"I want my gun." Riza growled dangerously, glaring at Hughes who dared to
start those horrid jokes again.

Ed glanced at her, really rooting for her here. Hughes shall pay for all those
sexual jokes! "You know, Lieutenant Riza, anything can be used as a
weapon, like when I threw Al's helmet at Havoc. Or, you could use one of the
knives from the kitchen."

"NO!" Mustang, Havoc, Hughes, Luke, and a few other soldiers shouted. It
was surprising Mustang yelled, but then again, he was probably afraid Riza
would turn her knife on him if he did something stupid.

"Don't give the women any ideas!" Brody groaned, getting ready to cover his
head.

General Armstrong smirked. A knife, huh? Well, if she couldn't use her
sword here….

"But Hughes must pay." Ed moaned.

Hughes twitched. And here he thought Ed cared for him soooo much.

Mustang slammed the dumpster shut. Ross was shown, grimacing as she
laid in the dumpster.
"Shhh."

Maria opened her eyes to see Havoc kneeling by a hole in the wall of the
dumpster and a building.

The prison bracelet was shown before fire spread along it, burning it.
Mustang was shown by the corpse when Ed reached them.

"Wow. That was a really close one." Ross said. "A few seconds sooner…"

"And it would have just gotten more difficult." Mustang muttered.

Mustang looked over at the heavily breathing Edward. He stood up and

turned to the boy. "Hey there, Fullmetal."

Havoc was putting a board over the hole in the wall when he heard Ed
yell, "What happened here, Colonel? Tell me!"

Havoc looked up. "What? Is that Chief Fullmetal?" He stood up with

Ross standing by him. "Oh man, we didn't plan on this one." He
scratched his head.

"We never do with Chief because we never know what he is going to pull."
Fuery pointed out.

"Yeah, Chief either shows up at a random bad time or he doesn't. We never

know with him." Havoc said, sighing.

"As I said earlier, I have to keep you guys on your toes." Ed replied,
smirking.

"Edward's here?" Maria asked.

"Yeah," Havoc said as he walked down the hall of the building. "But I'm
sure the Colonel will come up with something."

Maria followed him with her eyes before looking back at the wall with a
distressed look.
"Come on." Havoc ordered.

"Right." Maria said and the two ran down the hall.

"And that is how adults work." Havoc said, grinning.

Ed looked at his friend with narrowed eyes. "Is that supposed to mean
something?"

"Perhaps." Havoc said innocently.

"It means, watch how adults work, Fullmetal. Maybe you'll learn something
from this." Mustang explained, smirking.

Ed twitched. "The way I work is fine."

"And yet, you get into so much trouble." Mustang replied.

"…Not all the time…" Ed muttered.

The ruins of Xerxes appeared on the screen. The group was shown to be
sitting in a circle in the shade of the ruins. "After Madam Ross was
prematurely freed, the Young Lord made a deal with Barry the
Chopper."

"You don't make deals with serial killers!" Ed cried out. "What is wrong with
all of you? First, Al listens to the nutcase. Then Mustang makes deals with
him! And now you."

"We do what we must to get what we need." Ling replied.

Ed groaned. There was something wrong with all of them.

"The orders I've been given is to personally escort this woman to the east
to take refuge." Fu explained.

"So we all agreed to rendezvous here, in one big effort to aid the
Lieutenant's escape." Breda said.
Armstrong crossed his arms. "I see."

Ed gave Breda a blank look. "You've got to be joking. I can't believe the
Colonel was able to pull one over on us like this."

"He knew it'd be easier to convince you if you actually saw Lieutenant
Ross." Breda said.

"So I was right." Mustang said smugly.

"Just shut up." Ed grumbled. "It's like you think I have no trust in you if you
thought I wouldn't believe you without seeing Ross."

"You were too angry to see sense." Mustang retorted. "And it would be a
problem if you didn't see sense and stayed angry at me. I need you to trust
me. You are a part of my team."

Ed shrugged, but smirked to himself.

Ed raised his hands, showing that only one had a glove on.

"Why are you only wearing one glove?" Ross asked confused.

"It's the heat. It will be too hot to wear gloves on my flesh body, but not
wearing a glove on my automail will cause it to get hotter and keep the heat
out better. If I accidently touch a flesh part of my body with my automail
hand, the glove should keep me from burning myself too badly." Edward
explained. "It's why I hate the desert so much!"

"Aww, but then you'll never be able to visit us in Xing." Ling moaned.

"Why would I even want to come to Xing?" Ed asked.

"To visit your friends!" May said, grinning.

Ed twitched. Since when was he friends with any of them?

"Fine, I'll admit it, all right. He actually knew what he was doing this
time." Ed said, smiling.
Breda leaned forward a bit. "He mentioned something else…" The
Lieutenant smirked. "He said he didn't want to take a chance on some
hot-tempered kid endangering the operation. So he sent you out here."

"Unfair! I've helped in your operations before!" Ed protested loudly.

"Yeah, but you had no idea of what was going on this time and you were
angry at me." Mustang retorted. "I can't have someone who hates me at the
moment around." He turned to Breda. "And I'm pretty sure I would have said
hot-tempered brat, not kid."

Breda snickered. "I don't think I will call the Chief a brat to his face. I'm not
you."

"Hot-tempered kid!" Edward yelled angrily.

"You said operation?" Armstrong asked. "Is there a phase beyond

liberating Lieutenant Ross?"

"Indeed. He's got a plan to reel in the puppeteer." Breda said.

"Fishing!" May exclaimed. "Is that what you meant about going fishing?"

"Smart girl." Mustang said, laughing. "Yes, I'm going fishing for my
enemies. They can't hide in the shadows forever. It's time they revealed
themselves."

"The one that's behind the conspiracy." Breda finished.

"No one calls me a…" Ed cut off his angry tirade to look at Breda in
surprise as dramatic music began. "Wait, what'd you say?"

"You remember Barry from the Fifth Lab, right?" Breda asked, still
smirking. "He went on one hell of a rampage. They'll bound to send
someone to reclaim him."

The horribly disfigured body of Barry was shown to be standing on a

bridge over the street. He growled.
The military dorms appeared on the screen once more. "So Lieutenant
Ross is innocent."

Lan Fan appeared on the screen, standing on a ledge.

"So it was the ledge." Ed said, smirking before it disappeared. "But how did
you get to the ledge?"

"Secret." Lan Fan replied, making Ed groan.

"Why take Ed?" Winry asked as she and Ling were seen through the
bedroom window. "The Colonel was just trying to keep him out of his
hair, wasn't he?"

"Even Winry is against me!" Ed moaned.

"That's what you get for being rash and not willing to listen." Mustang said.

"It's your fault for betraying my trust." Ed grumbled to himself. First, was the
lie. Then there was fake killing his friend without Ed knowing it so of course
he was going to be pissed! And third, he punched him! He did so much to
hurt the trust between them within so little time.

"Heh, you got it." Ling replied as he got a close up.

Winry and Al fell into depressed states.

"So, I struck up a deal with Barry to help him out with the jailbreak in
exchange for the secret of his immortality." Ling said.

"Of course that is what you wanted in exchange." Edward said dryly. "You
know, getting that body would not be exactly easy for your Emperor. One,
because you need a very skilled alchemist who either has a stone or doesn't
care to lose something from his body. Two, your emperor is sickly or old?
Whatever, it doesn't matter. The point is, it will probably put a huge strain on
his soul and body to be forcibly rip apart."

"….You can be such a downer, you know that?" Ling replied, frowning.
"It's called a reality check. Give up on the soul binding." Ed retorted.

"But I still want to know. It is good to have a huge store of information about
different things." Ling said.

"But of course…" Ling trailed off and a picture of Barry appeared on

the screen.

"The science guys that put me in this body are all dead and it's not like I
know how they did it." Barry said.

"What? That's not fair." Ling's voice said.

Barry raised a hand. "You know what? You should ask that Alphonse
kid. He's also just a soul glued to metal."

"Argh, Future Barry can't keep secrets." Al groaned.

"Were you really expecting him too?" Ed moaned, hanging his head in a
dejected manner. "He's a serial murderer. He has no loyalty to you."

"It's not like I'm going to tell anyone." Ling pointed out, huffing. "And I can't
believe you kept this from Future me. And here, I thought we were friends."

Ed screamed and threw his hands in the air in disbelief. "This is what I've
been saying. We're not friends. I barely know you!"

"That's how friendships start." Ling pointed out gently.

Ed twitched. "You know, I really hate you."

Ling patted him on the shoulder. "No, you don't. That's just your annoyance
talking."

"He's like a bloody boomerang. I keep saying things to throw him away, but
he always just swings back around and comes back." Ed moaned.

The three teenagers reappeared on the screen with Winry and Al staring
at Ling. "So here I am. You're supposed to tell me your secret." Ling
said.

"You didn't even ask! That's not how secrets work!" Al protested.

"What's it matter?" Brody asked. "You said it yourself to Greed. You don't
really know anything about it since Chief did it."

"I'm actually surprised you didn't ask Chief about it." Luke added, grinning.
"I mean, weren't you ever curious as to how he saved your soul?"

Ed popped out of his miserable state and looked at his brother curiously. Now
that he thought about it, Al never really did question what he did or how he
did it. He just accepted it.

"Honestly, when he first did, I was in too much shock at suddenly being a suit
of armor, seeing my brother missing two limbs, bleeding everywhere and
close to death, and then seeing that thing we created. I didn't even think of
asking about it after all that happened." Al said, glancing at his brother.

Ed gave his brother a small smile. Yes, the time after their failed
transmutation was horrible. The shock and horror of the whole thing didn't
even set in until after they were sure Ed was going to survive. Even after
Mustang visited them and it woke the boys up, they didn't bring it up in fear
of throwing him or Al back into a depression. They just focused on getting
better and researching the stone.

"It wasn't until after our journey began that I started to get curious about how
he did it, but I never asked. Brother is usual stressed, worrying, helping
civilians, busy with his job as a State Alchemist, or studying information
about the stone and getting new leads, that I didn't dare ask about it. It's not a
night we like to remember and I didn't want to bring it up to him ever again."
Al finished his explanation.

"I see." Brody said, nodding his head. "Does Chief really get so stressed
out?"

"Oh, yes, it is quite common." Al replied.

Ed twitched. That had nothing to do with Al's explanation. Then again, the
soldiers probably didn't want to stay focused on that, but that was no reason
to bring up his stressed self! He was not that bad!

"And I was promised you'd tell me." Ling said.

Winry looked away with a blank look.

Al looked away. "Yeah, but I don't exactly see how I have anything to do
with it."

Ross appeared on the screen wearing a disgruntled look. "I've got

nothing to do with this. Zilch. And yet here I am, stuck in the middle of
it. And framed by Homunculi." Her shoulders slumped as a drawn
picture of Lust was shown.

Music entered the scene as Ross looked back up at the group.

"Is the Major drawing pictures of the Homunculi with Brother directing
him?" Al asked confused.

"That is what it looks like. Why do you ask?" Armstrong asked.

Al shrugged. "Well, why didn't you do that in the hospital after the Fifth Lab
incident? Why wait to do it now?"

"Uh…" Hughes chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Because…"

"You got nothing, don't you?" Ed said, wearing a grin as he looked at

Hughes.

"It happens sometimes." Hughes defended.

Five pictures placed in a circle appeared on the screen. They were of the
Philosopher's Stone transmutation circle, the Ouroboros tattoo, Envy,
Lust, and Greed.

"We've collected a fair amount of intelligence." Breda said as he and Fu

appeared on the screen. He was looking in a little black book. "And once
we properly piece it together, we'll have the General's killer."

"Maybe, maybe you won't." Hughes said. "It is Envy you are dealing with.
No matter how much he rushes his plans to see the cruelty of human, he is
still smart and a Homunculi so he is highly dangerous."

"Even if they do find him, no regular soldier should face off against him."
Edward added.

"I promise you this, Lieutenant. We will absolve you of this crime."
Armstrong said.

"Thank God for that." Ross breathed in relief.

"You know this is a future that we are not planning to allow happen." Al
pointed out.

"Yes, but future me will still be relieved. And you shouldn't talk considering
the reactions you all keep having." Ross retorted.

"…Fair enough." Al said.

Ed appeared on the screen, looking down sadly. "Lieutenant Colonel…I

mean, General Hughes, it's just hard to accept that he's dead."

Hughes sniffed and wiped away a fake tear. "Oh, I didn't know you cared so
much, Ed."

"You keep saying that." Ed grumbled.

"I don't know what to believe anymore!" Hughes cried. "You're giving me
mixed signals!"

Ed's eye twitched violently. Mixed signals?

"And what shall you do now, Edward Elric?" Armstrong asked.

Gracia flashed onto the screen saying, "You boys have to keep moving
forward, any way you can."
"Al and I committed a taboo. We still have people to help us." As Ed
spoke, the rest of the group was shown to be watching him. "Some
people get angry at us; others support us silently." Al's back flashed onto
the screen. "Each one of them has tried to help me keep my promise to
my brother." Ed, who was holding his wrist, was shown. He gripped his
automail wrist tightly. "So, I have no choice." His automail hand curled
into a fist. "I can't turn back." He raised his arm a bit, staring at it.
"Which means, all I can do is move forward, right? And I'll protect
everyone I can along the way." The scene narrowed in on his narrowed
eyes. "I refuse to let another person become a victim, not while I'm
alive." He released his automail hand to stare down at his strange hands.
"I know that's a hard promise to keep. It's hard enough just trying to
take care of myself." The group was shown once more. "But to think I'm
even capable of it, maybe I'm just arrogant. But, it's the only thing I can
think of, so I have to do it. I have too."

"What is it with you and speeches?" Mustang asked.

Ed slapped his forehead. "I give that big, amazing speech and that's the first
thing you say?"

"Well, the first few lines were basically what my charming wife told you, but
in different words." Hughes pointed out. "And the second part was you
claiming to protect those that you could, which is what Roy claimed during
the Ishvalan Civil War, again in different words."

Golden eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to say something, Hughes?"

Hughes grinned. "Noooo. What would make you think that?"

"Future me hasn't even heard of Colonel's Oath to Protect!" Ed protested. "So

that part is all my own here."

General Armstrong rolled her eyes. "As fun as it must be to pick apart
Fullmetal's speeches, I will not be subjected to this analysis so shut up so we
can move on."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Hughes said in his all business tone.

General Armstrong's brow twitched in annoyance, while the Briggs soldiers
winced back. "DO NOT call me that, Colonel Hughes." She growled.

"Uh…righty-o….sir, yes sir!" Hughes said quickly. He didn't care if he did

like to tease people, General Armstrong would always be scary!

Breda appeared on the screen, smirking. Fu was shown next, followed by

Armstrong, then finally, Ross.

Armstrong looked at Ross. "And you, Lieutenant, where do you intend

to seek an asylum?"

Ross smiled. "Well, I think that I'm going to give Xing a shot."

Ed blinked.

Ed, Armstrong, and Breda were shown to be standing in front of six

horses with Ross, Fu, and a few others getting things sorted out.

Ross was petting her horse as Armstrong asked, "Any parting wishes?
Shall I tell your parents?"

Ross stopped petting her horse and turned around. "No sir. As much as I
want them to know that I'm okay, I'm scared it would be too much of a
risk. I just don't want to put them in that danger."

"You'll do that for your parents, but when Al and I tell you to butt out, you
just eavesdrop right into a mess." Ed grumbled.

"My parents can't eavesdrop into this by curiosity because they have no clue
as to what is happening." Ross argued.

"Now that I think about it, I'm your superior." Ed said, frowning. "I should
have given you orders to not listen in."

"You could punish them for listening in on a superior anyway." Havoc

pointed out.

Ed perked up while Brosh and Ross paled. "You're right. I could!"

"No, no, no. It's alright!" Brosh and Ross said frantically.

"Very well." Armstrong said.

"Major Armstrong, Lieutenant Breda…" Ross said as the two perked up

as a soft, innocent tune entered the scene. "Please deliver a message to
the Colonel. I need him to know how grateful I am for what he's done. If
there's anyway I can help him, tell him to send for me." She saluted the
two.

"You'll always be a loyal soldier to the end." Al chuckled.

"By now, it is who I am. I can't change that." Ross replied, smiling.

"I owe him a great debt and I am willing to put my life on the line to
repay it." She finished.

"Putting your life on the line to repay him would defeat the purpose of him
saving your life in the first place." Ed said dryly.

"But if I put my life down to help him with his goal, then I will be repaying
him. I would be doing something I believe in and helping someone who
deserves it, instead of just getting shot while accomplishing nothing for the
better end." Ross pointed out.

"Whatever. Just don't make it a pointless death then. I hate pointless death."
Ed said with a sigh.

"Right." Armstrong said.

Ed looked down for a moment before raising a hand to salute. Before he

could though, Ross stood in front of him and held her hand out to him.
"Goodbye, Edward. Take care of yourself, okay?" She said.

"A handshake?" Ling said confused. "Isn't it customary for you soldiers to
salute?"

Ross shrugged, smiling. "Honestly, Ed is more of a friend that I am

supporting to reach his goal then a fellow soldier. I respect his intelligence
and battle skills, but I cannot treat him as a soldier first. First to me, I will see
a young teenager struggling through life who is a dear friend to me. I will not
make that dear friend salute me."

Ed smiled a bit. He much preferred being friends with soldiers then having it
be superior and inferior.

Ed looked surprised for a moment before smiling. "I still owe you, for
slapping me that is."

Ross smiled. "You can get me next time." She said with a smile.

Ed grabbed her hand and shook it. Their handshake faded into the
background with the group riding on horses overtaking it.

"Alright, next time then." Ed said to himself.

The group riding the horses was shown with Fu saying, "You're blessed
to have such good allies."

"Mr. Fu, tell me, what's Xing like?" Ross asked.

"It's a country with rich culture and the people are hardworking and
honest. I'm certain you'll feel at home there." Fu said.

"So I can expect to find a paradise on the other side of this desert?" Ross
asked as her hand holding the horse's reigns was shown with a drop of
water hitting it.

"No." Ed said blandly.

"What? Have something against Xing?" Fu asked.

Ed shook his head. "No, but it is humans who live there. Humans always sin.
There is not a single perfect human out there. We all make mistakes. Xing is
not perfect. You have princes and princesses battling to be the next leader,
who is after immortality. That just screams messed up. Not to mention, I'm
sure you have your criminals as well." 'If the fact Ling has had people trying
to kill him is anything to go by.' "If you want a paradise, you'll have to find
someplace where crime and villains don't exist."

"Way to be a downer." Ross moaned.

"It's my role in life." Ed replied dryly. "I'll give you a bright side though. At
least no one there is trying to frame you for a crime and you can consider this
a vacation until we get rid of the Homunculi then you can return from the
dead."

"That does sound nice." Ross replied.

"Yes. Although, I can assure you the trek across this desert is severe." Fu
looked at her. "You'll need to be careful." Ross was shown to be wiping
her eyes of tears. "I recommend preserving your fluids from this point
on."

Central Headquarters was shown with Mustang's laughter ringing out.

Mustang's office was shown with soldiers sitting at their desks. "How
about I swing by the shop sometime tomorrow?" The Colonel asked as
he was shown to be sitting at his desk. "And if you ask me nicely, I'll
bring a gift."

"Huh? I'm sorry, hold on, Roy. Hey Kate, we have a customer."
Elizabeth said.

"Does that mean your target has finally arrived?" Lan Fan asked curiously,
having had enough training to understand a bit of this.

Riza nodded. "Yes, it does. I was informing the Colonel, while also warning
my partner for the mission."

"And your target seems to be Barry's body." Al said. "So that puts you near
where Lieutenant Falman and Barry are?"

Mustang nodded, smirking. "You seem to have learned a few things about
our operations as well."

Al shrugged. "Brother helps you guys out, Colonel. He tells me about some
of the operations he's done with you, so I've realized a few things."
Mustang's eyes opened.

The scene changed to a dark room where a small figure was sitting with
two red eyes shining behind him. "Could you please let Jacqueline
know?" Elizabeth's voice came out through the static on the radio.

"Jacqueline," A low male voice said as the scene changed to a figure in

black clothes sitting in another room. "We have a customer."

"Seeing your operations from this angle, they look very interesting." Izumi
commented, smirking.

Havoc chuckled. "This part is usually the boring part of waiting around." He
rubbed his neck, thinking of all those long hours of sitting and doing nothing.
They were so boring. "Usually when Chief is involved, he is doing the
undercover work and we are his backup."

"No surprise there. If he was the backup, the plan would be ruined before it
even started, seeing as he can't just be quiet and wait." Izumi said.

"Hey! I resent that! I've worked as backup before." Ed protested, eyes

narrowed at her. "It's boring as hell, but I can do it."

Breda nodded. "Surprisingly, he is good at the backup thing. Seeing as he is

so reckless and loud, it surprised us all."

Ed twitched. "Once again, I feel insulted."

"Copy that." Jacqueline said, though it could be told from his voice that
it was Havoc. He pulled back his gun, getting it ready.

Falman was shown to be drinking from a mug as dogs barking sounded.

"Let me guess, I still don't know about an operation in place." Falman said
dryly.

Mustang smirked. "Probably not. You know it is easier to use someone as an

undercover agent without them knowing it sometimes." He shot a smug look
at Ed.

"Don't worry, Falman." Ed said through gritted teeth. "I know how annoying
it is to not know you are being used as bait in an operation."

Ling snickered. "Your comrades put you in a lot of difficult situations, don't
they?"

"You have no idea." Ed muttered.

Falman looked over his shoulder at the window. Suddenly, Barry's body
jumped onto the window seal. Falman flew up from his seat, shouting in
shock. When Barry's body lunged at him, Falman had his gun out. When
he started to fire, Barry slammed his hand on Falman's gun, pointing it
to the ground. His meat cleaver covered his head while Barry's body's
hand slammed onto the wall.

"Hold on!" Barry cried.

"Why did I have to get stuck with the psychotic murderer and his animal
body?" Falman moaned.

"Colonel's team just has bad luck." Ed suggested.

The males of the team, except for Mustang, suddenly turned their eyes to
him, giving him blank stares.

A little unnerved by their stares, Ed twitched. "Uh, what is it? What's

wrong?" When they just continued to stare, Ed growled. "Why are you giving
me those stares?!"

"It's your fault." They said blankly.

"O-kay." Ed said, chuckling nervously. He turned to Mustang. "What's my

fault?"

"Basically, all this craziness that entered their lives begun because a short,
reckless brat who doesn't know any better joined the team." Mustang said
with a shrug, but he was wearing a condescending smirk.
Ed blinked once before suddenly frowning. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU
CALLING SUCH A MIDGET THAT THE FIERY PITS OF HELL
COULDN'T AFFECT HIM BECAUSE HE IS SO SMALLTHAT THE
FLAMES WOULD JUST WASH COMPLETELY OVER HIS BODY, NOT
EVEN CARING THAT HE WAS THERE CAUSE HE IS SO SMALL AND
INSIGNIFICANT THAT EVEN THE HEAT WAVES FROM FLAMES
COULDN'T SEE HIM AND REMEMBER TO BURN HIM? [1]"

The group stared blankly at the heavily breathing teenager, who was red in
the face from not taking any breathes during his rant.

"Wow." Havoc said, staring at his superior as he snapped out of his shock.
"We've been here for a while now and he's barely yelled like that at all."

"What the…" Brody said, not able to comprehend this.

"This was a true short rant from Chief." Walkers said, grinning. "Been a
while since we've heard one of those."

Ling blinked once before suddenly grinning. "I knew there was a reason I
liked you."

Ed punched Ling in the shoulder. "What is wrong with you?"

"But you're so amusing!" Ling said. "How can I not like you?"

Ed looked at him with narrowed eyes. "….I really hate you."

"Oh, don't be like that." Ling replied, waving his hate off.

Ed's head dropped in a dejected manner. "I'm surrounded by idiots." [2]

"Barry?!" Falman asked as dangerous active music played.

"Try and relax, Falman." Barry said, still blocking Barry's body's arm.
"We want this one alive, so…" Barry ducked under his body's punch.
"Don't kill him!" He finished as he swung his cleaver at his body, but his
body just jumped back onto the sink. Barry charged at his body,
wrapping his arms around him while Falman just stared.
The door across the hall opened and Havoc, still wearing his mask came
out. He pointed two guns into the room so Falman pointed his gun at
him.

"And this is why you shouldn't throw surprise operations on your team!" Ed
cried.

"Oh, it will be fine. No one on my team is going to get shot." Mustang replied
unconcerned.

Havoc kicked Falman's gun out of his hands and pointed his own at
Barry's body. The body saw the gun and threw Barry aside to jump
away from him as Havoc started to fire his own gun. Barry rolled across
the sink to avoid the bullets. Barry jumped off the counter as Havoc
switched which gun he was using.

"Smells like an ashtray–Jean Havoc?" Falman asked.

Havoc stopped firing as Barry's body growled at him. He turned to

Falman, angrily. "Falman! Don't you think I'm wearing this mask for a
reason? Man, I can't stand working with amateurs."

Ed snickered. "Nothing to worry about, Havoc. Barry's body probably can't

understand a thing."

"That is not the point, Chief." Havoc said. "This is probably only the
beginning of this operation. We are nowhere near done."

"Whatever you say, Havoc."

Falman quickly saluted. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry that you got dragged into this." Havoc replied as
Barry's growling body was shown, followed by Barry. "Just don't do
anything that would give away your involvement. They could be
watching us from anywhere."

"And that is why I am wearing a mask." Havoc told Ed. "That and I don't
want the enemy to know my face."
"Uh-huh." Ed said dryly. "Don't be a wuss! Let them see! Soldiers don't hide
from fights!"

General Armstrong chuckled. She really liked this kid.

Barry's body charged at Barry and slammed him into a wall.

"Hey!" Barry said as his body ripped his arm off.

Havoc fired at Barry's body, causing him to jump away from Barry.
Barry's body jumped around before jumping onto a wall to run away
from the bullets. "Take it outside." Havoc ordered.

"Uh, yeah." Barry said.

Havoc ran outside the door with Falman and Barry following.

"But either there a good chance the enemy's waiting outside?" Falman
asked.

"We'll be safer there." Havoc replied.

"How is that?" May asked confused.

Scar caused his arms, leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed. He may
not be a soldier, but he was smart and could follow this plan. "Because the
Hawk's Eye is there, watching their backs."

"The Hawk's Eye?" May asked curiously.

Riza smiled at the girl. "It's a name I earned for myself because of my expert
sniping skills."

May looked at her with a bright smile. "That's amazing! How good are you?"

"She is the best sniper out there. She never misses." Mustang said fondly.
"She is really someone you can rely greatly on."
The rundown neighborhood was shown before the two came out the
door. Havoc and Falman pointed their guns around, checking the area.
From above them, Barry's body burst out of one of the windows.

As he landed on the ground, Havoc started firing at him. Barry's body

jumped onto one of the building walls. He jumped off, spinning in the
air, as he came at Havoc. Suddenly, Havoc's gun stopped firing. "Ah,
damn it!" He shouted when his gun was seen to have a jam.

Barry lunged at Havoc.

"Lieutenant!" Falman shouted.

A sniper was shown with a bullet being fired out of it. The bullet
slammed into Barry's body's hand, causing the body to go flying back
and slamming into a crate. As the body rolled around, moaning in pain
and clutching his hand, Barry stared at it.

"Told you it was safer." Havoc told Falman. "We've got the Hawk's Eyes
watching over us out here."

Falman looked towards the tower.

"I heard a loud noise." Mustang's voice said as the scene in the rundown
road was seen through a scope. "What happened?"

"It was nothing." Elizabeth replied.

"How do you get your voice like that?" Ed asked curiously. "It sounds so
much softer and kinder then your usual kind voice."

"When is her voice ever kind?" Havoc and Mustang shouted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "All the time."

"Like you guys like to say, Edward." Riza winked at him when he looked at
her. "Secret."

Ed huffed. "I get it. No more secrets."

"When is her voice ever kind?" Havoc asked again.

"I think she loves kids." Breda told him.

Riza was shown to be kneeling by a window, holding a sniper. "A

customer was getting fresh with Jacqueline." She got her gun ready for
the next round. "So I slapped him around a little bit."

Mustang chuckled. "Oh, yeah." Fuery was shown to be sitting in a dark

room with Black Hayate with a lot of communication equipment in front
of him. "You don't mess around, Elizabeth."

Barry's body was crouching down, grabbing his hand as Havoc

approached him. "Alright. Don't even think of moving. I've got a few
questions for you–Wait a minute." Havoc lowered his guns. "I don't
think he knows what I'm saying."

Barry appeared on the screen. "No way. I thought this guy looked
familiar." Barry's body was shown before Barry took a step forward.
"That's my old human body!"

"What?" Havoc asked shocked. "Are you sure?"

"Those sick bastards must've dumped the soul of some feral lab animal
into my body." Barry said.

"Of course. It really is an animal then." Ed said disgusted. "Who would want
to perform this kind of sick, twisted alchemy?"

"And it came to find me because it wants it's real soul back." Barry said
before laughing and putting his cleaver on his shoulder. "Talk about
memories." Barry's body was shown up closer. "I haven't even seen this
guy since the day my soul got yanked out of him."

Ed appeared on screen, walking through the ruins of Xerxes by himself.

"Where is everyone else?" Armstrong asked worriedly.

Ed shrugged. "Maybe they are around at camp."

"Or they left you on your own in the desert." Ling suggested.

Breda waved his hand at that suggestion. "No, we didn't. That's just cruel. He
would probably get lost trying to find his way back if we did that. The desert
is a treacherous place to be alone in. We're probably waiting for him to finish
whatever it is he needs to finish in the ruins."

Ed stopped in front of the ruined array he saw earlier. "I thought so. It's
like that transmutation circle from the Fifth Lab." A symbol from the
array was zoomed in on. "A two-headed dragon…" A stone sun was
shown next. "And the sun…" Ed pulled at his hair. "Ah, damn it! Why
does the top part have to be missing?"

Footsteps slammed on the ground before a pair of legs was seen as

someone charged at Ed, who had his back turned.

"You've got to be kidding me. Even in the bloody desert?" Mustang asked.

Ed growled. "This is not my fault! I was just examining an array! I did

nothing to draw someone near me."

"You don't have to apparently." Buccaneer scoffed. "You are just a good
target no matter what."

The stick the person was holding came swinging down to hit Ed, but Ed
just leaned to the side to avoid it as the person attacking him was shown
behind him. He was an Ishvalan.

"Nice dodge." Izumi said.

"What is it with Ishvalans and attacking me?" Ed groaned.

"You're a good target." Havoc, Luke, Breda, and Brody said.

Ed snatched his wrist and slammed him face first into the ground with
his knee on the man's back while he pulled the man's arm back
painfully. "What do you want? I don't have any money so you've–" He
cut himself off as he looked at him more closely. The man's face
appeared on the screen. "You're an Ishvalan?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Miles asked.

Ed shrugged. "I'm in the middle of the desert. Who would expect to run into
those guys out there?"

"It does seem to be a strange place to hide out since it's nothing but ruins, but
that is also why it is a good place to live and hide in. No Amestris soldier
would go hunting for Ishvalans out there." Miles replied.

"Who hunts people?" Ed scoffed.

More Ishvalans came out from their hiding places to surround Ed.

"Excuse me, young man." One of them said, walking forward. "I'm
afraid that we're going to have to take you hostage until your military
returns our holy land to us."

Ed moved the man's arm a bit to look over his shoulder at the one
speaking. "They're not going to return squat." He changed his hold on
the man's arm so he was holding his hand with one hand so his other
hand was free. "Not over a single kid."

Mustang snickered. "Well, actually, besides being a valuable sacrifice for the
Homunculi who work in the shadows of the military, you are a valuable asset
to Amestris."

"Huh?" Ed mumbled.

Ling sighed. "Ed, I'm not even from this country and I get it."

"You get nothing." Ed muttered.

"Do too. You are the youngest State Alchemist in the history of Amestris.
You are a very talented prodigy that everyone, even people in other countries,
knows about. They see you as a high threat because of your skill and age. Not
to mention, the civilians highly respect you. They call you the 'Hero of the
People' for a reason, you know, and if something happened to you, they
would not be very happy."
"So basically, I have a bigger target on my back then I thought?" Ed
summarized.

"Yep." Ling replied cheerfully.

"I was just going to say you are a highly prized State Alchemist." Mustang
said. "But what Ling said works too."

"I think I like your answer better." Ed muttered.

"It was the death of single child that triggered the entire Ishvalan civil
war." The man said. "So you really shouldn't doubt your significance in
the eyes of history."

Ed stared at him with narrowed eyes that glared.

"That's enough of your shameful behavior." An old sounding female's

voice said.

Ed looked forward once more to see an old lady with an eye patch on one
eye being helped by a young teenager.

"Madam Shan." The man said.

"Well, at least you are having an interesting experience with them. Maybe
you'll learn something about the war and all that from this." Riza said.

"I want to see if he escapes." Ling said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm an alchemist, Ling. If they attack me, I can easily
subdue them, but I doubt they will at this rate."

"Why is that?" Lan Fan asked.

"Just a feeling."

"Look at you fools. Are you all trying to dishonor the name of Ishvala?"
Shan asked.
The man who was speaking gasped.

"Look," The teenager said. "He won't try to attack you again. Can you
please just let him go now?"

Ed looked around for a moment before releasing the hold he had on the
man's arm and got off his back. He stood up as the man climbed to his
knees, rubbing his shoulder. "You stood up for me. I don't get it. I
always heard that you guys hated Amestrians." Ed told Shan.

Shan appeared on the screen. "Despite the atrocious acts your country
has committed, I know that not all Amestrians are bad."

Ed was shown to be staring at her.

The teenager's shoulder was shown so a nasty scar could be seen.

"Madam Shan and I were both injured during the civil war. But then we
were saved by these two Amestrian doctors. To be honest, I do hate you,
but the two of them saved me and you deserve the same treatment."

"It is kind of sad that so many people in other countries hate us." Ed
commented, frowning and glaring at the screen, but it was not in hate. "Hate
is a big word and that kid shouldn't be throwing it around like that, especially
towards people around his age. Those Ishvalans say they hate us, but what
some of them don't get is that some soldiers felt horrible about that genocide
and wished to stop it, but did not have the power to do so. And now the
Ishvalans blame the whole country for it, despite the fact that they are
throwing their hate at kids and the new generation of Amestris who did not
do anything in that war. Kids only know one side; they do not know the
Ishvalan's side of that war. And the new Isvalan children will only know their
side and claim to hate Amestris without knowing the full story. It would just
be a circle of hate because neither side will know the true story from the
adults."

"What about you and Al? You are both learning both sides. Why don't you
spread the truth?" Mustang pointed out.

"It's needs to come from those involved in the war. My age will show I had
nothing to do with that war so I could not be a good source. If anything,
someone who was involved in the war and knows everything that is going on
with the Homunculi, what happened on the Ishvalan's side in that war, and
why it happened should explain it." Ed shot a pointed look at Mustang. "If it
came from the 'Hero of Ishval' then it would hold more weight. The full truth
should not be known as it is a dangerous truth, but shedding some light might
help both sides to understand a bit more and get passed this."

Mustang leaned back in his seat with a smirk. It seemed that he and Ed were
really similar. He always thought of making up for Ishval, but he never
thought of giving the public a bit more truth. It was a part of history and it
should be passed down so no one would make that mistake again. Plus,
maybe Ed was right. It would help with the hate that the Ishvalans were
feeling. Feeling a burning hate in one's heart was a painful feeling so the
Ishvalans must be feeling a lot of pain and anger because of that. He would
like to relieve them of some of it.

Ed appeared on the screen, blinking. "Wait a minute…you're not talking

about the Rockbells, are you?"

Shan and the teenager shared a look. "Are you saying you're a friend of
Dr. Rockbell?"

"Uh, yeah." Ed replied with a small nod.

"They saved the lives of countless Ishvalans all throughout the course of
the entire war." The boy said.

"No kidding…" Ed said with a smile.

Miles looked surprised at that. He didn't know there was a pair of doctors that
went against the rules and saved people from both sides. But still, it was an
amazing thing they did. They were certainly brave to do such a thing. They
could have been in so much trouble with the military for doing such a thing.
He had to honor them for that. Instead of being racist, the Rockbells stuck to
their code as doctors and treated anyone who needed treated.

A picture of Winry as a child with her parents behind her was shown.
"They were like an aunt and uncle to me." Ed said.

The group in Xerxes was shown again as Shan said, "They refused to
abandon their post. It didn't matter how much the fighting escalated."

"How did…How did they die?" Ed asked.

The teenager looked at him in horror.

Shan sighed sadly. "They were killed. They were both murdered in cold
blood, and it was by the hand of an Ishvalan they'd saved."

"W-what?" Ed hissed angrily. "Who the hell kills the people who saved
him?"

Scar stiffened. He had hoped that this wouldn't come up, but he would not
hide from the truth. He knew very well what he did to that couple.

"It was a war, Fullmetal." Mustang said darkly. "The one who killed them
was probably a fighter."

"So?" Ed growled.

Mustang shrugged. "I'm not condoning what he did, Fullmetal, but if you
woke up with the enemy by you, what would be your first reaction?"

"Find out what is going on." Ed said.

Riza sighed sadly. "In a war, your first reaction would be to escape, and to do
so by any means necessary. You don't wait to see what happens. You escape
or die trying. Otherwise, they might start trying to get answers out of you and
any loyal soldier does not want to risk letting something slip."

"They were doctors." Al said angrily.

"To this person, they were the enemy first." Mustang said, frowning. He was
sure the boys wanted to know the truth of what happened to the Rockbells,
but he wished they didn't find out. They would not be able to understand it.
Ed's eyes widened in horror. "But that's so…" He started as dark music
entered the scene.

"I'm so sorry." Shan said as flashes of the war from her eyes was shown.
A hand dripping with blood was shown first. Following that was a
picture of the dead couple with the husband half hugging his wife. Shan
and the child were shown to be holding onto each other, staring in fear at
the murderer. With a boom, the murder's right arm was shown coming
from the wrist to the bandaged shoulder, revealing an arm length tattoo.

Mustang almost smacked his forehead. Of all the damn Ishvalans warriors it
could be, it had to be him.

The brothers stared in horror at the screen.

"That tattoo…" Ed whispered.

Al felt horror rise in his soul. Their friend's parents were murdered by him?
The same man who tried to kill his brother!

"…You bastard." Ed said softly, but with so much anger that it had the
soldiers flinching back. The boy spun around to glare at Scar. "Were you the
one to kill her parents?"

Scar stared at the boy for a moment, not saying anything. He already realized
it earlier that the two doctors that saved his life and he repaid that kind act by
killing them were that girl's parents. Those doctors, he later learned, were
saving Amestrian soldiers and his own people. They were doing it at a great
risk to themselves. He had freaked out when he woke to see those blue eyes
standing over him, just like those soldiers, and had reacted without thinking.
He killed innocent doctors. It was something that should have never
happened. Their deaths were some of the few that he greatly regretted. He
could not ask for forgiveness in this. "Yes, I was."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Ed shouted angrily, glaring hatefully at
the man. "They were doctors who were saving your people's lives, including
yours! So why did you kill them?"
"Fullmetal, I already…." Mustang started.

"Colonel, just shut up." Ed hissed angrily.

Mustang sighed and looked at Hughes.

"They were family to him, Roy, and he just discovered who murdered them.
He is allowed to be angry." Hughes replied softly.

"Whenever he gets angry though, he do–"

"I was scared and angry." Scar said, surprising Mustang enough that he
stopped talking.

Ed blinked, taken aback a bit. "…What?"

"Their blue eyes…I saw a lot of them during the war so when I saw those
doctors' eyes when I woke up, I freaked out because right before I fell
unconscious Kimblee killed my entire family." Scar spat angrily.

Ed's eyes narrowed. He barely understood because he has never been in a

war, but he guessed seeing his entire family murdered before his very eyes
would be traumatizing. It would be a very difficult thing to handle, then
seeing the enemy upon waking up? It would be a scary and confusing
experience, but still, Ed could not find it in him to even think about forgiving
Scar for this. The Rockbells were a family to him and they got taken away.
Scar had been the reason for Winry's suffering after that damn war. He could
not be easily forgiven, if he forgave him at all.

Al's hands curled into fists. Like his brother, he couldn't understand. Upon
waking up, his first instinct is not to kill the people standing over him. If they
had saved him, he could never want to hurt them. He just could not fathom
that. All he could think about was how much it had hurt to hear that the
Rockbells were killed in the war. They were doctors, doing their job to save
lives! Why would anyone want to kill them? How could Scar just kill them
because he felt fear of their eyes?

May looked from each brother to the next sadly. She wasn't sure what to feel
or say to make this better for them, especially since it was just as hard for
Scar. His whole family was killed by the Amestrians soldiers, so seeing
Amestrians standing over him would freak him out. She could understand
that, but she could also understand that this was incredibly hard for the boys
since the Rockbells were family to them and their daughter was a close friend
to them. Knowing both sides made this a highly difficult situation.

"There was nothing we could do to stop him." Shan said.

"Tell me who did it!" Ed demanded.

Shan appeared on the screen. "His face was wrapped in bandages. But
he was an Ishvalan monk and his right arm was tattooed."

Ed's hand clenched tightly.

With the sun sinking, Ed walked down some stairs as he walked towards
the exit of Xerxes. 'If you should have the chance, would you deliver a
message to the resting place of the Rockbells for us?' Shan asked. The
group of Ishvalans was shown with Shan and the teenager at the head of
it. 'Give them our thanks and our apologies.'

Ed was shown to be staring ahead as he walked on. The scene faded to

white for a second before Ed was shown to be standing on a high level of
the ruins, looking at the desert.

The tower Hawkeye was in was shown from the outside as Barry
laughed. "Hahaha." Barry was seen to be staring at his body with
Falman and Havoc standing behind him, pointing their guns at Barry's
body. "You know how amazing this is? I mean, how often does a guy get
the chance to chop up his own body into tiny little pieces?"

"I'm pretty sure that would kill him and you told me not to do that."
Falman said.

Barry looked at him. He pointed his cleaver at him. "Well, this changes
things, damn it."
"I was right. This guy is really psychotic. Who actually wants to chop up his
own body?" Falman asked.

"Of course he is psychotic. He took pleasure in chopping women up." Hughes

said dryly. He really did hate that case. It was a horrible one. Seeing all those
mutilated bodies was horrible, and having to tell their families or have the
families ID the body…He shuddered. It was horrible seeing all those
horrified, distressed looks.

Barry's body was shown as Barry continued. "I'm getting chills up and
down my soul. I've got to get my knives into it."

"Back off, Barry." Havoc ordered. "I thought you were supposed to have
the urge to return to your body, not chop it up into pieces."

"Tch." Barry said as a fly was shown to be flying around a rotten part of
the body. "That body's way passed its expiration date."

Falman was shown to be covering his nose. "Oh, man, that's what
stinks?"

Barry appeared on screen. "This is just cruel! I have to do it!" He raised

his cleaver. "It's my body so it's up to me and I'm putting it on the
chopping block."

Havoc looked at him angrily. "Damn it! I said no!"

"You can't reason with an insane murderer." Havoc groaned. "I feel a
headache coming on."

"That's why you shouldn't do operations with the enemy." Miles informed
him.

Havoc moaned. "No choice this time."

Riza was shown to be in her tower with her gun ready.

"What's wrong?" Mustang asked.

"Just a squabble. One of the customers is mouthing off." Riza said. She
blinked and looked over her shoulder. "Oh no. I'm gonna have to call
you right back." As active, dangerous music entered the scene, a figure
walked out of the dark shadows behind her. "I've got a customer of my
own to deal with."

"Is that Gluttony?" Riza asked in horror.

"Sure looks like." Hughes replied in dread.

"Get out of there, Lieutenant." Edward said quietly in horror. "I don't doubt
your skills with a gun, but you can't handle a Homunculus with just guns."

"I know." Riza said grimly. "But this is something I cannot just run from.
Gluttony will not let me."

Mustang gripped his armrest tightly. Oh hell no. Those bastards already took
Hughes from him. They would not take his Lieutenant too! If they did, they
would be no way to stop his smoldering flames of revenge. He would make
sure they all suffered painfully before killing them.

May gripped her clothes tightly. She liked Riza. She seemed like a really nice
and caring person. She didn't want to see her die or get hurt! Not here and not
against those monsters! Those monsters were horrible beings!

Riza turned around and shot Gluttony in the shoulder. As Gluttony

slammed into the ground, Riza prepared her gun for the next shot. To
her surprise, the gunshot wound in Gluttony healed. She stared in horror
as Gluttony rose to his feet and grinned evilly at her.

"Damn. This looks–" Havoc started.

"Shut the hell up." Mustang snarled. This was no time for talking. He had to
make sure his Lieutenant was okay. "Next episode now."

A/N: [1] Funny thing. I was watching DBZ Abridged by TeamFourStar

again just recently and Gohan's angry rants at his enemies amused me so
much that I decided to do a short rant.
[2] You see, that line reminded me of DBZ Abridged as well. Seriously,
when I wrote that part of the story, I had watched over 4 hours of DBZ
Abridged earlier that day. It was a good way to get over my frustration
of my stupid laptop.

Barry's body, his body's punch, Barry's body's punch…..So freaking

insane and annoying to write, especially on a keyboard that I am not
used too!

Okay, as frustrating as this week has been for me because of my laptop,

hopefully next week will be better! I am going to see 'Now You See Me'
Tuesday and go to Cedar Point next week! It's going to be freaking
awesome! I've never been to Cedar Point! And because of all that stuff
and the fact that I don't have a laptop...yeah, not a lot of time to write,
but once again, I will try my best. Until next time, my dear readers!

Please Review!
*Chapter 19*: Episode 19: Death of the
Undying
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Look, I've had quite a few people mention to me they want me to do
the 2003 anime after I finish this one. I've heard you, now can you guys
please stop asking? I am thinking about it, but we still have a long way to
go before I get to the end of this one. Right now, this is my focus.

Also, whenever I post an AN, I get at least one reviewer who says they
freak out when they see it because they think I am abandoning the story.
Dudes, stop worrying so much. There are no plans to abandon this story.

And one last thing! I have finally started to write the opening songs out
for when they first appear. So episodes 1 and 15 have the songs written
out and the reactions to them so you can go read that.

I was hoping to get this chapter up yesterday…and as we can all see that
didn't happen. Sorry for the wait. I got this chapter done yesterday, but
then I had to proofread and finalize some things. And I can't go through
79 pages all at once and ended up distracted during my break.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 19: Death of the Undying

Riza's headset was shown to be abandoned on the ground as shots rung
out throughout the scene. "Elizabeth! Hey!" Mustang, eyes narrowed,
appeared on the screen. "What's going on?" Hughes bloody hand
appeared on screen before Mustang was shown again with anger in his
eyes. He slammed his phone back down on the hook.

Mustang gritted his teeth in frustration and anger. Those damn monsters were
not going to take someone else he cared about from him. He would not allow
them to take what he held precious anymore. He would not simply sit back
and bend to their will. They would pay for all the pain and suffering they
caused.

Ed glanced over his shoulder at his Colonel, surprised at the amount of anger
he was displaying in the future. Usually he was just so controlled, but right
now, he simply looked furious, and it wasn't just in the future. Sitting here in
the room, Colonel look absolutely vivid, if the cold eyes and clenched fists
were anything to go by. Those Homunculi were playing with the wrong
person it seems.

The opening song began once more.

A very impatient Mustang tapped his armrest. He didn't want to waste time
seeing this opening again. He had to make sure his Lieutenant was safe and
didn't get killed by those monsters as well. If they killed her, he would
personally make sure they suffered hell for their devilish act.

Winry and Al appeared on the screen.

Mustang gripped down on his armrest harder. He didn't want to waste time
seeing what the Elric brothers were doing. Right now, only his Lieutenant
mattered. Her life was the one that was in danger.

"Patience is a virtue." Hughes whispered to him. When Mustang moved his

glare to him, he continued. "I know you're worried about her, but she is your
First Lieutenant for a reason. Trust her to survive. She is not weak."

"I know." Mustang hissed. "But she is fighting a Homunculus. She is good,
but she can only survive for so long on her own."
"Getting all worked up now won't change a thing that happens in the future,
well this future at least. All we can do is see what will happen. Plus," Hughes
smirked and jerked his head at Ed's back. "Ed has already noticed your anger.
I thought you didn't want him to be able to read you."

There was a pause in which Mustang bit his tongue before trying to swallow
as much frustration as he could before saying, "I know, but I don't want to
lose someone else I care about."

"Then you better get there quickly." Hughes said.

Mustang raised a brow.

Hughes chuckled. "I know you. You're rushing there right now to save her,
even though it can ruin the whole mission."

"...The life of my team is more important then the mission. I will find your
killer, but not while losing more people I care about." Mustang declared.

"So this piece of info is supposed to be confidential, but whatever." Ling

said as he was shown to be on the bed.

"Argh, kids." Havoc groaned, biting down hard on his cigarette in frustration.
Not only was Ling giving away information, even if it was to someone
trustworthy, but they had no idea of what was happening with Riza. She was
a member of their team so they were all worried. "If you want to be a leader,
perhaps you should learn to keep your mouth shut."

Ling shrugged. "I know how to stay quiet, but I am trying to earn Al and Ed's
trust."

"Barry told me the Colonel's got a plan to smoke out some military guys
he's been after. The ones from the Fifth something-or-rather." Ling
finished.

Al got a close up as he said. "The Fifth Laboratory."

Winry was shown. "Al..."

Al stood up. "I've got to find them."

"Coming to our aid?" Havoc asked, smirking.

Al nodded. "Of course. It might be helpful for you and me. I can gather more
information on them and tell you what I know about the Homunculi since you
still seem to be in the dark about that part."

"Because a certain someone doesn't seem to like sharing." Mustang said,

shooting a look at a certain blond.

Ed growled. "You don't seem to be too willing to share either."

"I sent you east and shared information with you there, through Breda, but at
least we shared." Mustang retorted.

"...I'll share eventually." Ed muttered.

As Winry stood up too, Al continued, "This could lead us straight to the

person who killed Lieutenant Hughes."

Hughes grumbled. "It's Brigadier General! What is it with you and Ed not
calling me properly anymore?"

"We're not used to it!" Al protested.

"Oh, you can't blame them, Hughes. They're kids and not proper soldiers."
Havoc said, shooting the last part at Ed with a grin.

Ed rolled his eyes. "So sorry I decided to skip the military academy." He said
sarcastically.

Ling gasped. "Hey!" He threw a hand out towards Al. "Not so fast! Tell
me your secret first."

Al looked at him. "I'll tell you when I get back, okay?"

Ling laughed painfully. "Oh, come on, that's so unfair..." He cried.

"It's also unfair to make deals with criminals and use someone else as a
bargaining chip." Ed retorted.

"But we're friends and I did share confidential information with Al." Ling
whined.

"The way you switch between childishness and seriousness amazes me." Ed
said dryly.

Al looked at Winry. "I'll be back soon."

Winry looked at him with worry. "Okay. Just be careful."

Al nodded. "I will. I promise."

'There is a high chance you will end up in a fight and you promise that?"
Mustang asked.

"I promised that I would be careful, not that I would avoid fights." Al said.
"I'll just pick my fights carefully."

"Death of the Undying"

"Death of the Undying?" Miles said confused. "What could that mean?"

"Something is dying." Luke suggested in a slightly sarcastic tone.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Homunculi can heal from any wound and come back
from the dead after they are killed because of their stones so they are
undying, but not impossible to kill."

"So what you are saying is that one of those damn monsters is going to be
killed?" Mustang asked curiously.

Ed shrugged. "It's only a guess. I could be wrong, but right now you guys are
dealing with them so it seems like a good guess. But we can really only wait
and see right now."

Active, dangerous music entered the scene as a ground with blood

covering it was shown. More blood dripped onto the ground. Riza was
shown to be held up by the neck by Gluttony, holding a gun in his face.
She tried to fire, but the gun was empty.

Pain flared inside of Riza, but she couldn't scream to let it out. It felt like she
was being choked and there was no way for her to breath. She grabbed her
neck, slouching half over in her seat as she fought for air to enter her lungs.
This seemed much more real then just getting a wound that hurt. The air felt
like it had been stolen from her.

"Hawkeye?" Mustang asked, eyes narrowed angrily. That bastard...

Izumi sat on the edge of the couch next to Riza and gently rubbed her back.
"Riza, you're not really being choked. Just breath in slowly."

With Izumi's coaching, Riza could feel fresh, precious air enter her lungs
once more. There was still the bruising grip on her shoulder and neck to deal
with, but she was Riza Hawkeye, a First Lieutenant and the Hawk's Eye. She
could deal with this small bit of pain!

Ed watched Izumi and Riza with concerned eyes before looking back at the
screen. Riza would feel better as soon as she was released, and she would be
released. He just knew it. "Teacher can handle that. We should move on." He
said.

Gluttony's face was shown to be full of bullet holes, blood pouring all
over his evil grinning face. "Are you all done now?" He asked.

Riza's arm fell to her side, gun clanging to the ground.

"Then it's time to eat you." Gluttony said.

Mustang snarled silently to himself in anger. If this bastard ate his comrade,
he would rip him open painfully as many times as he needed to kill him. He
would make sure he had a very painful death. Each time he ripped the damn
glutton open, he would send scorching flames inside of him to burn him from
the inside out. His death would not be painless.
Riza took a shaky breath, but let it out steadily. Even if she was eaten here,
she would not be eaten without a fight. She would die fighting. She would
make sure, that if she was to die, she would do so with no regrets and doing
everything she possibly could to survive and make it more difficulty for her
enemy. She would die with her dignity as a soldier intact.

Gluttony's mouth peeled open, revealing his tattoo on his tongue to Riza.
One of Riza's eyes was shown to be staring at the tattoo. Her eye widened
for a moment before she squeezed it shut.

Loud barking filled the scene as a running dog was shown. It distracted
Gluttony for a moment and Black Hayate took that moment to bite down
on his shoulder hard enough to draw blood.

Riza smirked. "Good boy." She said through her pain.

"You trained that dog of yours so well." Mustang said, smirking. If Black
Hayate was there, Fuery was there as well. Those two should be able to hold
out well enough until he arrived as well.

"I thought that was obvious." Havoc said with a smirk. "We saw what Black
Hayate could do a year ago."

"A year ago?" Brody asked curiously.

"Yeah, we sometimes make Black Hayate a guard dog for Cheif." Breda
explained, sharing a look with Havoc. "He practically bit the leg off of this
guy trying to assassinate Chief when he was in the hospital."

Ed actually laughed at that reminder. "Now I know why I love that dog so
much."

"And here I thought it was because you so preferred dogs over cats." Al
muttered.

"I don't have anything against cats, Al, but you can't keep one when we are
always traveling." Ed said with a tired sigh as if this was an old argument
they were having and he was tired of it.
He pulled at the skin with his teeth and paws, angering Gluttony who
twisted around and tried to throw the dog off of him. Gluttony threw
Riza away from him. Because of his throw, she turned upside down in
the air and slammed into a wall.

Riza gasped at the pain suddenly flaring in her back. She groaned as Izumi
continued to rub her back for her. Surprisingly, her rubbing help the pain to
lessen.

"At least he didn't throw you out the window." Ed said with a grimace.

Riza groaned. "Yeah, that's good. That would have been death." She
muttered. She was still alive. She was still alive. Maybe she wouldn't die
here.

Riza fell to the ground as Gluttony reached around to grab Black

Hayate. "Stop it." He said as Riza pushed herself up to her knees. "That
tickles."

"Only a Homunculus could think a dog bite tickles." Avery muttered. He's
been bitten by dogs before and they do not tickle!

Fuery appeared on the screen. "Catch!" He shouted as he threw a gun.

"Looks like I finally arrived." Fuery said, though he wasn't too sure if he
should be happy or scared. He got there in time to save a friend and comrade,
but this was a highly dangerous situation. He didn't have the same experience
in battle as everyone else. Yeah, he was trained, but he had never actually
been in a war like Riza or Mustang. He was lacking in the area of battle
experience. He specialized in communication for a reason. He didn't want to
make a mistake here that would cost one of his comrades their lives.

As if sensing his worries, Havoc clapped him on the shoulder and leaned over
to whisper in his ear. "You're doing good. You have the skills to be a good
soldier and we're watching your back so don't worry too much."

Fuery nodded.
Riza caught it and spun it in her hand until she was holding it properly.
With Fuery by her side, they started firing round after round into
Gluttony. From the force of the blasts, he stumbled backwards. His big
body stopped in front of a window. The only reason he didn't fall out was
because his big body hit the walls around the window, keeping him inside
the tower.

Riza pulled her trigger a few time, but nothing came out. Fuery gritted
his teeth as a hole in Gluttony was zoomed in on to show the injury was
healing.

"He just won't die. How many times do we have to kill him?" Riza growled,
sitting up straight now that the pain was dying down since she was no longer
being thrown around like a doll. She looked at Izumi with a grateful smile.

Nodding her head, Izumi gave a small smile in return and returned to her
husband.

"At least you managed to cut down some of his stone." Al pointed out. "It's
better then nothing. Since your enemy is an undying monster, I think you
guys are doing an amazing job so far."

"At least we are able to do something. With a freak show like this, it is
amazing we are able to do anything." Riza said softly.

Al grimaced. He didn't say this, but Gluttony looked like the dumbest
Homunculus so it wasn't surprising that Riza and Fuery are able to hold their
own. Not to mention they are in a small place so Gluttony can't run around
much. That is another advantage to the regular soldiers. But in all honestly, if
it had been anyone else to attack them, he thought they would have had no
chance. He wasn't trying to call them weak, but that they were at a
disadvantage.

One of Gluttony's white eyes was zoomed eye. He looked angry as he as

took a step forward. "Bullets gone? Goody, goody."

Fuery and Riza appeared on the screen, both staring at the monster with
gritted teeth and glares.
"I get to have dinner and dessert." Gluttony said.

A spark of fire flew between the two soldiers. As the snapping sound
echoed, the spark slammed into Gluttony, lighting up into a giant flame
that pushed Gluttony out of the tower. The wall exploded from the tower
while the flames soared through the air.

"Wow. What great timing you have." Ed said.

Mustang breathed a sigh of relief. He got there in time. His team was safe
from Gluttony for now. His team had survived this part of the operation. Now
they just had to see what would happen with the rest of the operation and
with Al coming to them, there would be two alchemists there. That was good.
It meant they had more of a chance.

Gluttony's body flew through the air with him screaming in pain. He
slammed onto a roof of a nearby building.

Mustang's glove, still sparking with alchemical energy, was shown,

followed by his frowning face. "I barely made it." He said. It was shown
he was leaning against the wall of the entrance. Riza looked at him while
Fuery kept his eyes on the wall.

Fuery sighed in relief and lowered his gun as Mustang stood up straight.

"Colonel..." Riza said.

'Idiot.' Riza thought. She was glad she was saved. She really didn't want to
die, but her boss was an idiot! He wasn't supposed to reveal himself like that.
There was a reason he stayed at the office. That much she knew. They had
done enough operations for her to know he stayed back in the office for a
reason.

"Why the hell did you leave your post?" Riza yelled angrily.

"You sure are grateful." General Armstrong said with a smirk.

"There was a reason his post was the office." Riza growled. "I'd expect
something like this from Edward since he is so reckless, but Colonel Mustang
should know better."

"What the..." Ed said insulted as he glanced at her. "I was just sitting here! I
didn't say a thing! Why are you targeting me?"

"You don't leave your post no matter what!" Riza growled, ignoring Ed.

"Comrades' lives are more important." Mustang said stubbornly.

Ling looked away from the arguing two to look at Ed. "You sure feel insulted
a lot."

"They keep saying things. They think I am so completely reckless and that I
never use my brain." Ed said with a tired sigh. "Granted, when I first joined, I
was really reckless and charged into situations, but I've gotten smarter since
then. I have a lot more battle experience now, but they still like to point out
my reckless antics from when I was younger."

The prince stared at him for a moment with a contemplating look before he
shrugged. "They're fond of you so they remember their time with you. They
probably want you to remember those times of recklessness and other things
as well so you never forget them and remember to use your head in a fight
and not just charge in without a plan."

Ed stared at Ling. He's only known them for a few hours and he was already
making statements like that?

"What? I'm observant." Ling said, grinning.

Ed just shook his head.

Mustang sweat dropped.

Fuery was shown to be staring at them with Black Hayate at his feet.

"No matter what happened to us, you could have still kept your
involvement a secret. That was the whole idea, right?" Riza screamed.

Mustang stared at her with an uninterested look.

"But you just come waltzing in, plain as day." Riza continued to scream
as Mustang's look changed to a bit of a guilty one. "Are you a complete
idiot?"

Fuery was shown to be kneeling at the hole in the wall that Mustang
made with his superiors still by the entrance behind him. He looked over
his shoulder at them with a fond smile.

"Yeah, fine, fine." Mustang said as he cleaned out his ear while Fuery
chuckled a bit before turning back to the hole. "That's it. I'm an idiot.
Happy?"

Gluttony's burnt up arm was seen to be sticking out of the rubble on the
roof.

"Who the heck was that fat guy?" Fuery asked.

"I don't know." Mustang said sarcastically. "Care to share, Fullmetal?"

"Argh! I get it. I should have told you about the Homunculi sooner, and I
would have if you told me you were doing something like this!" Ed snapped.
"But you know, you did kind of send me away so I can't very well help you.
And it seems that I have informed Breda in Xerxes."

"And does that help my team in the middle of this operation right now?"
Mustang retorted.

Ed twitched. "It's not my fault. At this time, I don't know Bradley can't be
trusted and he said to keep it quiet."

Mustang grumbled. "Despite what some soldiers might think, you are good at
following orders."

"Of course I follow orders." Ed muttered. "I don't have time to waste arguing
with you guys about orders, then end up being forced to do it anyway. It's
faster to just take the orders, do whatever needs to be done, then move on to
what I need to do."

Fuery moved his eyes to the street and adopted a surprised look. Barry's
body was shown to be on the run with Barry giving chase. "Colonel, the
target's on the move, sir." He shouted.

Mustang appeared on the screen with dramatic music playing as he

pointed at Fuery. "Strike the camp, Sergeant! Don't leave a single
trace.""

Riza appeared next, pointing at her dog. "And you stay right by the
Sergeant's side, Hayate."

"You guys sure are dramatic." Izumi said with a laugh.

Ed waved a hand in front of his face. "They are always like this when they
reach the climax of an operation."

Izumi laughed. "What about you? You seem to have a thing for the dramatics
as well."

"Maybe Chief was the one to teach Colonel Mustang and his team to be
dramatic." Avery suggested with a laugh.

Ed frowned. "Those guys were crazy long before I got there."

"But maybe you made them crazier." Darius suggested.

"...I'm not that crazy for that to happen." Ed said finally.

The snorts he received from Darius and his friends, Mustang and his crew,
and some of the Briggs soldiers made Ed grumbled to himself, which made
Ling and May laugh and Lan Fan smile. Al just shook his head, but didn't say
anything. If he said anything, that would bring attention to him and people
would say he was crazy like his brother and it was partly his fault as well. He
was just going to blend into the background, as well as a suit of armor could,
for this one.

"So, how is Fuery supposed to leave no trace behind when there is a hole in
the wall and all that rubble on that destroyed roof?" Ed asked to change the
subject.
As he said that, Fuery groaned. "Oh, that is going to take so long to fix. And
we'll just say we had nothing to do with the roof. They can't prove anything!"

Ed looked at him for a moment before a grin spread over his lips and he
chuckled. "Right. If they can't prove it, they can't blame you. Stick to that!"

"Is that how you get away with things?" Buccaneer asked amused.

"Maybe sometimes."

Fuery saluted and said, "Sir" as Black Hayate barked in reply.

A set of stairs was shown with footsteps sounding.

"Colonel..." Riza said.

"What is it?" Mustang asked.

"Thanks for saving us back there." Riza said.

"Now you say it." Karley said, smirking.

"I had to yell at him first. If I didn't do that, it wouldn't have the same effect."
Riza defended.

"Tell me later." Mustang replied. "Let's just stay focused on the mission
for now."

Riza was zoomed in on. "Sir." She replied. Her eyes moved to look at
Mustang's back fondly.

Ed raised a brow at that look. He saw that look only a few times in his three
years in the military. And now that he thought about it, he only ever saw it
when Mustang couldn't see it. It was always directed at his back. It seems that
Riza was really fond of Mustang and his ambitions, but she would never say
it for whatever reason.

Having never soon that look on his Lieutenant's face, Mustang was confused
about the soft expression that she was wearing and it left him blinking.
Havoc was seen running down the road as a car skidded to a stop in
front of him.

Mustang poked his head out the window. "Quick, get in." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Havoc said. He ran over to the car and grabbed the door
handle when metal legs clanging against the ground were shown.

Mustang gasped and stared at Al.

"Are you trying to go after Mr. Hughes's murderer?" Al asked.

Havoc looked at Mustang.

Mustang stared at Al for a few moments before saying, "You in?"

"You're just going to let him come with no questions?" General Armstrong
asked.

"Fullmetal may be the only one in the military, but we know both brothers
and how skilled both of them are. Having another alchemist with us might be
for the best. Plus, he has an armor body with no body that can be injured.
He'll be fine. I trust him." Mustang defended. "He can handle this."

"Thanks for the confidence." Al said happily, glad to see that the soldiers
trusted him as much as his brother.

"Yeah." Al said.

Barry's body landed on a roof before jumping to the next one.

Barry was shown running down the street as the car pulled around a
corner and followed him.

Mustang pulled up next to Barry and said, "Don't let him get away."

"He ain't going nowhere." Barry said as his body was shown to be
running across a rooftop. He chuckled darkly. "My soul won't be able to
rest, not until I eviscerate [1] that meat bag."
Riza, who was sitting next to Mustang, put bullets in her gun. "So do you
think we can expect another appearance from that blubber beast back
there?" She asked.

"I doubt it. I scorched him off the ledge." Mustang said.

Riza's gun was shown. "Yeah, and I shot him in the head, but he really
didn't seem to mind."

"Great topic to bring up." Ed said, smirking.

"Why?" Fuery asked.

"Al's there. He'll hear them talking and he'll realize that something is wrong
so he'll tell them all about the Homunculi." Ed explained. "So, I'm off the
hook!"

"Huh? He didn't have an Ouroboros tattoo, did he?" Al asked.

Riza looked into the back of the car at him. "Tattoo? Well." Gluttony's
open mouth was shown with his tattoo on his tongue. "Actually, yeah. On
his tongue."

Al appeared on the screen. "In that case, you were probably dealing with
a Homunculus."

Riza flashed on the screen with a ding. Another ding sounded as

Mustang was shown next. Both had their heads slightly turned to stare at
Al out of the corner of their eyes.

"Yeah, it sounds so farfetched." Mustang said.

"Well, then it's a good thing you ran into and battled one before we told you
about that. It will be easier to believe that way." Ed replied.

"Even then, it's not something that any of us want to believe." Ling pointed
out.

"Better to face the truth of what we are dealing with now. If you try to say it's
a lie that will only get you killed." Mustang said, sighing. This was just
getting so frustrating.

Because of his distraction, Mustang swerved and almost hit Barry who
moved in time but screamed. Inside the car, Mustang was frowning while
Al, Havoc, and Riza had shocked and scared looks.

"This is why you don't drive, sir." Havoc groaned. "You get so distracted."

"Who wouldn't be distracted with the declaration of Homunculi existing?"

Mustang retorted. "And I am a very good driver."

"You scare us when you swerve around like that, sir, and you have a habit of
taking your eyes off the road." Riza said.

Havoc chuckled. "Imagine if Chief ever gets a license."

Despite their fights against it, all the adults imagined Ed driving a car and
shuddered in fear.

"Oh, dear god! No!" Brody cried.

"Never, never, never let him get behind the wheel." Walkers said fearfully.
"Or else, I'll never be able to drive again for fear of my life."

Ed growled softly to himself.

"Their fears are allowed, Brother. You did drive a car into a hospital once."
Al said.

"..."

"You did WHAT?" Mustang screamed.

"Oh, relax. No one was hurt and I fixed everything." Ed said while glaring at
his Brother. "And we agreed to never mention that, Al."

"Why did you drive through a hospital?" Lan Fan asked curiously.
Ed shrugged. "I got shot and was bleeding too much. I couldn't get to the
hospital with my legs since my energy was draining and Al and I had split up
so I just took a car and hightailed it to the hospital. But in my dazed started,
when I got to the hospital, I pushed the gas pedal harder, instead of the bark
and slammed into the hospital."

Mustang buried his face in his hands. What else had Ed done without him
knowing? He thought he knew everything the boy did, yet things like this
have happened without his knowledge. At least he had a good reason for
taking the car, but it doesn't really make up for driving into a hospital. Or
does it? Oh, he didn't know. He's never dealt with something like this.

"Watch it, Mustang!" Barry yelled.

Mustang slammed a fist on the steering wheel. "Hold on a damn second!

What are you saying, Al? That's just not possible!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Al said as he was shown to be sitting in

the back with Havoc.
Until I got kidnapped by a Homunculus. He called himself Greed."
Greed flashed onto the screen. "One thing he told me is that nothing is
impossible." Mustang reappeared on the screen. His eyes narrowed. The
outside of the car was shown with Barry still running alongside it. "I
know for a fact that they have amazing healing powers." Al was shown
once more. "I watched Greed get the top half of his head knocked off,
but he was perfectly fine a minute later. They're real all right, but I
understand if you don't believe me."

"If it wasn't for the fact that we all saw this, I wouldn't believe it." General
Armstrong commented.

"No one would." Ed muttered, scratching his head. "Considering that, the
Briggs soldiers must meet a Homunculus then if it is easier to believe after
seeing it. If you guys are on our side, you meet one and then are told what is
happening somehow."

"Considering how many Briggs soldiers are here, we must all meet one and
get involved." Miles said.
Hughes's brows furrowed. "Briggs soldiers are stationed inside Briggs Wall
though. How could you all meet one?"

"Stationed inside Briggs Wall?" Ling asked Ed and Al, but the brothers just
shrugged.

"Never been though, so I don't know what they are talking about." Ed said.

While the teenagers were confused, General Armstrong's eyes narrowed to

slits. The only way for this many Briggs soldiers to know what was going on,
did that mean one of those damn monsters got in her wall?

Riza put her gun in her hostler. "After what I just saw, I have to believe
you."

"Hold on." Mustang said. "I rendered fat boy down to a bubbling puddle
back there. Are you telling me he's still alive?"

The destroyed roof was shown with Gluttony healing his scorched body
as he climbed to his feet.

"Probably." Al said.

"Tch. Wonderful." Mustang replied sarcastically as Gluttony rose to his

feet completely. "Just a never ending parade of freaks lately, huh?"
Gluttony grabbed his head and cracked his neck.

"A freak parade?" Hughes asked amused. "And isn't that what I said about
you guys fighting Scar when he went after Ed."

"Yes, but then, it was all still just humans." Mustang retorted.

"So you alchemists are freaks as well." Hughes said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "These monsters are worst then us, Hughes."

The car drove down a street and pulled to a stop a little bit away from
the entrance of the lab.
Riza looked around the corner of the gate first. Mustang looked next
with Havoc looking over him. Barry leaned in next to him, followed by
Al. The lab was shown with crickets chirping in the background.

"My body ran in there." Barry said. "Seems it thinks it can hide from
me."

The group was shown to be standing in a line, leaning around the wall to
examine the building.

"The Third Laboratory, huh?" Mustang asked, standing back up

straight. "So this ties them directly to the military." He turned to his
team who was watching him. "That's all we need for now. We're pulling
back."

"Yeah right." Luke snorted. "You are with a psychotic murderer who wants
to chop up his body. He's not going to listen to you on this."

"Are you sure about that? He's been pretty good at following orders so far."
Walkers pointed out.

"Exactly. He has been following them so much. He can only follow so many
and not kill for so long before he gets tired of being restrained. He is a
murderer." Luke retorted.

Barry ran around Mustang and Havoc. "Well, you have fun with that."
He called as he ran through the gate.

"Get back here." Havoc yelled. He leaned against the gate wall, looking
around the edge of it. "That psycho stormed the building."

"You let a psycho killer run wild. Good going, Mustang." General Armstrong
said, frowning.

Mustang, instead of being annoyed, smirked at her. "I will make it to my

advantage."

"How will he do that?" Ling asked.

Ed put his face in his hand and sighed. This was so like Mustang. He makes
everything to an advantage for him.

Mustang crossed his arms. "Yep, it's our lucky day."

"How so?" May asked.

"It gives us the chance to raid the lab ourselves and search for information."
Mustang told her.

Havoc blinked blankly as dramatic music began. "Huh?"

Barry was shown to be running down a hall, causing the scientists

around to scream in fear. He pushed them all to the ground to get them
out of his way as he rounded a corner.

"Out of my way!" Barry yelled. "I don't want any of your boring old
skin and bones. I've got me a special reunion to get too."

"Since when does he not want regular people to chop up?" Ed scoffed.

"Since his body appeared before him." Ling said, grinning.

"Really? I would have said it was since he met Ms. Hawkeye." May argued.

"He was captured then so he had to stop killing then, but he still wanted to
chop people up." Ling retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "It was a rhetorical question, not something for you two to
argue over, so stop."

"We're not arguing, simply discussing this." Ling said.

"This is not a psychology analysis class." Ed muttered.

Mustang, his team, and Al walked down the hall. The scientists gaped
out the group while Al sweat drop as Mustang pointed his gun to the
ceiling as he walked. "All personal must evacuate immediately."
Mustang ordered.
A soldier approached Mustang, saluting him. "Um, Colonel?"

"Stay back. The man who broke in is a deranged murderer." Mustang

said. Havoc and Riza rounded the corner in front of the stairs, pointing
their guns down it as Al rounded the corner as well. "My men will
handle his capture. Order your guards to seal off the exits!"

"So demanding." Hughes said, chuckling.

"I can see why he likes being a Colonel sooo much." Ed added, rolling his
eyes. "He has control issues."

"The only control issues I have are when it refers to you because someone
trustworthy needs to keep you in line." Mustang retorted.

Ed snorted. "Says the guy who wants to be leader of the damn country. Con-
trol. Is-sues."

Mustang's eyes narrowed to slits. "You will burn in your sleep."

"Ha! Sucks for you. I have Al to protect my back while I sleep." Ed said,
grinning.

Al turned his head away. "I don't see a thing, Brother."

Eyes widening in shock, Ed turned to his brother, gaping in horror. "T-

TRAITOR!"

Al chuckled softly to himself.

The soldier quickly saluted. "Yes sir!" He turned around and ran away.

The soldiers and Al walked down the stairs. They pushed the gates open
at the bottom of them and stopped to look around.

"How the hell are we supposed to find him?" Havoc asked.

Mustang looked at Riza. "We're gonna have to split up."

"Yes sir." Hawkeye replied as dramatic, suspenseful music began.

Two shadowy figures walked down the hall in darkness. The scene
zoomed in on them to show Havoc removing his mask. He was shown to
be walking with Mustang from inside one of the rooms.

"Guess that means Lieutenant Riza and I are together." Al said.

"Makes sense. We are dealing with dangerous people so it's good to have at
least one alchemist with the regular soldiers." Mustang replied.

"At least the future you realizes that." Ed said with a sigh of relief.

Mustang's brow twitched. What the hell did he mean by that?

"It doesn't look like anybody's used this lab in a while." Mustang said as
it was shown they were standing in a room now.

"I guess not." Havoc replied. "What is this stuff?"

Mustang looked at the tools on the table next to him. "I have no idea. But
whatever they did here, it was painful for someone."

Lust's pointy smile was shown.

"Look, Lusty appears!" Ed said, smirking evilly.

"What's so great about that?" Charlie asked confused. He thought it would be

more worrying then exciting.

Ed shrugged, but never lost his smirk. "Havoc is going to learn his girlfriend
is a murdering psychopath and Colonel is going to burn her ass to hell!"

"What makes you say that?" Mustang asked amused.

"You are Colonel and she is a crazy bitch. She is bound to do or say
something to set you off." Ed replied. "And the episode is called 'Death of the
Undying,' right? Someone who is undying is dying!"
"Well now, I am just shocked." Lust said.

Mustang raised his gun.

"Seriously? Your gun?" Ed asked incredulously. "We tell you these guys are
practically immortal and you take out your gun?"

"I don't know she is one of them yet." Mustang retorted.

"Who were you expecting to meet down there? A very old, crazy scientist
that could easily be taken care of?" Ed asked sarcastically.

Havoc was shown to have his shot gun ready as Lust stepped out of the
shadows.

"She was in the shadows and she gave herself away?" General Armstrong
asked, frowning. "She could have easily killed them from the shadows
without them even knowing what happened."

"Homunculi are sadistic people. They want their victims to know it's them.
They like the terror they induce." Dr. Marcoh said disgusted.

"It's bad enough that you stood me up on our date." Lust said as Havoc
was shown. "And now you point a gun at me?" Havoc's eyes widened in
shock. Lust was shown. "You've got some nerve, don't you?"

Havoc lowered his gun.

"Don't do that, you idiot!" Breda growled. "And you call Falman a rookie."

"Anyone would be shocked to find a girlfriend down there and have her turn
out to be evil!" Havoc protested.

"Still a rookie move." Breda and Falman said.

"Solaris? What's going on?" Havoc asked.

"Hey, Havoc." Mustang said before Lust's tattoo was shown. "Your
girl's got the tattoo."
"Yeah, first I've seen of it, sir." Havoc said.

Lust's chest bounced a bit. "Quit staring. It's not very polite." She said.

Riza scoffed. "It's like she thinks they're staring because of her chest."

"She's called Lust for a reason." Ed commented.

"And that is?" May asked.

"The lustful desires of humans." Ed replied. "Just like Greed desires

everything and Gluttony desires to eat everything. Lusty is all about our
lustful sins and dreams."

A dark blush spread across May's face at Ed's words. Maybe she shouldn't
have asked that question. She didn't believe that Ed actually told her! She was
only a kid!

"Well, I can see how she tricked you so easily. You've always been a
sucker for big boobs." Mustang said.

Rebecca coughed. "Are you really discussing that at a time like this?"

"No better time to discuss it." Havoc replied, shrugging.

"I can think of many better times." Ling said, grinning.

"Yeah, one of them involves when an enemy is not around." Ed said dryly.

Havoc twitched before a light was suddenly over him and he had tears
running down his face. "I can't help it, sir! I love them!"

Mustang stared blankly at Havoc for a moment before asking, "Did you
tell this woman anything?"

Lust was shown to be smirking.

"No, I never said a single thing about work, sir." Havoc said, now
serious.
"Woot! Ha, take that crazy woman!" Havoc cheered. "Even beautiful women
can't get me to slip and betray my boss!"

"You were still deceived." Luke pointed out.

Havoc hung his head in a dejected manner.

Mustang was shown. "Tell me, do you know who Maes Hughes is?"

"You're really going to ask every psychopath you meet that?" Hughes asked.

"Of course. Maybe one of them will be crazy enough to actually admit it."
Mustang replied.

"Since there is no evidence, asking like this would the only way." Ed
muttered. "Though it might seem a tad bit obsessive if it happens so many
times."

"Oh, yes, he was quite the intelligent man, wouldn't you agree?" Lust
asked. Her eye was shown. "I only wish I had the opportunity to pick his
brain."

There was a gunshot and Lust's eye widened as she lurched forward a
bit. She fell forward a bit before Mustang was shown.

"On your knees. I want to know everything." Mustang said angrily.

Lust's leg was shown. She moved her hand away from her knee to show
it healing from the gunshot. "Sorry to say." She stood up straight as
Havoc stared in shock. "But it's gonna take more than you're capable of
to make me get on my–"

Mustang started to shoot multiple times at her. She stumbled back with
each bullet hitting her. Her Ouroboros tattoo was shown close up with a
bullet hole right underneath it. With one more shot, Lust skidded to a
stop.

Lust's body lit up with red alchemical light as she started to chuckle.
"Great, now you've done it. She's gone insane with anger." Brody said dryly.

"She's the one who made the challenge." Mustang said, shrugging.

"When did she challenge anything?" Lan Fan asked.

"When she said it's gonna take more then Colonel is capable of." Edward
explained to her. "An indirect challenge, but still a challenge nonetheless.
Direct or not, a challenge is a challenge."

Lan Fan stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Boys."

"How merciless." Lust raised her head to show a bullet hole in the center
of her forehead healing. "Did you pick that up in Ishval, huh?" She
licked the top of her lip where blood from the bullet wound had trailed
to.

"Definitely crazy." Brody said.

"You're a Homunculus." Havoc said.

"Indeed, how very astute of you, Jean." Lust replied. She waved her
hand to the side as her fingers extended into spears. Mustang and Jean
were shown on the screen as a tearing sound echoed around the screen.
"But I doubt you've seen this one." Lust was shown with her chest pulled
open by her own hands to show a Philosopher's Stone.

May groaned, covering her mouth. She felt like she was going to be sick.
This country was just so messed up. "Who opens their own chest like that?"

"What's that red thing?" Ling asked curiously.

"It's a Philosopher's Stone. You're trying to find one and you don't even know
what it looks like?" Ed asked incredulously.

Ling shrugged, grinning sheepishly. "I figured I'd just find someone who
knew about it. I'm not an alchemist so I don't know much."

"Obviously." Ed said dryly.

"Take a good look, boys." Lust said as the stone was shown close up.
"It's a Philosopher's Stone."

Mustang, who was gritting his teeth, was shown. His eyes widened.

Lust was seen as her chest healed. "I was created with this Stone at my
core; it's not just a legend. It's my heart."

Mustang raised his gun a bit more. "You're a monster!"

"Some might say that about you, Colonel." Ed pointed out.

"And why is that?" Mustang asked.

"A monster is not just someone who cannot die, but someone who has done
many horrible things. Your actions in Ishval, even if they were orders, were
horrible. And regular people or those in Ishval who survived see you as a
monster as well. They don't care if they were orders. They don't even know
the orders." Ed said, shrugging.

Sighing, Mustang rubbed his eyes. He didn't need anyone saying it. He knew
his actions in Ishval were horrible. Flame Alchemy was never meant to be
used like this for a reason. It was too dangerous, and yet, he went and used it
in a war. That would always be his biggest regret in life.

"That was uncalled for." Lust said as mysterious music began. She
looked away. "I do have feelings. Apart from a few things, I was made
nearly identical to you." She turned her head back to them, looking at
them with a single eye. "I am human."

Havoc stared at her with strained eyes and a frown.

"Or she is just playing you to get you to let your guard down." Buccaneer
suggested.

"I've got a funny feeling the only reason you're telling us this is cause you
don't plan on letting us live." Mustang said.

"Yes," Lust said as she raised her spears. "It's such a shame." There was
a slicing sound that went through the air before Mustang was shown
with blood flying in front of his face, though he didn't see it since his eyes
were clenched shut.

Mustang clenched his teeth at the small spark of pain that went through his
cheek. He rubbed it.

Mustang stepped back as he dropped his broken gun. He quickly slipped

on his glove and raised it to snap.

Lust swung her claws up. "Too slow." She said as the pipe above them
was shown with three slashes in it before it broke and water rained over
the two soldiers.

"Damn it!" Mustang growled.

"It just had to be water." Havoc groaned. They were going to get killed at this
rate. "Hey Chief, any suggestions?"

Ed, who was staring at the screen with narrowed eyes for the fight, looked at
Havoc with confusion. "What do you mean? I can't tell you how to fight."

Havoc shrugged. "No, but you can make a guess of how we get out of this
alive. You are pretty good at that."

The young State Alchemist turned back to the screen. "We haven't seen
enough of the fight to know how it will go. Colonel doesn't just need his
gloves for Flame Alchemy. I'm sure he can find other ways to use it."

"Why are you so sure about that?" Fuery asked worriedly.

When Ed didn't reply, Mustang sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I showed
him a small trick with my Flame Alchemy when he was fourteen."

"A trick?" Havoc, Fuery, Falman, and Breda asked in confusion. How had
they missed this?

The two alchemists shared a look, but didn't elaborate. What happened that
night was between the two alchemists.
The pipes fell to the ground with a clang.

"Oh, no, did I get your ignition glove all wet?" Lust asked. The two
soldiers turned around and ran to the door of the room, screaming.
"Silly me."

Lust sliced her claws through the air multiple times, destroying things
around the room as she followed the soldiers. Mustang and Havoc slid
through the water out the door and each took a seat on either side of the
doorway as glass and other tools flew out the door.

"What are we going to do?" Havoc asked. "She'll shred us with her
freaky fingers."

"No, she made a big mistake." Mustang said, looking at Havoc.

"When did she do that?" Izumi asked confused.

Ed rubbed his eyes. "The water on the ground. It is usually a weakness for
Mustang, but when he has the right tools, he can use it to his advantage. And
since it is Havoc with him, he has exactly what he needs. What luck."

"Is this the trick he showed you?" Riza asked curiously as even she didn't
know anything about water that Mustang could use to his advantage.

"No, he showed me something different, but I can see where he is going with
this one." Ed replied. From the trick Mustang showed him, he was able to
deduce his move here.

Havoc scratched his head in confusion. What did he have that Mustang could
use that even Riza didn't carry on her?

"She flooded the room with water." Mustang raised his gloved hand.
Lust was shown to be in the room, raising her clawed hand. "A simple
transmutation and we got hydrogen gas."

Havoc flipped his lighter open while Mustang put his hand on the water.
Blue alchemical light surrounded his hand before it was shown to be
traveling along the water to where Lust was. Havoc stood up and leaned
into the room, tossing his lit lighter into it before leaning back out it.

Havoc smirked to himself. A lighter. He should have known that was it. So
that meant he always had a flame on him that Mustang could use.

Lust looked back around to see the lighter in the air. An explosion
resounded throughout the room.

Riza and Al were shown to be running down the hall when the shakes
from the explosion reached them. Al gasped as he and Riza looked back
from where they came. Riza looked back for a moment before she closed
her eyes. After a moment, she started down the hall again.

Havoc picked up his burnt, dripping wet lighter with a sigh. He groaned.
"Crap." He clicked it a few times, but got nothing. Mustang was shown
to be standing on the other side of the room, looking at a doorway. "This
was a gift from one of my ex-girlfriends."

"You actually kept the gift? Most people wouldn't want to keep something
from an ex." Darius pointed out.

Havoc shrugged. "It was a good lighter. No reason to let it go to waste."

Ed stared at the screen with dark narrowed eyes. These two idiots were too
distracted. They were in a highly dangerous situation and they were getting
distracted like this!

"So that is one down." Heinkel said, grinning.

"Maybe it won't be that hard after all." Brody added with a smirk.

"….No." Ed said, eyes narrowed even more. "You're being foolish. A

Philosopher's Stone can't be destroyed. It can only be used up. As long as that
Stone is still intact, she's alive and Havoc and Colonel are distracted."

"How sure are you?" Mustang asked quickly.

Ed glanced at Dr. Marcoh. "Almost one hundred percent. And this time, I
don't think she is going to underestimate you and reveal herself before
attacking."

"Shit." Mustang hissed.

Havoc clicked his lighter a few more times. He slouched his shoulders.
"Man." He turned to his boss. "Hey Colonel." Mustang looked at him.
"Do you mind giving me a light here?" While Mustang scowled, Havoc
turned away with a smirk. "Oh, right, you're all wet."

Mustang fell into a dejected state.

"Not the time for your fooling around." General Armstrong growled. She
may not like Mustang all that much, but she still respected him and she did
like Havoc. Havoc was a very good soldier. If they continued like this, they
were going to die!

"Yeah, well, those things will kill you, you know that?!" Mustang yelled
angrily.

Havoc stepped on a piece of wood, snapping it into two as he and

Mustang looked around.

"She's dust." Mustang said. He put a hand to his mouth. "I definitely
cremated her."

"And what about Gluttony? You were just as harsh against him, and yet you
deduced he was alive." Hughes pointed out. "You should remember that now
before Lust does something."

"Look, the future us don't know just how dangerous they are. We don't have
the same amount of information." Mustang protested.

"How do you know for sure, sir?" Havoc asked.

"The stench." Mustang answered. "I'm pretty familiar with that stink by
now."

Havoc turned to his boss, resting his gun on his shoulder. "You mean
from that time you spent in Ishval?"
"For all we know, she can still regenerate." Mustang said, looking
around.

"At least one of you is still paying attention and thinking." Ed grumbled.
"Havoc, pay attention!"

"This is the future, Chief. I can't very well get future me to do anything."
Havoc replied.

"So stay alert." Mustang said.

"Yes sir." Havoc said. Just as he said this, two sharp claws shot out of the
rubble and pierced Havoc from the back. A look of shock and pain
spread across Havoc's face as his cigarette fell from his open mouth.

Havoc screamed and grabbed his stomach, gripping at it tightly. He was

screaming so loudly that some of the soldiers covered their ears in pain, while
others just watched in horror. Searing pain started in his back and ripped all
the way out through his stomach. His insides felt like they were on fire,
burning away from the pain spreading all around his torso. The pain traveled
up and down his pain, making him twist around more and more. Breda and
Fuery ducked under his arms so they wouldn't be hit the face. They tried to
grab hold of him to get him to stop, but he was stronger then them and
managed to rip away.

"HAVOC!" Mustang shouted, shooting to his feet.

Ling, Lan Fan, and May stared in horror at the screaming Lieutenant.

"Ed?" Ling asked.

Ed, who was staring at Havoc in shock and horror, grimaced. He was usually
the one in extreme pain because he was always the one getting hurt. To see
someone else be the one in pain was a horrible experience. He didn't realize
how horrible and scary it was to see someone in this much pain until now. All
the other pain he had seen had been nothing like this. This was like when he
felt that horrible pain during the Human Transmutation they watched.
Havoc twisted around in his seat until he fell to the ground. His screams died
down to simple whimpers and moans of pain, but he didn't look fully there.
Mustang kneeled over him and saw that he looked half-dazed from the pain,
but also like he was about to fall unconscious.

Frowning, Ed looked over to Ling. "It's the pain factor. This is the first time
you saw it be this bad." He told them quietly.

Riza kneeled on Havoc's other side. "We should hurry up and get through this
part. It will get the pain to go away faster." She said softly.

Mustang looked at her with a soft smile before he nodded. Watch the next
part quickly. That was how they did it for everyone to get through the pain.
Too bad that wasn't how it was in real life…the pain only lasting a few
minutes.

Dramatic, action music began as the spears were shown to be going

through the center of Havoc's back and all the way through.

May gasped. Being so proficient in Alkahestry, she knew a lot about the body
and just from seeing this, she knew that even if Havoc lived, his life wouldn't
be the same.

"May, what's wrong?" Al asked worriedly.

"He's been stabbed in or near the spine." May said, biting her lip. "He might
die from these wounds or he might be horribly affected by it for the rest of
his life."

"Horribly affected how?" Breda demanded.

May looked at Al then at the soldier. "I'm not too sure how, but if I had to
guess, I think this would hurt his nerves somehow."

Dr. Young nodded. "Yes, that is correct, May. And if it was bad enough, it
could affect his movement somehow. Even if he survives this, I do not think
he'll be able to stay a soldier. His movement would be affected too much."

Mustang stared down at his subordinate in horror, but since he was looking
down, no one saw it. And he didn't want them too. First, he lost Hughes. And
now he might lose Havoc as well? Havoc was a great friend and comrade of
his. He didn't want to lose another. But if he was able to save Havoc, his life
would be different. All Havoc wanted was to be a soldier, and now that
chance to be a soldier was gone. If this were to happen in the future, he
would never be the same. Mustang didn't want to see Havoc lose to this.

The spears were pulled out and Havoc started to fall as Mustang was
shown. "Havoc!" He yelled.

A shocked Havoc was shown as he fell to the hard ground. As he hit the
ground, Lust was shown to be standing up, body rapidly healing as she
did.

Brody clenched his fist tightly. He may not know Havoc that well, but he did
like the guy and he didn't deserve this. No soldier deserved to deal with this.
How dare that bitch attack one of their own from the behind like that? That
was just a cowardly move.

Just like Brody, Armstrong had his hands clenched into fists. Havoc was a
good man. He really liked him and hoped that he made it through this. He
didn't want to lose another good comrade to these monsters. If that were to
happen, it would not only be a furious and vengeful Mustang on the loose. It
may not be Armstrong that was vengeful, but they would be others. As if to
echo his thought, Armstrong saw Izumi and General Armstrong both glanced
at Edward, who was visibly shaking, but it was not with tears if the fists that
had slammed into his legs were anything to go by.

Mustang was kneeling by Havoc's head with a hand on the man's back.
"Havoc! Hang in there!"

Lust walked forward. "Don't kid yourself. He's a dead man." She said as
she raised her sharp nails.

Ed gritted his teeth angrily. First it was Hughes they killed. If these damn
monsters tried to take any more of his friends, he would make sure they
burned for eternity in hell. He was not going to lose anyone else he cares
about to these damn monsters. He would personally rid the world of them
himself if he had to if it meant keeping his friends and family safe.

"No, he's not." Mustang said. He raised Havoc's shotgun and pointed it
at her. He shot her once in the face, and as she was falling over, he threw
the gun to the ground and stood up before running over to her.

Lust hit the ground. She lifted her head and said, "Give up. There's
nothing you can do that will kill me."

Ed hid a grimaced at he watched. He didn't know what Mustang was

planning, but right now, every move he made was him just trying to get
Havoc saved. All he wanted was to protect his comrades. That was how
Mustang behaved in a mission when someone got seriously injured. He
would get furious and do everything humanly possible to get his injured
comrade saved before time ran out.

Mustang slammed his foot into Lust's shoulder and pinned her down. He
pushed his hand into her chest. "Then you won't mind," His hand was
shown to be pulling the stone out of Lust's chest, "if I borrow this."

"No!" Dr. Marcoh said hurriedly. "You can't use that stone!"

"What? Why?" Mustang demanded, eyes narrowed, though he didn't take

them off of Havoc. He had to use that stone. He had to save his friend. He
couldn't lose another one.

"She isn't dead from just that. The stone is her core. She'll come back as long
as that still exists." Dr. Marcoh said. "She'll just form around the stone"

The scene pulled out to show Mustang straddling Lust while Havoc
stayed lying facedown in a pool of blood behind him. Mustang ripped the
stone out as slow, dramatic music began to play in the background. Lust
screamed in pain as red alchemical light surrounded her chest. From a
close up, Lust's face was showing extreme pain until her face went blank
as red light started to spread across her body and she turned into dust.

"You're saying she is really still alive from that?" Mustang hissed angrily.
Dr. Marcoh nodded. "Yes, and if you don't realize that, you will be in a lot of
trouble since you're the one holding the stone."

Riza gripped Havoc's arm gently in her hand. He was still groaning in pain
and fighting to stay conscious to see what was happening in the future.
Though he was doing this, Riza had to wonder how much of it he was
actually comprehending in his pained state. When it was her being attacked
earlier, she had been scared and in a lot of pain, but right now, she was
horrified. Havoc might die here and so might her Colonel. She couldn't lose
this team or her boss. He still had a dream to accomplish.

"I need it to save Havoc." Mustang said as he turned around and began
to walk to his fallen friend.

Lust's hand was shown to be disintegrated completely before dust

surrounded the area.

Mustang kneeled next to Havoc. "I don't know that much about medical
alchemy, but this should amplify my abilities." The stone in Mustang's
hand was shown. Red vines and clots of faded red blobs started to come
out of the stone. Shocked, Mustang looks at the stone to see Lust's body
already almost completely created once more and her body forming
around his hand.

"It seems like you should buy a girl dinner first before you stick your
hand in her chest." Lust said as her face was shown to be half fully
created. The other half was still bone while one of her eyes was glowing
red.

Mustang screamed in surprise and tried to move away. Before he could

get anywhere though, two spears slammed through his side, coating
themselves in his blood.

Mustang screamed and grabbed his side when the burning pain seared
through him. He fell to his side, gasping desperately for air to make its way to
his lungs while also trying to fight the urge to scream out his pain. This pain
was nothing for him to worry about it. It was only his side. He could make it
through this pain. Ed and Havoc have had it much worse then him.
"Colonel!" Riza cried. She shifted her body to Havoc's head to get to her
boss. She leaned over him, worry shining in her eyes. Her boss couldn't die
here, but she was sure Lust hit him somewhere vital. Lust wasn't playing
around. They got in their way so she was out for all of their blood now.

Mustang cracked his eyes open and gave his First Lieutenant a weak,
unconvincing smile. It was nice to see his Lieutenant cared so much, but he
wasn't important. "I– I'm f-fine, Lieu-Lieutenant. W-watch Ha-havoc." He
said, breathing heavily when he finished. His side was convulsing in pain
under his hand. Even though he knew the injury wasn't really there, his body
was reacting horribly to the flaring pain. His blood felt like it was rushing to
the area, beating around in his body rapidly like it wanted to escape.

Staring down at Mustang, Riza's hand tightened on Havoc's bicep. She felt
Havoc twitching in pain under her hold, but she believed the pained twitches
to be more about the pain racing around his torso. As much as she wanted to
be there for both of her friends, she knew she could only concentrate on one
of them.

Hughes shut his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart. His death was hard to
handle for him. He really didn't want to die, but at the same time, he was glad
it was him and not someone he cares greatly for. So because of that, he was
really scared right now. He didn't want Havoc or Mustang to die, not here.
Neither of them deserved to be at death's door right now. And the only reason
they were here, facing off against Lust, was because of his death. This
shouldn't be happening.

Ed stared at Mustang and Havoc, both collapsed from injuries. This was the
first time that two people have been down at the same time from the pain in
here. Usually it was just him getting injured, but now it was Mustang and his
team facing the danger. It wasn't something he was used to. He was
especially not used to seeing Mustang down. It just didn't feel right. Mustang
was strong, calm, composed, and always stayed uninjured. Seeing him
actually get hurt scared Ed, though he would never say it, he felt the fear
residing in his heart.

General Armstrong held the armrest next to her tightly. This was absolutely
insane. These Homunculi just didn't want to be beaten. They were going to
take all the good soldiers out of this world at this rate. She, though she may
never admit it, didn't want to lose loyal and strong comrades like Mustang.
Their country couldn't afford it.

Tears filled up Armstrong's eyes. This was so sad. He knew people died in
missions or war. They were soldiers. It was their life. But it was still horrible
to see his friends suffering right now because of these monsters that were
running around. Because they had no idea of what they were facing, they
were unprepared and they were now suffering for it.

Dr. Marcoh rested his hands on his knees, but they were clenched so tightly
that they were turning white. He couldn't help but feel at fault for this. Ed had
said earlier that he shouldn't have ran and hidden. He should have found loyal
companions to help him. Would Havoc and Mustang be at death's doors right
now if he had helped sooner?

Ed twisted around to look at Hughes, who was sitting on the couch, staring at
his fallen friends. When he felt Ed's eyes, Hughes looked at Ed. The two
stared at each other for a moment, as if having a silent conversation. It was
only broken when Al gave Ed a small shove.

Sighing, Ed pushed his brother's hand away. Hughes nodded at him so Ed

crawled over to Riza. He kneeled next to her and without a word to her, he
put a hand on Mustang's shoulder. Riza gave him a grateful look and gave her
full attention to Havoc.

Mustang's eyes slid up to look at Ed, who was looking down at him with
narrowed gold eyes. He was surprised when the boy came over to help Riza.
He was even more surprised when he stopped by him and not Havoc, but he
wasn't complaining. To be honest, he didn't want to let Riza see him in this
amount of pain. It wasn't about trust here, but he didn't want to see the worry
shining in her eyes. He trusted her greatly, with his life even. But right now,
they weren't in a mission. They were watching their future. And because they
weren't fighting for their lives and just facing pain, he could see the fear
shining in her eyes when she looked down at him after he collapsed. He didn't
want to scare and worry her like that.

"Hey Colonel." Ed said softly. "This sure is a change."

Mustang started to chuckle, but was forced to stop when the pain in his side
intensified from it.

"I mean I always thought I was the reckless one, and yet, look who is
injured." Edward said mockingly.

Mustang choked down a chuckle. He didn't need any more pain flaring
throughout his body. "Shut up, kid."

The soldiers guarding the outside of the lab were shown. They looked
surprised as a car pulled to a stop in front of it. The soldier in command
moved closer to the car, stopping in surprise when he saw who stepped
out of it. He saluted. "U-uh, Your Excellency!"

Bradley appeared on screen.

Al groaned. Of all the people it could be, it had to be another Homunculus to

join the party. As if they weren't struggling enough with both Havoc and
Mustang down. His hands curled into fists. He really hoped they all made it
out of this alive. None of them would be able to stand any more deaths of
their friends.

"Should have known he would show up. He always does when we don't want
him to." General Armstrong growled. He kept getting in the way of them
actually getting answers.

"What's the current status?" Bradley asked. He started to walk towards

the gates which were now opened for him.

"The criminal responsible for the prison break has stormed the premise,
but Colonel Mustang and his men are in pursuit." The soldier informed
Bradley.

Bradley came to a halt. "Well then, I'll give him some backup." He said
before he started walking again.

"Very good. We're right behind you, sir." The soldier said.

"No." Bradley pulled his sword out of its sheath. He held it in front of his
face. The blade looked like it was glowing red, which shadowed his face.
"I prefer to handle it on my own."

"Which means, he is either hiding the truth because he knows what is down
there or he is planning to kill you all." Jerso said, grimacing. Bradley was
taking no chances here. That was just like him. All these guys cared about
was keeping their secrets.

"It could be both." Darius told him.

"Either way, not good for any of them." Heinkel said. This was really looking
bad for Mustang's team. The Homunculi considered Mustang a potential
candidate, and yet, Lust had just delivered him a fatal blow. That just showed
that even the 'sacrifices' could be replaced if they were killing potential
candidates now.

Lust and Mustang reappeared on the screen. Lust was staring at

Mustang with a neutral look, while Mustang gasped in pain as Lust's
spears drove themselves deeper into him. Blood trailed down his chin.

Mustang breathed in harshly from the pain digging into his side. He felt Ed's
hand on his shoulder tighten for a moment before it disappeared completely.
His eyes slid up to Ed's face to see it was blank. He shifted on his legs until
he was sitting cross legged by his side. He grabbed Mustang's hand that was
holding his side and gently peeled it away. At the lack of pressure on his
wound, the pain intensified by tenfold for a second before he felt a much
smaller hand take the place of his bigger one. To Mustang's surprise, Ed's
hand started to softly massage his pained side to push the pain down so it
wasn't as bad as before.

Lust's nails were shown to be in Mustang's side as blood started to

spread all around his jacket. "I told you...The Philosopher's Stone's my
core." She ripped her nails out of him. Without that support, Mustang
started to fall to the ground, but she caught him by the wrist. Her spears
retracted and she used her fingers to pull Mustang's glove off a bit
before moving her hand to his next finger and pulling his glove off
completely. "I really hate to do this..." Mustang looked up at Lust with
one eye. "You were a prime candidate for sacrifice and all. But you've
forced me to kill you."

"Damn you." Mustang said painfully. He rolled onto his back.

There was a tearing sound and Mustang's glove floated to the ground in
pieces.

"Damn it. Now there is really nothing they can do but wait for death." Charlie
hissed.

"You don't believe in Colonel?" Edward asked, looking away from his boss
to look at the soldier. "I'll tell you a little something. The trick Mustang
showed me when his gloves were wet were done with a lighter and a knife."

"How does a knife help?" Richard asked confused.

"If Colonel can forget his pain for long enough, he can pull himself out of
this." Edward said. He was scared of losing his Commander, but he also told
himself to believe in him. Mustang was a capable soldier and alchemist. He
could do this.

Lust appeared on screen, staring coldly down at Mustang. "Save your

breath…I want you to watch poor Jean bleed to death then you can die."
She turned and began to walk out of the room.

Mustang turned his head slightly towards Havoc. "Jean...Hey. Answer

me! Havoc! You can't die...Not yet. Not before I do." Lust was shown to
be disappearing into the darkness of the hallway. "…Havoc...!"

Ling bowed his head, leaving his eyes shadowed. To hear Mustang, who he
has seen as nothing but strong, smart, and confident since he arrived here,
sound so weak was painful. He may not know him well, but he saw him to be
a loyal and faithful man. He could honor that. The man wanted all of his
friends and subordinates to survive. It wasn't right to hear him be so weak and
begging a friend to wake up. From the story his team told them about Ed
almost drowning, it sounded so impossible to believe him being like that. But
to hear him now, maybe he could believe that he was a man who would lay
down his life if it meant keeping someone he loved alive.
The tears in Armstrong's eyes started to fall down his face. The Colonel
begging was something so strange and unbelievable to him. Hearing it now,
he saw that it was probably a weak moment in Mustang's life. It made him
think that all the strong, remarkable heroes that people always read stories
about and learn in history, but what they never hear are the weak moments
that all these famed heroes have. It was what made it hard for the regular
people to understand that all these heroes they idealize are actually human
and can't do everything. So to hear and see someone so strong falling and
pleading for a friend to wake up was so hard for him to hear.

Ed sighed when he heard Mustang's voice. He couldn't mock Mustang for

this. He would be doing the same thing if he had a friend dying next to him.
Hell, he was begging when Al was taken away from him by the Gate. They
were both begging for a friend to survive. And with how similar he and
Mustang were looking, just like how Ed did with Al, Mustang was going to
use some type of alchemy to save Havoc.

A giant door with eight smaller circles with strange designs and writing
on them appeared inside a bigger circle. Al and Riza were shown to be
standing in front of it. Barry was standing next to the door with his body
lying on the ground with blood pouring around it.

Barry looked at the two. Riza covered her mouth and nose. "Sorry, but
you got here too late." He looked back at his body. "Look at this mess.
My body is damn near entirely decayed. I guess a body just can't hold up
with someone else's soul being shoved inside of it."

The scene zoomed in on Al, who gasped.

In the room, Al looked up in surprise. Someone else's soul? Then what did
that mean for his body which had no soul or his soul in this body that wasn't
his? They had no idea of where his body was or what had happened to it. For
all they knew, his body could be completely decayed by now and the
brothers' journey was completely pointless by now. Or maybe his soul could
reject the body he has now because it isn't his. If that were true, he could die
whenever. The boy glanced at Ed to see what he was thinking about this fact,
but the boy hadn't even glanced up from Mustang.
For some reason this upset Al. He knew his brother was concerned about his
Commanding Officer, but he had always paid attention when something
about Al's condition came up. For him to not even react to the fact that
Barry's body decayed and the same might happen to Al kind of upset him. He
wasn't used to his brother ignoring him like this.

For his part, Ed did hear Barry's words, but it wasn't anything new to him. He
had been worried about Al's body for years. With his body gone, it meant that
Al's body wasn't sleeping or eating. It had always been a great concern to him
and he had been thinking about different things about his body since Barry's
body had appeared. He hadn't shared any of it, but he was thinking of new
theories, which were about Al's real body and his iron body. Before he could
act on them though, he needed more information and that was what this was
doing. He didn't react because he had to focus on Mustang and made sure he
didn't hyperventilate from his pain, but he wasn't completely ignoring the
information either.

'If a soul is incompatible with another person's body, wouldn't it be the

same for a soul bonded to a suit of armor?' Al thought. His blood seal
appeared faded over him in. 'If that's right, there's no guarantee I'll be
able to stay in this form long enough to get our old bodies back.' His blood
seal in the armor was shown. 'Brother…'

At this, Ed did glance up, eyes shadowed with concern. "Don't worry too
much, Al. You know I won't let anything happen to you. If something goes
wrong with your body, I'll be there to fix it. I won't let you die."

Al looked at his brother and nodded. At least his brother wasn't completely
ignoring his worries. Plus, what he said was true. Ed wouldn't let anything
happen to him.

Lust appeared on the screen.

Barry chuckled and turned his head a bit. "I was wondering when you
were gonna show up, Lusty."

Lust stood at the entrance to the room. " Number 66...Care to explain
why you're helping the Colonel?"
Barry raised his cleaver into the air as he spun around. He rested it on
his shoulder as he faced Lust with Al and Riza by his side. "I thought it'd
be fun to switch things up...Besides..." He pointed his cleaver at her.
"I've wanted to chop you up since I met you."

Mustang snickered, though it hurt his side quite a bit. "Even the criminals
hate the Homunculi."

"Well, the Homunculi are screwing with their lives as well." Havoc muttered
through his pain. He turned his head on the ground to give a pained, amused
grin to his boss.

"I'm surprised they can even concentrate to hear what is being said through
all that pain." Ed muttered to Riza.

Riza smiled at him. "Why is that? Could you not concentrate when it was
you?"

"No. If you recall, I was unconscious or almost there." Ed said, frowning. "I
can't even remember if I was conscious or not at this point because there was
so much pain."

"You're such a handful, 66...And I'm sad to see you here, armor
boy...You just had to tag along." Lust said. She appeared on the screen,
looking down with her eyes shut. "Talk about a setback..."

"What's that mean?" Al asked confused.

"That she is going to kill you along with the others so nothing gets back to
the rest of us." Ed explained, frowning darkly. This bitch had better not lay
one finger on his brother.

"Sheesh, it's like they think they have an abundance of sacrifices." Zampano
muttered.

"It's bad enough to lose one...But now you're forcing me to kill a second
candidate." She said angrily.

Al and Riza were shown. "Candidate? A second one?" The former

asked.

Lust smirked. "Yeah...You and Mr. Gallantry."

Barry appeared on screen. "That's enough of the casual chit chat, Lust!"
He ran at Lust. He jumped into the air. "All I wanna hear from you is
screaming!" He spun in the air, getting closer to her and raising his
cleaver.

All Lust did was slice her spears through Barry. Barry's mask was
shown with a cut in it before his whole suit of armor fell to pieces and
flew over Lust to land on the ground behind her. Barry's red eye was
shown before it faded away into darkness.

"Well, there goes Barry." Izumi said.

"Guess we can't use him anymore." Riza said with a sigh.

"At least he can't betray you and give information away if he gets bored with
you guys now." Ed pointed out.

"You're not sad at all about his death?" Hughes asked, though he wasn't
paying that much attention. He was more focused on watching Ed massage
Mustang's side to lessen the pain he was in. He guessed since Ed got hurt so
much, he knew how to make pain either lessen or go away completely. It was
really surprising that Ed would even do that for Mustang.

Ed shrugged, not really knowing that he was still massaging his boss's side.
"He was sentence to death anyway. It's just a bit late. I may not like killing
and death, but I understand it."

Lust watched a part of Barry's head bounce on the ground before

looking away with closed eyes. "I do hate over-confident men." She
looked at Al and Riza. "Now then. Where were we? I think I was about
to send the Lieutenant to join her superior."

Riza looked surprised.

Lust walked farther into the room.

Riza's eyes widened. Her hands started to shake, which caused the gun
she was holding to tremble. "Wait a minute...So when you said you'd
already had to kill someone..." Lust was shown to be smirking as she
continued to walk closer. "It can't be...You didn't–"

Ed looked over at Riza, who was holding onto Havoc's bicep much more
tightly. He always knew she had a special relationship with Mustang, but he
wasn't completely sure of how far it went. Well, obviously they cared a lot
for each other, even if they would never in a million years admit it to the
other. But just how much did they care for each other?

"This isn't good." Breda said.

"What isn't?" Lan Fan asked confused.

"She's lost it." Breda said with a grimace. "And when the Lieutenant loses it,
you don't want to be in the vicinity."

"Is it that bad?" Ed asked surprised. He personally had never actually seen the
Lieutenant lose it with anger or fear. She had always been calm and collected
when he's seen her.

Surprisingly, Falman snickered. "It's not surprising you don't know, Chief."

"Why is that?" Ed demanded.

"She has gotten very furious on some of your operations to protect you. You
never knew because you were unconscious when it happened." Fuery
explained to the boy.

Ed blinked. "…Oh…" He turned back to Mustang, not really sure of what to

say. He didn't know that the Lieutenant got furious enough to protect him
when he was in danger.

Lust grinned cruelly.

Riza's eye widened even more in horror as slow, sad music began to play.
"YOU BITCH!" She screamed as she fired her gun. She started to shoot
her gun repeatedly at her. "WAHHHHHH!" Multiple bullet holes
started to fill up Lust's body as she stumbled back.

Riza threw her gun down and pulled out her next gun and fired it
without pause.

Ed blinked in surprise as he watched Riza unload her guns into Lust. She
really had lost it when Lust said Mustang was dead. That showed just how
much she cared for her boss.

"Getting all flustered over the thought that your boss is dead?" General
Armstrong asked, frowning. "You shouldn't lose it like this. You should keep
a calm head and make sure to survive to get revenge against these monsters
and make sure they don't succeed."

Ed sweat dropped. What was with soldiers and revenge? And besides
that…."Colonel isn't dead!"

Mustang chuckled a bit. "I guess they liked the idea of offing me."

Ed rolled his eyes. Delusional hurt idiot.

Riza was shown with wide eyes filled with fear and sweat pouring down
her face as she continued to unload her gun into Lust. Lust's chest was
shown. Another bullet hit her by her tattoo. Riza clicked her gun a few
more times but when no more bullets came out, she threw her gun to the
side and grabbed her last gun.

"Are you really going to waste all of your bullets here?" Darius asked.

"That would just ensure your death." Damiano said.

"Well, they probably don't have much of a chance here, especially with
guns." Izumi pointed out. "Since guns won't do much, I say unload all of
those damn bullets into her. It will at least cause her to use some of her stone
and cause her pain."

Riza smiled grimly.

Riza shot her gun, hitting Lust in the shoulder. She fired again. This time
her bullet hit Lust in the face. The Lieutenant's angry eyes were shown
as she continued to fire. Al looked at Riza as she fired nonstop and
scream out her misery.

"Why are you just standing there?" Darius asked.

Al shrugged. "I probably feel as if Lieutenant Riza needs to let her rage and
sadness out. Plus, I really don't want to get in her way right now."

"Survival instincts!" Breda and Falman cheered.

May gripped her pants tightly. She hated watching Riza shoot her gun
desperately like this. It looked so horrible. Riza was in so much pain at the
thought of her Colonel being gone. She was suffering with the fear that it was
true. May hated seeing this kind of pain because she could not heal it with her
Alkahestry. Her Alkahestry couldn't heal wounds to the heart so she hated
seeing when someone received terrible news that struck their hearts.

When she ran out of bullets, Riza continued to click her gun desperately
while Lust stood up straight as her body healed. "Are you done?" She
asked while Riza stared in horror and anger.

Breathing heavily, Riza looked down. She bowed her head and lowered
her gun as tears filled up in her eyes. As she looked back up at Lust, the
tears slipped from her eyes, trailing slowly down her face. Lust was
shown scratching the back her head. When Riza fell to her knees, Lust
brought her hand forward, revealing her spears.

"No." Mustang moaned, but it was only loud enough for Ed to hear. "Don't
give up yet, Hawkeye. You aren't this weak. Please, never give up. Fight to
live."

Ed looked down at his boss. "She won't die. She won't even get hurt here,
Colonel." He reassured his boss with a small smile. "My brother will protect
her."

Mustang cracked his eyes open to look at his youngest charge with a smirk.
"You brothers….are so reckless…" Ed huffed insulted and went to retort
when Mustang continued. "Reckless, but so loyal and strong….I'm glad to
have met you two."

Ed raised a brow before shrugging it off. Maybe the pain was making
Mustang weird. "How are you?"

"The pain has gone down, probably because I am no longer on screen, but it
hasn't left completely." Mustang replied.

Ed nodded. "It won't for a while."

Mustang nodded, having expected that from watching Ed. He tilted his head
back and looked at the screen to see Lust's face on it. He scowled at it. That
woman was the one who fatally wounded Havoc and is now mentally
torturing his Lieutenant. He would never let her get away with this! She
would pay for all the pain she had caused.

"Such a sad and weak creature...Another typical human." Lust said as

the bullet hole on her forehead healed.

Al moved in front of Riza and faced Lust. "Stand up, Lieutenant...You

need to get out of here."

Ed grinned. "That's my brother." He said softly.

"Are you really going to face off against her?" Zampano asked surprised.

"I won't stand by and watch Lieutenant Riza get killed." Al said
determinedly. "I won't let my friends die if there is something I can do about
it."

Zampano looked at him in surprise.

Seeing his surprise, Izumi chuckled and leaned closer to the human chimeras.
"Those brothers are some of the most loyal and faithful boys you will ever
meet. If you ever meet them in this future, you will see just how much
between your interactions with them."
"Do you want me to kill you first?" Lust asked as Al brought his hands
up and clapped. A rod started to lift out of the ground, surprising Lust.
Al picked it up, revealing his weapon of choice to be a lance. "Oh, my...It
appears you've opened the portal." Lust sliced his lance apart and
jumped forward as Al gasped and put his hands up. Her spears extended
to go through his helmet and body. "Such a shame...You are a perfect
candidate." She said as the fingers on her other hand extended into
spears.

"Ah, damn, that was close." Ed muttered, eyes wide.

"What was close?" May asked confused.

"She almost hit his blood seal with those damn spears of hers." Ed explained.

May gasped. She hadn't noticed that, but maybe that was because she wasn't
too sure of where his blood seal was.

Lust pulled Al's body to the side with the spears in him and shot the
spears on her other hand at Riza. Al's hand shot to the side just in time
to block the spears. The spears slammed into Al's arm.

"This is where a metal body comes in handy." Al said, breathing a sigh of

relief.

"You do realize that with spears stuck in you, you can't really move and those
cuts in you will probably destroy your armor." Ling pointed out.

"As long as Lieutenant Riza is safe, it doesn't matter." Al said.

Ed twitched. "And I'll be coming back to a mess to fix."

Al nodded. "And there is that. Brother can fix whatever state my armor is in."

"Listen, Alphonse...Leave me and save yourself." Riza said.

"Leave you?" Al growled. "Never! I could never walk away from a friend in
danger. I would regret it forever!"
"Plus there is the fact Lust isn't really going to let you leave." Jerso pointed
out.

Al nodded. "There is that, but I wouldn't leave even if I had the choice. I
won't let someone die if I can stop it."

"Even if we can't stop it, we'll do whatever we can to prevent it if it is a friend

or family." Ed muttered.

Mustang chuckled. "How right you are, Fullmetal. I would do the same
thing."

"No!" Al said.

Riza tearstained, bowed face was shown. "Run!" She ordered.

Al was shown with the spears still inside of him. "I won't!" He
exclaimed.

Riza's face was shown once more. She clenched her eyes shut. "Go!" She
yelled.

"I don't think this is really the time to be arguing about this." Havoc coughed.

"We're not really normal people. Arguing in front of the enemy is kind of
something we do." Edward said.

"Al wants to protect Hawkeye. Hawkeye wants Al to leave to save himself so

he won't die with her." Mustang said, sighing. "That sounds just like the
members of my team. Caring so much about each other."

Ed chuckled. Mustang would sometimes say Al was a part of their team at

random times because of the things he did to help them all. It was sweet and
Ed liked to hear it. It meant that his brother wasn't being ignored by his
comrades.

"I won't leave you!" Al shouted. Lust was shown watching coldly before
the screen lit up. When the light died, Nina was shown to be peeking out
from a bookcase. "I'm sick of watching people die!" Hughes was shown
to be hugging Elicia.

Hughes smiled at that picture. He should have known that his death affected
the brothers a lot more then he thought. Maybe his death was something to
help the brothers grow. It wasn't something he wanted to think about, but his
death did help the brothers in a way. Though he still didn't want to die.

Al was shown to be in the sewers with Bradley when he killed Martel

inside of Al. "And I can't just sit back and take it anymore!" Riza was
shown with tears still pouring down her face, gasping at Al's words. "I
won't let anyone else get killed! Not when I can protect them!"

Riza chuckled a bit. "That was an amazing speech. You brothers seem to
have a thing for them." She said softly.

"Just in the times when something important is going on." Ed said, grinning.
His brother spoke from his heart about what he was feeling for all this death
and it made him proud. They were feeling the same thing about all this death.

"You guys do realize that neither of these two can fight now." Buccaneer
informed them. "So unless a miracle happens, both of them are going to die
so the speech was pointless."

Ed smirked. "Considering all the convenient things that happen in these

dangerous situations, I have a feeling help is on the way."

There was a clanging sound as Lust's spears tore out of Al's armor.
Pieces of Al's armor slammed into the ground behind Riza. Al was
shown were horrible slice marks in his right shoulder and left arm from
Lust's spears, but his eyes still glared in determination at her.

A hand flashing with blue alchemical light was shown. "Well spoken!" A
familiar gruff voice said.

At that voice, many faces lit up in surprise, but happiness. Ed had been right.
Help had appeared.

To everyone's surprise, Mustang screamed in pain at his arrival to the room.

He twitched so violently under Ed's hand that the boy's hand flew away from
him. Ed blinked in surprise for a moment before he was on his knees and
grabbing Mustang's shoulders. He pinned them roughly to the ground.

Havoc pushed himself half way up as his pain had numbed quite a bit.
"What's wrong with Colonel?" He asked. He knew Mustang was injured by
Lust, but should it really be hurting him this much right now?

Ed shrugged and didn't bother to look at Havoc. A struggling soldier in pain

was not easy to handle by himself, but he would not ask for help. He could
handle his Colonel. He wasn't strong enough to throw him. "Let's just go on."
He muttered.

Al gasped. Lust turned around in surprise. "I couldn't agree more!"

Mustang said. Riza gasped as her eye was zoomed in on, showing the
clear tears filling it up.

"This is about to get intense." Hughes said excited.

"You're excited about that?" Armstrong asked.

Hughes grinned. "Of course. Lust has almost killed Havoc." None of them
were going to say Havoc was actually died. None of them were willing to
believe it. "She tried to kill Roy, and then she attacked Al and Riza. Roy is
pissed. Lust made too many mistakes. She tried to kill them all, and then she
left Roy alive to watch Havoc bleed out. Since she left him alive and alone,
she gave him the perfect chance to plan his counterattack. This is where she
falls."

"That seems to be a common mistake of those vicious, sadistic enemies we

meet." Ed grunted, staring down at the heavily breathing Mustang. At least he
wasn't screaming anymore and just breathing through the pain.

Without wasting a moment, Al clapped his hands and brought up a wall

to shield Riza and him as dramatic, action packed music began. Lust
looked over at the wall so she was unprepared for the burning flames
that suddenly overtook her.
"Yes! Take that you psychotic bitch!" Ross cheered.

Ed looked at her surprised. That was so out of character for her. He was
expecting the yell from someone else.

Ross knew she got strange looks, but she didn't care. She liked Riza and
Mustang. Mustang saved her life and Riza has always been someone she
admired, and Lust had hurt both of them greatly. Her and all the other
Homunculi. She hated them. Seeing their plans fail excited her. Their plans
were not going to succeed anymore. They would stop them!

On the other side of the wall, Al had Riza pulled into his chest and had
his back to the wall to protect her body as the flames poured all around
the wall. As the fire died down, smoke passed over the screen before a
badly burnt Lust was shown to be kneeling on the ground, gasping in
pain.

"Looks like I could get you on your knees after all." Mustang said.

Ed smirked at Mustang's words. They may argue on many things, but

mocking their enemies was something they could agree on. It angered them
and allowed them to allow their frustrations out about their actions.

Lust turned her head to see Mustang. He was standing at the room
entrance with his military jacket open so his side could be shown that it
was all burnt.

"Why is his side all burnt red?" May asked.

"He used his Flame Alchemy to sear his wound shut. He probably did the
same thing to Havoc as well." Edward explained.

May shivered. That sounded so painful. It was amazing that Mustang could
even stay conscious long enough to sear his wound shut, his friend's injuries,
and still make it to Al and Riza. Mustang was really a force to be reckoned
with.

Havoc grimaced at Ed's words. He really hoped he didn't appear in this

episode again. He didn't want to deal with a burnt body. That sounded very
painful.

Mustang's hand was shown to have a transmutation array carved into

his hand and he was holding a lighter. Blue alchemical light sparked
around his hand.

"He carved the array into his hand?" Charlie said shocked.

Ed smirked. "Yeah, he's done it once before this. And with all that junk in
that lab, I'm sure it was easy for him to find something sharp to cut his hand
up."

"That's crazy." Havoc muttered.

"We're alchemist. We don't tend to be sane." Ed retorted. "Especially when in

a dangerous situation where those we care for are in danger."

The scene zoomed in on the array carved into Mustang's hand as Lust
thought, 'He's using the flint for ignition and he carved a transmutation
circle into his hand!'

The array on Mustang's hand glowed blue. Lust was shown for a second
before another burst of flames overtook her body.

"You should've bled to death by now!" Lust shouted.

Mustang's burnt side was shown. "I seared the wound close." His face
was shown. "I came close to passing out from the pain."

Al was shown with Riza still wrapped in his arms for a second before
flames wrapped around the wall and Lust was shown to be kneeling on
the ground, body being scorched horribly by the fire. She screamed in
pain as her skin melted away.

"I see what you mean about controlling the flames for it to be a quick or slow
death." Ed said with a grimace.

Mustang smiled grimly. He could control that, but the fact that he was
dealing with a Homunculi also had to be factored into this and why it was
taking time for her to die. It wasn't just his wrath that made her death slow.

As the flames burst into nonexistence, Mustang said, "You told me I

couldn't kill you, but I'd like to try and prove you wrong." Another
burst of flames came from Mustang and attacked Lust. Mustang's face
was shown and there was an angry glint in his eyes as he looked down at
his prey. "So let's see...How many times is it gonna take?!"

"Wow." Ed said, eyes wide. "Vicious."

May shivered. "He looks very scary when he is angry like this."

"I can't blame him for the anger. I would be furious if someone was trying to
kill all my comrades and me." Ling said darkly. He too would do anything to
protect his comrades.

Al was shocked. He didn't think Ling could be that dark. He was either
cheerful or serious. Being dark was a strange concept for Ling.

Hughes shivered when he saw the anger in Mustang's face. Not only was it a
bit scary to see, but it provided a bit more insight for Hughes. His friend was
out for revenge against Envy for his death. If he got this furious at Lust for
what she did, then what was he going to be like when he found Envy?
Hughes really didn't want to see that. His friend wouldn't be him anymore if
he met Envy.

Lust's body slammed into the wall that Al made. Her body was all red
and her bone was showing in some places because her skin was all melted
away. She got to rest for barely a second before flames were burning at
her body once more and she was screaming in pain.

Ed grimaced. Mustang was doing this so she didn't get a moment to heal and
come after him, but it was still very cruel. He understood why he was doing
it, but just seeing this, Ed knew he would hate to see what Mustang would do
if he ever found out Envy was the one to kill Hughes. It would be something
horrifying to see. If he found out that it was Envy, he would definitely lose
himself in his lust for revenge.
Riza was shown, struggling to get passed Al, who refused to let her go.
"Colonel! No!"

Lust's chest was shown to be ripped open as her stone could be seen. She
continued to scream in pain as the fire wrapped all around her.

A coldly glaring Mustang was shown. He ignited the lighter once more,
causing Lust to scream out as another burst of flame attacked her.

Lan Fan grimaced. "I would not want to be practically immortal with that
stone."

Al nodded. "It does look like a painful way to die."

"Any way to die is painful, but we only have to go through death once.
Homunculi go through death multiple times so they always have to face and
deal with that pain, but this seems more inhuman." Ling said, frowning as he
continued to watch. He could understand why it was being done this way, but
it was still horrible to watch.

Unlike the kids, General Armstrong was not horrified by what she was
seeing. The Homunculi needed killed. They had to do whatever it took to kill
them. She was used to seeing violence and did not feel the need to shy away
from this. In fact, she was impressed by Mustang's power here. She did not
condone himself losing himself in rage, but his strength and skill was
amazing to see.

Mustang's dark eye was shown with sparks of flame flashing in front of
it. As the fire died down, Lust was shown to be standing, slouched over,
looking all burnt on her back while her clothes were all burnt and her
white bone could be seen in places. Once again, she burst into flames and
screamed out in pain.

The fire was zoomed in upon and Lust was shown to be a shadow figure,
struggling in the fire. An angry Lust burst out of the fire and at
Mustang. Her spears came flying forward at Mustang, who watched
them without flinching. The screen moved closer to Mustang's face, and
when it was right upon him, he ignited the lighter and created another
burst of flames that covered his face. The scene pulled out to show Lust
covered in flames with one of her spears stopping centimeters from
Mustang's face, also covered in flames. The flames exploded into dust.

Havoc grimaced. He did not think he could be like Mustang and just face
Lust's spears like that without flinching. He felt those spears rip through his
body, well in here, it was only the pain. But he still felt it and he could not
face those spears so close to his body again so soon.

Mustang stared down at Lust, whose spear was still in front of his face. A
smoking Lust was shown, staring coldly up at Mustang. Her spear was
shown before it started to disintegrate into dust and blow away in the
air. "You killed me." Her weak voice said. The scene moved along to her
arm to show it turning into dust as well. "I hate losing, but there are
worse ways to die than at the hands of a man like you. I love how cold
and focused your eyes are." Her head was shown to be turning to dust.
"I look forward..." Her bone turned to dust next and blew away into the
air, leaving her voice to echo quietly. "…to the day when those eyes will
be wide with agony..." Her stone appeared in the air. It dropped to the
ground with a musical clanging sound. "It's coming...It's coming..." The
stone disintegrated and disappeared completely.

"Finally! Another one of those damn beasts is dead!" Ed said with relief. That
left one less they would have to deal with.

"Another?" Ling asked.

"Yes, remember Greed? He was killed by the Father guy." Ed explained.

Dr. Marcoh smiled. "It seems we were right about how to kill them, but even
for an alchemist it took a long time and was highly dangerous. There has to
be a much faster way to do it." He sighed.

"Argh, who cares right now?" Havoc moaned. "That was a pretty kickass
fight for the Colonel and the way he killed her."

"You sure you should be talking like that?" Breda said, smirking. "That was
your girlfriend our boss just killed."
Havoc twitched in agitation. He was never going to live this one down.

Mustang stared for a moment before one of his eyes clenched shut in
pain. His body wobbled for a moment before the lighter fell from his
hand and he collapsed to the ground. Riza, who was looking around the
wall, saw this and quickly got up and ran over to him.

"Colonel!" Riza yelled as Mustang rolled onto his back. Al ran out from
behind the wall to kneel besides Riza.

"Are you alright?" Mustang asked.

"That so reminds me of Chief." Havoc said as he shifted his body around

with Riza's help so his back was leaning against the couch. "Always more
concerned about others then the fact that he is bleeding to death."

"You guys worry too much. If I'm conscious, I'm fine." Ed said.

"Your logic is messed up." Luke replied.

Mustang cracked his eyes open to stare up at Ed's since the boy was still
pinning him down. He smirked at him. "It's Fullmetal logic. It usual doesn't
make sense."

Huffing, Ed released Mustang's shoulders since he calmed down and moved

to his side. "If that's the thanks I get see if I ever care if you get injured
again." He grumbled.

"Forget about me. We need to get you some help." Riza said.

Mustang ignored her to look at Al. "Thanks Alphonse. Thank you for
looking after my subordinate."

"Yeah, sure. We need to call you a doctor." Al said.

"Wow, you get thanks from a high ranking officer and you practically just
brush it off." Brody said.

"That sounds like the Elrics." Breda said, chuckling. "Except Chief does it
because he hates the higher ups and doesn't want thanks from them."

The scene pulled out to show the three from the entrance of the room.
"Oh, yeah. Hurry. Call a doctor for Havoc." Mustang said.

"Are you only half-listening or something?" Ed asked dryly.

"I don't want to hear that from you of all people." Mustang retorted.

Ed smirked, but shrugged nonetheless.

Bradley was shown to be standing in the shadows outside the room. He

looked away from the scene as Mustang said, "Please."

He put his sword back in its sheath and walked away.

Riza breathed a sigh of relief. "At least he didn't do anything while we were
sitting ducks."

"I wonder why he didn't do anything. That was the perfect chance to silence
all of you." Fuery said confused.

"Probably didn't want to lose his sacrifices." Ed said.

"Lust had no problem trying to kill us." Havoc pointed out, rubbing his
aching stomach as he did.

"They are two different people." Ed defended. "Bradley probably didn't want
to reveal himself just yet in case someone interrupted or because it would be
suspicious the way they were killed and what happened to the criminal they
were chasing."

"Sorry I questioned you. I forgot you have a criminal mind." Havoc replied
sarcastically.

Insulted, Ed shot him a glare. He was no criminal!

The scene faded out to darkness. When it lit up again, Winry was shown
to be sitting on the stairs outside of the military dorms. "He's alright…
he's alright."

Al's feet were shown to be clanging on the ground, causing Winry to look
up as soft music began to play.

Winry got off the stairs and stood in front of Al.

Al's armor was shown to be covered in dirt and scratches. When his
head was shown, the bottom half of his helmet was seen to be missing.
"Uh, hey. I'm home now."

Winry looked at him with glassy eyes. She closed her eyes and gulped
down her fear. "Moron!" She shouted. "Welcome back!"

Havoc laughed. "That's how she greets you after all her worrying?"

"Of course. She won't let us know how scared she was. She wants to be
strong for us." Al replied.

Al put a hand to the back of his head. "Okay. Thanks." Winry was
shown as Al continued. "I-I…Well, I-I…" Tears started to fill Winry's
eyes. "…Uh…"

Brody put a hand to his forehead and groaned. "You Elrics are so lost with
women."

"I don't know what she wants from me when she stares at me like that!" Al
protested.

Havoc shook his head, chuckling. "Pathetic."

Winry laughed with tears pricking at her eyes still. Al started to laugh
with her, still scratching his head. Suddenly Al's arm fell to the ground.

"WHAT THE?" Ed screamed, falling into a dejected state.

"Sorry, Brother, but you can fix it." Al said.

Ed twitched. "Do you think I'm magic? Do I use a Philosopher's Stone? No, I
do not!"

"Well, I'm sure I have most of the pieces." Al tried to reassure him.

"Most?" Ed scoffed. "Without all the pieces….do you have any….No…! You
don't…" Ed put a hand to the ground and slouched over.

Mustang laughed as he sat up. His side still hurt, but it wasn't so much right
now so he leaned on the couch next to Havoc. The pain was starting to die
down finally. He ruffled Ed's hair in amusement and in thanks. Ed gave him a
brief glance of acknowledgement before turning his eyes back to the screen
where Al's arm was lying on the ground….again…

Winry and Al screamed. The city was shown from the sky as Winry
screamed, "That shouldn't happen!"

"It won't stay!" Al shouted. "Eh, I can't put it back on!"

"Great, so I can't do anything in public until Brother comes back." Al

moaned.

Ed groaned to himself.

The strange door was shown again.

The scene moved down to Barry's destroyed armor. "Holey moley..."

Barry said.

"AHH!" Al screamed. "He's still alive?!"

"Wow, he is very hard to kill." Kei said amused.

"Hard?" Ed scoffed. "Lust somehow missed his blood seal and she destroyed
his armor completely with her spears. How did she miss?"

"That was way too damn close." A piece of metal with a blood seal on it
was shown. It wiggled as Barry talked. "I hope someone can fix me. I'd
rather not live my life as sheet metal." A shadowed form stood over the
metal. Blood dripped to the ground as the shadow form growled. It was
shown to be Barry's body. "Ah! What the...?! How the hell are you still
alive?!" Barry's body picked up on the sheet metal. "Hey...Oh, no! Put
me down right now!" Barry's body moved his hand to the array as tears
spilled down his face. "I–I've got a second chance to terrorize the city!"
Barry's body pulled his hands across the blood seal. "You're gonna ruin
everything!" His hand scratched against the blood seal again, smudging
it. "No! Don't do it! Wait! No! Stop! Please!" Blue alchemical light
surrounded the array. Barry's body groaned before falling to the
ground.

"That is a sad death." May murmured. It wasn't that she liked Barry or pitied
him, but the way he suffered, his body suffered that is, was sad. He just
wanted to escape the pain and couldn't do so because of his soul in the armor.
His body couldn't die and leave this world until his soul was gone. He must
have been so tormented.

The scene faded into darkness once more. When the screen lit up once
more, it was at Resembool station where Ed was talking to Breda and
Armstrong.

"Hey, it's Chief!" Havoc cheered. "First appearance in the entire episode. And
here I thought we would go a whole episode without seeing him."

"What?" Ed scoffed. "I'm too important. They're not going to not show me. I
will appear in every episode!"

Havoc snorted. "Arrogant brat."

Ed gave him a grin. "Always!"

"Now you are just mocking me." Havoc muttered.

Ed turned to leave, waving to the two as he did. Breda and Armstrong

both saluted as he left.

"Why are you saluting?" Ed asked dryly. "I waved damn it!"

"Why are you walking away? We're supposed to return to Central." Breda
retorted.

Ed twitched. "In case you forgot, the Major broke my arm!"

"So? Winry is still in Central. You can get it fixed there." Breda pointed out.

Ed thought for a moment before shrugging. "Maybe I want to see Granny

Pinako and inform her of how everything is going and that Winry is okay. I
haven't seen her in a while."

"You're just fishing for reasons now, Chief." Brody told him, smirking.

Ed huffed. "Okay, here's a reasonable one, I left to Resembool with broken

automail to get it fixed. I can't just return from there with my arm not fixed. It
would be suspicious!" He looked at Armstrong. "Though, why my escort is
leaving without me…"

Armstrong shrugged.

Breda and Armstrong were shown close up with the latter sparkling.

Birds started to chirp as Ed walked down the dirt path. He stopped when
he noticed someone standing in the cemetery he was passing. The man
was seen from behind, but he had gold hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Ed's eyes widened. No, he didn't want to see that man right now…or ever…
Not cool. Not cool. He didn't want to see him after all this time. That bastard
left them. What right did he have to come back to Resembool?

The wind started to blow as Ed was shown to be staring in shock at the

man's back.

"Fullmetal is speechless." Miles said amused. "Never thought that could

happen."

"You barely know me." Ed muttered, but he kept staring at the screen.

"What's the problem?" Ling asked confused.

Al leaned over to whisper to him, "I think that's our dad in the graveyard."

"The one you haven't seen since you were little kids?" May asked quietly.

Al nodded.

Ling grimaced. From what he understood, it didn't seem like Ed was too
happy with his dad. This was not going to go too well.

A flashback was shown of Ed and Al leaning around a door to look at

their father's back as he worked.

Ed reappeared on the screen. 'It can't be…' A picture of the family was
shown on the bulletin board with Hohenheim's face covered before Ed
was back on the screen. 'Is it…?' Hohenheim was shown walking out of
his house with his kids and wife watching. As he opened the door, a
bright white light overtook the scene and it was back to present time.
Hohenheim turned around to look at his son.

Ed's eyes widened. "Hohenheim."

The scene went dark.

"What? No, I want to see Chief's confrontation with his dad." Havoc groaned.

Ed shot him a glare.

Havoc held his hands up. "Sorry, but I want to see this to see how mad you
are at your dad."

"Well, that was certainly an interesting episode." Izumi said. The way the
group handled operations was interesting to see and their loyalty was
incredible. Ed and Al had really met some amazing people that cared a lot for
them.

"And we all made it out alive." Riza said, breathing in relief. That had to be
one of the hardest operations they have ever done.

"Though not unscratched." Mustang commented softly, making Ed glance at

him since it was said so quietly that Ed was probably the only one to hear it.
The Colonel looked at Ed with dark cold eyes that made the boy want to look
away. It seems his boss was still a bit mad and upset about the injuries, and it
wasn't his injuries that upset him. He was still worried about Havoc.

Seeing the shocked look in Ed's eyes, Mustang blinked and when his eyes
were opened again the look was gone. He gave his youngest subordinate a
small smirk, making Ed twitch in annoyance. 'Stupid arrogant…'

Mustang surprised Ed and ended his inside rant by putting a hand on his
shoulder. "Thanks." He said softly.

Ed blinked. Yep, the pain Mustang went through made him crazy.

A/N: [1] Oh My God! I hate this word. Eviscerate! E-vis-ce-rate! It took

forever to figure out how to spell this world. I had to ask my parents and
little brother. They were all just as lost as me and had no idea of what it
meant. It was even more bloody difficult because the way Barry spoke
made it sound like it began with a damn 'A.' Stupid Barry.

Yeah, Ed/Mustang fluff of some sort! Not really a lot, but still a bit.
Honestly, I wasn't sure how to do that part with the injured soldiers. Ed
was going to Havoc or Mustang and Riza was going to the other. I
wanted Riza to go to Mustang just because of how close they are and to
show some brotherly love between Havoc and Ed, but I also wanted to
show parental fluff with Ed and Mustang (of some sort), just with
Mustang being injured this time. It was a difficult choice of which one to
do.

So, I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it. I wasn't
sure about bringing Hohenheim into the room just yet. It was another
difficult choice I had to make. In the end, I came to the thought that I
wanted to bring him in a bit later. I have my reasons for it. One being it
would be strange to have parental Hughes/Elrics and Mustang/Elrics
moment with him there. Another being I want Ed to see Hohenheim's
past first then bring him in and have him be a bit more understanding.
Those are my reasons, so here's what I'm going to do. Those of you who
want Hohenheim in the next chapter give me a few damn good reasons to
convince me. This isn't a vote, but if I like your reasons/ideas, he will
appear next. It is an open decision right now.

Sheesh, this was a long chapter.

Please Review!
*Chapter 20*: Episode 20: Father Before
The Grave
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: I started a Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood marathon with a

friend to introduce her to the show! We're doing Code Geass after we
finish this one, but as we were watching it, I knew everything that was
going to happen. We stopped on episode 10 this week. We both wanted to
cry so badly when Hughes died. She almost left nail marks in my arm
and knee in her scared suspense of watching Hughes get attacked
though. *sweat drop* My poor limbs.

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 20: Father Before The Grave

Sighing, Ed shifted on the floor to sit cross legged again. He somehow found
himself sitting between Havoc and Mustang, instead of Ling and his brother,
but that was probably because none of the soldiers moved after Mustang and
Havoc recovered. Riza was back on the couch, sitting next to Izumi and
Hughes though.

He ran a hand through his bangs in frustration. Of all the people he could
have met in Resembool, his father didn't even make that list because Ed didn't
want to meet him. Hell, he would have rather run into Envy or something. At
least Envy he could beat the shit out of without having to worry about
consequences. Then again….consequences be damned! He wanted to hit the
man!

The opening song began.

Ed and Hohenheim appeared on the screen, standing in the graveyard.

"Hello Edward. You appear to have grown some." Hohenheim greeted.

Ed's eye twitched violently. Seriously, that was how he was going to greet
him after ten years? Of course he grew, damn it! It's been ten years!

Ed looked away, gritting his teeth.

"I spoke with Pinako." Hohenheim said, drawing Ed's eyes back to him.
"You tried Human Transmutation."

"Well, your dad is certainly blunt." Havoc said, grimacing.

Ed growled. "He has always been blunt."

"And very sophisticated sounding?" Fuery asked curiously. "Even Al's

manners aren't like that."

"Uh, no. He's always had manners and been polite in his speech, but not to
this degree. The way he is talking is pretty weird." Ed muttered, silently
wishing they would all drop it! It was bad enough that he had to run into his
father at all. He didn't need them all analyzing this meeting and trying to
figure his dad out as well.

"Does anyone else feel uncomfortable watching a private conversation like

this one?" Karley asked.

Quite a few soldiers raised their hands.

"It would not be the first private conversation we've heard in here." Miles
pointed out.
"But it is the first that we've had to listen to that involved the kid talking to
someone he despises from his past." Brody said.

Miles shrugged.

Ed looked at his dad in horror. He looked away after a moment with an

angry look in his eyes. "What makes you think you can show up like
this?" Hohenheim was seen to be looking in the distance. "There's
nothing left here for you anymore!"

Hohenheim looked at his son. "I noticed. Tell me, Edward," The man
looked towards where his house used to be. "What possessed you to burn
down my home?"

"After all this time, that's the first question he asks you?" Mustang moaned,
covering his face.

"What would you ask your child that you haven't seen in…what, ten years?"
Hughes asked, looking at the brothers for confirmation.

Al shrugged. "Give or take a year."

Hughes nodded and looked at Mustang. "So?"

"'I'm sorry I've been gone so long. Can you forgive me?' Or, 'What possessed
you to become a State Alchemist?' Or maybe, 'Do you hate me?'" Mustang
said, clenching his fists tightly by his side. He didn't hate Hohenheim, but he
didn't condone his leaving and not returning in ten years. Ed suffered the role
of big brother and guardian and Al suffered without having a parent that he
wanted. Al just wanted his dad back to have one of them there. And Ed just
wanted someone to watch over him and be proud of him for his
accomplishments. Neither of them got what they wanted because their father
left!

"Wow, I didn't expect him to have an answer so quickly, let alone three."
Hughes whispered to Izumi and Riza.

Izumi chuckled at the man while Riza just smiled softly.

Ed stared at him. He looked away and said, "After what happened, we
vowed to never turn back." He closed his eyes. "We did it as a symbol of
our resolve."

"No you didn't." Hohenheim said, causing Ed to look up. "You were
hiding the memory." Ed looked shocked at him. "You didn't want to be
reminded of what you've done." The man approached his son. "And
thought you could erase the memory by destroying the evidence."

"What the hell does he know?" Ed grumbled to himself. "He hasn't seen us in
ten years. He has no idea of what we are like or why we do the things we do."

Al sighed softly to himself. They weren't just hiding evidence. They really
did burn their house to move on and not turn back. There was more then one
reason for the things that they did.

Ed looked up at his dad. "You're wrong!"

"It's just like a child who hides the sheets after he wets the bed."
Hohenheim's face was shown to be looking down at Ed. "You ran away
and you know it."

A look of horror spread across Ed's face.

"Wow." Ling said, grimacing at the look on Ed's face. "That was harsh."

"Tch." Ed snarled. "He has no right to say anything about it after being gone
for so long."

Havoc, who was still sitting on the floor with his back against the couch, put
a hand to Ed's shoulder, causing the boy to look at him. He grinned at Ed.
"Running away isn't a cowardly act, Chief. It just means leaving for the
moment and coming back when you are ready. You live to fight another day.
You shouldn't do anything that you aren't prepared to face. Everyone runs
sometimes."

Ed clenched his fists.

"Chief, you were twelve when you burnt your house down. It was only a year
after you did the transmutation. No one blames you for destroying your
house. Personally, if I did something like that, I would be so traumatized that
I would not even be able to go back to my house to burn it down." Havoc told
him softly. "You are much stronger then I am."

Ed looked down. He certainly didn't feel strong at times. He felt so pathetic

and weak a lot.

Ed's brows twitched as he looked down at his father's chest to avoid his
eyes. "I…You don't know a damn thing!" He spun around and stalked
out of the cemetery. "You make me sick to my stomach!"

"That's one way to handle it." Al muttered.

"Not the best way, but one of the ways." Ross said with a sigh. She could
understand why Ed was so mad at his father, and it was his problem, but he
really should try to talk to his dad. It might lessen his resentment somewhat.
"The best way would be to act like an adult and talk it over."

"That's never been my style." Ed retorted.

"So we are seeing." Avery said dryly

Hohenheim was shown. "He's exactly like I was when I was his age."

Ed screamed and pulled at his hair. "What? No! That's bad, very bad."

Brody chuckled. "Chief, you should realize that kids usual act like their
parents."

"What does that mean for Al then?" Avery asked.

"Argh." Ed pulled his hair harder. "Al is more like our mom. In fact, I'd say
his personality is almost an exact copy of hers."

"Father Before The Grave"

"Why is it called that?" Brosh asked. "You guys just left the cemetery."
"Probably because it's where Ed ran into his father." Breda said.

The Rockbell house was shown at nighttime. Ed appeared to be sleeping

in a bed with his hair flowing freely down to his back.

"Awww, how cute." Hughes cooed.

Ed's brow twitched. "Hughes, shut up."

"But it's not often we get to see you so calm and peaceful looking. You are so
cute when you are calm." Hughes teased.

Havoc snickered, causing Ed's glare to move to him. "Do you even know
how to relax without being asleep?"

"Of course I do." Ed snapped.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Mustang snorted.

The sound of a door opening sounded and a light spread across Ed and
the bed. Hohenheim stood in the doorway. An image of a laughing Ed
pulling on his pants with a baby Al by him was shown.

"Aw, look at how cute and happy you guys were as kids." Sheska cooed.

Ed twitched. "Should have just gone back to Central to have Winry fix my
arm." He muttered. "Screw the consequences."

Hohenheim's sad eyes were shown. He was seen to be standing by his

son's bed, staring at his sleeping form.

"You may hate your dad, but he has never forgotten you, it seems." Izumi
said softly. She understood how Hohenheim was feeling. She lost her baby,
but she used Human Transmutation on him to attempt to bring him back. She
hurt him so her child could hate her, but she would forever love the child,
even though they never got to know each other. Ed may hate his dad, but his
dad would love him forever.

"I've been trying to calm his anger for years. Nothing anyone says makes it
better." Al mumbled. He didn't hate his brother for being angry at their dad. If
he was being honest, he was a bit upset with their dad being gone for so long
as well, but he was still their dad. He could forgive him for it, as should his
brother, but he wouldn't let that argument pull them apart.

Hohenheim half crouched down and reached a hand towards Ed's head,
but pulled away before he could touch him.

Ed raised a brow, but didn't comment the weird behavior.

He stood up and looked at his hand. Ed was shown as Hohenheim closed

the door behind him as he left. When the door was shut, Ed opened his
eyes.

"You were awake the whole time?" Brody asked, frowning. "I would hate to
see what you would have done if he had touched you."

"I'm more surprised he didn't react when Dad came in." Al said dryly. He
looked over at his brother.

Catching his brother's red eyes, Ed just shrugged. "The less I have to deal and
talk with him, the better, Al."

"Your relationship will never be fixed that way." Riza pointed out.

"I don't want to fix it. I don't need him. I just want left alone." Ed snapped. "I
haven't had a parent for ten years now. I don't need one."

Den appeared on the screen, sitting in a corner and growling.

Hohenheim was sitting at a table with Pinako. His head was turned to
look at the dog.

"You haven't changed in the slightest." Pinako said, causing Hohenheim

to turn his attention to her. Pinako was shown to be looking through a
photo album. "All these years." A picture of a beautiful lady and
Hohenheim was shown. "And you look exactly the same."

"She's right." Mustang said, brows furrowed. "How is that possible?"

"Don't look at us." Ed muttered, motioning first to himself then at Al. "We
barely know him."

Hughes frowned and looked at the screen with narrowed eyes. He didn't want
to say anything incriminating so he would keep quiet, but it was a bit
suspicious that Hohenheim had not aged at all. It was just a feeling, but it felt
like there was more going on here.

Hohenheim drank from his glass.

Pinako looked up. "Where have you been all this time?" Hohenheim put
his glass down. "Why didn't you come back sooner?" She asked. Den
walked out of his corner. "Trisha was waiting for you to the very end."

"I've been curious about this, but why does Den have an automail leg?" Fuery
asked.

Al shrugged. "Because she lost her real leg in an accident."

"Yeah, but automail surgery is difficult. Why go through the challenge of

giving an animal automail when they could have given him something
different?" Fuery asked.

"Because of the challenge." Ed said with a shrug. "Because they wanted the
best for their dog. We don't know. They just gave it to her."

Hohenheim turned his head to watch Den leave the room through the
open door that led to the hall. When she was gone, he turned back to his
friend. "Pinako."

"Hmm?"

"The life form my sons transmuted, are you positive that it was Trisha?"
Hohenheim asked.

Eyes widening in horror, Ed shot up straight, listening more intently to

Hohenheim now then he was before. What the hell was their dad trying to
say? Everything he and Al put themselves through and there was a chance
that thing they created wasn't even their mother? His hands curled on his legs.
He had suffered in horror for the last four years, fearing that he had hurt his
mother and made her die a second time. Was it really a lie this whole time?

Al silently gasped at his father's words. Never before had he thought about
the possibility that the person they bought back was anyone but their mother.
He had always believed that it was their mother he and Ed hurt again. That
was the horror he has lived in, that he had to watch his mother die a second
time and it was all their fault.

Pinako was shown. "Well, I wouldn't…it didn't even look human to me."
She shook her head. "So I wouldn't think of it as–"

"No." Hohenheim interrupted causing Pinako to look at him. "That's not

what I'm asking." The man pushed his glasses up. "Did you notice the
eye color or the hair color?"

Havoc stared in horror at the screen. Was he saying that the boys did
everything they did only to not even come remotely close to bringing their
mother back?

Pinako's mind flashed back to when she entered the room where the
boys did the human transmutation.

Pinako leaned forward on the table. "What are you trying to get at?"

Hohenheim was shown.

"Are you telling me that wasn't even Trisha?" Pinako asked.

Hohenheim's eyes moved to the corner of his eyes to look at the door
behind him.

Den was shown to be standing in the hall.

"For all that those boys sacrificed," Pinako said as Ed's horrorstricken
face was shown. "You're saying that thing they created wasn't even their
mother?"

"He knew you were listening in." Al said softly.

Ed nodded, not really trusting himself to speak right now. There was a chance
that he and Al didn't kill their mother and made her hurt a second time. Could
it really be true?

"Which means he wanted you to hear this, but why?" Miles said confused.

"To teach him a lesson." Havoc suggested, but he was just as confused

'No, he's trying to provide the boys with relief. He can't do much for them
now, but he can at least give them this.' Izumi thought to herself, putting a
hand to her stomach. If…if the boys didn't bring their mother back, then what
did that mean for her own child? Did she really not make him suffer twice?

The military dorms were shown.

"Woah, you don't sleep or eat?" Ling's voice asked. "You don't even run
out of breath?"

Al's blood seal was shown.

Ed blinked and looked back at the screen, forgetting his thoughts for a
moment. "Damn it, Al! You told him? You told Ling?"

"Hey, what's wrong with me knowing?" Ling asked offended.

"You're already around too much!" Ed snapped. He scratched at his hair.

"And you ran off, leaving a broken town and a huge bill with Al and me!"

"You still mad about that bill, I see." Ling said.

"Don't speak as if it has nothing to do with you!" Ed growled.

"Uh-huh, I just have to make sure the seal doesn't get harmed." Al
replied.

Ling was shown, smiling. "That's so cool! So you really are immortal
then, huh?"

Lan Fan was seen to be sitting next to Ling while Winry and Al sat
across from them.

"No, I'm not." Al said.

"What?" Luke said confused. "I thought you basically were."

"Hmm, it's something Al realized during the last episode." Ed said, frowning.
"Just listen."

"This body, it's like a time bomb." Al said.

Winry blinked, staring worryingly at Al.

"Barry mentioned something." Al continued as a soft, sad tone played.

"And it made me realize that any type of body is incompatible with a
foreign soul."

"So, just like how Barry's body collapsed with a different soul in it, the same
can happen to you?" Mustang said, trying to understand this, but this was
more of Ed's expertise then his.

"Basically that suit of armor could repel Al's soul at any time. We have no
way of knowing when that time is." Ed clarified for him.

"So he really could die before you guys find a way to fix everything?" Darius
asked.

"Yeah." Al said softly. He was actually scared by that idea. Sure, he and Ed
faced a lot of dangerous situations throughout the years, but he always had
this suit to protect him. To think that death could come from the suit itself
without him having any control scared him.

"Don't worry too much, Al. You know I won't let anything happen to you. If
something goes wrong with your body, I'll be there to fix it. I won't let you
die."

Right, Al shook his misgivings away. His brother promised to not let him die.
He had to believe in his brother to protect him here. Ed would never give up
on him.
"Pairing them together, the body will eventually reject it." Al said as
Winry stared at her friend in horror. "It could happen tomorrow or ten
years from now, but it's inevitable that it will."

"Oh no. Al, we have to get you back in your regular body." Winry said.

"Well, hold on. If it's about to give out on you, couldn't you just transfer
your soul into some other object?" Ling asked. "Cause if that's the case,
then for the time being, well you're impervious to pain and you don't
have to eat. It sounds like a great deal to me."

Eye twitching angrily, Ed took his pocket watch and chucked it at Ling's
head. "Idiot!"

"OUCH!" Ling cried, grabbing his head where the watch hit him. "What is
that thing made of? I'm sure I didn't mean it in a bad way and I never told him
to give up on getting his body back."

"Just like bloody Greed." Ed grumbled as he caught that watch that Al tossed
back to him.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way." Ling said. "I'll support you guys all the way
in your journey, but I was just saying he is basically safe right now, except
for the whole rejecting soul thing."

"No, it isn't." Winry said angrily, standing up. "You don't know what
you're talking about." She looked at Al then walked away. "Sorry."

"Winry." Al said, watching her go.

Winry was shown to be lying facedown on her bed in the dark. There
was a knock at her door.

"Winry?" Al asked through the door. "I'm coming in."

The door opened and closed as Al came over. He walked over to the bed
where Winry didn't move from her position. "You know, you and
Brother always got to be the first to explode. I never get the chance to be
the one to get mad." Al said.
"Hey, don't drag me into this. I'm not even there!" Ed grumbled.

"Besides that, Al, let your brother be the one get mad. We can't have you
ruining that oh-so-innocent façade you have going on." Jerso told him,
grinning.

"It's not a façade!" Al protested.

Izumi raised a brow. "Al, I trained you alongside your brother. You have
your devious side."

Ed shot his teacher an accusing glare. "Oh, now you believe?"

Sighing, Izumi gave her eldest ex-student a look. "I already apologized for
that."

"For what?" Ross asked curiously.

"Falsely accusing and punishing me for things Al did." Ed grumbled.

The group couldn't help but laugh at that, while Ed shot a glare at his brother,
who looked away.

"I'm surprised Al didn't jump in and say he did it so you wouldn't get in
trouble for what he did." Mustang said, chuckling.

"Against Teacher?" Al said shocked. "I value my life!" He sighed. "But I did
eventually decide I should tell the truth since I was worried Brother would
get killed if I didn't."

"What a loving Brother I have." Ed muttered.

Winry turned her head to look up at Al. "It's just…well…"

A flashback of Al was shown. He was sitting by a wall in the dark. "I

guess I can't fall asleep. I don't think this body will let me."

Winry was standing next to him. "Oh."

Ed raised a brow. "It looks pretty late. I wonder what she was doing up then."

"She was taking care of you, Brother." Al told him. "You had a fever and you
were bleeding pretty badly so she had to change your bandages."

"Oh, did I?" Ed asked, brows furrowed. "I guess this is the same day of the
transmutation?"

Al nodded. "That or the next night. I can't recall too clearly."

Al buried his face in his arms.

The scene went back to Winry's room. She was sitting up now, but had
her pillow still buried in her face. "Just tell me you're going to get your
body back. Okay?"

"This episode is already so sad." Hughes moaned.

"It's either sad or dangerous like the last one. Which do you prefer?" Ed
asked dryly.

"Hmm, how about your adventures in Rush Valley? That was pretty funny."
Hughes said.

Ed growled. Never again! He would not go back to Rush Valley!

Al was shown, half shadowed by the darkness. He gasped.

Darkness filled the scene with a single light in the distance. Heavy
breathing and footsteps sounded. "Give it back!" Ed cried.

"Are you kidding me?" Ed snarled.

"Nightmare?" Havoc asked.

"Nightmare." Riza repeated, though hers wasn't a question.

"Can I not have a nightmare without it being shown? It's private!" Ed

muttered.
"Being shown?" May asked confused.

"We saw a nightmare of Brother's earlier before you guys arrived." Al said. "I
guess Brother skipped mentioning that part since it wasn't important."

Ed stretched a hand out as he ran. "You have to give my brother his

body back! He's the only family I have! I won't let you take it!"

The Truth was shown upside, grinning cruelly. "Take it?" His body was
shown to be upside down with his left leg and right arm being Ed's limbs.

"You see the Truth guy with your limbs?" Buccaneer asked.

"Well, when he took them from me, they did appear on his body." Ed said,
shuddering at the memory of that.

"Have you been having nightmares of Truth since that day, Brother?" Al
asked worriedly.

Ed shrugged, which made his brother sigh.

Ed stopped in front of him. He stepped back in fear.

"Do you even know what you're saying? You're the one who tossed his
body aside and put him in that armor," Truth said as Ed was shown,
"aren't you, alchemist?"

Ed's face warped into horror.

"It's true." Tucker's voice said. Ed spun around to see Tucker and Nina
as a chimera behind him. "You and I are exactly the same."

Al clenched his fist tightly. His brother was still being tortured by the
memory of Nina in his dreams. Al never forgot either, but he didn't have to
recall the horrors in his sleep. He just never forgot what happened to Nina
and knew he wanted to make sure that never happened again.

Hughes stared sadly at Ed's nightmare. He knew the hell he and his brother
went through way before Ed entered the military, but ever since then, he still
had to face many horrors. Sure, the brothers acted strong and tough, and sure
they were, but inside they were still just kids. They were scared kids that no
one ever noticed because the brothers never let anyone see that side of them.

Armstrong looked at Alphonse, whose hands were still clenched tightly, then
at Edward, who had paled considerably since his nightmare began. Not only
were the horrors he faced being shown to everyone, but they were being
shown when he was at a weak moment and suffering. His insecurities were
being shown, something that none of them had the right to see. No one
wanted their fears being seen like this.

Truth's upside down head was shown next to Ed's head.

"Accept it, Edward." Tucker said.

The little black hands from the Gate grabbed at Ed's face.

Nina as a chimera was shown as Tucker said, "We make monsters."

The little black hands appeared around Ed's face.

A flesh hand came forward by Ed's face. "Edward." The hand grabbed
his chin and turned his head to face the creature he made in the human
transmutation. "Why did you leave me here like this?"

Ed's eyes snapped open. He was shown to be lying in a bed with birds
chirping outside his window.

"Ed!" Pinako called. "Get out of bed already! Your father's about to
head out."

"Good riddance." Ed mumbled, rubbing his head. He always hated

nightmares. They left him feeling horrible, scared, and with a headache. He
didn't even have the nightmare here and he still felt the headache from it. And
he was sure it wasn't because of the pain factor that he felt this headache.

"He didn't stay there for long." Brody said.

Ed snorted. "Not surprising."

Ed brought his flesh arm up to his eyes and rubbed it across them,
moaning softly.

Hohenheim stood in front of the bulletin board full of pictures. He

grabbed a picture of his family. "This one. Do you mind if I keep it?" He
asked as the picture was shown up close. It was of the whole Elric family.
"It's the only photo we had taken with all four of us."

"Aww, look at that. Hohenheim is holding Ed and Ed is smiling so brightly.

Not something you really expect to see." Heinkel commented.

Ed scowled.

"Brother did like Dad as a kid before he left." Al defended.

"That's hard to believe." Jerso muttered to his friends. With the amount of
hate that Ed was showing, it was hard to see him ever loving his dad.

"Of course. You're welcome to it." Pinako said.

"Thank you." Hohenheim said, taking the picture down and putting it in
his pocket.

"He still loves his family dearly after all this time, even if the feeling isn't
mutual by all in the family." Hughes said, shooting Ed a look.

Ed shot him an annoyed look. "Stupid family man." He grumbled.

Hohenheim walked across the room. "I need to tell you something
important, Pinako." He opened the house door. He stood in the doorway,
looking back at his friend. "Something terrible is going to happen in this
country soon. You should escape while you can."

Hughes eyes narrowed. "He knows?"

Mustang sat up a bit straighter. "Do you think it has something to do with the
Homunculi or something else?"

"The only enemy we know that is planning something in Amestris are the
Homunculi." General Armstrong said, frowning. "But why does he know
about it?"

Ed grumbled to himself, leaning back against the couch. "He's been traveling
for ten years. It's not surprising that he learned of it."

"No, he said the country is in danger. Even we don't know that much yet and
we are closer to the danger then he is, considering it involves the military."
Mustang growled.

Al, not liking the suspicious tones against his dad, said, "We won't know
anything until we continue."

Pinako shrugged. "This country's lousy with terrible things." She looked
away. The bulletin board full of pictures of Ed, Al, and Winry was
shown. "And I can't leave. I've got other people who need me here in
case they want to come home."

"I've given you my warning." Hohenheim said.

"Seems almost dark and forbidding." Brosh said, grimacing.

"Cold and distant." Ed said, rolling his eyes. "I remember there being quite a
few times where Hohenheim was always like that. He very rarely smiled."

Hughes grimaced. So Ed's memories of his dad were not the best if he was
cold and distant. Or maybe that was just what Ed was remembering because
he wants to hate his dad that much for leaving them. Hughes can't imagine
any parent being cold and distant to his or her child. His own child is his
pride and joy. He could never be cold to her. Even though he couldn't
imagine it, he still knows it happened sometimes. He was a soldier, not a
blind adult.

Pinako ran out of her house, stopping at the top of the porch steps. "Hey
Hohenheim, wait!" Hohenheim turned to look at her. "Try not to be
such a stranger, alright?"

Hohenheim turned back away, holding a hand up in farewell as he

walked away. "I wish I could, Pinako. It's too bad I won't get to enjoy
your cooking anymore."

"He keeps saying suspicious things." Havoc said.

"Or he is just never planning to return there again." Ed snorted. "Why return
in the first place then?"

Ed was shown to be looking out his bedroom window at his retreating

form.

Dark clouds were shown to be passing through with heavy winds blowing
as Ed and Pinako walked up a hill. Ed had a shovel on his shoulder while
Pinako carried a bucket.

"What are you doing?" Al asked suspiciously.

"You're going to dig it up, aren't you?" Mustang asked.

Ed shrugged. "Course, I can't let what he said go uninvestigated."

Al wanted to protest, but he also needed to know if what their dad said was
true. He said it to grab Ed's attention so maybe he knew something they
didn't. They needed the truth of it now. "But maybe you should wait." He said
softly. "It looks like it's going to storm."

"No time to wait." Ed mumbled. "You know me, always impatient. Plus, I do
want to get back to Central quickly. I can't leave until I do this."

They stopped at the top of the hill, looking at what little there was left of
the house.

"You're not really going to dig it up, are you, Ed?" Pinako asked,
looking at Ed as slow, dramatic began.

Ed's automail hand grabbed his shirt where his heart was, clenching it
tightly.

Ed hissed and hunched over, gripping his metal shoulder tightly. Even the
ache from his stumps came through with the pain factor? Wasn't it enough
that he suffered with his automail on his own time?

"What's wrong, Chief?" Havoc asked worriedly.

"Nothing." Ed said, forcing himself to sit up straight. He couldn't believe he

let himself falter like that. He never showed how much his automail and
stumps hurt him because of the weather in front of the soldiers.

"Why don't we go back?" Pinako asked.

"No." Ed looked up. "My stumps are aching from the weather." He
looked up at the sky. "It's about to rain. Let's just hurry and do this."

Mustang gave his young charge a disappointed look. He can't believe the pain
he saw in Ed's eyes just because of his stumps. All those times he made the
boy come to Eastern Command and he chose to walk in the rain, despite the
pain he knew he would be in. That made Mustang feel like a jerk. Of course
he offered to have a soldier come pick the boy up when it was raining, but Ed
always said no. But still, Mustang never realized the pain he was in when it
was raining and that made him feel horrible.

The shovel was slammed into the dirt. Ed pushed his feet into the shovel
to push it into the dirt further. He threw the dirt to the side. He
continued to scoop up more dirt and throwing it to the side as Pinako did
the same with a small garden shovel.

A brick was shown with a raindrop dropping onto it followed by many

more. Pinako looked up at the sky as the rain fell.

"Maybe you should stop and continue this another time." Walkers suggested,
glancing at the boy, pausing at the sheer amount of agony on his face as he
hunched over more, gripping his shoulder tightly with his breathing ragged.

Al glanced at his brother, but didn't react as worried as some of the others. He
was used to seeing his brother hurt because of his automail. It worried him a
lot in the beginning, but since Ed always seemed fine afterward and knocked
Al on the head for worrying, Al fretted less about the pain he was in, though
he still worried a bit. He couldn't just not worry about his brother. It was
possible with all the pain his brother was always in.

The sound of retching drew Pinako's eyes back to Ed. He was kneeling
on the ground, throwing up.

Ed groaned, clenching his eyes shut. He really should know better then to be
in the rain when the downpour was this strong. The stronger the storm, the
more pain he was in.

"Is that just because of your automail?" Fuery asked worriedly. He had never
seen Ed act so weak and pained because of his automail, no matter what type
of weather it was.

"You don't know?" Kei asked surprised.

"No, we've never seen Chief fall because of his automail hurting him." Breda
told him.

Kei scratched his head. "He must be good at hiding his pain then."

Hughes stared at his young friend worriedly. He didn't even show this amount
of pain when Scar was trying to kill him in the middle of that downpour. He
ran all over the city, trying to escape Scar and he didn't show an ounce of
pain from his automail, and yet now, he was in complete misery. What made
this situation so different?

Mustang put a hand down on Ed's shoulder and gently kneaded his fingers
into the stump by the automail port. Surprised, Ed looked up at him, eyes
narrowed slightly in pain and surprise. "Call it returning a favor." Mustang
simply said.

Nodding, Ed turned his attention to his leg and nimbly massaged the area
around his port.

"Ed!" Pinako said. She got up from the ground and went over to the
heavily breathing boy. She put her hands on his back and rubbed it.
"Don't push yourself."
Ed retched painfully again, worrying Pinako.

"This is worst then usual." Al said worriedly.

"How?" Riza asked.

"Brother only retches like this because of his automail when he is highly
stressed. Stress and the ache of his stumps don't go well together, but to make
it even worse, he is out in the rain." Al explained.

"We all know your brother does stupid things." Mustang said, not pausing in
his task of massaging Ed's shoulder.

Ed growled in annoyance.

Ed retched again, causing Pinako to go back to massaging his back.

"Let's head on home."

Ed raised his head, determination shining in his eyes. "No." He grabbed

his shovel and pulled himself up. "I'm not going to be able to move
forward until I know for sure. Besides…" Hohenheim was shown at the
graveyard.

"You ran away." Hohenheim said.

The scene flashed to Ed. He rubbed his chin. "I won't run away from
this."

Havoc chuckled. "So you finally found the strength to go back to your past
and face it."

Ed smirked. "I had to return at some point. Being gone for four years is quite
a long time to run."

"You just needed a push from a certain someone you despise to get you over
that last hurdle to go back." Mustang muttered.

The teen growled to himself. He couldn't believe it was Hohenheim who

pushed him to face his fear.
With the rain pouring down much more heavily, Ed continued to dig in
the mud now. Ed kept throwing the mud to the side, gritting his teeth as
he did. Pinako was shown pulling grass away.

Ed was now leaning against a tree, retching once again with Pinako
watching him in worry.

Ed coughed violently. He pushed Mustang's hand away and stood up. He

swayed for a moment before he was walking away towards his bedroom, not
really aware of anything but the pain flowing through his body from his
aching stumps.

He pushed the door open to the bathroom in his room and collapsed to his
knees in front of the toilet without any real conscious thought. With no real
control of his body, which annoyed him to no end, he retched violently and
painfully into the toilet. He really hated vomiting because it made his throat
burn and it hurt his whole body, which made his eyes water up.

After a few minutes of painful retching, Ed coughed violently, feeling his

stomach cramp in pain. His body felt the need to keep retching, but there was
nothing left in his stomach to let out so instead he decided the floor looked
comfy.

He was only down there for a minute or two when he heard, "Uh, Chief?"

Havoc stood in the doorway of the bathroom, looking at his young boss lying
on the bathroom floor facedown. "You alive?"

Ed weakly raised his flesh hand in response

"Sheesh," Havoc kneeled by his boss's side. "You really do run yourself into
the ground. And here, I thought it was just an expression, but you take
everything seriously."

Ed turned his head to glare at his friend. "Why are you here?"

Havoc shrugged. "You've been gone a while and I volunteered to come find
you. We didn't want to continue without you since we thought you might
want to know what the result is."

"How nice." Ed muttered.

"Does your automail really bother you this much in the rain?" Havoc asked.

"You heard Al. It hurts in the rain, but is even worse when I am stressed and
running around in the rain. I just didn't expect to feel the agony of it in here."
Ed replied.

"Ah, geez, Chief." Havoc put his hands under Ed's body and helped pull him
up into a sitting position. They leaned against the wall of the bathroom
together. "I can't believe you hid this pain from us for three years."

Ed snorted, rubbing his shoulder. "I can't believe you guys never realized.
Some soldiers you are. I would have thought Falman would have at least
known since he has a vast amount of knowledge."

"I guess since you never complained, we just never thought about it." Havoc
said, shrugging. "You always display yourself as being strong and not
needing help so the fact that you might be hurting from something as simple
as missing limbs never really registered."

"Hmm." Ed hummed, leaning his head back against the cold wall. "How are
you? Are you still hurting from your ordeal?"

"I'm just sore and a bit achy now. That pain factor is a real bitch." Havoc
growled, rubbing his stomach.

Ed nodded, closing his eyes. "It's getting late." He murmured.

Havoc raised a brow. Strange kid. "Yeah, I guess it is. We'll probably eat
dinner after this episode and go to sleep."

"Bed sounds nice." Ed said. "I tend to sleep a lot on rainy days if I am able to
because it takes me away from the pain my body is in."

Not expecting Ed to share any personal information with him, especially

information about his pain, Havoc was shocked into silence for a few
minutes.

"I thought you always worked without breaks, no matter the weather so you
could get your brother's body back as quickly as possible." Havoc finally
said.

"It's pointless to work if my body is strained because of a storm since I can't

concentrate." Ed replied, grimacing. "Trust me, I tried to work on those days.
I usually miss something or mess everything up. It's best to just rest those
days."

"Too bad we don't all have the kind of freedom that you are given." Havoc
teased.

"Hmm, there are rainy days when I have to work too you know or run for my
life cause a serial killer is trying to kill me." Ed pointed out.

"Those days must be hell." Havoc said.

Ed shrugged.

Havoc stared at the opposite wall in silence for a few minutes, waiting to see
if Ed would say anything else. When he didn't, he said, "Ready to continue?"

"I'm ready to nap." Ed said, but he pushed himself to his feet using the wall to
help him. He went over to the sink and gulped down some water to get the
bad taste out of his mouth. "Let's go."

Grinning, Havoc waved his boss out of the door. Rolling his eyes, Ed walked
passed Havoc before the Lieutenant followed after him.

"Feeling better?" Mustang asked when Ed sat down next to him.

"No." Ed said blandly as Havoc sat on his other side. "Let's just go on."

Mustang, without really thinking about it, started to knead his fingers into
Ed's shoulder once more.

He started to breath heavily before he was back to slamming his shovel

into the mud. Pinako watched him as he threw the mud to the side over
and over again. Ed's face was zoomed in on to show his pain and
determination shining clearly in it. Pinako was shown next.

Ed grunted as he threw more and more mud out of the way.

The younger Elric grimaced as he watched his elder brother dig through the
mud. He looked so desperate to get to their creation and find out the truth.
The last time Al saw this desperation raging through his brother was when
they watched their failed Human Transmutation yesterday. That was the most
desperate Al had ever seen him. To see him like this now, it wasn't something
Al ever wanted to see raging through his brother again. He looked so hurt
with this desperation filling him up.

A bucket full of water was shown. Ed slammed his shovel into the mud
again, but it hit something this time. He threw his shovel aside and fell to
his knees to dig the rest of the way through the hole.

General Armstrong watched Edward's behavior with a neutral look, though

on the inside she was quite intrigued and shocked. From everything she has
seen about the boy, he had never once shown this side of him. He was
showing determination and pain, but his actions all spoke one thing to her:
desperation. He was desperate to discover the truth. Why, she wasn't really
sure. Maybe he just needed to know the truth or maybe it was because he
wanted to know if it was all for nothing. But in the end, how would he feel
when he knew the truth?

Ed dug through the mud, covering his hands in mud, but he didn't care.
He dug through, breathing heavily as he did, until he found some hair
from the life form that the brothers created. He went over to the bucket
of water and washed the hair in it, swishing it around until it was clean.

Ed pulled the hair out and looked at it.

Pinako was shown to be watching him.

Ed looked at her with a sad look in his eyes. "Granny, Mom's hair was a
light chestnut color." His teeth gritted as he held up the hair in his hand.
"This is black."

Ed closed his eyes. So, that's all there was to it. That was not their mother that
they created. It meant their mother only died once and they did not make her
suffer more then once. They didn't hurt her and make her disappointed in
them again by bringing her back. Finally knowing the truth of this matter, Ed
was able to relax and the tension left his shoulders. As his shoulders relaxed,
he unconsciously leaned more into Mustang's touch. Unlike Ed, Mustang
noticed this so he continued to massage the boy's shoulder.

Al looked at his brother, relaxing between his comrades, despite the pain Al
knew he was still in. He didn't blame his brother for relaxing. The tension
resounding around Al was leaving as well now that the truth was here.
Whatever they created, it wasn't their mother. Al didn't want his brother to
dig their creation up, but now he was glad he did. He felt so much relief
knowing that it was not their mother they caused to suffer and die a second
time.

Dramatic music began as the bones of the creature took over the screen.
Pinako was shown to be measuring one of the bones. "This femur, it's
much too long." Pinako said. She was now holding one of the bones,
examining it. "And this pelvis…pretty sure it's male." She put the bone
down.

"It is?" Ed asked so softly it was almost not heard.

Pinako stood up. "I'm sorry." She looked down at the bones. "But I'm
afraid this isn't your mother, Ed."

"Seriously?" Avery asked. "You two went through all that as kids only for it
not to be your mother?"

"That's got to be hard to take." Luke murmured.

Ed hung his head, frowning as he listened to them. They really didn't

understand how great this was.

Ed looked down at the bones in horror. He collapsed to his knees with his
hands slamming in the mud in front of him. His shoulders shook before
his crazed relieved laughter was heard, causing Pinako to stare at him in
shock. Ed's hands flew off the ground as he straightened his body, but
stayed on his knees. He turned his face to the sky as he continued his
crazed laughter.

"You sound as if you've gone insane." Luke said, staring in shock at the
screen. Hearing crazed laughter from Ed was not something he ever expected.
The boy was rash, strong, smart, resourceful, determined, so many things, but
crazy or insane never made it onto that list.

"Insane with relief." Ed whispered to himself, gripping his shirt where his
heart was. It was alright. The despair residing in his heart finally lessened
some after all these years. Of course his pain and despair would never fully
go away until he had saved Al, but this was a start at least.

Ed stopped laughing and frowned. "Then that's it." The scene zoomed in
on him, showing his face, which was covered by his wet bangs, from the
side. "It really is impossible to bring the dead back to life. The
undeniable truth." Ed buried his face in his hands. He pushed his hands
up to cover his eyes while at the same time gripping his bangs. "It was
impossible all along."

"Uh, Chief, it really does seem that you have gone insane." Havoc
commented.

"Wow." Ling said, turning to look at Ed then at the Future Ed then back to
Ed. "I must admit, I am a bit worried about your state of mind, but
considering it's you I have to find a bit amusement in this."

Ed raised a brow. "Amusement? And how is this amusing to you?"

Ling shrugged, but grinned. "Well, I can't help but to think of a story where a
scientist did an experiment, it went horribly wrong, and he went insane with
grief and became the villain."

A yellow brow twitched in irritation. "Do I look like a psychotic scientist

bent on causing trouble?"
"…."

"Just a bit, Edward-san." May piped in, giggling a bit at Ed's affronted look.

"Argh, now Ling is saying stupid things." Ed grumbled.

"Then he can join your and Hughes's club, Brother." Al said.

"Club? What club?" Ed growled.

"The one where you guys say stupid things." Al explained.

Ed's eye twitched, while Hughes just laughed. "Sounds fun." He said.

Still gripping his hair, Ed bowed his head. He moved his hands to his
eyes and started chuckling again.

Pinako moved to Ed's side. "Edward, now listen to me. You've gotta get
a hold of yourself."

Ed's hands slowly fell to his side. "I'm okay, Granny. It's okay." The
bones of the creature were shown. "From the moment I made this thing,
it's been the symbol of my despair."

"At least you sound sane now." Breda said.

"I was always sane!" Ed protested.

"Um, Brother, even I thought you went a little bit crazy there." Al said shyly.

"…Traitor."

"But not anymore. Now it's an emblem of hope." Ed's head raised,
revealing bright, determined gold eyes.

Riza smiled. "I like that look in your eyes. It is much better then the bitter
desperation that was in it moments ago."

May looked at Ed's eyes closely before smiling. Yes, that was certainly a
good look in Ed's eyes. It was much better then any anger or lost hope in
them. She didn't want to see those in Ed's eyes again.

"Al can be returned to normal."

"I don't follow that logic." Falman said, looking at Ed for an answer.

Ed shrugged, hiding a yawn behind his hand. "It will probably be explained
later. Just wait."

A stone in the ground with a bouquet of flowers in front of it was shown.

Ed and Pinako stood in front of it as a heavy, sad tone played.

"You made a grave?" Sig asked.

Ed shrugged. "It was someone's soul. It's only proper."

The clouds started to move slowly to reveal a few streaks of light coming
out.

Ed was shown with a telephone ringing in the background.

A phone appeared on the screen, ringing again when a hand picked it up.

Izumi put the phone to her ear. "Curtis residence. I didn't expect this.
You never call."

Ed was holding a phone when he appeared on the screen. "Uh, yeah. I

need to ask you something, Teacher. But well…"

Izumi appeared on the screen in the meat shop. "Well, what?" She
asked.

"You're going to tell Izumi?" Mustang asked surprised.

"Course. I want her to feel the same relief that I did." Edward replied.

"Relief?" Miles asked.

Al nodded. "We lived in despair for years thinking that we killed our mother
a second time. To learn it wasn't her and we didn't make her suffer, it's a great
relief to us."

"Plus, though it might sound bad, I do want to check my theory by asking her
this." Ed said.

"You're right. That sounds bad. Good thing you said relief as your first
reason." Riza told him.

"Spit it out." Izumi ordered.

"As harsh and demanding as always." Ed muttered.

"You can't have expected her to change just because she's not our Teacher
anymore." Al said.

"A person can hope." Ed retorted.

"It has to do with when you tried to transmute your baby." Ed's voice
said.

Izumi blinked before gasping. An image of her creation flashed on the

screen before it was back to Izumi. "What about it, Ed?" She asked
more softly this time.

Ed appeared on the screen. "The thing is, what Al and I transmuted

wasn't actually our mother.

Izumi had a look of horror on her face before it was replaced by anger.
"What is this, Ed? What are you trying to tell me?"

"Wouldn't it be obvious by this point?" Ed asked dryly.

"I don't think she really wants to hear it." Ling pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "The truth is never easy to hear, especially if it is something

about the past that we try not to remember."
"You must like making people remember horrible things." Izumi said.

"And why would you say that?" Ed growled.

Ed appeared on the screen, frowning grimly. "I'm sorry to ask you this,
but the child you transmuted," Izumi's hand was shown to be clenching
her poncho tightly. "are you sure that it was your child you brought
back?"

Izumi's eyes moved to look at the side as she thought. After a moment,
she gasped as her eyes widened. Ed was shown before the sound of a
phone being hung up sounded. Ed closed his eyes before Izumi was
shown at the counter of her store, breathing heavily.

"I should have known you were going to hang up." Ed said with a sigh.

"You were bringing up something that I did not want to discuss." Izumi
replied.

Ed shrugged. "I guess no matter how much time passes, it is still something
no one wants to discuss."

"Who would want to discuss their failed Human Transmutation?" Al

muttered. "It such a dark memory…"

A pair of graves appeared on the screen. The names carved into them
were Winry's parents' names.

"Thank you, Ed." Pinako said.

Ed and Pinako were shown to be standing in front of the graves.

"It's good to know my son and his wife helped people." Pinako said. "I'm
proud of them."

"She didn't know what they did on the battlefield?" Hughes asked surprised.

"The only thing Granny Pinako was told was that they were doctors and were
killed by an Ishvalan. No one ever told us that they were saving Ishvalans as
well." Al explained.

Mustang closed his eyes. He could never say it to the boys or Rockbells, but
the higher-ups were actually frustrated with the Rockbells saving the enemy
so much. They had been warned multiple times to stop. There was never an
order, but Mustang was scared that the higher-ups would do something
drastic if they didn't stop soon. On his side, Mustang was proud of what the
Rockbells did. They stood up for what they believed was right and did not let
fear control them. [1]

Ed was seen walking through the cemetery with his hands shoved in his
pockets. He stopped by his mom's grave, staring at it as Pinako walked
by him. "So Hohenheim, did he even bother to say where he was going?"
He asked.

"What do you care? You hate him!" Havoc said.

Ed shrugged. "Maybe I wanted to see if he changed his mind and actually

told us something this time!"

Havoc raised a disbelieving brow.

"Of course he didn't." Pinako said. "And I didn't a–Ahhh!" Ed turned

his head slightly and looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "What's
wrong with me? I can't believe I forgot to give him the message!"

Ed turned his body to look at her fully. "Message?"

Pinako turned to Ed. "Yes. A last request from your mother."

A flashback was shown of Trisha sitting in a bed with Pinako standing

by the bed.

"I'll be gone when he returns." Trisha said. "Could you tell him
something?" She looked out the window at the hills and houses of
Resembool. "I need him to know, I couldn't keep my promise." She
looked back at Pinako with a sad smile. "I died before he did and I'm so
sorry."
"Why the hell did she say she wouldn't die first?" Jerso asked.

"That's the kind of thing Mom would do." Ed said, putting a hand to his eyes.
How could his mom say she wouldn't die first? Life was unpredictable. Sure,
they lived in a very peaceful village, but anything could happen, anything
could change. She could have been killed or get sick like she did. A promise
not to die first was impossible to keep because no one could possibly know
how life would go. She really was too kind.

"Promise? What promise?" Ed asked.

"You got me." Pinako shook her head. She held up a finger. "Sorry to
ask, but could you pass it on if you bump into him?"

"Why should I have to?" Ed asked.

"You'll probably have a bigger chance to run into him then she does,
considering it sounds like he's not going back to Resembool." May pointed
out.

"Lucky me." Ed grumbled. "Stupid trip."

"I know it doesn't seem like it, but he does care about you and your
brother." Pinako said.

Ed scoffed and looked away. "Yeah, I'll pass it on, right after I clock him
in the face."

"Yes!" Ed cheered.

"Brother," Al said dryly. "You shouldn't be excited at thinking of punching

Dad."

"I'm not thinking of it. I will do it the next time I see him." Ed said.

A train was shown running along the tracks.

"Guess I'm finally heading back to Central." Ed said, grinning.

"About time." Al said. "I don't like being in pieces."

Ed's brow twitched. "Who's fault is it that you are in pieces in the first
place?"

"…Lust's." Al said.

Ed was shown to be on the train, staring out the window.

"Heading back to Central already, are you?" Pinako's voice said.

"Yeah. Al's probably mad at me. I'm going to have plenty of explaining
to do." Ed's voice said.

"And I'm not the only one with explaining." Ed growled.

Al chuckled nervously. Brother always did get annoyed when his armor got
messed up.

Ed's face appeared on the screen, brow twitching. "WHAT THE

HELL?!" He screamed angrily before he was looking all around Al's
armor.

"I'm sorry, Brother." Al said.

"You…" Ed grabbed at his hair as he looked at Al's right side that was
missing an arm. "HOW WERE YOU THIS BEAT UP? But…Uh…
AHHH!"

"I think you are driving your brother to insanity." Mustang told Al.

"It wouldn't be the first time." Al and Ed said blandly.

"I always thought it would be Chief driving Al insane, not the other way
around." Breda said.

"Al is not as sane as you all think." Ed replied dryly.

"Neither are you." Al retorted. "We saw you going crazy after you dug that
thing up."

Ed growled. "Not crazy. I was just highly relieved."

Ed scrunched his eyes shut. When he opened them it was to glare at

something. "AND YOU!" He pointed at Ling and Lan Fan who were
scarfing down plates and plates of food at the coffee table.

"You're still there?" Ed yelled, pulling at his hair. "I can't take much more of
this madness!"

"Aw, come on. We're all friends–" Ling started.

"And you dare to order room service in my room? Who the hell do you think
is paying for that?" Ed screamed.

"Maybe now you'll learn the importance of money and stop blowing things
up." Mustang said.

Ed groaned, still pulling at his hair.

"The kid is really losing it, here and in the future." General Armstrong said
amused.

"You fine amusement in such cruel situations, sir." Miles informed her.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU'RE DOING HERE?" Ed yelled.

"Eating a delicious dinner." Ling said around a chicken wing.

The bedroom door open and Ling and Lan Fan were kicked out.

"Now that is just rude." Al scolded.

"Al, shut up. I bet you have been trying to find polite ways of telling them to
get out as well." Ed growled.

"You seem stressed, Brother." Al informed him.

"Don't start on that with me again. I am perfectly fine." Ed said, though it was
kind of ruined by the slight twitch at the end.

"I can't believe we were kicked out so easily." Lan Fan commented.

"Well, you don't mess with a stress Edward so I'm not surprised about how
easily you were booted." Al told her.

"I'm not stressed!" Ed shouted, rubbing his shoulder again. 'Agitated and
sore, but not stressed!'

"Don't lie to yourself, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Ed's brow twitched. Sleep. What he needed now more then anything was
sleep. Twelve damn hours of deep, deep sleep.

Ed was shown to be roaming his hands over Al's armor. "Seriously, how
did this happen to you?"

Al looked down.

Ling and Lan Fan were shown to be sitting in the hall outside of Ed's
room.

Ed's eye twitched. "You're still there?"

"Of course." Ling said. "You are our friends."

Ed thought about retorting, but just sighed in the end. Ling just never shut up
about that, no matter how much he denied it.

"The Homunculus and Barry the Chopper, and just to throw a cherry on
top, you find out your body might reject your soul?" Ed's voice was
heard through the door.

Ed clapped his hands, causing blue alchemical light to shine around

them. He put them on Al's shoulder and arm, which Al was holding by
his shoulder. "I'm going to have to extend what little you have left of
your armor." Ed said as the armor expanded to connect to Al's arm and
the spikes came out of the shoulder.

The ceiling fan was shown as the blue light flashed.

When Ed was done, he breathed a sigh of relief while Winry walked

behind him to get a look. Al tested his arm out by bending it a few times
with his brother and friend watching. With worry shining in her eyes,
Winry turned to Ed.

"Ed, he'll be able to get his body back, right?" Winry asked.

"Yeah, of course he will." Ed said, turning to look at her. "I told you I'm
going to get it back."

"That's a bit rough." Hughes said.

Ed raised a brow. "What're you talking about?"

"She was worried and you spoke a bit harshly." Hughes said with a shrug.

The boy just shrugged. "She used to my tone considering that matter. She just
wanted reassurance anyway. If I don't speak in that tone, it'll just worry her
more."

Winry smiled in relief.

"See? She's completely fine with my tone." Ed said.

Hughes rolled his eyes.

Ed sat down on the couch with a sigh. "Al." When Al shifted to look at
him, Ed closed his eyes. "I've got to tell you something. I dug up the body
that we transmuted in Resembool."

Al gasped. "What?" He asked as he stood up.

"Yep, he's not happy." Ed said.

"Why would I be? I think you dug up Mom." Al told him dryly.
"Why would you do that?"

Ed looked up at him. "Because Al, I found out the thing we buried

wasn't really our mother."

"Yeah, that's not a confusing or strange thing to say at all." Havoc said
sarcastically.

"Brother does like to say things that confuse me before he explains them." Al
muttered.

"Maybe I just want you to figure things out on your own first. Did you ever
thing about that?" Ed grumbled.

Al gasped, wobbled for a second before he sat back down. "But…hold on

a minute." Al grabbed his head. "Then that means."

"The thing we made. I don't know what, but it was something completely
different." Ed said.

Al took his hands off his head and looked at Ed. "But if it wasn't…then
what happened to me?"

Ed looked up at him. "That's just it. This has actually convinced me we

can return you to normal."

"Where did that come from?" Karley asked.

"Fullmetal's mind works in mysterious ways." Mustang said dryly. "He'll

come up with so many ideas in a scenario that are more often then not the
truth or the best way to go about something."

Havoc grinned. "It truly is amazing to see the Chief work in those moments.
He'll come up with something completely crazy that no one else would
possibly think of. When someone says it is hopeless, Chief comes up with
something to save the situation. It is really a grand show."

"Though usually it is so crazy, we don't appreciate it until the end." Breda

added.
"Why's that?" Brody asked.

Fuery chuckled. "Because it is so crazy, we don't think it will work."

"Ed, are you sure?" Winry asked.

"Yeah, but before I start explaining how…" Ed got an embarrassed look

on his face. "Well…Uh, Winry...Do, um...Uh...Do you remember when
Al and I got in a fight when we were kids about...who'd marry you?"

Ling laughed. "You two actually fought about that?"

"Shut up." Ed growled. "We were kids, and I still can't bloody remember it!"

"Perhaps you just repressed the memory." Darius said slyly.

Ed shot him a nasty glare. Sure, it was a bit embarrassing, but he has dealt
with many embarrassing moments and he still remembers them.

Al looked at him. "Huh? The fight we were talking about on the roof?"

"Yeah, that one." Ed said as he turned his head to Winry. "Al told me
you turned him down."

Winry nodded. "Mm-hmm. Turned you both down."

"Whatever, so the question's for both of you then. What was your
reasoning?" Ed asked.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Brody said confused, scratching
his head.

"Even though it seems completely random and strange to us, there is a reason
behind Fullmetal's madness." Mustang replied. "Of course no one in here has
any idea of what it is, except maybe…" He looked at the boy in question.

Ed smirked. "Of course I know my own train of thought. I'm not going to
inform you of it since it will be mention in a moment, but I know it….and
madness? I am not insane!"
"Really? I think all alchemists are a bit insane." Ross told him.

Ed sighed in annoyance. He couldn't really deny that.

Al and Winry looked at each other. "She said..." The former said.

Alphonse and Winry looked at Ed, saying together, "'I just don't like
men who are shorter than me.'"

"That's a pretty shallow reason." Havoc said, grimacing. He would hate it if a

girl he really liked didn't date him for a stupid reason like that. It must be so
hard for Chief!

"AHHHHH!" Ed screamed, tears pouring out of his eyes. "YOU CAN'T

JUDGE A MAN FOR SOMETHING HE CAN'T HELP!"

Hughes grinned evilly. "What was that, Ed? Why should you care what she
thinks? I thought you didn't like her like that."

Ed's eye twitched violently. "Hughes. Shut. Up. Now!" He snarled.

Hughes and a few other soldiers snickered at the blush adorning Ed's cheeks.

"Aww, but Chief, it's so obvious. You love–" Havoc started, only to be cut
off by Ed slamming his automail fist on top of his head.

Winry looked at Al with a blank look while Al sweat dropped.

"I don't really see how this has anything to do with getting Al's body
back." Winry said.

"Same here!" Ross, Brosh, Karin, Luke, and Sheska cried.

"Don't question my future's self methods." Ed grumbled.

Ed adopted his serious manner once more. He closed his eyes. "I had to
be sure. Al had a memory of something I don't recall." Ed opened his
eyes, looking at the two. "And you seem to clearly remember it the same
way, Winry, which means it happened without a doubt. So now that we
know you remember something real, then we also know for a fact that
really is Al bonded in there."

"I get it now. You were making sure that Al was really the one you pulled
back from the Gate." Mustang said.

"But why didn't you check this way before?" Brody asked.

Ed shrugged. "We never really actual thought anything of it. We just

automatically assumed it was Al's soul because he recognized me right away
when he woke up in the armor."

"Shouldn't that have been enough proof that it was really Al then?" Breda
asked.

"It's possible I could have pulled the wrong soul out and he just played along
with me or I subconsciously made a puppet of Al's soul without knowing it.
But if Al has memories I don't recall and others do, it proves that he really is
Al because if he wasn't, the he could only know things that I know." Edward
explained.

"Sounds complicated." Ling said. "But it does make sense. You were
desperate to save your brother then and if you couldn't get his soul, it only
makes sense that you would make a puppet of his soul to satisfy your need
for your brother back."

Ed nodded. At least they were understanding what he was saying. "That's

basically it."

Ed as a kid, missing his limbs, was shown to be leaning against a wall

with his head bowed with blood spilled all around his stump of a leg and
on the wall.

"I pulled you out, Al." Ed's voice said. The right side of Ed's body was
zoomed in on to show that his arm was missing. "I actually did it." Al
was shown to be kneeling by his hurting brother, who was now
grimacing and holding his shoulder. "I know it was only your soul, but
that's just it." Ed came back onto the screen. "If I was able to pull that
much of you out, then I got a hunch that your body's still in there." He
curled his automail hand into a fist. "And I can pull it out."

"Yes, but at what cost?" Mustang asked. "It cost you an arm just to get his
soul. To pull his body out would cost a lot."

"I don't know. I don't know what I could possibly give to get his body back."
Edward replied.

"You think my body is still in the portal?" Al asked. "Existing separately

from my soul? Ah! Like Barry's body!" The room in the lab was shown
with Barry standing by his fallen body.

Ed knocked Al's chest. "Right. What did you see? Try to think back.
Can you remember what happened when the Truth unraveled you?"

Al was zoomed in on before the screen showed a hand grabbing

someone's wrist. "I reached out…" The scene moved to show an evil
grinning Al grabbing Al's arm. Back in the present, Al looked at his
hand. "It was me! It was my hand I grabbed."

"Woah, freaky." Ling said.

Mustang sighed. "That's the life of the Elric brothers."

"But how was it yourself that grabbed yourself? That makes no sense."
Falman said confused.

"Nothing about the Truth really makes sense." Ed replied, rubbing a hand
over his face. "If you're not an alchemist, don't bother trying to figure. You'll
just highly confuse yourself."

Ed smirked. "I knew it. Doesn't look like we're done with the Truth yet,
Al." He put his automail hand on Al's chest. "We're going to get in there
and pull your body out."

"Brother." Al said.

The scene flashed to Ed lying in the room with the boys' creation staring
at him. The hand reached out towards him.

"After the portal, I remember looking at you from inside that thing…the
thing we thought was mom."

"That's so creepy." May said.

Ed's eyes widened. His brother's soul was in that thing? Of course, it latched
onto it when there was no body around for him. His soul needed something to
hold onto.

"You brothers really don't go halfway in the creepy, weird situations

department." Izumi said.

Ed's eyes widened. "You were inside of it?"

The creature was back on the screen.

"That thing was you?" Ed asked as the thing breathed harshly.

"I guess so." Al's voice said. "But my soul didn't bind. It must've
rejected me right away."

"Good thing for that. That body was so messed up that it would have been in
extreme amounts of pain." Edward said.

"And I would have probably died and wouldn't be here right now." Al added.

Ed gave a grim smile. "I would have died as well since no one knew what had
happened. I would have bled to death before anyone came to see us again."

"In a strange sense, you guys do have some amount of good luck, if you can
call that good luck." Havoc said.

"I guess that is one way to look at it." Al said.

The scene returned to the dorm.

"So that means, we didn't harm anyone else's soul after all." Al said.
A knock at the door interrupted the three, making them all look at the
door.

"Mr. Elric? You have a telephone call from Izumi Curtis." A voice said.

"I guess you did look into what I mentioned." Ed said.

"Of course, I couldn't leave your strange words not looked into." Izumi
replied, smiling in relief.

Ed was shown to be on the phone in the lobby.

"I did some research. Sig and I looked up our family lines. And well,"
Izumi was shown to be looking at a paper in her shop with Sig by her
side. "The child that I transmuted, it couldn't…it didn't have a single
physical trait that could have come from us." Izumi's eyes moved to the
corner of her eyes. "You're on to something, aren't you?"

Ed appeared on the screen. "Yes, I've come to the conclusion that death
is permanent."

"Yes, so no one try anything stupid." Hughes shot a look at Mustang,

remembering his words from when he was at his grave.

Mustang smiled grimly. Sure, he knew what the boys felt when they tried to
bring their mother back. He knew why they did it now, but still, he would
never perform it, no matter how much he wanted to. Ed would probably kick
his ass just for mentioning it. He took that matter so seriously after his
mistake.

Izumi and Sig were back on the screen. "So not even transmutation can
change that fact." Izumi looked grim as she continued. "All this time, I
thought that I must have missed something." She closed her eyes. "But it
was impossible to do in the first place."

Ed was shown once more. There was a moment of silence before Izumi
said, "Ed!"

Ed straightened up by reflex. "Yes ma'am?"

Mustang snickered. "If only I could get that response out of you."

Ed snorted. "From me to you? No way in hell, Colonel."

"So disrespectful."

"Thank you." Izumi said before she hung up.

"So it really is a relief?" Havoc asked.

"Of course. It means we didn't kill the one we love a second time." Izumi said
softly, putting a hand to her stomach as she thought about the child that she
lost. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again to look at
Al then at Ed. She lost one child, but gained two more for her to watch over
and care for. She would not lose these two as well.

Dramatic music began as Ed's eyes widened. He looked at the phone in

shock.

"So what did Teacher have to say?" Al asked.

Ed looked at his brother. After a moment, he looked away and put the
phone down. "Well, I'm not really sure why, but she said thank you."

"Not sure why?" Izumi asked, raising a brow. "Obviously for telling me to
look at my family history to see whether the child was really mine or not. I
didn't kill my child." Her eyes closed when she felt the tears filling up in
them. She put a hand to her mouth as the tears slipped out. Her baby wasn't
made to suffer a second time because of her.

Sig, noticing the tears his wife was silently shredding, put a hand to her
shoulder. Recognizing her husband's hand, Izumi leaned into him.

Al was shown before he was seen walking down the hall. He stopped
after a few steps.

Ed, who was walking up the stairs at the time, paused when he didn't
hear Al's feet anymore. He turned to look at him. "Al?"
"This entire time, I've been blaming myself for what happened." Al told
him. His clenched hands trembled. Their creation was shown. "I thought
it was me. I thought I was the one who killed Mom a second time." Al
was shown to be holding his brother in his arms.

Ed appeared on the screen, eyes shining in sadness. "So did I, Al."

"So will you two stopping blaming yourselves now?" Riza asked softly.
"What you did was wrong, but you shouldn't shoulder all that guilt for the
rest of your lives. It will only weigh you down."

Al and Ed shared a dark look. "We may not have killed our mother, but we
still messed up our bodies for it." The former said.

"Until the day when we are fixed, the guilt and the memories will always be
there." Ed said. "We have to remember so we will never do anything foolish
again."

Al put his face in his hands. "Thanks, Brother. Thank you. I wasn't the
one who killed Mom after all."

Izumi appeared on screen. A tear slipped out of her eye and trailed
slowly down her face.

Sig put his hands on her shoulders. "Izumi."

Izumi put a hand on one of his. "I feel like I've been brought back to
life." Her other hand went to her stomach. "Our child wasn't made to
suffer twice because of me."

As Izumi sobbed softly, Sig wrapped her into a hug.

"But still," Ed said as he and Al appeared on the screen. "None of this

changes the fact that I'm the one who put you in that body. I don't care
what it takes. I'm going to make you normal again."

"Are you still on about that?" Al asked.

Ed raised a brow. "Course. I can never forget that you are trapped in a suit of
armor."

"But it's not your fault alone." Al argued.

"It's a never ending argument between you two." Mustang muttered, rubbing
his temple.

"Brother!" Al interrupted. "I was right there with you and I knew that
there were risks so quit trying to shoulder all of this on your own. I can't
watch you suffer like this."

"Sheesh, you two are arguing all over the place about this." Havoc said
amused.

"It's not amusing. At this point, it is annoying." Luke grumbled. "It's always
the same arguments with these two."

His hands clenched into fists. "Not on your own. I can't just stand back
and watch other people get hurt over what I've done. Like what
happened to Mr. Hughes."

Ed stared at his brother with wavering eyes.

Al's hand fell limply to his side. "I felt like it was my fault when I found
out that he was dead and I told myself that if it meant other people
getting hurt then I don't even want my body back."

"Wow, even Al feels guilty about my death. And here I thought it was only
Ed. I should have known better." Hughes said.

"You really should have. They are both Elrics after all." Mustang told him.
"Al just can't show it like Fullmetal so it is harder to see that he has a vast
abundance of guilt as well."

Ed nodded.

Al looked up at him. "Brother." The chimeras Al met in Dublith flashed

on the screen one by one. "I've met other people who weren't exactly
human." Greed was shown before the chimeras were shown to be
running at Bradley in the sewers. "But they still managed to live their
lives with a purpose." Martel was shown, crying as she tried to get out of
Al. Greed was shown getting stabbed with multiple swords. Fuery was
shown, smiling at Ed when the boy fixed the radio.

The human chimeras in the room exchanged looks. They may be part animal
now, but did that mean they no longer had control of their lives? The ones
that Al met still made their own choices. They didn't work for the military
and had control of their own lives. Couldn't they make the same choices? Did
they really have to continue serving the same military that screwed their lives
over?

"And even in this body." Falman and Havoc were shown with the former
speaking. Riza was shown, then the group surrounding Ed and Al after
Scar attacked them. "It hasn't stopped other people from treating me
like I'm still human." Hughes was shown, smiling at the boys. Mustang
and Riza were shown, both smiling at them. "This body could reject me
anytime."

Winry was shown to be hiding behind a wall at the top of the stairs,
looking down sadly.

"But it's the same with being human."

"Yes, we have the chance to die every single day. Soldiers have a higher
chance, but civilians have the chance of getting caught up in something,
whether it be a shootout, a car accident, or just something completely
unpredictable. Death is not something we can hide from, not even as just a
soul in a suit of armor." Hughes said sadly.

Ling and Lan Fan were shown to be sitting on the other side of the stairs.
Both of them had their eyes closed as they listened.

"Damn it, you two are just everywhere! You little eavesdroppers!" Ed cried.

"But you two just have such interesting conversations. We can't help but
listen in." Ling said.
"You never know when you might get sick or die in an accident." Al was
shown. He looked down at his hands. "So I can still get by like this. I can
live a somewhat normal life. And that's how I've managed to keep
going." He lowered his hands. "But now, I can't take it anymore." Ed
started walking down the stairs. "Because...I can't..." He looked up at his
brother. "I can't take all the nights by myself!"

"That would be really lonely. You have to sit by yourself all night with no
one to talk to." Havoc said. He could not imagine how quiet and lonely it
would be to just have to sit through all the nights with no one to speak to.
"What do you usually do to pass the time?"

"I usually read, think, or stare out a window." Al replied.

"That sounds like it would get boring after a few nights." Brody said.

Ed bit his lip, looking away from his brother guiltily. He put his brother in
that body and made him suffer all those boring nights alone. It was his fault.

Ed was shown to be near the bottom of the stairs, just standing there as
he watched. "It's too lonely. And that's why I have to get back to
normal."

Ed smirked. "Sure, and you're going to."

"In the speech department, I believe Al beats you, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Ed growled. "Are you still on about our speeches? And besides, that was only
one speech. I have had many great ones!"

Mustang shook his head, smirking. "Seems like you care more about how
good the speeches are more then me."

He punched Al's chest before the boys ran up the stairs together. "We'll
knock that Truth jerk on his butt. And then we're going to pull your
body right out of that place."

"Yeah." Al said as the boys rounded the corner and headed towards
their room.
Winry pushed off the wall and ran after the two a few steps. She stopped
to look at Ed's back in surprise. 'Huh? That's weird. Have his shoulders
always been so broad?'

"What the does that mean?"Ed asked confused, rubbing his aching leg.
Damn, the pain just didn't want to go away.

Hughes snickered softly to himself. He had an idea of what Winry meant by

that statement, but he would wait a bit before saying anything. It seems that
Winry was going to admit her feelings before Ed would at this rate.

"At least we're not ending on a sad note today." Havoc said, smirking in
amusement at Ed's confusion. Winry was going to have to spell it out for him
at this rate.

"Aw, we're done already?" Ling whined.

"Course. It's getting late and we should eat dinner before relaxing a bit and
going to bed." Mustang told him.

Ling's eyes lit up. "Dinner? Great! I'm starving!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Bottomless pit."

Without anyone realizing it, Ed slipped away from the group heading to the
cafeteria and slipped into his bedroom. Not bothering to change his clothes or
get under the covers, Ed fell facedown on his bed and passed out almost
immediately.

"Hey, where's Chief?" Avery asked, looking around when he didn't see the
second bottomless pit teenager in the room.

"Brother is sleeping." Al told him. Unknown to Ed, Al did notice him slip
into their bedroom, but he didn't comment on it because he knew his brother
just wanted to sleep. He was tired, stressed, and his limbs were aching from
the rain they were just watching.

"Without dinner?" Izumi said worriedly. Ed really shouldn't be skipping

meals, especially considering how much he eats to keep his body going.

Havoc swallowed the food in his mouth before saying, "That is worrisome.
He emptied his stomach completely earlier because of his pain."

Hearing that, Al looked at the door leading to the main room. He didn't know
that his brother had emptied his stomach of all its content earlier. But still, he
didn't want to bother his brother, who was desperate for some sleep. He
would just be very, very hungry when he woke up.

In his room, Ed rolled onto his side, frowning in his sleep.

A/N: [1] Yes, I bloody well know this was only in the 2003 anime. But I
said they were thinking about it. It's just something that was happening,
but the military never did anything about because of Scar.

Please Review!
*Chapter 21*: Episode 21: Advance of The
Fool
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 21: Advance of The Fool

"Brother!"

Ed shot up from his bed, eyes looking around wildly to find his brother
standing by his bed. "Argh." He put his cold automail hand to his forehead,
moaning in relief at the cold seeping into his aching head from it. "Al, do you
need something?"

"Are you okay, Brother? You broke out into a sweat in your sleep. Were you
having another bad dream?" Al asked worriedly.

Moving his automail hand down to his eyes, Ed waved his brother's concerns
away with his flesh hand. "Don't worry, Al. I'm fine. What time is it
anyway?"

"It's three in the morning, Brother." Al replied, though the tone of worry
didn't leave his voice. "You should–"
Before Al could even finish, Ed swung his feet over the edge of the bed and
stood up. He stretched his arms above his head, yawning as he did. "I think
I'll take a shower, then get something to eat. I'm starving."

"Brother…" Al said exasperatedly as Ed disappeared into the bathroom.

Under the scorching cold water of his shower, Ed turned his face to the
ceiling and let the water wash over him, keeping his eyes shut tightly. Why
the hell were all these dark, unforgivable events occurring? Why did they
have to see it all? It was all too much.

Groaning, Ed pressed his automail hand into the side of his head. It was bad
enough that he and Al screwed up and were now suffering for it and trying to
fix it all. Now, everything was just proving to be worst then they could ever
imagine it to be and everyone was being forced to get involved. One person,
Hughes, already died because of this. How many more were going to die
before the situation was solved? Who else would lose their lives because of
these psychopaths?

Ed stumbled back until his back hit the wall of his shower. His head bowed
down, letting the water run over his head with his eyes still shut.

All of this was making his mind so restless and impossible to just calm
himself and rest for the twelve hours he wanted. All he saw when he closed
his eyes were all the horrible things. Nina…Hughes…Greed…Lust attacking
Mustang and his crew…then came the nightmares of what was to come.

He couldn't help but dream of events where they failed to save the country, of
where he lost his brother and couldn't save him. That one was horrible
because Al had screamed at him for failing and killing him. He yelled that
Edward had destroyed his life and should make up for his failure with his
own life. If one couldn't survive, why should the other? To add to that already
horrifying dream, multiple swords came flying out of the darkness and
stabbed him from all sides. Three of the swords stabbed him through his
heart.

There were some nightmares where he got everyone killed because of his
foolishness. And one of the worst for him…seeing the lustful and hateful
look in Mustang's eyes when he found Envy and cruelly burned him to death.
The look in Mustang's eyes in the dream had truly frightened him. It was the
last thing he saw before Al had woken him up. He had never seen such a look
of pure hatred like that before, and he never wanted to see it again. Mustang
had looked too much like a monster because of that raging hate in him.

He wasn't sure how much more they had to go, but if it got any darker, he
was definitely going to lose a lot of sleep. It wasn't even fear about what was
happening that was raging through him. It was the fear of losing any more
people he cared about. It didn't even have to be death for him to lose them. If
Mustang went through with his revenge, he would never be the same and
they would have lost him. If he couldn't get Al's body back soon, he would
lose his brother. He was scared of losing any more people.

None of this shoulder be happening.

After a nice, long one hour ice cold shower, Ed stepped out, quickly dressed
in his black clothing once more and headed to the kitchen for a quick
breakfast, which was really just a plate of last night's dinner that was saved
for him.

Twenty minutes later found him passed out on one of the couches in the main
room since he didn't want to go back to the room and disturb his brother's
reading. Though, Al probably would have preferred him coming back, Ed
really just wanted to be alone right now. He had no plans of falling asleep
again though. It just happened.

*2 ½ Hours Later*

"There's a passed out Fullmetal on the couch." Mustang said, staring down at
his youngest charge.

"He looks so cute when he is calm like this." Hughes replied, grinning.

Mustang gave him a look with a raised brow. "You have a camera, don't
you?"

An evil grin was all the answer that Mustang needed. Sighing, the Colonel
walked away towards the kitchen. "I saw nothing. I know nothing." Was all
Mustang said.

An hour later found the group back in the room, all were ready to continue
except the young State Alchemist still passed out on the couch, which kept
Mustang and Hughes off the couch. The two just sat on the floor and leaned
their back against the couch. Riza, on the other hand, stayed on the couch,
sitting by Ed's head.

"Shouldn't you wake him up?" Ling asked, nodding at Ed.

Mustang shrugged. "He'll wake up sooner or later."

The hospital was shown.

"You're an idiot!" Mustang said before Riza was shown with her eyes
shut.

"Wow, it's not Brother being scolded by Colonel for once." Al said in shock.

"Did you have to comment on that?" Havoc asked.

Al shrugged. "Brother is still sleeping. Someone had to say it."

"I see. You make up for your brother's strange comments when he is not able
to." Ling said amused. "You know him so well then."

"Someone's got to say the comments. Brother will be disappointed if they

aren't said." Al replied.

Mustang was shown to be sitting in a hospital bed, reprimanding

Hawkeye. "It's bad enough you believed her, but then you gave up?"

"I hate to say it, but Mustang is correct. You never give up a fight." Izumi
said. "We have to fight to survive and live in this world all the time. We
should never give up on life because it is the only one we get."

Mustang groaned at the numb pain that traveled through his side and in his
hand. At least the pain wasn't as bad as it was yesterday. It was probably
because he was drugged up with pain medicine in the future. Whatever it
was, it was nice. He couldn't deal with that pain again. It was bad enough
dealing with it once.

"You okay?" Hughes asked quietly.

"Of course." Mustang replied.

"Please forgive me, Colonel." Riza said, not opening her eyes.

"You've got to stay strong. Don't you ever give up on living! I need to
know you can keep your cool no matter what happens." Mustang said.

"Losing your cool is like a death sentence." Mustang said. "It's when we get
reckless and lose ourselves that we have lost."

"The one who abandoned his post in the middle of the operation should not
be talking." Havoc said, smirking.

"Shut up!" Mustang growled.

"He's got a good point." General Armstrong, smirking as Mustang growled.

"For such an experienced soldier, you sure made a mistake."

"I don't consider saving my comrades from death a mistake." Mustang

retorted.

"The mistake was that you were all seen in the operation. Your undercover
mission has failed and now the Homunculi know you are aware of them."
General Armstrong said.

Mustang frowned, looking back at the screen. "That is a problem."

Riza opened her eyes. "Sir."

"I'm gonna continue to rely on you to watch my back. Don't let me

down." Mustang said as Riza closed her eyes once more.

"You ought to think about taking your own advice, Colonel." Havoc said,
causing Riza to open her eyes once more. Havoc was shown to be lying
on a bed next to Mustang.

"Argh, shut up, Havoc. And why the hell am I in the same room as you?"
Mustang scowled. "I should have my own room with my rank. Fullmetal
always get his own room."

"You sound like a jealous child, sir." Riza said with a sigh. "And you were
the one to order the hospitals to always give Edward his own room when he
was checked in."

"Why did you do that?" Miles asked curiously.

Mustang sighed. "Fullmetal is a famous State Alchemist, but he is also still

just a kid. He would be forced to share a room with other teenagers in
hospitals. I didn't want that because Fullmetal might scar them for life, Al is
always there and in a suit of armor and I don't want curious little brats finding
anything out, Fullmetal would probably be bothered by them if they found
who he was and I don't want to have to pay to have a hospital fixed, and
Fullmetal is usually discussing classified information with his brother or
soldiers. I can't let kids hear anything."

"Wow. And here I thought Brother always got his own room because he
always complained." Al said.

"Since you were the one who abandoned his post." Havoc said.

"Seems like your soldiers understand that they were putting their lives on the
line for this assignment." General Armstrong said.

"That doesn't mean that they should have to die. And besides, when we
signed up for the military, no one said anything about facing immortal
enemies!" Mustang argued.

"Technically, they are not immortal as you proved yesterday." Dr. Marcoh
pointed out.

"It's close enough." Mustang snapped.

Mustang shot up into a sitting position. "Hey, shut up, Havoc!" He yelled
angrily before his sudden movements caused his body extreme pain.

Mustang groaned and hunched over as he grabbed his side. Chuckling,

Hughes patted him on the back. "You should know better then to make any
sudden movements when injured. Don't you usual scold Ed for this?"

Mustang shot his friend a glare.

"Colonel is just a hypocrite." Al said for his sleeping brother.

"Al, I thought we would be relieved of Fullmetal's damn comments with him

unconscious." Mustang said. "So be quiet."

Al chuckled.

Mustang grabbed at his side, grimacing. "And what the hell?" He said as
his face was zoomed in on to show his narrowed black eyes. "Why are we
even in the same room?"

"Wow, future you and you are having the exact same thoughts." Hughes said
amused.

"They are the same person." Walkers pointed out.

"At this point, I'm considering the fact that we are going to diverge onto an
alternate universe since we are seeing the future. The same thing will happen
with the Homunculi but we will know everything in advance and make a
different plan to stop it." Hughes replied, shrugging.

"You're just saying that because you don't want to die." Mustang said, still
rubbing his side.

Hughes grinned. "You got that right." His expression morphed into a more
serious one. "But we really are going onto an alternate route by seeing this
all."

"Depends on how much we change because of this." Mustang pointed out.

Mustang's eyes slid to the other side. "At my rank, I should have my own
room with a hot nurse."

"You're unbelievable." General Armstrong scoffed.

"Try to understand, sir. It's easier to guard the two of you in the same
place." Riza said.

Mustang raised a finger. "Which reminds me. Why haven't they tried to
kill us yet?"

"Well, Bradley did let you go. He probably doesn't want any of you dead."
Armstrong said, frowning.

"But why? I mean, I know why me. I am a possible candidate, but why
everyone else?" Mustang asked, frowning darkly. He shot a look at Scar.
"Scar, you're an enemy! What is their train of thought?"

Scar gave him a glare. "I would not know how these Homunculi's minds
work. I am not one of them. Besides, I believe you should be more worried
by the fact that your superior is an enemy. That can only lead to trouble for
those of you in the military who are sacrifices."

"…ah, shit. I didn't really put much thought into considering that Bradley is
an enemy and we are soldiers." Mustang growled, covering his mouth with a
hand as he thought. This could only get much, much worse before it got
better….if it got better.

Gears appeared on the screen as Envy said, "What's wrong with you?"
The scene moved down to show Envy and Bradley standing on some
stairs. Envy was glaring at Wrath's back. "How could you let that
bastard go after what he did?" He threw his arm to the side angrily.

"You really made some dangerous enemies with your actions." Ling said,
frowning.

"We're soldiers. We are always making dangerous enemies." Mustang

replied, though his frown had darkened greatly now.
"You should've yanked his spine out of his mouth." Envy said.

Mustang grimaced. He really didn't want that. Envy really was a psychopath.

"Is that even possible?" Avery asked.

"I'd rather not find out." Mustang replied.

The scene changed to show them from behind, which showed Gluttony
sitting in the darkness higher up on the stairs.

"Lust." Gluttony sobbed. "He killed Lust."

"These guys are Homunculi right?" Lan Fan asked, frowning. "They really
sound like they are moaning her death."

"It's not like they are complete monsters. As Lust said, they are made to be
like humans, except their core." Al told her. "But other then that, we don't
know much about them or how much of them really are humans. I can't
believe that they might actually feel things." He glanced at his brother, who
had rolled onto his side to face the back of the couch. "Brother might have a
better theory, but I don't want to wake him."

"We can just ask him later." May said softly, not wanting to wake Ed since he
looked horrible by the time they finished the last episode last night. She
wasn't sure if it was because he was tired, in pain, being weighed down from
everything that was happening, or a combination of all three. All she knew
was that he really did need rest.

"It's not too late to kill him so get to it." Envy shouted.

"We can use Mustang." Bradley said. "He's worthless if we kill him
however."

"I was just spared by Homunculi." Mustang said dryly.

"But not set free from their grasp." Hughes finished. "Not if they still want to
use you."
Mustang snorted. "Well, they did say I was a potential candidate." His eyes
narrowed. He would not let them use him so easily though. He would fight
them to the very end.

"Use him." Envy echoed. The scene started to move up. "Hold on, you
mean the portal?"

Mustang scowled. It always came back to that damn portal of Truth. Well, he
had no plans of opening that portal. Ed, Hawkeye, and Hughes would
probably kill him if he ever opened it. And he liked living, thank you very
much! So opening the portal just wasn't allowed.

Bradley chuckled. "You don't need to worry about it. And forget
Mustang." The scene changed to Hohenheim standing in an environment
surrounded by towering rocks. "Father wants me to handle him."

The screen moved around to get closer to Hohenheim. He turned his

head to the screen, staring into it for a moment before the opening song
suddenly began.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting beginning." Ling said.

"Not really informative, but at least we know that we're not going to be killed
in the hospital." Havoc said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Well, I won't be killed." Mustang said, eyes drifting over to Havoc. "But
they said nothing about you."

Havoc moaned. "But I didn't do anything except follow orders. Who's going
to punish me for actually following orders?"

Groaning, Ed turned onto his other side. Without opening his eyes, he asked,
"Who the hell keeps talking?"

"Ah, finally awake, Ed?" Ling asked cheerfully, but Ed completely ignored
him. His arm fell limply off the couch with his head half lying off it as well.

"Brother already fell asleep again, Ling." Al informed him.

"He wasn't even awake for a minute." Fu said.

Al shrugged.

Al appeared on the screen. "What if I started to rot?"

Ed and Winry were shown to be looking at him. "Huh?" They both said.

"My sentiments exactly." Kei said. "You're a suit of armor. How can you
rot?"

"I don't think I meant my armor." Al replied dryly. "Remember Barry's body?
It was rotting. What if my body is as well? What if I can't go back to it?"

"Argh," Ed grabbed a throw pillow and pressed it over his head. "Don't worry
so much, Al. Your body is fine." He mumbled tiredly before he started
snoring.

"How does he do that?" Havoc asked, staring at the blond. "Is he really
sleeping?"

Riza gently pulled the throw pillow away from Ed's face so he didn't
suffocate. She looked down at his face, listening to his soft, even breathing.
Her eyes were drawn to the dark circles under his eyes, which worried her.
Was he not sleeping well? "Yeah, he's really out." She said softly before
gently lifting his head onto the throw pillow that she dropped in her lap so his
head didn't have to hand half off the couch anymore.

"Uh, does Edward sleep talk?" Fuery asked, looking towards Al.

"Sometimes, but it doesn't happen much." Al replied.

"Creepy." Fuery said.

Al was shown, hands shaking a bit. "I doubt that my body's getting any
nutrients or any sleep either. So even if we get it back from over
there…."

A picture of Al with his face all blurred out with flies flying around him
was shown. "Brother. Winry."

Ling laughed. "You brothers sure are strange. I like you guys."

"I am seriously worried here!" Al said.

"Yeah, but your imaginations are great and Ed said not to worry." Ling
pointed out.

"Brother is asleep in some mystical dream at the moment. He has no idea of

what it going on." Al argued.

"Really?" Mustang turned to look at Ed, almost twitching in annoyance he

noticed the boy had turned onto his side and had his face pressed gently into
Riza's stomach. That brat would be barbequed as soon as they got out of here.
"I would have said nightmare, not mystical dream."

"Is he breathing harshly or breaking out into a cold sweat?" Al asked. "No.
So right now he is in the mystical kingdom."

"Must be fun there." Havoc said. "Wish I could go."

Ed and Winry screamed in horror.

The scene went back to the dorm where Winry was looking at Al
worriedly while Ed just frowned and stared at him.

"Is he right, Ed?" Winry asked, looking at the blond.

Ed closed his eyes, sighing as he crossed his arms. The ceiling fan was
shown. "Now this is just a hypothesis, but I was thinking about the
transmutation and trying to retrace our process." He said as the scene
moved down to show the three teenagers.

"He has a hypothesis about everything it seems." Buccaneer said.

"Brother examines every situation he is in, even if it doesn't seem like it, he is
calculating everything so there will always be a theory in his head about what
is happening." Al told him. "He is always coming up with new crazy things."
"Are you calling his new hypothesis crazy?" Riza asked amused.

Al crossed his arms. "Well, I haven't heard it yet, but it probably is something
no one else would think of."

A finger was shown to being cut with a knife. "You remember how we
mixed our blood to create a blueprint for Mom's soul?" Ed's voice asked
as Ed and Al were shown to be letting their blood drip into a bin for
their transmutation.

"Yeah." Al replied as Ed's leg was shown being taken.

Ed violently jerked in his sleep, breathing becoming harsh. Riza was

surprised by the sudden movement, but quickly moved to run her fingers
through Ed's hair, humming softly for him. She couldn't take the pain away,
but she could try to distract him and get him back to sleep.

Al was shown, screaming as the black hands pulled him away.

"Well, right after that we passed through the portal where we were both
deconstructed." Ed's voice said as Al's body disintegrated.

Ed's breathing became even harsher and faster, causing Riza to grip his flesh
shoulder tightly while still running a hand through his bangs. "Shh, it's
alright, Ed. You're alright." She told him quietly so no one else would hear. "I
have you. Just hold on a little longer."

Al was shown falling into a white light as his body disintegrated.

Ed and Al, as kids, were shown with an infinite symbol behind them.
Blue alchemical light flashed between them heads. Their bodies moved
closer together, morphing around each other. "It's a slim chance, but I
think it's possible that our spirits got tangled up in the process."

"You know that sounds very crazy." Hughes said.

Ed opened his eyes, but stayed staring at Riza's stomach as she ran her hand
through his hair. It was so comforting that he didn't tell her that the pain had
already awoken him. His theory did sound very insane and not at all possible,
but as he said yesterday: Nothing with the Gate made sense. It was hard to
understand it.

"Most of Fullmetal's ideas are crazy and they always seem to be correct."
Mustang told him. "This is just a crazy world we live in, made even crazier
by this portal of Truth."

"What are you saying?" Al asked, looking at his brother.

"I'm trying to explain that our bodies might be connected somehow, even
though I'm here and your body's over there." Ed said.

"You guys did mix your blood and considering that I have never seen anyone
perform a transmutation together, let alone Human Transmutation, we don't
know what could possibly happen." Mustang said, frowning thoughtfully.
"What possessed you two to do it together anyway?"

Al shrugged. "We both wanted a part in doing it. It was something we agreed
to do together. We trust in each other's skill and knowledge not to mess it
up."

"Right, probably not the best idea." Mustang told him.

"Considering it's never been done before, how were we supposed to know
doing a joint transmutation could end up bad?" Al asked.

"But still, connected." Breda said. "Strange idea, but a curious one at that.
That would feel so weird."

"It's not like its conjoined twins we're talking about. Just our souls are
connected or our bodies. I'm not actually sure which direction Brother is
heading at the moment." Al said. "This is so confusing."

Ed raised his automail hand. "See, that might actually explain why I'm
so sh–" Ed's automail hand twisted backwards as a sickly look appeared
on Ed's face. "Sh–" He fell into a dejected state with mushrooms on his
head. "Short."

"….."
"Oh my god! I never thought I'd see this day!" Havoc howled with laughter.
"Chief actually admitted that he is a pipsqueak!"

"He's finally growing up and accepting the truth." Mustang added, smirking.
"I'm so proud of him!"

Brody chuckled. "And this time he didn't call himself short by accident." He
said, recalling the incident in the Fifth Lab.

Al listened to the comments and sighed. It really was a good thing his brother
was passed out. Al didn't think he could really stop Edward from killing these
guys with these kind of comments going around.

"Ed must have severe short issues if it is this amazing." Ling told Al, who
hung his head in a dejected state at Ling's words. Everyone was against Ed it
seems.

Unknown to Al, Edward was actually restraining himself from pounding

some heads in very well. He really wanted to jump up and kill every one of
them, but he didn't want to give any of them the chance to mock him because
they knew he heard what his future self just said. And plus, it really did seem
like a good theory. He had to think more on it or just listen to himself speak.

"But what does height have to do with their bodies being connected?" Hughes
asked confused, one of the few not laughing, but still smiling.

Riza looked down at Ed's face, eyes twinkling in amusement when she
noticed his eyes were open, glaring at her stomach. His eyes moved up to her
face, catching her amusement and he scowled in return. Though amused,
Riza made no attempt to tell anyone he was awake yet. It was much too early
to deal with screaming.

"Only two people could possibly tell us that. Future Fullmetal or the
unconscious one." Mustang said, ending by pointing his thumb over his
shoulder at Ed's prone form. "Unless you have an idea, Al?"

"I'm coming up with a few, but nothing is concrete yet." Al told him.
Winry and Al stared at him.

"He admitted it." Winry said.

"He's starting to face reality." Al added.

Mustang grinned. "You two are such nice friends to Fullmetal."

"We are just helping him out of his denial." Al retorted.

Ed's brow twitched. Traitor brother.

Winry sat back on the couch, arms crossed. "So you think you've been
supplying all the nutrients for Al's body too? That seems a little bit far-
fetched."

Ed put his hands on the coffee table and leaned forward. "Well, what's
your explanation?"

Winry turned her head to look at him. "You don't grow because you
refuse to drink your milk."

"Don't start with that again." Ed said.

"Well…" Winry said, speaking to Ed, but her voice quieted down so it
wasn't heard as Al's thoughts took over.

Al's head was shown from the side. A small picture of Ed sleeping on a
train appeared on Al's helmet. 'It seems like Brother is always sleeping.' A
picture of Ed sleeping on the couch at Winry's house was shown. Ed
sleeping in the library appeared next to it as the first one disappeared as
Ed's and Winry's arguing voice were detected. 'I wonder if his body could
be resting for mine as well.'

"I think you are just making excuses for how much Fullmetal sleeps."
Mustang said jokingly.

"If only. I don't remember Brother ever sleeping this much before our Human
Transmutation." Al replied.
"Joking aside," Hughes coughed.

Al nodded. "Brother sleeps a lot."

"How much is a lot?" May asked curiously.

"Um, on a bad day, he sleeps ten hours. On a good day when he doesn't wake
up or I don't wake him up, he can sleep about fifteen hours. It's not all in one
go. He can wake up for a few hours then fall back to sleep for a couple of
hours." Al explained.

"It's amazing you two get anything done." General Armstrong told him.

Al shrugged. "That's why usually Brother has a bad day."

"….drinking it." Winry said as she and Ed were shown to be arguing.

"You have to."

"It's not gonna happen." Ed said angrily.

"Drink it." Winry said.

"No." Ed said stubbornly as Al was shown to be watching them.

"Fine, stay a runt." Winry said.

"I'm not a runt." Ed said as Al chuckled.

'I hope so at least.' Al thought.

"I'll make you." Winry said.

"Just try!" Ed retorted.

"Advance of the Fool"

"Advance of the Fool? What the heck does that mean?" Hughes asked.

Mustang snorted. "Who knows? But I want to say it's Fullmetal or he does
something stupid. The brat is always a fool in dangerous situations."

Ed rolled onto his opposite side to glare at Mustang's head. He reached

forward and flicked Mustang in the back of the head with his automail
fingers. "I don't question your ways. Don't insult my way of handling
situations."

Mustang whipped around to glare at the boy lying on the couch. "How long
have you been awake?"

"That's for me to know." Ed retorted childishly.

"Brat." Mustang grumbled, rubbing his head.

"Feel better, Brother?" Al asked.

Ed grinned. "Yeah." He said, not able to stop the yawn he suddenly gave. He
blushed a bit, making Hughes chuckle and ruffle his hair before he turned
back around, having turned around to see who Mustang was glaring at earlier.
"Hey Al, you said our souls were connected from us mixing our blood?"

"Yes." Al replied.

"Right, well, I just wanted to say, I think that might be true." Edward told
him.

"Why's that?" Izumi asked curiously.

"Because when we were watching the Human Transmutation we did, I felt

extreme pain in my body when Al lost his body." Edward told her. "I think I
was feeling Al's pain for him because of the connection between us."

"What?" Al said sharply.

"It's only logical." Ed replied, frowning. "That pain has to go somewhere and
with that body, you can't feel it."

Mustang almost wanted to slap his forehead. Ed either completely missed

what Al was really concerned about or was just ignoring it.
Al clenched his hands into fists. So all the pain he felt as a human was going
to his brother? That was right! His brother shouldn't have to feel the pain that
was rightfully Al's from their Human Transmutation. Al was putting his
brother through so much pain. It wasn't fair or right for his brother to take
that pain on by himself.

"Since you are playing with theories, do you have any idea about the
Homunculi?" May asked curiously and to distract Al from the guilt she knew
he was feeling.

Ed blinked in confusion. "Homunculi? What the hell did I miss?"

After quickly filling Ed in, the boy just shrugged. "The Homunculi's names
obviously represent a sin and a human emotion that we all have. But, as much
as I hate to admit it, there might be more to them then just that one emotion.
You can see it in the way they cruelly act. They are malicious and hard to
anger, but you could anger them as we saw with Lust. And with Bradley, we
saw him smiling cheerfully and laughing. I don't know if it was fake or not,
but they know about emotions. Lust did say they were made like humans and
they do have to blend in."

"I guess that makes sense. Being around humans so much they are bound to
learn something, whether it is willingly learned or not though is another
thing." May concluded.

The military hospital was shown.

"Are you here to visit the Colonel?" Fuery asked as he was shown to be
walking down the hall with Ed and Al.

"Mr. Havoc is recovering too." Al replied as the scene zoomed in on him.

"We figured we should pay our respects. I definitely owe it to the
Colonel. He saved me right at the last second."

Ed appeared on the screen next, frowning.

"Sheesh, Chief, you could at least smile when visiting us." Havoc said
teasingly.
"No." Ed said dryly. "Too out of character."

"You smile for Al." Mustang retorted.

"Are you my brother?...No." Ed snapped. "Not smiling."

"Are you also dropping by for a visit?" Ed asked.

Fuery was shown. He held up a rolled up pieced of paper. "And bringing

a little present."

"Continuing your investigation while in the hospital?" Miles asked amused.

"Well, the Homunculi already know we are up to something. No point in

hiding it now." Mustang said, smirking. "They won't scare us away."

A map of the city was shown.

Riza, Ed, and Al were shown to be standing in front of Mustang, who

was sitting on the bed, looking at the map. "I counted the number of
steps I took to get to the basement under the Third Laboratory." Riza
said. The white room where Barry was standing in front of his fallen
body was shown with Riza and Al staring at him. "And I was able to
calculate the approximate location of that doorway."

Ed whistled. "Impressive."

"Could you do it?" Fuery asked curiously.

Ed gave a one shoulder shrug as best as he could while still lying with his
head in Riza's lap. "Possibly. Though, I've never done anything like it so it
would be a bit difficult. Lieutenant Riza has a better chance of being more
accurate then me though."

The doorway was shown.

Riza appeared on screen once more. "It's not exact since the hallway
curved, but I was able to deduce a radius with the lab at the center." The
map was shown with a red circle with the Third Lab in the center of it.
Dark music began as a part of the map was zoomed in on.

Ed was shown with his eyes widening. "That's Central Command, but
this is even more alarming."

"It's the Presidential Estate." Al said.

Kei snorted. "No surprise why it is there now."

"When are we going to discover this treachery?" Ling moaned.

"What if we never discover it?" Lan Fan mused.

Ed groaned. "Don't say that. If we don't discover it, then we can't see Scar
kick Bradley's ass."

"Since when was it decided that I would kill Bradley?" Scar asked.

"Since I decided it would be a spectacular bad ass fight." Ed retorted at the

man who he was still furious at, but right now, he was too tired to think about
that.

"That was not your reason when you said that earlier." Izumi told him.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Maybe I am not up to it to go into it all in-depths again."

"Which reminds me," Mustang said, turning around to glare at Ed. "Get off
my Lieutenant's lap, you brat!"

Ed smirked at him. "But Colonel, I'm comfy." He rolled onto his back and
looked up into Riza's face. "You don't mind, do you, Lieutenant Riza? Am I
bothering you?" He asked innocently.

Riza chuckled. "You're fine, Edward. Don't listen to Colonel."

Turning back around, Mustang grumbled to himself.

"You do realize," Hughes said, leaning in closer to his friend to speak to him
quietly. "You are being jealous over a fifteen year old."
"J-jealous?" Mustang spluttered. "What the hell are you talking about,
Hughes?"

Hughes just grinned at him. "Denial, denial. And here I thought it was only
Ed in denial."

"Right above where we found the Homunculi." Al said as the scene

zoomed out to show Havoc lying in his bed.

"Which means there's a very real possibility the Fuhrer is connected to

them." Mustang said.

"Well, at least you are not blind followers and thinking of the chance that our
leader is a traitor." General Armstrong said.

"It will be h–" Armstrong started.

"He's a Homunculus!" Ed suddenly shouted, flying up to sit up straight on the

couch, shocking Riza, Hughes, and Mustang. Ed folded his legs under him
since Hughes and Mustang were sitting in front of him and he couldn't put his
feet on the ground.

Armstrong looked at him with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"He's a bloody Homunculus!" Ed groaned, putting a hand to his head. "I don't
understand. I saw pictures of him from years ago and he looks younger then
he does now. He's aging."

"What is wrong with that?" Riza said confused.

"Homunculi don't age." Ed told her, frowning. "They are more like a doll that
has an appearance that never changes. We know for sure he is a Homunculus
because we saw his Ouroboros tattoo, but how does he age?"

"You always ask the hardest questions." Mustang said. "Why don't you go
and think on that for a while and come back with the answer?"

Ed growled. "What do you think I am? A freaking library with knowledge of

everything in the world?"
Havoc snorted. "You certainly seem like it at times."

"Well, I'm not." Ed grumbled.

Havoc was shown in a close up, looking at the group out of the corner of
his eyes.

"But that doesn't make sense." Al said as he was shown. "Why did he kill
Greed and his group if he's connected to them?"

"Hold up!" Ed protested. "I know Future Al saw Greed getting his ass handed
to him, but we also know that Greed was a Homunculus. How does Future Al
know for sure that Greed is dead? He could have escaped."

"It's just guessing, Brother." Al said.

"Shouldn't make assumptions like that." Ed grumbled.

"But he is dead." Ling pointed out.

"But Future Al didn't see that!" Ed protested.

Ed put a hand to his chin, looking down at the ground. "Strange he

killed them anyway. Why would he slaughter them before interrogating
them?"

Mustang was shown. "It's strange all right." He said. "Damn

inscrutable."

The scene pulled out.

"One things for sure." Mustang said, looking away from the map. "The
enemy's infiltrated high up the command. So extreme caution is
necessary at all times."

"That means, no reckless or stupid things, Fullmetal." Mustang shot at him.

"Yeah," Ed drawled. "I'm probably not going to listen."

"You little…." Mustang reached up and wrapped a fist in Ed's shirt, and
yanked him half down to glare into his golden orbs. "Learn some damn self-
preservation, Fullmetal. You're not always going to have someone there to
watch your back."

Ed glared into Mustang's black eyes, getting ready to retort when he paused.
The look in Mustang's eyes had anger in them, but beneath that anger was
pure concern and worry for him. He wanted Ed to be less reckless so he
wouldn't get killed. Mustang didn't want to lose any more people that he
cared about.

So instead of arguing with him, Ed just nodded his head and Mustang
released his shirt. The boy sat back up, straightening his shirt. When Al shot
him a look, he just gave a weak shrug in return.

Mustang and Riza both looked at Ed. "And Fullmetal, watch yourself."

Ed stumbled back a step in surprise, staring at his Commanding Officer

with wide eyes. He frowned after a moment.

The scene faded out to a stone path outside the hospital that Al and Ed
were walking down.

"The Fuhrer working with the Homunculi." Mustang's voice said.

Breda appeared to be standing by a window in Mustang's room,

watching the brothers leave. He turned to look at his boss.

Mustang smirked. "This could be bigger then I ever dreamed."

"You're insane." Dr. Marcoh informed him.

"I believe it is more of a chance to get rid of Bradley. He's been Fuhrer much
too long." Mustang said.

Ed snorted. "And when you get the chair of Fuhrer, do you plan to give it
up?"

Mustang just smirked at him.

No one even commented that Ed said 'when' and not 'if.'

Riza appeared on screen. "I'm starting to worry that it's too big."

"All the more reason to pursue it." Mustang said. He was shown to be
sitting on the edge of his bed with Fuery and Riza still standing by him.
He turned his head very briefly to show he included Breda and Havoc in
this. "So I hope you're ready to work yourself ragged."

Havoc raised a hand. "About that, Colonel." He put his hand down. "I
think you're going to have to count me out."

Mustang turned to stare at him in shock with Riza also staring at him.
The scene moved along slowly to show Fuery as well.

"What?" Mustang hissed, shooting a look at May.

May bowed her head, frowning sadly. She had really hoped that nothing had
ended up wrong with Havoc's body because of this ordeal, but hope did
nothing to help in this.

The screen moved to Havoc and slowly moved down the bed to where his
legs were. "Your work requires legs and I can't feel mine."

Havoc clenched his fists tightly, looking down at his lap. So, he was
paralyzed from the waist down? He had an idea something was wrong, but he
didn't want to think it meant anything until it was confirmed, and future
Havoc had just confirmed it. And this meant he could no longer be a soldier.
He could no longer fight by his boss's sides. He couldn't be there to help and
protect his friends anymore.

Ed looked at his friend, not with pity, but with understanding. He knew how
frustrating it was to lose the ability to move around freely with one's own
legs. It was a hard thing to adjust to, not being able to get up whenever he
wanted to, having to use a wheelchair. It was horrible because it felt like it
left him vulnerable. He could no longer move, escape, or fight. Losing the
ability of mobility made him feel so pathetic and dependent. It was why he
told those who didn't know want to do, to move on in their life and find their
own path in life. They had two good legs. They could do it. He just had to
push them in the right direction so they didn't make his mistakes.

As for Mustang, he punched the ground in frustration. Because of their lack

of attention, Havoc got hit and now he was being punished for it by not being
able to walk anymore. And it was all because of those damn Homunculi.
They were taking too much from them.

Mustang appeared on the screen, gasping.

Riza gasped next, brows moving down a bit in shock.

"I hate to say it, but I'm retired." Havoc said.

As much as Ed wanted to protest this move, he knew there wasn't much more
that Havoc could possibly do. Right now, he was full of despair and misery at
not being able to move around on his own anymore. That alone took a huge
toll on him. But then, while he was lying in that bed with nothing to do but
heal, he was forced to think about it all. Without his legs, he was letting his
comrades down. He could no longer watch their backs like this and that
would be hard for a loyal soldier like him.

Havoc clenched his teeth tightly. He knew he was going to make that move,
but he hated that idea so much. He didn't want to retire. Being a soldier was
all that he had out of life. And now without his legs, there was not much
more that he could do. He couldn't protect his friends and comrades anymore.
He couldn't help Mustang reach the top. He couldn't help Edward with
operations anymore. He couldn't help guide Fuery and Falman into becoming
much better soldiers. He couldn't be the partner Breda needed. He couldn't
help Riza protect Mustang anymore. He could no longer have their backs and
he hated it!

Mustang was shown to be sitting in the hospital's waiting room with Riza
standing behind him. Dr. Knox dropped onto the couch next to Mustang,
causing the Colonel to look up at him.

"Hello." Dr. Knox greeted, biting on a toothpick.

"Hey, what brings you down here?" Mustang asked.

"Back problems." Knox replied, put a hand on his lower back to rub it.
"My spine can't stand all this standing that comes from being coroner."

Mustang looked back down at his book. Riza turned around so she
wouldn't intrude on the conversation.

Knox was shown. "I got a sinking feeling when I heard you were the
person that scorched that thing."

"Which means, he basically knows you well enough to know that things are
not going well." Riza clarified.

"Do things ever go right?" Ed asked dryly.

"Are you plotting something?" Knox asked.

The scene moved to Mustang. "You suspect a plot, but you still ID the
thing as Maria Ross." He said. "Three cheers for old war buddies, huh?"

Knox's mouth was shown. "Old war buddies, my butt. More like
accomplices." The scene pulled out to show the two sitting on the couch.
"You'd incinerate them and I'd dissect what was left. We treated them
like rats and Ishval was the lab."

Riza was shown.

After a moment of silence, Dr. Knox stood up. "I know you like to play
with fire, but someone will get burnt if you push this too far."

"You should've warned me earlier." Mustang said, causing Dr. Knox to

look at him.

"Huh."

A sad tone began to play as the book Mustang was reading was shown to
be about the spine.
"What do you hope to discover by reading that?" Havoc asked bitterly.

Mustang shot him a glare. "You're talking like a quitter. You won't know how
bad it is if you don't look into it yourself. You can't just give up when life
throws a road block in front of you."

"If I'm paralyzed, it's my damn nerves. I'm not getting my legs back ever."
Havoc snarled angrily at him.

Ed watched the two with narrowed eyes. Both were extremely upset over this
matter and were letting their anger over it control them. Fools.

"Did somebody get injured?" Knox asked.

Mustang was shown, staring sadly down at the book. "One of my men."

Havoc was shown in his room, smoking.

"He was paralyzed from the waist down." Mustang said.

The cigarette in Havoc's mouth was shown. Part of it fell off into an
ashtray. Surprised, Havoc looked over to see Breda holding the ashtray.
"Damn." Havoc said as he took the ashtray. "They only let me smoke
one of these a day and I go and waste it. Jeez. You know, I thought I'd
retire because of a woman, but not like this."

"Because of a woman?" Al said confused.

"I think he means he wants to get married and have a family." Lan Fan told
him. "That, or he hopes to find a rich woman that he loves and then retire and
go away with her."

"I'm not that shallow." Havoc protested.

"So what happens next?" Breda asked.

Havoc looked out the window. "My family owns a grocery store. And I
can at least take calls."
"Isn't automail an option?" Breda asked.

"No." Ed said immediately. "If it's his nerves, he'll have no chance to walk
again. Automail is connected to the nerves so if his nerves were damaged,
even automail can't help."

"Thank you for destroying all the hope." Mustang snapped at him.

Ed rolled his eyes. "It's called being realistic. What's with you? You're always
realistic."

Havoc knocked his cigarette over the ashtray. "The nerves in my lower
spine are completely severed. And they can't make those out of steel."

"Tch," Breda said and he turned and walked away. "The retired life
doesn't suit you."

He exited the room as Havoc was shown to be frowning.

Mustang and Riza were shown in the waiting room.

"Colonel." Breda said.

Mustang looked up.

"There's still hope for Havoc." Breda whispered in Mustang's ear.

Mustang turned his head and shot a smirk at Ed. "There's for not giving up."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I didn't say give up. I just said there was no hope with
automail." He crossed his arms and looked away. "Putting bloody words in
my mouth."

"Fullmetal passed this on." Breda said, holding out a slip of paper.

"Take that, Colonel!" Ed shot back.

"When did you even hear about it? You left before I said it." Havoc
grumbled.
Ed rolled his eyes. "Maybe I'm smart enough to realize the problem without
you saying it or maybe I came back for a second visit….besides that, since
when do you call me Fullmetal?" He looked at Breda as he said this.

"You have a codename for a reason, Chief." Breda said, smirking. "We just
usual use it mostly behind your back."

"Considering you are trying to be secretive since you are whispering to

Colonel, how about using a name that isn't famous? Like Chief!" Ed
suggested sarcastically.

Mustang opened the paper. 'Dr. Marcoh, huh?'

Dr. Marcoh grimaced. "Sorry to say I won't be much help since I had a run in
with Lust recently."

"Too bad." Ed said, folding his hands behind his head. "Maybe you can help
later when you get away from those bastards."

"If I still have a stone in my possession at the end of all this, I will gladly
help." Dr. Marcoh replied.

"Future me is probably thinking 'where the hell did Fullmetal meet him?'"
Mustang muttered.

Hughes laughed. "Shouldn't you be used to his surprising acts and knowledge
that he shouldn't have by now?"

"You would think I would be, but he just keeps getting more and more things
to shock me with." Mustang replied.

'A medical alchemist in possession of a Philosopher's Stone?'

"I thought you never wanted to use the stone." Ling told Ed confused.

Ed shrugged. "Look, I may not want to use the damn thing to get our bodies
back to normal, but others who were victims of other people don't deserve to
suffer. I'll gladly let my friends use the stone if it can help them."
Breda leaned down next to Mustang. "Well, sir, should I find him?"

"Permission granted." Mustang said before dramatic music began. "Get

going."

Breda stood up straight and walked away.

Armstrong appeared on screen, walking down a hall.

"Oh, Major." Brosh's voice said.

Armstrong stopped to see Brosh standing in a doorway.

"I didn't expect you back so soon." Brosh said, smiling. "How did you
enjoy your vacation to the east?"

Armstrong was shown, remembering Maria Ross as she said, "Shh.

Loose lips sink ships, Major."

"Aww," Brosh moaned. "You aren't going to let anyone tell me that you're
alive?"

"Of course not." Ross replied instantly. "You would let it slip too easily."

Brosh groaned. "You hurt me, Lieutenant."

Armstrong put his hands on Brosh's shoulders. "The scenery was

luminous and the women desirable."

"Heh…Oh, before I forget, this just arrived from the Provost Marshal's
Office." Brosh held up a paper for Armstrong to take. As Armstrong
looked at it, Brosh continued, "It's an urgent bulletin for all State
Alchemists."

Armstrong's eyes widened. "Good heavens."

"I wonder what could be happening now." Armstrong said worriedly.

Mustang groaned. "As if we don't have enough problems, more and more just
keep popping up. I don't know how much more of this we can take."

"The life of a soldier." Ed said sarcastically. "Isn't that what you're always
telling me?"

"Not now, Fullmetal."

The night sky was shown with dogs barking in the background as the
scene moved down to show a building. Ed was shown walking down a
sidewalk towards Al.

"How'd it go?" Al asked as he approached.

"Damn it, what the hell are you two doing now?" Mustang asked frustrated.

"You know, you don't have to be so rude in your asking." Ed grumbled. "And
I wouldn't know since this is the future. Seeing as how Al and I separated and
my clothes aren't all ripped, we can assume it's not something dangerous."

"Your clothes?" Lan Fan asked confused.

"Chief's fights are so dangerous that his clothes usual get torn in the fights."
Brody explained. "Though it only ever happens to him and no one else…"

"I see. This must be fairly common occurrence then." Lan Fan stated dryly.

"Too common." Luke, Brody, Avery, Hughes, and Mustang replied.

"Easy." Ed said, taking a paper out of his pocket.

"Since when is anything easy?" Buccaneer asked amused.

"Hey! Sometimes things work out easily for us!" Al protested before
deflating. "Not often, but it does sometimes!"

"I told them I was a State Alchemist and they let me right in with no
questions asked."

"Flaunting your power around, are you?" Hughes asked amused.

"That's what it's there for!" Ed argued. "They gave me this power for a
reason!"

"Did you find the basement?" Al asked.

"Basement?" Mustang echoed, sitting up straighter. "You're investigating the

labs again, aren't you?"

"Looks that way." Ed replied, smirking.

"You better share information this time." Mustang retorted.

Ed's brow twitched. "Damn it. I told you about Marcoh. What more do you
want?"

Ed looked at the map he drew on the paper. "There wasn't one."

Al gasped.

Ed was shown once more. "But I did find a trace of some hasty
alchemy."

There was a flashback of Ed following a scientist in the lab. Ed stopped

by a wall. The wall was shown with traces of alchemy left.

"It was stupid of us to think that they wouldn't seal up the entrance."

"I guess so." Al said as he and Ed reappeared on the screen.

Ed started walking across the street.

Following him, Al continued. "Where else are we going to find a

Homunculus if we can't get down there?"

"A Homunculus?" Hughes questioned slowly with an edge to his voice.

Ed looked at Al, sharing a look of discomfort.

"Are you both out of your FREAKING MIND?" Hughes screamed. "Why are
you looking for them?"

Ed coughed nervously into his hand. "I'm sure we have a good reason for
looking for them. We would never search for them just for the heck of it."

"Didn't I tell you to 'watch yourself?'" Mustang growled. "Seeking out

ravenous Homunculi is not watching yourself. It is throwing yourself into
danger."

Al and Ed laughed nervously.

Ling snickered at them. "Someone's in the dog house."

"Seriously?" Ed snapped at him. "Of all the idioms, you choose that one?"

Ling grinned at him. "Fits, doesn't it?"

"I really hate you."

Ed's and Al's backs were shown as they walk down the sidewalk. "I'm
not sure." Ed said. "Remember how they told me I was their sacrifice
and they needed me alive?"

"They told me the same thing." Al replied. His face was shown. "Lust
told me that when she found out I opened the portal."

Ed was shown, looking down as he thought. "Well, there's one piece of

the puzzle. They're looking for alchemists who managed to open the
portal and make it back out alive."

"And you led them right to me." Izumi growled.

"Oh, come on, at that time, we had no idea!" Ed protested.

"Well, you just gave them one more sacrifice for their list." Hughes said.

"It was an accident! Besides, the Fuhrer shouldn't have even been there!"

Ed's face was zoomed in on. "But the real question is why they want to
sacrifice us?" His hand curled into a fist. "So we have to beat an answer
out of them."

"Edward!" Brosh yelled, causing the brothers to stop. "Wait!"

"Huh, what the….?" Ed said. "Is that Sergeant Brosh?"

Brosh ran up to the two. He bent over a bit. "I'm glad I found you."

"Yeah, why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Ed asked, approaching

him.

Brosh stood up and held the paper out to Ed. "You should go back to
your hotel right now."

Ed took the paper and opened it with Al reading it behind him.

"I can escort you if you want me to." Brosh said.

"Will someone just tell us what the problem is already?" Darius grumbled.

"Aww, it's not like you should care. You're not a State Alchemist." Ed said.

"Maybe not, but it is affecting the military." Darius pointed out.

"The military is false!" Ed protested. "Just a pretense to cause bloodshed for

their damn plan!"

"Well, that's one way to look at it." Hughes said dryly.

Ed's eyes widened as mysterious music began.

"Attention all military personal," A voiceover began. The scene changed

to a rooftop view to show smoke rising up into the sky. "It has been
verified that Scar has returned to Central."

"Oh, that's just freaking great!" Mustang groaned. "Another insane murderer
running around."
"I thought you wanted to catch him." General Armstrong said smugly.

Mustang's eyes narrowed. "At this point, I want him gone. We have to deal
with the Homunculi now. Scar is just adding more mayhem that we don't
need with those monsters running around."

A destroyed building was shown with soldiers running around.

"Three casualties have been reported." The voiceover continued.

Soldiers were shown to be helping another soldier out of the rubble of a
destroyed building. "All confirmed as State Alchemists." A room full of
higher-ups and Bradley was shown. "According to eyewitness reports, he
is described as an Ishvalan with an X-shaped scar on his forehead."

A frowning Bradley was shown close up.

"Other identifiable markings include a tattoo on his right arm."

Ed and Al reappeared on the screen.

"A tattoo…it was him." Ed said.

The military dorms appeared on screen.

"So you're saying that Scar killed Winry's parents?" Al asked.

Ed appeared on screen, leaning against a couch. "I don't know for

certain but that's the way it looks."

Al was shown to be sitting on the couch. "Poor Winry." He turned to

look at Ed.
"Brother, you weren't planning on telling her, were you?"

"I'm not that heartless!" Ed growled. "I could never put her through the pain
of that again by opening that memory."

"Sorry Brother. I forgot how much you care for her." Al replied.

Ed's brow twitched. "Are you trying to imply something, Al?"

"….Never, Brother."

"Of course not, Al." Ed bowed his head. "I couldn't stand to be the one
to make her cry again."

Al appeared on screen. "Neither could I."

Ed stood up straight. "It's the last thing I wanted to do, but we have to
confront Scar."

"That's it!" Mustang screamed. "You reckless punk! Why would you want to
confront him? You had no chance the first time! I swear I should put five
teams on you to keep you alive."

"They'd just get in the way." Ed grumbled.

Walkers coughed into his hand. "I protest that statement. Who was it that
saved your ass from getting shot by that murderer when you were fourteen?"

Ed grinned nervously. "Did I ever thank you for taking that bullet for me?"

Walkers rolled his eyes. "No. You just complained a whole lot about how I
was an idiot and could have gotten myself killed for doing my job and
protecting you."

Havoc snorted. "That is Chief's way of showing concern."

"I realized that after two days of being his bodyguard." Walkers said dryly.

"Bodyguard?" Ling said confused, looking between the two. He thought Ed

only worked with Mustang and his team.

Walkers shrugged. "It was a mission. Normally Fullmetal would have worked
with Colonel Mustang or someone from his team, but they had all had contact
with the murderer already so I was the one to work with Fullmetal instead."

Ling nodded. "Okay."

"To find out if he did it?" Al asked.

"Well, that's one reason." Ed turned to look at Al. "But there is another.
We're going to lure out the Homunculi."

Al gasped.

"They need us alive for their sacrifice, don't they? So I doubt they'll be
willing to just stand by while Scar kills us." Ed said.

"That's a big gamble you are taking." Hughes said, frowning. "What if you
are wrong?"

"Then we'll either die or find a way to escape." Al replied, knowing that there
was no way they could defeat Scar.

"And if I am right in my guessing, you two aren't even going to inform us of

what you are doing." Mustang growled.

"Probably not." Ed said with a shrug.

"Reckless punks. I said to share information. That includes your crazy plans."
Mustang muttered angrily.

"You think so?" Al asked. "Sounds like a pretty big gamble to me."

"HA! Al agrees with me." Hughes said, grinning.

Ed rolled his eyes.

Ed turned to face him, putting his hands on his hips. "Well, it's much
better then doing nothing."

Al looked at him. "Oh really? Because Scar literally tore us apart the
last."

"He tears everyone apart." Ed grumbled. "We're just the only ones who were
able to recover from it."

"That's because we're made of metal, not because we're amazing." Al said
dryly.
Sweat poured down Ed's head. "Well…we've gotten stronger in these
past few months."

Al towered over Ed. "What happens if the Homunculi do show up? How
are you going to catch one? They're super strong and pretty much can't
die."

Lan Fan and Ling appeared on the window sill, pushing the curtains
aside.

"Can't die?" Ling asked, grinning.

"Damn it! Why do you always show up?" Ed shouted.

"Hey, I'm probably going to offer our services to you here, so you don't have
to yell at me." Ling protested.

"Services?" Hughes said grinning, only to be hit by Ed before he could get

anyway with a horrible joke.

"Was that hyperbole?" Ling asked.

"Or are they actually immortal?" Lan Fan asked.

"Why don't we lock the windows?" Al asked.

"I thought you liked us, Al?" Ling whined.

"We don't lock the damn windows because we're on the third floor or
something." Ed grumbled. "We're usually safe there."

"Unless it's an alchemist coming after us." Al pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "In that case, they have no idea of what they are getting
themselves into."

"What does that mean for us then?" Lan Fan asked. "You haven't attacked us
yet."
"…Well, there is an exception to every rule." Ed said.

The ceiling fan was shown as dramatic music began.

"Count us in." Ling said. "We'd love to help you guys."

"No, you wouldn't." Ed said. "You just want the secret to immortality."

"It's a side bonus." Ling replied.

Ed was shown to be sitting on the couch with his automail arm resting on
the back of it with his flesh arm resting on the knee of his leg that he had
pulled onto the couch. Al sat by him with Ling and Lan Fan sitting
opposite them on the other couch.

"Why is that?" Ed asked.

"Is anyone else–" Hughes started.

"Don't you even, Hughes." Ed growled.

"Imagining a couple of criminals making a deal with each other?" Hughes

finished.

Ed snarled. "Always with the stupid comments."

"I can't say I care about the military stuff, but it sounds like these
Homunculi are just what we've been looking for." Ling said. His brows
rose when he saw Ed glaring at him with a frown. "What's wrong? You
look kind of skeptical."

Ed put his foot on the ground and leaned forward. "Don't get me wrong.
I am grateful for the help you've already given. But this–"

"You've got better odds with more help." Ling interrupted.

Ross chuckled. "It seems Lieutenant Colonel Hughes was right. I really can
imagine this being two different criminal groups making a deal with each
other."
"Fits too." Mustang said dryly. "On one side we have two illegal aliens, one
of which helped in a jailbreak. And on the other, we have two reckless
teenagers who committed the ultimate taboo and who run around breaking
into places and flaunting their power around."

Ed twitched. "Everybody is against us."

"I'm serious about this. This could be what rescues my clan." Ling said.

Ed was shown, staring at him.

Ling was shown.

Ed was shown once more, smiling. "Alright then. Just remember, we're
in this together."

Ling and Lan Fan were shown. The former leaned back on the couch. "I
promise not to run off with them. I owe you that much."

"What for?" Ed asked.

Ling reached into his shirt and brought out a paper which unrolled as he
showed it to Ed.

Ed was shown to be holding the paper, shaking in shock and anger. "Is
this for room service?"

"Is it really that bad?" Hughes asked.

Ed, who was busy twitching angrily, didn't even reply. Those damn jerks
were passing the bill onto him? "You two…." He snarled.

Ling gave him a big grin, which just made Ed even angrier.

Ling and Lan Fan appeared behind Ed. Ling chuckled nervously.

The outside of the dorms was shown as Ed yelled angrily, "YOU'RE

DAMN RIGHT YOU OWE ME!"
Ling and Lan Fan were shown being kicked out of the closed window
with the sound of glass shattering echoing around them.

"Ow. Do you have to be so cruel?" Ling whined.

"If you try to pass your food bills off onto me one more time…." Ed snarled
angrily, shaking his automail fist.

"But friends are supposed to help one another." Ling said.

Ed twitched violently. "Then I don't want to be your damn friend! First it's
automail that takes all my money, and now it's damn food!"

"I think it is just your friends who do this to you." Hughes said with fake
sympathy as he turned around and patted Ed's knee.

Ed completely ignored him, though his twitches did get a bit more violent.

Winry slammed the door to the room open, holding a pillow to her chest.
"WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP?! Do ya know how early I have to wake
up tomorrow?!"

"How were none of you kicked out of the dorms for all this noise?" Breda
asked.

"Uh…" Al glanced at his brother. "They are just used to it?"

Ed snorted. "I doubt it. We have never been in the dorms with Winry or two
annoying foreigners breaking into our room."

"And that window. Who's paying for that?" Mustang grumbled.

"I'll fix it with alchemy." Ed said unconcerned. "It'll be fine. They won't even
notice."

Ed and Al turned around to look at her.

"Oh! Right, I forgot! You're catching the early train to Rush Val–" Ed
trailed off as a mental image of Scar destroying his arm was shown. "Uh.
You know what? You should cancel that. Why don't you stick around
and relax?"

"Huh?!" Winry said.

Ed nervously scratched his head. "I mean it's just that. You
know...Well...There's...always the chance my arm could get broken..."
His voice became even smaller. "Or even...destroyed..."

Suddenly Winry was holding a bloody wrench with Ed lying on the

ground, covered in blood, and Al trying to save his soul.

"OW!" Ed shouted, grabbing his head.

"Well, that's what you get for being an idiot and planning to lure a serial
killer to you." Riza huffed. "Such a foolish idea."

Ed rubbed his head. "It's not like it the first time I've been used as bait."

"In all the times you've been used as bait, it was with us as your backup, but
this time you are doing it without informing us." Mustang snapped at him.

"Well, you guys are recovering." Ed protested.

"Come now, Chief." Breda said, frowning. "We all know that even if we
weren't recovering from the last operation, you still wouldn't have told us."

Ed just shrugged and looked away. He didn't want to drag any of them into
this.

"Are you planning on destroying it?" Winry asked angrily.

Al grabbed his brother's soul. "I got your soul, brother!" He pulled the
soul back down into Ed and helped him sit up.

"I can't believe you. Just promise you won't do anything too dangerous."
Winry said.

Ed and Al stared at her.

A train station was shown before Breda was shown to be walking up the
stairs to Marcoh's door. He knocked on the door. "Hey Doc. Are you
home? I could use your help with something." Breda grabbed the door
handle and pulled the door open a crack. Immediately he saw broken
dishes on the floor and he stopped. He pulled his gun out and ran into
the room. He looked around before slamming a fist into the wall.
"Damn."

"At least he isn't dead." Ed said.

"I thought you were a pessimist." Breda said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm a realist."

Mustang was shown to be talking on a phone in the hospital with Riza by

his side. "Is that so? Report back to base." Mustang said before hanging
the phone up. His face as shown with a frown. "Yet another dead end."

Mustang and Riza were shown to be walking down the hall when a door
opened, making them stop. A soldier and a woman stepped out of the
room. "Well, if you'll excuse me." The soldier said as Mustang watched
on.

When the two left, Mustang entered the room with Riza. "Who was
that?" He asked.

"My mother and an officer from the Veterans council." Havoc said.

"You sure wasted no time in retiring." Mustang said bitterly.

"Putting it off won't make my legs suddenly be functional again." Havoc

retorted.

"You aren't even giving me a chance to find other options to help you."
Mustang said before sighing. Damn it. He couldn't just let this happen to his
friend.

"I can't believe you're arguing about this when this is in the future." Ed
muttered.
Havoc was shown to be sitting on his bed. "I decided to go ahead with
my retirement."

Mustang and Riza walked over to Havoc's bed. "I don't know for certain
if your wounds are inoperative." Mustang said.

The scene moved down to Havoc's hand, which was clutching the bed
sheets tightly. "I'm not dumb enough to think I have a chance. I'm
useless."

Mustang was shown. "You're wrong…"

Havoc's downcast face appeared on screen. He looked over at Mustang

angrily. "Look, don't try to tell me you need a pawn that can't move."

Mustang gritted his teeth.

"You really need to shave, Roy." Hughes said teasingly.

"Really? That's all you have to say?" Mustang retorted.

"What else am I supposed to say when I see you in the hospital? Your chin is
really getting prickly." Hughes replied, grinning.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "How about 'how are you' or 'are you okay?'"

Hughes blinked for a moment before his grin grew even bigger. "Naw, too
common and guessable."

Mustang rolled his eyes and refocused on his argument with Havoc.

"And don't you look at me like that." Havoc growled as his angry blue
eyes were shown. He grabbed Mustang by the collar of his white shirt
and pulled him forward. "Forget about me. Move on already. You don't
have time to worry about me. You need to think about the promise you
made to General Hughes, instead of pitying me."

Riza wrapped her arm around Havoc's chest. "Lieutenant Havoc!"

"And I'm the one who is reckless and runs his mouth?" Edward asked, raising
a brow.

Havoc grabbed a pillow off the couch and threw it at Ed's face. The pillow
bounced off Ed's face and fell into his lap. "Shut up, Chief." Havoc said,
smiling a bit.

Ed smirked at the small smile he got from Havoc. At least he still

remembered how to smile, but that didn't stop him from being upset over his
paralysis.

A heavily breathing Havoc was shown with a worried Riza pushing him
down. His hand loosened on Mustang's shirt. "Just let me get on with my
life." He bowed his head. "I beg you."

Mustang stared at him for a moment before grabbing Havoc's wrist and
lowered it from his shirt. "Alright. You're cut loose." Havoc gave a sigh
of relief until Mustang continued. "I'll leave you behind so you can catch
up. I've gotta keep moving, but I'll see you at the top."

As he finished speaking, sad music began as Mustang walked out of the

room, leaving Havoc staring down in shock.

Riza helped Havoc sit back. "He doesn't give up. He didn't even think
about turning his back on me. And I had given up on living." Havoc's
face was shown to show blank eyes. "It's not in him to abandon others.
He refuses to."

Havoc turned his face to the ceiling and put his arm on the top of his
face. "He's a fool. He's not gonna make it to the top. This country will
chew him up if keeps on acting this soft."

"I'd love to see that." General Armstrong said with a vicious smirk.

"She is one cruel lady." Ling muttered to Al, May, and Lan Fan since his
partner in sarcastic and rude remarks was still on the couch.

Al chuckled nervously. "I'm kind of scared for when she will be introduced."
"It will certainly be interesting." May said.

"Well, I don't know about that. This country needs a fool like that man."
Riza said with a smile.

"Ha, who's the fool here, Colonel?" Ed said.

"Still the brat luring Scar to him." Mustang retorted.

Ed growled. "I think your team just dawned you as the fool."

Mustang snorted. "Well, obviously, they forgot about the reckless punk in our
team."

Mustang sat on a couch, holding his side as he grimaced in pain. Riza

walked down the hall towards him.

Mustang gritted his teeth and grabbed his side. Just what he needed right
now. More pain.

"I need you to bring me my uniform." Mustang said.

"But you're not ready to leave the hospital yet, Colonel." Riza replied.

"If that brat Fullmetal can check out before he is ready then so can I."
Mustang growled.

"OI! Don't drag me into this!" Ed protested.

"You can't really deny that you leave the hospital when you aren't supposed
to." Al pointed out.

"Not the point here, Al." Ed mumbled. "The point is, don't dragged me into
things that I want no part of!"

"Just go get it." Mustang ordered. He looked at her with narrowed eyes.

Riza stared at him for a moment before saying, "Right away, sir."
The scene changed to look at the city from the sky with smoke rising into
the sky. "AAAHH! That's my livelihood, you idiot!" A man yelled. He
was shown to be pointing at a food stand that a car ran into.

"Uh…I'm really sorry, sir."

"Argh, well, sorry is not going to fix my stand."

"Looks like you could use some help." Ed's voice said.

"Oh, god." Mustang covered his face. "What are you doing, Fullmetal?"

"Laying a trap?" Ed suggested.

Brody snorted. "This should be good."

"Why's that?" Lan Fan asked.

Brody shrugged and pointed at Ed with his thumb. "Dramatic punk."

"It's a good thing I happened by. Edward Elric, State Alchemist at

large." Ed said, giving a winning smirk as Al jumped in the background
with fans.

"Oh, right." Brody said, pointing at Al now. "A theatrical loving Al."

"Don't judge us!" Ed protested. "We're teenagers. Besides, what about Ling?
He seems to have his dramatic side as well."

Ling grinned. "I won't deny that. I just like having fun."

Ed clapped his hands and the car and food stand fixed themselves as fun
music began.

"Wow." The food stand owner said. "That's amazing!'

"Thank you very much, sir. Please, you have to let me pay you for this."
The car owner said.
Ed shrugged. "Pay me! Oh, that's not necessary, but thank you." He said
with a grin as Al continued to jump around in the background with his
fans.

"Why do you have fans?" Ling asked amused.

"….why do you not have fans?" Al retorted.

"Okay, but where'd you get them?" Ling asked.

"I don't know! This is the future, Ling!" Al said.

A woman holding a broken vase asked, "Could you please help me with
my broken vase? It's a priceless family heirloom."

"Why no problem at all." Ed said. He clapped his hands and fixed the
vase.

Al spun across the screen with his fans.

Ed was shown to be fixing an old man's cane.

Al spun across the screen once more.

Ed was shown to be finishing a cabin for some construction workers.

Al spun across the screen again.

Ed transformed a baby stroller into a demonic version with a drill on it.

Ling smacked his forehead. "And what was that one for?"

"Because I could." Ed said.

"But there was no point to it." Ling argued.

"Exactly. I did it just because I could." Ed retorted.

"And because he is a jerk." Mustang added, earning Ed to glare at the back of

his head.

Ed appeared to be standing up top of a lamppost on one foot. "That's

right, I'm here to help. I'm your friendly neighborhood State Alchemist.
Don't forget I'm Edward Elric!"

Al jumped up from the crowd, waving his fans. He disappeared and

jumped out of the crowd on the other side, still waving his fans.

The scene changed to Ed sneezing as he sat at a table with Al. He

laughed. "I'm pretty sure everyone in Central knows my name by now."

"Uh, Ed, everyone already knew your name before this." Fuery pointed out.
"Youngest State Alchemist, remember?"

"I'm reinforcing my name then so they will never forget it." Edward said after
a moment of silence.

Al looked at the people behind them then looked the other way as he
said, "Well, you were a little over the top."

A car pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant, blocking the boys from
the screen.

"When did you become so theatrical, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked as he

rolled down his window. He glared at Ed out of the corner of his eye.

"Colonel?" Ed asked as he stood up. "Shouldn't you still be in the

hospital?"

"I don't want to hear that from a reckless punk like you." Mustang snapped at
him.

"Well," Ed huffed offended.

"Probably." Mustang said.

Ed leaned on the car door but didn't look in it. "I heard about
Lieutenant Havoc. I'm sure Dr. Marcoh–"
Mustang held a hand up. "Hold on." Ed turned his head slightly to look
at him. "People are watching us."

"And I wonder who's fault that is…" Hughes trailed off, shooting an innocent
grin at Ed, who twitched.

"I'm in the middle of an operation!" Ed said.

"Most operations involved stealth." Breda told him.

Ed grinned. "Not this one."

"Get in." Mustang ordered.

While Mustang was squeezed between Al and the car door, Ed sat in the
front, staring out the window. "On second thought, let's get out."

The four stood in a backstreet by the car. Mustang was leaning against
the car as Ed said, "Dr. Marcoh's gone missing?"

"Looks like it. They probably took him captured." Mustang replied.

Ed looked at the ground, gritting his tooth.

Mustang looked at him. "There's something else we need to talk about.

I'm sure you heard that Scar's back."

Ed looked at him with a frown.

"So, what's with the showboating? Do you want him to find you?"
Mustang asked.

A pair of feet were shown to be walking on the screen.

Edward looked at him with a smirk. "Yeah, that's exactly what I want. I
need to fight him, and you can't talk me out of it."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Mustang yelled at him. "Did you forget the
way he tore you apart in East City?"
Ed snorted. "Doesn't matter if it's present or future. He stills worries too
much."

"Maybe if you weren't so reckless." Mustang snapped.

"You've been saying that for years, Colonel." Ed said, rolling his eyes. "I
believe I should get some credit since I am not as reckless as I was when I
was twelve."

"At least you grew up a bit." Havoc grumbled. "But it's still not enough."

"Damn, you guys are never satisfied." Ed mumbled.

Riza turned to look at something.

"Ooooh! Sounds like the Colonel's scared of big, bad Scar! I'm not
surprised considering how useless you were against him!" Ed mocked
him with a laugh at the end.

"Must you tease him, Brother?" Al said with a sigh.

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't take any hit at him that I can." Ed retorted.

"That wasn't my fault! It was raining that day!" Mustang yelled back.

The ground was shown with a leaf blowing across it as Ed said, "Was it
raining when you got beat up and sent to the hospital?! Ha! You're still
useless!"

A furious looking Mustang who looked ready to strangle Ed appeared on

screen. "Shut your mouth, Fullme-!"

Riza pulled her gun out and clicked it, getting the boys to stop and look
where Riza was looking.

"How rude." Ed said.

"Is Lieutenant Hawkeye the only one paying any attention to her
surroundings?" Miles asked, shooting the three alchemists a look.
Ed just grinned.

Riza sighed. "That is why it's my job. Colonel and Edward have too much fun
mocking each other to pay attention to the danger around them when they are
together."

"That's not true." Mustang said. "We do very well on operations."

Riza raised a brow. "Is this not one of Ed's private operations?"

"…We aren't too sure of that at the moment." Mustang defended.

Dramatic music began as the scene moved to show Scar standing there.

"Woot! It worked!" Ed cheered.

"Of course it worked. Scar is going to go after any State Alchemist that he
knows is around." Hughes said. "And I don't think you're supposed to cheer
about having a serial killer find you, Ed."

Ed deflated for a moment before shrugging. "Eh."

"I guess he got your invite." Mustang said.

Ed was shown. "You okay? You think it was raining the way your
forehead's dripping." He said as the scene moved to Mustang.

Riza pointed a gun at Scar, only to have Ed jump in front of her, pushing
her gun away.

"Hold it! Don't shoot, Lieutenant." Ed said.

"What? You can't be serious!" Riza replied.

Ed looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "I'm trying out the
Colonel's sport." He told her out of the corner of his mouth. Scar moved
and brought his hand to the ground. "I think I might be able to catch a
few fish."
"I don't think I like being bait." Scar said.

"Hey, I'm the one who was playing bait first. It's your turn now." Ed snapped
at him. "We all have to pay our due share."

The ground was destroyed. Ed ran ahead at him while Al stayed by

Mustang and Riza. He clapped his hands and brought up a wall to
protect them.

Scar put his hand on the ground, destroying it so the deconstruction

headed to Ed who jumped out of the way.

"We're using Brother as bait to lure out the Homunculi." Al's voice said
as Ed's shocked face was shown. "He's too important to them." Scar
charged at Ed. "They can't afford to just let him die."

Mustang was shown to be leaning against the wall Al made. "That's

crazy." He said as thuds were heard from the other side of the wall.

"My thoughts exactly." Mustang said.

"You're the same person!" Ed pointed out.

"And you're still the same reckless punk here and in the future." Mustang
retorted. "Value your own life for once."

"I do value it. Why do you think I'm fighting back?" Ed replied.

"We're not going to let anyone else get hurt." Al said as Mustang turned
to look at him. "Using ourselves as bait was our only option."

Mustang stared at him. "What are you going to do if Scar happens to get
shot?" He asked as Ed was shown to be creating spikes that shot at Scar,
who dodged. "The MPs might get here before the Homunculi."

"You can stop that from happening, can't you, Colonel?" Al asked.

"Oh, great, now you're dragging me into your wacky plan?" Mustang said. "A
little bit of warning in advance would be nice!"
"If we warned you beforehand and asked for help, you would have stopped
us." Al pointed out.

"And for good reason." Mustang snapped at him. "Reckless teenagers." He

shot at Al, Ed, Ling, and Lan Fan.

Ling turned to Lan Fan. "How are we reckless? We are simply helping Ed to
return a favor."

"Ordering room service while I'm gone is not a favor." Ed shouted.

"Sorry, I meant owing you a debt." Ling replied.

"What are you planning to do with the Homunculus once you caught one?"
Riza asked. "Where were you going to take it?"

"….."

"This is the future so I don't know what future us has planned." Ed said.

"And what if Colonel didn't run into you boys? What were you going to do
about the MPs then?" Riza asked.

"We knew he would show up?" Al said, but it sounded more like a question.

"We knew he would show up if he heard I was drawing attention to myself

with a serial killer around." Ed said with more confidence.

"So basically, luck and guesses?" Havoc asked, smirking. "I don't think I
want to get involved in anything if you and Al are the ones making the
plans."

"So now I take orders from you, is that it?" Mustang said, closing his
eyes and smirking. "You've got a lot of nerve." He looked at Al sharply
once more. "You had better plan on sharing what you catch."

"Of course." Al said as he ran around the wall.

Scar was shown to be charging at Ed again when Al joined his brother.

Together, Al and Ed clapped their hands and put them on the ground,
creating a great amount of pillars that shot at Scar, who jumped in the
air to avoid them.

Mustang backed up with Riza as he said, "Sergeant Fuery's townhouse is

close by."

"Breaking into my townhouse now, sir?" Fuery asked amused.

"It would seem so." Mustang said. "It's lucky that Scar attacked Fullmetal
close to there. Fullmetal, there are too many coincidences and luck running in
your plans that it is simply amazing."

Ed's brow twitched. "You know, I could have planned it all this way!"

Mustang raised a brow. "Oh really?" He asked dryly.

"Yes!" Ed huffed. "I know where Sergeant Fuery's townhouse is and I was
probably drawing you out to where I was along with Scar. I worked in that
area of the city for a reason!"

Ling laughed. "Are you serious?"

Ed paused for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know. I might do

something like that, but whether I did here or not, I wouldn't know."

"Damn it. I better not be manipulated by a kid here." Mustang muttered.

"Come on. Let's go." Mustang said and he and Riza turned around and
walked away.

Mustang snarled softly to himself when he saw that. Walking away while
teenagers were fighting for their lives was so damn hard. He didn't ever want
to leave teenagers alone on the battlefield like this. Kids shouldn't have to
fight alone.

"Yes sir." Riza said as she followed him.

The scene pulled out to show the two walking away from the sky before
the screen quickly moved up to show Ling and Lan Fan on top of the
building the soldiers were walking past.

"You guys were there the whole time?" Riza asked surprised.

"Well, we have to be around to see when the operation moved to the next
stage. Plus, the Homunculi were coming to Ed and Al. We need to be there
for that." Ling replied.

"Huh?" May said confused.

"I think he means he and Lan Fan are going to catch a Homunculus when one
shows up while Brother and I try not to get killed." Al explained.

"How do you plan to escape Scar if the person sent to rescue you is
captured?" Mustang asked.

"….With skill and a lot of luck." Ed replied.

The scene moved closer to them to show Ling kneeling. "Anytime now."
He said.

Ed propelled himself forward, slamming his hands on the ground to

create a pillar that took him in the air. Scar was shown, stopping as Al
created a lot of pillars to propel at him from behind.

Scar destroyed them before MPs were shown to be arriving on the scene.

"Hey, get out of the way! We need a clear shot." One of the MPs said.

Al stood up and looked at them as Ed crouched on a pillar and looked

down at Scar. "Don't shoot!" Al shouted as Scar destroyed the top of the
pillar Ed was on. Ed balanced on what was left of the pillar until Scar
destroyed that and Ed jumped to the ground. "You'll hit my brother!"

'Damn it.' Ed thought as he dodged a punch from Scar.

"I have a question." Brody said, frowning. "How are you doing so well
against Scar this time when you lost almost instantaneously the first time you
fought him?"

"Um…the first time we fought, we had no idea of what we were up against,

not to mention we were highly depressed so that affected our fighting. We
probably got a bit of training from Teacher and we did have a few fights
before this one to improve ourselves. We also know how Scar fights now so
we can do a bit better." Edward explained, brows furrowed as he thought.

"You sure improved a lot in a short amount of time." Avery muttered.

'Everything's lost if those guys shoot Scar.' Ed thought as he dodged

Scar's hand again. 'How long can I keep this up?' Ed just barely dodged
Scar's hand which passed right by his neck. 'Way too close. Hurry up you
stupid Homunculi!'

Mustang's hand curled into a tight fist. How could he leave Ed and Al to fight
Scar alone? He was too dangerous for a couple of teenagers.

"You need to move faster." General Armstrong scolded.

"Easier said then done." Ed protested, waving his automail arm around.
"These metal limbs are very heavy! I can only move so fast with them."

A window was shown with a bunch of antennas on the balcony outside of

it. "Which channel's the Provost Marshal?" Mustang's voice asked. A
notebook full of notes was shown. "Got it. You haven't let me down,
Fuery."

"Glad to be of service, sir." Fuery said, smiling. "I hope you didn't break my
door down though."

"I'm sure it's fine. We need our privacy for this anyway." Mustang replied.

Mustang flipped a switch on for a radio. He and Riza were shown to be

sitting in front of a great amount of communication equipment. Mustang
pinched his nose and said in a deeper voice, "Attention, this is Sector 3
Patrol. We're under attack from Scar. Request immediate backup!
What! No. No. AAAAHHH!"
With that transmission ended, Mustang put his hand to his headset and
chuckled.

"Are you having fun screwing with the MPs?" Ed asked with a smirk forming
over his own lips.

Riza sighed. "The Colonel does have his childish side." She shot a look at Ed.
"I can only guess it's because of you."

"You know, not everything is my fault!" Ed shouted. "I never screwed with
the MPs like this!"

"Alright. On to Sector 17." Mustang said, looking at Fuery's notebook

again. Riza was shown to be sitting behind him with a dry look as
Mustang said, "Hahaha. This is pretty fun…Come in…come in…"

"We're fighting for our lives and you off laughing?!" Ed grumbled.

"Hey, it's your plan." Mustang pointed out. "You can't complain about it now.
Once you make a decision, stick to it."

Dramatic music began as a communications room full of MPs was

shown.

"But that can't be right." Douglas said into a phone. "He's in Sector 17?
Then what about Sector 3?"

"Colonel Douglas," A MP said, looking at the Colonel. "He's in Sector 8

now."

"What's that?" Douglas barked at him.

"I get to screw with Douglas?" Mustang said, smirking. "This just keeps
getting better and better. I never liked that bastard."

Hughes laughed and clapped Mustang on his shoulder. "I knew there was a
reason I liked you."

Ed sweat dropped. Weird adults.

Mustang appeared on the screen, pinching his nose once more. "MP HQ
calling Sector 8. Scar is currently fighting a young man. The young man
is a State Alchemist. Do not fire."

"And what if I wasn't a State Alchemist?" Ed asked dryly. "Would the MPs
then fire on me?"

"Of course not. They can't fire on a civilian." Hughes said.

"Argh, well, if Fullmetal was fighting Scar and they were destroying the city,
the MPs would probably shoot at both to stop them." Mustang pointed out.

"But it's alright because I'm a State Alchemist?" Ed asked.

"It's never alright to destroy the city." Mustang snapped at him. "But you are
a Major and a comrade. They could get in a lot of trouble for shooting you. If
you were just a civilian, they could get away with saying they were trying to
stop you and Scar."

"I thought it was their job to protect civilians. Messed up." Ed grumbled.

"They are protecting the mass of civilians by stopping you and Scar."
Mustang argued. "Damn it, what does it matter? You're not a civilian so drop
it. I just said that to stop guns from going off and ruining everything."

"False reports in all sectors." A MP said as Bradley was shown to be

sitting in a car.

"Okay, just so we're clear. Do not go after Bradley. That would just cause a
lot of problems." Edward said.

"That will be a shocking revelation." Ling said.

"Reports of a fourth Scar." Another MP said.

"This is Sector 3. All streets are clear."

The door to his car was opened and Bradley stepped out.
"Sector 8 requesting backup. We're currently engaged with Scar."

Bradley walked down an alley. "Come now, Gluttony." He said as he

walked passed a side alley.

Gluttony appeared out of the darkness, drooling. "I smell the Ishvalan.
He's here. I get to eat him, right?"

Ling and Lan Fan appeared on the screen.

Ling opened one eye. "That's a strange presence." He said as he pulled

the tip of his sword off the ground. "You can feel it too, right?"

"Yes." Lan Fan said with a nod.

"So it's time to see what you two can really do in a real fight." Edward said
eagerly but also worriedly. The Homunculi were extremely dangerous. He
really hoped these guys didn't get hurt.

"What was that fight we had in Rush Valley then?" Lan Fan asked.

"A spar." Ed replied.

"A spar that destroyed the village!" Mustang growled.

"Still just a spar."

"Then it's time to move." Ling said. He and Lan Fan jumped from the
roof.

Scar was shown, destroying the ground once more. Ed jumped back to
avoid the attack, but a piece of rubble fell from the sky and hit him in the
head, cutting him, causing blood to trail down his face.

"Argh," Edward groaned, grabbing his head where the pain was flaring
greatly. A rock. Of all the things to injure him in this fight, it was a rock! He
rubbed the spot that was flaring with pain to make it lessen.

"At least it was just a rock and not Scar's alchemy." Hughes said.
"Doesn't make it better." Ed muttered.

Scar was shown, charging with his hand ready as Ed thought, 'Which
will it be? Is he going to destroy my body or my automail?'

"Only you could have those type of concerns in a fight." Havoc said.

"Not just me." Ed looked around, finding Buccaneer and pointing at him. "If
he fought Scar, he would have to have the same concerns."

"No, I wouldn't because I wouldn't let him get that close to me." Buccaneer
retorted. "He's a highly dangerous fellow."

"You look pretty dangerous yourself." Al muttered.

Al appeared on screen. "Brother!"

Ed was shown, glaring at Scar. He clapped his hands before throwing his
automail hand out with his flesh hand on his arm. There was a bright
flash of light as their hands connected. Scar stumbled back with his right
arm showing since that blast destroyed the sleeve of his cloak. Ed's own
arm was revealed as his cloak's sleeve was burned away as well.

"Lucky." Ed said.

"He canceled out Scar's alchemy?" Al asked.

"How the hell did you do that?" Mustang asked shocked.

Ed smirked. "Because I'm awesome like that."

"How reckless can he get?"

"It's not reckless!" Ed protested. "You do what you have to so you don't get
killed!"

Al gasped when he saw Scar's tattoo. "He's got the tattoo?"

Ed was shown. "Bastard. You were the one!" He shouted as Scar

removed his sunglasses.

"I smell him!" Gluttony said as he ran across roofs. "Time to eat!"

A foot slammed into Gluttony's face, sending him slamming into a roof.
Gluttony pushed himself up, confused.

Lan Fan was shown to be crouching on a pipe that went through the city.

"Hey! How's it going?" Ling asked as he was shown to be standing on a

roof. "That is one pretty unusual body you got there. Just how many
people are inside you?"

"People?" Miles asked confused. "You can sense the people from the stone?"

"Yes." Ling said. "And I have to say, that would be a really creepy thing to
feel."

Gluttony looked at the two. "Who are you?"

Lan Fan was shown. "Don't bother running. I sense your presence." The
scene zoomed in on her. "And I can follow it."

Gluttony smiled. "Follow? Me?" His smile turned cruel as he opened his
mouth to show his tattoo. "Then I'll just eat you now!"

'There it is.' Ling thought as he was shown.

Lan Fan was shown. 'He's a Homunculus.'

Bradley was shown. "So, you're able to detect his presence, are you?"

Ling appeared on the screen. He and Lan Fan looked down at him as
Bradley pulled his sword form its sheath.

Bradley threw the sheath to the ground. "Well, that's quite the
nuisance." He pulled his second sword out. "Let's take care of it."

"No!" Ed said, frowning. "You can't fight him!"

"What? Why?" Lan Fan asked confused.

"I'm not doubting your skills, but Bradley is too dangerous." Edward replied.

Bradley suddenly ran at one of the ladders leading up to the pipe that
Lan Fan was on.

Ling gasping, opened his eyes and turned to Lan Fan. "Lan Fan!"

Lan Fan stared down at Bradley, seeing his one eye glowing red before
her mask was broken and fell to pieces as she screamed.

"No! Lan Fan!" Ling screamed.

The screen went dark.

"That's quite a way to end it." Havoc said after a moment of dark silence.

"So we have a crazy serial killer and two Homunculi running around?"
Mustang clarified, shooting a look at Ed. "Sounds highly dangerous."

"We knew the risks when we started this plan." Ed said.

"Let's continued." Ling said darkly, and no one dared to oppose him when the
saw the look in his now opened eyes.

A/N: Okay, when I was writing the conversation that Mustang and Dr.
Knox had in the hospital, all I could think about was Captain Kirk and
Dr. McCoy from Star Trek. I watched the damn movie last week and
now it's stuck in my head. A young Colonel/Captain and an old doctor.
Argh, I'm losing it.

My friend pointed out something the other day when we were watching
Fullmetal Alchemist. We were watching "Miracle at Rush Valley." She
was asking why Al was touching the pregnant lady's stomach when he
can't feel anything. So, answer me that one!

Please Review!
*Chapter 22*: Episode 22: Backs In The
Distance
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: God, I'm going crazy. I was thinking I had something in the 300s
for amount of reviews. Then I looked and saw over 500. Awesome!
Thanks for all the reviews!

For the love of freaking everything, the ending songs have been added to
episode 1 and episode 15, now stop being so crazy needy! To make things
simple for me, I am not going back to the last 21 chapters and adding
that the ending song is beginning in each chapter. If I have to go back to
my old chapters again and add more things, I'm going to lose it!

On that note, enjoy the chapter.

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 22: Backs In The Distance

The opening song began.

Bradley suddenly ran at one of the ladders leading up to the pipe that
Lan Fan was on.

Lan Fan stared down at Bradley, seeing his one eye glowing red before
her mask was broken and fell to pieces as she screamed.
"No! Lan Fan!" Ling screamed.

Lan Fan fell to the ground of a nearby roof, blood spilling all around in
the air from a cut on her arm. When she hit the roof, she bounced across
it, kunai tumbling alongside her.

Lan Fan gasped at the sudden pain flaring in her arm and head. She lurched
forward, grabbing at her arm. Her eyes scrunched shut from the amount of
pain pulsating inside her skull.

"You okay, Lan Fan?" Ling asked, teeth gritting angrily.

"Yes, my lord." Lan Fan managed to say through gritted teeth. It felt like she
had a damn concussion from that blow.

"Ling, without the adrenaline running through our systems here to keep the
pain level down a bit, the pain we feel here is intensified." Al whispered to
Ling.

Ling looked at Lan Fan again before turning back to the screen. Lan Fan was
strong. She could handle a bit of pain. Right now, he had to make sure they
escaped from Bradley.

Bradley's sword was shown to be broken into two. "Clever." He said as

he lifted his sword up. "You took a swipe at me with your kunai."

Ed whistled. "Well, I knew you were an impressive fighter, but to be able to

break his sword like that is incredible."

"Thank you, Ed." Lan Fan said.

"Incredible, but you still can't fight him." Ed said, frowning. They really
didn't count on such a dangerous Homunculus coming for this. At this point,
he would rather they forget the plan if Bradley was going to be their
opponent. "He's too fast for you guys."

"If he's too fast, I'll outmaneuver him." Ling replied.

"Can I eat her now?" Gluttony asked.

Fu frowned, glaring at the screen. He couldn't argue against Ling and Lan
Fan getting involved in this battle with Ed and Al because it was what they
were after: immortality. These Homunculi had what they needed. But right
now, he wished his future self was there to help them with this and not
traveling to Xing. His granddaughter and young master were in grave danger
with these monsters around. And from what Ed was saying about them being
no match for Bradley, he was scared they would get killed. Kids should not
be alone on the battlefield like this.

"Just make it quick." Bradley said.

Ling's hands clenched tightly on his knees. Did those idiots forget that he was
there? He was not going to let them harm his friend and subordinate while he
was around! They were making this personal for him. No one would be
allowed to hurt his friends and subordinates and get away with it.

"Either they have forgotten about Ling or one of them is going to attack him
soon." Mustang said, frowning.

"Or they are simply overconfident." Hughes said.

"Those who are overconfident will ultimately fail in the end." Armstrong
said.

"Goody for us. It means they'll all be beaten." Edward replied.

Gluttony jumped off the roof he was on and over Bradley to get to the
roof that Lan Fan was lying on. His face was shown before a streak of
white light passed through his face. The scene pulled out to show Ling
behind Gluttony with his sword in the air as the top half of Gluttony's
head and his hands were shown to be chopped off.

"Nice one, Ling." Ed commented.

"Thank you, my lord." Lan Fan said, breathing a sigh of relief before she
grimaced again and tightened her hold on her arm.

Ling's frown hardened. "It was not a problem, Lan Fan. I will not allow
anyone to harm my friends or subordinates."

Dramatic music began as Ling was shown with his eyes open and a frown
in place as blood flew in the air in front of him. He landed in a crouch by
Lan Fan as Gluttony's body hit the roof next.

"Lan Fan! Please stay with me!" Ling said.

Lan Fan's face was shown to be half covered by her hair as she grimaced
in pain. Ling picked her up and put her over her shoulder as Bradley
appeared on the roof, pointing a sword at him.

"Any advice, Ed?" Ling asked.

"Run. Gluttony won't stay down for long and Bradley is one of the more
dangerous Homunculi. Your best chance is to escape." Edward replied.

Ling stared at his friend for a moment with a dark look in his eyes. "Not an
option. I promised to help you and Al get a Homunculus. And these
Homunculi attacked us and injured Lan Fan. I won't back down now. We are
too far involved now."

"You sound just like Chief." Havoc said, groaning as he covered his eyes.
What was with all these teenagers and being reckless?

"If you thought you could escape from me that easily then I'm afraid
you'll find yourself surely mistaken." Bradley charged at Ling.

Ling ran across the roof, defending a blow from Bradley with his own
sword. Ling moved behind Bradley on his left side. As Bradley turned
around, Ling blocked another blow as he moved behind Bradley on his
left side again.

"Huh, so you can fight." Buccaneer said interested as he watched the fight
closely.

"You thought I just carried the sword for decoration?" Ling asked.

"No, but in Rush Valley you just sat around while your subordinates fight the
brothers." Buccaneer said.

Ling smirked. "The fight was quite fun to watch. I knew Ed and Al were
good people after talking to them. I was just having a bit of fun with them
then."

"Of course you were." Ed said annoyed. "Because that is how you treat your
friends!"

"I wanted to make a unique first impression." Ling replied.

"Lying half-dead in the road from starvation is unique enough!" Ed shouted.

Bradley turned to look at Ling. "Ho. I see you're no stranger to

combat." He said as they continued to move and their blades struck
against each other again.

"Does that come from having so many assassins coming after you?" Ed asked
curiously.

"Assassins?" Hughes said confused.

Ed just waved him off. "Not important, Hughes."

"You should know, Ed, that the best way to learn something like fighting is
through experience. Experience is the best teacher out there." Ling replied.

"I think assassins are very important with how dangerous they are." Hughes
retorted.

"Yeah, but it's really not any of your business. It's Ling's." Ed replied.

"And yet you know?" General Armstrong said.

Ed shrugged. "Ling told me a little bit about it."

As Ling jumped into Bradley's blind side once more, he was forced to
jump into the air to avoid Bradley's sword. He dodged under the sword
when he landed.
Bradley was shown as he thought, 'All this jumping around, he's trying to
stay in my blind spot.'

"A good tactic, but that might just make him take his eye patch off and make
the fight harder for you." Mustang commented.

"And he's not someone you want to fight at full strength." Riza added with a
grimace.

"He's not someone you want to fight at all." Hughes corrected. "Freaks, all of
them. Highly dangerous freaks."

"You say the same thing about alchemist." Mustang informed him dryly.

Hughes shrugged. "Well, it's true, Roy."

Bradley stopped and called, "Gluttony!"

Gluttony appeared from behind Bradley and swung his hands into
Ling's chest, sending the boy flying back off the roof and through a
window on another building.

Ling screamed in pain, hunching over as he grabbed at his stomach. That

punch felt like it had at least fractured a few of his bottom ribs. His eyes
watered in pain, but he just blinked the tears away. A little pain like this was
nothing. He could handle a few cracked ribs and the pain digging into his
back from flying through a window. His only concern right now should be
Lan Fan and making sure neither of them get killed. They could handle this.

"Or he'll call Gluttony to back him up." Ed said, grimacing. "I guess he
doesn't want to reveal his eye just yet."

"Yeah, but how long will that last?" Armstrong asked, frowning. "And how
long until one of those Homunculi leave to save you and Al. They are there to
save you two."

"I'll gladly send one your way, Ed." Ling informed him gruffly.

"Probably for the best." Ed said, staring worriedly at Ling, though the worry
was hidden of course. "Doesn't look like you'll be able to do much with two
of them hanging around you."

Ling forced himself to sit up straight. "I've had worse, but this still feels
horrible."

"I know what you mean." Ed replied, thinking back to the injuries he got in
the past few days and how they felt worse then they should.

Glass shattered around as Ling was shown to be crouching in the room

with dust all around him with him grimacing in pain. He stood up
painfully and took a step back. A foot was shown to be stepping on a
piece of metal and glass. Ling looked up, gasping, as Bradley was shown
to be in the room with Gluttony looking in through the broken window.

"Excellent. We should have some privacy in here. If you don't mind, I

have some questions." Bradley said.

Ling finally looked at Bradley with narrowed eyes.

"First I liked to know who you people are. And how you found out
what's in Gluttony?" Bradley asked as he was shown.

"You probably shouldn't have mentioned you can sense the people in him."
Al commented. "You know, keep what you can do and sense to yourself as
like a secret weapon."

"I remember that for next time." Lan Fan replied, grimacing from the pain in
her head and arm. Bradley must have hit her pretty hard if she was still
unconscious. Her hand tightened on her arm. She was supposed to be the one
protecting Ling, not the other way around. She was failing in her job!

Ling took a step back and looked to the side, causing Bradley to say,
"You're looking for escape, even now?"

"Of course. We can never give up! Giving up means that we forfeit our lives.
Human lives are too precious to just give up like that." Mustang declared.

"So basically, when a situation looks highly bleak, there is always a way to
survive." Hughes clarified.

"Yes, there's always a path, a way to win. You just have to look for it."
Mustang declared. "There's no such thing as a no-win situation."

"Sounds optimistic." Edward said.

"You should think more like that sometimes." Mustang told him.

"Why do you think I'm still searching for a way to get Al's body back even
after all this time?" Ed grumbled to himself.

"You don't give up, do you?" Bradley asked as Ling looked back at him.
"You might stand a fair chance of getting away if you only abandon the
injured girl because she's just excess baggage at this point."

"To abandon one's comrade to survive would be a losing situation. There

would be no point then." Ling said angrily. "A no-win situation. To throw the
no-win situation out the window, both Lan Fan and I have to survive this."

"Agreed." Al and Ed echoed after sharing a look. If one of them died in their
journey while the other got his body back, the situation was not won, but lost.
They started this together and they would end together. There was no other
choice.

"Excess baggage?" Ling asked before the stars on Bradley's uniform

were shown. "I can see all those stars on your uniform. You're the ruler
here. Fuhrer King Bradley, unless I'm mistaken."

"Your mind is already working in overdrive, isn't it?" Ed asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "Well, Bradley is working with Gluttony, who is a

Homunculus. You must be coming up with multiple reasons why at this
point."

"A leader that does not help to contribute to saving the country does not
deserve to be a leader." Ling replied, glaring at the screen. "He does not
deserve such a title. I'm sure there are many thoughts swirling around in my
head about all this."

Ling was shown. "A ruler's duty is to his people. Without them he is no
king at all!" Lan Fan was shown, still thrown over Ling's shoulder and
staring down at the ground. Ling's eye was shown. "King Bradley,
you're no true king! Not now or ever!"

"You sound idealistic." Ed commented. "You could be a good ruler, but some
of your ideals need worked on."

"You disagree with me?" Ling asked coldly.

Ed shook his head. "No, that's not it. I'm just saying that not everything you
come up with will work or will be the best choice."

"I'll be sure to remember that." Ling replied.

"You should, Young Lord." Fu told him quietly. "Your ideals are good, but
there will be times when tough decisions or moves have to be made."

"I know." Ling said. "I can handle it."

Fu frowned, but did not reply. Until a tough decision was presented to him,
Ling would not truly know how hard it was.

Bradley was shown. "Naïve boy!" The scene rapidly zoomed in on his
face as he opened his eye. "Don't you understand that there are no true
kings in this world?!"

"I disagree with that. They can be true kings out there. True, they don't
always make popular choices, but sometimes, they have to make those
choices. Rulers have to be strong enough to do what they think is best. They
need to listen to their advisors and the civilians, but ultimately they are the
ones making the tough decisions. Until one has sat in that chair, no one can
truly judge that ruler because they do not know what it is like." Mustang said
with a frown.

"I don't know, Colonel. Bradley gave the order to exterminate Ishval. I don't
have to be the one in the chair to know that was a horrible order that should
have never been given." Ed replied.

"We already decided Bradley isn't a true king so he doesn't count." Mustang
retorted.

Lan Fan was shown ripping a safety pin off of a flash grenade with her
teeth. She tossed it over her shoulder to land in front of Ling. It
exploded, filling the room with a blinding yellow-white light.

"You carry flash grenades on you? What the hell kind of ninjas are you?"
Edward asked.

"Modern day ones." Fu replied.

"Besides that, I thought ninjas weren't supposed to be seen. You guys make
yourself so easily seen sometimes." Al said.

Lan Fan smiled a bit. "That's only when we are with you guys. I don't think
you or Ed would be happy with us disappearing from your sight completely
as you two seem to be very cautious of us."

"How considerate." Ed said dryly.

Bradley scrunched his eye shut and groaned in pain.

Ling was shown running along a wall with his eyes shut. "That ought to
hold him." He said. The doorway he was running towards was shown.
'Judging by the draft, there's the exit.'

Just as Ling reached the doorway, a sword slammed into the door frame,
forcing Ling to stop.

"Damn it," Brody punched a fist into his palm. "So close."

"Homunculi really don't seem to let their victims escape." Avery said with a
grimace.

"Why would they? They can't have information about them getting out."
Zampano retorted.

"Especially when it's information about who Bradley truly is." Heinkel said.

Ling turned to look at Bradley, who was crouching on the floor, and
Gluttony who was lying down and covering his head.

"Nice try." Bradley said. His face was shown and he lowered his hand to
reveal the Ouroboros tattoo in his eye. "But your flash bomb didn't
succeed in blinding this eye."

"I really hate that eye." Ling growled.

"The Homunculi all do seem to have a huge unfair advantage." Ed muttered

with a dark frown. Now that his eye was out, things just got a whole lot more
dangerous.

"It's the same with alchemists in a fight against regular soldiers." Riza
pointed out.

"Except that alchemists are still humans and can die." Ed retorted. "Any
injury that is inflicted on us affects us, unlike with Homunculi. And take
away our transmutation circles, we're pretty much done."

"Unless you are you, Al, or me." Izumi pointed out.

"Then take away one of our arms!" Ed exclaimed. "Point is, we're still
humans and can be defeated."

Ling stared in shock at the eye.

"Hey, Ling found out the truth about Bradley!" Ed suddenly said. "You will
tell us, right?"

"If I survive. That truth needs to be told. I can't let a monster rule a
neighboring country." Ling said dryly. "But I have a feeling that no one who
has ever seen that eye has lived to tell the tale about it."

"You'll be fine." Ed said. 'You have to be.'

"Backs in the Distance"

A faded out scene of the Rockbell house was shown. A man kneeled
down. "Winry." The man put his hand on Winry's head. "We won't be
away too long. You be a good little girl, okay?"

"What's this?" Riza asked softly.

"I think it's the day that Winry's parents left for the war." Ed said quietly.

"I remember Winry telling me that soldiers are the reason her parents left
during the war. I didn't know that they actually came and got them." Riza
said.

Ed raised a brow. "How else were they supposed to be able to leave during
the war?"

"I had thought, since they are such good people, that they volunteered to go
and Winry took it the wrong way because they died." Riza explained.

"I don't know much about it, whether they were drafted because they are
doctors or if they volunteered. I know they left and they died. Winry never
mentioned them actually volunteering to go out there, but it wouldn't surprise
me if they did." Edward replied. "But really, it doesn't matter. Family dying
in a war will always be a difficult subject. It is harder to accept someone
dying when it is not of old age and natural."

"Take care of things while we're gone." Mr. Rockbell said.

Winry's face was shown with tears shining in her eyes. She and Pinako
watched as her parents walked down the path with the soldiers.

Present day Winry was shown with her eyes closed.

"Winry."

Winry opened her eyes.

A cemetery was shown.

"Here we are."

Sad music started as families were shown all around the cemetery in
front of graves.

Gracia led Winry and Elicia through the cemetery. Each of the older two
women were holding bouquets of flowers.

They were shown in front of Hughes's grave.

"Aw, Winry came to see me." Hughes said before shooting a look at Al then
at Ed. "And where are you two? You are the only ones who didn't visit me."

"….We're busy…" Ed mumbled.

"Too busy for a friend, is that it?" Hughes asked seriously, but there was a
teasing glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, you know, having the truth hidden from me about your death, meeting
your wife, seeing Colonel kill Ross, getting kidnapped and taken to the east,
learning the truth of our Human Transmutation, having to fix Al when I get
back, and making plans to fish for Homunculi. I am a very busy person." Ed
retorted, giving his friend an amused smirk.

"Perhaps you are taking too much on." Hughes said seriously. "Ever think of
taking a vacation?"

"From the military?" Ed replied. "If only I could, that would be great! But
seeing as our leader is a Homunculus, I wonder how easy that will be."

The grave was shown with the flowers laid on top of it. Winry was
shown, looking down sadly at it. Hughes appeared on the screen to be
talking to her at Elicia's birthday party. Next he was shown to be
greeting Winry at the hospital, then he was shown to be walking away
from his apartment the day he was killed.

Winry reappeared on screen. 'Watching Mr. Hughes leave that day was
like the last time I saw Mom and Dad. Just their backs as they walked
away.'
"So like the title 'Backs in the Distance?'" Havoc asked, frowning. His brows
furrowed as he shot a look at Ed then at Al. "You know, one of the previous
episodes we were shown Al's and Ed's backs walking down the hallway from
Winry's perspective."

"What's your point?" Ed asked.

Havoc shrugged. "It just seems dark now that Winry is putting the concept of
death into it."

"Yeah," Ed drawled. "I have no plans to die."

"You don't plan to get killed…" Mustang said, but trailed off. "Then again,
you did plan to lure Scar out to attack you. I guess that could be planning
your own death."

"I'm not going to get killed by him!" Ed protested.

"You'll come and visit once in a while, won't you?" Gracia asked.

Winry looked at her.

Gracia smiled and closed her eyes. "After all, we wouldn't want him to
get lonesome here."

"Yes, of course I will." Winry replied. She looked down in surprise when
Elicia grabbed hold of her hand. She curled her hand around Elicia's,
making the girl smile. Winry's face was shown with her eyes bright with
wetness.

The scene pulled out to show more of the cemetery before it changed to a
sky with the sounds of people walking around heard. Winry was shown
walking through a market.

"I hear the Elrics are wreaking havoc." A civilian said.

"What? Havoc? We are being attacked by Scar!" Ed said offended.

"I'm more amazed by the fact that civilians are already talking about it and
they know it is you. Information sure travels fast." Ling commented. "Or
maybe it's because you really are famous."

"No, Fullmetal and Al just caused a lot of trouble and always get away with it
because the elder one is in the military. The stories get passed around a lot."
Mustang said dryly.

"Get away with it?" Ed scoffed. "If only the civilians see what happens in
your office after the chaos is all done with."

"You know, I usual only have to lecture a soldier once for him to learn a
lesson." Mustang retorted.

Ed shrugged. "Maybe I like going to the extreme! Did you ever think about
that?"

"What? Again?" A woman said.

Winry turned around in surprise.

"Great, Winry is going to hear about it. We usually keep these stories from
her." Ed groaned, pulling at his hair.

"It was only a matter of time before she learned about some of your crazy
antics." Izumi told him.

"I guess I can't have expected her to stay in the hotel all day away from the
news while we were fighting for our lives." Ed said annoyed.

"The MPs have been running around like crazy." Another man said.

Winry looked over at him before turning back in the direction she was
going. "They're in another fight? Good grief." She said before she
started walking once more.

"What does she expect from the military?" Ed grumbled. "We are always
having to deal with problems. We're the military for a reason."
"It seems they're after that guy who has been killing off State
Alchemists." Another man said.

Winry looked at him as she walked passed.

"Seriously? They haven't caught him yet?" Another man said.

"What is the military waiting for?" A woman said.

Ed scoffed. "They think it is that simple? Not everyone is easily caught or

killed. Every government has issues. It takes time to fix them or catch a
criminal. This job is not as easy as civilians think. Such ignorance."

"You seem annoyed." Darius told him.

"Why wouldn't I be? The civilians are always just talking and saying we
aren't doing our job or we are horrible people or we do not care about the
people. They're just talk. They never act and they never help. Those who do
not act have no right to talk." Ed snapped. His voice softened with grief.
"They don't know how hard it truly is."

"Some might think it is better to leave them ignorant of how hard it truly is.
Not ignorant to everything, but to the darker and harder parts of the military."
Hughes replied.

"Kids should always be ignorant, but the adults should have a better idea of
how hard it is to deal with criminals." Ed muttered.

A faded out flashback of Winry's parents walking away was shown with
dramatic music beginning. Then Ed and Al walking to their room with
their backs to Winry was shown.

"See? I was right." Havoc said.

"Yep, she really shouldn't think that always seeing someone's back like that
means death is coming." Ed grumbled.

"The same could be said about you and goodbyes." General Armstrong
pointed out.
Ed's brow twitched. He would never get over his hatred of goodbyes.

Winry reappeared on the screen, running down the street now. 'No. Not
again, please.'

"Where the hell is she running too?" Ed asked suspiciously.

"Brother, I have a bad feeling." Al said worriedly.

"Same here."

The city was shown from the sky with an explosion occurring between
two of the buildings. The city rocked with another two explosions
occurring after that one.

Ed's automail hand was shown to be slamming into the ground to create
a massive wall as he jumped back. Scar was shown before he destroyed
the wall.

Ed stood still as he watched the smoke and dust from the wall being
destroyed.

"Don't stand there! Move!" Mustang ordered.

"I'm fine. He's not fast enough to appear like magic in front of me." Ed said,
rubbing his aching head from his injury.

Ed clapped his hands as Scar ran out of the dust towards him. He put his
hands on the ground, creating spikes that formed from the ground and
walls in front of him.

Scar ran through the spikes, destroying one as he ran. He destroyed a

great amount of them to make a clear path to Ed who turned around and
ran to the end of the alley. "It's a dead end!"

"You would enter the alley with a dead end!" Hughes groaned.

"It'll be fine." Ed said.

"How can you say that?" Riza asked worriedly.

"Because Al isn't with me here and we didn't see his armor getting destroyed.
He's got my back." Ed replied confidentially.

"Damn. What now?" Ed said as he jumped and grabbed held of one of

the pipes on the wall. He started to climb up the pipe.

"Really? Scaling a pipe? Was that part of your training as a kid?" Mustang
asked.

"Sort of." Ed replied hesitantly. "Teacher didn't really teach us that, but it's
something Al and I picked up."

"What do you mean by 'sort of?'" Havoc asked curiously.

Ed coughed into his hand nervously. "It doesn't matter. Moving on."

Izumi shot him a suspicious look that Ed desperately avoided looking at.

Scar charged at the wall and destroyed the bottom of the pipe just as Ed
reached the top. The top part ripped from the rest of the pipe, scaring
Ed. He let go of the wall as the pipe started to fall back.

"Why'd you let go of the wall?" Hughes groaned. "You should've let go of the
pipe."

"You know, I'd like to see how you handle a situation like this." Ed retorted.
"It's not as easy as you seem to think it is."

Ed screamed and looked over his shoulder at Scar who was waiting. Scar
took a few steps back and raised his hand. There was a small spark of
alchemy and Ed landed on a giant stone hand.

Scar turned around to see Al, who was still kneeling on the ground.

"See! Told you Al would show up and have my back." Ed said, smiling in
relief.
"That was still too close." Izumi snapped at him before sending a heated glare
at Scar, who returned it.

"Still, doing a lot better this time." Ed replied.

"Which is simply a miracle." Mustang said dryly. "But how long will this
luck last?"

"It never does last long." Al said bitterly.

Ed stood up and looked at his brother with fake tears spilling around.
"Nice one, Brother. Appreciate it."

"We need to get out of here now." Al said.

A couple of MPs crouched on the ground were shown.

"You really are making their job so hard to do." May said with a sigh.

"I never did like making things easy for people." Ed replied.

"Throwing a whole city into chaos is a new one for you, Fullmetal." Mustang
pointed out.

"Yeah, this is going to be hard to top." Ed said.

Mustang put a hand to his face. "That's not what I meant for you to get from
that."

"Permission to fire?" One of them asked.

"Not yet." His partner replied.

"Why the hell not?" The first one asked as Al jumped back and landed
in front of the alley the two MPs were in.

There was a spark of alchemical light before the whole area exploded
and was covered in dark smoke.
"Those poor MPs. They were just trying to do their job." May said sadly
before tearing up. "I am traveling with him?"

"I'm sure traveling with Scar is not that bad." Hughes said, grinning, earning
a few strange looks. "Well, it might be dangerous, especially if you are
spotted by the military, but you seem capable of taking care of yourself."

"I wonder if future me knows what Scar does." May said to herself.

"If she does, then you sure are one loyal girl to stay with him." Edward told
her.

A heavily breathing and bleeding Ed was shown.

The scene pulled out to show Scar standing between Ed and Al. He was
looking at Al but turned to look at Ed.

"Argh, look at all that destruction." Mustang groaned. "So much paperwork.
Don't you dare die, Fullmetal!"

"Huh?" Ed said confused.

"I'll be getting enough damn paperwork for the destruction of the city. I don't
need all the paperwork about your death as well." Mustang grumbled.

Ed's brow twitched. "Thank you for caring so much!" He said with his voice
dripping heavily with sarcasm.

Al looked up at the sky. 'Ling hasn't fired the signal flare yet.'

"Signal flare? I guess we never planned to let a Homunculus get to us." Ed

said, grimacing. Too bad. As much as he hated the idea, they did need some
help.

Al looked at his brother. 'And Brother's getting tired. I have to buy us

some time.'

"How is Scar not tired as well?" Ed groaned.

"He's a highly trained Ishvalan warrior." Hughes suggested.

"You're injured. He's not." Mustang said.

"He's not wearing heavy automail that wears him out quickly." Riza
proposed.

"So I never had a chance." Ed said dryly. "Is that what you all are trying to
say?!"

"Yes." Luke, Havoc, Mustang, and Avery said.

"So little faith." Ed grumbled.

"Scar! You say you believe that alchemists have defied God. Isn't that
hypocritical?" Al asked as Ed and Scar were shown. Scar took his eyes
off Ed to look at Al. "You use alchemy just like we do."

"You're going to buy time through talking?" Miles asked interested.

"I could easily charge at Scar right now, but without Brother's help in the
fight, it would be too difficult. Distracting Scar with talk right now will give
Brother a chance to rest and gain his breath." Al said with a shrug.

"So considerate." Ed muttered. "As long as Scar feels up to talking."

"I explained it when we met in East City." Scar replied. "It's balance.
Where they are creators, there must be a destroyer."

"That's a lie!" Al said.

A picture of Nina as a chimera appeared on screen.

Al reappeared on the screen. "You're using the name of your God to

justify murder. Revenge is all you care about."

"You might want to be careful. You really don't want to make him mad."
Izumi cautioned.
"Mad? I know he is an angry fellow wanting to kill State Alchemists, but I'm
not sure if we've ever actually seen him mad." Ed muttered.

"I don't think Scar can even display emotion." Al murmured in agreement
with his brother.

The scene changed to show Ed, Scar, and Al.

"When you killed Shou Tucker and Nina, I suppose you believe you were
doing God's work then too." Al said.

Scar looked at Ed. "Interesting. You two saw that admonition as well,
did you? Alchemy created that tragic creature," Scar looked forward.
"So that's the science you would spend your lives following?"

Al's eye was shown.

Ed's eyes were shown.

"I'm surprised he knew what you were referring to, considering he shouldn't
even know who Nina is." Ed said.

"He probably just guessed because I said two names." Al suggested.

A picture of Tucker that was pink-purple was shown. "Look at your

brother! He's the result of messing around with somebody's life!"

The scene went back to the three in the alley.

"That chimera was made because a man thought he could create, when
creation is the prophet of God alone." Scar said.

Al gasped.

Ed's mouth was shown. "Maybe you're right." Ed was shown, glaring at
Scar as he turned to look at him once more. "But why did you have to
kill her? You stole what little life she had left."

Scar's eyes were shown. "Foolish as you are, you must have still known
that the chimera could have never returned to her human state."

"I know that." Ed said bitterly. "But she didn't have much longer to live. She
was going to die soon, but someone playing God himself killed her instead.
You have no right to decide who lives and who dies."

Ed's eyes widen.

Al's eyes widen and he gasped.

"It would have lived out its life as a laboratory specimen, treated as a test
subject, but never again as a human being." Scar said as sad music
began. A picture of Nina and Alexander were shown. The chimera was
shown.

"Would the military really do that?" Ed demanded.

"Most likely." Mustang said darkly. "It's inhuman and I would try to stop it,
especially since I was in charge in the east, but if Central got involved, which
they usual do nowadays, I could do nothing to stop it."

"Why do such inhuman experiments happen?" Al asked. "They have nothing

to do with the Homunculi plans so why do they happen?"

"The Homunculi don't care about what we do as alchemists or humans. All

they are concerned about are those alchemists who can be used for their
plan." Armstrong said darkly.

"They probably get some sick enjoyment out of the inhuman things humans
do." Ed growled.

The three were shown again from inside a destroyed building.

Al's shaking hand appeared on the screen with a clang in a faded blue
color. 'He's right. Even then we knew that Nina would be sent off to live in
a laboratory. We knew full well what would happen to her.'

Ed's clenched teeth were shown, like Al in faded blue, and his automail
hand was clenched into a tight fist. 'We didn't want to think about it. We
knew there was no hope.'

Al was shown. 'So we did nothing.'

Ed was shown. 'Nothing.'

Winry was shown to be running down a street. She turned a corner,

seeing some destruction in front of her.

"Where the hell is she going?" Edward asked angrily. "She hears we are in a
fight and comes right to us? What the hell does she hope to accomplish by
doing that? She'll just get in the way and cause us more worry!"

"You said it yourself, Fullmetal. She doesn't get out of Resembool enough so
I don't think she truly understands just how dangerous this all is." Mustang
pointed out. "Maybe if you told her some of what you did and how dangerous
everything is, she would know to stay away."

"I didn't think she was dumb enough to run right into a fight!" Ed snapped.
"Damn it."

"Well, at least we're not fighting right now and just talking. Maybe we can
get her to leave." Al pointed out.

"Besides that, it's amazing she found you when the MPs are so lost and not
sure where to go." Havoc said.

"How wonderful." Ed said sarcastically. 'Damn it, Win, get the hell out of
there.'

Winry stopped running and started walking a few steps before she
started running again. She started walking again when she saw two
groaning MPs.

Winry paused and stared at them sadly until she heard Ed's voice say,
"It's true, State Alchemists have made some serious mistakes." Scar was
shown then Ed appeared on screen. "But despite what you think, that
doesn't make what you're doing right. We can't let you continue." Scar's
eyes narrowed. Winry's feet were shown as she walked closer.
"What the hell? Does she have no self-preservation?" Ed shouted, pulling at
his hair.

"You're one to talk." Mustang retorted.

"Damn it, Colonel. I'm trained in Martial Arts. I'm a weapons specialist. I'm
an alchemist. I can take care of myself. Winry has no damn fighting skills.
She shouldn't be there! Should have the entire area on bloody lockdown so no
one can get in." Ed grumbled angrily.

"He's really angry about this." Ling commented.

Lan Fan chuckled. "Young Lord, he's so angry because he really cares and
loves her. He doesn't want her to get hurt." She told him softly so Ed wouldn't
hear her.

Winry was shown walking down the alley. "You're so self-righteous but
do you remember two Amestrian doctors named Rockbell?"

"Oh, come on!" Ed groaned. "It's like the whole point of her being there is to
learn the truth of her parents' death!"

"It will hurt her to learn of it, but sometimes the truth needs to be heard, Ed."
Riza told him. "It might help her grow to learn this."

"I don't like it. She'll just cry again." Ed muttered.

Winry paused.

Scar looked at Ed.

"The order came down to end the uprising and exterminate Ishval, but
that didn't stop them. They kept right on helping your people." Ed said.

Al looked up in shock and upon noticing Winry shouted, "Wait,

Brother!"

"Too late." Ed groaned, rubbing his temple. "Even if I stopped, Winry would
have just demanded the truth later."

Ed was shown. "Don't you remember them? Those doctors saved your
life and you killed them!"

Scar's brows twitched and his eyes widened a bit. His tattooed arm was
shown.

"Brother!" Al said, throwing his arm to the side towards Winry.

Confused, Ed stood up straight and looked towards the alley where

Winry was standing, staring at Ed.

"Oh, crap, she has that look on her face." Ed muttered, closing his eyes. He
had just severely hurt Winry with his words. He reopened the memory.

Winry's face was shown. "What are you talking about, Ed?"

Ed's face appeared on the screen. He backed up a step. "Winry, I–"

The scene pulled out to show all four of them as dark, sad music began.
"You mean he's the man who killed them…my parents? He killed
them?" Winry was shown, holding her hands to her chest. "What's
worse...they helped save you...and you killed them…" Scar turned to
look at her. Winry fell to her knees. "Why did you…They were my mom
and dad. What did they ever do to you? They were doctors. They helped
people. They didn't deserve to die!"

"No one deserves to die." Hughes said sadly. "But in war, there are two sides.
It does not matter what side you are on, it's kill or be killed. I don't condone
what Scar did, it may not have even been planned, but I do know that in some
wars, attacks are planned on the medical areas because it can affect the war
greatly."

Scar was shown. Winry sobbed and grabbed her head. "Give them back!
Give me back my mom and dad, you monster!"

Ed wanted to plug his ear so badly, but he just couldn't do it. He couldn't tune
Winry's desperate pleading and heartbroken voice out. He should have been
more alert. He should have noticed her sooner. This was his fault! Winry
learned the truth from him and now he was the reason she was suffering those
horrible memories of her parents being killed and receiving the news. He had
hurt her so much right now. More then he ever did before.

"She must be so grief-stricken even after all this time to scream stuff like
this." Ling said softly.

"A loved one being killed before their time is never easy to handle, no matter
how much time has passed." Armstrong said sadly as tears already filled his
eyes. He knew Winry's parents were dead, but to hear her be so heartbroken
right now was so hard to bear. "Throwing the murderer in front of her eyes
only makes it harder. Anyone who lost someone dear to them in a war and
met the person who took their life would be this heartbroken as well."

"It's amazing she could say anything. If I lost my parents like that and heard
this truth, I would have just broken down and cried." May admitted quietly.
She couldn't imagine what it was like to have her mom killed. Her mom
meant everything to her. They were so close. Losing her would be like taking
a knife to the heart and having it twisted around.

Scar stared coldly down at her.

Winry put her hands on the ground as she cried. A gun was shown to be
sitting by her.

Ed's eyes widened.

Winry's trembling hand was shown as she slowly reached for the gun.

"Winry, hold on." Ed said as Winry's bowed head was shown. Ed was
shown to be staring at the gun as Winry's hand got closer to it. "You
can't. Don't do this."

Al was shown to be watching her. "Winry!"

"Don't do it!" Ed said.

"It's a foolish move by all means." Havoc said darkly, bowing his head. He
could suffer paralysis, but he could not stand to see a hurt child like this. She
was in so much pain, suffering from the truth and wanting nothing more then
revenge. But revenge would not make anything better. People thought getting
revenge would lessen the anger and make them feel better, but usual, it will
just make them feel worse.

Winry put her hand on the gun.

"I know the animosity you feel." Scar's master's voice said as Scar stared
down at Winry. "But your vengeance will only sow the seeds of further
violence." As the voice spoke, the scene pulled out from Scar's face to
show Winry pointing a gun at Scar with tears pouring down her face.
"What you're doing is senseless revenge and it's feeding a fruitless cycle of
death." Half of Scar's face was shown. "You must end this cycle, once and
for all."

"Good advice, but when the hatred and anger has already spread this far, it
will be next to impossible to stop." Mustang said darkly.

A crying Winry had the gun pointed at Scar with all three of the fighters
staring at her.

"This girl is the doctors' daughter?" Scar asked before Winry was
shown. Scar was shown. "You have the right, shooting me would be
justified." His hand was shown to be clenching into a fist tightly.

A faded flashback of soldiers marching to Ishval was shown.

"Brother!" Scar's voice said. Scar was shown to be pushing back a cloth
and standing in a doorway. "Brother!"

"Scar has a brother?" Al said shocked.

"Al, it's probably had at this point." Ed said quietly, not really wanting to
bring up the fact that Scar lost his family in the war. It would probably just
anger Scar right now, something that they didn't really need.

"So we are going to see a part of the war from an Ishvalan's point of view?"
Mustang asked. "This will be good. It's a good lesson to teach us our mistakes
here."

"There're two sides to a war." Ed mumbled. "That's what Hughes said, right?
Well, this might be good for you soldiers, but I need to see both sides to
better understand all this."

An Ishvalan sitting in front of a small table with books and papers all
around him was shown.

"Listen, the armed forces have almost arrived." Scar said as he walked
into the room. "This is no time to be looking at your notes."

His brother was shown to be looking at a piece of paper.

"Compared to you, he looks more like a scholar." Hughes commented.

"He was. I was an Ishvalan warrior, while he focused more on studying and
researching." Scar replied.

Hughes smiled. "Makes me think of Ed and Al. One is rash and loud while
the other is calm and quiet. Night and day between brothers, is it?"

"Don't compare Al and me to Scar and his family. We are different people."
Ed grumbled.

"Just a minute more. I'm almost there." Scar's brother said.

Scar frowned when he saw his Brother's arm. "What are those tattoos
for?"

Ed's brows furrowed. "That's the same tattoo you have. But you don't have it
yet?"

Scar frowned. "No."

Ed looked back at the screen, frowning darkly. Scar, who hates alchemy,
performs alchemy to kill the State Alchemists who destroyed his life in
Ishval. Why would Scar get that tattoo and have it be an exact copy of his
brother's? And where would he get it? Something wasn't right here.

"Oh, these things?" Scar's brother asked. His back was shown. "The
basis of alchemy is understanding, deconstruction, and reconstruction."
He lifted up his left arm then his right arm. Both of them were tattooed.
"My right arm deconstructs. My left arm reconstructs."

"So there was an Ishvalan who did alchemy." Ling said.

"There is always a black sheep." Ed replied, frowning as he continued to

think about those tattoos. "There may have even been more Ishvalans curious
about alchemy, but they didn't dare touch it because it goes against their
teachings and they are too faithful to go against their God because of a bit of
curiosity."

"You really think that?" Hughes asked curiously.

"Yeah, humans are naturally curious creatures." Ed replied.

"I studied the Alkahestry they use in the east and then added my own
touches. I discovered something else in my research." Scar's brother
said. Scar was shown. "The alchemy of this land is quite unusual."

"None of that stuff matters anymore. Didn't you hear me? The army is
here." Scar shouted as an Ishvalan looked in.

The Ishvalan ran into the room and grabbed Scar's shoulder. "Stop."

Scar looked over his shoulder at him.

The sky was shown before the screen started to move down as Scar
asked, "Why are you interfering? We have to get away from here now!"

Scar was shown to be standing with three other people.

"Please, calm down and listen." One of them said as other Ishvalans were
shown to be running away behind Scar.

"Your brother's alchemy might be the only way we have of saving

Ishval." The second male said.

"What does that mean?" Mustang said confused. "He wasn't planning to fight
us with it, was he? I don't think one alchemist on your side would have made
much of a difference."

"I do not know what their full plan actually was. I never learned it." Scar
replied.

"What?" Scar said, looking at the three Ishvalans.

"You must have heard. The enemy has State Alchemists."

"They're weapons. Using their dirty magic to cut a path of destruction

through the country."

"It's science, not magic." Ed grumbled.

"Does it really matter?" Ling asked.

"Yes! I'm a bloody scientist, not a magician!" Ed shouted.

"Even though we're Amestrians citizens just like them."

"I've heard all about the military dogs." Scar said. "But what do they
have to do with my brother's research?"

"Your brother is the only one who can stand against the State
Alchemists."

"How optimistic." Mustang said with a grimace. "But as I said, one alchemist
against hundreds is not much, unless he had some type of amazing alchemy
that we have never seen."

"It could be something amazing. After all, none of have seen those tattoos on
his arm before. They are really unique arrays." Ed pointed out. "Right, May?"

May nodded. "Correct, even though I studied Alkahestry, I do not know

much about those tattoos, from what I have been able to see here that is. I do
know it has Alkahestry in it, but it looks different from what I am used to
seeing."

"If he can match their power with his, he could find a way to annihilate
the military. The threat to us would be ended."

Scar's eyes widened.

"You know, 'annihilating the military' might make it seem that the Ishvalans
are the monsters here." Ed said dryly. "The State Alchemists got a horrible
reputation from this war, but it seems they were not the only ones planning
dark things and breaking up families."

"Not all Ishvalans condoned these kind of choices that some of the Ishvalans
were making." Scar pointed out. "And I do not believe my brother wanted to
annihilate anyone. He was not that kind of person. These three had deluded
themselves."

"Then what did your brother want?" Ed asked.

Scar stared at Ed for a moment, frowning. "The truth discovered."

Dramatic music began as the three Ishvalans were shown.

"Kill them before they can kill us."

"Take them down. With alchemy, we'll beat them at their own game."

"Pay them back in blood."

"And I really thought you guys were peaceful. I guess any human can turn
vicious and cruel when pushed into a corner with no escape." Al said.

"You do what you must to survive and keep those who care for you safe.
Though, that is what they are doing, this also makes some of the Ishvalans
hypocrites." Edward replied. "The war being started wasn't their fault, but
they had their mistakes as well. No one was completely innocent or justified
in their actions here."
"I wonder what they'll say about us if our side of this war is shown." Hughes
whispered to Mustang.

"Were we this horrible?" Mustang asked softly.

"I think because we had more control and power in the war, we weren't this
horrible. I know you, Hawkeye, Major Armstrong, and I didn't want to do all
that killing. It wasn't right." Hughes replied. "But I don't know about anyone
else. I like to think our thoughts were right, but that doesn't make up for our
actions. We just did what we could to survive."

Scar's eyes widened for a moment before narrowing angrily. 'Do you see
this, Brother? This is the science you have spent your life following.'

"You know, alchemy doesn't just have to be used for destruction. You only
saw the dark side of it during the war so that's all you believe it to be.
Something evil and dark." May told Scar. She did not do alchemy, but
Alkahestry, but she did see some of the good that alchemy could accomplish
through the Elric brothers. They didn't just use it for evil deeds. In fact, the
brothers weren't evil at all. They seemed like good people and didn't use their
alchemy in inhuman ways.

"Ishvalans have always hated alchemy, long before the war, May. I don't see
that ever changing." Ed told her.

Scar's brother was shown in his dark room once more.

'You may think it's for the greater good, that it could help our people.' Scar
clenched his hands into fists. "You don't even see the evil you're
creating!"

Cannons were shown with soldiers standing behind them as the cannons
fired cannonballs one after the other.

A part of Ishval was shown.

"Run!" An Ishvalan said as the whistling sound of the cannonballs was

heard.
Before any of the Ishvalans could move, the cannonball landed and a
huge explosion happened, which covered the screen in black smoke.
Screaming could be heard before the screen was filled with marching
feet of soldiers.

The yelling continued as the faces of the soldiers were shown with bright
blue eyes and blond hair. The marching soldiers were replaced by
running Ishvalans. A giant wall made by alchemy blocked their path.

Armstrong closed his eyes. He remembered that wall. He built it. It was his
fault that all those innocent people were killed. He trapped them to their
death.

"They weren't resisting." Ed said blankly. "You killed people who weren't
resisting? Soldiers are meant to protect, not kill innocent people who can't
even defend themselves!"

"I told you before, Fullmetal. It was genocide." Mustang replied darkly.

Ed clenched his hand. He hated killing. He couldn't stand the thought of it.
He couldn't stand seeing it. And there was no way in hell he would ever be
able to do it. To see the Ishvalan war like this was horrible. Woman and
children were being killed. They weren't even fighting back. They were just
scared and confused as to why this was happening. "A military should never
be involved in genocide. It's not right and goes against the idea that soldiers
are supposed to protect civilians."

The Ishvalans looked back at the soldiers, only for them to start firing on
them. A bullet ripped through a woman. The soldiers stood by the wall,
shooting the Ishvalans into the ditch created because of the wall there.

Ling glared at the screen. Bradley was the ruler. Bradley was the one to order
this massacre. Bradley was a bloody Homunculus. He had no right to be the
ruler of this country if he was going to order the death of his own people like
this! This was not what a king ordered to happen to his own people. How
could he still be Fuhrer after all this? Why was he kept as the ruler?

Ishval was shown from a sky view. It was destroyed in a lot of places and
had holes in its buildings. The scene changed to an area filled with metal
weapons with an Ishvalan lying on the ground with a spear head in his
chest.

A burst of fired filled the air. The scene moved down to show buildings
and Scar watching the fire.

"Don't even have to ask who that was." Al murmured.

Mustang stared at the screen, not commenting. He had nothing to say. He

didn't need to say anything. The guilt of this war would always reside in his
heart. His actions there were not his proudest moment.

'So this is your alchemy, Brother?' Scar thought.

An Ishvalan was leaning against a wall with a three soldiers surrounding

him with their guns pointed at him.

One of the soldiers laughed cruelly, but stopped when he heard footsteps.
He turned to see Scar charging at him. He slammed a fist into one of the
soldiers' face and grabbed him by his shirt. He turned to another soldier,
swinging the soldier around with him to use as a shield against the
soldier, who fired his gun and killed his own comrade. Scar then
punched him in the chin before he turned to the third and punched him
as well.

"You guys really need to practice more hand-to-hand combat. That was so
sad." Al said.

"It's not often we meet someone who is going to challenge us when we are
holding guns." Riza replied.

"But it will happen or you will meet someone who moves faster then you."
Izumi argued. "You can't always rely on your weapons or alchemy. It's just
safer to have that extra knowledge."

Scar's face was shown. 'This is the great power?'

A book was picked up.

'This is going to save our people?' Scar thought as his brother was shown
to be the one holding the book. He turned around and started to walk
away.

Scar swung his leg around and hit a soldier in the face. He grabbed
another soldier by the face and slammed him into a wall. He slammed his
elbow on another soldier's shoulder. On a fourth solider, he knocked the
gun out of the way and kicked him into a wall.

Scar paused to breathe before turning to see his people by an alchemical

created wall and all of them were slaughtered. 'This science causes
nothing but destruction and slaughter. It can't save us!'

An explosion dragged Scar out of his thoughts. He turned around to see

dark smoke rising into the sky. He ran toward it. "No!"

"You're running all over Ishval trying to stop all the soldiers, aren't you?"
Izumi asked.

"I was trying to save as many of my people as I could." Scar replied.

Izumi nodded, but it was mostly to herself. "That sounds like something Ed
would do."

"Stop comparing us." Ed growled.

His feet were shown as he ran before his face was seen. He saw a group
of Isvhalans ahead of him with one of them waving at him. "Father!
Mother!" He yelled.

Scar came to a stop in front of the group. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes, we're both okay." Scar's father said. "Luckily we were already
prepared to flee from here in case we needed to."

"Sorry I'm late." Scar's brother said as he ran over to the group. "There
were some important notes I needed to compile."
Scar turned to his brother. "What do you mean?"

Scar's brother held his book out to him. "Here, I want you to hold onto
this."

"Those are his notes?" May asked curiously. She would very much like to
study his notes. He seemed like a very smart guy. "Do you still have them?"

"I have them still, but I hid them in the country. Only I know where the book
is." Scar told her.

"What if someone came across it by accident?" May asked worriedly.

"Where they are hidden, there is no chance of that." Scar replied.

"I'm more surprised you actually kept it, considering how much you hate
alchemy." Edward replied.

Scar gave him a look, staring at him for a moment before saying, "It was one
of the last things my brother gave me. He wanted me to keep the notes safe."

Ed's eyes narrowed at Scar's wording. One of the last things? His eyes moved
to his arm then back to the screen where he saw Scar's brother's arm. Was it
possible to give someone else a limb like this?

"Why? What is it?" Scar asked.

The book was shown then his brother's face was seen. "These are my
research notes. This is all I was able to bring. Take them and get away
now."

"Hold on a minute." Scar said as his brother shoved the book into Scar's
clothes.

"If anything happens to me, I don't want my research to have been for
nothing."

"Why don't you just take it and run away yourself?" Scar asked.
"Because you're a warrior of the Ishvalan people. You've been well
trained." Scar's brother said. He looked at Scar. "Let's be honest here.
You're a lot more likely to survive this then I am. Just look." He looked
down at his legs which were shaking. "My legs won't stop shaking." He
looked at Scar. "Some big brother."

"He's your older brother?" Ed muttered, glancing down at his automail arm.
This could not be happening right now!

"He is. Why?" Scar asked.

"It's nothing." Ed said, curling his automail hand into a fist a few times. What
was it with older brothers and giving up their right arm for the younger?

"You will survive." Scar said.

Scar's brother gasped at something behind Scar.

Scar turned around as the dramatic music began once more.

"Is that a soldier?" Scar asked.

Kimblee was shown to be standing on top of a building.

"Kimblee! It just had to be Kimblee of all the State Alchemists you could
meet!" Mustang groaned. "Why am I not surprised that bastard is there? He
took too much enjoyment out of all this killing."

"You said it before. He's a psychopath." Ed said.

He spread his arms wide. One of his hands was shown close up to show
his tattoo on his palm. His other hand was shown the same way to show
the tattoo there.

"Look at his hands." Scar's brother said. "He's a State Alchemist!"

Kimblee clapped his hands. Red alchemical light surrounded his hands
before the scene pulled out to see the Ishvalans staring up at him.
Kimblee put his hands on the building. The red alchemical light spread
down the building causing explosions on it as it traveled.

"It's red." Ed said, eyes narrowed. "His alchemical transmutation is

surrounded by red light."

"Does that mean something?" May asked confused.

"It means he's using a Philosopher's Stone. Normally the alchemical light is
blue. When it is red, the alchemist's power is being amplified by something,
most likely a stone. And since we know Dr. Marcoh was making stones
during the war, it makes sense that someone was using one, probably testing
it out." Edward said darkly. He looked at Dr. Marcoh, who sigh tiredly.

"It would be a good place to test it since no one would question anything. A
stone was given to Kimblee to use in the war." Dr. Marcoh replied.

"That's sick." Ed said. "Using a stone made of Ishvalans to kill Ishvalans is

demented."

The group was surrounded by the red alchemical light. Scar looked
down at the ground under him as it rose and broke violently. Scar's
brother was shown, staring in horror. "Get back!" He shouted as he ran
after his brother and jumped in front of him. Scar's brother was shown
before the scene was taken over by a bright white light.

Dark smoke filled the screen. Through the dark smoke, the Ishvalans
could be barely seen as they laid all around, bleeding. Scar's brother was
shown to be the only one standing and moving. After a few steps, he
collapsed to his knees by his injured brother.

"His face." May said in horror. "That's how he got the scar."

"And why he was all bandaged when he was being treated. He was in an
explosion. It's amazing anyone was able to survive it immediately after."
Edward said. "In an explosion like, I would have thought they would have all
been killed immediately."

"Stay with me. Don't you die." Scar's brother said. He gasped and his
eye widened in horror. His brother's body was shown to show his right
arm was gone.

"What?" Mustang hissed.

"Don't you get it yet, Colonel? Only Scar's brother had those tattoos at the
time. How else was Scar going to get it?" Edward replied.

"You can't be serious. Is something like that even possible?" Mustang said.

Ed jerked his head in the direction of Scar. "You've seen the results for
yourself."

The scene pulled out, showing Scar's brother put his hand on Scar's arm.
"Damn." Scar was shown close up to be breathing heavily. "I can't stop
the bleeding!" Scar's brother appeared on screen, looking around. "His
arm…Where's my brother's arm? Where is it?"

The scene pulled out once more to show the brothers from a distance.
"Father." Their dead father was shown. "Mother." Their mother's leg
was shown. "…Someone…" He reached a hand out. "Anyone." He
looked down at his hand. After a moment, he put his hands on Scar's
shoulder and alchemical light began to form around it. "Don't die. I
won't let you." The alchemical light got brighter until it turned the
screen white.

"Wow, you pair of brothers are more alike then any of realize or want it to
be." Mustang said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ed growled.

Al coughed. "Brother, I agree with him. Scar's older brother gave up his right
arm to save him. You did the same thing for me."

"Difference is that I survived." Ed replied, though he really couldn't deny the

similarities here. It was just like the damn similarities they had with the Slicer
brothers. This was getting really annoying.

A man wearing a bloody apron appeared on the screen with a screaming

child in the background.

"I have to keep fighting. You let me go back out there." A man said.

"No, you're staying right where you are." A woman's voice said.

"Aunt Sara!" Ed said.

"What?" Hughes asked.

"That was Aunt Sara's voice." Ed said, closing his eyes shut in horror. They
were going to see Scar killing Winry's parents now. He didn't want to see
this.

"She sounds very kind and beautiful." Mustang said.

"You can tell just from her voice?" Al asked.

Ed snorted. "You forgot that this guy is a womanizer, Al. He can tell."

"That's right. We didn't treat you just to let you die." A man said.

"Uncle Urey." Al said.

"Did you guys know that quite a few soldiers respected the Rockbells for
sticking to their goals?" Dr. Marcoh said.

"What do you mean?" Al asked confused.

"I'm a doctor, but was forced to use humans to make stones. Dr. Knox did
human experiments on the bodies of Ishvalans. We both forgot our role as
doctors because of orders, but the Rockbells didn't. They stuck true to their
jobs. Many people respected them for it." Dr. Marcoh explained.

Al nodded, feeling really happy about that. He was glad that they stuck to
their jobs and beliefs to the very end. He wished they didn't have to die, but at
least they didn't die with regrets of not following their beliefs.

The Ishvalan working by Scar finished and turned away.

"Doctor, you and your wife should get out of here."

"Young man, we're not going anywhere." Urey said.

The person who was watching the Ishvalan blinked. "Brother…" Scar
said.

He recalled his brother jumping in front of him and yelling, "Get back!"

He blinked once more and found his brother's book by him. "What
happened? Why did you protect me?" Scar asked.

Scar's brother was shown to be performing alchemy on Scar.

"Brother…" Scar said.

Scar's face was shown to be all bandaged, but the bandages were covered
in blood.

"Anyone who can move on their own, go now." Urey ordered.

"He's awake." An Ishvalan said.

Sara, who was working at a table, turned to look at Scar.

"Brother, I don't recall Aunt Sara's eyes being that vibrant of a blue." Al said.

Ed nodded. "They were blue, but more like Winry's. Hers are too bright. It's
probably because we are seeing this from Scar's perceptive, Al. Blue eyes and
blond hair pretty much defined the soldiers in the war. To see Aunt Sara with
them, in his injured state, he imagined them brighter and probably thought of
the sold–Ah, damn it. He's going to freak out in his injured state and kill
them."

"Wait, he killed Aunt Sara and Uncle Urey because of their blue eyes and
blond hair?" Al asked angrily.

Ed looked at Scar and raised a brow.

"I did." Scar said, He paused for a moment before adding, "It will not make a
difference, but I do apologize for killing them. Had I been in the right
mindset at this moment in time, I would not have done so."

"It doesn't make the anger or hatred any less." Ed said, looking away from
Scar. "I don't like the fact that you killed them and hurt Winry by doing so,
but I can understand the freaking out part. You were scared and just lost your
whole family because of Kimblee. It was a moment of weakness in which
you didn't think clearly or try to understand why Ishvalans were around them
and helping them out. You lashed out. I've done it before as well so I cannot
condemn you for it."

Al didn't say anything. He just stared at Scar then at his brother, listening to
him speak. He was mad and upset by Scar's action. The Rockbells didn't
deserve to die and their death greatly affected Winry. He never wanted to see
her like that again. Being around their murderer was hard, but they would
have to live with it, like how they lived with being around soldiers all the
time. Scar was not the only one to take innocent lives. In Ishval, soldiers
killed many innocent Ishvalans as well and they didn't condemn the soldiers
for it.

Sara turned to his bed and leaned down over him. "Don't move or you'll
open up your wounds." She turned around to look at someone. "Come
here. Dear, come here!"

Scar blinked again and when he opened his eyes again Urey was leaning
over him. "You aren't well enough to move around on your own yet."

A group of marching soldiers with blue eyes and blond hair were shown.
Scar's eye that was shown widened.

"Somebody! Get a cart!" Urey ordered. "Take this man with you."

The room was shown with people walking around.

"He needs help." Urey said.

Scar raised his right arm, showing off the tattoo on his arm.
"There's his brother arm." Mustang said.

"Is that even safe?" Hughes asked.

"Well, Scar survived with the arm for this long." Mustang pointed out.

"Eh," Hughes looked down at his arm. "I'd rather keep my original limbs."

"I'm sure everyone would." Ed said sarcastically. "But sometimes you lose
your limbs and can't get them back."

Hughes glanced at him then looked away.

"Brother's tattoos?" Scar said. His eye was shown again. "You're alive.
Brother, you've made i–" His eye widened in horror. The scene pulled
out to show the arm attached to his body with bandages wiped all over
his chest and part of his arm. His hand started to tremble violently.

"Damn it," Ed grumbled to himself. He wanted to hate Scar so much right

now, so very much that he wanted to start just thinking that he hated him
when his heart was just crying to feel sadness for the man. All Scar was
doing was protecting his people then his brother gave his right arm up to save
him. They were in war. He was severely injured, confused, lost, hurt, angry,
and just lost his entire family. Anyone would freak out at this point,
especially with two people from the other side looking after him and not
explaining anything.

The scene rapidly pulled out again. He stared at his shaking hand as he
screamed, "What is going on here?"

The doctors and the Ishvalans around looked at Scar in surprise.

A glass smashed into the ground. As Scar screamed, the doctors stood by
Scar's bed as Ishvalans looked on.

Urey turned to look at his wife. "Sedatives!"

"There aren't any more. We used them all up." Sara replied.
"There was never enough medicine during the war." Dr. March said sadly.
"Perhaps if they had some, this could have turned out differently."

Scar's eye was shown. He saw the soldiers, his people lying dead in a
ditch, then Kimblee clapping his hands. Red alchemical light surrounded
him before his brother was shown in front of him.

Scar put a hand to his face. He saw a malicious grinning Kimblee reach
forward with his hand. Horror music began as Scar put a foot on the
ground. "State Alchemists…Amestrians…" Scar looked at Sara and
Urey. A tray of tools and gauze was shown. "You will pay."

Ed's heart hammered painfully against his chest. Hatred…Sadness…Angry…

Greif…Fear…He had no idea of what to feel about any of this. What should
he feel for Scar? He had no idea at this moment. This was all just too much to
take in at once. And now Sara and Urey were going to get killed. He knew
they died, but this was just too much. It was horrible. How could this happen?

"They were ordered dead." Hughes whispered to Mustang.

"What?" Mustang asked sharply, but quietly so Ed didn't hear. He looked at

Ed out of the corner of his eye and saw the emotions flashing through his
eyes. The look in those golden eyes looked so foreign and raw. Mustang
absolutely hated it. For a boy who always knew what he wanted and was so
strong, those emotions didn't belong.

"It's not a well-known fact. It's something kept on the down low since
Kimblee was the one given the job of doing it. The Rockbells had a chance to
leave the war, but refused because they had a lot of patients left to treat. The
unit in their district couldn't leave because they were still there and needed
protection. The one in command there made the order to have them killed
before they could get them out." Hughes explained quietly in a bitter tone.
"Kimblee respected them for sticking to their actions, but the order, though
subtle and not given straight out, was given. Scar got to it before he could
though. Those two were never going to make it out, Roy. They stuck to their
beliefs and they died for their beliefs."

"Hey Hughes, do me a favor, would you?" Mustang said quietly, tearing his
eyes away from Ed's face to look at the screen so his friend didn't see the
raging emotions in his eyes. If only he knew about the Rockbells in the war.
Maybe he could have done something for them. "Never let the Elrics or
Winry learn that."

"You didn't even have to ask." Hughes said.

Shan and the teenager were shown to be watching him in fear.

"All of you…All of you will pay." Scar said as he wielded a tool from the
tray.

"Dr. Rockbell!"

Sara and Urey looked at Scar in surprise. Urey wrapped his arms
around his wife and held her to his chest. Her eye was zoomed in on to
show the horror in it before the scene went dark and a stabbing sound
was heard.

Ed swallowed the bile in his throat. At least they didn't show their death. That
would just make the situation that much harder to deal with. He would not be
able to handle seeing his aunt and uncle get killed.

Blood dipped on the ground in multiple places. The scene zoomed out to
show Scar walking up a hill. The scene zoomed in to show his face which
was bleeding once more. At the top of the hill was a tree which Scar
stopped by. His eye shook violently as he stared at Ishval, which was
completely destroyed. He screamed out his grief and pain loudly.

If Al had ears, he was sure they would be ringing from that scream. It wasn't
that it was so loud that it hurt. It hurt because it was filled with so much pain.
He could never know how much it hurt to have everyone he loved killed and
to have his whole country destroyed like that. It was no wonder that Scar
went on a rampage. It would be so difficult to handle, and yet all the other
Ishvalans didn't go on a rampage like Scar.

The scene went dark. Scar's voice sounded, saying, "Go on, shoot."
Winry appeared on screen, pointing the gun at Scar.
"Don't do it, Winry." Ed said. "Put down the gun."

"You know you don't want to do this." Al said. "Winry!"

Scar was shown. "Shoot girl, but know, the moment you pull the trigger,
there's no going back; you will be my enemy!"

"And it's not like he would actually let the bullet hit him." Riza said sadly. If
he could dodge her shooting, he could easily get out of the way of a bullet
from an amateur. "Shooting would just make her an enemy to him."

"Even so," Ed said. "I may not like you." He shot at Scar. "But I don't think
you would kill Winry even if she did try to shoot you. You might disarm her
or knock her out, but I don't think you would kill her."

"Is that what you think?" Scar asked.

"I want to say you are a horrible monster, but you aren't. You target specific
people. The only time you killed civilians is when you destroyed the sewers
in East City and you weren't aiming for them, but for an escape from the true
monsters in Amestris." Edward said bitterly. He couldn't believe he was
talking to this man. "You killed her parents, though it wasn't your goal. You
won't go and kill their only child after all this."

Scar didn't reply, but he saw the truth in Ed's words. He would never be able
to kill that girl, not after hurting so much by taking her parents. He wanted
revenge against the military, not innocent civilians. He was smart enough and
clear in his thinking to know that not all of Amestris was at fault, especially
after seeing those doctors. Not all Amestrians were evil.

"SCAR!" Al screamed.

"If you think I'll let you hurt one hair on her head–" Ed shouted.

Scar turned to look at Ed sharply. "Will you kill me? That'd be fine with
me. Until one of us dies, boy, this chain of hatred will continue."

"So you don't care if you die?" Ed asked. "After all this, all this killing for
your revenge, and you don't care if your life or die?"
"I have nothing else to live for." Scar replied.

Ed shot him a look. "Then find something. If you look, you'll find something
worth living for. This is just giving up, waiting for one of your victims to
actually overpower you and kill you first is a horrible way to live." He paused
for a moment before groaning and put a hand to his head. "Why am I talking
to a murderer like this? I'm going insane."

The scene zoomed in on his face as his voice rose a bit. "But don't ever
forget!" The scene moved to show Scar's back and Winry still kneeling
on the ground. "Don't ever forget it was the Amestrians who first pulled
the trigger during the civil war!" Winry was shown with tears pouring
down her face. "IT WAS YOUR PEOPLE!"

A scene of a hand with blood trailing down it was shown. Following it

was a picture of bodies lying in a street of Ishval.

The gun in Winry's hand was shown. She gripped it more tightly as her
breathing became heavier.

"Winry, don't shoot." Edward said.

"Just put the gun down and get out of here." Al said. "Winry!"

Winry was shown once more.

The screen moved to Winry's side to show Ed and Scar, who was still
facing Ed. Scar turned halfway to look at her. "If you can't shoot, then
do as the boy told you." He moved forward a bit. "You're in my way!"
He put his hand on the ground to destroy the ground in front of Ed.

Ed jumped over the destruction, glaring at Scar in the air. As he

approached Scar, Scar thrust his hand at Ed, but the boy put his hand
on Scar's arm to flip himself in the air. To stable himself, he put his other
hand on Scar's left shoulder and flipped himself completely.

"Now that was a cool move." Hughes said, though his heart wasn't really in it.
"Fullmetal does show us a lot of cool martial arts moves, like when he broke
Greed's neck." Mustang added, but he was frowning darkly. "And yet, all of
these moves of his are highly dangerous. Not just because if he messes
something up, he'll get severely hurt, but also because he does them right by
his enemy and if they can predict how he'll move, they can counter it."

"Sheesh, would you rather I just sat around and got killed instead?" Ed
grumbled. "I spar enough with Al that I know I can do these moves. Plus, Al
does counter them which allows me to learn how to save myself in that split
moment that target moves."

"Don't shoot!" He shouted as he was upside down in the air.

Winry hiccupped.

Scar raised his hand for his attack towards Winry when Ed landed right
in front of her, sitting on the ground with his legs spread out. His
automail arm was shown to the side to block Winry while his flesh hand
pinned the gun to the ground.

"Are you freaking insane?" Mustang shouted. "You jumped right in front of
that attack."

"I can't let Winry shoot!" Ed retorted. "I can't let her become someone that
she's not. Shooting that gun would ruin her."

Hughes smiled to himself. Despite all of Ed's protest, his actions and words
spoke volumes for his love for Winry. He didn't have to outright say it for the
love to be seen.

Scar froze in his attack.

Ed stared at Scar, who stared down at his cold glare.

Ed face was shown to have gritted teeth and a glare full of anger.

A flashback of Scar's brother jumping in front of him and shouting "Get

back!" was shown. Scar's brother face was shown, then Kimblee,
smirking with his hand stretched forward, appeared on screen.
The scene pulled out as it changed to Scar reaching out towards Ed. 'My
brother…'

Al swung his leg at Scar, who blocked it with his arm. Scar jumped back
as Al swung his arm at him. Scar jumped back a few more steps before
Al was shown to be clapping his hands. He slammed his hands on the
ground to create multiple pillars that rose to attack Scar. Scar jumped
on top of one then jumped into the air. He flipped backwards in the air
before landing on the ground.

"I see Ed's not the only one with awesome moves." Havoc said.

Breda gave him a dry look. "You're going to compliment his moves. A
person that is trying to kill our bosses."

Havoc shrugged. "It's a pretty good move. Just because he's a murderer
doesn't mean his moves aren't cool." He lowered his voice. "I also have a
feeling that Scar was about to cancel his chance at killing Chief when he
protected Winry. You saw how he froze, right? He had the perfect chance to
finally kill the Fullmetal Alchemist and he ruined it. Chief reminds him too
much of his brother now. He wouldn't have been able to do it."

"You think so?" Breda asked.

"Come on, you're good at analyzing situations and I'm street smart. I've seen
enough to be able to see that without having your brains." Havoc replied.

"It does seem likely. Seeing the similarities between Chief and Scar's brother
must have spooked him." Breda said.

Scar threw his hand on the wall behind him. The opposite side of the wall
was shown with a cat sitting on a crate before the wall was blown to
pieces, sending the cat flying.

Al turned to his brother. "Ed, you idiot. What are you doing? Both of
you will get killed." Al stood up. "Hurry and get Winry somewhere
safe."
"Really? That's what you're going to say to me?" Ed asked, frowning.

"It was a pretty reckless move." Ling said.

"I don't care. I wasn't going to let Winry ruin herself there." Ed retorted.
"Killing is not a part of her."

"I understand why you did it, Brother, but if Scar didn't freeze, you both
would have been killed." Al said.

Ed shrugged. He knew there was a risk there, but Winry was more important
then the risk.

Al jumped onto one of his pillars and ran across them to get to where
Scar disappeared too.

Ed watched him leave before turning to Winry, who was holding the
trembling gun still. He walked over to her and kneeled down. He
grabbed her hand. "Winry, let go of the gun."

"I couldn't shoot." Winry said.

"I know you couldn't. That's okay." Ed replied.

Winry's crying face was shown. "But that man…" She put a hand to her
face. "He said he's the one who killed my mom and dad. He tried to kill
you and Al too, Ed." Ed was shown. "But I couldn't…Why not?"

Sheska bowed her head, hiding the tears that spilled down her cheeks. She
crossed her arms and held her jacket sleeves tightly in her hands. This was so
hard to listen to. No one should have to go through this kind of pain. It wasn't
fair. Winry had to be hurting so much to learn this truth. It made Sheska's
heart ache so much to hear her voice. All the raw pain in it was hard to listen
to. This was what the world was like. This was how hard and cruel the world
was. Children should not be made to suffer like this.

The scene pulled out to show the two from a distance.

Ed lifted her hand that held the gun. "Remember in Rush Valley. You
delivered that baby. You saved two lives." The gun in Winry's hand was
shown. Ed peeled her middle finger away from the gun. "And you gave
me an arm," He peeled her ring finger off the gun. "And a leg." Winry's
eye was shown. "You replaced the ones I lost."

The gun fell to the ground with a clang.

Ed's downcast face was shown. "It's your hands. They weren't meant to
kill." He grabbed Winry's hand and put it between both of his hands.
"They're meant to give life."

Mustang smiled a bit at Ed's words. The kid was really good with words
when he wanted to be. And right now, his way of giving comfort was
probably what Winry needed most of all. She didn't want pity. Ed gave her
the words that referred back to her parents. Her parents never took life, but
worked hard to save anyone they could. In a way, Winry was just like her
parents, working hard to give life. Ed didn't want to take that away by letting
her kill. It really was amazing.

The scene pulled out to show the two from Ed's back.

"That's why."

Winry bowed her head, shoulders still shaking, as the ending song began.

Winry collapsed into Ed's chest, grabbing hold of his jacket and cried
her heart out. Ed wrapped his arm around her back. He opened his eyes
and stared forward.

"Okay, we were wrong. You do know how to comfort a girl." Havoc said,
bowing his head.

"That must have been so hard for her. Poor girl." Armstrong said, wiping his
tear filled eyes with a handkerchief.

"I was mistaken, Edward. I didn't see it at first, but you really are a wonderful
person. In your own way, you really do live up to the stories." May said
softly, tears straining her cheeks. She may not know Winry, but hearing her
words and seeing those tears, it made her think of how she would feel if she
was in Winry's place and it just hurt so much.

Ed leaned his head back on the couch. He didn't want to live up to stories. He
just wanted to be left alone to do what he felt was right and take care of his
friends.

Hughes just smiled at the scene. It was really sad, but it did show Ed in a new
light, which was something none of them were probably expecting. He would
so tease the boy later, but right now, he would leave Ed alone to sort his
thoughts and feelings about all of this.

"You did really good there, Ed. Winry will still hurt a lot after this, but your
words were good and they showed that you really care for her and that you
will be there for her." Riza told him softly. She put a gentle hand on Ed's arm.
While Ed would be there for Al and Winry, someone else needed to be there
for him, and she would gladly be one of many people to fill that role for him.
He really didn't realize how many people were there for him.

"Can we just move on? We still have to see if Ling and Lan Fan get away
okay." Edward said.

Ling shot Ed a grateful look. Sure, there were some things he wanted to say
about all of what happend, but his first priority right now was making sure he
didn't lose a friend.

A/N: Anyone else think of Nazis when you see the blue eyes and blond
hair of the soldiers? God, I'm having flashbacks of history and reading
class when I learned all about Nazis and Anne Frank.

I sooo wanted to put what Ed was saying to Winry in the Japanese

version. He was begging her not to shoot. I really wanted to put 'beg'
because of what I could have had his friends say about that. Boo English
dub for not having the word 'beg.'

Pause. Write Scene. Pause. Write Scene. I never realized how sad that
scene at the end was until now when I had to go through it like ten times
and write it out to get everything bloody right. It's so sad at the end
when the ending song begins and Winry falls into Ed's chest and cries. I
didn't interrupt the scene at the end between Ed and Winry with
comments because I wanted them to watch it through with no breaks. It
gives it more emotion that way.

Please Review!
*Chapter 23*: Episode 23: Girl on the
Battlefield
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: I really, really hate repeating myself, but I don't think you guys got
it the first time. I SAID I would update ONCE A WEEK, NOT WITHIN
A WEEK of my last update. Seriously dudes, this was in an earlier
chapter when I had people complaining. Refer to Chapter 9 author note
if you please. *grumbles* I'm never bloody late unless my life has turned
hectic for a week. Can't even take a couple of days off to read and work
on other stories without getting bloody complaints.

Dudes, seriously, I love the reviews, but the ones that say I'm late in
updating or asking why am I not updating yet when I'm supposed to,
seriously, STOP! This is my story. I work on it constantly for days. I
know how my own update process works. If I can't update when I'm
supposed to, I give you an AN so you know. And since it is a story that I
have to work on for days, I can't very well bloody forget that I have to
update it. Please, for the love of everything, stop being impatient. These
chapters don't just get magically done in a single day. It's a very long
process.

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions
Episode 23: Girl on the Battlefield

The opening song began.

Dramatic action music began as the title of the episode appeared on the
screen: "Girl on the Battlefield."

A building was shown. The windows flashed very briefly before Ling
jumped through one of the windows with an explosion happening after
he broke through. Grey smoke filtered out of the building after the
explosion occurred. Ling fell through the smoke and landed on the
ground.

"Did you seriously just jump from that building all the way to the ground?"
Mustang asked horrified. No one should be able to do that without breaking
their legs!

"Of course I did. I don't have time to climb down. I couldn't anyway since my
hands are full." Ling replied.

"What's the big deal anyway, Colonel? I've done it before too." Edward told
him.

Ling looked at him surprised. "You have? I have the training to do it, but I
didn't think you did."

"I don't. I mean, it took some getting used to all that high jumping, but I'm
able to do it because I have an automail leg. I just make sure I land on that
and if I can't, then I make sure to land correctly so I don't break anything."
Edward explained.

"I see." Ling replied, giving him a smirk. "You cheat."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Call it what you want. I can still do it."

"You are both completely insane." Hughes told them.

"Just because you don't have our skills or training…" Ed grumbled.

Ling put his hand on the ground, grimacing in pain as metal and glass
clanged against the ground all around him.

"I thought you could handle that jump." Havoc accused.

Ling grimaced and held his chest. "I can. But making a jump like that really
hurts when my ribs have been fractured. I forget they were injured."

"Considering we have so many different fights and scenes to go through,

that's not surprising." Ross said. "Hopefully your fights won't last much
longer."

"At least none of us are seriously injured." Edward said, sighing. He blinked
and looked up at Ling and Lan Fan. "Annnnddd, I just jinxed us, didn't I?"

"With your rotten luck, no doubt about it." Lan Fan told him.

"And here I was starting to think she was nice." Ed grumbled.

"Thank a lot, Ed." Ling added.

"Argh, it was going to happen whether I said that or not." Ed mumbled.

"Nothing's happen yet!" Brosh said.

"Just wait. Something will soon." Ed said.

Ling climbed to his feet and ran down the road while Bradley looked on
from the window. "A smoke bomb and grenade in one." Bradley said.

"A crazy move." Breda said. "Sounds like something Chief would pull. You
guys are really would be the perfect friends."

"We do what we must to survive." Ling defended.

"I object to that!" Ed protested. "I don't use grenades ever!"

"I didn't say you did. I said you both pull crazy stunts." Breda retorted.
Bradley started walking down the stairs with Gluttony following him.
"That reckless fool is beginning to annoy me." Bradley put his eye patch
back on and started to tie it in the back. "Do you think you can follow
their scent?"

"Uh-huh." Gluttony replied.

"It will be hard to lose them if Gluttony is following your scent." Mustang
said worriedly.

"I don't think it is even possible to lose Gluttony. Scar was hiding out in the
sewers and Gluttony still found him." Sheska pointed out.

"Well, if they could trick Gluttony somehow, they should be fine." Edward
replied.

"And how do they do that?" Miles asked.

Ed put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "Well, it's kind of like
when we have dogs following a scent, right? If you can lay a false trail, it can
probably throw them off their trail long enough for them to escape, right?"

"Gluttony's not a dog." May replied.

"But it's the same concept. Dog or not, he's still just following a trail." Ling
told her, frowning. "It's a good idea, but how do we give him a false trail?"

Stones pillars made from alchemy appeared on screen.

Ed was shown to be still kneeling by a crying Winry, who had Ed's red
coat wrapped around her shoulders. MPs were moving around them,
taking control of the scene.

Winry's sobs were heard as the screen moved closer to the two as MPs
walked away carrying something.

Ed closed his eyes briefly before opening them and picking up the gun.
"Here, Officer." He said as he held it out.
An MP came over to him and took the gun.

Ed looked down at Winry. "Take her somewhere she'll be safe. Winry,

Al is still fighting so I have to go. Okay." He stood up. He put his hand to
her shoulder as he stood and Winry put her hand on his. "I'm sorry.
When this is over, I'll explain everything." He turned to leave, taking his
hand off her shoulder but Winry still gently gripped it.

"Aww, how cute." Hughes said. "When she doesn't let go, it means she
doesn't want you to go."

"Too bad, I need to get back to Al." Ed retorted, rubbing his temple. "I'll be
back later to talk to her."

"She looks very vulnerable there. I've never seen her look like that." Al said.
"I don't like it."

"It's not surprising. We all have weak moments." Edward replied.

Ed walked away from her, leaving her hand to trail down his as he did.
Winry's hand was shown to be in the air still as Ed walked away. She left
it just hanging there as she watched him leave.

She lowered her hand before Ed was shown. He jumped onto the pillars
Al made. He jumped to another then another before jumping down to
the ground. Winry was shown from the back. She gripped Ed's coat
tightly. 'Why? Why is waiting the only thing I can do?'

The window outside Fuery's apartment was shown as a voice over a

radio said, "We have a girl in custody at Sector 8 who appears to be a
friend of the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Wow, we certainly don't hear that often." Havoc said.

"Hear what?" Ed asked confused.

"That you have friends." Havoc replied cheekily. "You're only ever with Al.
To hear that you have a friend and that it is a girl is quite shocking."
"…You're a real jerk, you know that?" Ed replied.

"Escort her to Central Command."

Mustang was shown in the room to be fiddling with a dial on the radio.

"Repeat, Sector 8. We have a girl in custody who appears to be a friend

of the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"It's just about time." Mustang said. He and Riza removed the
headphones they were wearing.

"About time for what?" Ed asked, frowning. "You don't even know the full
plan, only that we are drawing the Homunculi to us!"

"It's called anticipating and predicting the outcome, Fullmetal." Mustang

retorted.

"I'll be really surprised if you are that good at predicting." Ed mumbled.

"Go and back them up."

"Right." Riza said.

Riza opened a cabinet in the room.

"Are you raiding my locker?" Fuery asked blankly.

"It would seem so." Riza replied. "Thank you for the assistance."

Fuery hung his head. "Is she being sarcastic or is she serious?"

"That's a very good question." Breda replied. He looked at Havoc.

"Don't look at me. I don't know either." Havoc said.

She grabbed a pair of glasses off the side shelf and opened them.

"There's a vacant house outside of town. That's where we'll meet up."
Mustang said and held out a slip of paper.

"You're really just prepared for anything, aren't you?" Ed asked dryly.

"We must be prepared for anything so we can react in an instance." Mustang

retorted.

"But a vacant house? Really? How do you know about that?" Ed asked.
"Surely you haven't had time to scout the whole city and its surrounding areas
yet."

Hughes smirked. "You forget, Ed, that Roy has a lot of contacts who can
scope things out for him."

"You?" Ed asked shocked.

"Not just me." Hughes replied.

"Who else?" Al asked curiously.

Mustang smirked. "That's for me to know."

"Annoying, arrogant man." Ed grumbled to himself.

"Don't be followed." Mustang ordered as footsteps were heard before

Riza's hand appeared on screen on she grabbed the paper.

"Kay." Riza replied. She moved over to the door with a white shirt from
Fuery's locker and a rifle over her shoulder. She grabbed the doorknob
and opened the door as she said, "If something goes wrong, I'll let you
know."

"Alright." Mustang said before lifting one side of the headphones to his
ear.

Riza walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Barely a
moment passed before Riza opened the door again and leaned back into
the room. "And sir," Mustang looked at her out of the corner of his eyes.
"Please stay out of the field."
Mustang closed his eyes. "I know, Lieutenant. Now go."

"Are you sure that Colonel is the higher ranking officer here?" Ed asked,
smirking.

Mustang reached behind him and smacked Ed's knee. "Shut up, Fullmetal."

"But it's just so hard to tell sometime." Ed couldn't help but add.

"He has a point." Havoc said, grinning. "Sometimes it feels like the
Lieutenant should be our higher-up."

"You are both pushing it." Mustang warned.

Ed and Havoc shared a look and both of them smirked at each other.

The top of a few buildings were shown before the scene started to move
down as footsteps were heard. Ling appeared on screen, running
through an alley with Lan Fan over his shoulder. Gluttony leaned into
the screen, watching the two go.

"Damn, he found you so quickly." Brody said.

Ling slowed down and turned half around to see Gluttony on a rooftop.

"I guess one perk of being you guys is that you can sense when they are
around." Edward said. "The rest of us would be screwed if we tried to run
away from them like this."

"It's only fair that we can sense them if they are going to track us like we're
prey." Ling replied.

"Maybe fair for our side, but downright annoying for them." Ed said,
grinning evilly. "I like it."

"What? Annoying the enemy?" Lan Fan asked.

"Yes. It's so fun to piss them off."

Ling turned back around and started running again as he said, "He
won't give up."

Gluttony backed away from the edge of the roof.

The alley was shown. Ling's foot ran across the screen. As it passed, a
drop of blood hit the ground.

"We're leaving a blood trail." Lan Fan said, frowning. That was all her fault.
She was leaving a trail for the enemy to follow, which was putting her master
in danger!

"Gluttony must be following the scent of your blood to find us." Ling said,
frowning darkly.

"You have to stop the bleeding." Ross said.

Lan Fan shook her head. "Even if we got the bleeding to stop, it wouldn't get
him off our trail. He would still be able to track us."

"That's true, but Bradley is using that trail to find you. If you can get rid of it,
Bradley would not be able to locate you as easily." Ross pointed out.

"But he's using Gluttony." Ling said. "Gluttony will always be able to track
us."

The scene changed to a different part of the alley. Ling's foot ran across
the screen again, leaving more blood behind, as he thought, 'This area
looks deserted.'

Ling came to a stop in front of a wall in the alley. He turned around. "A
dead end. We're trapped."

"What is with all the dead ends?" Ed grumbled. "We're all running into them.
This city is like a maze."

"Maybe they designed it that way on purpose." Mustang suggested

sarcastically. "That way the Homunculi would have an easier time hunting
down their prey."
Ed snorted. "Who knows? Maybe they did. After all, Amestris is a country
shaped like a circle for a reason."

The ground was shown with multiple drops of blood on it. Bradley's feet
appeared on the screen, moving quickly as he followed the blood trail.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder when he heard an explosion.
"Scar again?" He said. He turned back around. "Gluttony, go see what
he's up to this time." Bradley pulled his sword out of its sheath as
Gluttony leaned over the roof edge. "I'll take care of our two little
friends here." Bradley started walking again.

"Well, one good thing came out of the blood trail. It got rid of one of the
Homunculi, and it was the one who can smell your trail." Avery said.

"But there is still a trail for Bradley to follow." Fu replied.

"Now that Gluttony is gone, it should be easier to lose Bradley now." Ed said.
"Well, hopefully it will be easier."

"Hopefully?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "It's Bradley. We barely know anything about him. He's

different compared to the other Homunculi."

A blurry grey picture filled the screen. It slowly cleared to show the
street with blood drops on it. Heavy breathing was head as Lan Fan's
arms limply swung and more blood fell to the ground. Lan Fan's face
was shown with her eyes half open. "What happened to me?"

"What's wrong?" Ling asked.

"My arm." Lan Fan put a hand to her shoulder.

"Lan Fan?" Ling asked worriedly.

Lan Fan smiled grimly, gripping her arm even more tightly. "I can't feel my
arm anymore. I can't even move my fingers, My Lord."

"Seriously?" Edward asked shocked. "Bradley cut you that deeply?"

"What is wrong, Ed?" Hughes asked worriedly.

"I think Bradley severed the nerves in her arm. I thought it was just a cut she
received, but apparently it was much worse than that." Edward replied.

Lan Fan looked up in shock. "What? Does that mean I'll never be able to use
my arm again?"

"Well, if he just severed your nerves in your arm from the ones in your
shoulder, you should be able to get automail. But that's only if you get to a
competent doctor in time. Your real arm is done though." Edward replied,
frowning, though he didn't sugarcoat this for her. He knew Lan Fan was a
tough girl. She could handle the truth. "But I don't know much about
medicine, just automail. May, you know more then I do about medicine."

May nodded. "Since I cannot actually study the injury, going from what I
know and what Lan Fan is feeling at this moment, she has either gone
completely numb from pain, which I doubt from how well she is trained and
how well she is taking pain, or her nerves were severed from each other."

Lan Fan tightened her hold on her upper arm. She couldn't believe that she
was going to lose her arm here.

"There is no way to save her arm?" Fu asked, almost desperate. He didn't

want to see his granddaughter ruined like this. She was still so young and has
yet to see much of the difficulties of being a bodyguard.

"It is possible to repair severed nerves, but a highly skilled surgeon would
have to do it and you would have to find one quickly. Considering that Lan
Fan and Ling are on the run, they can't very well go to a hospital so it would
be difficult. Even if they find a doctor outside of a hospital to treat her, he
will not be able to do the surgery to save her arm." May replied, shooting a
look at the older girl.

"I see." Lan Fan said, staring at her unresponsive left arm. So that was it. She
was useless to her lord right now. She could do nothing to help him.

"My lord..." Lan Fan said as Ling was shown. "I'm useless to you now."
"What are you talking about?" Ling asked.

The scene moved to show the two from the sky as Lan Fan said, "You
cannot burden yourself with me. If you do, they'll only get you too. A
king is no king without his people, but a people without their king would
be lost as well. You can't do that to them."

"But he's not king yet." May said. "He is still just an heir like the rest of us."

"I think Lan Fan means that his clan will be lost if their heir were to die in a
foreign country because he could never become king then." Edward replied.
"She wants him to leave her so he can escape and become the king of his
country."

Lan Fan nodded. "That is what I mean. Our clan needs you, My Lord."

"No." Ling growled. "If I abandon you now, if I leave my subordinate to die,
then I have no right to be king."

"Sounds right. A king should protect those below him." Mustang said,
respecting Ling more and more. The kid really did understand what it meant
to be a leader, much more then Bradley ever could.

"My lord, think of our clan. You must live for their sake."

Ling's face was shown. "I won't leave you!"

Lan Fan was shown. "Sometimes someone must be left behind." She put
her hand to her mouth. "For the greater good." Her hand fell down,
showing a kunai in her hand. She spun the kunai around in hand to point
it at herself.

"Stop! What are you doing?" Ling said, eyes widening. "Don't do whatever it
is that you are thinking about!"

"Whatever I have planned, I must do, My Lord. I cannot let you die here."
Lan Fan told him.

"I don't want you dead." Ling retorted.

Lan Fan smiled a very small smile. "I do value my life, My Lord. I do not
think I would forfeit it that easily."

"What the hell is it with kids today and being reckless?" Mustang asked
horrified. This girl had two options. Kill herself to get her lord to abandon her
or cut her arm off. Neither was very appealing.

"Perhaps the actions of these kids can be seen as being a bit reckless, but I
admire how strong and determined all of them are." General Armstrong told
Mustang. "It is often that kids cannot make the tough decisions in life, and
yet all of these kids are able to do what they must. I find their strength
respectable."

"Strength or not, kids shouldn't have to go through these kind of things."

Hughes said darkly.

Ling was shown. "Lan Fan!" Lan Fan's eyes were shown. "What are you
planning?" She turned the kunai onto herself. "No! Don't do it!"

Just as the kunai was about to enter, the scene changed to show another
explosion happening.

"At least we don't have to see her doing whatever it is that she did." May said,
though it didn't really comfort her. Lan Fan had just done something drastic,
something that May was sure she would never be able to do herself. It was
scary and not right. This shouldn't be happening to any of them.

The scene pulled out to show a train with MPs and workers around it.
They shouted in surprise at the explosion. Scar was flying back in the air,
coming out of the smoke with a stone hand chasing after him. The hand
closed and pulled back before another hand came out of the smoke. Scar
avoided it and it began to fall apart.

"Giant stone hands?" Hughes asked. "Of course, giant stone hands. I thought
it was Ed who destroyed everything!"

"Hey, I am one person! I can't make all that destruction happen all by
myself." Ed retorted.
"I find that hard to believe." Mustang muttered.

Scar landed by a water tank on a platform. Al shot out of the smoke on a

pillar. He jumped off of it and landed on the platform. Scar jumped to
the other end of the platform to avoid getting jumped on.

Scar was shown as he said, "There's nothing inside that armor. You're
hollow aren't you?" Al was shown. "You poor boy. Alchemy trapped you
in that metal prison and yet you still have faith in it?"

"What is it with you and saying stuff about alchemy to your opponents?"
Edward asked. "Are you trying to get us to repent our alchemy right before
you kill us?"

"Perhaps I am trying to get you to see the wrongs of your way of living." Scar
replied.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You live your way and I'll live my way."

Al quickly clapped his hands and put one on the water tank. The
alchemy traveled to where Scar was and created a small pipe so water
was blasted out of it at Scar, who jumped away to avoid getting hit. Scar
landed on the ground with the water pouring down by him. Al landed on
the ground opposite of Scar.

"True, there are plenty of things about this body that are inconvenient,
but it's nothing I can't live with." Al said. Scar was shown. "I don't need
anyone's pity, least of all from you." Al was shown as he stood up. "My
brother used alchemy to save my life. To regret the form I have now
would mean not only rejecting alchemy but also turning my back on him.
I believe in my brother, and I believe in alchemy. I will not lose faith. I
want to believe!"

"Pretty speech." May said.

"It warms my heart so much that you believe in me." Ed said. "It's definitely a
step up from hating me and believing I created you as a puppet."
"I said I was sorry." Al replied dryly. "Can't you let that go?"

"To let it go would mean I would lose one of the few moments in life that you
didn't think rationally and can't tease you about it." Edward replied, grinning
at his brother.

"I guess teasing is better then the alternative." Al mumbled to himself.

"Oh, do you?" Scar asked as the water pouring down moved closer to
him. He put his hand in the water. Al gasped before the water was
suddenly turned to steam. Scar ran through the steam at Al. Ed's legs
were shown to be running through the steam. He jumped and kicked
Scar's knee, sending Scar back. Both of them landed in crouches.

"Nice timing!" Al cheered. "I thought Scar was going to destroy my armor
again."

"I was certainly trying to." Scar said, shooting a glare at Ed as he rubbed his
aching knee.

"Don't glare at me! I'm the one who has to fix his armor when it gets
destroyed!" Ed retorted. "Besides, I don't want to risk his seal getting messed
up cause of you."

"I'm more amused you were finally able to land a blow on Scar." Mustang
commented, making Ed twitch in annoyance. "Of course it only happened
because he was distracted and didn't know you had caught up to them."

"Colonel, shut up." Ed grumbled.

Scar skidded back before the scene pulled out to show Ed crouched next
to Al.

"Brother!" Al cried as Ed jumped to his feet and back next to Al.

"Where's Winry?"

"What? No thanks for saving you?" Ed whined.

"Thank you very much, Brother." Al told him dryly.

"I think you're being sarcastic." Ed grumbled.

"She's safe." Ed ran a hand across his chin as dramatic music began.
"No thanks to me though. I made her cry again."

Al was shown. "You really should be more careful, Brother."

"She should have known better then to run headfirst into one of our fights."
Ed grumbled. "If she had, she wouldn't have heard me."

Ed's face was shown with his eyes and mouth twitching. The scene pulled
out to show both brothers.

"She doesn't like to see you fight like that." Al said.

"Yeah." Ed replied.

"She also doesn't like to see you covered in blood." Al added.

"It's just a cut!" Ed sighed, rubbing his forehead. "At least she didn't have to
see anything worse then this."

"But she's gone now." Ed said as he and Al fell into their fighting
stances. "Let's end this."

"Ooh, I found you." Gluttony's voice said, causing Scar to look over his
shoulder as Gluttony landed on the ground behind him. Gluttony stood
up, tongue lolling out of his mouth. "Ishvalan!"

"Well, at least we no longer have to fight Scar now." Edward said.

"Yes, but now we have an immortal monster to deal with." Al pointed out.

"He's only after Scar. Scar can handle himself against Gluttony." Edward
replied.

"Last time he was severely injured." Mustang pointed out.

"At that time, he was in a closed off area and he was facing off against
Gluttony and Lust. So getting injured was totally allowed." Edward retorted.

"You again." Scar said.

"Look at his tattoo!" Al said.

"A Homunculus!" Ed exclaimed.

"You two sound surprised. Wasn't this your plan?" Miles asked.

"Yeah, but I only ever met Greed, Lust, Envy, and unknowingly, Wrath. This
is our first meeting with Gluttony." Edward answered.

"He probably really wasn't what we were expecting from this." Al added.
"Especially when compared to the other Homunculi that we've met."

Gluttony charged at Scar. Scar was shown from inside Gluttony's mouth
before the scene pulled out to show Scar from behind as he turned to
Gluttony. He pushed Gluttony's mouth up and let him fall to the ground
before putting his hand on his back. There's was a metallic sound as Scar
activated his alchemy. Gluttony threw up blood with blood trailing out of
his nose and eyes.

"Wow, your alchemy looks so painful if he is bleeding from everything."

May said, grimacing.

"Which is why he is such a formidable and scary opponent." Ed replied.

The scene changed to a grey street with blood drops on it. Bradley's feet
walked across the screen as he followed the trail of blood. Bradley was
shown to be frowning.

Gluttony reappeared on screen with red alchemical light crackling

around him as blood continued to trail out of his eyes and nose into his
mouth. After it passed, he grinned cruelly as Scar, whose teeth gritted
when he saw him healed.

Gluttony suddenly head-butted Scar, who slammed into a metal crate.

The Homunculus then slammed his body into Scar, denting it from the
force, as Scar blocked with his arm.

Scar grimaced from the pain flaring in his arm, chest, and back from that
attack. His whole upper body was screaming in protest. Nothing was broken,
he knew that. But it certainly felt like he has been bruised up horribly from
that.

The street Bradley was going down was shown again. Bradley was show
with his determined frown.

Scar reappeared on the screen. Gluttony landed in front Scar, but Ed

and Al kicked him before they could fight again.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Mustang demanded. "I thought you were
going to leave him to Scar."

Ed looked at Al and they both shrugged. "Who knows? Gluttony can't kill us
so it doesn't really matter." The former said.

"Just because they can't kill you doesn't mean they can't fight you!" Riza told
them. "He could still seriously hurt you."

"Yeah, but a Homunculus finally appeared. We don't want to give Scar the
chance to ruin this moment." Al replied. "It might be the only chance we get."

Bradley whipped his sword out as he appeared on screen and rounded a

corner in the alley. Lan Fan's limp hand fell onto the screen, blood
dripping off the fingers. Bradley's eye widened.

A manhole was shown. The lid of it blasted and flew through the sky
before Ling was shown cannonballing in the sky with his sword held
between his teeth.

Ed was shown as he shouted, "It's Ling."

"And where did you come from?" Buccaneer asked. "And where is Lan Fan?
I thought you wouldn't abandon her."

"I wouldn't so we must have come up with a plan." Ling replied. 'She better
not be dead after whatever stunt she pulled.'

"We just saw her limp arm." Ed pointed out. "And Lan Fan did say she values
her life so it's most likely–"

"I cut my arm off." Lan Fan finished, grimacing as the grim truth came out.
She has lost her arm. There was no fixing the nerves now. All she could now
was hopefully get herself treated quickly so she has a chance to get automail.
"And then we hid in the sewers so Bradley wouldn't be able to follow our
trail anymore."

"Feels like something is still missing though." Mustang said, frowning.

"The arm." Hughes replied. "Bradley would notice if the trail ended abruptly.
He would realize something so they probably had to do something to keep the
trail going."

"That's obvious. The question is how." Mustang retorted.

As he was in the air, Ling pulled a safety pin off a grenade. He looked
down at Gluttony. As he fell, he landed on Gluttony's shoulders and
shoved the grenade down Gluttony's throat.

"Damn it, Ling. You better hope he doesn't clamp his mouth shut on your
arm. If he does, you're going to lose your arm." Edward said.

"I trust in my strength to make sure that does not happen." Ling replied.

Ling quickly pulled his arm out of Gluttony's mouth and looked at Ed
and Al. He took his sword out of his mouth and said, "Go! Move it!" As
Gluttony moved back a few steps, Ling jumped off of him. His whole
body exploded after a moment. His blood splattered against the metal
crate. Scar shielded his face with his arm as some of the blood hit him.

"I bet Scar is trying to figure out what the hell is going on at this moment."
Havoc said, smirking grimly.

"Yeah, first Fullmetal practically gives him a calling card to him, a

Homunculus interrupts their fight, then Ling shows up out of nowhere and
blows the Homunculus up and he seems to know Fullmetal and Al. Who the
hell wouldn't be confused?" Mustang asked, slightly amused.

"Just a pawn in a horrible game." Ed murmured, rubbing his temple. They

were all making the others pawns in this horrible twisted life.

Gluttony's tongue splattered on the ground in front of Ed, who was

sitting on the ground. He grimaced in disgust as the tongue disintegrated
in front of his eyes.

Al watched Gluttony's arm do the same thing.

"Why aren't you guys standing up?" Riza asked.

"Ever been around an explosion?" Ed asked dryly. "It's not easy to stay on
your feet during them when you're not used to them."

Riza put a hand to her chin. "I guess that makes sense. I got so used to
explosion during the Ishvalan civil war that the shaking doesn't bother me
anymore."

"Hooray for you. Scar is probably the same way, but he also had that crate
behind him to help balance him." Edward said.

Gluttony's body was shown with the cackling red alchemical light
surrounding him again as he slowly healed. Ling landed on the ground
between Ed and Al.

Gluttony's arm was shown as the bone formed with the muscle and skin
following it.

Ling stood up. "Get me some strong cable."

"Right." Ed shouted as he stood up. "On it." He ran over to the railroad
tracks. He put his hands on the metal and blue alchemical light
appeared. There was a flash before cable was twisting around in the air.

Ling twisted and tied it around Gluttony's body. "Your over generative
abilities working against you." He said as he pulled at the cable. He
grunted as he pulled the cable harder.

"Genius. As strong as these guys are, even they can't escape when tied up like
this, especially when they are in the process of healing from death. When
healing from death, they are pretty vulnerable." Hughes said.

"I was lucky to have found Gluttony with Ed and Al. I couldn't have done this
without an alchemist by me to make the cable I needed." Ling added. "If they
weren't around, all I really could do was fight in the end."

"As much as I hate to admit, it was damn lucky of us to have met you in Rush
Valley. You really are a lot of help." Edward said before shooting an evil
glare at Ling. "As long as you aren't running up my food bill!"

"Hey, I'm paying you back. I think going up against highly dangerous
monsters deserves a free meal from you." Ling retorted.

"A free meal?" Ed echoed. "Then what about the one in Rush Valley and the
destroyed city you left us to deal with?!"

"Hey, you guys easily fixed the city so I don't want to hear about that." Ling
replied.

"And the food bill?" Ed asked.

Ling sighed. "Look, I'll give you a free feast when you visit us in Xing."

"Xing? Who said anything about me going to Xing?!" Ed shouted.

"You have to visit your friends, Ed." Ling replied.

"The how about you come visit me?" Ed suggested.

"If I'm ruler, I can't just leave whenever I want." Ling argued.

"Who says you will become ruler?" May interrupted.

"My lord is more fit to be Emperor then you." Lan Fan said, glaring at May.
"And now it has gotten out of hand." Al said dryly, shooting a glare at his
brother. "Good job, Ed."

"How is this my fault?" Ed mumbled.

"You just had to argue with Ling." Al said.

Ed shrugged. "Argue for the sake of arguing."

"You really need to stop that." Mustang told him before putting two fingers in
his mouth and whistling loudly.

Ed clapped his hands to his ears in pain, and he wasn't the only one. Those
from Xing shot annoyed glares at Mustang.

"All of those from Xing," Mustang said. "From this moment on, you will stop
your arguing about who is going to be the ruler of Xing. It is annoying and
getting in the way of our watching the future."

"Mind your–" May and Lan Fan started angrily, only to have Mustang
whistle loudly again."

"Cease." Mustang hissed.

The two girls fell quiet, both frowning.

"Honestly." Mustang said.

"Damn," Jerso said, holding one of his ears. "Is he going to do that every time
they start arguing about who is going to be the ruler of Xing?"

"I hope not or we are all going to go deaf." Zampano replied.

"Your flesh won't stop expanding. It will keep you tied up nice and
tight." Ling said as Gluttony was shown to be pressed hard against the
cables. "You're mine now, Homunculus!" He shouted as the scene pulled
out to show Ed and Al still sitting and watching him.

"Why the hell are you still on the ground?" Darius shouted.
"Scar is still there. You need to get up and make sure he doesn't kill you!"
Heinkel added.

"I think he is in as much shock as we are in so we have a bit of time to watch

this strange scene." Al replied.

Lan fan's arm appeared on screen again. The hand started to move away
before Bradley was shown. He was standing in front of a dog which had
Lan Fan's arm tied to his back.

"And there it is!" Hughes said. "You kept the trail going like that."

"But that is really creepy and gross." May said, staring in shock at the bloody,
limp arm on screen. Tying someone's arm to a dog? How much more
disgusting can this get?

"Maybe, but it was very effective in getting us both out of there alive." Lan
Fan replied.

The dog shook himself, sending blood flying around him. He looked at
Bradley and whined.

Bradley stared coldly down at the dog. "That was well-played, girl." He
said.

"I think a Homunculus just complimented you." Breda said.

Lan Fan frowned. "Not that I want a compliment from one of them."

"I say take it for what it is. He'll know you're a threat now." Ed said.

The sewers were shown. Lan Fan walked through them, gripping her
shoulder tightly and with Ling's shirt tied around her to stop the blood
flow.

For a moment, Lan Fan went completely stiff before her eyes dilated and she
screamed loudly, hunching over and grappling for her shoulder to hold
because of the amount of pain flowing through her body at the missing arm.
It was such an intense amount of pain that she has never experienced in her
life once. As black dots began to swarm her vision, her eyes scrunched shut
in a desperate attempt to make the sudden dizziness and nauseousness go
away.

"Lan Fan!" Ling shouted worriedly, leaning down by her to stare worriedly
into her face. "Lan Fan."

Lan Fan heard her lord call to her and she desperately wanted to tell him that
she was fine, but she couldn't even open her eyes. All she could do was
breath heavily and try not to scream again.

Understanding her pain, Ed stood up on the couch and easily jumped over
Hughes and Mustang. Since she had Ling on one side and Fu on the other, Ed
kneeled down in front of Lan Fan. "Lan Fan, I need you to listen to me, okay?
I know you're in a lot of pain here, but you need to slow your breathing.
Breathing fast like that will only make it worse and possibly throw you into a
panic attack. Breathe in deeply for me then slowly let it out." He shot a look
at Ling, and understanding the look, Ling nodded and backed up a bit.

With Ling backed up, Ed put his hand on Lan Fan's hand. When he felt her
flinch a bit, he let go. "In deeply, out slowly, Lan Fan." When she did as he
asked, Ed said, "I need you to let me take your hand off your shoulder."

Lan Fan gave a very small nod.

Ed put his hand on her hand once more and gently peeled it away from her
shoulder while saying, "In. Out. In. Out." He copied his breathing to hers as
he gently massaged her shoulder and upper arm, especially in the areas where
he knew the nerves were. As she started to calm herself, Ed looked up at Ling
and nodded at his grateful look. He mouthed, "Continue."

Lan Fan leaned against a wall. "I beat you."

She gripped her shoulder tightly as she breathed heavily.

"She really shouldn't be running through the sewers with such a horrible
injury. It might get infected." Dr. Marcoh said worriedly.
"No other choice." Ling said through gritted teeth as he glanced at Ed and
Lan Fan, who were still going through the breathing techniques.

Lan Fan closed her eyes. "How does it feel to be tricked?" She
repositioned herself on the wall and opened her eyes. "You lose this
round."

Scar appeared on screen, rubbing his stomach as he moved closer to the

Homunculus.

"I'm so amazed that Chief is actually good at calming down someone in

pain." Havoc whispered to his comrades, but was staring at Ed, who was still
in front of Lan Fan and frowning.

"It's probably because he is so used to pain that he knows to stay calm."

Breda replied.

'What? That thing is a Homunculus?' Scar thought.

"I'm more surprised you know what a Homunculus is, considering how much
you hate alchemy." Mustang said.

"I have done my research." Scar replied blandly.

"Even more shocking."

A car was heard skidding across the ground. The driver's hands were
shown. One was holding the steering wheel while the other was holding a
gun. A few shots were fired. Scar's leg was shown as a bullet ripped
through it.

Scar growled and grabbed at his leg from the pain flaring inside of it. The
pain was excruciating, but it was nothing like being caught in an explosion.
Nothing could really top that horrible feeling.

Scar grunted in pain as Riza was shown to be skidding to a stop. She was
wearing a white shirt, glasses, and had her hair down.

"Very simple disguise." Ross said.

"Sometimes simple is the best disguise out there." Riza replied.

The car skidded all the way over the ground to where the group was.
Riza kept her gun trained on the kneeling Scar the whole time. "Put him
in. We're getting him out of here." She ordered Ling.

Ed and Al were shown to be thinking about the disguised Riza. They

compared her to Riza and both wore shocked looks.

Dramatic music began as Ling grunted as he lifted Gluttony up.

"Impressive strength for one so young." Armstrong commented.

"What the hell kind of training did you have?" Ed asked blankly.

"Difficult training." Ling replied and when he noticed Lan Fan's eyes opened
and that her expression wore less pain, he turned to her. "Lan Fan, are you
okay?"

Lan Fan nodded. "Yes, My Lord." She turned to Ed. "Thank you, Edward."

Ed gave her a half-smile. "The pain won't go completely away for a while
and since you're are going to appear on screen again with your arm missing,
the pain will come back instantly. Be ready to face it at a moment's notice."
With that, he stood up and moved back over to the couch. Instead of jumping
this time, He stepped between his Commanding Officer and Hughes and just
climbed onto the couch by Riza.

Fu kneeled by his granddaughter. "A foolish move cutting your arm off, but it
was certainly effective."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more." Lan Fan told him.

Fu shook his head. "You did what you could to keep the Young Lord alive.
You certainly did your duty the best you could."

"Where did you learn such calming techniques for someone in that amount of
pain?" Riza asked quietly.
"In one of my missions, I got trapped in a mine with some workers. Some of
them got injured and one had a panic attack. He needed to calm him down.
One of the older miners was used to things like injuries and panic attacks so
he calmed him down. I felt utterly useless at the time, so I watched what he
did and studied a bit on it and just learned what I could." Ed explained just as
quietly.

Riza nodded. "I see. Well, it's a good thing you did."

Ling put Gluttony in the back of the car.

"Where did you get that car anyway?" May asked. "It wasn't what you were
driving before."

"Probably took it from someone." Mustang answered.

"Such an abuse of power." Ed said.

"We must make do with what we can when thrown into an operation at the
last minute." Mustang snapped.

As Riza pointed her gun at Scar again, Ling jumped into the back of the
car as well. Scar was shown to be crouching on the ground with a hole in
his leg. He growled.

Riza was shown, lowering her gun. She got a few things situated in the
car.

Ed looked at her and stretched a hand out. "Hold on a sec, Lieute–"

Riza put a finger to her lips. "Shh."

Ed lowered his arm.

One of the car tires was shown. It skidded on the ground before the car
zoomed out of there.

"Wait, what's going on?" Al shouted.

"Al!" Ed said. "The MPs are watching. Just pretend we don't know
her."

"MPs! No help at all during any of this!" Ed grumbled.

"You wanted them out of it." Mustang pointed out.

"Yeah, but there just stood there the whole time as we fought Scar, a strange
monster showed up, followed by Ling who blows the monster up and it
regenerates? How can they just do nothing?!" Ed asked.

"That will be kind of hard to cover up." Ling said thoughtfully.

"I wonder how the higher-ups do cover up something like that." Ed mumbled.

"Kill them most likely. It's what they did to the researchers I worked with."
Dr. Marcoh said darkly.

"They're getting away!" An MP shouted as the they moved forward.

"After them."

"Right."

Ed was shown again. "The Colonel may be a creep and a jerk, but at
least we can trust him. We have something to do." He looked at Scar.

"Creep and jerk? No respect at all." Mustang muttered.

"Hey, I did say that I trust you." Ed pointed out.

"After calling me a creep and a jerk." Mustang retorted.

"Well, you have to admit that you are a bit of a conceited jerk at times." Ed
replied.

"Conceited?! You didn't say that!" Mustang said.

"No, but I was thinking it." Ed replied.

"Brat."

Scar was shown to be leaning against the metal crate. He looked back
when he heard the footsteps. Ed punched him in the face with his metal
hand.

"Oh, yeah!" Ed cheered.

Scar hissed and rubbed his cheek.

"You know, if Hawkeye hadn't shot him in the leg to slow him down, you
probably wouldn't have been able to hit him." Mustang pointed out.

"Stop trying to ruin the mood of the fight." Ed snapped. "I'm happy landing
any blows on this guy."

Ed ducked under a punch from him and moved back a few steps. Ed
jumped in the air and somersaulted in the air to avoid Scar's arm. He
landed on the ground then jumped back again. He stumbled back when
he landed, giving Scar the chance to move forward and destroy the
ground under Ed. Ed jumped to the side.

Scar was shown with blood trailing down his chin. He growled as the
scene pulled out to show Ed and Al facing Scar.

"We have to get him, Al." Ed said as he stood up.

"Mm-hmm." Al said.

The brothers clapped their hands at the same time. "You killed the
Rockbells and Nina, among many others." Ed said.

"You're going to answer for your crimes." Al said.

The bottom half of May's body was shown as she ran across the screen.
She slammed a foot into Al's side, sending him off-balance. When Al hit
the ground, she jumped off of him and kicked a surprised Ed in the face.

"MAY!" Ed shouted, grabbing his face. "How could you hit us?"
"Uh, I'm sorry, Edward, Alphonse." May replied sheepishly.

"Sorry is not going to cut it!" Ed shouted, rubbing his face. "Damn it, that
hurt."

"You could have dodged that." Izumi reprimanded.

"I think I was too shocked by her sudden appearance to move." Ed grumbled.
"Not to mention I can't understand why she is attacking us. I don't know she
is with Scar at this moment!"

Ed fell over as May jumped away.

May and Xiao-Mei landed by Scar, but looked at the brothers. "Are
these two giving you trouble, servant? This is the servant of the man who
saved my life. You better leave him alone, puny little boy!"

Ed shot up angrily. "WAIT A SEC! WHO ARE YOU CALLING

PUNY?!"

"If you are already yelling about that, I guess you weren't in that much pain."
Mustang said dryly.

"No one calls me small." Ed grumbled.

The MPs ran over. "Where'd that kid come from?" One of them asked.

"Get away, girl! It's dangerous." Another MPs shouted as they

surrounded Scar and May.

May looked around. "They got us outnumbered."

"Haven't you realized there is something wrong if this country's MPs are
surrounding you?" Edward asked.

"Perhaps, but Yoki did save my life and he and Scar are traveling together. I
do owe them a debt and it's probably nice having more traveling
companions." May replied.
"That, and they did help you get to Central." Al said. "But this is probably
how you got dragged into our country's mess. It's not really fair to you."

"No, but as Ling said, you guys are a neighboring country. We can't leave
you all to this horror alone without offering assistance. This could be a start
to helping your relations with your neighbors after we get rid of the
Homunculi." May told him.

"We can finally stop shredding all that blood on our borders when this is
done with." Hughes said, smiling. "Sounds nice."

May whipped out multiple kunai in each hand. "It's time for us to
retreat." She spun in a half-circle before throwing the kunai. Five of
them pierced one train car and the other five pierced another.

"Those must be really sharp kunai if they are able to stick in the metal."
Brosh said shocked.

"I'm more surprised that she got them so easily in the shape she wanted with
one throw." Ross said.

"That was a difficult part of the training." May told Ross. "But like
everything else, it became easy with a lot of practice."

"I think everyone is missing the important part. Why did you throw your
kunai like that?" Edward asked.

"You will see in a moment, Edward." May replied.

May's legs were shown as she quickly drew a circle on the ground her
foot and drew a star inside of it.

"That always seems to be the array you use. Don't you ever use a different
one?" Al asked.

"No need to." May replied.

May threw her kunai into the points of the star then put her hand in the
center of the array. Blue alchemical light surrounded the array before
the one on the train was shown. A blue alchemical star appeared in it as
an explosion occurred. The same happened with the second array. The
scene pulled out to show the two explosions occurring and grey smoke
filling the area.

"….Dangerous." Havoc said. "At least you didn't try to kill anyone with that."

"Of course not. I do not want to kill anyone." May replied. "Just escaped."

"I thought Alkahestry was used in the medical field, not to blow things up."
Ed said dryly.

"That is the primary use of Alkahestry, but it is not its only use." May told
him.

"Hmm, it's amazing that you could blow up those trains without disrupting
anything else." Edward added.

"That is because I use the Dragon's Pulse to transmute over long distances."
May explained.

"Dragon's Pulse? What's that?" Mustang asked confused.

"The Dragon's Pulse is basically the constant flow of chi which flows from
the tops of mountains down to the land. It nourishes everything it passes with
that energy." Ling explained.

May nodded in agreement. "Alkahestrists transmit that chi through the

pathways of the human body to heal minor ailments and injuries. Dragon's
Pulse also helps with our long distance transmutations by using our arrays
and the markers as you just saw."

"The markers are the kunai you threw at the train, right?" Ed asked.

"Correct. Without those markers, I would not be able transmute over that
distance." May replied. "Alchemy does not use the Dragon's Pulse?"

Ed shook his head. "No, we use the energy of tectonic shifts and the
manipulation of matter."
The MPs shouted out in surprise.

The scene moved into the smoke to show some of the MPs coughing and
covering their faces.

Ed and Al were shown with the former coughing and covering his face as
well. "What kind of alchemy was that?"

"Really, Fullmetal, you shouldn't be talking right now. You don't want to
breathe in that smoke." Mustang scolded.

"And here I thought May wasn't trying to kill us." Ed retorted dryly.

"I also expected you all to be smart and not breathe in that smoke since it can
damage your lungs." May butted in.

"I can't fault you since you don't know what Fullmetal is like at this time."
Mustang told her.

Ed's brow twitched in annoyance.

Al looked in the direction of Scar and May. "She did it from that far
away?"

May and Scar were shown. May was holding Scar's hand. "Here, follow
me." She said and started pulling Scar along.

Ed looked around. "Ah, I can't see." The scene pulled out to show the
area from the sky. "Scar!"

"I can't believe he got away." Ed grumbled.

"I can't believe you got away with so few injuries." Mustang said.

"I don't sit on my ass all day and research. I do train!" Ed snapped at him.

The scene changed to an intersection where there was a honking noise.

Riza drove her car through the intersection, causing a truck to skid to a
stop.
The car was shown with Ling standing in the back of it with a hand
holding down Gluttony.

"I know who you are, Ling Yao." Riza said. "Don't worry. We're on our
way to a secure safe house."

"Now that you say that, it's amazing Ling jumped in the back of the car with
Gluttony without even trying to figure out who you are." Al said.

"We always knew Ling was crazy." Ed told his brother, smirking a bit.

Ling just shrugged and turned to Riza. "How would you know who I am?"

"You did work with Breda and Falman. One of them probably passed the
information on to me." Riza replied.

Ling leaned forward to tell Riza, "My friend! I left her behind. Go get
her!"

"What?" Riza said. "No, we can't. We don't have time."

"Make time!" Ling shouted as he was shown. "She could be dying now."
Riza was shown. "She's still waiting there for me."

"You had better make it quick." Riza said before she changed shifts and
made a sharp left turn. She honked the horn again as she drove through
another intersection. The honking grabbed the attention of the MPs and
Bradley who were around.

"Crap." Riza mumbled.

"Why did you honk the horn at the intersections?" May asked confused.

"It's to alert people that I am driving through without stopping since we don't
want any accidents." Riza said.

"And Bradley just saw us." Ling said, frowning. "He will no doubt recognize
me."
"And I'm not sure if my disguise is good enough to fool him." Riza added.

Bradley's eye was shown to be narrowed dangerously. He imagined the

car again, particularly Riza. 'That woman driving. I'm sure she's
Mustang's.'

The car was shown driving away.

Bradley was shown watching the car. 'I'm tired of playing games with that
upstart.'

May and Scar were shown in an alley. May put her kunai down in the
ground by Scar's leg and blue alchemical light surrounded the two.

"With you by his side, he definitely won't stay down long anymore." Ed
muttered.

"Which means he'll just keep coming back more and more often." Mustang
said, rubbing his temple. "At least when he got injured before, we had a bit of
time to regroup and gather intelligence."

"But now he's just going to keep appearing." Ed groaned.

"Yeah, so be on your damn guard this time, Fullmetal." Mustang snapped.

"Yeah, yeah."

The scene moved closer to the two and showed Scar's face. 'Her eyes.
Was that how mine looked?'

Winry appeared on the screen with a clang, holding a gun with tears
pouring down her face.

Scar reappeared on the screen, holding his right arm up as he looked at

it. 'No matter what I do, hatred only breeds more hatred.'

The alchemical light disappeared and the scene pulled out to show May
tying some bandages around Scar's leg. "There you go." She said as she
finished. "I think I managed to stop the bleeding."
Scar put his hand on his injured leg and looked at May. "Thank you."

"Scar said thanks?" Ed and Al said in complete shock.

"Just because I kill, that does not mean I don't have gratitude for those who
help me." Scar said.

"Could have fooled me." Ed mumbled.

When they heard footsteps, both turned to the end of the alley. Yoki
rounded the corner, turning around to look where he came from. "Sir!"
Yoki turned to them and pointed to where he came from. "The MPs are
all closing in on us. We need to get going."

Soldiers and MPs were shown to be around the area.

"He took a shot to the leg. In his condition, he couldn't have gotten far."
A soldier said.

"Too bad we don't know just what May can do." Fuery said.

"And they will probably use that to their advantage." Mustang said annoyed.

"Comb the area for him." Another soldier shouted over the barking
dogs.

"Sir!"

May was shown to be looking around the wall as Yoki urged Scar on.
"Quickly, sir. Quickly."

May jogged away from the wall and asked, "Xiao-Mei, where are you?"
She faced the screen. "Oh no."

"No! Not Xiao-Mei!" May cried.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have taken Xiao-Mei with you into that battle to help
Scar." Ed said, staring at the little panda on May's shoulder. He had actually
forgotten that she was here.
"I could never leave Xiao-Mei behind!" May said. "She has been with me
ever since we met!"

Al was shown holding Xiao-Mei in his hands.

"Al." Ed said dangerously.

Al quietly 'meeped' to himself.

"Why do you have that?" Ed demanded.

"Well, May lost her! I couldn't just leave Xiao-Mei to wonder around lost!"
Al argued.

"You don't even know who she belongs to! I told you to stop picking up
strays!" Ed snapped.

"Xiao-Mei is not a stray!" May shouted.

"Yes, she is! If she is not with the owner and with a couple of alchemists who
know nothing about her, she's a stray!" Ed retorted.

"Are you guys really arguing over this?" Ling asked.

"You don't understand, Ling. Al is always picking up strays that we cannot

take care of cause we are always on the move." Edward said.

"I can't just leave them on the street!" Al retorted.

"Then you take them to the shelter, not back to the dorms or the hotel we are
staying at!" Ed said.

Mustang's brow twitched as he asked dangerously, "You've brought animals

into the dorms?"

Ed chuckled nervously. "No. Al did."

"Do you realize I've had soldiers having allergy attacks to animal fur and we
couldn't figure out where it was coming from?" Mustang asked angrily.
"Hey," Ed held his hands up defensively. "I've told Al not to bring them to
the dorms, but his heart is too big."

"Knock it off!" Mustang snapped. "There's no animals allowed in the dorms

for a reason. So stop bringing them! You're giving me more work when you
do that."

Al crossed his arms and grumbled to himself about jerks and cold-hearted
people who are so cruel to animals.

"Look what I found, Ed." Al said.

Ed, who now had a bandage on his head, was shown to be staring at
Xiao-Mei with a twitching brow. He swung his head around to Al
angrily. "We're a little busy right now to be adopting panda bears, Al!"

"I couldn't leave her alone in the middle of all that mess back there." Al
defended.

Ed lifted a fist angrily. "First stray cats, now this! Just how many
animals can you stuff in that armor of yours, huh? Get rid of it!"

"I feel sorry for the person driving you two." Havoc said, though he was
wearing an amused smirk.

"I feel sorry for the people who stay in the dorms around your dorm if you
two are always arguing like this." Brosh said.

"It's not always!" Al and Ed snapped.

"Just when Al brings strays back." Ed mumbled.

"Just when Brother is being an idiot about his health or injuries." Al

muttered.

Quite a few soldiers sweat dropped at that. Of all the dark things in their life,
that's what they argue about?

Al moved Xiao-Mei closer to him. "What a heartless thing to say."

Xiao-Mei struggled in his arms for a moment before Al poked her cheek.

"Look how sweet and gentle she is." Al said.

"I don't think she likes that." Ed said blankly.

"I know I wouldn't." May muttered.

Xiao-Mei bit Al's finger angrily. Al stared down at her. He chuckled.

"It's alright. You're safe now."

When her bite didn't do anything, Xiao-Mei let go and thought of a food
pyramid with her and May at the top.

"Wow, that little panda really thinks she's all that." Lan Fan said blankly.

"She sure does." Ed muttered, brow twitching once more.

A picture of Al took over the top, scaring Xiao-Mei.

The car was shown from the outside as it pulled to a stop in front of the
Command Center.

The building was shown as a voice said, "This way. Follow me."

"Thanks." Ed said.

Ed and Al were shown to be following a MP down a hall.

"You can stay in here, okay?" Al put the panda bear in his suit of armor
via his helmet.

The MP they were following opened a door, showing Winry sitting at a

table with a drink in front of her.

Winry lifted her head and looked at the door.

"Hey Winry." Ed said, entering the room. He and Al paused when they
saw Bradley drinking from a cup opposite of Winry.
"Look, it's Bradley." Ed groaned. "Why is he there?"

"Who knows why Bradley does the strange things he does?" Mustang asked.

"Well, Bradley does favor Ed, if only because he is a sacrifice. He did visit
Ed at the hospital after all. And Winry is a friend of Ed. Maybe he's just
greeting her." Hughes said.

"I would much prefer it if he stayed away from her." Ed said.

Bradley held his mug up in greeting as he said, "Oh, hello there,

Fullmetal Alchemist."

Edward appeared on screen. "Fuhrer Bradley, this is a surprise." He

said as a greeting.

"What brings you here?" Al asked.

Bradley put his mug down. "I heard that a childhood friend of yours was
under our protection here at the Command Center. As a friend of such
an important alchemist, she deserves our every courtesy." Bradley
finished as Ed and Al appeared on screen again.

"I was right." Hughes said.

"Are you happy about that?" Ed asked sarcastically.

"Actually, no. It just means that the Homunculi are keeping a really close eye
on you and I don't like it." Hughes replied.

"I don't either now that the Homunculi have met Winry." Ed said darkly.

"Do you think they would do something to her?" May asked worriedly.

Ed shrugged. "Don't know, but I wouldn't put it passed them considering

what they have already done."

Ed frowned.
The scene pulled out as Bradley stood up and picked up his sword. "I
should be on my way now. If you'll please excuse me, miss." He gave a
small bow to Winry.

"Oh, of course, sir." Winry stood up and gave a small bow to him.

The doorway was shown with Ed and Al standing by it. Al moved a bit to
the side as Bradley walked out. Ed turned slightly to watch him leave,
still frowning.

"Seriously, why are you frowning? You don't know about him yet." Havoc
said.

"No," Ed replied darkly. "But I saw what he did in Dublith. He slaughter all
of those people for no reason and killed one of them inside of Al. I don't think
I could easily trust him after that."

"You trust me and I killed hundreds in the war." Mustang pointed out.

Ed gave him an annoyed look. "There's a difference between being ordered to

fight in a war with no choice and raiding a place to kill all of the people in it
without even interrogating them. What gave them to right to raid the place
anyway?"

"Maybe they knew you were in there and in trouble and used that as the
excuse to enter the place and start the slaughter." Hughes said.

"And where would they have gotten that information?" Ed asked dryly.

"You'd be amazed at the stuff they can learn." Hughes replied.

"That's a nice, honest friend you got there." Bradley said. "Make sure
you both take good care of her."

Ed twitched. "Knowing who he is, I'm taking that as a bloody threat!"

"That is probably a wise move." Mustang told him.

With that Bradley walked away. The MP in the hallway saluted him
while Al and Ed leaned around the door to watch him go. When Bradley
was gone, the MP gave a strange look to the brothers.

Winry walked over to Ed and Al.

"Ed." Winry said, causing both of the boys to look at her. She was
shown. "You promised. Tell me everything about my parents. What
happened to them?"

"Argh, that doesn't sound like a fun conversation at all." Ed groaned.

"Well, you promised and she deserves to know." Hughes pointed out.

"Doesn't mean I have to enjoy the conversation." Ed replied.

Ed turned to face her fully.

The scene changed to a road. A car drove down it.

Sad music started as Winry was shown to be sitting in the car, staring
blankly out the window.

"I see. They did everything they could to help others, right up to the
end." Winry's voice said before she was shown to be sitting in that room
with Ed and Al. "But I…I just wished they could have come back to me
alive. Is that selfish?" She bowed her head as her shoulders started to
shake from her crying.

Winry was shown in the car once more. 'More waiting. That's all I can
ever do.'

Ed and Al were shown to be in the car with her. The former was staring
at her. He looked down with a frown after a moment.

The military dorms were shown. Ed entered them with Winry and Al
trailing after him.

"Ah, perfect timing." The receptionist said as they entered. "Miss

Rockbell, there's a telephone call for you."
Winry put a hand to her chest and said in surprise, "For me?"

Winry jogged over to the desk and took the phone from the man. "Yes,
hello?" She looked surprised. "Oh, Mr. Garfiel!"

Garfiel appeared on screen, plugging one of his ears with a child

standing by him. "I'm sorry about this, Winry." He turned around to
face the screen. "I know you've got a lot going on and I tried to handle it
myself, really."

Garfiel's shop was shown with a lot of talking people inside it.

"Where is she?"

"Isn't Winry back yet?"

"Look at this! Winry's the only one who can fix it!"

"But I can't take this anymore!" Garfiel turned back around. "Your
customers are so needy."

"Sheesh, she hasn't even been there that long and she's already has that many
customers?" Havoc said.

"Of course she does." Ed retorted. "Her automail is the best out there."

"You only say that because she is your mechanic." Buccaneer said.

Ed shrugged. "Maybe, but I have gone to other mechanics for a quick repair
jump to fix something very simple when I couldn't get out to Resembool.
Their skill was nothing when compared to the work Winry does."

"Didn't she ever notice the strange work on you automail if you did that?" Kei
asked curiously, knowing that each mechanic's work is different.

"Sure she did." Al piped up. "She always got very furious when she saw it
and never let Brother explain why he got someone else to do it."

Ed rubbed his head. "Yeah, not fun experiences."

Winry reappeared on screen.

"Please hurry back, Winry!" A customer yelled. "We miss you!"

"You there, Miss Winry?" A child's voice asked.

"Tetsu?" Winry asked.

"Please come back to the shop soon." The child was shown to be talking
on the phone with a group of adults around him. "You do a much better
job working on my leg then Mr. Garfiel can. We need you here."

An old man took the phone from Tetsu. "Yeah, another thing, Winry.
We still need an outer covering for that model leg you made for me."

A young man leaned forward and shouted into the phone, "My arm
needs work too."

A bald man butted in. "Hey, hold on a sec. I was first."

Winry appeared on screen again.

"I miss you, Winry!"

"You idiot. Of course you miss her. We all do."

Winry chuckled a bit and smiled.

"Wow, that phone call sure came at such a good time." Ed said, grinning as
he watched Winry smile.

"Why is that?" Izumi asked.

"It will bring back her confidence that she doesn't just wait while we fight.
She does do something for us, and that is her amazing work on all of our
automail." Ed replied.

"I think somebody is in love." Hughes teased.

Ed knocked Hughes on the head with his automail hand. "Shut up."

"OW!" Hughes cried, grabbing his head. "Now that was uncalled for."

"Actually, I think you kind of had that coming." Mustang told him.

"Or it might just be the violent tendencies Brother learned from Teacher
coming out." Al suggested.

"Al, shut up." Ed and Izumi ordered.

Al chuckled.

"That' the truth!"

Winry's eyes lit up with tears. "I'm sorry. I'll be back home soon." Her
back was shown. "Just hold on." She lifted a hand to her eyes. "I won't
be much longer. I'll help everyone." The scene started to move back to
show Ed and Al watching her. "Thank you all."

Ed's face was shown.

The train station appeared on the screen with a train whistle blowing.

"Thank you both for stopping me back there." Winry said. She was
shown to be sitting on a train with the window open to talk to Ed, who
was wearing a dark blue shirt now and had had his head bandaged, and
Al who were standing by the train. "I forgot there were still people who
depend on me."

"I thought you just had a cut on your head. Why is your head bandaged all
around?" Hughes said.

"I don't know. Maybe it got worse." Ed grumbled.

"How could it get worse? You didn't even do any more fighting!" Mustang
retorted.

"Maybe it was worse then we thought from the beginning." Ed said,

shrugging. "I don't know! This is the future!"

Winry looked down. "If I had done it, I wouldn't have been able to face
them again."

Ed and Al were shown.

"Of course." Al said.

The scene pulled out to show all three again. Winry gasped and said, "I
expect you to take good care of your automail."

Ed took his automail hand out of his pocket and gave a brief thumb's up.
"Yep."

"Oh, and I'll send you some good polishing oil soon, Al." Winry said.

"Great." Al replied.

Winry looked back down for a moment before looking back up at the
brothers. "And no dying, okay?"

Al nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"Right." Ed said. He saw shown with a contemplating look in his eyes.

"Oh, and the next time I make you cry…" The rest of Ed's words were
cut off as the bell started to ring for the train to leave.

The bell was shown.

"The next time what?" Hughes groaned. "I wanted to hear what you were
saying."

"Well, I don't want any of you jerks to hear it!" Ed retorted.

"Cause it's embarrassing." Havoc teased.

"You don't know that!" Ed snapped.

Al coughed. "Brother, you said, 'next time I make you cry.' It's not
necessarily embarrassing, but probably something no one would expect from
you."

"Which will make Chief embarrassed." Luke said, grinning evilly. "Which
makes me want to hear it all that more."

"It's not of your business. This is private." Ed snapped at him.

Winry appeared on screen with a confused look. "Huh? What?" She

cupped her ear. "I can't hear you."

Ed was shown with his eyes shut. He turned and started to walk away
with his hands in his pockets.

"Brother?" Al said, turning to him with an arm stretched out. "Wait

up!"

"You're supposed to repeat what you say when someone doesn't hear you!"
Havoc groaned.

"Seriously, you all need to shut up. That's a private moment! You guys are
intruding enough on our life as it is." Ed shouted.

Heinkel shrugged. "We can't help that we are seeing the future from your
perspective."

Al started to chase after his brother, waving to Winry as he ran. "See

you, Winry!"

"Uh, okay." Winry said. "Geez." She stood up and leaned farther out the
window. She cupped her mouth with one hand as she yelled, "Come
back, Edward!" The brothers were shown to be walking away. "What
were you saying?"

Ed and Al paused. Al turned around immediately while Ed waited a

moment before turning. He stared at her before pointing and yelling,
"THE NEXT TIME I MAKE YOU CRY, I HOPE THEY'LL BE
TEARS OF JOY! AND AL AND I WILL BE BACK IN OUR NORMAL
BODIES AND I'LL MAKE YOU CRY OUT OF SHEER HAPPINESS!"
Winry was shown. "THAT'S A PROMISE!"

Winry smiled and laughed as she waved at the two.

Ed's eyes widen and a blush crept into his cheeks at all the sly, teasing looks
sent his way. He shifted on the couch until he was facing the back of it and
slammed his forehead onto it.

"That was so sweet, Edward Elric!" Armstrong declared, tears pouring down
his face. "You really do have a bigger heart then you let us believe!"

Ed slammed his head on the back of the couch again.

"Wow, you must really love her if you are making promises like that." Ling
said, grinning.

"Ling." Ed banged his head against the couch. "Shut." He banged his head
again. "Up." And again.

"Aww, don't feel so embarrassed, Ed." Hughes turned around and clapped a
hand on the boy's flesh ankle. "It was so sweet what you said."

Ed groaned when he heard the chuckles behind him. Stupid jerks can't let
anything go. Stupid jerks for invading his private moments.

"I can't believe you yelled that in a train station full of people. What if one of
them caught on to the 'be back in your normal bodies' part?" Mustang said,
brow twitching. Four years of keeping that secret and he just yells it
whenever he feels like!

"Nobody in there will give it a second thought." Ed muttered, glad that they
got off the teasing. "It's not like any of them would actually understand what
it means without more information."

The train whistled again before it began to pull out of the station. Ed and
Al were shown to be walking away again. Al bumped his elbow into Ed's
shoulder, causing the older boy to look at him and say something.
Winry was shown to be still leaning out the window to watch the two.

A flashback of Ed right before his automail surgery appeared on screen.

"Give me a new arm and leg. I need one year."

Ed and Al were shown from when they burned down their house. "Well,
there's no turning back for us now, Brother." Ed said. He looked over at
Winry and smiled.

Winry reappeared on screen.

"What are you crying for, Winry?" Ed's voice asked.

Winry saw Ed's back again as he walked away from her in the dorms.

Then she saw him shielding her when she confronted Scar.

Ed and Al were shown as they walked away from Winry's house.

Winry reappeared on screen, hair blowing in the wind as the train pulled
farther and farther from the station. She sat back down in her seat and
leaned against the window frame. 'All this time, have I been falling for
him?'

Ed banged his forehead against the back of the couch, hiding his face, which
he knew was bright red, in the couch.

"Finally! One of them admits it!" Al shouted.

Ed groaned and buried his face deeper into the couch. Stupid Al.

"Now we just have to wait for a certain pipsqueak to admit his feelings."
Havoc said slyly, shooting a teasing grin at Ed, who didn't see it as he was
hiding his beet red face in the couch.

"I knew you two would end up together!" Hughes shouted happily.

Once again, Ed groaned. Stupid invading jerks. "We aren't together, Hughes."
"But you will be! Winry admits she loves you." Hughes said, stretching the
word 'love' slyly. "And we can all tell by your actions that you love her. Now
you just need to get married and have a bunch of little baby Elrics."

Ed's already red face burned with intensity at that. He pushed it deeply into
the couch, making Riza shift and chuckle next to him.

"More Elrics?" Mustang drawled. "These two are enough for me, Hughes. I
don't think I could handle any more Elric brats."

"Hey! What did I do?" Al asked offended.

"Don't try to act so innocent! I know your game now." Mustang retorted.

Ed moaned to himself. What did he do to deserve this torture?

The outside of the train station was shown as Al and Ed walked out of it.
A car pulled to a stop in front of them. Mustang was shown to be driving
the car.

"Colonel." Ed greeted.

"Get in the car." Mustang said.

"So demanding." Ed muttered to himself.

Dr. Knox walked up a hill, stopping when he saw Mustang waiting for
him. Mustang saluted him. "Someone's badly injured." He said as Dr.
Knox walked over to the gate of his house. "I came to you because we
need a doctor."

"Will he come?" Ling asked worriedly.

"If he doesn't want to, Colonel will convince him. He usually finds a way."
Ed replied as he turned around to face the screen again, face still a bit pink
though he was sure he could pass it off as trying to suffocate himself. He
shrugged. "But I don't think you got too much to worry about. Above all else,
Dr. Knox is still a doctor. He has a certain obligation. Despite what he did in
the war, he'll still follow that obligation."
"Got yourself into trouble again?" Dr. Knox asked as he pushed the gate
open. His back was shown with Mustang standing just behind him. "Just
can't help yourself."

"It wasn't me this time!" Mustang protested. "It was a couple of reckless
punks. First it's Elrics I have to deal with, now it's people from Xing."

"I know you have a family. I wouldn't want to endanger them." Mustang
looked away. "If you'd rather not get involved, I'll understand."

"Wait here." Dr. Knox snuffed out his cigarette under his foot. "I'll get
my instruments."

Mustang looked at his back. "You sure about this?"

"My wife and I split up not long after I came back from duty in Ishval."
Dr. Knox walked away.

Sad music began as the outside of Central was shown at night time. The
scene slowly moved to the side to show a shack. "You let her wander
around the sewers with her arm cut off?" Dr. Knox asked. "Don't blame
me if she gets lockjaw."

A pan full of water and bloody tools was shown.

Lan Fan moaned in pain as the scene pulled out to show her on a bed
with Riza holding a lantern over her and with a hand on her shoulder as
Dr. Knox worked on her shoulder.

Lan Fan grabbed her shoulder as the pain in it suddenly doubled. She
breathed in harshly from the pain, but she gained control of herself and let it
out slowly let Ed taught her. She was not going to falter to the pain a second
time.

"I'm afraid the only patients I've dealt lately have been corpses." Dr.
Knox said. "So this might be a little rough."

Lan Fan's face was shown with a cloth in her mouth. Her scream was
muffled by the cloth.
Lan Fan exhaled sharply, eyes scrunched up in pain.

"Isn't there any pain medicine to give her?" Ling asked, well more like
demanded.

"There's only so much a doctor can do in a situation like this. We have to

work the best we can with what we have, which means the patients also have
to deal with it." Dr. Marcoh told him.

Ling was shown to be outside the room, listening to her moans as Ed and
Al were shown to be standing nearby.

"I'm sorry." Ed mumbled.

"No, don't apologize." Ling quickly interrupted. He looked at Ed. "I'm

the one who suggested it, remember?"

"Maybe next time you kids will be more careful when making plans with
Homunculi or maybe you'll inform us of the plan sooner." Riza suggested.

"I don't think it would have changed much. There is still so little we all knew
about the Homunculi, which includes that Bradley is one. With so little
information, the risks were always high. We all knew that." Edward replied,
frowning.

Ling looked away and put a hand to his knee. "We both had something
to gain out of it so it made sense." Ling pulled a leg up on the chair
towards him and bowed his head. "When I went in search of
immortality, I knew I must be ready to make certain sacrifices." Ed and
Al were shown. Ling's fist was shown to be closing into a tight fist. "But
I…I wasn't ready for this." His face was shown, eyes narrowed sadly.
"Lan Fan was though. She made the decision that I was too weak to
make." He closed his eyes.

Ling clenched his hands tightly. That was right. He said he was ready to
make the tough decisions, and yet he couldn't make a decision when Bradley
attacked them. He couldn't make it because he didn't want to see Lan Fan get
hurt even more. He didn't want to see her in that kind of pain anymore. It hurt
too much to see his friend injured and moaning in pain.

Lan Fan's face was shown. Her eyes were shut and a cloth was on her
forehead as she rested. Her eyes scrunched up for a moment before they
opened. Ed, Al, Riza, Mustang, and Dr. Knox were shown to be standing
around her bed.

"She's awake." Al said.

Mustang and Riza looked at each. Mustang pointed to something behind

him.

"You okay?" Ed asked as Riza nodded to Mustang before leaving. "Is

there anything we can do?"

Lan Fan looked at Ed. "That old trap of yours went pretty well."

Ed's automail hand in a pile of rubble appeared on screen.

Lan Fan's limp bloody hand appeared on screen.

"Edward." Ling growled.

"Hey! Hey! I didn't know she would think of using it after I showed it to
her!" Edward protested.

"Don't blame him, Young Lord. Seeing that trap was a good move. I'm not
used to traps so it was a good lesson that Edward taught." Lan Fan said
calmly, though the pain was still clearly shining on her face.

Lan Fan reappeared on screen. "But I'm useless without my arm. I'm
going to need to find a replacement."

Ed gasped and lifted his automail hand to stare at it. "You know, I can
introduce you to a great engineer." He said.

Lan Fan smiled.

Ling was shown. Footsteps approached him and lit his face up with a
lantern. A hand was held out to him. When Ling looked up, he saw
Mustang.

"I'm with the State Military. Name's Colonel Roy Mustang." Mustang
said.

Ling stood up and put his hands in front and put them together. "My
name is Ling Yao, the twelfth son of the Emperor of Xing." He grabbed
Mustang's hand and shook it. "I appreciate you finding a doctor."

"It was no problem. Thank you for helping us with the Ross incident."
Mustang replied. "And also." He turned around and lit Gluttony up with
the lantern. "For bringing this thing in."

Gluttony wobbled on the floor.

Ed, Al, and Dr. Knox joined the two.

"Hey, what'd we have here?" Dr. Knox asked.

"That's Gluttony. He's a Homunculus." Ling answered.

Dr. Knox looked at Ling.

"He and his friends appear to have connections among the military
senior staff." Mustang added.

Ling gasped and looked at him. "Just some you say? It goes far deeper
then that."

Mustang looked at him.

Ling appeared on screen with his eyes opened. "Your Fuhrer King
Bradley, I believe it's possible that he's a Homunculus too."

Al gasped while the other three stared at Ling in shock.

Ling pointed a finger at his eye. "I saw his eye. The one under the patch.
It had an Ouroboros tattoo. He and Gluttony came after us and they
were working together."

Ed appeared on screen. "No way."

Al was shown. "Our ruler? A Homunculus?"

Ling was shown. "Although, Bradley doesn't have the same inhuman
presence that you get from Gluttony. At his core he still feels like a
regular person."

Ed and Al were shown.

"Another thing, if the Fuhrer is a Homunculus, how can he possibly have

a son?" Al asked. "It said in that book that Homunculi have no
reproductive capabilities."

"No," Dr. Knox said, drawing attention to him. "The Fuhrer's son,
Selim, is adopted. There's no direct blood relation between him and his
father."

Mustang scoffed. "Whether he's monster or human, either way these

new developments will make it easier to remove him from the seat of
power."

The scene pulled out to show Gluttony.

Mustang looked at him. "First we can get information out of this one.
And I'll take his stone. It may prove useful in treating my man."

Ling gasped and grabbed Mustang by the collar of his shirt. "Hey you,
Lan Fan lost her arm to get him."

"Great, an argument is going to start." Al mumbled.

"Besides that, this whole thing was our plan." Ed said loudly. "Colonel has no
right to just jump right in there like that."

"Fullmetal, shut up. If it wasn't for me diverting the MPs, the Homunculi
wouldn't have even appeared." Mustang snapped. "Not to mention I'm the one
who got the hideout for us."

"And yet it was Lan Fan, Ling, Al, and myself were the ones risking our lives
for this plan to succeed." Ed retorted.

The outside of the shack was shown.

"He's our captured." Ling said. "We're taking him back to Xing."

"Woah, now that is probably not a good idea. You really don't want to drag
these immortal monsters into another country." Edward interjected. "Having
them in one country is bad enough."

"I think we can handle him, Ed." Ling said.

"That's not the problem. I don't think the other Homunculi or that Father guy
will be all too happy to have you taking him." Ed explained.

"Well, then they are probably not too happy that we have him right now."
Ling replied.

"Well, hopefully they can't find us then." Ed retorted dryly.

"Hold it! He'll help us get our bodies back!" Ed said as Riza was shown
to be standing guard. "We've been working on that for a long time. I'm
not just going to let you waltz off with him."

"That's right." Mustang replied. Riza closed her eyes and sighed. She
turned around and started walking back to the shack. "Think about it,
Ling." The group was shown inside again. Ed was trying to pull Ling
and Mustang apart. "You're an illegal alien."

"Why is it that when I grabbed you like that, you punched me and yet you
won't punch Ling?" Ed grumbled.

"I'm trying to make friends." Mustang replied.

"Well, you're doing one hell of a job at it." Ed said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm too old for this kind of thing." Dr. Knox said.

"Do you think you can take Gluttony out of the country without some
help from us?" Mustang asked.

"Good luck, Mustang. I'm going home." Dr. Knox said.

"It's never going to work." Mustang said. "Listen to me."

Gluttony was shown. "Mustang." A picture of Lust was shown.

"Mustang was one to kill Lust."

"She lost her arm!" Ling shouted.

"I have to get some information out of him, whatever it takes!" Mustang
said.

"Mustang must pay for what he did to her." Gluttony said angrily as he
expanded and fought against the cords.

"Oh, great, Gluttony is completely insane about Lust." Edward groaned,

covering his eyes. "Next time, Mustang doesn't come with us!"

"Thanks a lot, Colonel." Al grumbled.

Mustang twitched. "Not my fault. It's our job to kill them! Of course the
others would get angry about that!"

Dr. Knox stopped in leaving and Ling and Mustang stopped their
argument to stare at Gluttony with everyone else.

"Mustang."

The group stared in shock.

Dramatic music began as Gluttony was shown to be expanding. He flew

to his feet. "Roy Mustang!" Gluttony's stomach was shown with a slice
appearing in it. The slice widened into a mouth with teeth appearing on
the sides and an eye appearing in the middle of it.
Ed's eyes widened in fear.

Mustang and Dr. Knox were shown to be staring in shock.

Ling was shown, followed by Al and Xiao-Mei.

Red alchemical light surrounded the eye before a bright light came from
it and overtook he screen.

Riza was shown outside, getting ready to open the door when the area
rocked violently and a hole appeared in the wall next to her. Violent
wind ripped out of the shack, carving the ground immediately in front of
it.

Riza covered her face with her arm in shock. "What was that?"

The ending song began.

The scene went dark.

"Well, shit." Edward said.

"That's a good way to sum it up." Darius mumbled.

"Maybe Gluttony isn't as weak as we thought." Mustang added, rubbing his

eyes.

"Yeah, just piss him off and watch the fireworks go off." Ed groaned. "It's
just one situation after another. What's worse is that besides Lieutenant Riza
and Al, the rest of us are injured or a Doctor with no fighting experience."

"So we're screwed?" Al asked.

"Most likely."

A/N: As strong as Lan Fan is, even she would succumb to the pain of
losing her arm. I wasn't actually sure of how to do that scene, but then I
remembered Ed losing his limbs. Having been in the same boat, he would
understand the pain she was going through more then anyone and I kind
of want to develop a stronger friendship between him and Lan Fan. I
think this would help.

As I was writing this, I remembered something. I forgot the pain factor

in Scar's flashback last episode. Argh, can't believe I actually forgot. I
knew something was missing. *grumbles to self* Scar is just so freaking
badass, I can't imagine him in pain so I keep missing it.

By the way, you guys should check out this asmv: www. youtube watch?
v=BJ-Ag2iqUmA It is amazing! Delete the spaces.

Please Review!
*Chapter 24*: Episode 24: Inside the Belly
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Annnnddddd, I'M BACK!

Wow, when I said I probably won't update for 2 weeks, I didn't really
think it would happen. But I was actually busier then I thought I would
be. I didn't have much time for this chapter.

Also, sorry if there are a lot of mistakes in this. I did proofread it, but
I'm really tired right now. I was just going to wait to update tomorrow
or Tuesday, but I wanted to get it up now.

YES! Finally over 300 Followers! Love you guys!

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 24: Inside the Belly

The opening song began.

Windows on a ceiling appeared on screen. The scene started to move

down to show a table and chair then a couple of chimeras chained up as
the sound of a door opening and closing was heard.

Envy was shown to be by the door with a plate of food in his hand. He
walked over to the table where another plate was left untouched. "Oh
no, not again. We told you. You're an important candidate for sacrifice."
He said as he sat down. He pulled one of his legs onto his other knee and
held it there.

"Anyone else want to punch Envy from just his tone of voice?" Ed growled
annoyed.

"Yes." Mustang, Havoc, Luke, Brody, the human Chimeras, and Ling all
answered almost immediately.

"Good to know I'm not the only irritated person here." Ed said.

"How can anyone not be irritated when Envy appears?" Mustang sneered,
glaring at the Homunculus on screen. "That guy is a bastard who just loves
causing chaos and misery."

Envy's face was shown as he held it up by his other hand and closed his
eyes as he smirked. "We need you to keep your strength up.
Understand? So dig in, Dr. Marcoh." The scene moved forward to show
Dr. Marcoh sitting on the bed.

"Dr. Marcoh!" Ed and Al said.

"So is that where you were before you came here?" Mustang asked.

"Yes, I am the Homunculi prisoner at the moment." Dr. Marcoh replied. "Not
as bad as you might think, but still not enjoyable or something I wish to
return to."

"It's only not bad for you because you are a candidate for sacrifice." Havoc
protested. "For anyone else, it would be absolutely horrible, I bet."

"I have no doubt about that." Dr. Marcoh told him with a frown. Yes, his
imprisonment was not horrible, but no one liked being trapped, especially by
monsters who planned to try to make him a sacrifice. It may be alright now,
but later on, it would have gotten much worse.

Dr. Marcoh was zoomed in on. "You know what? I've been sitting here a
while, trying to decide what you mean by sacrifice. Trying to figure out
why I'm here. And what is it exactly you want me to do." He opened his
eyes and looked at Envy, who was still sitting relaxed at the table.

"You don't even know that much?" Ed said confused. "Huh, I thought you
would have known more since you are the one who told us to look for the
truth within the truth."

"From all my thinking, I did get a few ideas, but there was nothing I could
think about or understand until I heard Envy talking about sacrifices." Dr.
Marcoh told him. "It's a key word and role in all of this."

"I see. So those monsters never mentioned it to you before when you were
making the stone for them." Al replied.

Dr. Marcoh shook his head. "No, I just did as told and made that vile stone.
They would never share more information then needed."

"I'm fairly certain that what you're doing right now is using this land
and its people to form a giant transmutation circle." Dr. Marcoh's hands
were shown to be clutching each other. "And your hope is the end result
will be the creation of a Philosopher's Stone." His face was shown, then
Envy's. "Am I wrong?"

"Amazing. You figured that out without a map." Ed said, smirking as Hughes
shot him a mock glare.

"I used a map because I wanted to double check everything and make sure I
was right." Hughes argued.

"Sure." Ed replied mockingly.

Envy gave an evil smirk as he turned to look at Dr. Marcoh. "So close,
not quite. But you're on the right track."

"So we are missing something." Hughes said with a frown. "Which we

already knew, but Envy is giving worthless hints."

"Since when is Envy giving hints?" Ling asked. "I thought he was just being
his evil, mocking self."

"Even that can have a bit of information in it sometimes." Edward replied,

frowning as he leaned back into the couch. Oh yes, when you mocked an
enemy, it was possible to give out information in it. That was why the enemy
had to be careful. Just one of the many things he learned from his years in the
military.

Dr. Marcoh looked up. "Then what is it?"

Envy stood up. "The question is, are you going to cooperate with us or
not? If not, the village is history." The village that Dr. Marcoh lived in
was shown, then Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen with a look of horror.
"Lust told me about your arrangement. If we agree to leave the village
alone," Envy leaned down and looked him in the face. "Then you'll do
whatever we ask."

"That was a stupid deal to make." General Armstrong growled.

"She was going to kill the villagers if I didn't go." Dr. Marcoh protested.

"It was a stupid move. They'll be dead either way." Ed snapped at him. "By
showing you care for that village so much, you put them in even greater
danger by making such a deal. Besides that, you just said you believe these
guys are trying to make a Philosopher's Stone using this country. By doing
what they ask, all you are doing is condemning that village to death."

"Not that just, but you are more concerned with the few and not the mass.
You are concerned with saving a few hundred lives while the rest of the
country is damned." General Armstrong growled. "Our State Alchemists
really need trained as soldiers."

"I think that might be going a bit far." Edward muttered. "All life matters."
Louder he said, "I could understand you making the deal if you knew that the
rest of us were discovering the Homunculi's plan and putting a plan in motion
to stop it so by making that deal you could postpone their deaths and maybe
make sure it never happens, but you didn't know that. You had no idea about
what we were doing."
Dr. Marcoh squeezed his hands together.

The scene pulled out to show Envy leaning over Dr. Marcoh. "Which is
it? Agree to work with us and kill everyone in this country or refuse to
work with us and watch everyone in your beloved village die."

"They'll die either way." Edward said.

"Yes, but if he agrees to work with these guys, his village will at least survive
long enough for us to find a way to stop this and to save the country." Ling
pointed out.

"Only thing is, Dr. Marcoh doesn't realize we know what is going on and that
we are trying to discover the truth and stop it as well." Edward retorted.

"…That does make the choice harder." Ling replied.

Dr. Marcoh squeezed his eyes shut. He imagined a bunch of different

groups of people from his village.

Dr. Marcoh reappeared on the screen. "Fool. You just have to forsake
one little village to save an entire country." The scene moved up to show
Envy. "Too bad you don't have the stomach to do the logical thing."

Ed growled. "Great, I pretty much said the same thing as that bastard!"

"It doesn't make what you said wrong. It's just always a difficult choice to
condemn people to death because you can't save them." Mustang replied
darkly, hands clenched at his sides. Yes, he always hated that. It's a difficult
situation. Because they are only human, they cannot save everyone and that
makes the choice a difficult one because no one wants to not be able to do the
right thing.

"Aren't you trained for that kind of thing?" Ling asked.

Mustang nodded. "Yes, but it does not make the choice any less difficult." He
nodded his head at Dr. Marcoh then Ed. "These two are only State Alchemist
and have not been given military training like some State Alchemists have.
That is because Dr. Marcoh did research mostly and Fullmetal travels and
does missions mostly on his own with Al. There was no point in giving him
the training. So they don't have the training to handle some situations.
Fullmetal knows the logical moves to make in a situation like Dr. Marcoh is
in, but he values life too much. He would never be able to make the choice.
He can just speak about what the move should be."

Ed frowned, but couldn't really refute that statement. "True, but, Colonel, you
forget, I don't let myself get attached to all those places I visit and do work in.
I'd rather not have something used against me like Dr. Marcoh is dealing
with."

"I believe your only attachment would be Winry." Hughes said. "I mean,
there's Al and those of us in the military, but considering the fact that we are
all capable of defending ourselves in one way or another, you wouldn't be all
that concerned about us."

Ed nodded. "Sounds about right."

Envy stood up straight. "Haha. I shouldn't be surprised. That's just how

all you humans are."

Dr. Marcoh was shown.

"You put emotion before common sense."

The plate of food was shown.

Envy picked up the knife. "I killed a man who was like that once."

Mustang's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Envy raised the knife and turned it in his hand. "All I had to do was
make myself look like his wife and he was helpless. He couldn't even
fight me." He stabbed the knife into the steak.

Mustang growled lowly. He was going to murder Envy. How dare he talk
about Hughes's death like that?

"Is he still going on about my death?" Hughes asked, raising a brow. "Wow,
his life must be really pathetic if all his conquests are the only thing he cares
about."

"Because we care for our loved ones does not make us weak." Izumi growled.
"Hughes could never attack his wife because he loves her too much. I am not
surprised he froze when he saw her standing there. Not only did Envy look
like his wife, but he was still in shock over what Envy could do. It was
something hard to comprehend."

His evil grinning face was shown. "Humans are so easy to take
advantage of." He raised the knife with the bloody steak on it. "Lucky
us."

"Wow. The more he speaks, the more I want to slam my foot into his face."
Edward snarled.

"Inside the Belly"

"What the hell does that mean?" Luke asked.

"I don't really like the sound of it." Izumi said with a frown.

"Probably has something to do with Gluttony, considering his stomach did

just open up." Edward replied.

The Presidential estate appeared on screen. Bradley was shown to be

walking down a shadowed corridor with lamps on the wall here and
there.

"The humans seem to be giving you quite a bit of trouble lately, don't
they, Wrath?" A voice that sounded like an echo said.

"And there's another weird voice." Darius said. "Any guesses on who this is?"

"It could be another Homunculus, probably one that we haven't met yet." Al
suggested.

"Its voice certainly sounds much stranger then the others." Zampano said.
Al shrugged. "All the Homunculi are different."

Bradley stopped. His face was shown. He opened his eye.

The scene moved to show Bradley from the top of the corridor. "First
Scar gets away from you, then those others make off with Gluttony."

"The way it is talking to Wrath," Mustang said with a frown and narrowed
eyes.

"It sounds like this Homunculus is superior to Wrath." Armstrong finished,

also frowning darkly as he thought. "I did not think that the Homunculi had
ranks in them."

"I can see them following some type of rank." Edward said. "Gluttony did
seem to follow the orders of the others more often. He doesn't really make
any moves on his own, except for right now, and that's only cause he is mad
at Colonel."

"Or he is simply too much of an idiot and has to follow orders so he doesn't
mess things up." Izumi said.

"That could be it too." Ed said.

Bradley's face was shown.

"It's not like you."

Bradley closed his eye. "Yes, you are right about that."

The scene pulled out to show one of the lamps with a moth flying around
it. "And yet you seem happy."

"Wrath feels happy?" Kei said incredulously.

"The world has gone insane." Hughes cried.

Mustang looked at Hughes with a deadpanned look before looking forward

again. "I guess the Homunculi can feel other things then just what their
names say."

"That should be obvious. I mean, Gluttony is furious at you and Envy is a

sadistic bastard." Edward said.

Havoc shrugged. "Envy seems to feel all the negative emotions though.
Anger, envy, hatred, rage. He really seems to hate us."

"Not surprising."

"Yes, I won't deny it." Bradley said. The scene zoomed in on him again.
"This has been…" He looked at the lamp. "Enjoyable."

"Enjoyable?" Ling and Ed shouted.

"We're fighting for our lives and he finds it enjoyable?" Ed screamed.

"I guess he likes the challenge we are presenting, instead of just sitting down
and taking it." Mustang said.

"I don't care about his reasons! He's a bastard too!" Ed shouted angrily. How
dare that guy enjoy this when they are fighting to survive the shit they are
receiving from the Homunculi?

The moth flying around the lamp was shown. "I've been alive for sixty
years, and now here I am, in the ultimate position of power." Bradley
was shown. "All as exactly as Father planned it would."

"He planned for Bradley to be Fuhrer?" Miles asked angrily.

"Of course because someone had to get those wars started all around the
country to make the blood crests." Edward replied with a frown."Having a
Homunculus as a Fuhrer means he can start the wars or send the State
Alchemists in to spill the blood." He grimaced. "Horrible."

"There's more though." The voice said.

Bradley closed his eye once more. "Roy Mustang and his underlings, the
enterprising Elric brothers, and these foreigners who suddenly appeared
from Xing." The scene pulled out to show Bradley from a distance. "As
good as we are, they've still got us scrambling in circles."

"Ooooh, I like that." Ed said, smirking.

"You do?" Ling asked.

"Yes, I really hate these guys so I will enjoy making them scramble." Ed
replied.

"Really?"

"No, not really! This is freaking dangerous! I just want to mess with their
plans and survive, but I'm not going to push my luck more then I already
did!" Ed retorted.

Bradley was shown close up. "Things are changing. The time may be
approaching when we have to move over for the younger generation.
Don't you see?"

"He talks as if he is actually human and would really give up his position for
one of you guys." Ed muttered.

"How can we be sure he isn't human, Fullmetal? You said it yourself. He is

aging. Being a Homunculus, he shouldn't be able to do that." Mustang
pointed out.

"I just don't understand that!" Ed said.

The moth was shown to be stuck in a web. "Listen to yourself, Wrath."

The moth struggled in the web. "You've been around these humans for
far too long." A spider crawled down the web to where the moth was.

"You may be right, Pride." Bradley said as he was shown.

"Pride? At least we know this Homunculus's name now." Mustang said.

"Let's see, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, and Pride. We are only
missing one now, Sloth. And I think Lust said earlier that they have Sloth
working on something." Edward said.

"And Lust and Greed are dead so that leaves us with only five to deal with."
Armstrong added.

"Plus the Father guy." Ed pointed out. "And I don't really enjoy the idea of
fighting him. The Homunculi guy are strong enough, but facing the guy who
made them?"

"But we will of course fight him." Al said.

"Well, yeah, we can't let him continue this." Edward replied. "I just don't like
the idea."

"I hope you will stop this foolishness and remember who we are and
what we must do." Pride said. "I won't tell Father what you've said
tonight. He might be inclined to see it as treason." The spider was shown
to have finished wrapping the moth up in webs. "Anyway, about
Gluttony…"

Bradley appeared on screen.

"Don't worry about that. I have access to military information after all. I
know where he is." Bradley said.

"I don't follow." Al said confused. "We are working underground on this
mission. We didn't use anything that could be traced back to the military, did
we?"

"We used Fuery's equipment and messed with the military channels, but that
was it." Mustang replied, frowning again. "That won't be enough for them to
find us. I don't know what he did, but it seems he did manage to locate us."

"That is worrisome." Hughes said.

Mustang sighed. "Our situation is already worrisome considering Gluttony

has gone insane!"

"Insane with anger because of a certain someone." Ed said.

Mustang's brow twitched. "I killed a Homunculus! That was the whole point
in this. To get rid of them and save the country."

The hole in the wall at the shack was shown with smoke billowing
around the edges with dramatic music playing. Riza was shown to be
standing next to the crater in the ground from it.

The scene moved to show the area from the sky.

"What was that?" Riza asked. "Colonel!" She jumped down into the
crater and started running to the shack.

"Don't go over there!" Mustang and Ed shouted before glaring at each other.

"Seriously, Lieutenant, big gusts of wind that destroyed everything just came
out of that hole. Why would you run towards it?" Ed asked with a frown as he
looked back at her. "I would have thought you knew better."

"What's going o–"

"Hawkeye, stop!" Mustang screamed.

Riza stopped.

More powerful wind with red alchemical light in it shot past Riza, taking
part of her gun with it. Riza looked down at her gun in shock.

"You stopped in just the right spot." Ross said, paling a bit. If Riza had taken
just one more step or moved to the side, she would have been gone.

"I guess I have a bit of luck." Riza replied. "More then Edward at least."

"Hey! I have got plenty of luck." Ed protested.

"You mean bad luck." Breda said.

"I have some good too!" Ed retorted.

"Not much though."

The top of the shock was shown to be trembling violently. It started to
fall apart as Riza watched. The hole in the shack was shown. Gluttony
was standing there with glowing red eyes and a mouth on his stomach.
He screamed.

Riza pulled out a handgun and pointed it at him.

A pile of wood from the shack was shown. It started to rumble so Riza
pulled out another gun and pointed it at the pile. Al pushed the rubble
away with Knox and Mustang with him.

"Why point a gun at us?" Mustang demanded. "Who did you think it would
be? There was no one else there but us!"

"It never hurts to be careful, sir, and as we just saw, another Homunculus
could be coming towards us." Riza replied.

"Colonel."

"Great." Mustang groaned, rubbing his sore back. At least there were no
serious injuries from that, but he was sure he got bruised from it. And
counting that to his already serious injury from earlier, it was not a
pleasurable feeling at all.

"Where's Brother?" Al asked worriedly.

"And the Young Lord?" Lan Fan asked.

"And yourself, Lan Fan." Ed said. "You're there too."

"It's strange that neither of you two are with us." Mustang said with a frown.
"You were standing right by us when the Gluttony attacked."

"Lieutenant." Mustang said, sitting up and pulling Xiao-Mei off his face.
He threw her to side. "Don't provoke him!"

"Don't throw Xiao-Mei!" May yelled angrily at Mustang.

"I don't have time to play nice with a panda that likes to bite people."
Mustang snapped at her. "We are in the middle of a crisis."

"That doesn't mean you have to throw her!" May shouted.

Riza was shown with her guns still trained on Gluttony and Mustang's
group. "I'm the one he wants."

"Then you be the bait this time." Ed said. "I don't like being bait."

"Does anyone?" Walkers asked.

"Hmm," Ed thought. "Good question. Not that I know of, but I'm sure there is
someone out there that likes being the bait. Would have to be a very strange
person, but I'm sure one exists."

Gluttony was shown. "Mustang!" His body moved a bit before violent
sucking wind blasted out of his stomach again.

Ling was shown to be with Lan Fan, who was still lying on a bed. "Come
on. We're getting out of here." He helped her sit up.

"What is it?" Lan Fan asked. "What's happening?"

"The Homunculus." Ling said. He looked towards the doorway. "He had
another monster hidden inside his belly." The ground outside was shown
to be a crater with wood and smoke around. "He's swallowing up
everything in sight."

"Well, isn't that just wonderful? He's trying to swallow us whole! That, or he
is just destroying everything into tiny little pieces." Mustang groaned. "And
where the hell are you, Fullmetal? I thought you would be helping Ling get
Lan Fan or something."

"I'm trying to survive." Ed said dryly. "Or I'm avoiding you because that's my
best chance to not get killed." He shrugged after a moment. "I probably
dodged somewhere else and am trying to figure out what the hell is going on
while Gluttony is distracted by you."

The scene moved up to show Mustang, Al, and Ed sitting on the ground.
"You just show up out of nowhere, don't you?" Mustang asked sarcastically.

"It's a specialty of mine." Ed retorted just as sarcastic, but also wondering

why he was there all of a sudden.

Ed was shown to be staring in horror at Gluttony. 'Alchemy can produce

something like that?'

Scar frowned at Ed's thoughts. Yes, this thing admonition trying to kill them
was made by that wretched alchemy of those. This was why alchemy was the
devil's work and should be seen as a horrid power, not something to be
praised. It was just used to make cruel human experiments or to kill. It should
not exist!

Gluttony appeared on screen. He gripped a piece of the wall of the shack

that was left.

'How disgusting.'

Scar looked thoughtful at that thought. Even though Ed was an alchemist, he

still saw the horrible and disgusting parts of it. Maybe it was because of his
failed Human Transmutation or that he values human life so much, but he did
act differently then most alchemists.

Mustang bit one of the fingers of his glove and pulled it off. He threw it
to the side. "Let's go." He said. "We have to bring him down."

Al stood up and had Xiao-Mei on his shoulder. "But we worked so hard

to catch one of the Homunculi."

"I think survival is the most important element here." Riza said.

"Information is good and sometimes sacrifices happen when gathering intel,"

Mustang added, pausing to think about Hughes's death with a grimace before
he continued. "But we can't all die for this information. We are the only ones
with information about these monsters. If we die, then there is no chance for
this country. We cannot allow that to happen."

Mustang's hands were shown as he pulled on his ignition glove.

"Survival is our first priority." He straightened it. "Besides, he knows
our names and faces now. It would be foolish to let him leave here alive."

Ed looked down and clenched his fists tightly. Killing always seemed to be
the only option they had. He wasn't an idiot. He did understand why Mustang
chose the answer to kill him, but he still didn't like it! Even if they were
Homunculi, he didn't think he could give the final blow to fully kill them.
The idea of killing….it scared him too much.

He snapped his finger and sent a burst of flames at Gluttony. There was
an explosion and a yell as the three alchemists were shown lit up by the
flames.

Gluttony was shown to be engulfed in the flames. The eye in his mouth
widened before the flames were shown. They swirled around and entered
Gluttony's stomach, which burped afterwards.

"Wow, you gave such a nice little, dramatic speech and then that happened."
Edward said, smirking a bit. "What a way to ruin the dramatics."

Mustang twitched. "Shut up, Fullmetal!"

"If we weren't in such a dire situation, it would be quite amusing." Ling said.

"You too, Ling. Shut up." Mustang said.

"Well," Ling turned his head and he and Ed shared an amused smirk.

Mustang and Ed were shown with deadpanned looks while Al just looked
on. "He swallowed it." Ed said blankly.

"Uh-oh." Al said.

Gluttony was shown once more with violent sucking wind coming from
him. The three alchemists were shown to be flung to the side as they
moved from the wind. Ed and Mustang shouted and grunted from it.

The three were shown to be running through the forest as fast as they
could with dramatic music beginning.
"Hey! That worked well!" Ed shouted.

"Think you can do better? Be my guest!" Mustang retorted.

"Or we could just leave you behind, Colonel. You're the one he really
wants." Al said.

"You two are so loyal to me." Mustang said dryly.

Ed mockingly patted his superior's shoulder. "It's because we have such great
faith in you to survive this."

"The longer we stay in this room, the more I want to burn you to a crisp,
Fullmetal." Mustang informed him.

"Don't worry, Colonel. I feel the same way about wanting to kill you." Ed
retorted.

Riza sighed and put a hand to her forehead. It would be amazing if they could
all survive being this room together.

Trees and bushes were shown to be in front of them. "Those tress over
there. Split up!" Mustang order, throwing an arm in front of him and to
side to sweep it over the area.

Ed turned to the left. Mustang went straight and Al went right. Mustang
ran through the bushes with a bird flying out of a tree, frightened by
him.

Mustang was shown close up, running through bushes. Gluttony jumped
up from behind some bushes next to him. Before anything could happen,
Riza was shown jumping to the side and shooting Gluttony in the back of
the neck. She fired multiple more times at Gluttony before she fell
backwards into the bushes and away from the monster.

"Nice timing, Hawkeye." Mustang said, sighing in relief.

"I try, sir." Riza replied, lips twitching a bit at Mustang's response.
Gluttony freaked out and more violent wind escaped him into the path
right in front of Mustang, causing Mustang to jump back and roll
sideways into a clearing. He rolled until he managed to change his
position so he was on his knees, looking around carefully to see where
Gluttony would come from. He stood up, but immediately grabbed his
injured side and fell back to his knees, breathing heavily.

"And this is why you should have stayed in the hospital." Hughes told his
friend with a worried frown.

"I wasn't expecting to be running around trying to escape a crazy, upset

monster when I left the hospital!" Mustang snapped back before grimacing
and holding his side where the pain was pulsating at.

"You should always be prepared for the unexpected." Ed informed him.

Mustang shot him a look. "Once again, I don't want to hear that from the boy
who always leaves the hospital when he shouldn't."

"What?" Ed said offended. "It is not always, Colonel!"

"Yeah," Al piped up. "It's just most of the time."

Ed shot his brother a look. "Not helping."

The scene moved up to show his face. 'Damn it. Not now.'

"Yeah, your injuries do tend to get agitated at the worst times." Ed muttered,
thinking back on his injuries that got in the way of a fight.

"I really want to hit you again." Mustang muttered.

"Hey!" Ed held his hands up. "You're not the only one that has had to deal
with this."

A car appeared on screen with Dr. Knox looking out of the window on
the driver's side. "Hurry up and get in the car!" He called before Ling
was shown to be helping a slowly moving Lan Fan to the car.
The scene pulled out to show them from a distance leaving the shack and
getting to the car. As the scene moved sideways, a dog with red eyes was
shown to watching them from the bushes.

"Uh, so, anyone have any guesses as to why a dog is there and why it is
watching us?" Ling asked.

"What dog has glowing red eyes anyway?" Havoc asked.

"I've only seen those type of eyes on the Homunculi." Miles added with a
frown as he pushed his glasses up to hide his own eyes.

Ed perked up with a frown. "Didn't Bradley say he knew where we were? So

he is probably going to send someone to retrieve Gluttony and glowing red
eyes on a dog. Any guess? Anybody?"

"Envy." Al said darkly.

Ed nodded. "That would be my guess too since he is the only one we know
that can shapeshift."

Ling and Lan Fan stopped and looked over to where the dog was, but the
scene quickly moved over to the bushes again to show that the dog was
gone.

"I forgot you guys could sense them." Fuery said.

"Yes, it's quite inconvenient for them when they are trying to sneak up on
us." Ling said, smirking a bit. He was not going to lose to these monsters.

Knox was shown in the car with Ling and Lan Fan standing by it.
"Come on. We haven't got all night. We need to get moving."

Ling looked at him. "But Ed and the others."

"Aww, what a loyal friend." Al said. "Thanks for not forgetting us!"

Ling looked at Ed and pointed at Al. "See? He's accepted the fact that we're
friends. Why can't you?"
"Al's a traitor." Ed said.

"Hey!" Al protested. "Brother!"

"No way!" Knox was shown to be leaning slightly out the window of the
car. "I'm a civilian, not military." He turned to face the front of the car
and put both hands on the wheel. "I'm not about to die in the middle of a
battle with some crazed monster."

Mustang scoffed, but was smiling. "He says that, but he won't leave us."

"How do you know?" Ling asked.

"We're old war buddies. I have his back, he has mine. We know each other
and we're friends. He's not going to leave us to die there." Mustang replied.

Knox's face was shown. His brows and lips were twitching. His frown
deepened and he slammed a hand onto the steering wheel. "Damn it!
What's taking those idiots so long?"

"Wow, you were right." Ed said, but he wasn't smiling. If Mustang can
predict his future self's and his friend's actions, then Ed could predict his.
They worked so hard to get Gluttony. They weren't just about to leave him
there. Ling caught his eyes and they both nodded. They both realized it
already. They were staying behind to fight.

The top of the car was shown before the scene started to move towards
the forest. Trees and bushes rapidly moved across the screen with
Gluttony's growling being heard with it. A kneeling Mustang who was
holding his side was shown.

"Move!" Havoc, Breda, Luke, Avery, and Karin shouted.

Gluttony appeared in the clearing, staring at Mustang. "Mustang!"

Violent wind ripped out of his stomach and shot at Mustang. The eye in
Gluttony's stomach narrowed before it widened. The teeth that
surrounded Mustang were shown. The Mustang was shown to be just an
alchemically made version of Mustang in his black jacket. The head of it
fell to the ground.

"That face on the fake Mustang." Havoc said, lips twitching a bit.

Havoc, Breda, Fuery, and Falman all looked at Ed while Riza sighed.
"Definitely Chief's work." They all said.

"It could have been Al." Ed retorted.

"No, Brother, it was definitely you." Al told him dryly.

Ed shot him a look. "Not helping."

Al shrugged. "Can't say I'm trying to."

Ed's brow twitched.

"Noooo!" Gluttony cried as the scene changed to the forest.

The scene slowly moved down from the top of the forest to show that
everyone was now by the car.

Ed appeared on screen, staring at the forest with Al, Riza, and Knox also
looking in the forest and Mustang being held up by Riza. "Perfect. He
fell for the Mustang decoy."

"Wow, Lieutenant, you must be strong if you can hold up Mustang by

yourself." May said, smiling brightly at Riza.

Riza blinked before smiling. "Thank you, May."

"I always wondered." Al said suddenly. "I know you're an ace with guns, but
do you know hand-to-hand combat too, Lieutenant?"

"Of course I do. I don't use it much, but I do continue to train in it since we
never know when we might need it." Riza replied. "Though I much prefer my
guns."

"And we can all see why." Havoc muttered to the other members of
Mustang's crew.

"Doesn't sound like he's very happy about it." Al said.

"Alright." Ed turned to Mustang and put his hands on his back and arm.
"Now get in the car." The seat next to Knox was shown before Mustang
was shown falling on the seat painfully and bumping into Knox.
"Invalid."

Mustang gritted his teeth. "Thank you oh so much, Fullmetal."

"I thought you were supposed to handle injured people gently." Hughes
added amused.

"I'm sorry. I never learned that lesson." Ed said sarcastically, and he and Al
shot their teacher a look. "All I learned was to grit my teeth and deal with it."

Mustang glanced at their teacher as well then back at the screen. "It explains
so much."

As Mustang was shown to be grimacing in the seat, Al said, "Lieutenant,

please take care of Lan Fan."

Mustang looked up at Ed. "You expect me to run away and leave this to
you, Elric?!"

"Elric?" Ed shouted. "What the hell, Colonel? Are you that mad I threw you
in the car?"

"What are you talking about, Ed?" Ling asked.

"Colonel only calls me Elric when he is mad at me." Ed muttered.

Ed looked at Mustang angrily as he yelled, "If you stay, you'll just get in
our way!"

Next an angry Al was shown. "Yeah! Leave!"

Riza appeared on screen behind Mustang in the car. "They're right. You
won't be any use here. Sorry."

"You're all cold-hearted." Mustang muttered.

Ed snorted. "Like you're any different at times."

"Have I ever called you useless?" Mustang snapped.

Ed smirked. "Unlike you, Colonel, I am never useless. I can always help."

Mustang glared at him. "Don't lie to yourself, Fullmetal."

"I believe you are the one lying to yourself." Ed retorted.

As the two glared at each other, Hughes and Riza both sighed. And here they
thought only one of them was a child.

Mustang was shown to be all white and falling over in despair.

With that picture in the background, Ed appeared in front of it with a

tick mark on his head pulsating in annoyance. 'How did this idiot make
Colonel?'

"What was that, Elric?" Mustang asked angrily.

"Oooh, he called you Elric. He must be mad." Ling said amused.

"Hey! We've all thought it at one point or another!" Ed protested after

shooting a look at Ling. This is what he gets when he shares information?!

"They have not." Mustang argued.

Ed scoffed. "Stop deluding yourself. Even Lieutenant Riza and Havoc have
thought it at one point."

When Mustang turned to look at her, Riza closed her eyes and frowned.
When he turned to Havoc, the blond soldier just grinned and shrugged.

"How did you know that?" Mustang demanded of Ed.

"We do talk outside of work." Edward replied. "It's not all just missions and
sharing information."

Mustang glared at his subordinates. Havoc just whistled innocently.

"I am not an idiot!"

"Oh come on, even you have to admit that some of your moves can be
considered idiotic." Ed snapped.

"The same could be said for you." Mustang argued.

Ed scowled. "We all already agreed I'm a bit reckless, but I am not an idiot. I
know what I can and cannot handle!"

The scene pulled out to show Ed, Al, and Ling standing next to the car.
"Right now you need to go and do your job. The head of the military is a
Homunculus." Ed's face appeared on screen. "Don't you think you
should do something about that?"

Mustang appeared on screen.

Riza was shown. "The head of the military?"

"Oh, that's right. You were outside during that discussion." Ed said.

"You aren't talking about Fuhrer Bradley, are you?" Riza asked.

"Way to ask the obvious, Lieutenant. Do you know any other head of the
military?" Ed asked.

Riza rolled her eyes and bopped his head gently. "I just had to clarify and
make sure I wasn't hearing things."

Knox looked back at her. "We can talk about it later." Knox looked out
the window at the boys. "Now get in."

The boys looked at each other and nodded.

"Why do I get the feeling that you three are about to do something dangerous
and stupid?" Brody asked.

"Because it's three reckless teenagers who have a knack for getting into
danger." Mustang said dryly.

"Ah, good point." Brody replied.

Ed looked back at the occupants of the car. "The car looks full. You go
ahead."

"Are you insane?" Havoc shouted. "We would never allow kids to stay on the
battlefield alone."

"It wouldn't be the first time we've had to fend for ourselves." Ed pointed out.

"Yeah, but during those times, you were alone because you weren't on a
mission with us." Riza retorted.

Ed shrugged. "This is important. We don't have time to argue about it."

Knox and Riza were shown to be staring at the boys.

"You dumbasses!" Knox shouted.

"Wow, now that wasn't nice." Al said.

"He only says it because he worries." Mustang said. "Though of course, he

would never admit that he is worried which is why he swears and shows
anger."

"You can't really believe we'll let a couple of children fight this battle for
us." Riza added.

Ling appeared on the screen. "With the senior staff involved in this,
you're going to need all the help you can get."

"So we're accepting help from a couple of foreign kids now?" Mustang asked.
He put a and to his temple. "Should have known that was going to happen
when they befriended Ed."

The screen moved to Ed. "And that would include getting whatever
information we can out of this Gluttony guy, wouldn't you say?"

"We'll stay here and find out what we can." Al added as he was shown.

"I think your lives are more important then the information at this point. They
may not want to kill you two because you're sacrifices." Izumi looked at Ed
then at Al. "But Gluttony is not really in the right state of mind to remember
that. He may make a mistake."

"What about me?" Ling asked, pointing at himself.

"You're not important. They just want to kill you." Ed replied.

Ling looked at Ed with a frown. "You're so blunt."

"One of my many qualities."

"It is not always good to be so blunt. You would fix that."

Riza and Knox were shown as Al continued. "I don't think it matters
much that we're children."

The boys were shown again. "This was our mission to begin with and
we're going to see it through." Ed said.

Mustang was shown.

"We appreciate your help up to now though." Ed said.

"You're dismissing them!" Hughes said, frowning.

"We don't have time to argue about this." Ed retorted. "They need to leave
now before Gluttony finds us."

Riza's hands were shown to be holding a gun.

Ed was shown.

"Here, Edward." Riza said. She was shown to be holding a gun out the
window. "I want you to take this."

"Argh, I don't like guns." Ed groaned.

"You should have it on you. You might be in a situation where you need it."
Riza replied.

Ed raised a brow and raised his hands.

"Yes, I know you have alchemy, but you never know what could happen."
Riza said. "Always be prepared for the unexpected."

"You do know how to use it, don't you?" Riza asked.

"Course I do. I could never forget those lessons." Ed muttered. "I hated
them."

"Awww, they weren't that bad." Havoc said.

Ed glared at him.

"Come on, your aim is almost as good as Hawkeye's." Havoc replied.

"That's only because I practice so hard with a gun so if I ever had to use one,
I wouldn't mess up and hurt or kill someone that wasn't my target." Ed
snapped. Yes, he could never forgive himself if he made a mistake with a gun
if he had to use on in his life. That was why he trained so hard and made sure
to head to a shooting range whenever he had time. Though, of course, Al
didn't know that he spent time in shooting rangers to perfect his aim. He
couldn't admit that to Al.

Ed stared in horror at the gun.

"That's a weapon for killing people." Al said as he was shown.

Riza appeared on screen. "Yes, but it's also a weapon for protecting your
lives."

Ed's eyes changed from horror to sadness. He remembered grabbing

Winry's hand after she dropped the gun. Ed was shown to be looking
down at her hands. "It's your hands. They weren't meant to kill."

"Awww," Hughes cooed. "I still love the moment of yours, Ed. It was just
sooo sweet."

Ed's brow twitched in annoyance and glared at the back of Hughes's head.

Ed flashed back on screen with narrowed eyes.

From when she was on the train, Winry was shown. "No dying, okay?"

"And then she admitted her love for you!" Hughes added, grinning widely.

Ed growled.

"Oh, lighten up, Ed." Hughes said. "Only teasing."

Ed and Riza flashed back onto screen. He grabbed the gun out of Riza's
hand. "I'll take it."

Just as he said that, the ground rumbled violently and the screen moved
to the side to show the forest with violent wind and red alchemical light
appearing in the sky two times.

Ling leaned on the door to speak to Riza. "Look after Lan Fan." He said
before he ran away.

The scene moved down to show Lan Fan lying with her head in Riza's
lap and a cloth on her eyes. "Wait." Lan Fan said before the boys were
shown running back to the forest. "My Lord!"

Mustang appeared on screen, watching the boys leave. Ed's back was the
one to be shown that he was staring at.

"Awww, how sweet. You're worried about Ed." Hughes cooed teasingly.
Mustang shot his friend a glare while Ed smacked Hughes in the head. "Shut
up!" They both shouted.

"It is quite sweet." Sheska whispered to Ross, who chuckled and nodded in
agreement.

"Any decent adult would be concerned when letting kids go fight their
battle." Mustang growled under his breath.

"Let's go." Mustang said when he reappeared on the screen. His eyes
moved to look at Knox, who was staring at him. "I said go!"

"It must be painful for you to make such an order." Riza teased.

Mustang frowned and crossed his arms tightly. Of course it was hard. He was
leaving his youngest subordinate and two other teenagers alone to fight a
monster that was after him! They were already injured from an earlier fight
and now they are running into another fight! How else was he supposed to
feel about this?

Knox slammed a hand on the steering wheel. "Damn, what are they
thinking?" The car was shown from a distance. "Those three are going
to get themselves killed."

The tires screeched on the ground before the car zoomed out of there.

The top of the forest was shown with multiple violent winds ripping
through the air.

Some trees were shown before they were ripped away by the violent
wind, leaving the ground bare. "Mustang." Gluttony said as the screen
moved up to show him. "Where are you, Mustang?"

"Long gone by now." Luke said.

Mustang gritted his teeth. Long gone to leave children to fight his fight! If
they died there, he would never forgive himself.

"Though his obsession with you is quite creepy." Luke added, earning
himself a glare from Mustang.

Gluttony's face was shown as his body trembled and his eyes glowed an
angry red. "You killed Lust!" Gluttony rose up and screamed, "You will
pay!"

Ed, Al, and Ling were shown to be hiding in some trees, watching him.
Trembling was heard as Ed said, "I know we said we'd stay and all. But
that's seriously freaky!"

"He seems to be a bit angry." Ling added.

"No duh? Really? We had no idea." Havoc said sarcastically.

"You guys are trembling so hard, we can hear it." General Armstrong told
them with a smirk.

"We can't help it!" Al cried.

"He swallows everything with that wind!" Ed added.

"Not to mention that he is very angry at the moment!" Ling added.

"We'd be fools not to be scared!" The three shouted.

"I don't think you boys really have the time to be scared." Darius told them.

"Then we'll make time!" Al said.

"How are we going to catch him?" Al asked.

The back of the group was shown with Gluttony going crazy in front of
them as rustling was heard behind them. Ling and Xiao-Mei suddenly
turned around. Ling held up his sword.

"Must be Envy." Ling said, frowning.

"Just what we needed." Ed groaned.

Al turned his head. "What was that?"

Dramatic music began as the screen started to move up to show the dog.

"A dog?" Al said confused.

"Stop it! Now, Gluttony!" The dog ordered.

"I know we know that is Envy, but a talking dog is still creepy." Avery said.

"It's a Homunculus. Of course it's creepy! They all are!" Brosh retorted.

"Creepy, scary, and sadistic. Great way to describe Envy." Ed muttered.

Gluttony was shown, pausing.

The boys were shown to be staring at the dog. "A talking dog?" Ed said.

The dog looked at Ed. "Hey, long time no see." The dog started to spark
with red alchemical light as its form grew and altered.

Edward stared at it.

The dog's limbs were shown to be changing into human limbs. The
screen moved to his head to show it changing into Envy's face. When he
was done, he smirked at Ed. "How are you, Fullmetal Pipsqueak?"

"Oh, great!" Ed grumbled before looking up with a glare. "Did this bloody
jerk just call me a pipsqueak?"

"When doesn't he call you short, Brother?" Al asked.

"Now that you mention it, that is mostly just what he calls Fullmetal. Even
when Fullmetal is not around, he calls him short." Mustang said thoughtfully.

Ed's eyes lit up angrily. 'Die. Die. Die. Die. Envy must die!'

Envy was shown walking forward as Ed's voice said, "Damn it, I told
you before. Don't call me SHOOOOOORT!"
Ed ran at Envy and sent a flying kick at him, which Envy dodged,
leaving Ed to slam his foot into the tree.

"You are so easily worked up." Riza said with a sigh.

"Envy started it." Ed grumbled.

"You do realize you are talking like you guys are friends and he made fun of
you so you started a fight, right?" Jerso asked.

Ed blinked before screaming. "No way in hell! I will never be friends with
that bastard!"

Ed pushes off of the tree and turns around in the air before landing.

Envy raised his hands. "Hey! Calm down! I'm just here to get Gluttony
back! Nothing more then that! I don't want to fight you, pipsqueak!"

"That's five now!" Ed shouted as he slammed his automail fist into the
tree, denting it, since Envy dodged.

"What are you talking about?" Mustang asked.

A dark aura surrounded Ed. "He called me pipsqueak to my face five times
now."

Hughes looked over his shoulder at Ed, but immediately turned around again
when he saw the darkness pouring off of him. He leaned closer to Roy. "Your
subordinate is a crazy one."

Mustang looked at him dryly.

"Which one of you is the craziest though?" Hughes asked.

And then he glared at him. Crazy? Roy Mustang was not crazy! He was
completely sane! Thank you very much!

Envy landed on a tree branch. "What are you talking about!?"

Ed turned to look at him. "That's five times! You called me pipsqueak
twice here, and three times in the Laboratory!" His hands curled into
fists. "And don't tell me you've forgotten already!"

Envy stared at him blankly. "Impressive, you've got a sharp memory

there."

"I can't believe you remembered either." Fuery said.

"He's a bastard who I hate and calls me pipsqueak! How can I not
remember?" Ed shouted.

"That and Fullmetal's memory is pretty amazing." Mustang added dryly.

"You remember practically everything."

Envy jumped backwards out of the tree and landed on the ground as Ed
shouted, "Hold it!"

Gluttony was shown to be approaching Envy.

"You're becoming bothersome." Envy told him.

"One Homunculus is hard enough to handle. With two there, I don't think this
is a good idea." Mustang told the boys.

"I'm not going to let them leave without a fight, especially when we haven't
gotten any information!" Ed said. "Besides, they won't kill us!"

"Maybe not you, but what about me?" Ling asked.

"Uh…You're on your own there." Ed said.

"Thank you for the help, Ed."

"No problem, Ling."

Gluttony got out of the bushes. "Mustang was here! Mustang killed
Lust! Swallow! Swallow! Swallow him up!"
"You don't get the Colonel." Envy said.

"How can all of you just have casual conversations with your enemy right by
you?!" Ross cried.

"Casual? When are we having casual chitchat? I'm trying to beat Envy up."
Ed said.

"And we're just watching." Al said, motioning to himself and Ling.

Ross put a hand to her face. "Who does stuff like that?"

"Reckless brats." Rebecca offered.

"Of course."

"Or the Elric brothers." Envy informed as Ed slid down the hill back to
where his brother and Ling were.

"Why not?" Gluttony asked.

"I've sense this multiplicity before." Ling said, walking around Al. "How
many people are inside you?"

"Are you going to ask every Homunculus that?" May asked.

Ling shrugged. "Why not? Maybe one of them will answer me."

"Or you just like letting them know that you know all about them." Edward
said dryly.

"Perhaps."

Ling's eyes opened. "Homunculus."

Envy appeared on screen wearing a frown. He leaned an arm on

Gluttony's head. "I know you. You're the kid who crossed swords with
Wrath, aren't you?"
Ling swung his sword down in an arc. "What do you mean 'kid?!'" He
put a hand to his chest. "I happen to be the twelfth son of the emperor of
Xing. My name is–"

Envy patted Gluttony's head. "Eat him."

"Oh, come on!" Ling cried.

"Just run like crazy and zigzag a bit. You'll be fine." Ed said.

"Again, Ed, not helping."

"I prefer not to get swallowed by trying to help you."

Ling was shown to be running through the forest with Gluttony chasing
him. "No! No! No! No!"

"I can barely work up enough concern for you idiots with this being almost
casual and funny." Mustang said, putting a hand to his forehead.

Ed and Al watched him run away, screaming.

"You are both no help." Ling informed them.

"We're supposed to help?" Al asked innocently.

"But we're in the middle of a conversation with Envy." Ed added.

"No, you are not!" Ling said.

They both turned around and Ed nudged his brother's chest with an evil
smirk. He cracked his fingers. "You thinking what I'm thinking."

"Looks like they really aren't allowed to do anything to the two of us." Al
whispered.

"And you're going to use that to your advantage." Mustang said with a sigh.

"How about helping me not get eaten while you're at it?" Ling asked.
"In which case." Ed clapped his hands and put them on the ground. Blue
alchemical light flashed around his hands before a wall formed up on the
ground just as Ling and Gluttony ran back. Ling and Envy ended up on
one side and Gluttony on the other.

"That works." Ling said. "Thank you, Ed."

Ed shrugged. "Well, alright then. You are welcome, Ling. I guess I couldn't
let you fight the Homunculus that is allowed to eat you."

Gluttony slammed into the wall. Ed stood up and looked at Ling. "Ling,
you get that one!" He said before he and Al were charging at Gluttony.

The scene moved to Envy, who grinned as he looked at the wall. "Very
well."

Ling was shown changing which hand held the sword.

"Let's see how good you are." Envy said. As Ling charged at Envy, Envy
fell into a stance and dramatic music started. "You held off Wrath, but
how will do against me?"

The scene changed to a roof with chandeliers on it.

"Oh, did he now?" Bradley said as the scene moved down to show the
Bradley family having dinner.

"Why is it that the fights are always interrupted with things like this?" Havoc
groaned.

"Makes it suspenseful." Ed said.

"I don't want suspenseful. I want to see that you three aren't getting
yourselves killed." Havoc said.

Ed shrugged. "Have a little faith in our skills. Besides Al and I won't die.
Ling might, but we won't since they aren't allowed to kill us."

"You're still not helping." Ling told him.

"I'm just speaking the truth!"

Mrs. Bradley looked at her husband. "Yes, it was the best paper in the
class. He chose to write an essay all about you actually."

"Argh, poor kid has no idea that his father is a murdering lunatic." Luke said.

"Then poor Mrs. Bradley. She doesn't know either." Brody added. "It will
certainly be a huge shock for them."

"Why must they know?" Mustang asked. "We have to keep the fact that there
are Homunculi running around as low key as possible and Mrs. Bradley has
lived with Bradley for years as his wife. There is no reason to destroy his
image to the public, just him."

"Mom, can I read it to you guys now?" Selim asked.

Mrs. Bradley looked at her son. "Not at the table. Mind your manners,
dear."

Bradley looked at her. "Oh, don't be silly. Why not?" He looked at his
son. "Go ahead and read, son. I liked to hear it."

"Well, I don't." Darius said. "Must we listen?"

"Yes, we must. It seems we do not get a choice." Heinkel said.

"Great." Selim said. He was shown with the paper open in front of him.
"'Essay on my dad.'"

"That is certainly a great way to begin a paper." Mustang muttered. "Why

don't these schools teach kids how to title their papers with something
proper?"

"Because it is little kids doing it." Hughes told him, rolling his eyes. "You're
just saying that because you've had a kid on your team for three years so
you've had to deal with his reports."

"Hey, I take offense to that." Ed interrupted. "My reports were always

awesome!"

"Except for the first two or three." Riza told him. "Then you got the hang of
it."

"Wait." Hughes said, grinning suddenly. "Are you saying that this reckless,
loud, sarcastic brat actually writes good reports?"

"Damn it!" Ed shouted, irritated. "I do take my job seriously, even if I do hate
it."

"So hard to believe." Brosh muttered to Ross as they both remembered their
time escorting the brothers. THAT was what he considered serious?

"'He's the Fuhrer of the nation of Amestris. He works hard all the time
and everything he does is for our country.'" The screen moved to behind
Selim to show Bradley and his wife watching their son. "'The people of
Amestris are always in his heart.'"

Edward appeared on screen, running at Gluttony.

"Wow, this paper is just full of lies." Buccaneer said.

"Everything about Bradley is a lie." Ed snorted.

The scene pulled out to show him running alongside Al with Gluttony
running away in front of them.

"'He dedicates his life to making them happy.'" Selim's voice said before
the Bradley family was back on screen. "'He deals with all sorts of
problems each day so every one in our country can live a good life.'"

Ling appeared on screen, charging at Envy. He swiped his sword two

times at Envy, who dodged back. When Ling swiped up, his sword was
gone from his hand for a second and both he and Envy reached for it,
but Ling caught it in his left hand.

"It's ironic that when Selim says that Ling, someone not even from this
country, appears on screen." Hughes said, a bit amused despite the situation
the boys were in.

"Again with the illegal alien jokes?" Ling asked blankly.

Hughes grinned. "They will never get old. Be sure to stick around or come
visit us some times. I enjoy watching you and Ed banter. It's just as amusing
as when he and Roy fight."

Ed's brow twitched. "I am not to be used for entertainment, Hughes!"

The Bradley family appeared on screen again. "'But no matter how busy
he gets doing his job, my dad never forgets his family. He loves me and
my mother very much. He always looks out for us'" Mrs. Bradley smiled.
"'My dad's a good man. He always listens to me when I talk to him. He's
always kind and protects our family. And that is why I love my dad. The
end.'"

After Selim lowered his paper, Bradley was shown. "Thank you for that,
Selim, very much."

Envy reappeared on screen, dodging Ling's sword again. "Hmm, you

really know how to use that thing." He said as he continued to dodge.

"Was that a compliment, from Envy of all the Homunculi out there?" Edward
asked shocked.

"I didn't think Envy was even capable of complimenting anyone." Mustang
said. "I thought he would be too busy being envious."

Ed frowned. Envious? Sure, that was Envy's name, but there was no way he
would be envious of Ling's skill with a sword. They had to be more to Envy's
envy then just that.

"Thank you for the compliment." Ling said as he was shown. "Really."
Ling ducked under Envy's punch and pushed his arm up so he was able
to swing his sword up and slice Envy's stomach.

Envy's arm turned green. "You fell for it." A snake took the form of his
arm.
"He can change the features of just one limb like that?" Kei said in horror and
shock.

"I hope that snake isn't poisonous." Ling said.

"Don't try to get bit to find out." Al informed him.

"Don't worry. I really don't have any dream of getting bit by a snake."

The snake wrapped under Ling's arm then slid up and wrapped itself
around his neck twice.

"Not…cool." Ling said before he fell over, grabbing at his neck as he

struggled to breath.

"Young Lord!" Lan Fan cried, kneeling down beside him with Fu.

"Good, isn't it?" Envy asked as Ling was shown to be holding the snake.
"And you humans can't do anything like it." Ling's eyes moved to the
snake's head as it hissed at him. "So what will it be? Strangled to death?
Bitten to death?" Envy was shown as his other arm turned into a blade.
"Or just carved up into little pieces?"

"None of the above." Ed said.

"Does anyone else feel it unfair how Envy can just turn his body into
anything?" Al asked.

"All the Homunculi have an unfair advantage." Ross said with a frown.

"Being…strangled here….so less…talking." Ling managed to get out through

his rough and desperate breathing.

Ling chuckled. "None of the above." He said as he dropped his sword.

"….Damn you, Ling." Ed growled. "Don't copy me!"

Ling chuckled roughly.

Ling pushed his foot into the dirt and kicked the dirt up into Envy's face
as dramatic music began once more. He grabbed Envy's arm that was
turned into a blade and used it to cut Envy's other arm off. Ling grabbed
his sword out of the ground as the snake disintegrated.

"Oooh, nice move, Ling!" Ed said.

Ling, with a gasp, sat up, rubbing his neck. "Did you just compliment me?"
He asked before he started coughing a bit violently.

"What?" Ed said, frowning. "Damn, I did."

Getting his coughing under control, Ling shot a smirk at Ed. "I always knew
you liked me."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Deluded, he is. One compliment and he thinks I like him.
I guess that means Envy likes him too." He mumbled to himself.

Ling swung his sword up, slicing up Envy, who screamed in pain. Envy's
face was shown with blood flying through the air. He fell back from the
attack and slammed his foot into the dirt, pushing a lot of it up because
of his weight.

"That's weird." Lan Fan said, frowning.

"What is?" Sheska asked confused.

"The dirt. He shouldn't have been able to make sure an imprint in the ground
with his weight." Ling explained.

"So what? He's heavier then he looks?" Ed asked.

Ling nodded. "I wonder how that can be though."

Envy's knee fell to the ground next, causing a heavy thud. Ling was
shown, lowering his sword as he stared in shock. "That was a dirty
trick." Envy said before he was shown. "Blinding me. That's not playing
fair."
"HA!" Ed cried, laughing mockingly. "Playing fair? And the way Envy fights
and kills by transforming into other people is fair?"

"To be fair, he was fighting a fair fight with me until he turned his limbs into
a snake and blade." Ling pointed out.

"I can't believe you're defending him!" Ed said.

"I'm not. I'm just saying he was fighting fair for a while." Ling replied.

Ed snorted. "It would never have lasted though. The moment he starts having
trouble or is losing, he would have turned to his unfair plays again. Or he
would do that just for the fun of it to please his sadistic nature."

"People have been trying to assassinate me since I was a kid." Ling said,
staring at Envy, whose body was sparking with red alchemical light.
"Under the circumstances, you can't blame a guy for learning how to
fight dirty." He started to move forward.

"That's my excuse. What's yours, Ed?" Ling asked.

"Huh? I don't fight dirty!" Ed protested.

Mustang snorted. "Please, you've had your moments in fights where you
pulled a dirty move or two."

Ed scowled. "Well, you sent me, a twelve year old, on crazy missions which
usual ended with people trying to kill me! I can't help it if I learned some
dirty moves while fighting out there."

"So you learned from experience." Ling said.

Ed shrugged.

"And from street fighting." Al added.

"Al." Ed hissed.

"Street fighting?" Riza asked suspiciously, glaring at Ed.

Ed groaned. "It was for a mission! Colonel sent me to investigate this
underground fighting ring and the easiest way to do that was to join in as a
new fighter."

"I remember that." Havoc said, frowning. "You were thirteen and came back
all black and blue."

"You never told me you joined the fighting ring!" Mustang growled. "I
thought you just got into another stupid fight!"

Ed shrugged. "Didn't find it relevant."

"Everything you do on a mission is relevant." Mustang snapped.

"You were black and blue?" Izumi added with a glare. "Didn't I teach you
anything during training?"

Ed growled. "Dodge! I know, and I did, but I missed sometimes and this was
an automail underground fighting ring so getting hit just once would hurt a
lot!"

"Automail underground fighting ring?" Ross asked confused.

Ed nodded. "It means you could only be a fighter in it if you had automail."

"Did you at least win?" Ling asked.

"Of course I won." Ed said, grinning. "Those bastards had nothing on

Teacher or all the experience I got running around the country and getting
into fights."

"So have you had enough yet? Are you going to come with me quietly
now?" Ling asked. He pointed his sword at Envy. "I just want whatever
information you can give me on becoming immortal. Or shall we go
again?"

Envy lifted his head to glare angrily at Ling. "You scum! A mere human
like you can't condescend to me!"
"Huh, I could have sworn he just did." Mustang said with a smirk.

Ling was shown. "You seem to underestimate humans." He opened his

eyes. "And that's a mistake!" He shouted.

"Wow, you looked a bit evil there." Zampano said.

"Should I be insulted?" Ling asked.

"No." Ed said. "Looking and acting a bit evil is different from actually being
evil."

Hughes chuckled. "You would know."

Ed rolled his eyes. So he tended to behave like the villain sometimes. Who
cares? It was quite fun.

Gluttony appeared on screen with a well forming under him. He fell into
it as Ed and Al ran over to it.

"Nice." Ed said. "Got him."

They both looked down the well but both fell back when Gluttony came
out of the hole. He landed on the ground with a THUD.

"Phew, that was a close one." Gluttony said.

"How did he get out of that hole?" Ed shouted, pulling at his hair. "This is so
annoying."

"I didn't know you were one to complain about fights, Fullmetal." Mustang
said.

"I do when I am dealing with annoying Homunculi like this." Ed grumbled.

"It'd be nice to have at least one fair fight in all of this."

"I've had enough of you!" Ed shouted, throwing a kick up at Gluttony's

face, who dodged to the side. He swung his foot around to hit Gluttony
who moved to the side with an 'oomph.'
"Get away!" Gluttony said, ducking under a punch. "I can't eat you!"
Gluttony took a swing at Ed, who dodged and Al came up behind
Gluttony and wrapped his arms under Gluttony's to hold him still. "Just
let me take a bite of the other guy."

"He still wants to eat me?" Ling asked.

"You must look really delicious to him." Ed said. "That or he changed his
obsession from Colonel to you."

"Lucky me." Ling said dryly.

"Not today." Al said.

Gluttony grabbed Al's arm and tossed him over him.

Ed was shown to be by the wall before Al slammed into him and they
went through the wall, causing dirt, dust, and stones to fill up the air.

"Why are you always being thrown at me?" Ed groaned, falling over on the
couch with one hand on his face and the other on his chest. What Ed didn't
realize is that when he fell over, his head landed in Riza's lap and Mustang
was glaring at him once more.

"Sorry, Brother." Al said, hiding a chuckle when he saw Mustang glaring at

his brother.

Ling looked surprised as Ed and Al came through the wall behind him.

"Well, hello there, Ed, Al. You interrupted my fight." Ling said.

"Sorry." Ed and Al replied together.

"But hey, is it going well?" Ed asked. "Ours is being a bit annoying with
jumping out of deep holes we made."

"I believe mine is getting annoyed with, but I do believe that I am winning."
Ling replied.
"Stay out of my way, guys. I'm busy." Ling said before ducking under
Envy's fist.

"It's not like we came over there on purpose." Al mumbled.

There was a flash of light that was a blade before Ling was shown under
Envy, who now had his leg cut off. Envy landed with a heavy thud and
with his own crater on the ground with Ling standing over him. He
changed his hold on his sword before Envy was shown changing into Lan
Fan. Ling's eyes widen and he froze.

"Don't freeze!" General Armstrong growled.

"I really expected more from you." Ed said.

"Do you think I'm so coldhearted that I could easily stab someone looking
like my friend?" Ling asked.

"No, I expected you to be able to see through the lie." Edward replied,
frowning. "You just seem like the kind of person who can see through the
falseness and face it."

'Another foolish human.' Envy thought as Lan Fan's face smirked.

"You are right, Ed. I should be able to see it. Lan Fan would never make a
face like that." Ling growled. "I don't like that look on her face."

"Go for it, Gluttony!" Envy shouted.

Gluttony was shown with his mouth opening up widely while Ed and Al
ran to Ling. "Ling!" Ed shouted.

Envy was shown. "What?!" He shouted as Ed ran towards Ling,

grabbing his arm and trying to pull him to the side.

"What happened to not helping me because you don't want to risk getting
swallowed?" Ling asked.

Ed scowled. He said that, but he knew he wouldn't just sit back and allow that
to happen to Ling. He could not just sit back. He did see Ling as a friend,
despite all his protests otherwise. He would do what he could to protect his
friend.

'Damn it! I can't let him eat a sacrifice!' Envy thought as he reached out
for Ed's ankle to pull him back.

"Brother!" Al shouted, reaching out for them.

Gluttony was shown with violent sucking wind coming from his stomach
again.

Dust filled the area and when it disappeared, a tree was shown to be
falling over since most of its trunk was missing. The tree next to that one
fell next. Al was shown with his arm stretched out, but missing his hand.
Then the spot where Ed and Ling were before was shown with it empty
and the bottom half of Envy's body disintegrating by the carved out area
of the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Mustang, Havoc, Luke, Brody, Breda, and a few
other soldiers yelled.

Sheska covered her mouth in shock. Ed and Ling were gone! Just like that.
They were gone! No, they couldn't be gone. They were just children with so
much ahead of them in life. This couldn't be the end for them.

"You're supposed to dodge!" Izumi shouted.

"Uh…" Ed sat up, frowning. "Were we just eaten?" He asked.

"It would seem so." Ling replied.

"…."

"NO!" Ling yelled. He couldn't die! He had to make it back to Lan Fan. He
had to find the secret of immortality and he had to get back to Xing and save
his clan! He still had so much to do still. His death could not come yet!

"Shit!" Ed cried, pulling at his hair violently. "I can't be eaten!" He couldn't
just die like that. Al still needed him! He had to save Al's body still. There
was no way he could die before he fulfilled his promise to Al! He couldn't
just leave Al like this.

"Does that mean they are dead?" Mustang demanded, hands clenching and
unclenching in fear. Ed couldn't be dead. Those boys couldn't die here! He
would never be able to forgive himself if the boys died when it was supposed
to be his fight that he was forced to run from! If those Homunculi stole
another friend, who just so happened to be his youngest subordinate from
him, there would be hell to pay. He would make sure they knew his wrath!

Lan Fan felt her breath hitch in her throat. Ling was just swallowed by
Gluttony! That wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to survive this
fight and come back! She should have stayed with her young lord. She should
never have left him, even if she was injured! An injury wasn't supposed to
stop her from doing her job of protecting her master.

Izumi felt as if her heart had dropped into her stomach. She leaned into Sig
for comfort. Please don't let that mean that Ed was dead. Ed and Al were like
her children. She could never bear to see one of them get killed. They were
supposed to be the next generation. They were meant to grow with all of
them watching. They were supposed to die last! Please just let this be a
mistake!

"Well," Ling said thickly. "At least we aren't in any pain."

Ed nodded. "And who knows? Maybe by some miracle, we are still alive."

"You were just eaten!" Hughes snapped, though he didn't mean too. He was
just worried about the boys so his worry came out in a snappish tone. Those
boys weren't supposed to die!

"So they might be dead?" May asked thickly.

"Like hell they are!" Mustang shouted. "Those two are not dead, not by a
long shot!" That's right. Ed and Ling were both stubborn, reckless punks.
They weren't dead! They would survive this, somehow.
The scene pulled out slowly before looking at the disintegrating part of
Envy's body. After a few seconds, it rapidly disappeared before Gluttony
was shown. "Swallowed them." He said.

Al ran over to Gluttony and grabbed him by one of his teeth. He

slammed Gluttony in the ground and looked into his stomach. "Brother!
Ling!"

"Aw, thanks for caring about me too, Al!" Ling said.

Al looked at Gluttony's face. "You! Spit them out! Spit them out now!"

"I can't. I swallowed them." Gluttony said before his stomach was
sparking with red alchemical light and the teeth started to interlock
themselves and dissolve back into Gluttony's stomach.

"Oh, now he'll close that damn mouth!" Ed said frustrated.

Xiao-Mei was shown to be watching from behind Al. "Impossible…it

can't be…Brother!" Al said sadly. He slammed a fist into the ground and
screamed out in agony as the scene rapidly moved up to the night sky.

May covered her mouth, holding back tears. Al sounded in so much pain
there and May couldn't blame him for it. She wanted to cry to. She didn't
want Ed or even Ling, even if he was an enemy heir, dead, especially like
that. When she saw Ed jumping at Ling to save him from getting swallowed,
her heart almost stopped. Ed was rash, loud, reckless, and always fighting,
but to see him jumping into danger like that for a chance to save his friend,
warmed her heart before it dropped because they were swallowed. Ed just
cared about the safety of his friends and family above his own. It was
amazing to her.

She could understand why he did, but she could also understand Al pain. If
she ever lost Xiao-Mei….if Xiao-Mei ever died, she would not know what to
do. She would be so scared and upset and anger at losing her. It would be
such a painful thing to face.

Dr. Knox's house was shown. "I do have another room my kid used to
sleep in." Dr. Knox said before he was shown to be sitting in a chair,
smoking. "But people will get suspicious if I keep all the lights on." He
added as the scene moved to the left to show Lan Fan in a bed. "You'll
have to make do with my bed."

"My Lord." Lan Fan said as she sat up. "I have to go to him."

"No, you do not." Ling said sharply. "You would be no help in the fight in
your condition. Just care about your own health right now."

Lan Fan bowed her head, hands clenching on her lap. What use was she if she
was missing an arm? How could she serve her lord with only that single arm?

Dr. Knox was shown. "Idiot girl." Lan Fan gasped as she was shown.
"What can you do in your condition?"

Lan Fan looked at the mirror on the dresser next to her. Sad music
played as she gently put a hand to her shoulder. She fell back against the
pillow, covering her eyes with her hand, breathing heavily as she kept
herself from crying.

The screen showed the room from the ceiling before a room with Riza
and Mustang in it was shown.

"He isn't home yet? I see." Mustang said as he was shown to be on the
phone. "I'll head straight to Command Center then. Right. Goodbye."
He hung up the phone and turned halfway to Riza. "Let's go."

"Right." Riza said.

"What? You just got there! What are you doing?" Ed asked.

"I don't like sitting around and doing nothing when my subordinates are
fighting." Mustang said bitterly.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yes, we saw that when you charged right in to save
Lieutenant Riza."

"If you boys can fight right now, then I can do my part and see who we can
trust and who we cannot." Mustang said.

Mustang opened the door just as Dr. Knox appeared in front of it.

"Go where?" Dr. Knox asked.

Mustang was shown to be smirking. "I think now would be a good time
to find out who we can trust and who we can't."

"Do you like repeating yourself?" Ed asked sarcastically.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Fullmetal."

"You've been saying that a lot." Ed said.

"Well, stop saying stupid things!"

"What? Me?" Ed asked offended. "That's Hughes's job."

"Hey!" Hughes said.

Dr. Knox was shown. "What is it with you idiots? You got a death wish?
Your wounds haven't begun to heal yet and you're already going out
looking for more trouble?"

Mustang appeared on screen. The scene moved to show him and Riza
from behind. "For all we know, the Fuhrer is a Homunculus." Riza was
shown. "I can't very well ignore that." Dr. Knox appeared on screen.
"Besides," Mustang was shown again. "We just left children out on a
battlefield to do our fighting." His fist was shown to be shut tightly.

Ed wrinkled his nose, scowling at Colonel's words. He didn't need Mustang

being all concerned about him while he was on the battlefield. He and Al
could handle themselves! Not counting the whole getting eaten part…but to
be fair, he was only eaten cause he was trying to save Ling.

"Still wouldn't be the first time." Was all Ed said.

"Fullmetal, shut up." Mustang snapped. "I don't like leaving kids alone to
fight, especially against monsters like these."

Ed shrugged.

"If they're brave enough to fight," Mustang said as Riza was shown.
"How can I just sit here and wait?"

Buildings were shown to be moving past the screen as a car was heard.

"What's so funny?" Mustang asked as the car was shown.

"Oh, it's nothing really." Riza said as she and Mustang were shown. "I
was just thinking, can you imagine the look on Edward's face if he heard
you talking back there?"

Ed turned to Riza with a frown. "Must you bring that up?"

Riza smiled. "But you really did look angry."

Ed scowled at her. Angry? Of course he was! Mustang always gave him all
this shit about behaving like an adult and being responsible and sending him
on dangerous missions! And then he talks about leaving him alone on a
battlefield?! If he could do all that other crap, then why can't he be left on a
battlefield without people worrying about him because he's a kid?!

"I was only repeating what you already said." Mustang replied.

Riza looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "I have to admit, this is
unexpected. Given the situation, this is fairly bold action for you to take,
Colonel."

"Like hell it is." Mustang replied. "I'm just getting the ball rolling.
Nothing more. Besides." A picture of Hughes appeared on screen.

"You need as many people on your side as you can get your hands on now,
Colonel." Hughes's voice said.

Mustang reappeared on screen. "It's taken long enough, but I think I

might finally begin heeding his advice."
"What?" Hughes said offended. "You weren't taking it before? Then what
was the point in more doing everything to help you?"

Mustang shrugged. "It was good advice. I just wasn't ready to use it yet."

Hughes grumbled to himself.

The car was shown from behind to be heading down the road. The scene
moved up to show the car heading to Central Command.

The front of Central Command was shown.

Mustang and Riza were shown to be standing outside it, now in their
uniforms.

"Well, these are either the gates to glory or the entrance way to Hell.
Wait here, Lieutenant." Mustang looked at Riza. "If anything happens
to me, then at least you'll have a chance of getting out alive.

Ed snorted. What an idiot.

"No, sir." Riza said.

"I didn't think you were one to disobey orders." Izumi said.

"Only the stupid ones." Riza replied, smiling.

"How was it stupid?" Mustang asked.

Ed snorted. "Even I see how it is stupid. Just as how you won't abandon your
team, they won't abandon you. Idiot."

"Fullmetal, I am still your Commanding Officer, even in here! Show some

respect." Mustang snapped.

"Respect? When have I ever given you any respect?" Ed asked.

Mustang's whole body showed his shock. "That was an order." He said
as he turned back to her.
Riza was shown. "One that I cannot obey."

The scene pulled out and Mustang put his hands on his hips. "You're a
stubborn one."

"That's something you've always known, sir." Riza said.

Ed chuckled. Others find his banter with Ling and Mustang amusing. Well,
Ed found watching the banter between other people just as amusing,
especially between Riza and Mustang. They really did have a special
relationship from what Ed had seen.

Mustang was shown. He sighed. "All right." He turned around with a

slight smile. "Will you stay here if I promise to come back?" He asked.

"You shouldn't even have to ask." Havoc said, smirking.

"Why? Because he should know the answer already or because he is the

Colonel and his subordinates should follow his orders without question?"
Ling asked amused.

"Both." Ed said, smirking. "He should have already known what Lieutenant
Riza was going to respond to that first order so he should have just gone with
this one from the start and she would have obeyed without question."

Riza saluted. "Yes. Happy hunting, sir."

An extravagant chandelier was shown.

"So, you're Colonel Roy Mustang, are you?" A voice asked as the scene
moved down to show Mustang standing in front of a General. "I got a
call from my wife about you a while ago."

Mustang stood up straighter. "Lieutenant General Raven, I'm sorry. I

haven't had time to introduce myself. I've been very busy since my
transfer."

Ed rolled his eyes. "This is why I hate soldiers who are trying to reach the
top. All you ever do is kiss up."
"And that is why you will never get promoted." Mustang said.

"And we both know I don't want promoted. As soon as Al is back to normal,

I'm gone." Ed retorted.

"I hope it won't be forever." Havoc said, grinning. "It will be boring if we
never got to see you again."

Ed rolled his eyes.

Raven was shown, smiling a bit. "It's not a problem. Tell me, how is that
old fox Grumman doing these days anyway?"

Mustang smiled and gave a small shrug. "The same as always, sir."

"You mean crazy?" Ed asked.

"Brother." Al scolded.

"What? He is!" Ed said.

Mustang sighed. "Fullmetal, you've only met him a few times."

"That's all I need to. He is so strange!" Ed said. "He's like…like…I don't even
know what he is like!"

Riza chuckled. "Edward, he treats you like a grandson. I guess you wouldn't
know that since you never knew your grandparents."

"Grandson?" Ed echoed thoughtfully to himself.

"Grandson? Seriously, grandson?" Mustang asked Riza. Since he never saw

Ed and Grumman interact, he didn't know this.

Riza gave a small shrug. "It is actually quite sweet, sir. I think, like you sir,
General Grumman cares quite a bit about Edward since he is just a child in an
adult's world."

Ed, who was musing over the grandson thing, didn't hear anything Riza said.
Music began as a chess piece was shown being placed on a board and
Grumman saying, "Check."

Mustang sighed and put a hand to his head. "That's eleven losses in a
row for me."

Grumman was shown. "Twelve actually. But at least you put up a decent
fight this time around." He opened his eyes. "You were fine until you
were sure you won then you blew it."

Mustang was shown. "So I finished too weak."

The two were shown at the table.

"Yes," Grumman put a hand to his chin. "You can't be ruthless

enough."

"He can't?" Ed echoed in shock. "And here I thought Colonel was always a
mean jerk."

"Fullmetal, I am right here." Mustang snapped.

"And when has that ever stopped me?" Ed retorted.

"You're like Raven that way."

"Lieutenant General Raven from Central?" Mustang asked shocked.

"He's an exceptional soldier, but too sentimental." Grumman looked at

the ceiling. "From what I heard, he'll even tend to his wounded men
himself which leaves his whole line of command in disarray."

"Reminds me of Colonel when he leaves his post in a mission to save his

team." Ed said.

He looked back at Mustang. "You don't deploy your king to tend to the
pawn, do you?"

"Why not?" Ed demanded. "If the king doesn't lead, how can he expect his
subordinates to follow? [1] He should lead them by example!"

Ling nodded in agreement with Ed's statement. The people follow a king for
a reason. If he does not live up to a great king who cares for his people, how
can the people follow and be loyal to him?

"How dare he say something like that about me?" Raven yelled angrily
as he reappeared on screen. "I was transferred to Central because of the
compassion I showed my men in the line of duty!" Mustang was shown.
"That border dwelling old coot should keep his trap shut!"

Raven was shown with gritted teeth and an angry look. When he
remembered Mustang, he loosened his anger and said, "Sorry."

"No, General, it's fine. Actually General Grumman told me that if that
story made you angry, it meant you were still a good and just man and
that you were the officer one could come to for support in case of an
emergency." Mustang told him.

Raven gaped and put his hands on his desk as he bowed his head
dejected. "I can't believe it. That old fox got me again, didn't he?" He
looked up at Mustang with a chuckle. As Raven stood up straight, both
men started laughing.

The map in the room was shown as Raven said, "It's time for my
meeting. Come on. You can walk with me."

The hallway was shown with the two walking down it. "Have you
adjusted to Central yet?"

Mustang's face was shown. "No. I find conversing with the citizens
around here quite difficult actually."

Raven was shown to be grinning. "It's a mistake to dismiss the value of

the word on the street, Colonel."

The corridor was shown.

"I know." Mustang said. "But most of it's just mindless dribble. Like
Scar was seen feeding a stray cat."

May chuckled a bit. She could actually believe that one. She saw it in Scar.
He really did like little animals. He would be one to feed a cat.

"Or immortality's been discovered." Mustang was shown as they

stopped. He closed his eyes. "Or maybe even that Fuhrer Bradley is a
Homunculus." He looked at Raven as the scene moved to him. "Who
knows?"

"You're just going to say it like that?" Ed asked doubtfully.

"I'm just planting the idea in his mind." Mustang replied. "It's to make him
curious."

Raven started laughing loudly with Mustang chuckling unsurely next to

him.

"I see." Raven stopped laughing and looked at Mustang. "You've got no
sense of humor, do you? Are you certain you were one of Grumman's
men?"

Mustang looked away with a blank look. "His sense of humor didn't rub
off on me much, sir."

"Well, at least that bit of gossip will give us something to talk about over
tea." Raven replied.

"Huh?" Mustang said as the doors they were standing in front of were
shown from inside the room. "I couldn't possibly attend something like
this–" The door was opened by Raven, making Mustang stop and stare.

Ominous music began as the room was shown with all the Generals
sitting at the tables, either looking at the two by the door, drinking tea,
or staring across the table. The scene moved down to show Mustang as
the sound of a door closing was heard.

"Go on. Tell your little joke." Raven said.

"Well, you sure landed yourself in a huge mess, Colonel." Ed said, frowning.

"Says the brat who was swallowed!" Mustang snapped.

"Okay!" Ed snapped. "We are both in a huge mess right. This just isn't our
day apparently."

Raven pulled at his beard. "You know the one about the Fuhrer being a
Homunculus." He looked at Mustang. "Please, go ahead."

"It seems you were fooled into thinking Raven was still a good man." General
Armstrong said.

Mustang frowned. "Obviously, they were expecting us to try to see who we

could trust and who we couldn't. But I did not believe that all of the senior
staff would be involved!"

Mustang stared at him then turned his head to look at all the Generals.

"What, Colonel Mustang?" Bradley's voice asked. Mustang stiffened.

"Cat got your tongue?" Bradley was shown to be walking into the room.
"Let's suppose for a moment that I was actually a Homunculus as you
say." Bradley's face was shown. "Well, now. Would that be so bad?"

"YES!" Ling, Al, and Ed shouted.

"A monster shouldn't be running the country." Ed muttered. "Especially not

one that causes all this bloodshed."

Mustang was shown, eyes widening in shock as he looked at Raven.

Raven was shown before the scene moved to show Bradley.

'Ah, I understand now, Hughes.' Mustang's clenched hand was shown.

The scene started to move up. 'When you said that we were in trouble.'
The screen flashed to the Generals watching him then went back to
Mustang's arm. 'You didn't mean the danger was closing in on us.' The
scene moved up to Mustang's chest. The scene flashed to Raven then to
Mustang's face which was grinning nervously. 'No, you meant the danger
was coming from us!'

"Yeah, that would have been nice to know a lot sooner." Mustang said. "We
would have been able to move more secretively if we knew that a bit sooner."

The ominous, haunting music continued as the scene changed a dark

area with a pillar in it. The scene moved down to show Ed lying in a pool
of blood.

'Well, Fullmetal, it looks like we landed ourselves in the pit of hell.'

Ed's face, which was covered by his bangs, was shown. He groaned a bit
before he opened his eyes and lifted his head a bit. He sat up. "Where am
I?"

"That is a very good question." Al said.

"At least you aren't dead." Mustang said in relief.

"Which means the Young Lord is alive too!" Lan Fan said excitedly.

"Oh, we're alive, but we are in a strange area filled with blood!" Ling said,
frowning. "That doesn't exactly look fun."

"Ironic. Colonel said we landed ourselves in the pit of hell. Well, it really
looks like I am in hell!" Ed shouted at the end.

Ed put a hand to his mouth and nose. He coughed into it and pulled his
hand away to look at it. His hand was shown. "Blood?" He stood up and
looked around. "What the?" The place he was in was shown with pillars
of stone around. "What is this place? Al!" His voice echoed as the
skeleton of a priest was shown.

"Hey, isn't that the guy that Gluttony ate in Liore?" Hughes asked.

"Poor guy must have died in there." Izumi said.

"That would be one hell of place to die." Ed said, grimacing.

"You do realize we are not stuck there." Ling pointed out.

Ed hung his head.

"Hey! Is anybody out there?" Ed asked. He was shown to be breathing a

bit heavily.

The scene pulled out to show Ed standing in blood and surrounded by

bones as he screamed, "WHERE IN THE HELL AM I?"

The ending song began.

The screen went dark.

"That is another very good question." Al said.

"You were swallowed and ended up there." Mustang said, frowning. "And
now you have to get back….Good luck with that."

"It would help if we knew where we were." Ed said.

"Well, you're alive. That's a start." Izumi told him. "Don't give up and I'm
sure you'll find a way out."

"Hopefully." Ling mumbled.

"Forget hope! Let's just continue watching to see how we escape!" Ed said.

A/N: [1] Soo took that from an anime. Let's play a game. First three
reviewers to tell me what anime it is from, get a prize! I love this game!

One thing I really loved about the first series was how Ed was able to
fight Envy while he rapidly changed into all those people Ed cared for. I
thought it was awesome the way he overcome the lies and false faces
Envy wore.

Please Review!
*Chapter 25*: Episode 25: Doorway of
Darkness
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: To everyone who answered or wants to know: Yes, the anime was
Code Geass and it was said by Lelouch. I can't believe how many of you
guessed that. Either they are a lot of Code Geass fans here or you guys
are cheating.

Joking aside, yes, I am updating twice this week. I've always wanted to
do it for you guys but wasn't able to because I couldn't get the chapters
done. *shrugs* Anyway, it shouldn't affect my update next week. Also, I
go back to school Wednesday. Argh, so I'm going to need 2 or 3 weeks to
see how my schedule there will affect my updating. It may or may not
affect it. I don't know yet.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 25: Doorway of Darkness

The opening song began.

The dark area appeared on screen with the broken stone pillars around
with fire on them.
"Why are the stone pillars on fire?" Brosh asked blankly.

Hughes blinked in confusion for a moment before looking at Mustang.

"Because Gluttony swallowed a certain someone's flame."

"Well, now it is a good thing he did. Otherwise these two idiots," Mustang
pointed at Ling then at Ed. "Would be walking around blind."

"Hey! I'm not an idiot." Ling said offended.

Mustang raised a brow, but didn't reply. Only an idiot would get swallowed.

"Hello?" Ed's voice echoed. "Can anyone hear me?" Ed appeared on

screen, trekking through the blood. His face was shown as he looked
around. "Hello! ANYBODY?" He looked forward once more and
cupped his mouth as he screamed, "What the hell is this place?"

"The inside of Gluttony's stomach." Havoc said, grinning.

"Hell." Mustang said at the same as Havoc.

"With all the blood, fire, and bones everywhere, it certainly does look like
hell!" Ed grumbled.

"Considering you were swallowed by him and his stomach closed, I have to
wonder how you will get out of here." Izumi said.

Ed groaned. "I wonder if we will get out. I've never been in a situation like
this."

"No one has!" Ross shouted. "This shouldn't even be possible!"

Ed hung his head in a dejected state and said half-heartedly, "There are many
things going on right now that shouldn't be possible."

Ed's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Damn it." A tick mark appeared on

his head as he yelled, "IT'S LING'S FAULT! THAT IDIOT PRINCE!"

"Who are you calling idiot?" Ling asked angrily. "You're the one who tried to
save me! Deal with the consequences!"

"When I tried to save you, I didn't think I would get stuck in such a weird
place!" Ed protested.

"It does look quite creepy." Ling agreed.

"Probably one of the creepiest places you'll ever go to in life." May said.

Ed grinned suddenly. "Then good. It means there should be no other place

that will give me the creeps after being there."

"I didn't think you knew how to look on the bright side." Ling told him.

Ed shrugged. "I can sometimes, just not often."

"Who do you think you are to call me that?" Ling's voice asked.

The scene zoomed out of Ed's face as Ed developed a blank face.

"Yeah! It's Ling!" Al said.

"Why is that good?" Ed asked blankly.

"Because now you don't have to run around that place alone and if you do
find a way out, at least you're get out together and the other won't be left
alone with possibly no way to get out." Hughes pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "Fine, but Envy is there too. I'd rather not meet him."

"What if the Young Lord speaking is Envy?" Lan Fan asked.

"…I'll kick his ass!" Ed shouted. "I've had it with that guy!"

Ed turned around to see Ling approaching him with a torch. "Ling!" He

said.

Ling's face was shown to be scowling. "You can't call the future
Emperor of a nation an idiot."
"I already did." Ed smirked.

"You seem to call him an idiot a lot." May pointed out, though she was
frowning. Ling seemed to think he was really going to get to be Emperor.
Well, not if she got to it first!

Ed shrugged. "Well, he has his moments."

"I do not." Ling protested. "But you on the other hand…"

Ed shot him an annoyed looked.

"You can't deny it, Fullmetal. You have done some stupid things." Mustang
said.

"Just shut up. All of you."

Ed ran at Ling. "Are you alright?"

"First you call me an idiot, and now you're concerned about my well-being?"
Ling scoffed. "Make up your mind, Ed."

Ed's brow twitched. "Why shouldn't I be concerned? You are my friend, you
idiot!"

"…"

"HE ADMITTED IT!" Al, Havoc, Luke, Darius, Heinkel, and Brosh
screamed.

A sudden smile formed on Ling's lips. "I always knew you liked me, Ed." He
launched himself at Ed, causing Mustang and Hughes to dive to the side so
they didn't get hit.

"Wh–" Ed started before he was enveloped in a hug. "NO! Get off, you
weirdo!" He screamed, struggling to push Ling off of him .Damn, this guy
was stronger then he realized. "GET OFF, LING, OR I'M TAKING IT
BACK!"
Ling released him, grinning. "I always knew we were friends."

Ed's brow twitched. One slip of the tongue and it all goes to hell. One slip!

"I can now understand why Ed was protesting their friendship so much." Lan
Fan said with a sigh to May.

May chuckled. "I think it's sweet."

"I find it funny, but do not tell the Young Lord that." Lan Fan said, pushing
down a smile that was trying to make its way onto her lips as she listened to
the two boys argue.

Al stared at his brother and Ling sitting on the couch together, throwing
joking insults back and forth. Normally watching his brother insult others like
this just amused or annoyed him, but for some reason, watching this just
upset Al right now.

Ed paused suddenly with a wary look. The scene moved to show the two
from above. "Hold on."

"What's wrong?" Ling asked.

Ed appeared on screen, pointing at Ling with a frown and narrowed

eyes. "How do I know you're not Envy in disguise?"

"Good," General Armstrong said with a nod. "Don't just accept what you see.
Give each other information only you two could possibly know."

"Good thing Ling is always breaking into our room and we talk in private."
Al said, keeping the bitterness that he was feeling out of his voice somehow.

Ed's brow twitched. Breaking into their room….they had to lock that damn
window!

Mustang smirked. "I guess your time in the military has taught you some
caution."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You can stop implying how reckless I was in the
beginning." Ed said annoyed as he rubbed a hand through his bangs before
looking at Ling with narrowed eyes. "Must you continue to sit on the couch?"

"Yes, I must." Ling replied, smiling brightly. "This is a really comfy couch."

"Well, move over! You're too close." Ed snapped.

Ling shrugged, but complied and scooted over a bit.

The bone with flames on it that Ling was holding was shown. "Oh come
on." Ling said annoyed.

"Hey, caution is good!" Ed said.

"Wow, never thought I would hear that from Chief." Breda said in shock.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Deal with as much shit as I've had to, you will learn it."

Ling raised a brow. "Something happen when you weren't wary enough?"

Ed shrugged. "Many things actually. Biggest one, Human Transmutation."

"….Fair enough."

The screen moved down to show Ling's frowning face. "Do you want me
to recite the hotel room service menu from top to bottom?"

"NO!" Ed screamed. "No more about that menu! Or anything to do with food
from you!"

"You have such a problem treating a friend, don't you?" Ling asked, earning a
scowl from Ed.

The top half of Ed's face was shown with his middle bang twitching a bit.
"Alright, you're Ling."

The two were shown from above again. "And what about you? How do I
know you're not Envy?" Ling asked.
"Makes sense. Envy is smart enough to trick his enemies by asking them to
prove themselves." Miles said, frowning.

"Manipulative jerk." Ed grumbled to himself.

"You little runt!" Ling finished.

Ed lunged at Ling. He jumped into the air and did a spinning kick and
other kicks and punches, which Ling blocked with a hand while Ed
shouted, "Who are calling a little runt, you JERK?!"

"So, now that you two are sure of who you are, can you stop fooling around
now?" Mustang asked, though his lips were twitching up as he watched Ed
scream and have his kicks blocked so easily by Lig.

"And also, stop making so much noise." General Armstrong growled. "Envy
is in there and he'll find you with this much noise. In addition to that, there
might be others in there that are still alive after being swallowed by
Gluttony."

Ed just shrugged. "What do you want from us? We are teenagers! We tend to
be a bit a loud at times."

Havoc twitched. "I can't believe it. He is actually using the teenage card for
once!"

"He's never used that card before." Fuery said, just as shocked.

"Really?" Lan Fan asked shocked. "You've been in the military for three
years, and you never used the fact that you are a kid to get away with things
or get out of something."

Ed shrugged. "Never really had to. I mean, just because I'm a kid, doesn't
mean I shouldn't do my job. I did join the State Alchemist program. I have to
do work with that job."

Al snorted. "Yeah, he does the work and never used the kid card before, but
he has tried everything else to get out of military functions."
"Military functions?" Ling asked.

Ed sighed. "Yeah, Christmas parties being held, parades in honor of things,

parties after peace negotiations. Things like that. They are so boring."

"Until a certain thirteen year old accidentally drinks alcohol!" Mustang

exclaimed, frowning. "Then it's up to me to drag your passed out ass home!"

Ed scowled. "It's your fault for letting me take the glass from you!"

"You let him drink alcohol?" Hughes asked disapprovingly.

Mustang shrugged. "He took it and drank it before I could stop him."

"And you're supposed to have good reflexes?" Hughes scoffed. "I think you
are slowing down with age."

Mustang scowled. He was not old!

"Okay, it's really you." Ling said calmly as Ed continued to attack his
hand with a flurry of kicks and punches.

"Annnddd, you guys are still fooling around." Al said.

"We are testing to see if we are who we say we are!" Ed protested. "How is
that fooling around?"

"I don't think attacking your friend's hand is not considered fooling around."
Al replied.

"Uh…" Rebecca blinked. "Everything you two said was too confusing!"

"I think what they said made perfect sense." Ling told her.

Mustang went over the lines a few times in his head, but eventually just
shrugged. If the boys got what they were trying to say from that, what did he
care?

"Doorway of Darkness"
"That's a strange title." Ross said.

"Not really when you think about it." Ed said, rubbing his eyes. "I think the
doorway is Gluttony's stomach since that was what brought Ling and me to
this hellhole."

"And once again, your insight into things is amazing." Hughes said.

Slow dramatic music began as the room was shown with more stone
pillars and fire all around.

"How did we even get here?" Ed asked as he was shown with Ling
walking in front of him.

The two stopped and Ling looked back at Ed.

Gluttony's stomach opening flashed onto screen.

"Last thing I remember," Ling said as Ed and Al were shown running

towards Ling. Gluttony's stomach was shown with violent wind ripping
out of him and at the boys. "Gluttony swallowed us whole!"

Ling and Ed came back on screen. Ed looked at Ling. "So you think this
cavernous void is the inside of Gluttony's stomach?"

"Which sounds very disgusting." Sheska said.

"At least it really doesn't look like a stomach." Dr. Young said with a
grimace. "Then it would be horrible, especially with the gastric acid."

"At least we don't have to worry about that." Ling said.

"Yeah, now our only concerns are Envy, finding an escape route, Envy, the
fact that we have no food, and Envy! Should be a cakewalk!" Ed replied
sarcastically.

"Sounds more like a pain to me, especially with that sadistic monster running
around." Ling replied.
"Most likely." Ling replied. He turned his head to look at something.
"Look, there."

Ed looked where Ling was looking to see part of the shack.

"That's the abandoned house where we were hiding." Ling said. "Also,"
Ling was shown as he turned around. "Check this out." He lit up Riza's
car with his torch.

"Then that's the Lieutenant's car." Ed said.

"He took my car?" Riza groaned. "That's not good."

"Why?" May asked.

"We took that from a couple after Al told us to help him." Mustang said with
a sigh. "Great, now we have to pay those people back."

Ed snickered. "At least it's not my fault this time."

Mustang shot him a glare. "Yeah, this time." He sneered. "Every other time it
is your fault though!"

The scene pulled up to show them and the area they were in from above.
"And I'm guessing all the fire is from the Colonel's attack." Ling said.

"Seems my guess was right." Hughes said.

"No one doubted you, Hughes!" Mustang retorted.

"Oh yeah." Ed said as Gluttony was shown to be swallowing the fire. Ed

reappeared on screen, looking around. "That proves it. But how could
Gluttony's belly be this huge?"

"That's a very good question." Armstrong said with a frown, putting a hand to
his chin. "It is certainly something very strange."

Ed sighed. "And until we figure out the mystery of that place, we probably
won't escape."
"Why is that?" Ling asked.

"If we don't know what we are dealing with, we cannot even begin to
understand how to get out!" Ed exclaimed.

Ling frowned. Considering neither one of them understood this, there was
just no way they could figure anything out. And it's not like they could just
research it since they were trapped in there already. And even if they weren't
trapped, there probably wasn't any information on this place anyway.

"Envy should know." Scar suggested.

Ling looked at him with a thoughtful look. Envy was the only other person to
likely be in there. Plus, he was probably the only one around with useful
information. Their chances with him were good.

Ed glanced at him, frowning. "I guess, but he's the enemy. How willing
would he even be to share information, even if we did come across him?"

And that made the chances with Envy drop.

"I have no idea." Ling said as Ed gasped as he looked at something. "But

I sincerely doubt this is a very pleasant place."

"What was your first clue?" Darius asked. "The bones or the blood? Or was it
even the darkness?"

"Hmm, all of the above." Ling replied.

"The pool of blood." Ed answered at the same time.

Ling looked at him with a raised brow. "Seriously?"

Ed shrugged. "It's the first thing I noticed when I woke up."

Ed didn't reply as he ran over to something. "Give me that." He said as

he ran passed Ling and took the torch.

"Ugh, I hope you both know it is very creepy and disturbing that you two are
using a bone as torch, even worse so with how casual and fine you are both
with it." Ross told them.

"We don't really have the time to be disgusted." Ling said.

"But you have the time to fool around?" Mustang asked, raising a brow.

"Oh, leave us alone, would you?" Ed muttered.

Ling watched him run over to a slanted platform in the blood. "What is
it?"

Ed stopped next to Al's hand on it.

"I can't believe you actually found my hand!" Al said. "Take it with you,
okay? I will want it back."

Ed chuckled. "And what about me?"

"I will be expecting your return, but not my hand's. Surprise me." Al said.

"You're only expecting our return if you believe we are alive." Ed replied.

Al shrugged. "I won't accept your death that easily, Brother. You better return
or I'll find a way to hunt you down to drag you back just so I can beat you up
for not returning on your own."

"…I'm so glad you care about me."

Ed stuck the bone in the platform. He picked up Al's hand and looked at
Ling. "Ling, look at this."

Ling walked forward. "Is that Al's?"

Ed looked at the hand. "Why is it just his hand?"

"Because I didn't jump right into Gluttony's range!" Al said.

"Well, I couldn't just stick my hand into his range! I would have lost it! And
losing two limbs is enough for me." Ed said.

Al grimaced. "Yeah, that would have been extremely painful."

"Maybe he didn't get swallowed." Ed said. "Then he's safe." He smiled.

"You're going to smile at that when you are still trapped?!" Al said.

Ed shrugged. "Means we don't have to look for you and if we are stuck here,
then you aren't stuck with us as well."

"I would have a better chance of survival then you though." Al replied dryly.

Ling and Ed groaned. Right, no food, barely any light. Crap.

Ed frowned. "He's got to be freaking out, wondering where we are now."

He looked to the side. "I wish there was some way I could contact him."
He looked back at Al's hand. The scene pulled out to show Ed waving
Al's hand in the air. "Waaahhhh! Conveniently awake the telepathic
power! Elric brothers' telepathy! Ahhh!"

"….Fullmetal, I really think you have gone insane this time!" Mustang said,
grabbing his sides as he started laughing so hard.

"Telepathy?" Brody said, grinning widely. "Well, that would certainly be

helpful!"

Ed just blushed a bit and scratched the back of his head. So he wanted to have
a bit of fun? Was that wrong?

Hughes wiped some tears that trailed down his face. "Damn, Ed, you should
act like a kid more often."

There! At least someone got it. "Look, I have crazed Homunculi trying to use
me as a sacrifice, am trying to save my brother's body, have to deal with the
military and the missions they give me, am being hunted by a vengeful
Ishvalan, and have a lot of other shit to deal with. I don't have time to be my
age that much." Ed mumbled.
That sobered the mood quickly. Right, these kids all have had hard lives.
Being their age wasn't exactly first on their list of things to do.

Ling turned around and walked away with opened narrowed eyes.
"Yeah," He drawled. "Good luck with that."

The soldiers grinned at Ling's reaction. One was being crazy and the other
was deadpanning. What great crazy friends these two were.

For some reason, that interaction between Ed and Ling made Al's hand curl
into a fist. Why was it bothering him so much that Ed and Ling were fooling
around? Was it because they were in a dangerous situation?

The scene went dark for a moment before it was moving down to show
the boys trekking through blood from a distance.

"This place is like a wasteland of buildings and human remains." Ed

said.

"Argh," Ross paled. "That is so sick. How can you say it so calmly?"

"Stuck there, we have to get used to it quickly." Ed said with a shrug.

Ling nodded. "If anything, I think the hardest thing would be the smell of all
that blood. "

Ed nodded. "If I wasn't so used to smelling it, I would have gotten sick and
thrown up by now."

"Same here." Ling said. "But the scent would still be hard to take even if we
are used to it."

"They're all from different time periods." Ed said.

"I'm starting to wonder if there's even a way out of here." Ling said as
he looked to the side and behind them.

"If not," Ed raised his automail hand and clenched it into a fist. "Then
I'll make us one!"
Ling looked at him. "You will, will you?"

"Is that doubt I hear?" Ed asked.

Ling shrugged.

"That's it!" Ed shouted. "I'll get us out of here just to prove to you that I can!"

Ling raised a brow. "I would like to see that."

"And you shall!" Ed cried.

"How and where?" Ling asked.

Ed frowned.

The scene changed to show the boys kneeling on a platform with blue
alchemical light flashing around them.

A deep well was made.

When Ed was down, he put his hands on his hips and said, "Okay, now
drop the torch."

Ling looked down the well. "Oooh, I get it now."

He dropped one of the torches into the well with both boys looking into
it. The torch clanked as it hit a side of the well. Ed and Ling put a hand
to their ears to listen.

Five white dots clicked onto the screen one by one as the boys waited.
After the fifth dot, the boys fell into a dejected state.

"We should have heard it land by now, right?" Ed asked.

"This isn't fair." Ed said, hanging his head.

"How could we not have heard it land?" Ling added, hanging his own head.
"So Ed, how will you get us out like you promised?"
"I'm working on it."

"Really? Because I really don't see a way out now." Ling muttered.

"That's quitters talk." Ed mumbled.

A new scene slid onto the screen from the left to show the boys running
through the blood.

"A wall!" Ling shouted with tears running down his face. "There has to
be a wall!"

"There has to be! No matter how huge this place is, if we keep heading
straight, we're gonna reach the edge." Ed shouted. "There has to be
some kind of exit somewhere!"

"And now both of you have lost it." Mustang said.

"Trapped in a dark hell." Ed said blankly.

"No exit in sight." Ling added.

"I say we have every right to FREAK OUT!" Ed screamed.

"Or, and this is only a suggestion," Mustang said sarcastically. "Calm down
and think!"

A metal box with a fire inside of it appeared on screen.

May appeared on screen, downcast, as she walked towards the fire. "I
still haven't found her yet."

"Well, considering you're searching the city and not the edge of it, I don't
think you're going to find her for a while." Riza said softly.

May sighed. "True, but at least she is with Al. He'll keep her safe, right, Al?"

Al nodded. "Sure, I won't let anything happen to her."

"That's because you have a thing for protecting animals." Ed said.

"Unlike a certain someone." Al shot back at him.

Ed held his hands up. "Al, you know I'm all for helping animals, but there are
just times when it can't be done."

May dropped to her knees slowly in front of the fire. "Where is she?"

The scene pulled out to show Yoki standing on the other side of the fire.

"It isn't like her to just disappear like this." May said.

Yoki lifted a rod he was holding and poked the fire and mixed the wood
around. "Maybe she got eaten by a stray dog or something."

May's face appeared on screen. "Eaten?" She asked. The screen pulled
out to the show the two again with tears suddenly flying out of May's
eyes and into the fire, putting it out.

Yoki screamed as darkness took over. "AAAAHHH! I was joking!"

"It was a very poor joke." Al said angrily.

"That's just who Yoki is." Ed said dryly.

"Oh, you remember him now?" Falman asked.

Ed snorted. "Course I don't, but we have seen enough of him by now for me
to know he's a sarcastic and rude jerk."

A piece of wood was shown being waved by the metal crate with a few
burning embers in it.

"She's not a cat." May said softly. The scene pulled out to show May and
Yoki by the metal box with Scar's arm on the side of the screen to show
where he was sitting. "She's actually a panda, but she got a disease when
she was a baby and it kept her from growing all the way."
"That sounds like one strange disease." Ross said.

"I didn't even know a disease like that existed." Brosh added.

"There seems to be many strange and unbelievable things in this world." Dr.
Marcoh said softly.

"I nursed her back to health after her mother abandoned her." May said
as Yoki continued to wave the wood by the box to get the fire started.
May's face was shown with sad eyes. "Since then she's been almost like a
sister to me."

Ed had to bite his tongue from commenting on that, considering May and Al
were in here. Weird animal loving people. How can she consider a PANDA
BEAR a sister? How much weirder could this get?

Sad music began as the scene changed to a faded color sky with
mountains around.

"My family, the Chang clan, is one of the lowest rank houses out of the
fifty clans that make up the Xing Empire." Mays's voice said as the scene
moved down.

A little girl that was May was shown to be walking down a road with a
leaf umbrella with a baby panda bear sitting in the road.

"We have little to no power at all."

"What about the Yao clan?" Ed asked curiously, looking at Ling.

"We have considerable more power then the Chang clan, being one of the
higher ranker clans, though we do have our issues and own problems
considering we are still ranks below the highest ranking ones." Ling told him.

"Sounds like a pain." Ed muttered. "I'll stick to being a commoner."

"A State Alchemist isn't a commoner, Fullmetal." Mustang informed him

without even looking back at him.
Ed's head dropped. "Course not."

May stopped and looked up when she saw the panda bear.

"Maybe that's why I was drawn to her."

May blinked as she looked at the panda bear.

The panda bear appeared on the screen.

"She looked so helpless and weak, I couldn't help but identify with her."

Xiao-Mei huffed so May laughed gently and softly rubbed a finger on her
cheek.

The scene pulled out to show May and Xiao-Mei staring at each other.

"Hmm, but at the time, I guess I just took pity on her more then
anything."

May kneeled down, putting the umbrella over Xiao-Mei as well. She
reached a hand out to her and Xiao-Mei's mouth opened widely with
sharp teeth showing. She snapped her teeth on May's hand, causing the
girl to throw her umbrella away and scream out in pain.

May appeared on screen to be kneeling by Xiao-Mei, who was resting in

a bed made of hay. May's head bowed a bit and bobbed from sleepiness.

"But that changed." May said.

May and Xiao-Mei were shown to be carrying heavy stacks of hay up a

hill.

"And she became a part of my family."

….It just got weirder. Ed's eye twitched. He did not get this at all! It didn't
make any sense at all! He looked at Ling, who looked back at him with a
blank look. At the same time, both looked back at the screen with blank
looks, not really understanding this weirdness. How could a panda bear even
carry such weight in hay?

"We've been through so much together."

Xiao-Mei and May appeared on the screen to be sparring together.

A tiny panda bear fighting? Ed's brow twitched. Yeah, he was so lost here.

"She's always been with me."

Xiao-Mei and May were shown to be eating dinner.

"It feels so wrong not having her here now."

They were shown to be sleeping on a bed mat together.

May came back on screen.

Ling leaned over to Ed. "Did you get that?"

"Uh…no, not one bit. I got that they are very close. That's it." Ed said.

Ling nodded and moved away.

"I don't think I could have gone through everything I have without Xiao-
Mei by my side." May said as the scene pulled out to show Scar watching
and listening from the shadows. "I know for a fact that I couldn't have
made it across the desert without her."

Yoki leaned forward a bit. "Sure, but that was a pointless endeavor
anyway." The two were zoomed in on. "Why would you risk your life
like that for something as preposterous as immortality?"

May's face was shown. "Because it's the last hope that my clan has. If I
don't return with a method for obtaining immortality and present it to
the Emperor, it's almost certain that my clan will perish."

"Well, then it makes sense why you would come running over here." Al said.
Scar frowned at that. He did not like to hear that her clan might perish if she
doesn't get something to save it. He saw his people killed and that they lost
their land. Because he experienced it himself, he knew how hard it was to
deal with it. Having already known that horrible feeling of seeing it happen
and surviving it, he did not want this little girl to have to go through it as
well. A child should not see that. A child should never even have to deal with
trying to save the clan. Children should be able to be children.

"Is that the reason you are searching for it too or do you just want to be
emperor?" Ed asked Ling.

"The second one. It is a race for me to get to the top and stop the others from
reaching it." Ling replied, frowning. "Some of them don't deserve to be
Emperor or Empress. They remind me a bit of your King Bradley, believing
that those beneath them are just pawns and it doesn't matter if they die or
not."

Ed nodded. By the sound of it, if one of them became ruler, it wouldn't be

good for Xing at all. Someone like Ling, who cares for his people and wants
to protect them, would be better suited to rule.

May's hands gripped her clothes tightly. "That's why I risked my life
crossing the desert…" She looked up. "With Xiao-Mei."

Tears shot out of her eyes again and Yoki snatched up the metal box
quickly before she could put the fire out again.

"Oh, come on. Cut it out." Yoki said as his hands holding the box were
shown. "You're going to drown us all!" His hands suddenly turned
bright pink and he released the box, screaming out in pain before the
box fell on his head. He shook his head to throw the box to the side.

"Wow, Yoki is an idiot." Havoc said, smirking.

"Or he just has bad luck." Ed replied dryly. "I mean, he did somehow end up
traveling with Scar, who he is scared of."

Havoc nodded. "Good point….we'll go with both."

Yoki curled in on himself, grabbing his head in pain as May continued
crying.

"How did we never find these guys in the middle of the night with all the
noise they are making?" Mustang asked dryly.

"Do you guys make an honest hard attempt that late at night?" Ed asked.

"We're supposed to, but if those guys on duty really do or not…" Mustang
growled.

"Sure," Ed drawled. "Blame them."

Scar stood up.

Yoki lifted his head and rubbed it as Scar walked passed him. He looked
up at Scar as he passed. "Sir?"

"We got some time before the sun comes up." Scar's face was shown.
"There won't be as many guards patrolling the streets." He pulled his
hood over his face.

"Eh?" Yoki said.

May looked up at him. "You mean you're gonna help me try to find
her?"

Ed raised a brow. Scar was actually going to help to find a little animal? He
knew Scar felt something for the panda bear when he saw it in the earlier
episode, but seriously? He was going to risk being found, even if they were
very few guards around at this time of night, just to find an animal?

Scar started walking away as May rubbed her eyes. "He's a good
person." May said, looking at the retreating Scar.

Yoki looked at her. "His people were completely wiped out during the
civil war a few years ago."

May looked at him.

"That's right." Yoki said as Scar's face was shown. "He knows a thing or
two about loss so I'm sure he can identify with your worries about the
fate of your clan."

May looked back at Scar, who stopped at the end of the alley. "What's
the hold up?" Scar asked. "You coming or not?"

"Still so harsh, even when he is being so nice and helping her." Ed said.

"I don't think Scar can ever show himself being nice, not after everything he's
been through." Hughes whispered to Ed.

May was shown with an excited look. "Yeah! Let's go!" She ran after
Scar with a cheerful laugh.

"How can anyone be so cheerful and happy with Scar?" Mustang muttered.

"May is a strange girl. That's how." Ed said.

Ed and Ling trekking through the blood appeared on screen.

Ling's face was shown. "This is really starting to get old."

"What is?" Ed asked.

"Everything about that place." Ling replied.

Ed nodded.

"Ed, out of curiosity, you do know trekking through all that heavy blood will
wear you out faster, correct?" Riza asked.

Ed gave her a strange look. "Of course I know that. This wouldn't be my first
time walking through a heavy substance."

Riza nodded. "Then why can't you just transmute the blood into something
solid to walk on?"

Ed blinked, thinking about that for a moment. He was sure there was a reason
why he didn't do that. "It would waste time." He just couldn't think of a good
one at this time.

"It wouldn't take you that long to make." Mustang pointed out.

"But it would wear me out making all those paths." Ed retorted.

"I think you are going to become worn out faster walking through the blood."
Mustang argued.

"No one asked you."

"Blood doesn't make for good terrain." Ling said.

Ling looked at Ed accusingly.

Ed threw his hands in the air in disbelief. "What do you want me to do? It's
blood!"

"So? Isaac McDougal turned blood into solid crystals to use as weapons.
Surely the amazing Fullmetal Alchemist can do something even better."
General Armstrong said.

Ed looked at her annoyed. "Is that sarcasm?" He looked away without giving
her a chance to reply. "It's sarcasm."

A tired Ed was shown. "I noticed. And we're still not any closer to an
exit."

Ling and Ed were shown from behind as the latter said, "I'm starving to
death."

"As soon as we're out, I'll let you order anything from room service.
Then you can eat as much as you want." Ed said as his back was shown
close up.

"Really?" Ling asked excitedly.

"Lies!" Ed screamed.
Ling pouted. "But Ed, you just promised."

"No, I didn't. This was a moment of pure insanity!" Ed retorted. "You get
nothing!"

"What a great friend you are." Ling grumbled.

"And sleep as long as you like." Ed added.

There was a splash and Ed stopped to look over his shoulder to see Ling
collapsed on a log.

"Don't you dare falter now!" Ed shouted.

"But it's so hard to move when you're tired and starving." Ling whined.

Ed's brow twitched. "You always do this! Collapse and just lie there until
someone takes pity on you or you're arrested."

"Or we find him, Ed." Lan Fan added.

Ed nodded. "Right, or until your bodyguards find you. I forgot how

frantically you guys search for him. It must be a real pain at times."

Lan Fan smiled a bit. "Thank you for the sympathy, Ed."

"Ling?"

Ling lifted his head a bit. "I can't make it."

"Don't tell me." Ed said with a frown. "You're giving up so soon?"

Ling's heavily breathing body was shown.

"Are you that pathetic?"

"Apparently so." Ed grumbled.

Ed stepped towards him angrily. "It's bad enough when you collapse in
the street, but here?" The scene pulled out to show Ling's back with Ed
standing in front of him. "Get up!" Ed threw an arm to the side. "Come
on!"

"It is useless, Edward." Fu said with a sigh. "When the Young Lord is like
this, he does not get up."

Ed snorted. "Why do you guys serve him?"

Ling frowned at him.

"He is a good lord, Ed. It's only when he is hungry that there is a problem."
Lan Fan told him.

"Then I'm surprised there is not always a problem." Ed replied.

"What?" Ling asked. "I am not always hungry!"

"Could have fooled me."

Ling was shown as Ed shouted, "Quit being so weak!"

"Just go." Ling said.

Ed's angry face was shown. "Eh." The scene pulled to show it from
behind Ed this time. He waved his torch in annoyance. "Spineless
jellyfish!"

"Spineless jellyfish?" Ling asked amused. "Well, that was a first."

"Fullmetal does come up with creative insults. You have to give him that."
Mustang said, smirking a bit.

He turned halfway around. "Alright, fine then!" The scene moved to

show the two from behind. "Give up and die if you want, but you're not
dragging me down."

Darius snorted. "Please, isn't this kid too loyal to his friends and his comrades
to just leave them like that?"
"I think he is just trying to get Ling to move on his own." Heinkel said.

Ed started to walk away, but paused after a few steps to look back at
Ling. "I'm seriously leaving you here." He took a few more steps before
looking back again. "I'm not messing around, Ling!" Ed walked farther
away before pausing again.

Ed's mouth appeared on the screen to be holding his torch between his
teeth as he grunted. His feet were shown with Ling's own lifting in the air
in front of his. The scene moved up to show Ed lifting Ling onto his
shoulder.

"Are…are you really going to carry me?" Ling asked shocked.

Ed shot him an annoyed scowl. "Idiot. This was a bloody last resort if you
didn't get your ass up and follow me."

Mustang chuckled. "I can't believe I am seeing you actually carry someone."

"Colonel, please don't laugh. I think it is very sweet how far Edward is
willing to go for his friends." Riza scolded her boss with a smile playing at
her lips.

"It is truly a show of an amazing friendship!" Armstrong said.

Ed's brow twitched. "It's not that big of a deal." He muttered.

"It really shouldn't be for them." Ling whispered to Ed. "But to me it means a
lot, Ed. Thanks for not giving up on me and letting me die."

Ed scoffed and looked away. "You have a lot of people waiting for you. I
couldn't just let you die. I would never be able to face them if I did."

Ling smirked a bit to himself, knowing that Ed was only looking away and
saying things like that because he was embarrassed.

Ling's face was shown as Ed straightened up. "I thought you were going
to leave me behind."
"As much as people think Fullmetal would do that, just like Al, he has a heart
that is too big." Mustang said, smirking. "No matter how much he tries to
deny it and prove it's not true."

Ed growled and crossed his arms.

"There's way too many people I'd be letting down by dying here." Ed's
voice said as Ling continued to be shown and he began to move through
the blood. "And you've got people waiting for you to get back too,
right?"

Ling's eyes opened in shock.

"Shut up!" Ed said as he took the torch out of his mouth.

"I didn't say anything." Ling said.

"I meant about your whining." Ed retorted. "It's annoying to hear."

"If you're strong enough–" He cut himself off as he fell over a rock and
the two went for a swim in the blood.

"I didn't think you were clumsy, Chief." Brody said, smirking in amusement.

"Argh, gag." Ed said, ignoring the soldier in favor of looking disgusted.

Ling nodded. "Thanks, Ed. We just drank that blood cause of you."

"It's not my fault! Things just appear out of nowhere in that place, I bet!" Ed
shouted.

"I guess you really don't know what you'll find in that place." Ling agreed.

"And just so we all know, I'm not clumsy!" Ed said, glaring at Brody.
"Accidents happen. Besides, carrying this lump." He pointed at Ling. "And
trekking through blood wouldn't be easy. Why don't you guys try it?"

"Uh, no thanks. I'd rather not visit that place." Brody said.
The scene changed to show two heavily breathing boys lying on a stone
platform as soft, sad music started.

"So hungry, I wish we could find something to eat!" Ling said.

"Well, actually. You know," Ed said as Ling's face was shown to be

turning to him. Ed sat up and pulled his boot off his left foot. He turned
it over and a bunch of blood poured out of it.

"You had that much blood in your boot?" May said disgusted. The idea of
walking around in blood was disgusting. But to actually have it in your shoes,
washing over your skin while you walked…the idea made her shudder. She
could handle the sight of blood, but this place was just too much.

Ed was shown with his boot still upside down. "Leather goods are
edible." He looked at Ling with a smirk. "We've got a meal."

"Wait, you're actually going to eat that?" Havoc said disgusted.

Ed scoffed. "You guys are soldiers! Surely you were trained to survive and
eat what you can! When you are trapped with no supplies, you eat what you
can get! That's all there is to it."

"I'll give you this, Fullmetal. You certainly do know how to survive without
supplies." Mustang said.

General Armstrong smirked. "You may have not trained the boy to be a
proper soldier, Mustang, but his skills and intelligence are impressive. He
would make a great soldier if he could get over his fear of killing."

"No thanks." Ed muttered to himself. No way in hell would he ever become a

real soldier after all of this with Al was done with.

The boot was shown to be cooking in a pot of water over a fire.

"Where did you get the pot?" Breda asked.

"And the water." Fuery added.

"The blood of course. The pot is probably made of iron from the blood and
the water came from the blood." Ed said with a shrug.

"And you still couldn't make a solid path out of the blood?" Izumi asked.

Ed hung his head. They just weren't going to let that go, were they?

Ed leaned over the pot and scooped up some of the food with a ladle.
"That should do it!" He said. He handed a bowl to Ling, who was sitting
by him. "Here ya' go."

Ling looked at it then at Ed. "You don't have athlete's foot, do you?"

Ed shot a glare at Ling. "Idiot."

"What?"

"I took the boot off my automail leg!" Ed said.

"Quite insensitive, Young Lord." Lan Fan said.

Ling looked from Ed to Lan Fan then back again. Did he miss something?
When did those two get close enough to tease him together?

A tick mark appeared on Ed's head and he lifted his metal foot and
pointed at it as he yelled, "MY FOOT IS MADE OF METAL, YOU
IDIOT!"

"Must you continue to call me an idiot?" Ling asked. "As a Prince of Xing, I
found it quite offensive."

"Yeah, Ling?" Ed said dryly. "I don't care. I'll call you an idiot all I want!"

"Rude."

Empty and dirty bowls and ladles were shown

"Aww man, that shoe filled me up!" Ed said.

"Ha!" Lan Fan said, grinning. "It's about time you ate that boot like you
promised."

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked confused.

"Yesterday you said you would eat a boot if you ever ran into Ling again."
Lan Fan told him, smiling. "It's about time you filled that promise, Ed."

Ed's brow twitched. "I wasn't serious about that."

"Serious or not, future you filled the promise for you." Lan Fan said.

The scene moved to show Ed and Ling from above. The two were lying
on the ground again.

"I'm sorry, Ed." Ling said.

"Huh? What for?" Ed asked confused.

"And why is that?" Ed asked.

"It's all my fault that you're here." Ling replied.

"What? No, it isn't! I'm the one who jumped in to try to pull you away!" Ed
retorted. "Besides, don't apologize. Just like how you told us not to apologize
for getting you involved in capturing Gluttony, you don't apologize for this!"

Ling looked at him surprised.

Ed shrugged. "We all knew there were risks when we started this."

The screen zoomed in on the two.

"It is not. Besides, this place is a joke compared to what my teacher put
me through." Ed said as Ling tilted his head back on the ground to look
at him.

"Then my training you harshly as a kid was put to some good use." Izumi
said.
"It always has been." Al told her. "We always compare our training with you
to some things in our adventures."

"Do you now?" Izumi asked amused.

"Yeah, it gives us the courage and strength to move forward when we

remember your training." Al replied, shuddering at the reminder of that
training.

"It just sucks that we have no idea where this place is." Ed opened his
eyes. "But that's alright. As long as we've got our health," He pulled his
arms up towards his head and pulled himself up into a sitting position.
"We can find an exit out of here."

"Was that optimism?" Havoc said shocked. "Chief doesn't do optimism!"

"Maybe I'm just stubborn!" Ed said. "Optimism and stubbornness not to give
up are different things!"

Ling sat up as well and looked at Ed with a smile. "You're sure

optimistic."

Ed put his automail hand on the ground behind him and turned his head
to look at Ling. "Not really, I'm just stubborn. And if I even think about
giving up, I have Al's iron fist to look forward to."

Al nodded. "That's right. If you do not return, I'll find you just so I can punch
you!"

"Could you punch him after you help get us out of that place if it comes down
to that?" Ling asked.

"It isn't going to!" Ed shouted. "I will get us out of there!"

Ling looked down for a second. "Hmmm." He looked back up and stood.
"Mmm!"

"What's wrong?" Ed asked.

Ling's face was shown. "There's something out there."

"If you're sensing it, it must be Envy." Mustang groaned. "Great, just what
you guys needed."

"At least we know where he is now." Ed said. "I think it would be rather
scary having Envy in there without us knowing where he is. It's quite
worryingly to have an enemy hiding in the dark like that."

He turned a bit, putting his hand in a defense move. "Is that?"

Envy appeared on screen, approaching the two. "I thought so. I should
have known it'd be you guys."

Ling was shown. "It's definitely Envy."

"Now that I think about it, you can sense Homunculi! Why did you ask me
earlier if I was really me or not?" Ed demanded.

Ling just shrugged.

Ed's eyes narrowed.

"You're right." Mustang said, turning to Ling as well. "You were fooling
around when you called Fullmetal a little runt!"

"Guilty." Ling said with a shrug.

Ed growled.

Edward jumped up, holding a hand up. "Please show me the way out of
here!"

"FULLMETAL!" Mustang shouted shocked.

Ed chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I think I hate it in there."

"You think?" Mustang snarled.

"Come on!" Ed cried. "Who wouldn't?"

Ling looked at Ed in shock with wide eyes.

The scene pulled out to show Ed and Ling on the rock while Envy sat
down on a nearby rock.

"You're just going to start begging the enemy for help like that?!" Ling
shouted.

"If it means surviving, I'll be his best friend!" Ed shouted back.

"Sooo, what happened to never being his friend?" Hughes asked.

Ed's brow twitched in annoyance. "Well, that was before. Besides, I'm not
serious, Hughes!" 'I just need to get out of there and get back to Al. He needs
me to get his body back for him!'

"You sure decided to change alliances easily." Mustang added with a scowl.
And it just had to be with Envy? The bastard who killed Hughes?

"I'm not serious about it!" Ed shouted.

"For shame! For shame!" Ling told Ed.

Talking over the arguing boys, Envy said, "It doesn't matter because
there is no exit."

"He's not serious, right?" Ling asked shocked.

"How can there be no exit?" Mustang growled. "There's a door into the place!
There has to be a door out of the place! There is no way you can enter a place
and have there be no exit!"

Ed and Ling turned to him in shock.

Envy's face appeared on screen. "You've really gotten us into a fine

mess."
"Is he blaming us?" Ed said in disbelief. "This is his and Gluttony's fault!"

"I think he means you, Brother. He was trying to stop you from being
swallowed so that got all three of you swallowed." Al pointed out.

Ed grumbled to himself. Stupid Envy.

He put a hand to his face. "I can't believe you got me swallowed with
you."

Ling and Ed reappeared on screen. "You just said swallowed." Ling

said. "So we really are inside Gluttony's stomach?"

Envy took his hand off his face and looked up. "Well, yes and no. See, it's
a lot more complicated than that." The scene pulled out to show Envy
from behind so Ed and Ling could be seen on the platform they were
standing on. "Just ask the pip–" When Ed's face twitched violently,
Envy stopped and corrected himself. "I mean the alchemist."

"Did he seriously stop so he wouldn't antagonize Ed?" Hughes asked

shocked.

"Weird." Ed said.

"He should've realized what this place is."

"I should have?" Ed said confused.

"You know that place, Ed?" Ross asked.

Ed shrugged. "I don't know why Envy thinks I should know anything. That
place does not look remotely familiar to me. Then again, I'm not actually
there and experiencing this so maybe I am missing something."

"Like?" Al prompted.

"I don't know!"

Ed blinked as he was zoomed in on. "I did notice something when

Gluttony swallowed us. It was like I had a familiar feeling."

Ed's eyes narrowed in thought. Familiar feeling? A familiar feeling of being

swallowed? No, that couldn't be right.

One of Envy's eyes was shown. "So you do remember then." Envy's eye
narrowed. "This isn't the first time you've been through this."

Ed's eyes widened in shock. The eye that he saw….being through it before…
"The portal!"

"What?" Ling asked shocked.

"I think Envy means the portal of truth." Ed told him, but he frowned. "But it
looked nothing like this when I went through it before."

Mustang nodded. "When you went through it, it was a giant white room with
a giant Gate."

Ed put a hand to his chin in thought. "But Gluttony did have that eye on his
stomach. How can it be?"

Edward took a step back in shock. His eye was rapidly zoomed in on
before his Human Transmutation circle was shown with an eye under it
with soft, horror and mysterious music playing. A kid Ed then appeared
on screen with the eye opening behind him. Then Gluttony's stomach
appeared on screen, being pulled open by the teeth and showing the eye
in it.

"It is so creepy how that eye just opens." May said.

"The whole thing about Truth is creepy." Al corrected.

Ed's eye came back on screen and the screen zoomed out. "The portal of
Truth!" He said and Ling looked at him in surprise. "But," He looked
down at his hands. His eyes were shown. "It wasn't pitch black and filled
with the sea of blood…It was more like...like an entirely white void."

"Oh yeah? So that's what the real one looks like." Envy said.
"Real one?" Izumi asked with a frown. "So the one you two are in is fake?"

"But where could a fake portal like this come from?" Armstrong asked,
frowning as he thought about it.

Ed looked up at Envy. "The real one?"

A scary picture of Gluttony appeared on screen. It moved down to show

the eye in his stomach. "Gluttony is a failed experiment by our Father to
create his own Portal of Truth."

"An experiment?" Ed said disgusted. "A failed experiment and a Homunculus

in one. Wonderful."

"Is it bad?" Ling asked.

"You've seen Gluttony. A skilled fighter wouldn't have a problem fighting

him as long as his stomach stayed shut." Edward replied. "I was just thinking
that failed experiments on animals or humans can sometimes turn deadly and
dangerous. And Gluttony is dangerous, even if he doesn't seem like it."

Ed appeared on screen with a look of horror. "He's...a what?"

Ling looked at Ed with a small frown.

"Why are you looking at me?" Ed asked, frowning. "Keep your eyes on that
bastard Envy! I don't trust him."

"Because I'm confused, Ed. I am trying to follow this conversation, but you
know I'm not an alchemist. I want to see if you will help me understand
better." Ling replied. 'And also, you're acting strange and not like yourself. It
does have me worried a bit.'

Envy appeared on screen again. "Despite how powerful our Father is, he
still couldn't create one."

"Well, that's one good thing." Ed said.

"That's good? It means you're trapped!" Al said upset.

"Maybe, but it means that this Father guy isn't God or anything. He can still
be defeated." Ed replied.

"We're trapped inside a defective Portal of Truth." The scene pulled up

to show the three from above. "So this place, it exists somewhere in
between reality and truth."

Ed appeared on screen, still looking at Envy in horror. "In between?"

Envy appeared on screen. "And I can assure you that there is no way out
of here. The only option we've got is to sit here until our strength runs
out, and that's it." The scene pulled out to show them from above. "All
we can do is wait here to die." The scene pulled farther out into the
darkness with the fire the boys had the only thing lighting up their small
area.

"Wait for death?" Ling said, frowning. "I will never wait for death to come
for me."

"Yes, you must fight that fate every step of the way." Miles said. "You may
just find a way out if you do."

The scene went dark before it lit up again to show Ed's horrified face.
His face was shown from a few different angles before he said, "No
way." The scene pulled out to show Ed and Ling. Ed threw a hand to the
side. "Don't think I'm falling for any of that crap!" He raised his hand to
his chest and clenched it into a fist. "I know you're lying to us, Envy!"
Envy's grim and angry looking face was shown. "You're lying! Aren't
you?"

"Desperate, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.

"Wouldn't you be, Colonel? I didn't exactly want to hear that I am trapped in
there and the only thing I had left was to wait to die!" Edward replied.

Ling appeared on screen. "So there really isn't a way out?" He said in
shocked fear. He looked down. "We're going to die here?"
"Don't be like that!" Ed hissed.

Edward was shown looking down as well. "Wait...No...Hold on..." His

eyes narrowed. "I can't die here!" The scene changed to a forest where
Al was sitting in the daylight. "What's Al gonna do if I die?!"

"Survive." Hughes said. "The only thing he could do if you died."

"Yeah, survive." Al said, but inside he was screaming. Ed couldn't just die on
him! He didn't believe he was dead during the last episode and when they
saw Ed waking up in that bloody void, he was very happy. They couldn't just
see Ed now to hear that he will never get out of there and he is just waiting
for death! Ed has to come back to them…to him! He promised to save him!
He promised to….to always be there for him! If he died now, he would be
leaving Al forever! And Al just wouldn't be able to stand that.

Ed reappeared on screen. He lifted his head just a bit. "We made a

promise and he..." He raised his hands halfway up to his chest. "He
needs me to get back to normal!" Ed's eyes were shown to be turning
into anger. "Damn it." The scene moved to Ed's side to show Envy. "I
wanna know who your Father is. Who would try to create their own
portal.?! It's Fuhrer Bradley, isn't it?!"

Envy scoffed. He was zoomed in on. "What? Are you serious? Ha! Nice
try, but King Bradley's nothing more than a Homunculus."

Ed and Ling were shown with the latter saying, "Told ya so."

The Fifth Laboratory appeared on screen. "The Fifth Laboratory." Ed

said before the array inside it was shown. "Human lives sacrificed to
make Philosopher's Stones." A small vile with a liquid stone in it was
shown. "Homunculi." A picture of all the Homunculi appeared on
screen. An angry Ed reappeared on screen. "And If the Fuhrer is on
your side, then I'm guessing you're the ones behind Ishval."

"Why have you brought up Ishval?" Scar asked.

Ed shrugged. "You said earlier that you believed the Homunculi might be
behind it, Scar. Aren't you curious if it is true? Besides, future me just needs
to know what is going on and just how far these damn monsters have gone."

"I don't think future you will be really happy." Hughes said.

"I'm talking to Envy, the sadistic bastard, while trapped in that horrible void!
How could I possibly happy?!" Ed snapped back.

Envy's insanely grinning face appeared on screen. "Oh, Ishval?" He

laughed. "I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable job than that! You
remember the incident that started the war, right?"

Scar's eyes narrowed dangerously. A child was shot. That was the beginning
of his people's demise. Earlier it was just speculation, but was it possible?
Was it really true that his people were killed for the Homunculi's plans? They
were forced to suffer just so this Father guy could make that horrible stone
that everyone was constantly searching for?

Ed and Ling appeared on screen. Ling looked at Ed as he said, "I had

always heard it was because a military officer accidentally shot an
Ishvalan child."

Envy's hand appeared on screen. He twirled it a bit as he said, "Yep!"

He put the hand to his chest. "And the one that proudly pulled the
trigger was none other than yours truly."

"Proudly?" Ling spat angrily. How could anyone be proud about shooting a
child and starting a war? It was just like those assassins that came after him.
He was only a child and they were going to kill him anyway because they
were hired to do it or it was just a job for their clan! How could anyone stand
doing such a job?

"It seems Scar was right about that incident." Hughes said bitterly.

"So, we were really all just pawns in their sick game." Mustang snarled
angrily, looking down at his hands. His hands that he used to snap, snap,
snap, snap repeatedly during the war. These were the hands that took so many
Ishvalans lives, so many innocent children died because of him. And for
what? To make a horrid blood crest for these monsters?

Scar growled softly to himself. So it really was all true, and Envy was the one
who started it all! He caused the genocide of his people just for their sick plan
for this country. It was always just about this plan of theirs. Killing all those
innocent people, HIS innocent people, didn't matter to them at all. It was
disgusting. It was worst then the alchemy that the people of Amestris loved!

Ed stared in horror as dramatic music started and a little Ishvalan girl

with bright red eyes appeared on screen. The little girl turned around,
stumbling in place. The scene pulled out to show her staring at a soldier.
The scene pulled in to show the girl up close, then the soldier was shown.
He grinned, which made the little girl smile until a gun was pointed at
her face. The soldier's face was shown to be wearing an evil grin with
glowing red eyes.

The little girl was shown to be staring in horror. The gun was shown.
Her little hand was shown gripping her teddy bear tightly before the
scene pulled out and turned into dark colors. The trigger was pulled and
blood spilled out of the girl's head.

Riza covered her mouth in shock. She could kill. She saw all those people
that she killed, but she could never shoot a child, especially like that.
Children should not be facing death like that. They were innocent little kids
who didn't know anything. If she didn't know that was Envy pulling the
trigger, she would have to wonder how that soldier was able to do it so cold
heartily.

Sheska covered her eyes, tears filling them up. She didn't like death. She
hated it. She understood what the soldiers did, but to see such an evil man
killing a poor, innocent child to start a war was just too much.

May stifled a gasp. She looked at Scar then back to the ground. His people
and land were ravaged. They were killed just to fill another part of the
Homunculi's plan, but he had no idea what that plan was. He saw his people
murdered, slaughtered all over their land without understanding why. He
must have it really hard after that. He lost everyone and everything he ever
cared for. He was in pain and seeking revenge, but that didn't necessarily
mean he was a bad person now that she thought about it, especially since
Xiao-Mei seemed to really like him and Scar liked small animals. If Scar was
truly horrible, Xiao-Mei would know and would hate him or try to bite him
all the time, but she didn't. So did that mean he wasn't really that horrible as
he seemed to be?

"That is sick." Ling said so quietly that only Ed heard him.

"I thought you would have realized by now, Ling." Ed said just as quietly as
him. "The Homunculi are cruel people and will do whatever they have to if it
means getting the job done. In all likelihood, that little girl would have
probably died either way. Her death starts the war or the war starts another
way and she is killed in it. Not that many Ishvalans made it out of there
alive."

Ling looked at Ed with a frown.

"I'm not saying her death is right. It is really horrible and truly wrong. It
should never have happened." Edward replied. "But it did happen and I don't
want to think about it. We can't change the fate of Ishval. We can only
change the future."

"You are more insightful then your actions or personality show." Ling
replied.

Ed shot him a mocking grin. "The same could be said for you."

Scar appeared on screen, looking around.

"Excuse me." May's soft voice said and Scar looked down at her. The
scene pulled out to show the two standing in an alley intersection. "I
know what happened in Ishval. Yoki told me."

"You probably don't want to mention that to him." Al said softly. "It wouldn't
be something anyone wants to remember."

Scar started walking again, not replying. May watched him for a
moment before following him.
Scar's face was shown again as Envy said, "You have no idea how good
that felt."

"Sick bastard." Ed spat angrily.

Ed's face appeared on the screen. He had his teeth gritted and his eyes
were shadowed with anger. "I ravaged their entire country with a single
bullet!" Envy's face appeared on screen. He was grinning in an insanely
evil way. He laughed as he said, "I mean, talk about invigorating!"

Mustang slammed a fist onto the ground next to him. Invigorating? Nothing
about that war was enjoyable! The whole thing was horrible and wrong. So
many lives were lost before it was their time! And not just on the Ishvalans'
side. So many soldiers died as well. None of it should have happened!

Alexandre was glaring at the screen. He was in Mustang's unit during that
civil war. He saw firsthand how Mustang's alchemy was used during that
war. He himself took many lives, and for this? For these monsters' sick
enjoyment and evil plan to use this country to make a stone? It was all just
too messed up.

Armstrong covered his eyes and bowed his head. He ran away from that war
because it felt too wrong what they were doing there. He ran away instead of
doing his job and he did regret it because it didn't change anything. But this
was just too horrible to hear about. It wasn't right what these monsters did.
No one should have lost their lives for the Homunculi's plan. Why didn't they
realize all of this sooner and put an end to it before it got this far? And Ling
and Edward. They were only toddlers when the war happened. Ling knew
less then Ed about it, but still, for two teenagers to hear about that horrible
war from Envy must be horrifying for them.

Edward was shown, grinding his teeth. He started to walk forward.

"Fullmetal, no!" Mustang said in horrified shock. The more he heard come
out of Envy's mouth, the more he felt shocked and angry. Everything was just
about their plan, wasn't it? "I know you are angry, but you don't want to set
Envy off!"
"The hell I don't!" Edward screamed, punching the armrest by him.

"Setting him off will only make more trouble for you." Mustang snapped.

"Maybe I'm looking for trouble." Ed said darkly.

Ling shot Ed a look. What was up with him?

"Oh, and the best part?" Envy was shown as he put his fingertips
together. "The officer that I pretended to be? He was actually a
moderate who had always publicly opposed the military's occupation in
Ishval." Envy twisted his fingers together.

Ed jumped into the pool of blood. His face was shown.

"And listen to this!" Envy's eyes were shown with pure evil amusement
in them. "The poor fool couldn't come up with a plausible defense and
they court-martialed him!"

"Ed, I know you're mad and I want you to hit him too, but you really need to
stop. He's just instigating you because he knows it's upsetting you to hear all
this!" Riza said.

Ling frowned. "I say punch him anyway. It will shut him up at least."

Mustang shot the two angry teenagers a look.

"Are you two trying to die faster?" General Armstrong growled, beating
Mustang to it. She was just as angry hearing about all this as everyone else,
but just because they were angry didn't mean they had to lose their cool over
it.

"Who says we'll lose?" Ed asked.

"Who says you won't? He is immortal, Fullmetal!" Mustang snapped. "You

both only have one life and if he fights you seriously, how long do you think
you're last?"

Ed growled and leaned back in his seat. He just wanted Envy to stop.
Everything he was saying…it was messing with his head! He didn't want to
hear anymore about those people that Envy screwed over. Envy was treating
it all like a sick, sadistic game that he enjoyed. All the others saw it as a plan,
but Envy saw this murder and messing with humans as a game! He needed to
stop!

Envy was shown to still be sitting on the rock as Ed approached him.

"You know I don't think I'll ever get over how easily manipulated
humans are."

"That wasn't manipulation. That was a cruel move that no human could have
predicated or defended himself about. Who would believe that someone
could shapeshift into them?" Havoc snarled angrily. "Who would actual
believe that in court?"

As Envy laughed again, Ed's lips were shown as he said, "So you're
responsible. You were the one who shot and killed that poor innocent
child." His hands were shown to be swinging at his side as he walked.
"You destroyed my hometown. You drove out the Ishvalans." An evil
looking Envy was shown again. "You're the one who turned Scar into a
murderer."

Scar felt a bit surprised at that. This kid was actually going to mention him
and blame the Homunculi for turning him into a killer. Well, that was a
strange way to look at it. Though he supposed Edward did have a point. If the
Homunculi didn't start anything, he wouldn't have killed all those people. But
to hear it from Ed's mouth? He thought the boy absolutely hated him after
killing his friend's parents. Was he attempting to look passed that to see the
whole picture?

The furious looking Ed came back on screen. "And it was you." Winry
was shown to be crying and holding a gun, followed by Scar attacking
Winry's parents. "You're the reason Winry's parents were killed." Ed's
face was shown as he raised a fist and yelled, "YOU'RE THE ONE TO
BLAME!"

He slamed a hand into Envy's face just as red alchemical light

surrounded him. Envy didn't budge at all from the blow.
"What the hell?" Ed growled. "Why didn't it bother him?"

"Because I really believe there is something wrong with his body, Ed." Ling
told him, frowning.

"Like?" Ed asked.

Ling shrugged. "I'm not too sure, but I know he is heavier then he looks. That
is it."

Ed was shown, fist still on Envy's face. "What the hell?"

Envy was shown to be sitting completely calm with Ed's fist in his cheek.

"He didn't budge!" Ed said.

Envy opened his eyes and red alchemical light flashed around. "Okay,
then. If that's how you want it."

Ed's wide shocked eyes were shown.

"Ed! Get back!" Ling shouted.

As Ed jumped back a few steps, the scene pulled out to show Ling
approaching him and Envy.

"Now you've done it." Mustang groaned. These boys were already injured,
have been fighting all day, haven't gotten any sleep, have been running
around in blood for who knows how long, and now they were fighting Envy?
This was not going to end well, especially with how tired they both were.

Dramatic, haunting music began as Envy stood up on the rock. The

scene moved to Envy's front. His arms swung limply by his side. "I'm
gonna show you two boys something neat before we die." One of his
hands rose up a bit to show it growing and expanding with what looked
like bubbles coming out of it. "Consider it a parting gift." His face
expanded next, growing into something more animal like as his hair got
longer and more wild.
"What the hell?" Havoc whispered in shock.

"Still think you can win, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.

Ed blinked in shock. "What is he?" Was all he was able to say.

As Ed took a few more steps back, Ling came up by his side. "Did you
notice his footprints? Back when we were all fighting in the forest?

Ed turned to look at Ling, ponytail whipping over his shoulder as he did.

"What? No."

Envy's foot was shown slamming into the ground and pushing up a huge
amount of dirt. Then his body was shown indenting the ground.

Ed and Ling reappeared on screen.

"What's your point?" Ed asked.

"Just that he's freakishly heavy for the size of his body." Ling replied. He
and Ed tilted their heads back a bit to look up. "He might be a bit bigger
than he looks."

They stared up at the huge form of Envy.

"Seriously, what is he? I thought Homunculi were artificial humans." Ling

said.

Ed shrugged. "That's what it says, but it's not like we have done a lot of
studying in the area since it is illegal. If this Father guy was experimenting
with Homunculi, like he did with Gluttony, who knows what else he has
done?"

"You just had to anger him." Mustang said.

"No one knew Envy was like this!" Ed growled, rubbing his eyes. This was
just fantastic. Now they had to survive Envy and find a way out of this alive.

"You should always expect the unexpected." Riza said.

"That's all well and good," Ed snapped. "But no one could have ever thought
something like this would happen! We can't expect the unexpected when
dealing with Homunculi and this Father guy!"

Envy's head was shown as the red alchemical light died down and Envy's
head moved around a bit before the scene pulled out to show him falling
on his front legs, which caused the blood to wave around, making the
teenagers struggle through the blood.

Ed pulled himself to the side then jumped back. He landed in a crouch

on a rock, sliding a bit on it. "Damn." He said.

"I'll be amazed if you can fight well." Mustang said.

"And why is that?" Ed asked.

Mustang shrugged. "Because you're only wearing one boot. You must be
incredibly off balanced."

"Eh, probably." Ed mumbled.

"It would make more sense for you to take the other boot off, Brother." Al
told him.

"Probably."

Ling was shown landing on a slanted stone pillar, sliding down it a bit
before he got a grip on it. "What the hell?" He said as Envy was shown.
"How can that be a Homunculus? They're supposed to be artificial
humans, right?!"

The music came to a stop as a chirping bird on one of Al's spikes was
shown.

"Shit, why does the scene always change when a fight starts?" Mustang
growled.

"What does it matter? It won't change whether we win or die." Ed said with a
sigh.
"It may not change what happens, but to be able to see the fight quickly will
lessen our worry." Fu replied.

"Or deepen it." Riza added darkly.

"Well, as concerning as that is, I do want to see what Al is doing. It will show
me that he is fine." Ed said.

"Brother, why wouldn't I be fine? I'm not the one fighting." Al pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "Well, future you might think I'm dead. I just want to make sure
he is fine."

The scene pulled out to show Al sitting on the ground with Xiao-Mei by
him and the bird flew off. Xiao-Mei was zoomed in on to show her
staring up at Al. She looked forward when she heard a faint 'hmm.' The
scene pulled out to show Gluttony standing in front of Al and Xiao-Mei.

"It's morning." Ed said blankly. "Are you telling me that you three sat there
for the rest of the night?"

"Um, looks that way." Al replied.

Ed sighed. "Course you guys did."

Gluttony stepped to the side a few times, making Xiao-Mei run around
Al's leg to hide. Gluttony moved to the other side where Xiao-Mei
popped out at. When she saw Gluttony, she hid again. Gluttony moved
closer to Al as Xiao-Mei popped up over Al's shoulder.

"Weird." Ling said.

"Are they playing a game or does Gluttony want to eat Xiao-Mei?" Ed asked.

"What?" May screamed. "No! He can't eat her!"

"Relax, May. Al won't let him eat her." Ed reassured her. "I was just
wondering."
Ling looked at Ed with a raised brow at the out of character behavior. Feeling
the gaze, Ed looked at Ling and just shrugged. Ling looked away, feeling so
confused. He really thought he had Ed figured out before this.

The scene changed to show Al's back with Gluttony standing in front of
him, bending down a bit to stare at Xiao-Mei.

Gluttony put his hands together and whispered, "What should…"

Al's face was shown with his eyes black right now.

"What do I do?" Gluttony asked.

"He sounds like a little kid who did something wrong." Hughes said.

"Considering he probably is going to have to tell this Father guy he screwed

up, he probably is considered a kid." Ed said. "Especially since it seems like
he is always having to be told what to do."

"I have no idea." Al replied.

Gluttony appeared on screen, looking down as he pushed his fingers

together. "What do I do? I'm scared."

"Scared?" Ed echoed in shock. "A Homunculus is feeling scared?"

"Well, considering what 'Father' did to Greed, I don't blame him." Riza
replied.

"Oh, yeah, that Father guy did kill Greed with that lava." Ed said, shuddering
a bit. "Horrible way to die, especially for them."

Al was shown again as Gluttony said, "I don't want Father to be mad at
me."

Al's red eyes came back. The scene pulled out to show all three of them
as dramatic music began. "What did you say? You have a father?"

"Oh, right, I forgot. Our future selves don't know that much yet." Al said.
"There's a lot we don't know in the future." Ed said with a sigh.

"Uh-huh." Gluttony said.

"Is he the one who made the Homunculi?" Al asked.

Gluttony approached Al, making Xiao-Mei slide off of Al's back in fear.
"Father made us."

"Sheesh, he answers your questions so easily. It's like he has no idea that this
is all a secret." Mustang said.

"Well, he doesn't seem to be the smartest of them." Brody replied.

"Who really cares? This could work to our advantage." Ed said.

Al was shown. He gasped and leaned forward a bit to put a hand on

Gluttony's stomach.

"Seriously? He is still a Homunculus, Al." Mustang said.

Al shrugged. "Yeah, but he can't do anything to me, considering I'm a

sacrifice."

"Yeah, the same could be said for Fullmetal, and look at where he is."
Mustang replied.

"But that only happened because Brother was trying to save Ling." Al
pointed out, feeling a bit bitter inside as he said that.

"I am so sorry for trying to help a friend!" Ed sneered. "Rest assured, it won't
happen again."

"Really?" Ling asked amused.

Ed shot him a look, but didn't reply. Yeah, they all knew he was lying about
that.

Blushing, Gluttony backed up as Al looked at his hand. 'Where does

everything he swallows go? It's got to be some kind of trick.' Al's hand
clenched into a fist. 'Come on. Think! We made a promise and Brother
might still be alive.'

"That's right!" Ed said. "Don't forget that, Al!"

"I know, Brother." Al replied dryly.

"DO you?" Ed snapped at him. "Because I seem to recall an incident where

you thought I was dead and got a wee bit reckless."

"That…" Al would have blushed if he could with all the eyes on him. "That
was only once, Brother! My one time compared to all your moments of
recklessness…."

"Except," Ed grinned. "My recklessness is expected, Al."

"….Oh, shut up, Brother."

'I can't just give up now.' Al knocked his hand against his head.

Xiao-Mei was shown staring up at Al as he stood up and said,

"Gluttony," The scene pulled out to show Al standing in front of
Gluttony. "Will you take me with you? Will you take me to meet your
Father?"

"Huh? Are you serious?" Ed half-shouted.

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? I'm not just going to sit there all day
and wait for you to get back, especially when I'm not sure you're coming
back." Al retorted.

"But to meet that guy?" Ed asked.

"I think it is a good idea to meet him. It is good to know the enemy." General
Armstrong said.

"I'm not saying it isn't. I just don't think it is a good idea to meet him alone."
Ed replied. "Especially when we don't know much about him."
"I think I'm doing this with the safety of the knowledge that he won't kill me
because he needs me." Al said.

Ed shrugged. "Still don't like it."

Gluttony looked at Al, then smiled. "I guess so."

Al was shown.

Gluttony was shown. "He'll be happy since you're a human sacrifice."

The scene pulled out to show all three of them. "Uh…oh, sure, right." Al
replied. "That's why he'll want to meet me." Al bowed his head a bit.
'And I guess I'll find out what that means.' The scene pulled out slowly to
move farther and farther away from the three.

Central Command appeared on screen.

"In regards to the search for potential sacrifices," The room full of
generals appeared on screen. "Our only candidates are the Elric
brothers."

"I really don't get this. Why are these guys going along with the plan?" Ed
asked with a frown. "Do they really care that little about their own country?"

"Who knows? They might have another agenda." Mustang said with a small
shrug. "We'll figure out what their deal is soon enough."

"What about Dr. Marcoh?" Another general asked. "Isn't he ready?"

"I don't think you are foolish enough to open it." Ed told the doctor.

"I really have no desire to open it, Edward, but if it were to keep my village
safe, I just might do it." Dr. Marcoh said.

Ed blinked. "Hmm, still pretty foolish. After doing it once to try to bring
Mom back, I would never want to go through it again. I don't think I could
open it just to protect something, especially if by opening it I become a pawn
to be used that will get the village killed anyway."
Dr. Marcoh chuckled. "I quite agree, Edward. Your mind sure works in
interesting ways."

Ed's brows furrowed in confusion, but he just shrugged.

"We still have Kimblee."

Raven was shown with his head tilted back on his chair.

"I doubt that Kimblee could muster up the nerve it takes to open the
portal." Another general said.

"Are they really just having a meeting to discuss who they can get to open
that portal?" Mustang sneered.

"What is really disgusting is that they are doing it right at Central Command
and acting like they have nothing to worry about. They just think that no one
is going to try to stop them." General Armstrong growled.

"They really seem angry about this." Ling whispered to Ed.

"They have dedicated their lives to the military and this country. And these
generals are messing with it. Why wouldn't they be furious?" Ed whispered
back.

Ling thought about it and what if this was Xing that was going to be
destroyed for this plan. A dark frown took over his face. "Good point."

"Lose the frown, Ling." Ed whispered without looking at his friend. "Such a
dark frown doesn't belong on your face."

Ling chuckled in response.

"That reminds me." The General continued, looking at Raven.

Raven opened his eyes to look at him.

"How have things been progressing along with Mustang's candidacy?"

"That's a question for the Fuhrer." Raven replied.

Mustang, who was sitting in a chair, and Bradley, who was staring out a
window, appeared on screen.

"You look like a student being scolded." Hughes said.

Mustang shot him a frown. "Not the time, Hughes."

"There is always a time for a joke." Hughes replied.

Mustang gave him a dry look.

Hughes held up his hands in defense. "Look, I'm just as mad and upset as you
are, but you can't be so serious all the time

"He plans on having a nice long talk with him." Raven said.

The music died down and Mustang asked, "Tell me, why are you
bothering to let me live?"

"Because they want to use him." Ed said.

"You know that could be taken badly as well." Hughes said, grinning.

"Hughes, you really need to shut up while we are here." Mustang told him
dryly.

Hughes grinned evilly at him.

Growling, Mustang snapped, "Fullmetal!"

"Right away, sir." Ed replied respectfully before leaning past Ling and
whacking Hughes in the back of the head.

"Ow!" Hughes cried, grabbing his head. "Ed!"

"Sorry, Hughes." Ed said, not sorry at all. "Orders, you know? What can you
do?"
"Since when do you follow orders?!" Hughes shouted.

"When they amuse me." Ed replied, grinning.

"Unbelievable."

Bradley was shown on screen to be drinking from his tea cup. "Because
you aren't going to learn your lesson if you're dead, soldier."

"What lesson?" Ed cried.

"So he is still playing the part of the Fuhrer." Mustang sneered.

"Well, have fun with that, Colonel." Ed said.

"Thank you for the support, Fullmetal." Mustang sneered.

"No problem, sir." Ed replied mockingly.

Mustang was shown with his head bowed a bit and frowning. "And the
military? How long has all this been going on?"

The scene moved to Bradley's front. "The Homunculi have been

controlling this entire nation since its inception."

"So everything about Amestris was just for this plan." Armstrong said a bit
angrily. "Everything, the people, the design of the country, and all these wars
and rebellions was just for this."

"And the State Alchemist program." Ed mumbled, looking down at his legs
as he thought.

"What do you mean, Ed?" Izumi asked.

"Haven't you guys realized it? These guys are looking for alchemists who
opened the portal. What better way to bring them to their attention then by
giving them certification?" Ed said with a frown.

"Everything that has happened, happened for reason." Armstrong murmured.

Mustang tilted his head down a bit more. "So all this time you've been
sitting back and laughing at our struggles?" Hughes's coffin being
buried was shown. "I saw you at General Hughes' funeral." Bradley was
shown at the funeral with his hands trembling. "Your hands were
trembling." Mustang reappeared on screen, looking up at Bradley
angrily. "So did you fake that as well?"

The scene moved to show the two from behind. "Why must everyone
make such a fuss over the death of a single soldier?"

"Did he seriously just ask that? He really is just like all the other
Homunculi!" Mustang sneered.

"It's not just Homunculi, Colonel. I'm sure there are some people out there
who think like that. They don't get all the fuss over the death of someone
until it is someone they care about." Edward pointed out.

"Fullmetal, while you have brilliant insight at times, I really want you to shut
up now." Mustang ordered.

Ed shrugged. "You're just upset because it is Hughes that was killed."

"And you aren't?"

"Of course I am." Ed snapped angrily. "I'm just saying that some people don't
understand all the fuss over the death of a soldier because the soldiers know
that one day they will be killed, whether it be on the battlefield or on a
mission. Death will always be around the corner. They should know this, so
some people will not understand all the fuss that people give over their deaths
until it is a friend or a family member that has been killed. It's the way
humans are!"

"The moment a soldier dons his uniform, he accepts the reality that he
might be buried in it." Mustang was shown to be glaring. "And about
my hands." Bradley was shown. "Hughes's child screeched throughout
the entirety of his funeral." His hand holding the cup was trembling.
Bradley turned his head sharply to look at Mustang. "My hands were
trembling with anger."
"What?" Hughes hissed angrily, forgetting what he just told Mustang about
not being so serious. "How dare he? If he's been around humans for so long
like he said he has been, then he should understand humans enough to know
about families and friends! As close as they are, it will always hurt when one
of them is gone forever….Children are allowed to cry at a parent's funeral. It
is something that will always hurt them." Hughes clenched his hand into a fist
as he recalled his daughter crying and reaching out to him at his funeral. Just
as his death hurt his family, him dying hurt him as well. He didn't want to see
them all hurting like that because of his death.

The scene moved to show the two from behind again as Mustang said,
"How can you even say such a thing? You have a child, too."

Bradley turned back to the window. "You're speaking of Selim? He's

more well-behaved than that."

"More well-behaved or not, a child losing a parent would still hurt a lot. He
would still cry over losing a parent." Hughes growled angrily.

Mustang was shown with a dark look on his face. "And how do you think
he'd react if he found out that his father was a Homunculus?"

Bradley's back was shown. "Was that a threat? You'll have to do

better." His face was shown. Selim eating with his mother by him was
shown. He smiled at her. "Selim will never work as a point of weakness
in my life." Bradley turned to look at Mustang. "But you, on the other
hand." Mustang was shown. "I know exactly who to use as your weak
point."

Mustang's eyes narrowed dangerous. Who to use? And just what the hell did
that mean? What was Bradley planning this time? If he hurt anyone he cared
for, there would be a lot of trouble for them all.

Dramatic music began as the outside of Central Command was shown

from the sky. A small figure could be seen moving quickly down the
sidewalk.

Riza was shown to be standing at attention.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Fuery shouted.

Riza looked over at Fuery in surprise. "What's wrong, sergeant?"

Fuery saluted her. "I received a memo from personnel bureau." He

dropped the salute as the scene moved to show him from the front. "And
well, I'm being transferred to the Southern Command Center."

"What?" Mustang hissed dangerously.

"You showed you cared too much for them and brought them with you to
Central." General Armstrong said. "That right there showed them as your
weakness, Mustang. You should have been more careful."

"Who could have predicted something like this when I made that move?"
Mustang snapped back, rubbing his temples. "The Homunculi only care about
those that they have a use for. By doing this…it's taking hostages! They don't
do this!"

"And yet they are." Ed said quietly. This was what he feared. He didn't expect
it to happen to Mustang at all, but earlier Bradley told him to take good care
of Winry. Something like this was what he feared would happen to her. He
hoped she was still alright.

Riza took a quick step forward in shock. "They transferred you?"

"And I'm not the only one," Fuery said as Breda appeared on screen,
looking shocked. "Breda's being sent to the western command." Falman
appeared on screen, saluting someone. "And Warrant Officer Falman's
been reassigned to the Northern Command."

"The north!" Falman exclaimed. "Why do I have to get the north? It's so cold
up there!"

"You'll get used to it." Brody said grimly.

"Maybe." Luke added, shivering at the thought of the north. He hated how
cold it was up there. He needed a vacation to a nice hot area.
Falman bowed his head, practically ready to cry. What could be worse then
freezing to death up north?

Mustang growled to himself, leaning back against the couch, making Ed have
to pull his feet farther up on the couch so he didn't accidentally kick Mustang.
Though there were times that Ed wanted to hit his superior, he felt he had
pushed Mustang's limit enough for now.

Ed looked down at his feet, wiggling his metal toes a bit. Well, it wasn't just
him pushing Mustang a bit far today. Hughes was too, as well as seeing
everything that was happening in their future. He guessed that Mustang and
everyone would be a bit stressed right now. Sighing, Ed pulled his legs to his
chest and wrapped his arms around them. Things could only get worse from
here on.

Riza reappeared on screen as she gasped.

When they heard a gun being shifted, Riza and Fuery turned around to
see a MP saluting before two soldiers were shown to be approaching
them.

Riza and Fuery snapped their feet together and saluted.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye?" Yakovlev asked.

"Yes, sir." Riza replied.

"I'm Yakovlev, from Personnel." Yakovlev said as Riza and Fuery

lowered their hands.

Riza was shown as she thought, 'Am I being transferred?'

"No doubt about it." Riza said as she frowned. If she was transferred like
everyone else, who was going to watch Mustang's back? With everyone
being transferred, there was no one there to keep Mustang from being
reckless! She could only hope that he would behave himself with them all
gone and keep his head down.

Mustang gritted his teeth in frustration. So, even his queen was being taken
from him? All his friends and subordinates were gone. He was being left with
no team so he would behave himself! Well, there was no way this was going
to stop him. He would trust his team to survive without him while he still
investigated. It was just that from now on, every single move they made
would be underground.

"And my name is Storch." Storch said as he took an envelope from

Yakovlev. "I'm the personal assistant to Fuhrer Bradley. I need you to
take this." He held an envelope out to Riza.

Riza gave a quiet gasp. "Am I being reassigned, sir?"

"That's correct." Storch replied.

Riza took the envelope. "I'd like to look at them." She took the orders
out of the envelope and read them silently. Her neutral expression
turned to shock. "What is this? This can't be right!" Her face was
zoomed in on from the side. "Are you sure that these are my orders?"

"How could this get any worse?" Mustang growled.

"You should never ask that because it can always get that much more worse."
Ed muttered.

"You would know that better then anyone, wouldn't you, Ed?" Izumi asked.

Ed tilted his head to her in acknowledgement. Yes, he would know that well.
He had asked himself it hundreds of times on missions or during training. He
asked it so much that he came to believe that the moment someone said it,
things would get a million times worse.

Fuery looked at her. "Where are they sending you?"

Riza looked back down at her papers. "'First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye
is to report for duty.'" She paused for a moment before continuing. "'At
Central Command Center.'" While Fuery breathed a sigh of relief, Riza
continued. "'As personal assistant to Fuhrer Bradley.'"

"No way." Mustang said in shock.

Riza made a small sound of surprise, but other then that, she didn't say
anything else.

"That has got to be the most dangerous assignment out of all of them."
Falman said darkly, forgetting about his transfer. At least up north, he wasn't
with a Homunculus almost all day.

Fuery gasped.

The room Mustang and Bradley were in reappeared on screen.

"It's as simple as that." Bradley said before he was zoomed in on. "She'll
be under my watch from now on."

Mustang was shown to be looking down in shock.

"Bastard." Mustang snarled under his breath.

Envy appeared on screen. Horrid greed faces slid off his body and into
the blood. Another one soon followed it.

"Argh, that is disgusting." Havoc said.

"I am more curious about what it is." Ling said.

"I am more curious to see if you two survive this fight." Mustang said, still
frowning darkly. His team was taken from him, but hopefully Ed would still
be alright if he got out of here. Since he was a sacrifice, Bradley shouldn't do
anything to him.

A group of the horrid green faces were shown with an echoing voice
saying, "Play with me."

"Hell no." Ed said as he stood up on the rock he was on. "You go and
play by yourself."

Ling was shown to be watching Envy, who was laughing as the horrid
faces on his body made so much noise. "This isn't good." Ling said.
Envy's tail smashed into the stone pillar Ling was kneeling on, but Ling
jumped backwards off of it before he could get hit. He jumped over one
of Envy's hands in the air, but the second one managed to grab him and
slam into a rock. He shouted out in pain as Envy landed in the blood
with a huge splash.

Ling screamed in pain, slamming his back into the couch as his hands
frantically went up to his chest. He probably got bruised from that, which
wasn't the problem. The problem was the broken ribs he probably just
received. It was a miracle they didn't pierce his lungs, but they still hurt like
hell! He gasped for air, struggling to breath for a moment.

"You okay, Young Lord?" Lan Fan asked worriedly, already standing up to
see to him.

Ling just waved his hand. "Sit back down, Lan Fan." He struggled to get out.
"A couple broken ribs. It's nothing I can't handle."

Ed grimaced. "Sure, you can handle them, but there still a pain in the ass to
deal with." He whispered to Ling.

Ling nodded faintly, leaning back into the couch a bit more as he focused on
his breathing.

"Ling!" Ed screamed before Envy's tail swung out behind him and
slammed into Ed.

Ed slammed into the couch, screaming in shock and pain at the sudden force
on his chest, which was then followed by the sheer pain flaring in his ribs as a
few of them broke. He groaned and tilted his head on the side of the back of
the couch to look at Ling. When Ling looked back at him, they both grinned
painfully at each other.

There was so not going to end well.

As for Mustang, he was grabbing his head. When Ed slammed into the back
of the couch, his feet flew out and hit him in the head. That damn automail
foot hurt a lot! He would have yelled at Fullmetal, but he knew the kid didn't
mean to do it. It was just a reaction to the pain.

Dr. Young sighed and got up. She left the room for a few minutes and when
she returned, she was holding a bag of ice and towel. Mustang gave a smile
of gratitude as he took the ice and put it on his head.

"Huh?" Ed said, distracted from his pain as he watched the exchange. "What
do you need ice for, Colonel?"

"Because a midget kicked him in the head." Hughes said, grinning.

"WH–" Ed started, but then groaned and leaned back on the couch, grabbing
his side a bit more. "Don't call me a midget, damn it!" He hissed. Grimacing a
bit, he shifted on the couch a bit until he managed to throw his legs over the
armrest while keeping his back resting half on the back of the couch and half
on the seat. He turned his head a bit to look at Ling, who just shrugged and
threw his legs on the couch by Ed's chest so he wouldn't hit Hughes.

Al stared at the scene, feeling a bit annoyed. When did those two get so
close? Before Ed and Ling just bantered at a distance. How did it get from
bantering to being comfortable with being that close to each?

Envy half-laughed half-roared as Ed went flying back into the blood.

Ling was shown to be running over to him. "Ed!" He screamed as Envy

stepped forward. Ling jumped and somersaulted through the air to
dodge Envy's foot. He flipped over in the air and landed by Ed, who was
picking himself up while rubbing his chest.

"Well, you certainly made a dramatic run to my side." Ed said with a painful
chuckle.

"I don't want to hear that from you with how dramatic you can be." Ling
retorted.

Ling turned to Ed. "Can you make a weapon?"

"You got it. With this ocean of blood," Ed clapped his hands and put it
on the blood. "There's plenty of iron to work with." Blue alchemical
light lit up the screen as a sword started to rise out of it.

"It's a good thing I got trapped there with an alchemist." Ling said.

"Good thing you got trapped there with an alchemist who can transmute by
just clapping his hands." Ed corrected with a small smirk.

Ling nodded.

Ed grabbed it by the handle as it finished and dramatic music began. He

paused in holding it for a moment to change his hold on it before he
lightly tossed it to Ling, who caught it. He flipped it in his hand to change
his hold and smiled when he saw the design. "You have the tackiest sense
of taste."

Ed appeared on screen, smiling as he put his hand to his automail arm

and transmuted it into his signature blade. "Ah, c'mon. I think it looks
pretty damn sharp myself."

"Is there ever a time when you two aren't joking around in a dangerous
situation?" Mustang asked dryly.

"Sure, they are, but you don't seem to like to remember them." Ed replied.

"Or maybe they are hard to remember because they so rarely happen."
Hughes retorted.

Ed shrugged with some difficulty.

The smile wiped off of Ed's face as he looked at Envy, who appeared on
screen and laughed cruelly. Ed and Ling were shown to be staring up at
him. "Can we take him?" Ed asked.

"I doubt it. He is a giant monster." Ling and Ed were shown close up.
"And then on top of that," Ling put a hand to his chest. "I'm pretty sure
he broke two of my ribs."

"Yeah, I'm pretty beat up myself." Ed was zoomed in on. "But that's
beside the point." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "All that matters now
is filling him with some pain!"

The scene pulled out to show Envy waiting in front of them.

The scene changed to show Gluttony and Al standing on a hill. Gluttony

was shown, then Al with Xiao-Mei on his shoulder. Al looked at
Gluttony. "Are you sure this is the right way, Gluttony?"

Gluttony looked at him. "Uh-huh."

Al looked forward again. "But this is the way," He said as the scene
slowly circle him until it was showing him from behind and that Central
was in front of him. "It can't be. Your father is living in Central?"

The scene went dark and reopened as the ending scene.

"What a way to end it!" Hughes said.

"I'll say." Ed said, rubbing his ribs a bit more. "Damn Envy and his tail."

"At least you only got hit by the tail." Ling said with a small smile. "I got
slammed into a rock by his hand."

"Right on. You got the worst end of the deal there." Ed muttered and he and
Ling weakly bumped fists.

"Are you guys seriously discussing that?" Riza asked shocked.

"It's either discuss it or suffer the pain alone." Ed retorted.

"Usually you suffer alone." Al muttered, seemingly to give Ling an annoyed

look, which no one seemed to notice.

"So, this father guy is living in Central." Dr. Marcoh said, frowning.

"For some reason, I feel as if that should have been obvious." Mustang said,
taking his ice pack off his head for a moment to finger the bump there. He
winced a bit when he touched it so he put the ice back. Now he could
understand why Fullmetal always restrained himself and put himself at a
disadvantage in spars. He didn't want to use his automail limbs because they
could seriously hurt someone.

"Obvious or not, who cares? He's in Central, now we just have to find out
where in Central." Ed mumbled.

"In pain, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.

"Oh, shut up, Colonel. I'm not the one who needs ice for a little kick to the
head." Ed retorted.

Mustang shot him a glare. Stupid brat.

"Let's just get on with it." Ling ordered.

A/N: So, as you can probably guess, I don't get the Xiao-Mei/May sister
relationship at all and neither does my friend…We're so lost with it.

Wow, there was a lot of Ling and Ed friendship and talking and banter
in this chapter. :P It may have been because I was focused on them
because they were trapped alone in Gluttony together so they had more
to say and argue with each other about. Or it may have been because I
simply love the friendship between them. :P

I decided to add something with Al, Ling, and Ed in this. I don't know
why, but I've been thinking about it for a while. It's nothing big, just a
bit of jealousy on Al's part. I thought it would be fun. Though it won't
last long. Like 2 or 3 chapters, counting this one.

Since before I started this story, I've had ideas running around my head
for what everyone would do if they realized the Homunculi's plan long
before it happened. I have two ideas right now for how the sequel of this
story will go. Yes, you crazy people, there is going to be a sequel….and
hell, I just thought of a way to do watching FMA 2003 with the 2003 cast.
Curse my mind. That's not the point here. The sequel. There's two
possibilities:

[1] At the end of Truth Revealed, the group is sent back to before Ed and
Al did the human transmutation (though this doesn't mean they don't
still try it). They still remember everything they learned but because of
the sudden change in time, the memories come back slower. Ed, Al, Ling,
Lan Fan, and May remember more slowly because they are younger and
the time change was harder on them.

[2] OR they head back to the time from when they left and the kids don't
remember what happened in the room right away because of the sudden
change and they are younger.

In both stories, they will be changing the way things happened. So tell
me, which do you guys like better?

Please Review!
*Chapter 26*: Episode 26: Reunion
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: A reviewer asked me if any more characters will be added. Right

now, no more will be added. Hohenheim might come in. I'm not sure yet.
Still working on it.

Also, I have decided that from now on, I will be updating Friday,
Saturday, or Sunday. I won't be updating randomly during the week
anymore. This is because college has started up once more. So this
update schedule is only for about the next 15 weeks, not counting this
week's update obviously.

Okay….111 pages proofread….111…this chapter is 111 pages…HELL

YEAH! I am so excited! My longest chapter yet, guys! I so freaking
finally beat the length of chapter 5, which had 22,816 words by the way.
And I finally beat that length, which was one of my goals during this
whole time! I'm so happy right now!

But seriously, don't expect it again. This was freaking insane.

Thanks you for all the wonderful reviews, guys!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

"Speaking in Xingese"

Episode 26: Reunion

The opening song began.

Envy jumped towards the screen and into the blood.

Sheska jumped a bit in her seat. "What a way to start it."

Ed and Ling screamed in shock as Envy landed right on the spot where
they were standing with dramatic, action music beginning. Blood
splashed up all over because of Envy, blocking the boys from sight.

Ed appeared on screen, being pushed back by the violent waves of blood.

Just as he was getting his balance back, Envy's tail slammed into him
again, sending him violently flipping back into the ground a few times.

Ed shouted in shock and pain at the sudden pain traversing through his body.
His head jerked violently, hitting Ling's shoulder. "Curse you, Ling, for
wanting to get into this so quickly." He mumbled.

"Best to get it over with now." Ling mumbled, rubbing his aching ribs. He
turned his head to look at Ed's head on his shoulder to tell him to move it
already, but paused when he saw the pain flowing so freely through his face.
Looking away, Ling frowned. Just this once.

"Fine, but just so you know, getting whipped with that tail and thrown back
hurts a lot." Ed mumbled to him as his whole body protested any movement
he tried to make. His automail leg twitched a bit before falling off the
armrest.

Riza glanced at the two sitting, or more like half-lying on the couch, next to
her. She couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips when she saw how
comfortable the two were with each other's presence, which was so rare for
Ed. They would be really great friends, just what Edward needed.

While Riza smile, Al glared at the scene. What was up with his brother? He
was never comfortable with anyone being in his bubble so soon after meeting
them! No…his brother wasn't comfortable with it. He was just in too much
pain to think clearly. His brother hated physical contact like that.
Ling was shown running through the blood. He turned around sharply
and swung his sword up into Envy's underbelly. As blood gushed out of
the wound, Ling jumped away.

"Nice." Mustang said.

"Thanks." Ling replied.

"You are really good with that sword." Ed said.

"Lots of practice."

"And experience."

"Yes," Ling nodded. "That as well."

Envy's face was shown as he screamed in pain and fell flat into the blood
as Ling ran away. "Run Ed!" Ling shouted.

"I'll get right on that." Ed said.

"Will you now?" Ling asked, frowning. To him, it looked like Ed wasn't
standing up fast enough.

"Yeah, thanks for distracting Envy."

"Couldn't let him just hit you again." Ling replied.

"Such a good friend." Ed mumbled.

"Are you two okay?" Mustang asked them.

"Sure." Ed replied.

"Well, I am. I think Ed's a bit dazed from the pain in his body though." Ling
said.

"I'm fine!" Ed snapped.

Hughes raised a brow. "Are you now?"

"Do I not seem fine?" Ed snapped.

"No." Hughes said.

Envy's face was shown with his long dark hair falling in it. "Bastard!"
Envy said.

"Envy really doesn't like you." Hughes said.

Ling grinned. "Good, I'm not a big fan of him either."

Ling turned around just in time to get hit by Envy's hand again and
slammed upside down into a pillar. He coughed up blood as soon as he
hit it.

Ling screamed in pain, flinching back into the couch, making Ed's head jerk
off his shoulder and back on the couch. He hissed, eyes clouding with pain. It
felt like that blow broke a few more of his ribs and made his already broken
ones worse, not to mention it severely bruising his back. "He whips you with
a tail and hits me with his hand. He really needs to come up with new
attacks." Ling muttered

"He just swung you into a pillar." Ed said, rubbing his eyes. "With his attacks
working, I don't think he needs new ones."

"I don't like these ones." Ling said, coughing a bit, which made the pain in
his chest worse.

"Same."

"Are you sure you two are okay?" Havoc asked.

"We're getting our asses handed to us by a giant monster! What do you

think?" Ed snapped at him before leaning back into the couch with a grimace.
"Ling."

"Yeah?" Ling asked, not bothering to open his eyes since the light was
hurting his pain filled mind.

"Can we go back to the last episode where we were fooling around mostly
while lost?" Ed asked.

"I'd be glad too." Ling replied.

Al scowled to himself and looked back at the screen. Why did his brother ask
Ling that? Of all the things he could have wished to go back to right now, he
wished to go back to fooling around with Ling in that stupid blood filled
void. Why couldn't he wish to return to Al or something? Why was it Ling?

Ling slammed into the ground.

"LING!" Ed shouted from where he was kneeling in the blood and

looking at his friend.

"I know you're in pain, Fullmetal, but this is no time to waste in getting up
after being attacked." Mustang told him.

"You try fighting Envy when he is like this! Those attacks are very heavy and
violent!" Ed shouted.

Mustang turned his head slightly to look at Ed with a raised brow. "Heavy?
Fullmetal, you're not actually there fighting him!"

Ed tilted his head down to stare at Mustang with a frown. "I felt the
weight…" He said blankly. "I felt the weight of Envy's attack on me."

"Now that you mention it," Ling said, coughing a bit harshly. "I felt it too.
There was a strange weight on my chest before the pain exploded and I got
lost in it."

Ed nodded with a bit of difficulty, which just made him dizzy. He paused for
a moment to get his bearings before saying, "It felt like something was
pressing down on my chest and weighing me down, though it was only for a
second before the pain took over."

"That is strange." Hughes murmured.

"Stupid bloody room." Ed grumbled, glaring at the ceiling.

Ed stood up and ran at Envy. Some of the faces on Envy were shown
before the screen moved up to show Ed getting closer. "Alright, Envy.
Time to die!" Ed's face was shown, freezing in shock and horror as he
halted.

"Hmm, what's wrong, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.

Ling's eyes snapped open to see Ed freezing in his attack. Earlier he had
started to act weird in the future when it was mentioned that Gluttony was an
experiment, and now he was freezing in the middle of a fight, which was
unlike him. What was wrong with him? All he had to do was stab his blade
forward and jumped away before he got hit. Why wasn't he doing it?

Ed was shown to be pulling his blade back from one of the green faces on
Envy that was crying and saying, "Help me…Kill me."

"Don't falter now, Elric!" General Armstrong growled.

Mustang scowled. He couldn't blame Ed for freezing here. That would scare
the boy who was scared of killing. He wasn't afraid of dying, even if he didn't
want it. He was simply scared of taking another life. "It's too late now. He
saw it. He won't fight properly now at all."

"Saw what?" Lan Fan asked confused.

"That face. It reminds him too much of a human." Mustang said with a frown.
"He won't see it as a monster anymore, but as human beings who are
suffering."

Al bowed his head a bit as he said this. His brother had always seen everyone
who had a human soul as human. He knew it was because of him and his
situation with only being bound to a suit of armor. He was happy his brother
still thought of him that way, but he was also a little upset if it was affecting
his brother's fighting. It was putting him in danger. His brother needed to
snap out of it. If he couldn't attack, then he should at least dodge and get his
bearings together!
Ling turned his head to stare at Ed, who was staring blankly in horror at the
screen. That's why he was frozen? Was he that scared of taking a life? He
knew Ed had a thing about valuing life, and Ling respected that, but if he
froze every time death was mentioned or he didn't attack when he had the
chance because he didn't want to kill anyone, he was going to get himself
killed! Ling growled to himself. He wouldn't let that happen. Ling had
friends, Lan Fan for example, but Ed was the first one he could call a best
friend, even if they haven't known each other long. He would not let him die
because he faltered in the face of his fear of killing.

"They are monsters, Edward." Dr. Marcoh told the boy, who groaned as he
lifted himself a bit up from the couch. "They may seem human, and perhaps
at one point, they were, but they are now just tortured souls being used. I
know you do not like killing, but killing those souls will set them free of their
pain and misery. Sometimes, death is preferred to being made to suffer for an
eternity like that."

"I know that." Ed told him bitterly. "But I still can't get the faces of what they
may have looked like as humans out of my head and it is making me freeze."

"You need to work passed that." General Armstrong growled. "The first time
will be hard, but it will get easier after that. They are monsters, Fullmetal.
This will most likely not be your only time meeting something like this. You
need to get over that fear and horror if you want to survive these enemies."

Ed frown, but didn't retort. His not liking killing wasn't always a weakness.
Though in this case, he would admit that it did get in the way, but he just
couldn't bring himself to harm those souls.

Scar was pretty curious with the conversation and what he saw on screen
himself. This boy was a State Alchemist, a dog of the military, a weapon, and
he was scared of killing this much? If he ever went to war, it would be
amazing if he lasted one day with how scared of killing he was. Edward
Elric, State Alchemist since twelve, really was still just a kid after all this
time. He tried to kill an innocent kid who hated killing and had nothing to do
with Ishval. The more he thought about it, the more disgusted he felt with
making Fullmetal a target.
Ed lowered his blade and stared at it.

"Don't lower your only weapon!" Havoc shouted.

"And don't just stare, Chief!" Brody added loudly.

"Young Master!" Lan Fan said quickly, turning to her Young Master.

Ling looked at her, confused. "What is it, Lan Fan?"

"Save him." Was all Lan Fan said.

"Save me?" Ed echoed, frowning.

"You don't have to ask." Ling said, ignoring Ed and focusing on Lan Fan. He
smirked a bit as he realized what she said sounded more like an order,
something was so uncommon of Lan Fan. Like him, Lan Fan cared a lot for
her friends and clan so hearing her make an order to save a friend shouldn't
surprise him.

"That's right." Havoc said, sighing in relief. "Ling is there. Hopefully he gets
there in time or Chief manages to break through his fears. Either one will
work for me."

"It's hard to imagine Ed needing saved." Fuery whispered to him. "He's

always been so independent."

Falman nodded. "I agree, but he and Ling seem to depend on each other a
bit."

"Now that you mention it, I noticed that too." Havoc said, frowning. Relying
on someone wasn't something that Ed did, yet he relied so much on Ling to
help. Was it because they were so close in age that Ed managed to rely and
trust him more then adults? Or was it because of how similar the two were in
personality? Havoc wasn't sure, but there was something there between the
two, a very close companionship that seemed to almost come out of nowhere.

The creepy green face was shown. "Help me die. I'm begging you!" It
stretched out towards Ed. "Please kill me…Please!" Its mouth opened
widely as a severely creepy green face of the man came out of it. It
laughed manically and zoomed in closely to the screen.

Ross shivered. "That face is so scary. I would shoot it just because of how
scary and creepy it looks. It doesn't even appear human anymore."

"It probably isn't." Dr. Marcoh told her. "If they are in Envy, they could be a
part of his stone and if that's true, they lost their humanity a long time ago.
Right now, they are just suffering until they are killed or their souls are used
to heal Envy. You would be doing them a favor by killing them here."

"So snap out of it, Fullmetal! They are dying either way!" Mustang snapped.

"My future self can't hear you." Ed snapped at him before looking back at the
screen.

Ed stared in horror and backed up a step.

A huge group of the creepy green beings were shown.

"I want to die!"

"Mommy!"

"Come closer."

"I don't want to be with you."

Ed's horrified face was shown.

"That would have scared me too." May admitted softly. "I wouldn't want to
face that so close up and hear all those voices."

"To hear them speak, it would probably make them seem more human."
Hughes agreed. "But it's a trick! You can't let yourself lose to it, Ed!"

'He already lost.' Ling thought.

The first creepy one was shown to still be laughing insanely. A sword
stabbed him through the skull before the scene pulled out to show Ling
crouching on his back and holding the sword.

"Finally, you showed up!" Izumi said relieved. She didn't want to see Ed
suffer from hearing those voices anymore. Seeing him so scared at that didn't
look right on him. He was always a strong, determined boy. Seeing him
scared was wrong.

Al, though annoyed with Ling, was grateful for his appearance at this
moment. He would get his brother away from these creepy jerks who were
messing with his brother's head!

Envy looked around at Ling. Ling jumped off of Envy as the

Homunculus swiped at him and landed by Ed briefly to wrap an arm
around his waist before he jumped away from Envy with him.

"Thanks Ling."

"I wasn't just about to let you get killed." Ling muttered. "But Ed, really, you
have to snap out of it."

"Sorry, Ling." Ed whispered to his friend. "I don't think I'll be much help in
this fight."

Ling wasn't surprised by his friend's words. By watching what was

happening, he was kind of expecting that reaction. "Just try to keep yourself
alive then if you can't fight." Was all Ling said.

Ling was shown crouching on the ground with Ed collapsed on all fours
by him with Ling's hand on his back. "Come on! Snap out of it, you
idiot!" Ling said as he looked to the side with his sword level with his
chest.

"Try hitting him a few times. It should at least wake him up partially."
Mustang suggested.

"I'm in enough pain. I don't need Ling hitting me as well." Ed snapped.

"I say do whatever it takes to wake Ed up and get him at least dodging and
keeping himself alive." Hughes said.

Ed growled softly to himself.

Ed was shown to be looking down in horror.

"Damn it, Ed! Wake up!" Ling shouted worriedly. "Move! What happened to
not giving up?"

"Giving up ever again?" Mustang corrected as he recalled Ed's moment of

weakness in East City when Scar attacked him. He was completely prepared
to die then because he thought no help was coming.

"Ed, you have to snap out of it now!" Ling ordered. "You cannot behave like
this right now!"

Hughes snickered. When he got many weird looks, he grinned apologetically.

"I'm sorry, but that just sounds like Ling scolding a child."

Ed snorted. "I thought you were supposed to be a prince trying to become an

emperor, not a parent."

"It's your fault." Ling grumbled.

"Why didn't you attack him?" Ling demanded.

"Wow, so demanding." Ed chuckled.

"Not the time for jokes." Ling snapped.

"…Did Ling just say that?" Hughes asked Mustang shocked.

Mustang nodded.

Ling sighed and lowered his voice so only Ed could hear him. "If you aren't
going to fight properly because of your fear, don't make jokes, Ed. Just
concentrate on staying alive."

Ed gave him a strange look, which made Ling scowl.

"I won't let a friend die, Ed. Either you get up and concentrate on dodging to
live or I will protect you while fighting, which will be more difficult for me."

"Sorry, Ling." Ed said. This was already a hard fight, and he was making it
even harder for Ling by freezing. They didn't have time for him to freeze in
this fight, not against Envy.

"A person." Ed said weakly.

"It's not human anymore!" Brody shouted worriedly. How could this weak,
scared boy really be Fullmetal? He never saw Ed freeze so badly in a fight.
He always attacked head on without regret!

"It's a human soul though, and they are just as much human to Fullmetal."
Mustang said.

The green monster that Ling stabbed was shown with the blood stopping
from sprouting out of the wound. "Those are people. They need our help.
T-They're trapped inside him…"

"That's a trick, Ed!" Ling said as tiny little green heads sprouted out of
the wound of the green head. "He's a monster!"

"At least one of you has his wits about him." Miles said with a frown.

"It's not enough. They both need to be fully aware to survive this." Buccaneer
said.

"The chances of Chief snapping out of it are not high." Havoc told them
darkly.

Ed appeared on screen, looking down as he said, "But they…"

Ling roughly grabbed Ed's shirt and pulled him up to look at him, but
Ed continued to look down. "Listen to me!"

"Raising your voice and getting frustrated won't help." Fu said softly.

"I know." Ling replied, closing his eyes. "But I need him to wake up and help
me. Nothing seems to be working though." He glanced at Ed, who was
staying silent now and just staring at the screen.

"That's just Brother. He doesn't understand those monsters in Envy. He

knows they are no longer human after being in the stone inside Envy for so
long, but he can't get passed the fact that at one point they were still alive and
are still here being forced to suffer." Al said darkly. "Because he doesn't
understand, whether they are human or not, his thoughts are conflicting about
what to do."

"They are monsters," Ling said, frowning. "If he just believes that, he'll be
fine. They lost their human selves a long time ago. They can't remember
them. All that is left is the monster!"

The green head was shown again with the little green heads still
struggling to get out of the wound. "Those things are monsters!"

The scene moved along Envy's body to show a bunch of the green
monsters.

"Kill me!"

"How do you like this power?"

"Mama!"

"Give me back my child!"

"Hearing all those voices isn't going to help him concentrate on believing
they are monsters." Riza said as she recalled the war. She heard so many cries
of Ishvalans during the war, but she had to ignore them all and do her job as a
sniper. She knew it was hard to hear those cries and still kill. For Ed, who has
never killed before, it would be even harder.

Ed was shown to be running with his flesh hand over one of his ears and
one of his eyes scrunched shut. "Shut up! Stop it!"

The little green monsters were shown again.

"Dad!"

"How do you like this power?"

"I want to die!"

"Help!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up." Ross growled under her breath. Ling and Ed
needed to survive this fight, which they couldn't do if Ed kept hearing those
voices. They were going to cause him to freeze again!

Ed was shown, glaring at them as he got his blade ready. "Stop!"

"Big brother…" Ed froze, staring at the mass of green monsters in front

of him as the word 'brother' echoed. "Wanna play?" As that echoed, the
scene moved down to show Ed staring in horror.

"Was that Nina?" Al asked shocked. Why were they hearing Nina's voice?
She wasn't in Envy! She was dead, so why were they hearing her soft, gentle
voice now?

Ed half-laid stiffly on the couch as he heard Nina's voice echoing in his head.
Why? Why now of all times did he have to be reminded of her? He had to
concentrate on Envy, not Nina! Those memories of her already hurt him so
much!

"That's a foul move!" Hughes shouted angrily. "Ed finally gets the nerve to
fight, then that horrible memory has to come back to him."

"Nina is the girl who was transmuted into a chimera by her father, correct?"
Lan Fan asked.

Havoc nodded. "Yes, that's her."

"She's dead, Ed. I know that incident affected you," Ling whispered to Ed. He
only got a downplayed summary of everything that happened when he got
here, but he heard it and saw it in Ed's voice and face when he was explaining
it. That incident with Nina really hurt him. "But you can't let it get to you in
the middle of a fight."

Ed didn't reply, choosing to just close his eyes instead. He knew that! He
knew he shouldn't let it affect him, but that voice. It was just like Nina's. It
reminded him so much of her. Just hearing her voice sent his memories of her
flying through his mind. He couldn't help but freeze.

Mustang clapped a hand onto Ed's automail knee that had fallen down by him
earlier when Ed was jerking in pain. He turned to look at his subordinate with
his hand still on the knee. "Fullmetal," He whispered so no one else would
hear him. "It'll be fine. Nina was never your fault. No one could have
predicted that. It was something that should have never happened, but you
can't blame yourself for it."

Ed tensed, eyes still shut when he heard his Commanding Officer. He was
right. Ed couldn't let all these nightmares haunt him forever. He had to face
all of the horrors in his life. He couldn't keep hiding and running from them.
His eyes opened a bit to watch the screen. He couldn't just hide.

The Nina chimera appeared on screen saying, "Let's play."

A part of Ed's face appeared on screen. Sweat poured down his face as
his trembling eye was shown. A very small whimper could be heard
coming from Ed.

Ling grimaced. Ed was going to be out of it again. He had actually managed

to get Ed up and fighting, but before he could attack, that memory had to
come back to haunt him. This could not happen at a worst time.

Envy was shown to be towering over Ed with his hand raised a bit. "I'm
done playing with you."

Ed was zoomed in on. He stiffened before turning to look at Envy in fear.

"Don't stand there! MOVE!" Luke, Havoc, and Al screamed.

"You really suck at fighting when you are scared." Mustang groaned,
covering his face. "I now see why you jumped into all your fights with your
fears push aside or forgotten."

"Not the time for jokes." Izumi snapped.

"I'm not joking about that." Mustang growled, but didn't look at her. He just
stared at the opened-mouthed and shocked Ed on screen. This was probably
one of Ed's fights that he was most worried about because he wasn't
concentrating and kept having to face his horrible memories. Ed was actually
scared in this fight. He wasn't even scared when fighting Scar. Back then, he
was just giving up. This…this was just fear he was facing right now, and he
was losing to it.

Envy roughly grabbed Ed in his hand and lifted him up.

Ed groaned, head lolling to the side. It wasn't really pain that he was feeling
right now. It was a highly uncomfortable feeling of being squeezed too
tightly. He had no idea of what that felt like until now, and now he wished he
never had to know. It felt horrible. He was being squeezed so tightly it felt
like his air supply was being blocked.

Envy threw Ed hard onto a platform as the boy screamed in pain and
shock. Because he was thrown so hard, his body bounced on the platform
as if in slow motion as Ed groaned and shouted a bit more in pain with
eyes wide in shock.

And just as quickly as the squeezing feeling came, it was gone and the pain
was back, causing Ed to scream out in agony. His whole body was screaming
in pain from being thrown like that. His head ached even worse then it did
before. His limbs felt heavy and bruised. His left arm felt like it had been
broken when he was thrown onto that platform and his whole back felt like it
bruising already.

When Ed jerked back and hit his head on Ling's shoulder again, Ling looked
back over at his friend. While the Ed in the room dealt with the pain changing
around in him, Ling was staring at the screen at the Ed that was frozen. Now
though, he was looking at his friend.

Mustang managed to duck under the jerk of Ed's automail leg this time. Ling
sat up, ignoring his pain as he helped Ed sit up properly with Mustang pulling
Ed's other leg off the armrest.

"You okay, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, looking up at Ed's face, only to see
completely dazed eyes full of pain.

Ling shifted around, trying to get his feet to the ground, which was made
easier when Hughes moved to the side for him. During this, he was a bit
distracted and accidentally bumped into Ed's arm.

A loud scream of pain came for Ed, who by sheer reaction, jerked away from
Ling, which just sent more painful jolts up his arm. He slammed back into the
couch, gasping desperately for air while gingerly holding his flesh arm to his
chest.

"Ed?" Ling asked with a frown as he turned back to his friend. "Something
wrong with your arm?"

"I think it got broken in the future, and I guess you bumping into it actually
made the pain worse." Ed said, though he looked even more dazed then
before.

Al shot a glare at Ling for making his brother's pain worse. He didn't care if it
was an accident or not. He should have been more careful with his brother!
His brother has already been suffering so much recently! He didn't need more
pain.

"Sorry, Ed." Ling said.

"Tis alright." Ed mumbled, leaning his head on the back of the couch and
closing his eyes. "You didn't mean to do that."

"You must have hit that platform harder then we thought if it broke your
arm." Hughes told him.

"Yeah for me." Ed groaned.

The scene changed to show it from Ed's eyes. He stared up at Envy with
his automail arm in his vision as well. As he slammed back into the
ground, his automail arm slowly fell with him, hitting the ground with a
soft clink.

Ed moaned to himself as he felt the pain that suddenly flared throughout his
body. Just what he needed. More pain. As if he wasn't suffering enough.

The scene still looked from Ed's eyes. His head was turned to the side on
the ground, looking right to see a destroyed part of a stone array.

"I know you in pain, Ed, but you have to get up now!" Ross shouted
worriedly.

Ed didn't reply. He just tilted his head back farther on the couch, just
concentrating on breathing through his pain.

"Al." Ed whispered. He was shown to be staring to the side, eyes

trembling. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize!" Al shouted. "Get up! Survive!"

"Damn it, Ed! Come on! Don't give up now! You promised to get us out!"
Ling shouted worriedly. "You can't quit now!"

"Would you two quit screaming?" Ed said, opening his eyes to look at Ling
then his brother. "I am right here."

"I'll stop screaming when you get up and fight back." Ling snapped at him,
eyes narrowed as he and Ed stared at each other.

Ed raised a brow. "What's got you so mad?" He whispered, mostly to himself

though.

"Mad?" Ling whispered back. "I'm not mad. I'm scared and worried that my
best friend is going to get killed because he is not acting like himself!"

Ed paused for a moment before saying, "I just can't get over those faces." He
mumbled.

"Well, in the future, you're going to have to." Ling said quietly. 'Otherwise
you might just get killed and I don't want that to happen.'

Light brown slimy hands and faces started to grab at Ed and his clothes.

"Ugh," May said disgusted. "What is that?"

"I'd rather not find out. Ed, do something! Wake up! Struggle! Use your
alchemy! Just get out of there!" Lan Fan shouted.

"Eh?" Ed blinked his eyes. "Ling, I think the pain is making me delirious. I
thought I just heard Lan Fan be worried about me."

Ling glanced at Ed then at Lan Fan. "I don't think he knows you guys are
friends."

"That's not surprising. Besides Al and Winry, Chief hasn't had any friends his
age." Havoc said, chuckling a bit. "Since he is always busy being a State
Alchemist and trying to get his brother back to normal, he doesn't have time
for them so he doesn't really know how to make them. "

"Awww, poor Ed!" Ling cried and he threw his arms around Ed's shoulders
to hug him. "Don't worry! I'll always be your friend.

"Why is there an idiot prince hugging me?" Ed half-shouted, struggling

halfheartedly to escape. It was only halfheartedly because his injuries were
still bothering him.

Envy's mouth was shown to be having slimy light brown people coming
out of his mouth.

Ed was shown to have his eyes closed as the creepy brown people
grabbed at him and starting to lift his limp body up.

Ling appeared on screen. "Open your eyes, Ed!" Ed was shown to be

lifted towards Envy's mouth.

"Fullmetal! Wake the hell up now!" Mustang shouted, half in anger and half
in shock. Was Envy really going to eat Ed right here? He sure wasted no time
in deciding to kill Ed since he thought there was no way out.
"I am." Ed mumbled, still trying to get Ling off of him.

"Not you. Future you." Mustang snapped. "What did you think you were
doing falling asleep like that?"

"Falling asleep!" Ed cried, forgetting Ling and his pain for a moment. "I don't
fall asleep in fights!"

"Oh? What's this then?" Mustang asked.

"Please, wake up!"

"Wake up?" General Armstrong said. "You passed out!? In the middle of a
fight?"

"I think the correct thing to say is that he gave up." Miles said.

"Again?" Luke sneered. "You need to stop doing that, Chief!"

"Can someone get this idiot prince off of me?" Ed mumbled, trying to
shoulder Ling off of him while ignoring the soldiers. Yeah, he was not going
into that with them.

"Hmm." Hughes looked over his shoulder, quite amused to see Ling still half-
hugging a dazed Ed.

"Hughes, what are you–" Mustang started, but shut up when he saw the
camera. "You are going to drive Fullmetal insane with that thing."

Hughes grinned evilly at him.

Ling was shown. "Wake up!" He shouted, trying to move, but the pain in
his ribs caused him to grab them instead.

"Damn it!" Ling growled. He wasn't one to swear, but his ribs spiked in pain
at that moment and he just felt so mad and worried because his future self
didn't have the energy or a well enough body to go charging at Envy to save
Ed again.
"Hmm?" Ed lifted his head off the back of the couch. "You finally let go?"

Ling rubbed his aching chest. "The pain in my chest in no longer numbed."

"That sucks." Ed mumbled. "My pain isn't numb either."

"Well, you were just slammed into a platform and broke your arm. I'm not
surprised you don't feel well." Ling muttered.

Envy opened his mouth wide and Ed was limply dragged inside of it
before Envy snapped his teeth shut.

Ling reappeared on screen, one eye open in shock. "Ed! No!"

"Reunion"

"That was certainly a way to begin the episode." Brody said darkly.

"Were you just eaten again?" Al shouted in shock and fear.

Ling whipped his head around to look at Ed. "Ed? How do you feel?"

"Like I've been slammed into the road then run over." Ed muttered
sarcastically.

"Well, I've just been given a huge shock myself!" Ling retorted. "I just
watched my best friend get eaten by a monster and I couldn't stop it because
of my ribs!"

"Eh…Sorry, Ling." Ed mumbled.

Ling sighed and leaned back into the couch, staring at Ed, who was waking
up from his dazed state a bit finally. Did Ed really just die by being eaten by
Envy? Or was he still alive somehow?

A support beam being lifted by a lift appeared on screen. "Steady…

Steady..." A worker's voice said.

"What the hell?" Mustang shouted.

"What about my brother?" Al asked worriedly. "I want to see that he is
alright!"

"Wasn't I just eaten?" Ed asked blankly.

"You were swallowed whole." Riza pointed out. "You could be fine."

"Except for the fact that I'm inside Envy." Ed said disgusted.

"Well, yes, except for that." Riza said.

A picture of Xiao-Mei appeared on screen. "Oh, this little cat?"

"She is a panda bear!" May shouted.

"I think your panda bear is going to be mistaken for a cat a lot so you should
get used to it." Havoc told her.

"Are you guys blind or something? Xiao-Mei is obviously a panda bear!"

May protested. "Ed realized that so why doesn't anyone else?"

"Because not everyone is a genius like Fullmetal." Mustang said sarcastically.

"Who's a genius?" Ed mumbled, rubbing his aching flesh forearm.

"You are apparently." Ling informed him.

"Is that so?" Ed asked.

"Yes, it is so." Ling said.

"I hate being called things like genius and prodigy." Ed grumbled.

Al bit down a reply when he heard the exchange. It was none of his concern
what those two discussed. Instead he said, "Actually, as much as he denies it,
Brother does like little animals, even cats, which is why he can tell the
difference between a cat and panda bear."

"W-What?" Ed shouted, blushing a bit. "I do not!"

"Oooh, what's this? The badass youngest State Alchemist out there actually
has a soft heart?" Havoc teased.

"No!"

"Really?" Al asked slyly. "Because I seem to recall a certain older brother of

mine who used to bring cats into the house when it was storming outside and
beg mom to let it stay until the weather cleared up at least since she never let
you keep them."

Ed's eyes widened a bit, though it was hard to notice. "YOU! It was one time,
Al, and you were supposed to be taking a nap then anyway!"

"You're right." Al replied teasingly. "The second time it was a puppy."

"Really?" Ling turned a grin to Ed.

"Shut up, Ling." Ed hissed, blushing deeply now.

"Awww, I think it's very sweet, Ed." May said, smiling brightly.

Ed groaned.

Mustang snickered. "Well, Fullmetal, it is always interesting to learn

something new."

"It…Al…animals….not nice…." Ed mumbled incoherently to himself in

slight shock.

The scene pulled out to show a worker and May. "Yeah, I saw one that
looked just like it by the factory earlier. I thought it seemed like a weird
pet for a guy in a suit of armor to have."

"It is not weird!" Al protested. "Anyone can like little animals!"

"Face it, Al. You just have a scary reputation." Ed teased, shifting a bit on the
couch as his pain started to die down a bit.

Al felt himself brightened up a bit with Ed teasing him again. "People really
shouldn't judge people by appearances though, Brother. I mean, you are
scarier then I could ever be, and yet everyone expects me to be mean and
scary and you to be the kind one."

"What?" Ed hissed. "Who thinks that? That will ruin my reputation!"

"Relax, Fullmetal. I don't think anyone makes that mistake anymore, and if
they do, they learn quickly not to make it." Mustang informed him dryly.

"Humph, they better learn."

May appeared on screen, looking worried. "Armor?" She asked

surprised. She then screamed in shock. "That thing we fought?!" A
scary demon Al and Ed who were laughing appeared on screen.

"Hey! I feel offended!" Al said.

"As do I." Ed grumbled.

"You….certainly have a wild imagination, May." Lan Fan said.

"It's not like Brother is any better at times. You should see some of the crazy
things he thinks of." Al said, making May chuckle and smile at him.

Ed turned to look at Ling. "I really feel offended right now."

"Elric brother telepathy." Ling replied dryly without looking at him.

Ed's head dropped into a dejected state. "You're not going to let that go, are
you?"

Ling smirked. "No."

A fence with barbed wire on it was shown as May said, "That suit of
armor's gonna pay, big time!" May was shown to be walking in an
exaggerated way with Scar following her. "He stole Xiao-Mei from me!
Kidnapped her! That creep!"

"I did not! I found her after you lost her after the fight!" Al protested. "I
would never kidnap someone's pet. That's horrible!"

"I know that now. Sorry, Al!" May apologized. "You are a really kind
person."

"Thank you." Al replied.

"May is so strange." Ed mumbled.

"Well, she is the youngest here and she still acts like her age, unlike the rest
of us." Ling pointed out.

"Says the guy who constantly fools around and jokes." Ed retorted quietly.

"Says the guy who always banters with me and yells when people call him
short." Ling retorted just as quietly.

Ed paused for a moment, thinking. "…Well, what can I say? It's fun. The
bantering, not the ranting."

"I agree." Ling replied. "Though, your ranting is amusing as well."

"Did you call me your best friend earlier?" Ed asked suddenly.

Ling shrugged. "Perhaps."

"Huh."

"Problem is though, if you get eaten, I'm losing my best friend." Ling hissed
at him.

"Uh…"

"What? No reply?" Ling asked.

"Sorry?" Ed said.

Ling sighed. "Don't make it sound like a question!"

"I don't know what you want from me right now!" Ed said.

"I want you to wake up." Ling said.

"It's my future self!" Ed exclaimed.

May suddenly paused and backed up a few steps to look at something.

Scar looked down the alley she was looking in. The scene showed Al and
Gluttony standing there. It slowly zoomed in to show Xiao-Mei on Al's
shoulder. "That's her! Xiao-Mei!" She started to shout and run forward
until Scar put a hand in front of her to stop her.

"Hold it." Scar said. May stopped and looked up at him. The scene
moved to show Scar's face. "You see that fat one?" Gluttony was shown
to be opening a gate in a wall of a building before he turned to Al. "I
overheard them call him a Homunculus."

"Oh yeah, you were right there when we were capturing him." Edward said.
"I guess that word has grabbed your attention?"

"They did attack me in the sewers. I would be curious about it after being
attacked by them multiple times." Scar replied. "And why they weren't
dying."

"Makes sense. That would concern me as well if I thought I killed one of

them then they suddenly appeared to attack me again!" Edward replied.

"You don't kill." Hughes pointed out.

Ed's brow twitched. "I said if! It's hypothetical!"

"A homunculus?" May asked.

Scar was shown to be leaning against a wall and looking down the alley
with May standing in front of him. "He has the power to recover from
any type of injury. He's practically immortal."

"Well, that will certainly grab May's attention." Ed said.

"The way you two are acting, are you going to secretly follow us?" Al asked.

"It looks that way." May said.

"It does seem suspicious what you two are doing." Scar told him. "You're not
with your brother and are now traveling with a Homunculus. It does seem
strange."

"He is?" May asked, raising her tiny fists to her chest. "That's even more
reason for us to go after them!"

"I know you really want his secret, but perhaps you should think of the
consequences first, May." Ed said.

"What consequences? I can finally save my clan!" May said.

Ed sighed. "Scar just said he can heal from any type of injury. How do you
plan on capturing or getting his secret? You can't just take their stones since it
is their core. Plus, you have no idea of where Al and him are going. You're
just rushing into this. You need to make a plan or investigate, or you might
just end up dying here."

"I would say it is strange to hear that from you of all people, but we did see
you plan with Al, Ling, and Lan Fan to capture Gluttony." Avery said.

"It's because he's learned." Mustang said dryly. "He did just jump into a lot of
things when he first became a State Alchemist, but he's learned over the years
to make plans."

"You're missing my point." Scar said as Gluttony entered the door with
Al following him. "I don't know if we can stop him." The end of the alley
was shown and May ran into it.

"You're being reckless." Hughes said.

"Hughes, all of these kids are reckless." Mustang told him. "Which is why
they always end up hurt!"

"Says the Colonel who ended up in the hospital after getting stabbed in the
side." Ed retorted.

"At least I don't get hurt as much as you." Mustang snapped at him.

"Oh, a few emergencies visits to the hospital…." Ed grumbled.

"Only a few?" Ling asked.

Ed shot him a glare. "Yes, only a few. I was trained well and I do practice!"

Ling raised a brow.

"And in those times where I can't handle it alone, Al has my back, so it is

only a few." Ed said.

Scar stepped away from the wall and watched May. 'What's the armored
boy doing with him?'

"I'm not working with them!" Al cried. "So don't think that."

"There's not much else he could be thinking when you are walking with
Gluttony willingly." Havoc pointed out.

"How about there is something wrong?" Al cried. "I mean, my brother isn't
with me. Doesn't that just say something is wrong?"

Scar and May were shown to be in the doorway where Al and Gluttony
disappeared into, standing at the top of some stairs. "Is something
wrong?"

"Yes." Al said. "My brother is missing!"

"So is the Young Lord." Lan Fan added.

"And Xiao-Mei!" May cried.

"I think he meant with May's shivering." Ed said dryly. "And plus, May, you
found Xiao-Mei. You just don't have her back yet."
"And until I have her back, she is classified as missing!" May cried.

Ed blinked, taken aback a bit. "Alrighty then, you nutcases."

May had a hand to her mouth and was shivering a bit as she looked
down the stairs in horror. "This place...it's strange...I could feel there
was something wrong with this country since I got here."

Scar was shown, eyes narrowing slightly.

"With the country?" Hughes said confused.

"Since I haven't actually arrived in Amestris, I cannot tell you what it is that I
mean." May told him.

"If you were to guess?" Mustang asked.

May looked down, shaking her head. "I do not really understand too much
yet. All we really know are the Homunculi and this Father guy. I do not see
how they would make the country feel weird though. I'm sorry. I don't know
the answer."

"Don't worry too much about it, May." Ed said, stretching his arms above his
arms, grimacing a bit from the lingering pain in his body. "We'll found out
soon enough."

May nodded.

May's feet were shown. "But this place...It's the source of it...Can you
feel those things? Crawling beneath us?"

"I think you're the only one there who can sense anything, May." Al said,
shivering a bit. "And if you can sense them crawling around, I don't really
want to be able to sense them."

"Even if it might be a creepy feeling to sense those things, it would still be

helpful." Ed told his brother.

The staircase was shown, half shadowed in darkness. The scene started
to move slowly down the stairs.

Gluttony appeared on screen with Al following him. Xiao-Mei was shown

to be shivering on his shoulder. Al turned his head slightly to look at her.
"What's the matter?" He lifted a finger to her. "Are you cold?"

"More like scared." Ling said.

"Can she sense those things to?" Al asked

May nodded. "So I am not the only one there, Al."

"Sorry, May. I didn't know Xiao-Mei learned to read the Dragon's Pulse too."
Al replied.

Al rubbed her cheek. "It's okay." Xiao-Mei latched onto his finger.

Gluttony was shown at the end of the hallway to be waving to Al. "This
way." He said before he went left.

Al and Xiao-Mei shared a look.

"Did my brother just share a look with an animal?" Ed whispered to Ling.

"He did." Ling replied.

Ed almost whacked his forehead at that. "He and May were made for each
other."

"Some people just really like animals and find them to be worthy companions
and partners." Ling said with a shrug.

Sighing, Ed just asked, "How are you feeling?"

Ling raised a brow. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that? You have been
taking more of a beating then me."

Ed shot him an annoyed look.

"I have become numb to my pain, but I have a feeling that won't be the case
when I reappear on screen." Ling replied.

Ed nodded. "Same here."

"You'll probably have it worse." Ling said.

Ed rubbed his head. "Probably."

Al started following him again.

The scene changed to show Al and Gluttony standing in a tunnel.

"Woah." Al said, moving around a bit. "I didn't know there were tunnels
like this under Central." Hearing a crunching sound, Al looked down. A
bone skull flashed onto screen, spooking Al and making Xiao-Mei cry
out in fear. Al looked around again to see himself surrounded by bones.

"What's with all the bones?" May asked shocked.

"Eh, I would say Gluttony did it, but he eats his victims' bones and
everything." Ed said. "Then again, can it even be called eating? He seems to
just swallow them and they suffer until they die in his fake portal of truth."

"Fullmetal, really, shut up." Mustang said.

"I was just asking."

"You already seem to know everything or to have a very good guess to things
that are going to happen, so you don't need to ask anything!" Mustang said.

"Well," Ed huffed.

Al ran over to Gluttony. "Hey! What's with all that?"

"So, I'm guessing Gluttony is the easiest Homunculi to talk to." Brody asked.

"Eh…" Al said. "I guess so."

Gluttony stopped. "Huh?" He looked back at Al. "Oh. The gatekeepers
did all that."

"And, of course, he is so casual about it." Jerso said.

Al put his hands down and asked confused, "The gatekeepers?"

"They won't rip you up as long as you're with me." Gluttony said as he
started walking again.

"Well, no wonder he's not concerned." Havoc said.

"Yeah, if the Homunculi go through there all the time, what do they care?"
Zampano asked.

"Kind of makes you think about all those poor people who were devoured
down there because they had no idea it was dangerous." Ed mumbled.

"Poor guys." May whispered.

Al looked up to see a wired roof there and a bunch of growling creatures

with glowing red eyes looking down on him.

"Eh, well, that is disturbing." Karin said.

"And scary." Sheska said.

As soft, gentle music began, Xiao-Mei held onto Al tighter. "Just pretend
they aren't there." He said before he started walking again.

Al was shown following Gluttony as he asked, "Do we have much

further?"

Gluttony said, "Not too far. It's just ahead now."

Al was shown close up. "You said your father made you. Does he know
what happens to the people you swallow?"

Gluttony's grinning face was shown with Al still seen behind him. "I'm
sure he does. Father knows everything!"

"He sure is confident." Heinkel sneered.

"No one can know everything." Darius said.

Ed smirked. "You got that right. If this Father guy knew everything, he
wouldn't have failed in making his own portal of truth."

"And that is another very good point from the Chief." Havoc said with a
mocking annoyed sigh. "You seem to have a lot of good points and insight,
Chief. Guess that is why they call you a genius."

Ed scowled a bit at that, though no one really seemed to notice, except Ling
since he was the only one looking at Ed.

Al's face was shown again.'Brother, I know you're still alive. Just hang
on.' He finished his thoughts as the screen went black.

"Is he?" Mustang asked, frowning. "He was just swallowed by Envy."

"And he did pretty much give up." Hughes said darkly.

"You forget that this is Edward." Riza said. "He did give up and saw death
coming, but the same thing happen in the Fifth Lab. He saw it coming, got
scared, and woke up and found a way to save himself. Perhaps, he will do
that here. After all, like with Gluttony, he is being swallowed whole."

"That's pretty much the only hope he has left." Mustang said darkly, hands
clenching on his legs. That brat had better snap out of it! No one else was
allowed to die.

The slimy brown bodies appeared on screen, flowing gently like a river.
Ed's unconscious body was shown to be traveling with them.

"Are you still out of it?" Mustang snapped. "You need to wake up now!"

"Eh? I see you're as demanding as ever." Hughes said.

Mustang shot him an annoyed look. "I am not demanding! He's just being a
reckless brat!"

Hughes turned around, ginning. "Don't listen to his rude tone, Ed. He's just
concerned." He whispered in a stage-whisper. The grin wiped off his face
though.

"Don't put words in my mouth!" Mustang snapped at his friend.

"Ed? You okay?" Hughes asked worriedly, ignoring his friend.

Grimacing, Ed opened his eyes and forced a smile to his face. "I'm fine,
Hughes. I just forgot how much pain was running through my body."

"Ah, the pain factor has struck again." Hughes said, though he did realize that
Ed was in a lot more pain then he admitted. Hughes felt it when he died. That
pain factor really did hurt a lot.

"Liar." Ling muttered when Hughes turned around as Ed dropped his head to
the back of the couch again. When Ed turned his eyes to him, Ling frowned.

"I didn't lie, Ling. I really did forget how much pain was running through my
body." Ed replied.

"Not about that." Ling hissed. "Mentally, Ed."

Ed scowled at him.

"You're upset about those souls in Envy." Ling muttered.

"And why wouldn't I be?" Ed snapped quietly. "They are suffering so much
and now Envy is using them like that! It hurts to hear all those voices, kids
and adults, in that pain and just wanting to die because nothing can save
them."

"I know you don't like killing, but if you realize they are in pain and can't be
saved, why can't you kill them?" Ling asked softly. "You think killing is
inhuman, but sometimes, killing is the most humane thing to do. Leaving
them to suffer like this, it is the inhuman thing to do, Ed."
Grimacing and not replying to that, Ed looked at the screen again.

Some of the flowing brown bodies were shown before Ed's face appeared
on screen. A light accompanied by a strange whistling sound started to
light up Ed's face, getting brighter and brighter until one of Ed's eyes
opened a bit.

"Oh, sure! That wakes you up!" Havoc exclaimed. "But the annoying
grumbling from those creepy bodies doesn't?"

"Have you ever tried to sleep with a light shining in your face? It's not easy to
ignore!" Ed protested.

"I can't believe you're discussing that!" Ling snapped. "You are inside Envy,
probably about to die."

Ed frowned. "Ling?"

"Sorry, Ed." Ling mumbled. "I'm just worried and mad that I couldn't do
anything because of my injuries."

"Over-protective prince." Ed snorted. "That is certainly a strange one."

"Please," Ling retorted. "Like you're not protective of your friends either."

"Fair enough."

The scene moved to show it from Ed's perspective. The screen slowly
moved up to show the creepy bodies connected to a red stone. 'What is
that? It looks like….a red stone.' Ed's face was shown. His mouth hung
open a bit and only one of his eyes was cracked open a bit. 'It's his
core...A Philosopher's Stone. I almost forgot.' Ed's flesh hand was shown
to be limply stretched out towards the stone. 'After all my searching' Ed's
face was shown. 'It's right here…' His eye closed again. 'in front of me...'

"Not again!" Havoc shouted. "Wake up and stay awake!"

"Argh! Stop yelling, please!" Ed shouted before groaning and rubbing his
aching chest with his automail hand since his flesh arm was in a lot of pain as
well.

"If you die here, I will yell a lot more then this." Havoc hissed at him.

Taken aback, Ed shut up and looked at the screen again.

"Strange reaction." Ling muttered to him.

"Oh, shut up." Ed mumbled.

A picture of the destroyed part of a stone array Ed saw earlier flashed on

screen real quick before Ed's face was back on screen.

The stone array he saw in Xerxes appeared next before Ed's closed eye
was shown. His eye opened in shock.

"There! I am awake for sure now!" Ed shouted before groaning and leaning
back into the couch.

"Do you know what you realized?" Ling asked.

Ed mumbled something under his breath.

"WHAT?" Ling shouted in surprise. "Did you really?"

"Did he what?" Al asked quickly.

Ling looked up sheepishly. "Oh, you guys heard that? I meant to whisper
that."

Ed snorted. "And here I thought you were good at whispering."

"What'd you realize?" Izumi demanded.

"Oh, I think I know how to get out of there." Ed said.

"How?" Izumi asked curiously.

"Just watch." Ed said.

"Why can't you just tell us what your idea is?" Izumi demanded.

Ed shrugged. "The idea will get us out of there, but I really don't like the idea.
I just don't want to do it, at least not here. This place is not where I planned to
do it again."

"Do what? And again?" Ling demanded. "It won't kill you, will it?"

Al whipped his head around to stare at his brother in horror. He wouldn't

sacrifice himself to get Ling out, would he?

"What? Of course not!" Ed paused, frowning. "There is a chance, I might not

make it back if the idea I have is what my future self does. But it's only a
chance."

"But it's still there!" Al said.

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but the chance is always there when we do something

dangerous."

"Is it the only way out?" Mustang asked.

Ed stared at the back of Mustang's head in shock. He wasn't going to

reprimand him for thinking of reckless moves? He nodded, though Mustang
couldn't see it. "Yes, the only way. You could say, it's the back door out of
the place."

Mustang nodded. "If it's the only way, then you'll have to take the risk."

Ed gasped.

Envy's closed mouth was shown before Ed slammed his foot out of it by
kicking one of Envy's teeth out.

"And now you are back!" Hughes shouted excitedly, laughing a bit. "I can't
believe you knocked his tooth out."

"I'm back?" Ed scoffed. "I didn't go anyway!"

"Losing yourself in your fear like that meant that you went somewhere."
Brody retorted. "You weren't being your strong, dramatic self anymore!"

"I'm so sorry." Ed said sarcastically. "I'll be sure not to do that again."

Envy's eye was shown, widening a bit.

Ling was shown, gasping in shock.

"I'm surprised. I'm not shocked that I am surprised." Ling said.

"First you want me to wake up! And now you're shocked that I'm awake and
kicking Envy's teeth out! Make up your mind, man!" Ed exclaimed.

"I want you alive, Ed. I'm just surprised is all." Ling said.

"Uh-huh." Ed muttered unconvinced.

The scene turned and pulled out to show Envy with Ed waving his leg
around out of his mouth. "Open up, Envy! Your breath is killing me!"

"Yeah, Fullmetal is definitely back to his normal, sarcastic, rude self."

Mustang said dryly.

"That is normal?" Lan Fan asked.

"For him at least." Mustang replied.

Ed was shown inside of Envy's mouth. "I think I've got a way to get us
out of here."

Envy's face was show.

Ling was shown, gasping.

"That certainly grabbed his attention." Ed said.

"I guess even a Homunculus hates being trapped like that." Ling said.
"Probably be worse for him since he has to die so many times before he could
truly be dead in there." Ed added, smirking. "It sure would be hell for him."

"Too bad we can't leave him there." Ling said. "We can't very well make an
attempt to escape without him trying to kill us."

Ed sighed. "Yeah, and besides, we kind of need his help to get out of there."

"We do?" Ling asked.

Ed nodded.

The scene moved to show them from above. "Come on, Envy!" Ed
shouted. "Let me out!"

Dramatic music started as the scene changed to show a bunch of

chimeras charging.

"At least we know Ed is alive this time before the scene changes." Riza said.

"And that he finally has a plan." Ross added.

"Finally?" Ed asked, frowning. "What? Were you all expecting me to

suddenly come back and with a plan?!"

"A bit." Brosh admitted.

"It seems to be what you usually do." Hughes added, though not admitting
that he was really scared there for a moment that Ed had finally given up and
was going to die. And he knew he wasn't the only one feeling that fear when
Ed was eaten by Envy. They all were, which is why they were expecting Ed
to come back suddenly with a plan. It would mean they were foolish to worry
about him and could hit themselves later if they felt worry. Right, Ed always
had a plan. He had too. He would never die. Their worry for him was
pointless. It had to be.

May appeared on screen, slamming her elbow into one of them.

Scar was shown next, slamming his hand into the head of one. There was
a flash of blue alchemical light before the head exploded.

The scene pulled out a bit to show Scar as the creature fell and another
suddenly appeared behind him.

May was shown throwing a kunai which then stabbed the chimera in the
head. As it fell back, Scar was shown taking care of another with his
destructive alchemy.

"You two work really well together." Ed said, sitting up straighter and
rubbing his arm, trying to get the pain to go way faster. "You both really have
each other's back here."

May smiled. "Thank you, Ed!"

"You practice a special type of martial arts, right, May?" Ed asked.

May nodded. "Yes. It doesn't use Alkahestry, though sometimes during

training I try to incorporate my Alkahestry into it to make it easier for me to
know what to do when I'm fighting." She paused for a moment before
grinning. "You and Ling make a great tag team too, Ed! It could use a bit of
work, but you both seem to be careful about watching the other's back and if
you didn't freeze in that fight, it would have been an amazing fight to watch."

Ed blinked for a moment, scowling a bit. Right, he froze in the middle of a

fight! Damn it, he wasn't supposed to do that. And everyone saw it too!
Shrugging it off, he smiled. "Thanks, I guess."

Ling chuckled before he shifted a bit uncomfortably from feeling himself

being glared at. Looking around, he spotted Al's red eyes just staring coldly at
him. He frowned at that and when Al saw, he turned away. Ling looked at
Ed, but he didn't seem to notice, distracted with May's words. Looking back
at Al, Ling's brows furrowed. Did he do something to annoy Al?

When the chimera fell, the scene pulled out to show May behind Scar.
She turned halfway around. "What are these things?" She asked.

Scar looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "They're known as
Chimeras."

"You don't have them in Xing?" Al asked.

May shook her head. "No. Alkahestry would never be used to produce
something so vile."

"Well, it does sound a lot cleaner then Alchemy then." Edward said.

Scar turned around when he heard growling to see a three headed

chimera coming at them. May was shown, throwing kunai that slammed
into one of the heads. Then her hands were shown to be pressing into an
array on the ground. Blue alchemical light flashed around the array
before the screen zoomed up to show the same happening on the array
on the chimera's head. It growled before its head exploded.

"Argh, it's just like Scar's alchemy." Luke said.

"Are you copying Scar?" Ed asked, frowning.

"Fullmetal, you copied Scar earlier." Mustang pointed out. "In a life or death
situation like this, or like yours in the lab, that destructive alchemy can be
very useful."

"Are you defending it?" Ed asked shocked, but was ignored.

"Plus," May piped up. "I don't think I am using it the same way as Scar. I
think the most I could do with that destructive alchemy is severely injure, not
blow someone's head up."

Scar's hand was shown before he was seen to be charging at the chimera.
He grabbed the injured dog's head. There was a harsh flash of the blue
alchemical light as the dog's whole head exploded and blood splashed all
around. Scar's uncaring face was shown as a loud thud was heard. He
stood up straight and turned around. The scene pulled out to show a
mutilated chimera behind May and Scar, who were looking at a whole
group of more approaching them.

"Damn, you're already killed so many and there's still more?" Ed muttered.
"Who made them all?"

"I'm betting it was this Father guy." Hughes said.

"Hmm, well I bet some crazed State Alchemists or some other alchemists
made them and they were taken to here." Ed said.

Hughes shrugged. "To each his own, I guess. They could have come from
anyway. I doubt we'll ever know the answer to that one."

Scar's face was shown. "There's no end to them."

May's soft, scared voice said, "It's stronger here." Scar turned his head
to look at her. May was shown to be shivering. "The feeling..." The
ground was shown. "There's something evil beneath us."

"That just means you are closer to finding him." Al said.

"Good or bad?" May asked.

"I say it's good in a sense." Ed said. "I mean, Scar has no problem with Al,
only me. With you two there, it gives him two more allies in case things go
wrong. It's bad because we don't know how strong this father guy is and he
could kill you two since he has no use for you. Plus, you have Gluttony there
as well. At least Scar could probably handle him. The father guy though…"

"At least none of us are alone." May decided.

"Is it more chimera?" Scar asked.

"No, it's worse." May was shown putting a hand to her mouth with tears
in her eyes. "Are those...people?"

"People?" Sheska asked.

"It's a stone." Ed said, running a hand through his bangs. "She is feeling a
stone would be my guess. If his Homunculi all have a stone as a core, then it
would make sense this Father guy has one as well. I guess those stones have a
horrible feeling in them if it is upsetting May this much."
"You think so?" Ling asked. "Lan Fan, old man Fu, and I have been fine."

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but you guys are older then May and are used to dealing
with horrible things. And you guys have been running around with Al and me
a lot. You sensed something was wrong with Al and barely reacted to it! I
don't know." Ed sighed. "Perhaps May is more sensitive to it then you guys."

"I guess that could make sense. She does practice Alkahestry, which means
she focuses more with the Dragon's Pulse." Ling agreed, frowning.

Al and Gluttony appeared on. "Father can make anything. He made all
of us he did!" Gluttony said. He brought his arms to his chest and rocked
sideways a bit as he added, "He made me and Lust! And he made
Envy!"

"Nice to know we were right about that part." Mustang said.

"Well, who else could have made them?" Ed asked, sighing as he continued
to rub his arm. He had no idea a broken arm hurt this badly. "I'm more
curious about Bradley then the rest of the Homunculi anyway."

"Because he is aging?" Ling asked.

Ed nodded. "It really shouldn't be possible and I want to know how he did it."

"Why?"

"I'm curious, that's why!" Ed shouted.

Al was shown.

The scene changed to show a bunch of pipes on a ceiling as the sound of

something heavy being turned was heard. A wall filled with gears with
pillars in front of them was shown next.

The ground which had pipes all over it that led to the center of the room
was shown. "The gatekeepers seem to have grown restless." Father's
voice said. The man sitting in the chair was shown close up, but the top
half of his face was shadowed. "Someone's come to find me."
"Does he sound amused?" Armstrong asked.

"As amused as this guy could possibly sound." Mustang sneered.

Hughes's eyes narrowed at the picture of Father on screen. He could only see
part of his face, but even just that part of him seemed familiar. Perhaps it was
the beard, though the color of it was a bit lighter than his and the voice wasn't
right.

A group of crying babies appeared on screen.

"What the hell?" Ed asked.

"This is certainly different." Hughes said.

"It's crying babies! What does this have to do with anything?" Ed shouted.

"I have no memory of my parents' faces or their names." Bradley's

voiceover said.

A little baby that was Bradley was shown.

"In fact, I don't even remember my own name. For all I know, I might
have been abandoned or sold before I even had one."

"That is pretty sad." Ross said.

"Who cares about that?" Ed said and when he was shot glares by the girls, he
amended, "No matter how sad it is. I think this is Bradley's past! I wonder if
we will see how he became a Homunculus."

"That's all you care about, isn't it?" Riza asked with a sigh.

"I can't feel sorry for every baby and child that's had a rotten childhood! It's
nothing new." Ed growled. "Nothing new, especially with all the wars and
other junk happening around the world."

A room appeared on screen with all the babies now kids. They were
sitting straight in chairs with a group of scientists in front of them.
"Now which one of you will be the one to step forward and lead this
country?" A scientist asked as Bradley was shown to be sitting in one of
the chairs.

"They trained those kids since they were born to be the Fuhrer?" Mustang
asked angrily.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "That kid is Bradley, I know it. Which mean," His eyes
widened. "Was Bradley turned into a Homunculus?"

"What do you mean turned into one?" Ling asked.

"I'm not sure how it is possible, but since it's Bradley speaking, this is his past
so that kid is definitely Bradley. And he is human right now since he doesn't
have the tattoo yet. It seems they were trained to be the Fuhrer, but also to
become the Homunculus that would be the Fuhrer." Ed said before glancing
at Ling. "That's my guess anyway. The thing is, I don't know how you would
change a human into a Homunculus. It's hard enough just making one."

"How do you make one?" Ling asked.

"That's another thing! I barely understand that. I mean, we all know what
they are, but making them…that's another thing. I read something about
creating one in Hohenheim's books, but it was quite hard to understand." Ed
shrugged. "I would have to research it a bit more if I ever wanted to make
one, not that I do."

The scientist stopped in front of Bradley and bent over a bit, showing his
grinning face and the fact that he had a gold tooth. "How about you?"

"Who has a gold tooth? Honestly." Hughes scoffed.

"Where would you even get one?" Al asked.

"Why would you want one? It seems like it would be rather uncomfortable,
especially considering that fact that the gold would weigh a lot more then his
other teeth." Edward added, frowning. "All that weight would be annoying."

"They called us prospective Fuhrers." Bradley's voice said. "And they

trained us to be leaders."

The kids were shown to be in a classroom with a teacher in front of a

board.

"Sounds like a horrible childhood." Havoc said.

"They kept us confined together and they taught us at all times of the day
and night."

"Definitely a hellish childhood." Ed agreed with Havoc.

"How did no one realize this was happening?" Hughes demanded.

"Considering no one knew about the Homunculi or this Father guy running
things in the background, I'm not surprised no one knew about this." General
Armstrong said.

Ed grimaced. "I can't believe they had scientists helping them with it."

Kid Bradley was shown.

"We studied political science and humanities."

The boys were shown as teenagers, fighting against a partner.

"As well as martial arts, firearms, and of course, swordsmanship."

Two blades appeared on screen, crossing each other.

"Learning from childhood, it's no wonder that Bradley is so adept at it." Ling
said.

"But his Ultimate Eye does help him cheat a bit." Ed pointed out. "If he didn't
have that, I would love to see a fight between you and him."

Ling smiled a bit at Ed. "I have to admit, even without that eye, I'm not sure
if I could beat Bradley. He has a lot more battle experience then me."
"Still be an interesting fight, considering your different fighting styles."

Ling nodded. "Yes, he would definitely be a worthy opponent."

The scene pulled out to show teen Bradley hitting his opponent's sword
multiple times, never giving him the chance to recover. His face was
shown close up as he parried attacks and attacked himself. Eventually,
he stabbed his opponent in the shoulder, causing him to stop in surprise.

"Gruesome, and this was just training?" May asked.

"No wonder he is so good." Ed said. "Injuring one's opponent in training

seemed to be the point."

"And the best of all of them was chosen?" Al asked.

"Course. They can't have their Homunculus dying on the battlefield." Ed

sneered. "They need him."

"And it would create too many questions if he died on the battlefield and then
was seen alive?" Fu asked.

Ed paused, frowning as he thought. "Bradley was once human, still is, I

believe. Since I don't know how he became a Homunculus, I don't have much
information on this so it's just guessing right now. Even though he is a
Homunculus, he should still have a heart, considering his human nature. That
makes him different from the other Homunculi. Being human once before,
how does that affect his now being a Homunculus? Does he have the same
regenerative abilities as the others? Can he die and come back? We've never
actually seen him injured so we can't know."

"Future me also mentioned that Bradley doesn't have the same inhuman
feeling that the others have and he does age. It's no wonder no one noticed
anything wrong. He fits right in." Ling said with a frown. "And if his injuries
don't heal by themselves, no one would really be suspicious."

Ed sighed. "Bradley will be a pain to deal with, that's for sure."

His opponent was shown lying on the ground, groaning from his injury.
Bradley lowered his sword and stared down at him.

A hand landed on Bradley's shoulder, surprising him and making him

look at the scientist there. "Don't worry. His only true purpose in life
was to help you further achieve your goal."

"What?" Mustang sneered. "That logic is so messed up!"

"In case you didn't realize, Colonel, this whole thing is messed up!" Ed said.

"I know that, Fullmetal!" Mustang sighed. "I wonder what happened to all the
candidates who didn't get chosen to be Fuhrer."

"Probably killed." Ling said.

"Why do you say that?" Ed asked.

"Because, as we've seen, these guys have no problem killing people to reach
their goal!" Ling said. "And just letting those guys leave after they picked
Bradley would kind of have people who know about the 'training someone to
be Fuhrer thing' in the real world and they can't have that."

Ed nodded. "Makes sense."

Bradley looked down coldly at his opponent.

"I was certain that I would be the one chosen to lead this country." The
boys lined up as adults appeared on screen. "I firmly believed it and I
endured any training to make it so."

A roof with pipes on it was shown as flashing red light was seen in the
corner of the screen and painful screams were heard.

A bloody hand fell limply onto a table.

"And this is?" Havoc asked.

"Horrible training?" Brody asked.

"Killing someone?" Luke suggested.

Ed grimaced. "Turning someone into a Homunculus." When everyone looked

at him strangely, Ed shrugged. "What? It has to happen at some point. We
don't know how it is done so it could happen at any point."

"But would it be so painful to have so much screaming?" Fu asked.

"You're being turned into a Homunculus! Homunculi and humans are similar
in design, but they are also very different. The structure of a Homunculus is
different enough that I wouldn't be surprised if being turned into one was
horribly painful." Ed said.

From the blood, dropped a stone that hit the ground.

"Did a Philosopher's Stone just come out of his blood?" Dr. Marcoh asked
shocked.

"It did." Mustang said blankly.

"So, Mini-Boss was right?" Havoc asked.

Ed's eye twitched. "Did you just call me MINI-BOSS?" He yelled angrily. "I
AM NOT SHORT, HAVOC!"

"You're pretty short, Ed." Ling said.

Ed shot him a glare. "Who asked you, Ling?"

"I'm just saying, Ed. You're even shorter then me!" Ling said.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen." Ling said.

"What? You're the same age as me?" Ed shouted, glaring at his friend.

"Yeah." Ling said.

Ed growled. "Unbelievable."

"You're just short." Ling said, grinning.

"Damn it, Ling! Shut up! I am not short!" Ed shouted.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

Lan Fan put a hand to her face. Were her master and Ed really arguing about
that like children?

"Would you two shut up?" Mustang asked.

The two boys shot him a look before looking back at each other. "Fine." They
grumbled, still staring at each other, neither noticing that Al looked at them
then away.

"You're still short." Ling said.

"LING!" Ed screamed, grabbing his friend by his shirt and shaking him.

Ling laughed, which is the only thing that saved Ed from Lan Fan's and Fu's
wrath. He grabbed Ed's hands in a surprisingly, to Ed at least, strong grip and
pulled his hands off of his shirt. Ed hissed at the grip on his already hurting
left arm.

"You're so easy to anger." Ling said, grinning.

Ed rolled his eyes. He frowned for a moment in thought. "Curses." He

muttered. "What were we even discussing before this?"

"Before your height became an issue?" Ling teased.

"You're pushing it, Ling." Ed snapped at him, glancing down at his wrists
which were still trapped in Ling's hands. "Yes, before that."

"You were right about the Homunculus thing." Havoc told him.

"Oh, yeah, that." Ed said, still glaring at Ling, who just grinned.

"You should be happy about being right, not still annoyed with me." Ling
told him.

Ed rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't be the first time I was right about something,
Ling. And you're haven't let my arms go yet. I'm annoyed!"

"Oh, whoops." Ling said, releasing him.

"Yeah, whoops." Ed replied sarcastically, rubbing his aching left wrist.

"How disappointing. Another failure." A voice said as tweezers and a

glass tray appeared on screen to push the stone onto the glass tray.

"Another failure?" Brody asked, frowning. "What does that mean?"

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.

Ed raised a brow, looking away from Ling to look at him. "Why are you
asking me?"

"All of your guesses so far have been correct. What's your guess for this?"
Mustang asked.

"So because I'm good at guessing what is going to happen, I should just have
the answer you're looking for?" Ed sneered.

"Yes." Ling said.

Ed shot him a glare. "You shut up already." He looked back at Mustang. "If I
had to guess, Colonel, I say they are trying to make others into the
Homunculus Wrath before Bradley, but it keeps failing. It could be failing
because of many reasons. One being that they just can't survive the painful
transformation into a Homunculus. Another being the power of the stone was
simply too much for them."

"You do always seem to have an answer." Ling told him.

Ed sighed. "Ling, seriously, shut up."

"Bring the next."

A door opened and Bradley was standing there with some scientists. One
put a hand on his shoulder as Bradley stared in surprise.

"Go ahead and lie down." A scientist said as he put a clean mat over the
table.

"You said something about failed experiments earlier, Ed." Hughes said.

"What's your point?" Ed asked.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking about how Bradley is a successful human

experiment and he is highly dangerous." Hughes said.

"I never said anything about the successful ones not being dangerous, just
that the failed ones are." Ed replied. "Anything in this world can be
dangerous if you make it so."

As a strap was pulled tightly over Bradley's chest, he lifted his head to
look at it and asked, "What's going on here?" Bradley looked to the side
where a door was opened and something was lying on the ground.

"Just try not to think about it." A scientist said as the room was zoomed
in on and a bunch of dead and bloody bodies was seen.

Breda snorted. "Yeah, that's not easy to do."

"Especially with all those dead bodies there." Havoc said, frowning. "They
can't even get rid of their bodies properly."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised by that." Luke said dryly.

"This won't take long."

Bradley's eye widened. The scene pulled out to show Bradley looking at a
scientist by his bed. "What are you gonna do to me?! Are they dead?!" A
needle with a red liquid was lifted onto the screen.

The doctor with a gold tooth was shown to be insanely grinning as he

held the syringe.

As Bradley was shown staring in horror, Father said, "You are the
twelfth candidate." Bradley looked at the man standing by his bed.

"Where the hell did he come from?" Havoc asked.

"Forget that, did he say 'twelfth candidate?'" Mustang demanded.

"He did. Why?" Ling asked.

"It means he was twelfth on the list to be the Fuhrer." Mustang said, a bit
horrified. "Can you imagine if candidate one or two actually survived? If they
were first on the list, it meant they were better, stronger, and smarter then
Bradley!"

"Well…it's a good thing they didn't become Wrath then." Hughes said,
frowning. "He would have just been that much harder to kill if one of the first
few did become him."

"Though it is kind of sad they had to die such meaningless deaths and for a
monster's plan." Ross said angrily.

"The world isn't a happy place." Ed muttered.

The scene moved up to look at his face, which was blinded by the light.
"Why can we never see his face?" Walkers said annoyed.

Father bent over, getting into Bradley's face as he laid back down. "Do
you have what it takes to become my fury?" The man's face was shown
with the top half darkened. "My Wrath?"

"That kind of sounds like he is possessive of his Homunculi." Hughes

snorted.

"Again with the jokes? Really?" Mustang asked.

Hughes shrugged, shooting his friend a grin.

"He isn't possessive of them." Ed said, sighing.

Mustang shot him a look. "Don't tell me. You know what he means?"

Ed shrugged. "Al should too, if my guess is right. We read it in Hohenheim's

books and notes about Homunculi."

"You studied them extensively then?" Izumi asked.

"Not extensively enough to understand how to make one, but extensively

enough to know this." Ed said. "He is making seven Homunculi out of his
deadly sins that make him human or whatever he is: Lust, Gluttony, Envy,
Greed, Wrath, Pride, and Sloth. It is like he is ripping the sins out of his body
and making them into Homunculi so he no longer has to feel them…It's
like…It's like he's trying to make himself perfect. Something perfect and
powerful that can do no wrong."

"He is sacrificing so many people for this! He is not perfect!" Scar said
angrily.

Ed shot him a look, understanding where Scar was coming from. "I'm not
saying he is, but that is what he is trying to do by getting rid of his sins."

"And in the process, he is making himself one of the biggest monsters out
there." Scar said.
Ed shrugged. "Humans seem to mean nothing to him."

"Isn't he human too?" Ling asked.

Ed just shrugged. "You tell me. May seems to be sensing him and she is
scared of just what she feels. He may be human, but he certainly doesn't seem
to feel like one."

Bradley was shown to be staring in shock at him. The needled was forced
into his arm, making Bradley's eye to move down to his arm.

His eye was shown getting smaller and smaller as Bradley's voice over
said, "A Philosopher's Stone is created from the life force of countless
human beings and contains their souls."

The scene pulled out to show Bradley's body arching up and only being
kept down because of the restraints with red alchemical light flashing
and snapping all over his body.

"Alright, I see it now, Ed." Ling said. "The transformation does look very
painful."

Ed nodded, subconsciously rubbing his aching wrist. Why was it hurting? He

broke his arm in the future, but that was it and the pain should pretty much be
gone until he came back on screen! "The body is being forced to change to
the power of the stone inside of you. It would be hell to deal with."

"So the power of the stone is what killed the others?" Ling asked confused.

Ed shrugged. "That would be my guess, Ling, but I'm not an expert."

"You certainly seem like one." Ling grumbled.

The scene slowly moved up to Bradley's face. He was screaming with

blood sprouting out of his face from his eyes and nose as his head twisted
around to every angle it could.

"This is horrible." May said, covering her mouth in fear.

"It's no wonder no one else survived it." Lan Fan replied, frowning as she
watched.

"Once injected into the bloodstream, it begins to take over its new host
and the human body tries to reject it."

The scene moved to his arm which was struggling against the restraints
and twisting around with the veins in it pulsating. The veins in his arm
exploded at different times before they healed themselves.

"My body was repeatedly destroyed from the inside out."

"Argh, I would never want to go through that." Ed said, grimacing. "It sounds
too horrible."

"I don't think anyone would, Fullmetal, especially with such a high chance of
death." Mustang replied.

"I don't know. This is a pretty insane world we live. I bet we could find a
person insane enough to put themselves willingly through that." Ed said.

"I would say that person was a masochist then." Mustang retorted.

The room with the dead candidates in it was shown.

"And then rebuilt by the stone."

Bradley was shown with his eyes completely white and blood pouring out
of his eyes, nose, and mouth while he continued to scream in pain.

"The only options I had were to die or to overcome its power." The scene
went white. "I chose the latter."

"Well, that's obvious." Al said.

"Al was rude!" Havoc gasped. "Al's never rude!"

Ed snorted. "Trust me, Havoc. Al has had his moments where he was rude.
You guys just don't usually see it. It's mostly during our travels or when we
are in our room at the hotel or dorm or wherever we are staying."

While Ed said that, Ling's eyes narrowed in on Al. He wouldn't deny what Ed
said since he would know better then anyone else, but why was he being rude
now? He had no reason to be rude. Just like he had no reason to glare at him
earlier! Was he upset about something?

A group of scientists appeared on screen, looking down.

"It's amazing."

"We made a new type of human."

"They ruined so many lives and that is all they care about!" Hughes scoffed.

"They must be some of those crazed, mad scientists." Ed said, frowning.

"And it's not like it was their lives ruined, so they don't care. To them, this
was all just an experiment. If the test rat dies, it just annoys or bothers them."

Hughes sighed. "Some of you scientists can be real horrible people."

"Anyone can be a horrible person. You don't have to be a scientist to be a

disgraceful person." Mustang retorted.

Hughes shrugged. "Fair enough."

The scene moved to show the gold tooth doctor looking down as well.
"Congratulations." He said as Bradley was shown sitting up, holding his
face in pain. "You have been chosen to lead mankind down the path of
destiny."

"Destiny?" General Armstrong sneered. "More like lead it to its death."

"Then that makes it his destiny. It's his destiny to lead us to our death with all
these wars, rebellion, then into becoming ingredients for a stone." Armstrong
said, frowning darkly.

"Everything has been arranged to provide you with all that you will
need." The scientist continued. The scene zoomed into Bradley's face.
"From now on, your name will be..." Bradley lifted his face out of his
face to reveal the Ouroboros tattoo in his eye. "King Bradley."

The scene went white again before it showed Bradley and Mustang in
Bradley's office.

"I can't believe Bradley just told you how he became a Homunculus!" Ed
said. "It's like they don't want to keep secrets anymore!"

"Despite that being weird," Mustang said. "I think it is good for us to hear.
Any knowledge we can get will be helpful."

"Countless souls have battled for dominance within me." Bradley's face
was shown. "And only the most wrathful one survived."

"So, I guess that means all the souls from the stone he was injected with were
wrathful?" May asked confused.

"Yeah, since Father was trying to get rid of his fury and wrath, he put them
into that stone then made a Homunculus with it." Ed said.

"You sure are a wealth of knowledge." Ling said.

Ed shrugged. "I have been studying a lot the past four years. You tend to pick
things up when you do that."

Mustang was shown to be staring at him.

"I can't tell you if this remaining soul was one of those within the
Philosopher's Stone or if it's the one I carried since I was born. I doubt
that I'll ever know."

"It's sad that he'll never know what actually happened to his own soul. He'll
never know if he is the one he has been since his birth." Sheska said.

"It's Wrath!" Ed cried. "A Homunculus that is always sending us to war!"

"We don't agree with what he did." Karin said. "It's just that his past was hard
and sad. What if he didn't get abandoned there? What could he have become?
He could be so different right now if this didn't happen to him."

"They have a point, Ed." Hughes said.

Ed sighed. "I'm not saying they don't, but this is the past. Nothing about it can
be changed. We can only move forward from this."

Mustang closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and stood up.
"You've lived your life before as a human being. Why choose to be a
Homunculus, sir? Isn't there some way you could go back to being a
human? Or not?"

"I doubt he thinks about things like that." Ed said.

"Why wouldn't he think about it?" Miles asked.

"Because he is a Homunculus now. We may believe them to be horrible

immortal monsters, but to them, being a Homunculus is what they are. Why
should they feel ashamed of it?" Ed asked, shrugging.

Mustang blinked. "Are you seriously….you were just saying not to feel
anything for Bradley, and now you're rationalizing this?"

"I didn't say feel nothing for his horrible past and I'm just saying that
everyone has pride! The Homunculi aren't mindless monsters working for
Father! They do have minds and feel other things then just what their names
say! All I'm saying is that Bradley, even though he was once human, has
lived like this for too long. It's all he cares for now. Being a Homunculus and
helping Father complete his plan!" Ed argued.

Bradley turned around to face him. "You suggest I become human

again?" He looked away. "Ridiculous. Why would I possibly want to
pursue such frivolity?" Mustang was shown. "I've become something far
superior."

"Superior?" Izumi scoffed. "Humans have faults, but every being, human or
Homunculus, has its faults. There is nothing in this world that is superior over
someone else. We all fail or make mistakes at some point."
The scene pulled out to show Bradley taking a few steps towards
Mustang. "Just as you humans take great pride in your "humanity",
misguided though that may be."

"Taking pride in who we are is not misguided!" Ling said angrily. "It allows
us to be who we are without restraint or care of what other people think of us.
Sure, humans can do a lot of inhuman things, but it is all a part of who we
are. We all sin at one point or another in our life. It is a part of who we are
and it helps us grow! There is nothing wrong with our mortality!"

Bradley's face was shown as he glared at Mustang. "I too am

proud...Because we also take pride in what we are."

"Seems you were right again, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

"If you keep making such good guesses, I'm going to have to guess that you
are cheating somehow." Hughes teased.

"Did you ever consider the fact that I am good at putting the facts together
and coming up with amazing theories?" Ed retorted.

"No, you're definitely cheating." Hughes replied.

"How could I cheat?" Ed cried. "It's the future! I'm not a psychic, Hughes!"

"Your denial proves it."

"How can me denying anything prove anything?"

"Because anyone who is guilty denies their guilt."

"Then what about the people who are innocent who deny guilt of anything?"

"They are always guilty of something."

Ed clenched a fist. "But not necessarily what you are accusing them of!"
When he saw Hughes opening his mouth to reply, his eyes narrowed to slits.
"I. Am. Not. Cheating. Shut. Up. Hughes!"
"Well," Hughes crossed his arms. "Someone's in a mood."

Ed's eye twitched violently. He turned to look at Ling, eyes narrowed. "I don't
know how or why, but I'm blaming you for this."

Ling just grinned in response.

"I know you did something!" Ed grumbled.

Lust flashed onto the screen. "The woman you killed." Mustang was
shown. "She died with her pride intact, didn't she?"

"Fighting until the very end." Mustang said. "Just like any true fighter who
believes in what they are doing."

A pair of hands appeared on screen, tying a makeshift splint on Ed's

arm.

Ed hissed at the pain suddenly flaring in his body, which was coupled with
the tightening on his arm from the makeshift splint and the weird pain in his
wrist. "Well, if you're splinting my arm, then it means that we have at least
stopped fighting Envy."

"That's a relief." Ling said, rubbing his aching chest. "Seems you lost
though."

"What?" Ed hissed.

Ling smirked at him. "You got more injured then me, so you lost."

"Lost what?" Havoc asked confused.

"Shut up, Havoc." Ed ordered, not looking away from Ling. "That doesn't
mean that I am the one who lost."

"Then what does?" Ling asked. "Because, Ed, that fight with Envy just wasn't
your fight. You lost badly."

"What are we even discussing?" Ed asked.

Ling shrugged.

"You're insane." Ed mumbled.

"Then what does that make you for going along with it?" Ling retorted.

Ed paused for a moment, thinking before he smirked. "The best friend of an

insane person who goes along with his insane friend's crazy ideas just to
amuse him!"

Al almost winced when he heard that. Did his brother really call Ling his best
friend? They hardly knew each other! How could they possibly be best
friends already? And what about him? Ed was his brother and best friend!
They have been for years. Why was it just changing all of a sudden?

"Why can't you be the insane one?" Ling asked.

"Because I'm not an idiot like you!" Ed retorted.

"Ed, how many times do I have to tell you? You can't call me, the future ruler
of Xing, an idiot!" Ling snapped.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You keep on saying that, but I don't see you ruling
anything yet, Ling! I'll stop calling you an idiot when you actually become
the ruler!"

"Oh, you will?" Ling asked. "Then I'll hold you to that!"

The scene pulled out to show Ling and Ed sitting by a fire. Ed had one
eye shut tight as he winced when Ling pulled the bindings on his arm
tightly to finish. As Ed pulled his arm back to him, Ling said, "There,
that should help."

"Thank you, Ling." Edward replied, looking down at his arm.

"Huh, well, that's weird." Ling said.

"What? That I said 'thank you?'" Ed retorted.

"No," Ling said before pausing. "Well, that was strange, but no. I meant how
soft your voice was there. It is usual loud and brash."

Ed's brow twitched. "Ling, seriously, must you start?"

"But it's so rare to hear your voice like that!" Ling said.

"Rare," Ed hissed. "But it's not the first time you've heard it."

"First time towards me." Ling said, grinning.

"….I really, really want to hit you right now." Ed growled. "The only thing
restraining me is the pain I'm going through. But rest assured, Ling, you
won't be so lucky next time!"

"Why would that make me feel better?" Ling asked.

There was a loud thump with some crumbling that made the boys look
up. The scene pulled out to show Envy standing at the edge of the
platform with more parts of the destroyed array there. "I collected all
the fragments that I could find."

"You put Envy to work for you?" Havoc asked, lips twitching a bit.

"Perhaps." Ed said, smirking. "It's not like Ling or me could actually do the
job."

"I can't believe Envy didn't hit you just for ordering him to do the job." Izumi
replied, smirking in amusement. It's about time someone put Envy to some
good work."

Mustang smirked. "And since you're the only who can do alchemy there,
Envy is pretty much at your mercy to get out of there."

"Yeah, Colonel, I'm not going to test Envy. He is one sadistic bastard and
taking too long to do this or demanding anything else of him will probably
get Ling killed." Ed said.

"What? Why me?" Ling demanded.

Ed shrugged. "I'm the alchemist. Envy can't kill me since he needs me to get
out. You, on the other hand, he really has no need of."

"That doesn't make me feel better." Ling said dryly.

Ed just shrugged again. "It wasn't supposed to."

The scene moved to show each piece of the array. "So this stuff, it's all
from Xerxes?" Ling asked as the pieces were shown.

Ling, who was holding a torch, and Edward appeared on screen.

"That's right. They're pieces of a large mural from what remains of their
temple." Ed said. He turned his head as mysterious music began and the
fragment with the lion trying to eat the red sun was shown. "When I saw
the ruins of the mural up close," Ed standing in front of the stone array
in Xerxes appeared on screen.

Hughes whistled a bit. "Wow, lucky."

"Lucky?" Ed said confused.

"Lucky about what?" Ling finished for Ed, also confused.

Hughes grinned. "Envy basically set Ed up for finding the way out of that
place."

"How so?" Ross asked.

"By framing you, actually." Hughes said, still grinning. "If Envy never
framed you, Roy would never have put a plan in motion to save you, so then
Ed would have never been 'kidnapped' to Xerxes. And if that never happened,
he would not have seen that mural so he wouldn't have an idea of how to
escape this place. Envy's trap, though it failed, did set Ed up to find the back
door here. Is that right, Ed? Since I don't know your exact plan to get out, I'm
just guessing this mural has something to do with it."

Ed nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Could you not have figured it out if you didn't go to Xerxes?" Ling asked
Ed.

Ed shrugged. "Who knows? Since I know what I find in Xerxes, I can't very
well tell you I could figure out the back door without the knowledge since the
knowledge is already in my head."

"That's a bit confusing." Ling said.

"Get used to it."

"I thought it was identical to the transmutation circle from the 5th
Laboratory. The one they used to create Philosopher's Stones."

Ed reappeared on screen, automail finger pressed to his lips. "But it's

actually different." A stone sun appeared on screen. "The sun represents
the soul." A stone moon was shown next. "While the moon symbolizes
the mind." With a clank, Ed put his automail hand on one of the stone
fragments. "And then there's the stone canvas of the mural. This
represents the body."

"Anyone else lost?" Havoc asked and quite a few soldiers, Ling, and Lan Fan
raised their hands. He nodded his head. "Good, at least I'm not alone in this
confusion."

"Ed, you really need to remember that not everyone is as smart as you." Riza
said with a small sigh.

"Or maybe you guys need to study more." Ed grumbled.

The scene turned to show Ed with Ling standing a bit to the side and
behind him. "Slow down." Ling said and Ed looked at him. "Try to keep
it simple, okay?"

"And here I thought you were smart." Ed snorted.

"Smart, but not smart in the same subjects as you are." Ling retorted.

Ed raised a brow. "Like?"

"Political science." Ling said.

Ed shrugged. "You got me there. I only understand the basics of that. I find
no interest in it."

"What do you find interest in besides alchemy and science anyway? Or is that
really your only interest?" Ling asked.

Ed grinned. "Well, actually, I do enjoy studying languages."

Ling raised a brow. "Really?"

Smirking, Ed said, "Do you doubt me that much, Ling? Is this enough
proof?"

"I will admit that I am surprised." Ling replied, leaving almost everyone else
in the room in complete confusion. "You speak so well and fluently."

"I have been studying many languages during my travels. It wasn't just all
alchemy and science, Ling." Ed replied.

Hughes leaned closer to Mustang. "Did you know Ed studied languages?"

Mustang shook his head, still shocked. The alchemy obsessed, youngest State
Alchemist took an interest in languages?...Huh, who knew?

Izumi smirked at the shock expressions she saw people wearing. She had
already known about Ed's interest in languages. While she was training him
as a kid, she often found him with a book from the library about languages. It
had surprised her when she first saw it. She had thought he only cared about
alchemy, but he admitted to her that he wanted to expand his knowledge and
the languages of different countries was quite fascinating to him. He could
barely speak or understand them back then, but it seems he never really lost
an interest in them.

"Can you speak something besides Xingese?" Ling asked curiously.

Ed nodded "Yeah, but I really don't want to right now."

"Okay, enough with confusing us all, Ling, Fullmetal." Mustang muttered.
"We should continue."

Ling and Ed turned to Mustang and said at the same time, "Okay." When they
realized they said it together and in Xingese, they both looked at each other
and grinned.

Al ignored the exchanged completely. He knew his brother was fascinated by

languages and studied it when he had free time, but he never knew he could
speak it so well. He had never spoken to Al in another language before. Al
had thought he was only studying it, not learning how to speak it. What else
did his brother keep from him?

Ed looked down. "Basically, the mural was a summoning circle..." The

scene moved to show Ed's face as he looked at Ling. "For human
transmutation."

Mustang's eyes narrowed. Human Transmutation? Why did Ed want the

mural for something like that?

Ling appeared on screen. "I do know that one. Well I think I do. Is it
used to bring back dead people?"

"Not quite," Ed said, frowning. "But why do you even know about Human
Transmutation? I thought things like that didn't exist in Xing."

"Because Alkahestry is focused more on the medical use, some Alkahestrists

in the past have gone too far with it. They have tried to heal injuries that were
too serious for them to heal or even tried to heal the injuries after a person
died in a desperate attempt not to lose them. Usually it was a friend or family
member they were healing which is why they were so desperate. Alkahestry
does not have something dark like Human Transmutation, but I have heard
that some Alkahestrists heard that it exists in Amestris. More then once, an
Alkahestrists has used Alkahestry to try to bring a person back by mixing
Alkahestry with alchemy's human transmutation theories and arrays. The
Alkahestrists usual ends up dead though. They just can't be mixed." May
explained darkly. "It's why Human Transmutation is known in Xing,
Edward."
"I never would have thought people in other countries would have tried it."
Al said shocked.

"I wouldn't have either, but then again, it's not really surprising. Any human
who is desperate enough will try foolish things." Ed nodded.

May nodded. "It is why Alkahestrists are now told about those stories during
training. It is so we will never attempt to do anything so foolish."

"When did people in Xing start making such attempts?" Mustang asked
curiously.

"It was mostly during the first few decades or so after Alkahestry was created
in Xing. People were curious as to how far they could go or were just
desperate. It does not happen so much now with the way they are trained, but
there are still those rare times when someone is foolish enough." Ling
explained.

"You even know the stories?" Ed asked surprised.

Ling shrugged. "You hear things around. Plus, I did study Alkahestry when I
first trying to find a way to become the next Emperor."

Ed was shown. "Not quite." Ed as a child was shown lying in front of his
Human Transmutation array.

Ed's eyes widened and he lurched forward on the couch with his hands
scrabbling at his leg.

"Ed? What's wrong?" Ling asked.

"Shit, it's just my leg." Ed said, rubbing at his leg where his automail port and
leg met. "That's when I lost it."

"Alchemy is based on the rule of equivalent exchange." The scene moved

to the center of the array to show the creature he and Al created as it
breathed out misty air. "You can't transmute a life form from a soul that
no longer exists in this world." Ed from when he dug up the creature
appeared on the screen. "You can trust me on that one."
"Oh, come on!" Ed hissed in annoyance, hunching over and grabbing his
right shoulder. Seriously? First his leg, now this? Stupid bloody flashbacks.

Ed and Ling reappeared on screen with Envy standing behind them.

Gasping, Ed sat back up and leaned his head back into the couch. The pain
from his fight with Envy wasn't enough apparently if he had to feel that
stupid pain from the flashbacks. His only saving grace was that it didn't last
long.

"Having fun, Ed?" Breda asked.

"No." Ed said, straightening the sleeves of his shirt that he messed up when
he was hunching over.

Distracted by the movement, Ling looked down to watch Ed's hands. To his
surprise as he watched Ed's hands, the sleeve on his flesh wrist pushed up and
Ling saw it turning black and purple. Eyes widening, Ling glanced up at Ed's
face, but he wasn't looking at him. He was staring at his wrist in surprise.
While Ling waited for an accusation from Ed, Ed just pushed his sleeve down
his arm and around his hand before closing his hand tightly around the
sleeve. Still, Ed didn't glance at his friend, deciding to keep his eyes on the
screen.

Though Ed didn't mention it, Ling just kept staring at his friend in surprise.
He knew he grabbed Ed's wrists tightly earlier to remove them from his shirt,
but he didn't think he grabbed him hard enough to bruise him. Sure, he had
gripped Ed's automail tighter since that would be harder to remove then his
flesh wrist…did he subconsciously apply the same pressure he did to the
automail wrist to Ed's flesh wrist? That would explain why it was bruising.
And why wasn't Ed saying anything? He hurt his friend's wrist by his
carelessness and he wasn't even going to mention it?!

"So, this is where I got the idea to get us out of here." The scene zoomed
in on Ed. "I can't transmute the dead...but what would happen if I
transmute myself?"
"What does that mean?" Hughes asked, eyes narrowed.

Izumi sighed. "It means he is going to perform Human Transmutation on a

living person."

"What?" Al asked shocked.

"Isn't that dangerous?" May asked worriedly.

"Considering it's never been done…" Al trailed off.

"And for good reason." Armstrong said.

"It is dangerous," Ed said. "But it is the only choice we have, and we just
have to trust in my knowledge and skill on this subject."

"But there is a chance this will kill you?" Ling asked.

Ed sighed. "Yes, Ling. I've already told you this."

Ling frowned, but didn't reply. If Ed believed this to be the only way to
escape, then they would have to take the risk.

The scene showed the group from the front as Ling asked, "You mean a
living person?"

Edward turned halfway around to look at him. "Exactly. I can use this
transmutation circle to deconstruct myself, and then I'll just put myself
back together."

"Unless you mess up." Mustang said.

"Yes, that comforts me very much, Colonel. Thank you!" Ed said.

"I thought you trusted in your skill, Fullmetal. Anything I say shouldn't
bother you." Mustang retorted.

"That's Human Transmutation." He looked down. "And it'll open the

portal." The ocean of blood was shown. "You said that Gluttony is a
defective Portal of Truth. I'll bet that if we pass through the real portal,"
Ling was shown, followed by Envy. "Then we'll wind up in our own
reality." Ed appeared on screen as he turned his head. "I'll open up the
real portal...and then you two jump through it."

"And what happens to you when you open the portal and we jump in?" Ling
asked.

Ed shrugged. "That is harder to tell, but I should be dealing with the same
thing I dealt with when I did Human Transmutation."

Ling frowned. "Ed, I didn't see that part so I don't know what you mean."

"Uh, right." Ed said, scratching his head. "Uh, basically….you know what? It
doesn't matter. Since I'm opening the portal, I'll probably go through the same
thing so you might see it."

"If you say so."

The scene pulled out to show Ed and Envy.

"What happens if it goes wrong?" Envy asked.

Ed turned to Envy. "Then it'll rebound." He said. "A failed

transmutation ricochets onto the one who performed it." Ling was
shown. "In this case, that would be me."

"Which would then kill you." Ling said.

"Or severely injure me." Ed said. "Either one of them could happen."

"Being severely injured in that place just means death, Ed." Ling said. "I can
help you with minor injuries and broken bones, but I can't help you with
severe injuries."

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, either way, I'll die if this goes wrong." He mentally
shuddered at that thought. He really didn't want to die here.

"I'm not gonna act like I know anything about alchemy." Ling said.
"This is all yours."

"Damn right it is!" Ed said.

Ed appeared on screen. "Right." He lifted his head a bit and looked out
of the corner of his eyes. "Hey, Envy. I've got something else that I
wanted to ask you."

"You sure are demanding a lot of Envy today." Mustang snorted.

"Oh, like you and Al aren't asking a lot of the Homunculi you are with?" Ed
retorted. "Compared to you two, I am not actually asking that much!"

Envy was shown. "Hmm?"

A sun drawn in blood appeared on screen. Ed's automail hand was

shown to be scraping a piece cloth covered in blood on the ground to
finish a circle. "The partial mural I saw in Xerxes," The scene pulled out
to show Ed and Ling standing by a blood drawn mural with Envy
looking over them. "It would've looked more-or-less like this."

"You guys really have no fear of blood, do you?" Sheska asked, a bit
nauseated from all this.

"Well, because I am constantly attacked by assassins, I get into fights a lot

and had to get used to the sight of a lot of blood." Ling said.

"I just get into a lot of fights." Ed said with a shrug. "Blood tends to spill in
fights."

"And your Human Transmutation." Ling added.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, there was a whole lot of blood there." He looked back at
Sheska. "Seeing so much blood in our lives, this is something that just doesn't
concern us anymore."

"You know, Ed, that is pretty sad how you two can be so indifferent to so
much blood now." Hughes said.
Ed shrugged. "Say that to Al and Lan Fan as well. They probably don't have a
problem with it either."

"We don't." Lan Fan and Al said.

"That is also very sad." Hughes said.

He pointed to some symbols. "This is the first thing that caught my eye.
The symbol of God is written upside down."

"Uh, what?" Havoc asked.

Ed sighed. "It's the language of Xerxes, but it can also be called symbols of
Xerxes. It's their word for God, but it is flipped over."

"That means you studied the language of Xerxes as well?" General

Armstrong asked.

"Yes, though I studied that one because I thought it would be useful to know
for studying alchemy, as well as the fact that some of Hohenheim's book
were written in that language." Edward replied. "Al knows that language as
well."

"Can you guys speak it or only read it?" Mustang asked curiously.

"I can read it fluently, but I have trouble speaking it." Al admitted. "I never
cared for languages like Brother does."

"I can speak it almost fluently but with no one to talk to in the language, it is
pretty pointless." Ed said.

"Then why learn how to speak it?" Mustang asked.

"I was interested!" Ed said.

"Alright, no need to get so defensive." Mustang replied, smirking a bit. "It's

amazing you remembered what that mural looked like when you only looked
at it briefly."
"Yeah, well, I have an amazing memory." Ed retorted.

He moved his hand down to point to the next symbol. "And beneath it is
the two-headed dragon. The alchemic symbol for a 'complete lifeform.'"
The scene moved to show Ed crouched down with Ling standing by him
holding the torch up for him. "Which means, this basically translates to
'I will strike God to Earth and become a perfect being.'"

"That is arrogant." Miles said, frowning.

Ed scowled. "Go figure. This father guy is trying to make himself strong
enough to surpass God!"

"What did you say?" Izumi asked sharply.

Ed glanced at her, frowning. "Creating the Philosopher's Stone is only a part

of the plan, we've already realized that. What if the rest is that Father is trying
to surpass God?"

"How would he even accomplish something like that?" Hughes asked

shocked.

Ed shrugged. "Don't know. I am only making hypotheses right now. But we

have been told by Envy that making a Philosopher's Stone was only a part of
the plan. What could be bigger then sacrificing the entire nation to make a
stone? There was always something a lot more to it. Well, this is way bigger
then what any of us could have possibly come up with."

"If your guess is correct, then we don't have the luxury to leave and head
back to Xing after finding what we want." Ling told him, frowning darkly. "If
he does succeed, I don't think it would end well for the rest of the world."

"So, you'll going to help us until the end?" Ed asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't feel right just leaving after getting what I wanted after
all this." Ling said. "It would feel like betrayal to leave my friends here to
deal with this problem on their own."

Ed smirked in reply.
"Well that's certainly an arrogant concept." Ling said.

Edward stood up, gripping his flesh arm as he did. "It's not a big deal to
talk about it."

Ed hissed and grabbed his flesh arm. Stupid broken arm. It was as bad as the
ribs.

Ling glanced at Ed as he accidentally pulled the sleeve of his shirt down.

Looking down at his wrist, Ling's eyes narrowed in on the bruise.

Meeting Ling's eyes, Ed's own narrowed and he mouthed, "Leave it alone."

He walked over to one of the stone fragments. "But then there's this.
This piece takes it to the next level." The stone fragment was shown on
screen so an image of a lion swallowing the red sun could be seen. "An
image of the lion swallowing the sun..." The part that was missing
flashed onto screen. "Symbolizing the Philosopher's Stone." Ed
appeared on screen with Envy behind him. Ed's eyes were narrowed
darkly. "The Philosopher's Stone is made with living humans. Isn't that
correct, Envy?"

"Ooooh, that's such a dark look you have on, Ed." Hughes said.

"Not the time, Hughes." Ed said annoyed.

"I think there is always a time for teasing." Hughes replied.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Your funeral."

Hughes flinched. "Low blow, Ed."

Ed shrugged. "I know, but I was just making a point."

"Yeah. That's right." Envy said.

The destroyed nation of Xerxes appeared on screen.

"How could a nation as advanced as Xerxes fall? Let alone in a single
night?" Ed's voice asked.

Different parts of the destroyed nation were shown.

"What happened to its citizens? These stone fragments of the mural..."

Ed asked. "You put them here to hide the evidence." Ed reappeared on
screen, face covered by his bangs.

"It is simply amazing how much you learn and realize on your own." Brody
said. "We should just shut up and let you piece everything together from now
on."

"Considering Hughes realized part of their plan was to make a stone long
before the rest of us, you should leave that job to him." Ed retorted.

"You are figuring out a lot more then I am, Ed. A lot of this has to do with
alchemy and Homunculi which are not my forte." Hughes said, pushing his
glasses up. "Are you sure you don't want to come work in investigations?"

"No! I do not want to work there!" Ed shouted.

"You killed them." The scene pulled out to show Envy standing behind
Ed as the latter raised his head. "You sacrificed all of Xerxes." The scene
started to move up to show Envy. "You turned them into a Philosopher's
Stone!"

Ling was shown, gasping.

"Did we ever tell you what the stone was made of?" Ed asked Ling.

"I do not believe so. We were more focused on Homunculi and Al's body."
Ling replied.

"Well, it's not like it's something we were too willing to discuss." Ed said.

"And you really didn't trust me enough to tell me that." Ling added.

"That was justified." Ed said.

"Never said it wasn't." Ling replied.

Dramatic music began as Xerxes civilians appeared on the screen,

screaming out in pain as black hands surrounded them all.

"What…what is this?" May asked horrified.

"It is the making of a stone." Dr. Marcoh said darkly.

"But what is happening?" Havoc asked.

"Their souls are being ripped out of their bodies to create the stone." Dr.
Marcoh said.

"This is horrible." Ross said, covering her mouth in shock. "This is what they
plan to do to Amestris?"

Mustang's eyes narrowed to slits. No, there was no way he would let any of
this happen. He would not let his country fall victim to these monsters. If he
had to, he would protect it with his life.

A transmutation array appeared on screen.

The scene changed to a building in Xerxes with a giant eye surrounded

by blue alchemical light appearing under it. The scene then pulled out
again to show the eye from a distance with a bunch of giant black hands
reaching out of the ground and into the sky. The blue alchemical light
around the eye started to stretch out, leaving the eye to fill the area. The
light became so bright, it made the screen go white before Ed appeared
on screen, turning around.

"Who was it?!" The scene pulled out to show Ed half turned around,
looking at Envy, with Ling watching on a few steps away. "I wanna
know who used this to transmute himself! Who slaughtered the
population of a whole country? Who created all of you? Who's trying to
make himself powerful enough to surpass God!" Envy was shown. "It
was your father, wasn't it?" Ed was shown, staring angrily. "Tell me,
Envy. Whoever this guy is, he's been using you Homunculi to try and
recreate the destruction of Xerxes here in Amestris, hasn't he?!"

"Sheesh, you sure have a lot of questions running through your mind." Ling
said.

"I've had a lot of time to think about it all." Ed replied.

"Time in the void or time since you started meeting the Homunculi?" Ling
asked.

"The latter." Ed said.

Envy was shown, reaching his head down a bit. "You get us out of here
and I'll gladly tell you everything."

Mustang snorted. "He won't tell you a single thing if you get him out."

"Obviously a lie." Ed agreed. "But seeing as I want answers, I might try to

get him to hold to that promise."

"He definitely won't hold to it." Luke said.

"Yeah," Ed muttered. "Most likely."

Ed's frowning face was shown.

Envy's face was shown close up. "You've spent enough time beating
around the bush. I'm tired of waiting for you to ask. You need to pay a
toll, right?"

"A toll?" Ling asked.

"To open the Portal, you have to pay something." Ed said. "For instance, the
first time I opened it in Human Transmutation, I paid with my leg. The
second time, I paid with my arm to get Al's soul. Since I don't like the idea of
paying with any more of my body parts…."

"You're going to use Envy's stone." Ling finished.

Ed nodded.

"Are you really going to use a Philosopher's Stone, Brother?" Al asked

shocked.

"Yeah. I said I would never use one to fix ourselves, but in this case, I'm not
using it for that, but to survive. Since it's the only choice we have, I'll have to
take it." Ed said.

"To open the Portal?" Envy opened his mouth and his tongue slid out,
showing the stone in the center of it. The stone was zoomed in on. "This
should work."

Edward was shown to be staring.

The creepy green bodies were shown, crying out for help.

"Your body." Ed said as he was shown. "Those are the citizens of

Xerxes, aren't they?"

"That means they have been suffering in that stone for four hundred years."
Sheska said sadly.

Envy was shown. "At one time, but their minds and bodies crumbled
long ago. All that's left is energy to be consumed." Ed's heartbroken face
was shown. "They don't even remember what they looked like when they
were alive."

Ed looked down, brows trembling.

Envy was shown. "Is that pity? How childish are you?"

"It's not childish." Ross said angrily. "Anyone would feel pity for those
people. That should have never have happened to them! They should have
been able to live their lives normally, but it was stolen from them because of
these monsters."

The green bodies were shown. "You're desperate to see these things as
human because you wanna believe that your brother still retains his
humanity." Ed was shown to still be looking down, though he did gasp at
Envy's words. "Would you hesitate to throw a bundle of logs onto a fire
because you pitied the tree they came from?" The green beings were
shown again. "These souls can never go back to being human." Ed was
shown, eyes trembling. "You have to use logic if you are to determine
what a human is. Don't let your emotions decide."

Ed growled to himself. What did Envy know?! He wasn't a human. He was

just a Homunculus. There was no way he could understand the pity or anger
that humans felt. All he knew was his jealously and sadistic nature! Emotions
could be good deciding factors in situations! Just using logic in a situation
would make a person cold-hearted! Logic was not enough in a deciding
moment. The heart needed to be listened to as well!

The scene went dark. When it lit up again, the boys and Envy were
standing in darkness. A Human Transmutation circle had been drawn in
blood. Ling stood outside it while Envy sat in it with Ed standing inside it
as well.

"Alright." Ed said before his back was shown close up as he turned to

Ling. "Ling," Ling directed his attention to Ed, still holding his broken
ribs. "This might not work out for me." Ed pointed at Envy. "If so, you
gotta warn people about these guys' plans."

Envy blinked.

"Humph," Ling said, putting his hands on his hips and he looked away
with a smirk, surprising Ed. He said in a condescending tone, "I'm not
that concerned about Amestris. It's not my country."

"You just said a little bit ago–" Ed started.

Ling shrugged. "I'm just saying you aren't going to die, Ed."

"You sure have a roundabout way of saying things." Ed said annoyed.

"And you do not?" Ling asked.

"I think it is obvious what I am always saying." Ed retorted.

"Not when you were explaining the mural and array." Ling said.

"That wasn't roundabout. You are just too stupid to understand it."

Ling raised a brow. "There you are, insulting me again!"

"Are you emperor yet? No, so I'll insult you all I want to." Ed said.

Edward looked at him angrily, putting his hand down. "Are you
serious?"

Ling was shown, tilting his head down just a bit and smiling a bit.
"You've got people you love waiting for you, don't you? So just make it
back alive and tell them yourself."

"Now, doesn't that sound familiar?" Ed said sarcastically.

"I felt that you needed to hear it as well." Ling said.

"That doesn't mean you can steal my words!" Ed retorted.

"I changed them a bit and added that second sentence." Ling pointed out.

"…The idea is still not original." Ed said.

"You just want to argue." Ling retorted.

"Maybe I do!" Ed said, rubbing his wrist subconsciously.

Whatever retort Ling had died down when he saw his friend rubbing his
wrist. "I am sorry." He whispered in his language so no one else would hear
or understand them.

Ed scowled at him. "It doesn't matter. Let it go, Ling."

"How can I? I was careless with my grip on your flesh wrist, Ed." Ling
retorted.
"I've had worse, Ling." Ed replied.

"I know you have. But, since I'm your friend, I shouldn't have injured you at
all." Ling told Ed, frowning regretfully.

Ed rolled his eyes. "If I accept your apology, will you just let it go and forget
it?"

Ling nodded.

"It's fine, Ling. I accept your apology." Ed said with a bothered sigh. Of
course he became friends with this bloody insane guy!

Ed stared at him in surprise, blinking once. He looked down, brows

furrowed before turning to look up at Envy.

The creepy green bodies on Envy were shown.

Ed's sad face reappeared on screen. "I'm sorry." He said. "But I need to
use you."

Dramatic, action music began again as the scene pulled up to show Ed's
chest as he struggled to pull his hands up into the right position to clap.

Ed snarled softly in pain, grabbing at his left arm. Yeah, forcing his arm to do
things while broken was not fun at all. He really had to be careful not to
break his arm ever again.

"Get ready." Ed said.

Ling was shown, staring at Ed. As the scene zoomed in on him, his mouth
opened a bit in shock. When his face was zoomed in on, Ling closed his
mouth. 'That pose he makes when he transmutes. I knew it reminded me of
something.'

Ed's brow furrowed in confusion. His pose reminded him of something?

Ed appeared on screen, clapping his hands with a metallic ring echoing

around.
'He almost looks like he's praying.' Ling thought.

"I don't pray!" Ed said, glaring at Ling.

"Way to ruin the dramatic moment, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

"I am risking my life to get us all out of that place alive, and all you care
about is the dramatic moment?!" Ed shouted.

"I just said it looked like praying." Ling said. "You could just be praying or
hoping to yourself that your plan is going to work out."

Ed whipped his head around to glare at him. "You–"

"Well, it was a very amazing scene that I wanted to watch without

interruption." Mustang said with a one shoulder shrug.

Ed turned his head to glare back at Mustang. "You–"

"Hey Ed–" Ling started.

"NO! Just no!" Ed screamed, putting his face in his hands. "Both of you are
just going to shut up now and we are going to move on."

"You're the one who spoke first." Havoc pointed out, and received a pillow in
the face courtesy of one very stressed Ed for his troubles.

Ed slammed his hands on the ground, which caused bright blue light to
flash up all around the array. The scene pulled out to show Ed kneeling
in the center of the array with Envy on the side of it and Ling still
standing outside of it. Black light slowly rose up from the biggest circle
and began to slowly move around it.

Ling's face appeared on screen, followed by Envy's.

Ed, who was now standing and looking down at the array, appeared on
screen. Black hands appeared on screen, reaching past Ed. "Long time
no see." The scene moved to show Ed from behind to show the eye that
was in the middle of the array. "Too bad this isn't why I'd planned on
opening you again." Ed's chest and the bottom half of his mouth were
shown with Ling standing on the other half of the screen behind Ed.
"Ling! Jump in it!" He ordered.

"Demanding." Ling said.

"Shut up." Ed muttered.

"You okay?" Ling asked.

"Yeah, I just don't think this will be a fun trip." Ed said, raising his face out of
his hands.

Ling jumped a bit in surprise. His face was zoomed in on. He looked
down for a moment before looking back at his friend's back. "You better
know what you're doing! I'm trusting you!"

Ed raised a brow at his friend.

"What?"

"'Better know what you're doing?'" Ed mocked. "And here I thought you
trusted me from the start."

Ling shrugged. "I did not expect it to be something this big when you
started."

Ed looked back at the screen with a shrug. "It does look dangerous."

Part of the array was shown with the bright blue alchemical light around
it before Ling's foot was shown to be stepping into it. Almost
immediately his foot began to deconstruct.

Ling's brow furrowed. He looked at his foot in confusion then at the screen.
"Ed?"

"It won't hurt, Ling. You're only being deconstructed. This is completely
normal." Ed said.
"Nothing about this is normal, Edward." Lan Fan countered.

"Then this is normal for Human Transmutation." Ed corrected.

The scene moved up to Ling's chest and face, showing him being
deconstructed on his chest. 'It's exactly like when Gluttony swallowed us!'
His face was shown briefly before Envy appeared on screen. The scene
moved down to the little creatures on his body to show them being
deconstructed.

Edward appeared on screen with flashing lights and black hands all
around him. The scene slowly moved to his face. 'Thank you.' Out of the
corner of his eye he saw one of the green beings being deconstructed.
'Thank you.'

The scene went white before Ed's face was back on screen. His eyes
moved to look back down.

The screen went completely white again.

The scene pulled out to show the transmutation from a distant. There
was an exploding sound as the blue alchemical light expanded even
more, completely whiting the screen out again.

"This is safe, right?" Hughes asked. "It seems a bit more extreme then when
you did Human Transmutation as a kid."

"Nothing about Human Transmutation is safe." Ed said with a sigh. "But this
is all normal, Hughes. It seems to be all going smoothly so we should both be
fine."

A black void with strands of pictures and memories appeared on screen.

At the very end of the strands, a completely white area could be seen.
'The body and soul are connected to one another by the mind.' Ed was
shown, eyes closed, as he traveled through the black void and strands of
pictures and memories. 'A portion of my body now hurdles towards the
portal of truth. So there's no point in struggling.'
"I would struggle for the simple fact that I don't like not having control of my
body." Brosh said.

"Who wouldn't? It would be such a strange feeling to give up complete

control of your movement." Darius said.

The scene moved to show the white area that Ed was approaching
getting closer and closer. 'I have to let my mind guide me into the portal.'

"Into the portal?" Al echoed.

"You mean where you met Truth?" Izumi asked.

Ed shrugged. "Seems like, though not really my goal here."

The portal was zoomed in on. It lit up the screen before the white void
was shown with Truth sitting in the middle of the screen. His right arm
and left leg were the only things that were flesh color.

"Argh, he's there." Ed said.

"Are….are those your limbs on him?" May asked a bit nervously.

"Yes." Ed growled.

"I can't believe you actually went back there." Mustang growled. If it was
him, he would have never wanted to go back.

Ed shrugged. "I was going to have to go back at some point. Al's body is in
there somewhere. I need to get it back." He sighed. "But at this point, I'm not
ready to go back there."

"And yet you did and sent us through?" Ling asked.

"I'm not ready to go back, but I never said I couldn't go back." Ed said. "It's
fine. You're fine. I'm fine. Everyone's fine! Even Envy….too bad on that
one."

As the scene continued to zoom in on him, Truth said, "Now what's this?
You're not even trying to get your body back, are you?"

May shivered. "He's got such a strange voice."

"What the hell? Does that Truth jerk know that Al and I are coming after
him?" Ed asked.

Izumi smirked. "Seems like it, and he seems amused."

"How did he realize it though?" Al asked.

"Probably because Fullmetal took your soul back." Mustang said. "It only
makes sense that he would be coming back for the rest at some point."

Truth's face was zoomed in on the screen before the hall Al and Gluttony
were standing in slid onto the screen. They were shown to be standing in
front of a door.

"Seems that you have reached that bastard at last." Ed said.

"Yeah, just as you are on your way back." Al muttered.

"So this is it?" Al asked. "Your father's on the other side?"

"Mm-hmm, that's right." Gluttony said.

Al's face was shown with Xiao-Mei still trembling on his shoulder. 'There
has to be a way to rescue Brother in here.'

Gluttony put his hands on the doors and pushed them open. A bright
white light came out of it. Al was shown with the light lighting up his face
before the screen went white.

There was a sound of doors slamming shut. The Gates appeared closing
before the scene moved a bit to show Ed lying on the ground in the white
void.

"Aw, come on." Ed growled, gripping his arm more tightly. His fingers
struggled to move and close into a fist because of the pain in his hand.
Seriously? He didn't even really break it, but the pain even kept that much
from him?

"So, now that you are in front of the Gate, what now?" Mustang asked.

"I leave through the Gate again." Ed hissed, still trying to wiggle his fingers.

Ed was zoomed in on, still lying on his side and grimacing in pain as his
hand twitched. The Gate was shown as the sound of Ed sitting up was
heard. "Alright." The scene moved down to show Ed sitting in front of
the Gate. "I made it." His face was shown and his eyes widened after a
moment. He turned halfway around to see another Gate behind. The
scene pulled out to show both Gates and Ed. "Wh…Were there always
two portals?"

"No, there was only ever one." Izumi said, frowning.

"Well, tell that to future me who is seeing two!" Ed said, heart clenching a bit
anxiously. Why were there two? What did it mean? He just knew that
something wasn't right here. There shouldn't be two, yet there were. There
was a reason for it. His heart beat faster against his chest and his breathing
got a bit heavier. What was it?

The scene moved back to Ed, who was still staring at the second Gate
when he saw the boy with long golden hair sitting in front of the Gate.

Ed's eyes widened in shock. "No way." He whispered. Could….Could that

really be his baby brother? After so much time, did he really find where his
little brother is?

Izumi's mouth slackened in shock. She knew that hair color. Only Ed, Al, and
Hohenheim had it. And since they knew where Ed was and that boy was no
way Hohenheim, could it really be dear little Alphonse? His body was really
trapped in the Portal of Truth this whole time? She looked at Sig, who looked
just as shocked. Was Al's body really out there and the boys weren't just
searching for something that no longer existed?

Al gasped. Did his brother really run into his body while trying to get back to
him? After everything that happened, his brother just accidentally ran into his
body when coming back to him. Al wanted to cry so much right now. His
body was right there and his brother was the one to find it. His brother found
his body, but Al just knew that this was not how he was going to get his body
back. His body couldn't return without his soul and Al's soul was still trapped
in the armor. He was found, but he was still imprisoned in there.

Ed's eyes widened in shock as he gasped quietly.

The other boy's back was shown close up.

Slowly, as a haunting, mysterious sound played, the boy turned his head
to look at Ed, revealing a single golden eye as his other eye was covered
by his long bangs.

Tears welled up in Ed's eyes. "Alphonse." He whispered.

Ling, who heard him, glanced at Ed then at the screen where Al was still
shown. "That's Al?" He asked shocked.

Ed could only nod in response, not trusting himself to say anything right now.
His baby brother was sitting right there, just staring at him. He had missed
seeing his brother for years, and now he was there, all skin and bones. His
body had been suffering for so long in the Gate it seemed. But still….it was
him…it was his baby brother….he was right there.

Ross covered her mouth in shock. Alphonse was really trapped in the Gate
and just sitting there. Tears filled up her eyes, but they didn't fall. Al was
sitting inside the Gate this whole time, just waiting for his brother arrive to
get him back. That was all that he could do, and now after all this time, the
brothers see each other, face to face. Their first meeting in years and it
happened by complete accident. Ed must be so shocked to suddenly just see
his brother. Shocked, but so happy.

Mustang just stared at the sight of Al's real body. When he first told Ed that
they might be a chance to get his body back four years ago, he never
expected it to come to this. He knew the boy was smart, but he never thought
he would found his brother's body…not until a few months after he became a
State Alchemist when he saw his determination, strength, and intelligence in
the young twelve year old. Then he was sure, somehow, someway, Ed was
going to do it. And now, after everything they've been through, he found his
brother's body. It was no longer missing, but it was still trapped. An
unplanned meeting, though he had a feeling it was pretty bittersweet.

Half of Ed's shocked face appeared on screen. After a moment, he was

shown to be desperately running over to him. The Gate appeared on
screen to be opening up. As creepy, childish giggles began to sound, the
eye opened up in the middle of the opened Gate. Multiple tiny black
hands shot out of the door and at Ed.

Ed appeared on screen, running towards his brother with his automail

arm stretched out towards him. The tiny black hands caught up to him
and wrapped around his arms, chest, legs, and head. "Al!" Ed shouted.
As Ed was being dragged back, Al was shown to still be sitting in front of
the Gate. "Al! Come on!" Ed was shown, being pulled into the Gate with
his arm still stretched out. "Please. Hurry, Al!"

Armstrong didn't bother try to hide it. He did have tears trailing down his face
as he listened to Edward scream for his brother. All the boys wanted was to
get Al back. They had sinned, and they knew that. Now they were trying to
fix themselves, not forget their sin. And yet Al's body wasn't coming back.
How much longer did these boys have to suffer? It has already been four
years, and yet it seemed, their punishment was not to end yet. Why did the
children have to live such difficult lives? No child deserves such a hard life.

Al was shown to be standing in front of his Gate now.

"AL!" Ed screamed desperately.

Riza looked down, feeling a bit heartbroken as she listened to Ed's desperate
cry for his brother. For four years, Al has been trapped in that body. For three
years, Ed has desperately searched for a way to save his brother. And now
that he has finally found his brother, he could not yet save or take him back.

Havoc's hand curled tightly shut. First Ed broke seeing all those souls in
Envy, and now he had to see his brother's body. His brother's body who
wasn't coming back with him. Ed was having a very hard day, it seemed.
Nothing really seemed to be working out for him. At least he wasn't broken
here, but he was so desperate to have his brother back by his side. And his
cries, while not heartbroken, were so distressed. It was worse then when he
was scared earlier. None of this was who Ed was.

"I can't." Al's body said.

Hughes grimaced at the weakness that could be heard in Al's voice.

Obviously he had not spoken in such a long time. All he did for four years
was sit in front of that Gate. Even if his soul wasn't there, his body still had a
mind and it must have been terribly lonely all these years. He was just sitting
there, waiting for his loyal brother to return. And now that he has, he says he
can't go with him. It must be so hard for them.

He knew it was hard for him. He loved those boys like they were his own
children. To see Ed trying to reach his brother, just to be pulled back, and for
Al to admit that he couldn't return was heart wrenching. How much longer
was Al going to have to go without his own body? And how much longer was
Ed going to have to work so hard to pull Al's body back?

Ed's shocked face was shown.

The scene pulled out to show both Gates and brothers. Ed was slowly
dragged into his Gate as Al's body said, "I can only leave with my own
soul." Al's sunken in face was shown. "I'm sorry, I can't go with you."

Ed looked down, automail hand clenched on his lap. Yes, he did guess that it
was not going to be as easy as this. But he had desperately hoped that he
would be wrong. But it seems, Al just couldn't be back to normal yet. He
closed his eyes. That's right. Not yet. Furiously, Ed wiped the tears in his
eyes away. This was not the time for that! He now knew where his brother's
body was. Al was just going to have to wait a little longer for him.

Ed looked back up at the screen, determination shining in his golden eyes.

Ling, who had watched this, smirked. Just like Ed.

Looking back at the screen, Ling watched the rest of this scene with a bit of
sadness for his friends. This must be so hard for both Elrics to see and for the
ones in the future to experience.

When Ed reappeared on screen, he was staring in horror and shock for a

moment. His eyes changed from horror and shock to sadness. He closed
his eyes and gritted his teeth as he was pulled back into the Gate farther
and farther away.

Al was shown to be watching.

Ed was shown again to still be stretching his automail hand out. It curled
into a fist as the Gate began to close.

Al was shown again.

Ed's automail fist was shown as the Gate continued to close slowly,
blocking the fist from sight as the doors shut with a loud SLAM!

When the Gate was closed, Al was shown again, looking down sadly.

May looked down as well, silent tears trailing down her face. Al had spent
four years there. He was strong for his brother, telling him he couldn't return
with him. And the moment he could no longer see him, Al let his sadness at
being stuck there show. Those brothers were always strong for each other,
but even they had their moments of weakness. Though, they never wanted to
show them to each other. Being strong and surviving is pretty much all they
knew.

May wiped the tears off her face. She may not know the brothers that well,
but she knew that Ed wouldn't let this go. Some day he would get back there
and pull Al out. He would never give up on his brother. And that was
something May loved about the brothers. They would always have each
other's back until the end.

The Gate was shown again before Ed's automail fist punched it open.

General Armstrong smirked. This kid was really something else with his
intelligence and determination. "You must love to defy all possibilities a lot."

"There was no way in hell that I could just leave it like that." Ed growled.

Buccaneer smirked. He was really liking this kid. He just went and did
something that shouldn't even be possible with that Gate.

Al looked up in surprise.

As the ending music began, Ed pulled his body halfway out of the Gate.
"Alphonse!" He yelled.

Al stared at him.

Ed was shown, struggling against the hands trying to pull him back. He
held onto one of the doors of the Gate to keep himself out. "Look at me!"
His head bowed for a moment because of the hands pulling at him before
he raised his head again as the scene moved to look at him from the side.
"I promise!" The side of Al's face that was covered by his bangs was
shown. "Someday soon, I'm coming back for you!" Ed was shown to be
pulled back into the Gate. As the Gates closed, he pointed out of the
crack that was open and stared at his brother with determined eyes.
"Just you wait!" Al was shown through the crack "WAIT FOR ME!"

His voice echoed a few times.

As Al looked down with a smile, the Gate closed.

The ending song began.

The screen went dark.

Ed couldn't help it. He laughed. He laughed loudly as he tilted his head back
to face the ceiling. He put his hand over his face to cover his eyes as he just
laughed, laughed with no end in sight. He found his baby brother. After all
these years, Al's body was found and he now knew Ed's promise. Yes, Ed
was going to come for him.

"Ed, are you okay?" Ling asked.

Ed let a few more chuckles out before he said, "I'm great, Ling. I'm just so
relieved."

"What about, Brother?" Al asked.

"You always knew my promise, Al, but your body didn't. I'm just so relieved
I got to say it to him after all this time." Ed explained, grinning a bit, though
to everyone's trained eyes, they could see the strain behind it.

"That sounds weird." Ling told him.

Ed shrugged. "Either way, it got the point across."

"Forget that." Hughes said, turning to grin at Ed. "That was an amazing scene
at the end."

"Oh?" Ed asked.

Havoc laughed. "Of course, you basically said screw the Truth and his damn
Gate and punched right through it to get back to Al!"

Al chuckled a bit to himself. Yes, that was just like his brother. He did seem
to like to doing what everyone else thought was impossible. "Thank you,
Brother." He whispered to himself.

"It was an amazing promise, Ed." Riza said, smiling. "And knowing you, I
know you will keep it."

Ed smirked.

"Since you like making amazing promises, you better keep them, Ed."
Hughes added.

"That include the one made to Miss. Rockbell?" Mustang asked.

Hughes nodded, grinning. "Yep, you can't break either of those, Ed. They are
just too big of promises to be broken."

"I have no plans to break them." Ed retorted. That's right. He couldn't break
any promises he made. He would be letting too many people down if he did.
Everyone has told them they couldn't wait for the day they got their bodies
back. He couldn't fail now.

A/N: Personally, this is one of my all time favorite episodes. Just one of
them. I have many in this series. But I really like this episode because of
the fight with Envy and Ed meeting Al at the end. I really love it because
of how Ed freezes in fear when faced with the souls in Envy's body. Don't
know why, maybe it's cause it shows Ed's fear and a weak side of him
when we are so used to seeing him strong and determined, never really
faltering. And then the promise he makes Al at the end! I love it!

I have people asking me to do FMA 2003 and Code Geass stories like
this. I might do both of those animes if I have the time and interest still
after I get through this one. I have a question though. IF I do the 2003
version of FMA, do you guys think they should be a pain factor for that
one or not?

Also, if I ever don't update a week even though I am supposed to, just
check my profile. I will have it explained there why I haven't updated,
instead of posting Author Notes from now on. So always check my
profile for a reason why there isn't an update before Private Messaging
me.

Please Review!
*Chapter 27*: Episode 27: Interlude: Party
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Those of you who care, go look at chapter 15 and read the very
beginning of it. Something was added.

And look at freaking this. I just beat chapter 26's length somehow. I am
serious this time. Don't expect it again.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 27: Interlude: Party

Fun, active music began playing as a group of people dancing around a

fire appeared on screen. The people could be heard laughing and
chattering.

"Well….this is certainly strange." Havoc said.

Ed snorted. "After the last episode with a bunch of babies appearing on

screen, I've realized that a lot of weird, random things are going to appear on
screen. No point in getting surprised over any of it now."

The scene zoomed in to show a group of the people dancing around the
fire. A girl grabbed her skirt in her hands as she danced. As she danced
away, two other people followed, dancing like they were drunk.
Two glasses of beer appeared on screen as they were clanged together.

"Hey Al," Ed said, grinning. "Doesn't this remind you of something?"

Al nodded. "Yeah, it's just like the parties that go on in Resembool on special
occasions."

"You guys really have celebrations like this?" Ling asked surprised.

Ed laughed as he leaned back into the couch. "Yeah, though Al and I haven't
attended any since that one Winry made us go to before we attempted Human
Transmutation."

"They were always a lot of fun." Al said.

"They certainly look enjoyable." Havoc said, grinning.

Luke snorted. "You just want to drink the alcohol."

"Nothing wrong with a bit of drinking." Havoc retorted.

"Why did you guys stop going?" Hughes asked, ignoring the two crazy street-
smart soldiers.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Hello? Al is a soul trapped in suit of armor and I was in
the middle of automail rehabilitation. After that, we left to find a way to get
our bodies back. There were never parties going on like that when we went
back home."

Mustang snorted. "They should have a party every time you two are in
Resembool to celebrate the fact that you guys are still alive."

Ed shot him a glare. "Not funny, Colonel."

The scene moved down to show some people standing around while
others sat down and ate food.

The scene changed to show more people appearing on screen, dancing

while Hohenheim sat on a log in the background by himself.
"It's Dad!" Al said surprised.

"Oh, wonderful." Ed said sarcastically.

"Brother, stop being like that when Dad comes onto screen." Al scolded.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'll be however I want to, Al."

Two drunk males appeared on screen and locked arms with each other
and circled the spot, blocking Hohenheim from sight.

Hohenheim's face appeared on screen.

"You look down." A female said.

Hohenheim looked down at the ground.

A beautiful female appeared on screen, smiling as she lifted a bottle to

block her face.

"Oooh, she is definitely cute." Havoc said, grinning.

Ed couldn't help it. He snorted, then smirked when he got it out of his system.
"Havoc," He drawled. "That is what Granny Pinako looked like when she
was young."

"Granny…." Havoc said.

"Pinako?" Luke finished in shock.

"That little old woman?!" Avery screamed.

"Do you know another one?" Ed asked sarcastically.

"But…but…but…what happened?" Havoc cried.

Ed shrugged. "She got old."

"I see your father still looks the same as always though." Ling muttered.
"He does," Ed said, frowning. "Exactly like he did when we were kids too.
Something is strange about this."

Pinako leaned to the side to look past the bottle. "Drink up."

The scene moved to look at the two from the side.

"Pinako." Hohenheim said, causing Pinako to push the bottle closer to

his face.

"Hey Chief, how did you know that was Pinako? Wasn't she always short
since you knew her?" Breda asked curiously.

"She was, but she does have photo books." Ed said.

"Which Brother snooped through when we were younger." Al said dryly.

"I wasn't snooping." Ed protested. "We were allowed to look through them!"

"That's what the guilty party always says." Hughes said.

Ed growled. "I was completely entitled to look through them!"

Hohenheim took the bottle.

The scene moved to the front of Pinako again and she pulled out two
glasses. "It's unhealthy to drink alone."

Hohenheim's face was shown. He moved his head down a bit so the light
would stop reflecting on his glasses and show his eyes as he smiled.

Unknown to everyone, Ed felt his heart clench when he saw that smile. It had
been so long since he's seen his dad smile. He very rarely ever did it before
he left them. Al was right before when he said that he had loved their dad at
one point. And he so desperately wished to still love his dad again, but he just
couldn't get over his anger and hatred at the man for leaving them.

And he just couldn't admit anything to anyone about any of this. Carrying
anger and hatred in silence was nothing new to him. He didn't hide his hatred,
but he did hide how angry and hurt he was.

The opening song started to play as Ed's automail hand appeared on

screen to be reaching towards the sky, surrounded by flowers with rain
pouring down.

"New song!" Ling cheered excitedly.

Ed shot him a dry look. "We get enough of that from Havoc. Don't you start
too."

"But it's so exciting!" Ling said.

"I know, right?" Havoc asked, grinning.

"Havoc, shut up." Ed ordered, shooting him an annoyed look before turning
his stare back to Ling, who just grinned in reply.

The worlds "Fullmetal Alchemist" appeared on screen.

"Why is it always Fullmetal?" Mustang grumbled. "What? Is our future

named after him?"

"Course it is, Colonel." Ed told him sarcastically. "I'm just that special."

The scene moved to Ed's feet in the grass, which only his flesh foot had a
boot on. The screen slowly moved up to Ed's face, showing his flesh arm
still in a makeshift splint as it did.

"Shuuchuu dekite'nai na mada karada ga mayotte iru n da"

"Huh," Ed said, looking down at his arm. "Did you ever notice we don't feel
the pain we feel in the opening songs?"

"Now that you mention it….No, Fullmetal, we did not notice." Mustang said.

Ed looked down at the Colonel, eyes narrowed. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"What do you think?"

"….I don't know."

A surprised looked passed Ed's face before it was replaced by an angry

look. His automail hand curled into a fist and slammed into a flower on
the ground by him, causing the petals to fly around in the air.

"furuete ita n ja KONTOROORU shitatte bureru n da"

"Such anger." Ling teased.

"What did the flower ever do to you, Chief?" Brody asked, grinning.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You guys are so annoying. This is just an opening song. I
never did any of this."

"Future you might have." Ling pointed out.

"Ling, shut up." Ed said, frowning. "Honestly, why did I ever take you out of
Gluttony with me?"

"Because you love me." Ling teased, getting into Ed's face.

Ed shot him a glare and shoved Ling out of his face and back into his seat.
"Stay." He ordered.

"I'm not a dog." Ling said.

"Now you are." Ed retorted.

Ling frowned. "No, you are."

"What?"

"Aren't you State Alchemists called Dogs of the Military or something?" Ling
asked.

"….I hate you."

The scene pulled out to show Ed standing up as the screen moved to the
side through a green leg then behind Gluttony.

"taiyou mo tsuki mo nan mo kanzen ni"

The scene moved to show Ed's back and Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath,
and Ling who was in dark clothing all staring at Ed.

"kotchi muite'nai ga"

"Uh, Ling, what's up with the dark clothing?" Ed asked, frowning as he stared
at his friend. "I didn't think you wore dark clothing."

"I don't. That is all you, Ed." Ling replied.

"Then why is future you wearing it and staring at me like that?!" Ed asked.

Ling shrugged. "It's the future."

Ed growled. "Something doesn't feel right about this."

Though he didn't reply, Ling did fully agree with Ed there. Something about
this really did feel wrong.

Ed's angry eyes appeared on screen. The scene pulled out to show his
angry face.

"yaru shika nai n da"

Ed smirked and rubbed the back of his automail hand against cheek
before running at the group.

"iikikaseru you ni sou tsubuyaita"

Hughes put his index finger and thumb on his temple to rub it. "You would
smirk and run at the enemy."

Ed shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a fighter."

"A reckless one." Izumi growled.

The music picked up as Ed was shown to be getting slammed by Envy's
hand, which was then followed by quick flashes of Kimblee with his
hands raised and face darkened, Ed's body tumbling and rolling across
the ground, Mustang holding his gloved covered hand, a group of State
Alchemists (Mustang, Kimblee, Basque Grand, Giolio) shown from
behind in the war, and finally a scene full of destroyed land with lava all
around with Kimblee standing ahead of it appeared on screen.

The scene moved up and zoomed in on Kimblee, who lifted his hands a
bit. When his face was zoomed in on, he grinned manically.

"Joukyou wa warui ga tada nigedasu n ja konjou nai naa"

"That man looks insane." Lan Fan said.

"Trust us." Mustang said.

"He is a bit insane." Hughes finished. "He is not someone you want to meet
ever."

"I feel like I've been jinxed." Ed said.

"So do I." Al said.

The scene changed to show a rock. It moved to the side to show Scar
before he was injured, walking towards the screen. His face was zoomed
in on before the scene was moving up.

"tenbou wa nai ga dokyou de KURIA suru shika nai ya"

"Looks so hot." Havoc moaned. "I don't get how people in Ishval or even
Xing can stand wearing clothes like that."

Ed rolled his eyes. "You really need to get book smart as well as street smart,
Havoc. Clothes like that actually keep them cool."

"Anything you don't know?" Havoc asked.

"He doesn't know political science." Ling said, grinning.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I know it, Ling. I'm just not an expert like you in it."

"Uh-huh. That's what they all say." Ling said.

"Who is they? You don't know any they!" Ed retorted.

The screen finished moving up and changed to a dark scene with a fire in
the middle of the screen. It moved up higher to show a distressed
Mustang, looking into the fire and holding his hand. His eye was rapidly
zoomed in on before a bright, burning fire took over the screen.

"shoudou wa osaeta mama TARGET to no kankaku sagure"

"Ooooh, I really like this opening song." Hughes said, grinning.

"Why?" Mustang asked.

"Because it's a very catchy song and the way the scenes move and change is
so cool." Hughes replied.

"It is one of the better ones." Buccaneer agreed in amusement.

The fire was zoomed in on and Mustang appeared on screen, turning

around a bit with the screen turning towards him a bit. As he turned, the
fire around him disappeared to be replaced by an open blue sky.

The scene pulled out to show Hughes with Mustang and both staring up
at Bradley.

The sky became dark as an enlarged picture of Bradley's face appeared

in the sky, staring down at the two.

"hitsuyou na mon wa katsu PURAIDO"

Envy appeared, opening his mouth as he dropped his head. Al grabbed

Envy's mouth to keep it open as little brown bodies appeared in his
mouth. The scene pulled out to show Ed sitting by Al's legs and gaping
up at Envy.
"ajiwau no wa shouri no bishu ka"

"Sitting on the ground like that is not the way to behave in fight!" Izumi said.

"Argh, it's just an opening song. This never happened." Ed muttered.

"Says the boy who gave up in the fight against Envy." Havoc retorted.

Ed scowled.

The transmutation array in the Fifth Lab appeared on screen, but it was
lit up with bright blue alchemical light with scientists watching and
Ishvalans in the array.

"soretomo"

"Is that you creating a stone?" May asked darkly.

Dr. Marcoh bowed his head. "Yes."

Scar clenched his hands tightly. So his people were really sacrificed to
become ingredients for that horrid stone? How dare these people sacrifice his
own people just for their horrible alchemical experiments? They had no right
to use other humans like that!

A Philosopher's Stone appeared on screen. The scene zoomed out a bit to

show it on a tongue. As the screen zoomed out even more, Kimblee was
shown to be licking his lips as he swallowed the stone and held onto his
hat. Pulling out even more, Kimblee was shown to be surrounded by a
bunch of red, tortured souls.

"haiboku no kujuu ka"

"Can anyone explain this one?" Kei asked, frowning.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.

"Ah, right, Chief is supposed to know everything." Brody said.

Ed's brow twitched in annoyance. "Make a few good guesses." He grumbled.

Hughes coughed. "Well, Ed? We're waiting."

"What?" Ed asked, looking up and around at all the soldiers and then to his
brother then Ling. "Seriously?"

"You can tell us any day now, Ed." Ling said.

Ed's eye twitched. "You are all…." He snarled softly and thought for a
minute. "Kimblee is wearing a white suit, yet he shouldn't even have access
something to like since he is in jail. And the stone? Why does he still have
that?"

"He never returned it." Dr. Marcoh explained. "He kept it, hid it, and we
couldn't find it no matter how much we tried. Now I see why, if he really
does keep it in his body."

"Messed up." Ed said, frowning, but he was grinning a bit on the inside. Dr.
Marcoh just helped him immensely with that info. "Okay, so if he had the
stone the whole time, he could have escaped prison at any time, and yet he
didn't, which makes me believe that he got out of prison somehow, and it
wasn't a way that was against the law if his appearance is anything to go by."

"And the background?" Hughes prompted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I don't know." He said sarcastically. "Perhaps it has to do
with the stone!"

"No need to be rude about it." Hughes scolded.

Ed, very close to screaming, restrained himself by pulling viciously at his

hair.

A blue transmutation array appeared on the screen with a black

background.

A picture of Mustang from the war opened up on a small section of the

screen with the array still in the background. As Mustang's picture slid
shut and vanished, Hughes appeared on screen next and was followed by
Riza as his picture disappeared. Riza looked up at the screen before her
picture vanished to be replaced by a distressed and crying Armstrong.

Armstrong was followed by Marcoh, whose hands were trembling. Envy

appeared next, smirking as he sat in the shadows under a flag. After him
was an angry Scar, ripping the bandages off of his face.

And finally, Father's picture slid open and took over the whole screen.
His face was zoomed in on before it went to his eye. The scene zoomed
out from the eye to show Hohenheim's face. The scene pulled out to show
Hohenheim sitting in front of a fire and looking down at a picture. As the
scene rose to look down on Hohenheim from above, the man looked up.

"Sou subete wa futatsu ni hitotsu ayatsuritai unmei no ito"

"Why was Envy shown?" Izumi asked.

"He did start the war." Ed said darkly. "I wouldn't be surprised if he stuck
around while the war happened and transformed into soldiers so he wasn't
spotted."

"Sounds like something he would do." Mustang said angrily.

"Forget that!" Hughes shouted. "Did you see Father's face?"

"What about it?" Fuery asked.

Ed scowled. "It looks just like Hohenheim's."

"Does Dad have a twin we don't know about?" Al asked.

Ed shrugged. "It was strange."

"Are you certain that man wasn't Hohenheim?" Miles asked.

Ed and Al shared a look.

"Yeah, they looked similar." Ed said slowly. "But, did you hear his voice
before? They don't really sound alike. I mean, it is a possibility, but…"

"Something is just not adding up?" Hughes asked.

Ed nodded. "Yeah. I think we are still missing something there."

Buccaneer appeared on screen, pulling back his automail. Miles rose

onto screen next to him. The Briggs wall was behind them as Buccaneer
pointed a weapon at the screen and Miles put on his sunglasses.

A tank appeared on screen with General Armstrong in it. She was

zoomed in on before she was moving and swinging her sword forward to
point. An explosion appeared on screen.

"Zekkou no GOLDEN TIME kono te de tsukame"

"You guys certainly know how to make a first appearance in all this."
Mustang said.

"And this was just the opening song." Ed muttered.

"I wonder what they will do when they first appear in the future." Ling said
excitedly.

Ed gave him a dry look. "Are you really excited?"

"Yeah! What are the chances it's going to be me meeting them?" Ling asked,
grinning. "You have a better chance of meeting them then me."

"Who wants to bet that Ed will be the one to meet them?" Hughes asked, but
no one replied. "What? Seriously? No one?"

"You can't all think that I am heading north!" Ed shouted. "East, South, and
Central. Those are my destinations, not north!"

"What about west?" Falman asked.

"Eh, I hardly go out west." Ed said.

"But you've been there?" Miles asked.

"Yes."

"Then it is time you came north since it seems like you are traveling all over
the country." Buccaneer said, grinning. "We'll be glad to greet you."

"And for some reason, I really want to avoid the north now." Ed muttered.

General Armstrong's face appeared on screen. The scene pulled out to

show Buccaneer, Miles, and the rest of the Briggs soldiers behind her.

The scene zoomed in on her face again before it rapidly pulled out to
show General Armstrong standing on top of the Briggs Wall with her
soldiers all lined up behind her.

"konshin no POOKAAFEISU kimete shikakeru yo"

A purple eye appeared on screen with soldiers following it, screaming as

they were pulled back with horses and a grinning black creature with
purples eyes all over it.

"IRYUUJON no"

"Fullmetal, you tell me what that was now!" General Armstrong ordered.

Ed jumped in surprised and looked at the General in shock. "What?"

"That thing just attacked my soldiers. What was it?" General Armstrong
demanded.

Ed blinked. "I know you guys think I can predict the future, but I'm just
making predictions based on the information we are given. I don't have any
former knowledge of that creature so I can't tell you anything until I learn
more."

When General Armstrong's eyes just narrowed, Ed sighed and looked away.
"I'll tell you when I get more information. In the meantime, be patient."
Mustang's breath hitched in his throat. He knew Ed was reckless, but he did
not just say that to General Armstrong! He grabbed Ed's arm and pulled him
down a bit to whisper to him, "Are you freaking insane? You have to be
careful around General Armstrong."

Ed snorted. "What? Is the big, bad Colonel afraid of her?"

Mustang's eyes narrowed. "I'm not, but you should at least be more careful
with what you say to her. You don't want to cross her."

Ed just shrugged.

The Gate appeared on the screen. As the scene pulled up to look at it

from above, Ed was shown to be sitting in front of it. The scene went
down and turned. It showed Ed's face briefly before passing behind the
Gate, and once it got to the other side, Ed's face was seen again.

The screen split into two as Ed's eyes were shown looking over. Al's eye
appeared on the bottom half of the screen, looking over as well.

"sekai e hikizurikonde"

"That's weird. I thought we had the same color eyes." Ed said, frowning.

"I believe Al's eyes just dulled in color because of how long he has been
there." Hughes told him. "His body has been suffering pretty long while
there."

Ed was screaming as he was pulled back into Envy's mouth. He put his
hands on Envy's teeth to keep the mouth from closing.

Al was shown to be falling through a semi-dark area, dodging attacks

from a shadow as he went. As he got closer to the screen, his face was
zoomed in on.

The scene changed to show Al being held by a group of white hands.

Ed appeared on screen, just floating in the air, staring upwards. A

zoomed in picture of Al's face was seen in the background.
"Saigen nai PURESSHAA GEEMU sururi to nukete"

"Well, that was a bit strange." Havoc said.

"A lot of strange things have happened." Ed mumbled.

"Who cares?" Ling said, grinning. "It's still an interesting opening."

Ed appeared on screen, struggling to push Envy's mouth back open.

When it was opened enough, he pulled out and struggled against the
hands trying to pull him back.

"eikou no BOODAARAIN tobikoeru tame ni"

Ed reached his hand forward. As the screen changed white, the angle of
the screen changed.

The background changed from white to the raining sky from the
beginning of the song. Ed's face was shown, showing surprise before it
turned to anger. His hand turned into a fist and slammed down again.
His eyes were shown, turning wide and causing his hand, which was
shown to pause at the last moment. His fist opened a bit to show the
perfect flower under it. The flower was zoomed in on.

"HAU MENII? Dore kurai no daishou ga iru?

"Oh, wonderful ending!" Hughes cried, clapping his hands excitedly.

"It's so good you didn't destroy the flower!" Havoc agreed, clapping his hands
as well.

Ed stared at his friend with a blank look for a moment before sighing. "I can't
take this anymore." He said before standing up and walking out of the room.

The soldiers and teenagers watched him go in confusion.

"Uh, is he upset about something?" Hughes asked, frowning.

Ling chuckled. "I think he is just stressed." He said before following after Ed,
though as he was leaving he noticed Al glaring at him. Glaring at him for
what? Following his friend to make sure he didn't try to destroy anything?

Al was all ready to follow after his brother and talk to him when Ling beat
him to it. Why did Ling have to be the one to follow his brother? Edward was
his brother and best friend first! Not Ling's! Who did Ling think he was just
encroaching on everything like this?

*Ed's Room*

Ling whistled when he entered Ed's room. He looked down at the nice,
smooth wooden floor that he stepped on in his barefoot. It was a surprising
change from the nice, soft carpet in the big room. "Nice room. Wish I had
one." He said.

Ed turned onto his side on his bed to look at the prince that just entered his
room. "Had one? You slept in one last night!" His eyes narrowed
suspiciously. "You did sleep in a bedroom last night, right?"

Ling grinned sheepishly. "Well, actually, there are only so many rooms and
May and Lan Fan shared one. I'm surprised they didn't attempt murder on one
another. And Old Man Fu found a spare bed with some of the Briggs soldiers
after I ordered him to rest since I doubt I'm in any danger here."

"Only from the future." Ed propped himself up with a hand. "And you? You
can stop avoiding it. I can see it in your eyes, Ling. A certain heaviness in
them that says you're tired. I'm surprised no one noticed how weary you
look.'

Ling shrugged. "I can go a day or two without sleeping, though I don't prefer
it."

Ed rolled his eyes. "We have no idea of how long we will be here, Ling. You
have to sleep at some point. You could have at least slept on the couch."

"Like you did?" Ling teased. "I saw you pass out on one early this morning."

"Cause I was tired. You should get some rest." Ed muttered.

"Later tonight." Ling said, frowning. "But I didn't come here to talk about me.
What's with you? Why did you walk out? They were just teasing you, Ed."

Ed rolled onto his back and put his arm over his eyes. "I know they were."

"Then the problem is?" Ling prompted as he walked farther into the room,
making sure the door was closed behind him. He sat down in the chair at the
desk and stared at Ed.

"What are you? My therapist?" Ed grumbled.

Ling leaned back on the chair. "I feel like one right now. And you look like a
patient."

Ed groaned. "Just shut up, Ling."

"Wow, you are really annoyed right now. No bantering?" Ling asked,
frowning.

"I'm not annoyed." Ed snapped at him.

Ling raised a disbelieving brow. "Then what are you?"

Instead of replying right away, Ed moved his arm off his eyes to stare blankly
at the ceiling, frowning as he did. His thoughts were a jumbled mess of
everything they have learned so far and everything they have been doing
here. Eat, watch the future, eat, watch the future, eat, sleep. There was no
time to rest and relax before they were thrown into more fights and learning
more and more dark secrets.

"Ed?"

"Stressed." Ed said, moving his eyes to look at Ling. "I'm stressed."

Ling nodded, closing his eyes. "I'm not surprised. You have been here a little
bit longer than me and you have been dealing with a lot more pain than
anyone else. Mentally and physically, you're exhausted, then having to deal
with all that teasing, cooking, coming up with new theories, learning all these
dark secrets, and being pressured for answers from everyone because you
seem to be understand a lot more, I'm really surprised you haven't crashed
yet."

"I can deal with a lot more than normal people." Ed muttered.

"That doesn't mean you don't have a breaking point." Ling pointed out.

"So I'm stressed and reaching my breaking point." Ed sat up, rubbing his tired
eyes. "Nothing I can do about that."

"Well, actually," Ling said, grinning mischievously at his friend.

*Main Room*

"Interlude Party"

"Interlude?" May asked. "What does that even mean in this?"

"Perhaps we aren't going to see what happens with everyone next and take a
break?" Al suggested, though he was a bit confused himself.

"And why would we do that?" Lan Fan asked. "We must see what has
become of Ed and the Young Lord!"

"Where are those two anyway?" Hughes asked, frowning. "Are we really
going to continue without them?"

Mustang shrugged. "If something important happens, we can just tell them
when they come back."

Gentle music began as the bonfire appeared on screen again with couples
dancing slowly around it.

Pinako and Hohenheim were shown on their log. "It's nice to relax like
this for a change." The former said.

Hohenheim took a drink.

The scene zoomed in on the two as Hohenheim lowered his glass.

Pinako looked at Hohenheim. She raised her glass a bit and shook it. "I
guess you don't think this is the right time for a party, do you?" She took
a long drink. When she finished her glass, she sighed in relief. "Oh, I
don't know. Times like these," Her head dropped to the side. "People
have to enjoy themselves when they can."

"Where's Fullmetal?" Mustang said, looking around. "I have to make that
point clear in his head."

"I don't think Brother will ever understand that point, sir." Al told him.

"What does Ed do to have fun when he is not working or doing research?"

Hughes asked curiously.

"Um…" Al thought for a moment. "Does studying languages or sparring

count?"

"No." Havoc said.

"Hmm…he…uh…"

"He is always working on something." Brody concluded.

Al's helmet dropped. "Yes."

"He needs to learn relaxation." Mustang muttered. "Before he gets sick from
overworking and the stress."

Al's hands clenched into fists. His brother, ever since their mom died, had
been looking out for him. He was always there, being the responsible one and
being strong when Al couldn't be. Ed became a State Alchemist to find a way
to get his body back, and from there, he became even more responsible, even
if he didn't show it that much, and more of a workaholic. While Al found
time to fool around and relax, Ed just continued to work and work and work.
He never rested, and it was all because he was trying to save him.

"Colonel," Riza started to say when she saw the way Al was clenching his
hands. She stopped though when she saw the look in her boss's eyes though.
It was very hard to detect unless one knew him well enough.
"I never noticed." Mustang said angrily. "I thought Fullmetal took breaks and
fooled around constantly, but now I'm founding out that all he does is work?
How can he be so foolish?...Why did I never notice? I'm supposed to notice!"

Izumi sighed. "Don't blame yourself for not noticing the stress Ed put himself
under, Mustang. Even if you did tell him to take a vacation, you would have
to threaten him to take it and even then, he would just leave for a break, but
not rest. He would continue to work on something else. Ed feels the need to
constantly work and study."

"Well, he needs to do other things and be his age!" Havoc grumbled,

frowning. Had Ed really been working like crazy for the past three years? It
was amazing he managed to even hide that fact from them.

Hohenheim was shown.

"Especially in this country." Pinako said.

Hohenheim turned his head towards her. He lifted his glass to his mouth
again.

The bottle was shown again.

As Pinako grabbed it, she said, "This conflict in Ishval, it's just one after
another. We're always at war."

The scene pulled out to show people dancing again with the two sitting in
the background.

"Isn't that the truth?" Havoc grumbled.

"At least we know why it is happening now." Hughes said.

"Too bad we can't change those pointless battles." Luke said.

"We can. We just have to get rid of this father guy and Bradley first."
Mustang argued.
"It depends on who takes over for him as well." May replied. "And it would
take a lot of work and time to stop it all."

The ground was shown with shadows of the dancers covering it.

"And no matter how many times it happens, they never learn." Lust's
voice said. "The human race is made up of violent, miserable fools."

A rock was thrown through a glass window, than civilians were shown
fighting each other. A little girl stood off to the side, crying.

"Uh, didn't we see that already?" Hughes asked.

"We did?" May asked surprised and confused.

"You didn't, May. We saw that part before you arrived here." Riza told her.

May nodded. "Oh."

Cannons were shown with soldiers standing behind them as the cannons
fired cannonballs one after the other.

A part of Ishval was shown.

Before any of the Ishvalans could move, the cannonball landed and a
huge explosion happened, which covered the screen in black smoke.
Screaming could be heard before the screen was filled with marching
feet of soldiers.

Mustang grimaced. "Why are we being shown all of this again?" When no
one answered, Mustang scowled and looked over at the doors that led to
different rooms. "Where is Fullmetal when you need him?"

*Ed's Room*

"Actually what?" Ed asked warily, staying on guard with his friend.

Seeing his friend's wary look, Ling suddenly smirked evilly. "Actually," Ling
said before he jumped over to Ed's bed and landed on it with a grin.
"Get your own bed, idiot prince!" Ed shouted.

"I would if I could, but I can't." Ling replied before he started to happily jump
on the bed.

"What the–" Ed rolled out of the way of Ling's feet. "Are you trying to land
on me?!"

"I am jumping. I can't help it if you're in the way." Ling replied.

"What kind of therapy sessions end with my therapist trying to land on me?"
Ed growled.

"The fun kind!" Ling said happily.

Scowling, Ed put sat up and slammed his hands into Ling's chest to shove
him off the bed, which he succeeded in doing, but as Ling was falling, he
managed to grab Ed's wrist and drag him along for the ride.

Thump.

Groaning, Ed stared down at the teenager he was lying on. "I really, really
hate you right now, Ling." He said before rolling off of his friend.

"No, you don't. I'm your favorite person." Ling teased, sitting up and rubbing
his head as he watched Ed rub his left wrist. "Eh, whoops. Did I grab your
injured wrist again?"

Upon hearing the question, Ed immediately dropped his hands to his sides.
"Can't you just–"

"Nope." Ling said as he stood up and went over to the bathroom.

Ed watched him go before turning on the floor to put his back against the
bed. With Ling now gone, Ed went back to rubbing his aching wrist. Ling
really did have one hell of a grip.

"We shouldn't have left your wrist untreated for so long." Ling said as he
came out of the bathroom and he saw Ed rubbing his wrist. "It needs treated."
"I know." Ed muttered.

"Then why didn't you speak up earlier to get one of the doctors to look at it?"
Ling demanded.

Ed shrugged. "Because I knew you would feel guilty if you saw how bad it
was."

"Well," Ling said, dropping to a crouch by Ed and grabbing his arm. He

pulled the sleeve down to reveal a black and blue swollen wrist. "That has
gotten very horrible in a short amount of time. What were you going to do?
Wait until everyone was asleep before treating yourself? Idiot! As if we aren't
dealing with enough pain from the future, you have to stay silent about this!"

Ed stared in surprise at his wrist. "Quite honestly, I didn't think it would be

this bad."

Ling dropped Ed's wrist and stood up with a sigh. "I'll go get some ice for it."

*Main Room*

The yelling continued as the faces of the soldiers were shown with bright
blue eyes and blond hair. The marching soldiers were replaced by
running Ishvalans. A map with a red Ishval on it appeared on screen
over the soldiers as dramatic music played.

As the paper Hughes was looking at was seen up close, he said, "Yeah,
Ishval and Liore. The east has been a real hunt bed, huh?"

Captain Fokker was shown to be standing behind Hughes as the scene

pulled out. "I'm afraid it's not just the east. There have been reports of
uprisings in the north and west as well."

A map replaced the scene. "Even now we have skirmishes at the border
of Aerugo to the south." Soldiers appeared on screen to be in ditches,
pointing their guns. "And Creta to the west." Ed's voice said.

"I know this part!" May said. "This is when Ed was talking to Ling in Rush
Valley!"
Al crossed his arms angrily when he heard Ling's name. Where were he and
his brother? They shouldn't be taking this long with whatever they were
doing.

"Yes, Fullmetal sharing his vast amount of knowledge." Mustang said dryly.

"Vast?" Havoc asked.

"He has knowledge in pretty much every subject you can think of, even if he
isn't an expert in those subjects." Mustang explained.

"Like what?" Sheska asked curiously.

Mustang shrugged. "Politics, literature, movies, music, history. He reads

anything and just soaks up the information and never forgets it. He's not as
good as you because he can't memorize things word by word, but his memory
is impressive."

Al sighed. Yes, his brother did have an incredible memory, which is why he
always had nightmares. He just remembered everything so vividly, and then
it comes back to haunt him in the middle of the night. It really wasn't fair to
him.

The map came back. "North of us is the huge country, Drachma."

Hughes's eyes were seen to still be focused on the paper. "The bodies are
piling up all over. The government's going to have a hard time keeping
control at this rate."

"Sounds like you guys have got your hands full alright." Ling replied.

"Even more so than we first thought back when we were on those episodes."
Ross groaned.

"You know, some of those episodes weren't that long ago." Hughes said.
"And yet, they feel like they were forever ago with how much that has
happened since them."
"So much information or just so many fights?" Lan Fan asked.

"Both." Hughes said.

"And most of those fights were with Fullmetal." Mustang added with a sigh.
If future Ed didn't give it a rest, present Ed was going to be in for one hell of
a ride.

Ed was shown. "Things began to move to the more militaristic when,"

Bradley was shown on screen. "The current Fuhrer, King Bradley, first
came into power."

"And it was all for their sick plan!" Walkers said angrily.

Bradley's face was zoomed in on.

Hohenheim's and Pinako's backs were shown.

A little girl ran over to the two.

Pinako looked down at her as she stretched a hand out towards

Hohenheim. "Hey, dance with me." The girl said.

Al blinked in shock. "Mom?" He whispered.

"Wait….that's your mom as a kid?" Mustang asked shocked. But she married
Hohenheim and he was already an adult here!

"Yeah!" Al said. "I recognize her from the pictures!"

"But Al…Hohenheim is already an adult here and your mom is a kid."

Hughes said in shock.

"Not to mention your dad doesn't look like he has aged at all!" Kei said.

"Eh…" Al mumbled. "He does look the same from what I remember."

Hughes frowned. "There is something strange here. Do you have any idea of
what it is?"
Al shook his head. "No, I never knew anything was weird about Dad until
now."

"Well," Pinako said, lifting her hand that held the bottle and knocked
Hohenheim's arm with it. "Aren't you the ladies' man, Hohenheim?"

Hohenheim's downcast face was shown. "I don't dance. I'll just sit here
and watch you."

"He is so unsocial." Al said with a sigh. "I now know where Brother gets it
from."

"Your brother isn't that…" Hughes paused as he thought about it. "Never
mind. You are right. Ed is antisocial."

"I can attest to that. When I make him attend military functions, he never
interacts with anyone. If I didn't watch him, he would either sneak out or
sneak a book in and sit in a corner with it." Mustang told his friend.

"How can someone who has a brother like Al and a friend like Winry be
antisocial?" Dr. Young asked.

"Brother just isn't good with people." Al said with a shrug.

"Except the Young Lord." Lan Fan said, smiling softly. "They were instant
friends."

Al growled softly to himself so no one else would hear him. Why did Ling
always have to get brought up? And if he wasn't brought up, then he was just
butting into conversation! And stealing private time Al could be sharing with
his brother right now. Ling. Ling. Ling. Ling! Why was his brother leaving
him for Ling?

Trisha was shown, still hold her hand out. "But that's no fun. Come
dance with me!"

The scene pulled out to show the three from the distance. "Look at this
codger. He'll break his hip if he tries dancing with you." Pinako said.
"There. Why don't you go dance with those kids?"
Trisha turned her head to look at the kids dancing together. The scene
zoomed in on her and she looked back at Hohenheim with a frown. She
pouted, but ran off.

"Wow, she seemed to be very bossy as a little girl." Breda said with a laugh.

"Mom had her strict moments." Al agreed.

"Really?" Havoc asked surprised.

Al sighed. "Why would it be surprising?"

Havoc shrugged. "She just seemed so kind. I couldn't see her being strict."

"Trust me, she could be really strict at times. No way near Teacher's level,
but close to it." Al said.

Izumi smirked. At least the boys would never forget how strict she was with
their training and care.

The scene pulled out to show Trisha running away.

"That girl…so bossy." Pinako said.

The scene zoomed in on her and Hohenheim.

"Weren't your two boys around her age when they started planning to
bring back their mom?" Pinako looked at Hohenheim.

"Were you–" Myers started.

"Yes." Al said quickly before he could finish the question. He really did not
want to go into that at all.

Sad music began as Hohenheim's face was shown.

Ed and Al were shown in front of their mother's grave.

Ed appeared on screen to be meeting his father in front of Trisha's
grave.

"Aww, do we have to go into the sad stuff?" Hughes asked. "It was hard
enough the first time around."

"At least there will be no surprises this time around." Miles told him.

Hughes sighed. "True, but that doesn't make it any easier to see again."

"You're their father. Why didn't you say anything to them?" Pinako
asked.

Hohenheim's face came back onto screen.

Ling stepped out of the room silently, glancing at the screen to see what
everyone else was watching. He kept silent and stayed in the shadows so no
one saw him. He knew Ed didn't want to make a big deal out of this, and
neither did Ling. He didn't want to have to admit to anyone else he made a
stupid mistake earlier and injured Ed's wrist.

Hohenheim looked down. "Because it would have been pointless to do so.

Nothing can change the reality of what they've done. They'd still be
damned."

Ling frowned, glaring at the screen. Even if speaking to his kids wouldn't
change the reality, he was still their father. He should talk to his kids. They
needed him at one point, but he wasn't there to help them. And now, he has
seen Edward, but he didn't do anything a father should do except drop a few
hints. He needed to do more than that.

The scene pulled out to show both of them.

"That's a little harsh." Pinako said.

"Their sin is still a sin." Hohenheim replied. His hands were zoomed in
on as he clutched his glass more tightly.

Al looked down a bit sadly. Yes, nothing he or his brother did would change
that fact. Nothing anyone told them would change the fact. They had sinned,
and they had ruined their own lives. It was their own fault, which was why it
was their mess to clean up and not involve anyone else.

Ed's voice was heard screaming first before he appeared on screen on his
hands and one knee as his other was missing. "Nooo! He's gone! What
have I done?"

Ling whipped back around to stare at Ed's door, but he didn't hear anything
coming from it. Shouldn't he be screaming in pain from his leg being gone?

"Wait," Mustang said, frowning. "It's too quiet."

"What do you mean?" Armstrong asked.

"Ed just lost his leg. He should be screaming right now." Mustang said. "But
I don't hear anything."

"It is–" Hughes started but was cut off by a bright flash of gold light. A letter
landed in his lap and he picked it up. "Dear Viewers, Episode 27 is mostly
flashbacks to review everything you have learned. As such, the pain factor as
have been taken away briefly so you may all get a relief from the pain you
have been suffering. V.H."

"Seriously? No pain?" Fuery asked surprised.

Hughes nodded. "That's what it says. At least now Ed can get a break." He
looked up from the note and at Ed's bedroom door where Ling was no longer
standing in front of. "What is taking those two so long anyway?"

*Kitchen*

Ling quickly set to work getting some ice out of the freezer and wrapping it
in the towel. As he was doing this, he took note of the fact that there was very
little ice left. They were going to have to make some more later. As he
finished wrapping the ice in a towel, his elbow bumped into a glass of
cranberry juice he had grabbed for himself. The glass tipped over and spilled
over the edge of the counter, catching Ling's attention.
Watching the red juice spill on the ground, creating a puddle, Ling's eyes
widened as his mind flashed to the ocean of blood inside of Gluttony. His
hands gripped the edge of the counter tightly. He closed his eyes to escape
the sight of the juice, but only saw Ed giving up the fight against Envy. Ling
grabbed his head as he felt himself in his mind reach out for Ed, only to be
inhibited by his own broken ribs.

"Ed," Ling said. "Don't."

Envy's mouth opened and dragged Ed inside of it and snapped shut. Ling felt
himself gasp in his mind and desperately waited for Ed to fight his way out…
but he never did, instead, Ling saw Envy swallow.

"No! Ed!" Ling shouted, eyes snapping open in shock.

But instead of being back in the kitchen, he found himself staring at Lan Fan
in the sewers, blood dotting her face from when she cut her arm off. She
gripped her bloody, empty sleeve with a look of pain and satisfaction at
having tricking Bradley.

He gasped and found himself kneeling on the floor with one hand holding
onto the counter and sweat pouring down his face. "Lan Fan." He whispered.

Staring down at the juice again, Ling shook his dark thoughts away and stood
up to grab a towel off the counter to clean up the mess.

*Main Room*

Ed fell over onto his side, tears pricking at his eyes. "Somebody help
me." He said. "Somebody…please Mom….Mom, please." His eyes
opened as the transmutation finally ended, only to widen in horror. But,
what he saw in front of him couldn't even be considered human. It
looked like a monster with its insides all sprouting out.

Edward stared in horror at what his transmutation had created. The

thing reached an arm out to him, blood pouring out from it. "No…this is
wrong…this isn't…this isn't what we wanted! Al…Alphonse…Alphonse!
Alphonse!" Ed's bloody hands curled into fists. "This is all my fault!
Alphonse!"

The suit of armor in the basement fell over and Edward scrabbled over
to it as best he could with one leg. "Damn it. Damn it!" He drew the
array in his own blood in the armor. "Give him back! He's my brother!"
Edward now sat up with his left stump of a leg hastily bandaged. "Take
my leg! Take my arm! Take my heart! Anything!" He shouted in
anguish, tears streaming down his face. "You can have it! Just give him
back! He's my little brother! He's all I have left!" Edward clapped his
hands in front of him, fury and determination shining in his eyes.

Blue alchemical light resounded throughout the room before it all went
dark.

By the time Ed was finished speaking, May had tears pouring down her face.
She knew the brothers committed the ultimate taboo, but she had no idea that
it was this painful to watch. Ed had suffered so much after losing his leg. He
went through the pain of losing his leg, then the torment of seeing their
transmutation fail. And yet, he still had the strength to pull through his pain
and suffering to save his brother's soul. It was just so horrible to watch.

"That was just as hard to see as it was the first time." Riza said softly.

"At least Ed didn't have to suffer through it again." Hughes said.

"Or see it again." Al added. Yes, it was a great thing his brother wasn't here
to witness that scene a third time. He didn't need to be tortured mentally by it
any more then he already has been.

The Rockbell house appeared on screen.

The screen faded to a book for a flashback. "The celestial stone that
destroyed Xerxes in one night." Edward's voice read. A serious looking
Edward appeared on the screen, sitting in a wheelchair with a book on
his lap. "If only I had that, I might be able to get your body back, Al."

"Doctor," Armstrong said as him, Ed, and Al were shown around the
table at Marcoh's house. "What exactly was it you were ordered to do
research on? What thing?"

Marcoh opened his eyes and raised his head. "The Philosopher's Stone."

"And this is where things really begin to pick up." Mustang said.

"What do you mean?" Sheska asked confused.

"If Ed and Al never met Dr. Marcoh, they would have never found his notes,
which means they would have never gone to the Fifth Lab and Ed would not
have met Envy and Lust. We would probably still be in the dark about a lot of
things." Hughes told her.

Sheska nodded. "I see."

Edward looked up in shock and Al gasped in surprise while Armstrong's

eyes narrowed.

Marcoh stood up. "You must not seek after the stone."

Ed glared at Marcoh.

"This is the devil's research.If you chase the stone," Ed's teeth clenched
angrily. "You will go through hell!"

Edward's right hand slammed into the ground in the library. "This is the
devil's research. It should've been destroyed." He lifted his hand off the
ground and covered his face with it. "Dr. Marcoh was right. It's evil."

Ed's face was shown, half covered by his hand. "The main ingredient for
a Philosopher's Stone…is human life."

The bonfire appeared on screen again with people still dancing around
it.

"Doesn't that party ever end?" Buccaneer asked.

"Not until very late in the night." Al said amused.

The wood surrounding the fire collapsed and the fire grew, but the
people continued to dance as if they didn't notice.

Hohenheim's face was shown, glasses reflecting the fire.

"Uh, aren't they going to do something?" Brody asked.

Al shrugged. "Since they didn't react, I would guess what we are seeing isn't
really real."

"Then what is it?" Falman asked.

"I don't know." Al replied. "But if that happened at a real party, reactions
would have been instantaneous, which is why I am thinking this is not real."

The adults dancing by the fire were shown. A girl grinned as she turned
and continued to move. Another girl was shown followed by a boy.

Pinako was shown to be dancing with the little kids.

Hohenheim's back was shown with the fire and dancers in front of him.
The screen slowly tilted.

The ground was shown with the dancers' shadows on it. The dancing
shadows began to morph together before Hohenheim was shown again.

"It's remarkable how weak they are."

Hohenheim turned his head to see a person who looked just like him
standing there.

"Seriously, why do they look so alike?" Havoc asked.

"So, I really don't think they are the same person." Al said.

Hughes nodded. "They do sound very different, but they look very similar.
Are you sure you don't have any relatives besides your parents?"

Al nodded. "Only Mom, Dad, and Brother. There is no one else."

"This is really confusing." May said, frowning.

"They have an inert fear of the dark, and how do they handle this fear?
They simply pretend that it doesn't exist." Father said. "They run away
from it." He turned his head to look at Hohenheim. "How could anyone
say humans aren't weak?"

Some of the dancers were shown.

"Who the hell does that guy think he is?" Mustang snarled angrily. "Not all
humans are the same. We are all different. We all have fears, but we do not
all turn our backs and run. They are some of us who turn and face it head on."

"And besides, humans may be weak and may have fears, but it just means
that we have room to grow and get stronger!" Al said angrily, thinking about
his brother and how much he grew with everything that has happened in the
past few years. Yes, humans may start weak, but they can always become
exceptionally brave and strong.

"It's an inherent trait." The bottom half of Father's face was shown. He
looked back at Hohenheim. "So then, how about we take advantage of
their weakness? They certainly do make a good natural resource, right?
It's all they're good for."

"How much horrible can this man get?" General Armstrong asked disgusted.
"He treats us like we are animals for the picking."

"Which means we now know how the animals feel." Havoc muttered. "Like
prey struggling to survive."

*Ed's Room*

"Hey Ed, sorry that took so long." Ling said quietly as he closed the bedroom
door behind him.

"Tis alright." Ed mumbled.

Ling looked back at his friend, and was surprised to see him holding his flesh
arm to his chest with his automail hand with blood trailing down the hand.
"Ed?" He asked, heart jumping to his throat at the sight of blood. This
shouldn't be happening. He's not afraid of the sight of blood. He could handle
it. "Why are you bleeding?"

"Cut myself on part of my automail." Ed grumbled, looking down at the joint

between his hand and wrist where there was some dry blood.

"Unbelievable. Can't even leave you alone for a few minutes." Ling muttered
as he walked over to Ed. He grabbed a pillow off the bed and dropped it onto
Ed's lap.

Ed dropped his arm to the pillow and took the towel with ice from Ling.

"Keep your wrist leveled with the ice on it for ten minutes." Ling said.

"I know the drill." Ed grumbled. "This isn't the first time this happened."

Ignoring him, Ling stood up and went back to the bathroom. Ed leaned his
head back on the bed, closing his heavy eyes and just listened to Ling rustle
around in the bathroom.

When Ed felt a pressure on his hand a few minutes later, he opened his eyes
to see Ling holding a towel to his hand to get the bleeding to stop. "Idiot."
Ling grumbled as the towel dyed red. "How do you even cut your palm on
your automail? You had this for four year!"

"Accidents happen, Ling." Ed snapped at him.

"Has this happened before?" Ling asked curiously.

Ed gave a one shouldered shrugged. "A few times, mostly from me being
careless."

After getting Ed's palm all cleaned, Ling pulled a first aid box closer to him
and pulled out some ointment and gauze.

"Where did you even get that?" Ed asked.

Ling gave him a blank look. "You had a first aid kit in your bathroom and
you really had no idea?"

Ed shrugged.

Ling sighed and pulled the gauze tightly around Ed's palm. "When the
swelling goes down on your wrist, I'll need to wrap it up. I'm really sorry
about that."

"Ling," Ed said with an annoyed sigh. "Just let it go already. It doesn't matter.
What were you saying earlier before you decided my wrist needed
treatment?"

Ling forgot his worries for the moment and grinned at Ed. "I was saying it is
time for a little stress reliever."

"Really?" Ed raised a brow. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"You shouldn't even have to ask." Ling said, grinning.

Now Ed felt very, very confusing.

Hohenheim was shown.

Dramatic music began as the array in the Fifth Lab was shown.

"Maybe you'll find the truth hidden within the truth." Dr. Marcoh's
voice said as the screen moved up to show Ed standing in front of the
array.

A short pillar with another transmutation circle on top of it was shown

in the middle of the bigger one. Then the scene flashed to one of the
circles of the bigger transmutation circle which was splashed with dried
blood.

Ed's frowning face was shown as he stared at it. "What is all this? I bet
this is what they use to transmute a Philosopher's Stone."

48 was shown before he was suddenly moving so quickly that Ed didn't

have time to react as the suit of armor was suddenly in front of him,
causing Ed's body to tremble slightly.

"Alright then, let's see what you got." 48 said and was suddenly swinging
his sword up at Ed's head. Edward ducked under the sword as 48 raised
his sword above his head. He brought his sword swinging down, causing
it to clash against Ed's blade as he moved back.

Hughes groaned. "Why do we have to see so much of this fight? Wasn't

watching it once enough?"

"Apparently not." Sheska moaned.

"We already know what happens so it will be fine." Mustang said, though he
was frowning as he watched Ed fight.

Ed gritted his teeth as he stared at 48, who was suddenly charging at him
again with his sword held in both hands and pointed at him.

"A prosthetic arm, huh?" Ed continued to move back away from the
enemy, eyes locked on him. "No matter."

48 was shown, still charging at the boy. "My sword can pierce steel as
well as flesh." He swung his sword at Ed, but the boy blocked it with his
blade again.

"And yet, Ed still blocked his sword and his automail wasn't cut at all."
Havoc said, smirking. "How strange."

"Winry's automail is some of the best out there." Al said. If it wasn't for
Winry being so good at what she did and being Ed's mechanic, who knows
what would have happened to his brother by now.

Ed pushed the sword aside and lunged at 48 with his blade ready, but 48
jumped back to dodge. His sword swung forward again, but Ed ducked
under it before kicking 48 in the chest, which caused a hollow echoing
sound to resound. 48 stumbled back a bit from the blow.

48 was shown charging at Ed again. Edward was doing the same thing.
They met in the middle with their blades clashing. 48 pushed Ed to the
side. The boy ducked down and slid to the other side in a crouch. Slicer
raised his sword and brought it down on Ed, who blocked it again with
his blade. Next, Slicer swung from the side, which was blocked again.

Edward dropped down to his knees to avoid the sword that was aiming
for his head. He did a one handed back flip when Slicer brought the
sword down once more. As he landed on his feet, he stumbled back as
Slicer came running at him again.

"This is quite an intense fight." May said.

Lan Fan nodded. "Even though I never fought Ed, I could tell from our fight
we saw in Rush Valley that he is a highly skilled combatant. This fight really
helps prove it."

"He won the fight in the end, but he did end up getting sent to the hospital
because of his injuries." Hughes told the girls.

"Really?" Lan Fan asked surprised.

"He's a good fighter, but Slicer was just faster than him. With his heavy
automail, Ed is slowed down significantly. It is amazing he can move as fast
as he can with that automail." Kei told them.

"He's been carrying that automail for four years. It must have made him
stronger carrying that weight for so long." Mustang said thoughtfully.

Kei smirked. "If he ever gets light automail, he will be a lot faster, that is for
sure."

His blade came flying directly at Slicer, but it was pushed to the side by
his opponent's sword. He pulled back slightly to miss getting hit with the
sword. Slicer spun in a circle once before swinging his sword at Ed's
head. The boy ducked under it again and lunged forward with his blade,
but missed and was forced to jump back as Slicer brought his sword
down again.

Ed charged at Slicer before jumped and severed his helmet from his
body.

"At least we don't have to watch the full fight." Hughes said.

"That wasn't the full fight?" Fu asked.

"No, some of the fight, particularly the areas where Ed got some of his
injuries were left out." Sheska told him.

The helmet was shown flying through the air.

The metal armor fell to the ground with a CLANG!

"Brother." The armor said, dropping his arms.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we've lost." The helmet said.

Ed poked the legs of the armor with his foot. "So you're not going to tell
me you're really three brothers, are you?"

Lan Fan chuckled a bit. So that is what Ed meant about the brothers sharing
the armor. Since he never explained that clearly, it was a bit confusing.

The upper body of the armor waved his hand. "No, no." The brothers
echoed together.

"Come on, boy, you've won. Hurry up and destroy us." The helmet said.

Ed sat up straight. "No, I'm not a murderer."

"With bodies like these, are we really even people?" The helmet asked.

Ed frowned. "I consider you people whether you have physical bodies or
not. If I didn't, that would mean I didn't believe my own brother as a
person either."

May smiled. "That is sweet."

"In a way." Al said softly, but happily as well. His brother really was an
amazing person. It was great that he always stuck to his morals, no matter
what anyone else said or tried to make him do. He never let himself be
pressured into anything.

Slicer's helmet was shown.

Sad music began as Ed was shown on the screen once more, gripping his
bleeding side. "I know my brother is a human being. That means you
guys are human to. I will not take the life of another person."

"Huh." Slicer's helmet said before he started laughing, surprising Ed.

"Brother?" The body asked confused.

"My brother and I have been lying, stealing, cheating, and killing
together for as long as we can remember. And now that we are in these
suito bodies, we are being treated like humans for the first time. Don't
you see the irony?" The helmet explained.

"For that, boy, I'll give you a parting gift. I'll tell you everything."

As Slicer continued, a pair of feet was showing stepping into the room.
"I'll tell you who made the Philosopher's Stone and ordered us to guard
this place."

Spikes came flying through the air and stabbed 48 in the helmet. A
shocked look passed over Ed's face before a woman's lips were shown to
grow into an evil grin.

"My, that was a close call." Lust said as dramatic music began. The nails
began to retract, pulling the helmet with them. "Number 48, you should
know better than to talk about things that don't concern you."

"Things have calmed down, than they escalated just as quickly again." Avery
groaned.

"That seems to be a normal thing with our future." Brody muttered. "And we
haven't even appeared yet!"
"Considering you Briggs soldiers are crazy, I say a lot is going to happen
with your appearance." Havoc said, grinning.

"At least it won't be boring then." Brody said.

"Nothing is ever boring!" Havoc protested. "Especially when Chief is on

screen, either fighting or messing around with Ling."

Hughes frowned. "Don't phrase it like that, Havoc. It makes it sound weird."

"You always make things sound weird!" Mustang retorted.

"But 'messing around with Ling?'" Hughes retorted. "Do you know what that
sounds like?!"

"Eh…I do, but what do you care?" Mustang asked. "You make jokes like that
all the time."

"But it's Ed! He can't be messing around with anyone!" Hughes argued.

May blinked and looked at Al. "What are they talking about?"

Al shrugged. "I'm not a hundred percent sure…" He muttered, though he was

scowling on the inside. He was sure he was missing something there, though
he wasn't sure what it was, it still annoyed him. Ling shouldn't be hanging
around his brother at all!

Silently, Hughes crossed his arms and glowered at the screen. Ling had better
not have touched Ed, now or ever. If he does, Hughes will not be held
responsible for what happens to the prince.

Lan Fan had to fight a smile down. She knew Ling would never do anything
like that, especially to Ed, but if he knew how Hughes would react, he would
probably do something just to mess with the 'papa bear.' He always did love
teasing people.

A sword was shown stabbing downward. It pierced through the armor

and the brother grasped. Envy was shown holding the sword. He picked
the sword up and began to stab the bloodseal repeatedly. "Quit your
pathetic blubbering, you idiot!" Ed was shown closer as he watched in
horror. "You could've messed up the entire plan. What would we have
done then?" Envy asked. He was shown staring down at the armor with
a nasty look. "Huh?!"

"He really is a horrible person." Lan Fan said angrily. She did not feel sorry
for Slice. He did try to kill Ed, but Envy was just being horribly coldhearted
here.

"Tell me who you people are. What plan are you talking about? What do
you mean when you say important sacrifice?" Edward demanded,
leaning on the wall behind him for support.

Gluttony was shown. "He'll be happy since you're a human sacrifice."

The scene pulled out to show all three of them. "Uh…oh, sure, right." Al
replied. "That's why he'll want to meet me." Al bowed his head a bit.
'And I guess I'll find out what that means.'

Izumi swung a lance at Ed as she turned around. Ed blocked the lance

with his arm. As it was pulled away, he grabbed the end of it, but had to
let go to duck under a kick. He jumped back, twisting his body around to
avoid getting stabbed.

"Their teacher seems to be a worthy candidate for human sacrifice too."

Bradley's voice said.

"Why were you trying to kill Ed?" May asked.

"I wasn't. I was testing a theory." Izumi told her.

May chuckled a bit nervously, feeling sorry for Ed now. His teacher was
crazy if that was how she tested a theory.

*Ed's Room*

Ed put his uninjured hand to his forehead and rubbed it. "A prank? You really
are an idiot."
"Don't call the person taking care of your injuries and stress an idiot!" Ling
snapped, frowning at his friend. "And you need it. Sheesh, when was the last
time you took a break from work and researching and all of this?" He
motioned to the door where everyone was watching the future on the other
side.

Ed blinked. "Uh…I think the last time I did anything that didn't have a
purpose towards my goal or work was right before the Human
Transmutation. Winry dragged Al and me to a party in Resembool."

Ling looked at Ed blankly. "Four years ago." He said with no emotion.

Ed nodded.

"You went four years without doing anything for fun that wasn't work or
research?" Ling shouted in shock.

Ed shrugged. "I've been busy…."

"Too busy to care for yourself? You need to take time off!" Ling said,
frowning. He grabbed Ed's wrist and gently, but tightly started to wrap gauze
around it. "You should take better care of yourself. You've only got one body.
Al is counting on you to get his body back, right?"

"Ling–" Ed said.

"You can't afford to get sick from neglecting injuries." Ling continued in a
commanding tone. "Besides did you ever think about how Al feels? He
watches you push yourself to the limit, and then some when you continue on
even if you are injured. You try so hard to protect him and not worry him.
But he worries and hurts when you're hurt. Slow down and just try to do
something fun for once. Al will be happier if his brother takes a break and
fools around once in a while. He doesn't want to be the reason you get sick or
die."

"I'm not going to!" Ed retorted.

Ling pulled the gauze tightly, making Ed hiss. "You don't know that. You're
not invincible, Ed. Anything can happen….And, we are pulling a prank."

Ed glared at him.

"You're helping. It will be fun." Ling said, finishing up on Ed's wrist. He

looked down at the limb, seeing two separate areas bandaged with gauze. "It
will be a fun way to start a nice, long break."

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked.

"I want everyone to take a break after this episode is over. We all need it."
Ling explained as he lifted Ed's hand. "Besides, it's getting pretty late. I
believe this will be a good place to end for the night."

Ed frowned. "We still have more time to watch some more."

"And end up on a dark note?" Ling retorted, tightening his grip just a bit on
Ed's hand. "I'd rather not end tonight on a dark note. It will just make things
harder. This is what I'm trying to tell you, Ed. We have time. You have time.
You need to learn to relax." He looked down at Ed's injured hand in his hand.
"A break is something we all need. Now." He shifted around to lean on the
side of the bed next to Ed. "Help me come up with a prank idea."

Lust's hand appeared on screen, pulling Mustang's glove off a bit before
moving her hand to his next finger and pulling his glove off completely.
"I really hate to do this..." Mustang looked up at Lust with one eye.
"You were a prime candidate for sacrifice and all. But you've forced me
to kill you."

"Except you failed at that!" Mustang retorted, smirking. "She should have
made sure I was dead before leaving. You never leave your opponent alive to
die slowly. It gives them the chance to come back!"

"Bad luck for her, but good luck for us, Colonel." Riza told him.

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen. "You know what? I've been sitting here
a while, trying to decide what you mean by sacrifice. Trying to figure out
why I'm here. And what is it exactly you want me to do."
A pen was shown to be circling a city. "Liore." Hughes said. The dark
room was scanned over. "These endless uprisings…The Philosopher's
Stone…human sacrifices." Hughes appeared on the screen. "And the
outright genocide of the Ishvalan people." He picked up the map. "And
this means, how could this even happen? And who could have
orchestrated something as terrible as this?"

"The crazy psychopath who thinks he is better than everyone else." Walkers
said angrily.

Ed appeared on screen to be staring at the array in Xerxes.

Central was shown from the sky.

"I'm fairly certain that what you're doing right now is using this land
and its people to form a giant transmutation circle." Dr. Marcoh's voice
said.

"Well, that is certainly a part of it." Hughes said.

Mustang looked at his friend then at the couch. "Why are we still on the
floor? Fullmetal and Ling aren't even here on the couch anymore."

Hughes glanced at the couch then back at his friend. "You make a very good
point." He said before standing up and collapsing back on the couch. "Ah, I
see why those boys didn't give this up. The couch is so comfortable after
sitting on their floor for so long."

Mustang agreed silently as he sat next to his friend on the couch.

It turned to night time as the city was lit up with a red transmutation
circle.

"And your hope is the end result will be the creation of a Philosopher's
Stone."

A blue transmutation array with two red figures shaped like bodies were
on the edges of it. A Philosopher's Stone came from the center of the
array with a hand reaching out from behind it. It closed around the
stone before fire swept through it.

"Am I wrong?"

"We should have watched this episode when we first arrived in this place."
May mumbled. "It would have been really helpful to us know what is going
on."

"Most helpful. Ed gave an amazing explanation, but this would have been
great to see since all the scenes help with it." Lan Fan agreed.

"You guys just arrived at a bad time then." Hughes told them.

The stone came out of the fire, showing the suffering souls in it.

The Xerxes civilians appeared on the screen, screaming out in pain as

black hands surrounded them all.

A transmutation array appeared on screen.

The scene changed to a building in Xerxes with a giant eye surrounded

by blue alchemical light appearing under it. The scene then pulled out
again to show the eye from a distance with a bunch of giant black hands
reaching out of the ground and into the sky.

"You've always known about their plans, haven't you?" Pinako's voice
said.

"What? He did?" Al asked surprised. "How could Dad have always known
this?"

"Always known what?" Ed asked as he and Ling walked back over.

"Chief!" Avery exclaimed. "And Ling! Look who is finally back! And where
have you two been?"

Ed shrugged, tugging at the white gloves that were now covering his hands.
"How is any of that your business?"
"Because you left in a big huff, Fullmetal." Mustang told him dryly. "Feel
better?"

"No!" Ed half-shouted, stomping over to an empty spot on the floor and

collapsing face down on it.

When everyone looked from Ed to Ling, the prince just shrugged and moved
over to his friend. He sat down by Ed with Lan Fan on his other side.

"Is Ed okay?" Lan Fan whispered to him.

"Just stressed." Ling muttered back.

"What's been happening?" Ed's mumbled voice asked.

"It's mostly a flashback episode, Brother, though we have been seeing Dad a
bit as he thinks about all that has happened and he speaks to Pinako when she
was young and that Father guy has shown up a bit as well." Al informed him.

Ed lifted his head off the ground to stare at Al. "How does he know anything
that has happened so far? He hasn't been around for any of it!"

"And yet you think he is the one who brought us here?" Mustang asked.

Ed's brow twitched. "I know he was! How is he doing this? How does he
know everything?"

"Also, Ed, the pain factor has been taken away from this episode so we can
have a relief episode." Hughes told him.

Ed dropped his head back to the ground. "Great." He turned his head slightly
to look at Ling with a frown. "I hate you." He whispered quietly.

Grinning, Ling leaned down a bit to whisper, "No, you don't. This will be a
lot of fun, Edo. Just enjoy it."

"Do Not!" Ed hissed. "Do not call me Edo!"

Ling pouted. "Why shouldn't I get to call you that? I let you call me idiot
prince."

Ed rolled his eyes. "You don't let me. I do it because I can."

"Oh, so I can call you Edo even if you don't like it?" Ling grinned. "I think I
shall then."

Ed snarled. "Not what I meant."

"Too late. You said it." Ling replied.

"You are annoying as always." Ed grumbled.

Pinako appeared on screen, staring at her friend. "Well, Hohenheim?"

Hohenheim was shown to just be staring at her.

"Why have you kept quiet about it?" Pinako asked. She appeared on
screen again. "Tell me, damn it!"

"Did Granny Pinako just swear?" Al asked surprised.

"She doesn't?" Brody asked.

"Not often." Ed mumbled into the carpet. "She keeps it minimal if she swore
at all when we were younger because we were just kids."

"And yet, you still swear." Hughes pointed out.

"Habit." Ed mumbled. "Just slips out when I'm frustrated or stressed."

"That comes from not taking breaks." Mustang snapped at him. "What do you
have against taking a vacation?"

Ed's head snapped up. He glanced at Ling then at Mustang, frowning. Why
couldn't any of them mind their own damn business?

"Even if I'd spoken up," Hohenheim said before the scene pulled out to
show both of them from the side. "Warned them. It wouldn't have
changed anything."

Pinako gasped.

"Does he doubt us that little?" Mustang asked angrily. "If he just warns the
right people of what was going to happen, it would give us the chance to do
something. Just sitting back and waiting for their plan to be completed so we
can die is not how I want to spend my last days. If there is even the slimmest
chance to stop them, I want to go for it. But we need the warnings and
information if we are to do that. It is not for him to decide whether or not it
will change anything."

Hohenheim put his glass down by him. He looked back at Pinako. "I've
watched humanity for a long time now, and all I've seen them do is
endlessly repeat the same mistakes."

The fire was shown again with people still dancing around it.

"That's not surprising, at least in Amestris. 'If we don't learn from history, we
are doomed to repeat it.'" Hughes said, frowning. "With the Homunculi
running things in the background, we are repeating what they want us to
because of their manipulation."

"As true as that is, some of what we do is our own fault as human beings. We
are faulty beings." Edward muttered. "We make mistakes. We act in our own
interests. We are selfish beings looking out for what we want."

"Not everyone is like that." Hughes said.

"Maybe not always, but they will have their moments." Ed said.

"It's like they choose to be helpless. They either run away or they roll
over." Hohenheim's voice said.

Dramatic music began as a dancing body slammed into the others and
they exploded into blood.

Two girls were shown, laughing before the blood splattered onto them,
making them go silent.
Hohenheim was shown again. "They're so fragile. How can they not
break?"

"Your father speaks a bit harshly." Havoc told the brothers.

While Al nodded in agreement, Ed snorted. "Can't believe I'm bloody saying

this, but it's not harsh. He is speaking in more of a philosophical sense as he
wonders about the things that have happened and why they happened.
Though he does that sometimes," Ed lifted his head off the ground and
looked at Ling. "Please hit me when I'm finished."

Ling frowned at Ed's request. He already hurt his wrist earlier, and now he
wanted him to hit him? He didn't want to hurt his friend again, but Ed must
have known his thoughts because he glared at Ling to tell him to just do it.
Ling gritted his teeth. Damn Ed for being so demanding with his requests,
even without words.

Ed knew Ling was still upset about injuring his wrist earlier which was why
it was him Ling asked. He wouldn't abuse the privilege and maybe this would
help him to stop worrying about his wrist. Smacking each other in a joking
manner was just naturally for the two of them. He didn't want Ling to worry
about a small injury on his wrist and act weird about it anymore.

"Though he does that sometimes, before he abandoned us, he was a very kind
and caring father and husband, despite a lot of his time being spent on his
research. It was more towards closer to when he was getting ready to leave us
that he became distant and cold, opting to spend more time on his research
then with his family." Edward said.

Hughes frowned. "Sounds like he knew he would be leaving soon and wanted
to pull away to make it easier for him."

Ling smacked Ed in the back of the head.

Ed rubbed his head. "Seriously? The head? Most people would aim for an
arm!"
"Your fault for not specifying where you wanted hit." Ling retorted.

Lust's spears drove themselves deeper into Mustang. Blood trailed down
his chin.

Lust's nails were shown to be in Mustang's side as blood started to

spread all around his jacket. "I told you...The Philosopher's Stone's my
core."

Greed raised his hand to show his tattoo. "I'm a Homunculus."

Greed lifted a finger as red light surrounded his head. Without moving a
muscle, Greed practically glided back to his feet as his head repaired
itself.

"You know what that means, right?" Greed's voice said. "I'm an
artificially created human."

Greed appeared on screen again, moving his hand a bit. "Really. No

joke."

Ed jumped back a few steps as Ling was shown to be approaching him

and Envy.

Envy stood up on the rock. The scene moved to Envy's front. His arms
swung limply by his side. "I'm gonna show you two boys something neat
before we die." Envy was shown as a giant monster. "Consider it a
parting gift."

"Sooo, is this what you meant by pretty much all flashbacks?" Ed asked,
lying his head back on the ground as he deemed it useless and unimportant to
continue glaring at Ling.

"Yep, this is mostly the kind of thing we have been watching this whole
time." Hughes said.

"Seems pointless." Ed grumbled.

"And you were in such a hurry to get back out here." Ling mumbled.
"Better out here than listening to you." Ed grumbled.

Envy's head was shown as the red alchemical light died down and Envy's
head moved around a bit before the scene pulled out to show him falling
on his front legs, which caused the blood to wave around, making the
teenagers struggle through the blood.

Gluttony appeared on screen with Envy and Lust behind them from
when they were in Liore. "Then it's time to eat you."

Part of the shack started to fall down. The hole in the shack was shown.
Gluttony was standing there with glowing red eyes and a mouth on his
stomach.

"Mustang!" Gluttony shouted as his body moved a bit before violent

sucking wind blasted out of his stomach again.

Riza was shown outside, getting ready to open the door when the area
rocked violently and a hole appeared in the wall next to her. Violent
wind ripped out of the shack, carving the ground immediately in front of
it.

"The Homunculus," Ling's voice said. "He had another monster hidden
inside his belly."

"More like that damn fake Portal of Truth." Ed grumbled.

"We did get out of that, right?" Ling asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Ed said, rolling over onto his back before pushing himself into
a sitting position. He ran a hand through his bangs. "We're completely fine,
Ling. Have a little faith."

Riza was shown to be standing next to the crater in the ground from it.

"He's swallowing up everything in sight!"

Ed was shown to be staring in horror at Gluttony. 'Alchemy can produce

something like that?'
Gluttony appeared on screen. He gripped a piece of the wall of the shack
that was left.

'How disgusting.'

Bradley appeared on the screen. He was shown to be standing outside the

Devil's Nest.

Greed appeared on screen. "Just what do you want, old man?"

Bradley suddenly dashed forward, swords slashing so quickly that they

were hard to follow, though Greed managed to dodge them at first. Soon,
it became too fast for him and he started getting hit multiple times
without being able to stop it. Bradley kicked Greed in the chest, which
sent him flying into one of the sewer walls.

"That is the fight between Greed and Bradley?" Ling asked.

"Yep, Greed got his ass kicked there." Ed replied.

"Says the boy who got his ass handed to him by Greed." Luke retorted.

"Hey!" Ed snapped. "I learned how to fight him and was doing pretty well by
myself when Teacher showed up."

"And yet, you wouldn't have lasted much longer because of your injuries."
Izumi said.

Ed's head fell down dejected.

Al was shown.

Bradley's Ouroboros tattoo was shown.

"I may not have the protection of your Ultimate Shield, but I clearly see
a weakness with my Ultimate Eye."

Greed was shown to be standing behind Wrath in the water.

He charged at Greed, kicking up water as he did. He slammed into
Greed, sending him flying back. Bradley spun in the air.

As Greed landed in the water, he had to block a sword with his hand.
With it blocked, Bradley landed in the water behind Greed, stabbing his
sword forward, but Greed blocked it and stumbled away. With his sword
blocked once more, Bradley jumped forward, swinging his sword. When
Greed jumped away again, Bradley charged after him and managed to
stab him with both his swords backwards. Greed cried and fell into the
water with four swords in him.

Raven was shown before the scene moved to show Bradley.

'Ah, I understand now, Hughes.' The screen flashed to the Generals

watching Mustang. 'When you said that we were in trouble. You didn't
mean the danger was closing in on us. No, you meant the danger was
coming from us!'

Bradley was shown.

Gluttony, Al, and Xiao-Mei appeared in the forest. "What did you say?
You have a father?"

"Uh-huh." Gluttony said.

"Is he the one who made the Homunculi?" Al asked.

Gluttony approached Al, making Xiao-Mei slide off of Al's back in fear.
"Father made us."

The room full of pipes was shown.

Father's half-shadowed face was seen.

Lust appeared on screen next.

"Humans are defenseless." Hohenheim's voice said. "They don't have an

ultimate spear."
Greed was shown with swords in his chest.

"Nor an ultimate shield."

"Not that the ultimate shield was even helping him there." Edward said.

"It does make it quite ironic." Ling added.

Father's shadowed face was shown again with it slowly fading into the
background as Hohenheim's face took over the screen. "It's no use." He
said, staring at his hand. "They're all so busy with their trivial lives.
They don't even see the real danger."

"No one could have predicted danger like this." Ed said, frowning.

As the scene moved to show him from behind with Pinako still in front of
him, he lowered his hand.

The bottom half of Hohenheim's face was shown from the side. "So what
could they do?" He asked. "They can't defend themselves, not against
the likes of the Homunculi."

"I object to that!" Mustang scowled. "I think I proved just how well we can
defend ourselves against them."

"Yeah, after almost dying." Ed retorted.

"The same could be said about you, Ed." Hughes said. "Even though you
didn't win in your fight against Greed, you proved that you could fight back
and severely injure him, after getting severely injured yourself of course."

Ed rolled his eyes. "And Ling proved in his capture of Gluttony that you don't
have to have alchemy to be able to take on the Homunculi."

"Right, so we all agree that it is possible to defend ourselves against the

Homunculi, if we have alchemy or supreme sword fighting and martial arts
skills?" Havoc asked. "And that leaves the rest of us, where?"

"Supporting the rest of us with any help you can provide." Ed replied dryly.
"Thank you for the vote of confidence." Brody said.

"Just pointing out the obvious." Ed replied.

Luke grinned viciously. "Okay, Chief. When you come up north and if we
have the chance to face off against a Homunculus, we'll show you just how
skilled us regular soldiers are."

Ed raised a brow, smirking. "I'd love to see that."

"Be prepared for it." Clarink sneered.

Pinako was shown from the side before the scene moved to show her
from the front. She was rapidly zoomed in on. "But that won't make us
give up."

Hohenheim was shown again with the fire still reflecting on his glasses.

Pinako's hands were shown to be clenching into fists before the scene
moved up to her face. "We will never give up!"

Hohenheim appeared on screen.

Sad music started.

Mustang appeared on screen, holding his burnt side with a lighter in his
hand and a transmutation array carved on the back of his hand.

"That is true. It is a human characteristic."

"See? He is just being all philosophical tonight." Ed said. "….Damn it."

Ling smacked Ed in the head again.

Ed shot him a glare. "I didn't say to do anything that time!"

Ling shrugged. "You wanted it. I know you did."

Hughes glared at Ling's back, burning a hole into it with his mind.
Ed's eyes narrowed. "Don't say that. It sounds weird."

Ling just shrugged a bit uncomfortably. It felt like he was being glared at.

Lust was shown with flames overtaking her body. "You should've bled to
death by now!" She shouted.

Mustang's burnt side was shown. "I seared the wound close." His face
was shown. "I came close to passing out from the pain."

Mustang lifted the lighter in his hand and clicked it. Lust's body was all
red and her bone was showing in some places because her skin was all
melted away. She got to rest for barely a second before flames were
burning at her body once more and she was screaming in pain.

Greed slammed his hand in Ed's face and pulled him up into the air. "I
appreciate the effort, but you just can't win." He said as he threw Ed
into a crate.

"So, I'm guessing that wasn't an enjoyable fight." Ling said.

Ed shot him a glare. "Ling, seriously…"

"What? I'm just asking. I didn't get to see this fight." Ling replied.

Ed rolled his eyes. "…It was a tough fight until I learned how to fight Greed."

Greed pulled Ed up by his shirt. "So, you ready to tell me your secret
now?"

Ed chuckled. "Thanks for toying with me."

"What?" Greed asked.

"You've given me just enough time to cool off and start thinking
clearly." Ed explained.

Ed clapped his hands. He put his hand on Greed's arm, throwing blue
light around the room. This caused Greed to throw the boy to the
ground, but Ed easily landed in a crouch.

"How long you want to drag this on?" Greed asked as he walked
forward. "It'd be so much easier if you'd just stayed down." He swung
his first forward but Ed transmuted spikes onto his hand and slammed
his fist into Greed's. The black shield on his hand fell to pieces to reveal a
red area below it. Greed pulled his hand back in pain.

"So you really did break his shield." May said in shock.

"Yeah, it's pretty easy when you think about it." Ed grumbled. "Can't believe
it took me so long to realize."

"Well, you have always been a hot-headed punk in a fight. It usually takes
you a while to realize a plan." Avery said.

Ed's brow twitched in annoyance.

Ed swung his bloody fist to the side.

Al crouched on the ground opposite of Scar.

"True, there are plenty of things about this body that are inconvenient,
but it's nothing I can't live with." Al said. Scar was shown. "I don't need
anyone's pity, least of all from you." Al was shown as he stood up. "My
brother used alchemy to save my life. To regret the form I have now
would mean not only rejecting alchemy but also turning my back on him.
I believe in my brother, and I believe in alchemy. I will not lose faith. I
want to believe!"

Kimblee appeared on screen to be standing on top of a building.

"He's a State Alchemist!" Scar's brother said.

Kimblee clapped his hands. Red alchemical light surrounded his hands
before the scene pulled out to see the Ishvalans staring up at him.
Kimblee put his hands on the building. The red alchemical light spread
down the building causing explosions on it as it traveled.
Scar scowled as the memory of his family's last moment appeared on screen.
Why did he have to keep seeing this? It was hard enough to live through it,
but now he just kept seeing it while here. He didn't want to remember their
last moments anymore. It was just too difficult.

The group was surrounded by the red alchemical light. Scar looked
down at the ground under him as it rose and broke violently. Scar's
brother was shown, staring in horror. "Get back!" He shouted as he ran
after his brother and jumped in front of him. Scar's brother was shown
before the scene was taken over by a bright white light.

"Stay with me. Don't you die." Scar's brother said. He gasped and his
eye widened in horror. His brother's body was shown to show his right
arm was gone.

Scar's right hand clenched into a fist angrily. Did they really have to see his
brother fighting desperately to save his life and dying as a result of it? Wasn't
this right arm of his enough of a horrible reminder?

The scene pulled out, showing Scar's brother put his hand on Scar's arm.
"Damn." Scar was shown close up to be breathing heavily. "I can't stop
the bleeding!" Scar's brother appeared on screen, looking around.

The scene pulled out once more to show the brothers from a distance.
"…Someone…" He reached a hand out. "Anyone." He looked down at
his hand. After a moment, he put his hands on Scar's shoulder and
alchemical light began to form around it. "Don't die. I won't let you."
The alchemical light got brighter until it turned the screen white.

Bradley suddenly ran at one of the ladders leading up to the pipe that
Lan Fan was on.

"Lan Fan!" Ling shouted.

Lan Fan stared down at Bradley, seeing his one eye glowing red before
her mask was broken and fell to pieces as she screamed.

"No! Lan Fan!" Ling screamed.

Lan Fan's face was shown with her eyes half open as Ling carried her.
"What happened to me?"

"What's wrong?" Ling asked.

"My arm." Lan Fan put a hand to her shoulder. "My lord..." Lan Fan
said as Ling was shown. "I'm useless to you now." Her hand fell down,
showing a kunai in her hand. She spun the kunai around in hand to point
it at herself.

Ling was shown. "Lan Fan!" Lan Fan's eyes were shown. "What are you
planning? No! Don't do it!"

Bradley was shown, staring coldly. "That was well-played, girl." He said.

The dog shook himself, sending blood flying around him from the arm
tied to him. He looked at Bradley and whined.

Lan Fan was shown in the sewers, holding her shoulder.

"They can put us through hell, but it doesn't matter. Nothing they can do
will make us give up." Pinako said as mysterious music started.

"Hear, hear!" Havoc, Breda, Hughes, Luke, Avery, Walkers, Brody, and
plenty of other soldiers said.

"Weirdos." Ed scoffed.

"You disagree?" Havoc demanded.

"Oh, I agree, I'm just not going to say 'hear, hear.'" Ed said.

"You're such a downer." Ling told him.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You didn't say anything either, Ling."

Ling shrugged. "But I didn't say anything to them about saying it either,
which is why you are the downer here."
Pinako and Hohenheim appeared on screen from a distance with the fire
dead with only a few burning embers left. "And someday we will win!"

"You're just wearing yourselves out." Hohenheim replied.

Pinako took a step forward. "Well, the only way we're gonna find out is
if we try."

Mustang nodded in agreement with Pinako. Just sitting back and waiting for
death was giving up. They would not go down without a fight. They all
deserved the chance to fight to live and save the country. No one else had the
right to make that choice for them.

Hohenheim's face was shown.

"It's better than just lying down and accepting it." Pinako said angrily.
She was shown. "You really don't care? You're fine with losing Ed and
Al and everyone else you know?"

Ed looked up a bit in shock. He already deduced that somehow this wasn't

real. It couldn't be. Some things just weren't making sense, so it was
surprising that Pinako mentioned Al and him to his father. He abandoned
them when they were just kids. Why would he think about them? Didn't
abandoning them mean that he had no love for them anymore?

Hohenheim's face was shown.

Pinako was shown.

Father's mouth appeared on screen. "You're really getting worked up

over this, aren't you?"

Pinako was shown with Father behind her.

"I'm really not following any of this." Ling said. "Why is Pinako young? Why
is she talking with Hohenheim? And why is Father there?"

"I would say it's your fault for not being here from the beginning." Mustang
said. "But nothing has really been explained. We think Hohenheim is just
thinking about all this."

"Doesn't make it any less confusing." Ling mumbled.

Pinako turned around in shock.

The scene pulled out to show her facing Father with Hohenheim gone.

Pinako turned around in shock when she noticed Hohenheim gone.

"Don't kid yourself into thinking you can help any of them." Father said.
"You know that they're going to wind up dead, no matter what you do."

Pinako turned back around.

"And then what happens? You're left with nothing, that's what." Father
said. His face was shown to be grinning evilly. "The smart thing to do,
the only thing, take whatever is important to you and run away as far as
you possibly can."

"That would be the selfish side of humans." Ed said.

"Except not all humans will run away." Mustang pointed out. "Pinako didn't
when Hohenheim told her to leave."

"He never fully explained himself either." Ed retorted. "She had no idea of
what he was hinting at."

"If he explained from the start, it would have made everything easier for us."
Hughes said, sighing.

"Too bad, nothing can ever be easy for us." Ed said.

Pinako was shown. "What?"

A hand came up behind her and grabbed her face. She was pulled
against Father's chest.

Spooky music started.

"You act like you have a conscious, but you're just being sentimental."
Father said. He reached forward and grabbed Pinako's face. He pulled
the face away to show Hohenheim staring up at him in shock and horror.
"Isn't that right, Hohenheim?"

"What the hell?" Ed said confused, pulling at his hair. "It is making no
sense!"

"It did just get a whole lot more confusing." Havoc agreed.

"So is any of this real or not?" Karin asked confused, but no one answered
since they didn't know.

Father was shown. "You think you can change things? You honestly
believe one act of caring will make you human?" He laughed.

Hohenheim's hand was shown with a creepy faces sliding down it.

"Uh….so is our dad not human, Brother?" Al asked.

Ed put his face in his hands. "I don't know. This is all just so confusing right
now."

"And creepy and strange." Darius added.

"Sure." Ed mumbled. "Sure. That too."

Hohenheim's face was shown with the creepy faces all over it.

"That is disturbing." May said.

"How could it? Look at your own face!"

Hohenheim grabbed his face and the screen pulled out to show him
sitting on a log with his face hidden in his hand. He gasped and breathed
raggedly.

"Humans are nothing but a resource." Father's voice said. "And if we

don't use them, they'll spread like weeds."
Ed rolled his eyes. "No, we won't. People die every day, whether from old
age, an accident, murdered, or from war. They die. We are constantly dying
and reproducing. We will not 'spread like weeds.' Seriously, this father guy is
messed up in the head."

"He is just excusing what he is doing to humans." Scar said angrily.

Hohenheim's heavily breathing face was shown.

"You can't change reality, only your perception." Father's voice said.
"Tell me what you think you could actually change? The nature of their
species?"

Hohenheim's trembling hands were shown.

"They will always be weak and frightened creatures!"

Hohenheim's face was shown to be trembling. His shaking hands

reappeared on screen. His face was shown again, head moving down
slowly which caused his glasses to cover his eyes. His hands were shown
again with another pair of hands appearing on screen and gently taking
his.

"We will change."

The scene pulled out to show Hohenheim and Trisha from the side.

"Is that mom?" Ed asked shocked. His mom was really standing right there,
smiling beautifully at Hohenheim, like she always did when he was still at
home. And as usual, she was being so gentle and loving, even if it was to
Hohenheim. No matter how much had happened or that he left her, her love
for him had never faltered. That was something that Ed could never
understand, but he loved her too much to question it.

Al chuckled. "Yeah, she appeared on screen earlier as a little kid, Brother.

She was very bossy then."

Ed grinned, pushing his thoughts of his father's relationship with his mother
away. "She was always a bit bossy at times, especially if we were
misbehaving or not listening."

"Because we can change. I know it."

"I like your mom already." Mustang said.

"Why?" Al asked.

"Because she is gently beating this idea that humans can change into his
head." Mustang replied.

"…That's a good reason, I guess." Al said.

Trisha's face appeared on screen. "We may be weak, but we just have to
be." She looked down and continued softly, "If not, then we wouldn't
have any reason to grow, to get strong."

Hughes laughed. "Your mother is such a smart woman, just like my sweet
Gracia!"

The ending song, "Let it Out" began as she looked up and continued, "I
know that it may seem futile to you," The scene pulled out to show them
both from the side. "But it's not. Because we are getting stronger with
every step we take."

Soldiers lined up gently faded onto the screen.

"And in turn, they'll protect the ones they love." Mustang's voice said
before he and Hughes from the war appeared on screen. "It seems like
the least we tiny humans can do for each other."

"Let it all out, Let it all out."

Ling's fist was shown to be closing into a tight fist. "But I…I wasn't
ready for this."

"Tsuyogaranakute iin da ne"

His face was shown, eyes narrowed sadly. "Lan Fan was though. She
made the decision that I was too weak to make." He closed his eyes.

"Dareka ga kaitetta"

"kabe no rakugaki no hana ga yureru"

Al was shown with the spears still inside of him. "I'm sick of watching
people die!" Riza was shown with tears still pouring down her face,
gasping at Al's words. "And I can't just sit back and take it
anymore!"There was a clanging sound as Lust's spears tore out of Al's
armor. "I won't let anyone else get killed! Not when I can protect them!"

Ed, from when he dug up his Human Transmutation creation, rubbed

his chin. "I won't run away from this."

"Jibunrashisa nante,"

Ed punched Al's chest before the boys ran up the stairs together. "We'll
knock that Truth jerk on his butt."

Ed's back was shown as he walked down the hall with Al.

"dare mo wakaranai yo"

The tiny black hands caught up to Ed and wrapped around his arms,
chest, legs, and head. "Al!" Ed shouted.

"Nagai nagai michi no tochuu de nakushitari, hirottari"

As Ed was being dragged back, Al was shown to still be sitting in front of

the Gate. "Al! Come on!" Ed was shown, being pulled into the Gate with
his arm still stretched out. "Please. Hurry, Al!"

"Kyuu ni samishiku natte, naichau hi mo aru kedo"

The Gate was shown again before Ed's automail fist punched it open.

Al looked up in surprise.
Ed pulled his body halfway out of the Gate. "Alphonse!" He yelled.

Al stared at him.

Ed was shown, struggling against the hands trying to pull him back. He
held onto one of the doors of the Gate to keep himself out. "Look at me!"
His head bowed for a moment. "I'll come back!" Ed was shown to be
pulled back into the Gate.

"Namida mo itami mo,"

As the Gates closed, he pointed out of the crack that was open and stared
at his brother with determined eyes. "Just you wait!"

"hoshi ni kaeyou"

Trisha reappeared on screen. "You see, I'm sure we can change.

"Ashita wo terasu akari wo tomosou"

"Because we're weak and because we die."

Hohenheim was shown to be staring at her.

"Chiisanu te kazashite"

"We have to fight in order to live, and that is what will make us strong."

Trisha and Hohenheim were shown to be standing on a lake, holding

hands.

"That shouldn't even be–" Ed started until Ling slapped a hand over his
mouth.

"Shush, don't ruin this." Ling whispered.

Ed blinked before shooting an annoyed glare at Ling. He wanted to interrupt

it! Interrupting it meant that the scene would be stretched out and he could
watch his mother longer. Her picture would not disappear from the screen so
soon if they talked!

"futari de tsukurou hoshikuzu wo"

"And if that's not enough, if you're still not convinced that we can
change." Trisha said.

Hohenheim was shown to be staring at her in shock and blinking.

"tsuyoku hikaru eien wo"

"Then think about us." She said as wind blew leaves across the screen
and Trisha as an adult was shown to be standing in the fields of
Resembool.

"Sayonara itsuka wa kuru kamo shirenai"

"All of the days we spent with our family in Resembool."

"Kisetsu wa soredemo meguri megutteku"

More leaves blew across the screen and when they were gone, a picture
of the Elric family with Hohenheim's face covered appeared on screen.

Flower petals blew across the screen and Hohenheim was shown to be
sitting on a log again.

"Chiisaku mayotte mo aruite'ku"

Hohenheim was shown to be just staring as the flower petals all floated
to the ground around him.

"Kimi to aruiteku"

He blinked and looked to the side to see everyone from Resembool

standing on a lake there.

"sore dake wa kawaranaide iyou ne"

Ed, who was frowning and had his arms crossed, and Al, who was
holding his mother's dress with one his sleeves slipping down his arm,
were shown close up.

Pinako was shown, followed by Trisha.

Hohenheim was shown to be staring at them.

Geese flew across the screen. The group of people was shown with the
squawking geese flying in front of them.

Hohenheim's eyes opened in shock. The scene pulled out to show him
sleeping half on the ground with his back against a log. He sat up and the
lake in front of him was shown with geese flying through the sky.
Hohenheim was shown again, and after a moment, he smiled. "I was
dreaming."

Ed ripped Ling's hand off of his mouth now that the scene was done. "That
was–"

"Amazingly done!" Ling said.

"Weird." Ed finished.

"I think it was very beautiful." Izumi said. "Your mother really was an
amazing, intelligent woman. I wish I could have known her."

Ed blushed a bit, looking down with a soft smile. Yes, his mother was a truly
incredible woman.

"And those scenes made it sad, but truly inspirational." Riza added with a soft
smile.

"I really like her speech about humans and how we can change." Lan Fan
said.

"And now we finally know where Ed gets his skill for inspirational
speeches." Hughes added, grinning hugely.
Ed scratched the back of his head in embarrassment at being compared to his
mother's skill at speaking.

The scene pulled out to show him from the distance. He looked at his bag
and grabbed it before he stood up. He turned and started to walk away,
but stopped after a few steps. The scene zoomed in on his back and he
turned around and smiled. The scene pulled out a bit and more towards
the ground to show the bottle of alcohol that he was drinking in the
dream.

"Thanks for all the help." Hohenheim said before he turned around and
walked away.

"Help? What did that dream help him with?" Ling asked confused.

As music for the ending them began, a picture of Rush Valley with
people all around appeared on screen. Garfiel's shop was shown.

"megurimegutte mo mata koko de aitai"

Winry was shown from behind as she worked on automail.

"hagurenai you ni kono te wo tsunagu n da"

Winry pulled her goggles off and shook her head a bit to get the hair out
of her face. She turned towards the screen and smiled.

"asahi ga noboru made katariatta ne"

"yuuhi ga shizumu made tsunaida te"

Winry was shown lifting a heavy crate.

"kou yatte asu mo asatte mo tomo ni ayumou hikari to kage"

Winry was shown to be looking at a piece of automail with one eye shut.

"Sabishige ni mitsumeru machi no naka de"

The outside of Garfiel's shop was shown with Winry waving bye to a kid.

"nukumori wa hitori ja mitsukaranakute"

Winry was shown looking at some designs and holding a pen to her
mouth.

"I have a question." Luke said. "Why is the ending all about Chief's
girlfriend?"

"Damn it!" Ed yelled, face heating up. "I told you! She's not my girlfriend!"

"Denial."

"And the question is a very good question!" Havoc said. "This is weird."

"ai ga onna ni tsuyosa ni naru koto"

Winry was shown from behind. She was looking over her shoulder with a
design for automail in one hand and a steaming mug in the other.

She was shown to be on the phone. The still picture moved as she smiled
before a picture of her screaming into the phone was shown.

"Want to bet that is Chief she is screaming at?" Havoc asked.

"Shut up." Ed grumbled.

"shitta n da kimi ni deaete hajimete"

Winry was back to talking normally.

The screen zoomed in on her to show her smiling with a faint blush.

"Aww, it has to be Chief if she is smiling like that." Avery teased.

Ed slammed his head into the ground. "I hate everyone."

Ling patted his head. "No you don't."

Ed smacked Ling's hand away. "What is it with you and physical contact?"

"What is with you and your aversion to physical contact?" Ling retorted.

Ed scowled at him. "I like my personal space."

"Megurimegutte mo mata koko de aitai"

White cloth appeared on the screen to be blowing back in the wind.

Lan Fan was shown to be standing with a white cloth over her head and
wrapped around her neck with it blowing back in the wind.

"Hagurenai you ni kono te wo tsunagu n da"

May was shown to be walking in an exaggerated manner with Xiao-Mei

following her.

"See? It's not all Winry!" Ed said.

"It's mostly her." Avery retorted.

"I guess the ending song just wanted to let Chief see his love a bit." Hughes
teased.

Ed slammed his head in the ground again. Curse everyone.

"Hitori ja nemurenai yume wa mirenai kara"

Garfiel's shop was shown at nighttime with it slowly being zoomed in on.

"Donna fuan mo todokanai tokoro e"

Winry was shown to be working in the middle of the night.

"Hoshi no nai yoru mo terashitsuzukeyou"

Winry was shown from the side, face lit up by her small lantern as she
worked.
"Doko made mo ikeru kimi to nara"

Winry was shown lifting a door open as morning came.

"Hitori ja arukenai michi mo futari nara"

As she stretched her arms, she walked out of the building.

Winry was shown from the front, stretching her arms above her head.

"Hanauta utainagraa arukeru n da"

Winry was shown from behind, still stretching her arms.

The scene slowly started to move up to show the sun.

"Kimi ga ireba shiawase"

As the sun shined brightly on screen, the scene went dark shortly
afterwards.

"It's over?" Ling asked before clapping his hands. "Good. I talked to Ed about
it and we decided we want to stop there tonight and just rest the rest of the
evening. We think everyone needs a break after all of this."

"I didn't agree with anything." Ed grumbled.

Mustang nodded. "I think that is good. We should probably end on a good
note as things might be getter harder from here on. We don't want to end on a
bad note today."

Ling shot Ed a look, which just made Ed roll his eyes and stand up.

"Goodbye, Ling." Ed muttered before storming off to the kitchen.

Hughes looked at Ling with a frown. "What did you do?"

Ling grinned at him before standing up and chasing after Ed, ignoring all the
bewildered looks and frowns he got. He burst into the kitchen to see Ed
shuffling through the fridge.

"So, we still have to pull our prank, Edo!" Ling said cheerfully, walking over
to Ed.

Ed stood up just as Ling reached his side. Before Ling could react, Ed spun
around and sprayed whip cream all over his face and hair. Ling yelped in
surprise, making whip cream enter his mouth and silence him. When he was
satisfied that there was enough whip cream covering his friend, Ed threw the
can to the side and grabbed a jar of cherries out of the fridge. While Ling
rubbed the whip cream out of his eyes, Ed threw two cherries in his face to
stick in the whip cream before putting the jar away and walking over to the
counter to try to dry his gloves.

"Edo!" Ling shouted, walking over to his friend with whip cream still on his
face. "Why did you do that?"

Ed shot him a look. "Firstly, because I told you not to call me that. And
secondly, there's my prank. Now leave me alone."

Ling gaped at Ed for a moment as he grabbed a towel to dry his gloves and
try to keep them from staining too badly. "You…you…" Ling suddenly
grinned evilly. He wiped some whipped cream off of his face and moved
behind Ed. Before Ed could realize his presence, he smacked his hand into
Ed's face from behind, smearing his face in the whip cream, causing the boy
to gasp in surprise and reel back into Ling's chest.

Taking the chance, Ling wrapped his other arm around Ed's chest, grinning.
"That wasn't nice at all, Edo."

Growling, Ed shoved Ling off of him and stomped back over to the still
opened fridge, reaching into it. "What's not nice is dealing with you!" He
shouted as he spun around and squirted chocolate syrup across the room to hit
Ling in the face and chest with it.

"You punk!" Ling shouted. He grabbed a jar on the counter and opened it to
find flour. He grabbed a handful of it and launched it through the air at Ed.
"ARGH!" Ed shouted, covering his face as best as he could. "THAT'S IT,
LING!"

*Main Room*

"Why do those two keep going off on their own?" Mustang asked, frowning
as he stared at the kitchen door.

"Because they want to mess around?" Havoc suggested, grinning.

"Stop saying that!" Hughes snapped. "That is not what they are doing!"

Havoc shrugged. "They're doing something."

"Well, it's not that!" Hughes snapped.

"It's not what?" May asked.

Lan Fan chuckled. Hughes was really getting all mad and protective for no
reason.

"ARGH! THAT'S IT, LING!" Ed yelled angrily.

"Eh….what was that?" Brody asked worriedly, glancing at the kitchen.

THUMP!

*Kitchen*

Ed jumped into the air, sending a flying kick at Ling. Surprised, Ling just
barely dodged it. As Ed landed, he shot down to the ground and kicked his
leg out behind him to trip Ling up. As Ling was falling back in surprise, he
threw a hand out to catch himself but Ed turned around sharply and pounced
on Ling to keep him down. "YOU DAMN LITTLE PRINCE!" He screamed,
wrapping his hands around Ling's neck to strangle him.

*Main Room*

"YOU DAMN LITTLE PRINCE!"

"….Should we be concerned?" Sheska asked worriedly.

"I SWEAR THE DAY YOU WERE BORN SHOULD BE CALLED THE
DAY THAT SATAN WAS BORN, YOU BLOODY DEMON PRINCE!"

Mustang looked up from Ed's notes that he was going through again, lips
twitching up a bit in amusement. "Well, when Fullmetal starts calling other
people a demon, I think it is time to be concerned."

"This is not amusing at all, Roy!" Hughes shouted. "Who knows what that
demon prince did to Ed?" He jumped to his feet and ran off to the kitchen
with Mustang staring after him in confusion.

"What Ling did? What would Ling do to Ed?" Mustang asked confused.

Riza sighed. "You know Hughes, sir. He is very protective, sometimes for no
reason at all."

*Kitchen*

Growling, Ling grabbed Ed's hands on his neck and managed to flip the both
of them so he was the one straddling Ed and pinning his shoulders to the
ground to keep from being stranled. "Sheesh," He muttered. "That wasn't
very nice, Edo."

Ed blushed red in anger, though it was hard to see under all the flour and
whip cream covering his face. "Li–"

"ED! Daddy Hughes is here to save you!" Hughes shouted as he burst into the
kitchen.

Ed turned his head on the ground to stare at Hughes with a deadpanned look.
Could this day get any weirder?

"Hughes, you realize you're being really weird, right?" Ed asked. "And I don't
need anyone's help! I am in perfect control of the situation."

Hughes raised a brow. "Ling has you pinned."

"It's only temporary!" Ed shouted.

Lan Fan came up behind Hughes. She stared at her master and Ed, both
covered in food and on the ground. "Young Lord, Edward, are you two
fighting again?"

"What?" Ling protested. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, you're covered in food." Hughes said slowly.

Ed took this chance to bring his legs up and slam them into Ling's chest,
sending the younger boy flying off of him.

"And Ed did just kick you." Hughes added.

Ed sat up, brushing some of his hair which was covered in flour out of his
face. "That is nothing new, Hughes. I take great pleasure in finding every
chance to hit Ling."

Ling sat up, rubbing his chest. "He does. I think every inch of my body will
be covered in bruises before we get out of here."

"Be careful about what you say, Ling." Ed said dryly. "Or I might just make
that my goal."

"Evil." Ling hissed.

Hughes rubbed his eyes with a sigh as he turned to leave the kitchen. Is this
what teenagers were like? Reckless, loud, always doing their own thing! No!
He couldn't let his precious Elicia grow up to be like that. He had to make
sure she grew up into a wonderful, sweet woman. That meant he needed to
keep Ed away from his daughter when she got older so she wasn't badly
influenced!

Ed blinked as he watched Hughes leave, feeling like Hughes was plotting

against him. He turned to look at Lan Fan with a frown. "Anything you
would like to say?"

Lan Fan bit down a smile. "Not really, Edward, though perhaps you two
should get cleaned up." She looked around the kitchen and sighed. "I'll clean
up the flour while you do that."

Ling grinned sheepishly. "Thanks, Lan Fan, and sorry."

"It's no problem, Young Lord." Lan Fan said.

*Main Room*

"Fullmetal!" Mustang shouted when the two boys came out of the kitchen.
"What did y–" He stopped and stared at the two boys. "…What happened to
you?"

Ed and Ling shared a look then looked back at Mustang. "Nothing." They
said together.

Mustang pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath and slowly let
it out. "Did this nothing do something to Hughes's brain?"

When the boys just blinked, Mustang pointed at Hughes, who was sitting on
the couch in complete silence and just staring at the wall with a frown.

Ed blinked and stared at Hughes. "No, it didn't. Though I think he was acting
strange when he left the kitchen."

"Really?" Ling said surprised. "He looked fine to me."

"There was a shudder of fear." Ed hissed. "Going down my spine."

"Oh," Ling said. "Then it is your problem. He is plotting against you."

Ed glared at him and stomped off towards hid bedroom. "I'm going to
shower."

"You broke Hughes?" Mustang shouted at his back.

"I DID NOTHING! HE IS JUST INSANE!" Ed screamed.

"I claim the shower first." Ling said when they were in Ed's room.
"What?" Ed hissed. "No way! It's my bedroom. My shower! I go first!"

Ling motioned to himself. "I'm the one covered in chocolate syrup here and
it's sticky! You just have whip cream and flour on you! You can wait!
Besides, this is your fault!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "You said prank. I pranked. You don't like it, don't suggest
it!"

Ling frowned for a moment before he grinned and shoved Ed onto the bed.
Before Ed could protest, Ling ran into the bathroom and locked the door
behind him!

"Oi! You bastard!" Ed screamed, jumping off the bed and stomping over to
the door.

"Your fault!" Ling shouted back through the door. "And so we are clear, be
prepared. I will get you back!"

"You already did!" Ed growled, kicking the door in frustration.

After a moment, Ed sighed and looked down at his shirt which was covered
with flour. Grumbling and mumbling rude things about Ling, he unbuttoned
it and slipped it and his gloves off.

"Oh, Ed."

Ed looked up in surprise to see Ling poking his head out the bathroom door.

"You can at least get partially cleaned while you wait." Ling said and he
threw a towel at Ed's face before slamming the door shut again.

"…idiot prince." Ed grumbled, pulling the towel off his face.

*Main Room*

"Hughes?" Mustang said, snapping his fingers in front of his friend's face.
"Hughes? Did something happen in the kitchen?"
"Ed…evil little…" Hughes mumbled.

Mustang raised a brow. "Hughes, we always knew Ed was evil and little. It's
nothing new."

"LITTLE!" Ed screamed from his bedroom. "DAMN IT, HUGHES,

COLONEL! SHUT UP BEFORE I START PLANNING YOUR DEATHS!"

"And he has some good hearing." Mustang added.

"He must pay." Hughes mumbled. "I can't let him with his devilishness near
my precious daughter when she reaches her teenage years. He'll teach her all
his reckless, impulsive ways and then she'll always go out looking for fights
just like him! That can't happen. He must be taken out before he can corrupt
the youths."

"You mean your daughter. You probably couldn't care less about the others."
Mustang replied dryly.

Havoc snorted. "Well, good luck with ending Chief. You realize Black
Hayate is Ed's guard dog when we are on missions together or he is in the
city and wandering around alone since he often walks into the bad parts of
the city. Lieutenant usually sends him with Chief. So if you go after him with
ill intent, you'll be down and out before you realize it."

"Well, at least someone is trying to protect that reckless punk from himself!"
Hughes mumbled. "Now, maybe I should get a guard dog for my precious
little girl and train him to attack Ed."

Hawkeye glared at Hughes. "A guard dog is meant to protect from those who
mean harm. Edward means no harm to your daughter!"

"When he starts teaching her the wrong things, he does!" Hughes shouted.

"….I don't think Brother is going to teach Elicia his violent ways." Al replied.

Miles pushed his glasses up. "They are insane."

"We already knew that." Kei said dryly, though he was grinning in
amusement. Watching them argue was a very great show.

"Do you think someone should warn the kid that Hughes is planning his
end?" Brody asked with a grin.

"I think he'll figure it out after the first few attacks from the dog." Avery
replied.

"All I'm saying is–" Ed trailed off when he noticed everyone turn to look at
him and Ling as they came out of his bedroom. Ed was now dressed in black
cargo shorts, a white long sleeved shirt, and had his hands shoved in his
pockets. Though, he still remained barefoot. Besides him, Ling stood in
barefoot too with black slacks and an ornamental shirt. "Uh…is something
wrong?"

Mustang snorted. "Hughes thinks–"

"ED!" Hughes shouted, jumping over to the boy.

Ed quickly sidestepped and started avoiding the man. He didn't like that look
in his eye. "Hughes," He said slowly. "Why do you look ready to murder
me?"

Hughes turned to Ed with a grin. "Why would I ever want to murder you?"

Ed's brow twitched. "You? It would probably be because of your family. But
I did nothing to them so you have no reason to want to kill me!"

"I have every reason!" Hughes shouted.

"What did I do?" Ed asked, running around the couch and hiding behind his
brother. "Al?"

Al sighed. "He thinks you're going to corrupt Elicia with your evil ways."

Ed noticed Hughes approaching and yelped. "I'm not!" He shouted before he

vaulted over Al.

"Brother!" Al protested. "I am something for you to jump over."

"Hughes is after me for a stupid reason!" Ed shouted as he jumped over the
couch and ran to his bedroom.

The group blinked as the door slammed shut behind him.

"Hughes, stop trying to end Fullmetal." Mustang said with a sigh.

Ling laughed and walked over to Al. "Your brother can make any situation
hilarious."

Al glanced at him. "Yeah, well, he loves theatrics."

Ling frowned at Al's tone. "Is something wrong, Al?"

Al huffed. "No, why would you think that?"

"I am sensing some hostility in your tone." Ling explained.

Al glared at him. "Don't think you can read me the same way you read
Brother."

Ling blinked a few times in surprise. He didn't think Al had a problem with
him.

*Ed's Room*

"We were supposed to prank." Ling said, staring at Ed who was lying on his
bed.

Ed cracked an eye open to see Ling standing in the doorway of his room.
"Hughes already wants to murder me right now. I am not giving him another
reason to want to go through with it."

"Hmm," Ling said with a frown. "That would be a problem. I can't have him
wanting to get rid of my best friend. And if he wants to, that makes him the
enemy!"

Ed rolled his eyes. Ling and Hughes were both so stupid.

"Anyway, Ed, there is something I wanted to talk to you about." Ling said
suddenly to change the topic.

Ed blinked and looked back at Ling with a frown. "What is it now, Ling?"

"I think there is something wrong with your brother." Ling said.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Ling shrugged. "He just doesn't seem that happy with me."

"Did you do something to anger him?" Ed asked confused since he didn't

think Al could be unhappy with anyone.

"I don't think I did. I haven't talked to him as much as I do with you, but
when you left, I was talking to him and I sensed hostility in his voice." Ling
replied.

Ed scratched his head. "Maybe you are just imagining things. Al is too nice
and sweet to be upset with anyone, Ling."

"No, Ed, it's not just now. I noticed it before this." Ling interrupted.

Ed sighed. "Ling, my brother is not mad at you. He's not the kind to get
pointlessly mad at people. You are seeing things."

"Or maybe you're missing it because you don't want to believe that your
brother can be like that." Ling retorted. "Open your eyes a bit, Ed."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Ling, I can assure you. Al doesn't hate you."

*Main Room*

"Hughes, give it a rest already." Mustang ordered, staring at Ed's notes in his
lap. "Fullmetal is not planning corruption operations on your daughter."

"You can't know that for sure!" Hughes shouted.

Mustang shot his friend a dry look. "You know as well as I do that Fullmetal
is reckless and impulsive, but he does not plan anything with kids. He cares
more about keeping them safe then corrupting them."

Hughes grumbled and sat back down to Mustang, who had Ed's notes resting
on his lap. "You're still looking at that?"

"Of course I am! No way am I going to lose to that brat!" Mustang growled,
glaring at the notebook.

Izumi clapped her hands, smirking a bit. "Well, as amusing as this all was, I
believe we should start dinner." She glanced at Ed's bedroom door. "I guess
Ed won't be helping again."

"You're not going to make him help?" Al asked surprised.

Izumi chuckled a bit. "No, I'll give him a break now. He is a bit stressed at
the moment. Playing with Ling might relax him."

"Or just stress him out more." Sig suggested.

"That too." Izumi smirked.

"Play?" Mustang looked up from Ed's notebook, blinking. "It's hard to

imagine Fullmetal playing at all. He's so antisocial and a workaholic."

"Perhaps he'll maim Ling then. That should make him feel better." Izumi
called over her shoulder as she headed to the kitchen.

"Then we should feel extremely sorry for him." Havoc said with a grin.

*Ed's Room*

Ling glared at Ed.

Ed glared at Ling.

"Go fish."

Ed snarled and picked up a card out of their pond of cards. "You sure you
aren't cheating?"

Ling huffed. "A prince never cheats."

"I'm not too sure about that." Ed grumbled.

*Havoc & Luke*

Luke leaned on the back of the couch that Havoc was lounging on. "How are
you dealing with that fact that you got paralyzed in the future?" He asked
curiously.

Havoc rolled his eyes to the ceiling as he thought.

"Hey Havoc." Ed said, coming up behind the Lieutenant.

"Yo Chief!" Havoc greeted, grinning at him. "Did you need something?"

Ed shrugged. "Just wanted to see how you were is all."

"See how I was?" Havoc asked confused. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Ed leaned against the wall behind him. "You did just find out you got
paralyzed. That would be upsetting for anyone since it means they can no
longer walk on their own two feet."

"You–"

"You didn't react much when you heard it." Ed interrupted. "But we all knew
you were upset about it. It's a hard change to except after you've been used to
walking all your life."

Havoc shrugged. "Yeah, it's a big change, but there is nothing I can do about
it."

"Quitter." Ed retorted. "I know it's a hard change, but even though you're
paralyzed, that doesn't mean you can't support Colonel still. There is always
something someone could do."
Havoc's hand clenched at his side in anger. "Always something you can do?
Then tell me what I can do, Ed!" He whispered angrily. "I have no legs. You
said it yourself, automail is not an option for me! What else can I offer for the
Colonel? I've got nothing else to give! All I had were my street smarts and
expertise in using a gun. Without either of those, there is nothing good I can
do to help."

"Because you aren't looking!" Ed said angrily. "You're too busy pitying
yourself that you can only think of retirement as your only option. Look
around you, Havoc. You'll find a way to help if you do." With that, Ed
stomped away angrily.

Havoc watched Ed leave in a bit of surprise and anger. Pitying himself? How
dare that brat say he was pitying himself for getting paralyzed? It wasn't pity!
He was being realistic. Ed could never understand what he was going th…
Damn it. Now Havoc was just being horrible. Of course Ed understood what
he was feeling…anger, pity, resentment, sadness, pain…he lost his leg at
eleven years old and was miserable until Mustang came to wake him up.

Havoc raced after Ed and grabbed him by the arm before he could get too far
away. "Chief…I'm sorry, okay?" He said.

Ed looked back over his shoulder at Havoc with a frown.

"I just forgot that you had to deal with this a bit as well." Havoc said,
sighing. "Just something we have in common, right?" When Ed just stared at
him, Havoc managed a grin. "Sorry." He ruffled Ed's hair. "You don't have to
worry about me, Chief. I'll be fine."

Ed pushed Havoc's hand away in annoyance, but did manage a small smile in
return.

"Actually, I'm doing pretty well." Havoc grinned as the ceiling, confusing
Luke.

"Well, that's good." Luke replied, blinking. Did he miss something?

*Mustang, Dr. Marcoh, Major Armstrong, & Riza*

"I must admit that Edward's notes are very complex for a boy in his age." Dr.
Marcoh said as he looked through Ed's notes that Mustang had given him.

Riza smiled softly. "He's called a genius for a reason."

"Do you think you could decode them?" Major Armstrong asked.

Dr. Marcoh sighed and closed the book. "It's hard to tell. It looks very
complex, and without the proper resources, I don't think we will get
anywhere."

Mustang put his chin in his hand. "Fullmetal always did love being complex."

Riza sighed, but it was a bit fondly. Mustang was always complaining about
Ed, and vice versa. She didn't realize she missed it so much until now.
Always hearing the worry about Ed was a bit sad because it meant Ed was in
trouble. To hear the complaining meant Ed was safe and it also showed how
much her boss truly cared for his youngest subordinate.

Though she wished he would worry about his own safety a bit more. It scared
her so much to see her boss come close to dying. She swore to protect him
and to kill him if he fell from the path he chose. It was a hard job, but one she
chose. She needed her boss to care a bit more about himself to make her
worry for him lessen. It would be much easier for her, but then again, she
didn't think she would ever stop worrying about him.

"He would not be him if he wasn't." Major Armstrong replied.

"Well, he should think about making things easier for the rest of us!"
Mustang declared.

'So should you at times, Colonel.' Riza thought.

*Hughes, Al, Lan Fan, & May*

"Hey, Mr. Hughes." May asked innocently.

Hughes grinned at the little girl. "What is it, May?"

"What did you mean earlier when you were talking about Ed corrupting your
daughter?" May asked with a grin. "What is it that has you so worried that
might happen?"

Al laughed.

"He's reckless, impulsive, is always running off to do his own thing," Hughes
growled. "He's violent!"

"And again, Brother is not going to teach Elicia to be violent." Al protested.

"He never fights around her."

"Now, but when she gets older. Oh, when she gets older…." Hughes growled,
eyes lighting up dangerously.

"Uh, Al," May leaned closer to Al. "When Elicia is a teenager, won't Ed be in
his mid twenties?"

"Yeah, why?" Al asked.

"Well, wouldn't he be, I don't know, mature and not doing such reckless
things then?" May asked.

"I would hope so." Al replied. "But with Brother, you can never be too sure."

*General Armstrong & Miles*

"This has been an interesting experience so far." Miles said, smirking a bit.

General Armstrong frowned. "They all fool around too much."

"So you do not agree with the break?" Miles asked.

General Armstrong glanced at him. "A break is needed every once in a while.
I will not object to one, not with soldiers getting stressed and needing a bit of
relaxation. Getting too stressed will just cause us more problems."

"You mean with Fullmetal?" Miles asked. When the General didn't reply, he
continued. "You won't ever admit it, but you do respect him a bit."
"He is too soft-hearted." General Armstrong growled.

"Perhaps, but I respect his choice to never kill a bit. I admit I had that thought
at one point." Miles told her, smiling a bit as he remembered. "He does not
yet understand how hard it is to go through life without taking a few lives. He
chose the harder path, and amazingly enough, he managed to stay on it."

"But how long will it last?" General Armstrong asked. "He can't maintain that
goal forever."

"He will try though. Nothing you say is going to change his mind." Miles
replied. "He is just too stubborn."

"You would think such a violent boy would be more vicious." General
Armstrong said with a thoughtful frown. His attitude and actions did not
match up at all.

Hearing a door open, she looked over to see Ed leaving his room and heading
to the kitchen, mumbling something under his breath with his brows
furrowed in annoyance.

*Ed & Havoc*

"Hey Chief," Havoc said, grinning as he clapped a hand on Ed's shoulder,

efficiently stopping the boy from getting to the kitchen. "Can you believe
Hughes wants to murder you?"

Ed scowled at him. "Do not mention that or I really will put you in coma!"

"Wow," Havoc smirked. "Touché, Chief, touché."

Ed shot him a glare before it turned to a frown as he looked back at Al. Ling's
words kept passing through his head. There was no way that Ling was right.
Al could not be mad at him. Al didn't get mad at people! Hell, he
sympathized with his enemies at times!

"What's wrong?" Havoc asked worriedly. "Did you and Al get into another
fight?" He scratched his head. "That can't be right. I didn't see you guys
fighting….in fact, you guys haven't been talking as much as usual."
Ed looked at him with a frown. "We didn't get into a fight and I talk to him
plenty! Ling just mentioned something about him thinking Al was upset with
him. I don't think he is, considering who Al is, but Ling really thinks there is
something wrong and he doesn't understand it. I'm just trying to see if I'm
missing something."

The blond Lieutenant looked at Al, then at Ling who had now sauntered out
of the bedroom and was rubbing at a bandage on his neck. He was being
glared at by Al, who immediately noticed his appearance so he was now
ignoring whatever Hughes was saying. Havoc looked back at Ed again. After
a moment of thinking, he began to laugh really hard, which made Ed glare at
him.

"I don't see what is so funny."

Havoc got his laughter under control, but couldn't get rid of the smirk. "Chief,
Al is the one missing something."

"Really? What is it?" Ed asked, glancing back at his brother with worry.
What could his brother have possibly lost?

"His elder brother."

Now that really confused Ed and made him look back at Havoc. "Huh? But
I'm right here."

Sighing, Havoc shook his head. "Ed, you and Al have been together since
you were kids. You guys do everything together, right?"

Ed nodded.

"And do you have any separate friends?"

Ed's brows furrowed. "What are you getting at?"

"Chief, Ling is the first friend you have that you don't share with Al. You
guys are close, but you are allowed to have your own friends. Most siblings
get their own friends at a younger age, but with everything going on with you
two, you didn't get a separate friend until now."

Ed glared at Havoc. "Ling is Al's friend too!"

"I'm not saying he isn't. What I'm saying is that even though Ling and Al are
friends, they are nowhere near as close as you and Ling are. You two are
practically best friends already. You guys banter all the time. You argue a lot,
like best friends do. You two aren't really concerned with personal
boundaries all too much. You are comfortable being in each other's bubble
already. And I know from experience it is hard to get in your personal
bubble, and yet Ling did it so easily and quickly." Havoc explained.

Ed looked over at Ling, who was talking with Mustang and Hughes, who had
given up on what he was saying since Al was no longer listening. Hughes
looked annoyed by something as he spoke to Ling, which didn't surprise Ed
at all after the stunt Ling pulled. He then looked at Al who was with May.
"So, what you're saying is…"

"Al is jealous of how close you two are, and probably because of how fast
your friendship formed." Havoc finished.

Ed looked at Havoc shocked. "That's ridiculous! Al's not like that."

"Chief, younger siblings will always feel a bit of jealously and sadness when
their older siblings begin to split away from them. And it's not just siblings.
You and Al are friends, right? Well, you have been spending so much time
with Ling recently and less time talking to your little brother. He probably
feels like you are abandoning him as a friend or just feels left out."

"I'm not leaving him!" Ed growled. "I still have so much to do to help him."

Havoc shrugged. "Jealousy is just one of those things that doesn't make much
sense." He bent over a bit to whisper to Ed, "Look, I know you don't want to
believe that your brother is actually feeling jealous of your friendship with
Ling, but you should talk to him about it, preferably sooner than later. If you
wait, his jealousy and bitterness will just get worse." He stood up and ruffled
Ed's hair before heading back to Luke, Breda, Falman, Fuery, and some of
the other Briggs soldiers.
"Talk about what?" Ed cried when he was by himself. How do you even
bring something like that up?

*Izumi & Ed*

Izumi glanced at the frowning boy that was helping her clean up after dinner.
For whatever reason, he had jumped up at the chance to help clean up. "Is
something wrong, Ed? I was going to let you off the hook for helping with
dinner today so you could hang with Ling and Al. I thought you would
appreciate the chance to rest or are you really this much of a workaholic?"

Ed shrugged as he focused on the task of drying the dishes. He had really just
jumped up to help clean to get away from everyone. Ling said Al was mad at
him. Havoc insists it's jealousy. Al seemed completely normal to him.
Hughes was glaring at Ling a bit so it seems they didn't resolve their issues
from the prank.

He was sick of all of it!

He thought this was supposed to be a relaxing break. Well, obviously, he

wasn't allowed to relax ever.

"Ed," Izumi said softly, grabbing her ex-student's hands to get him to stop
drying the plate. "What's wrong?"

Ed sighed and lowered the plate down to the counter. "Everything." He

rubbed his eyes. "Hey Teach, do you think…do you think it is possible for Al
to ever be jealous of someone?"

Izumi blinked at the odd question. "Al jealous?" She repeated, frowning. "Al
is a very sweet boy, Edward, but I would not find it odd for him to be jealous
of something. He is still a human. Humans feel things like jealousy, anger,
sadness, happiness. We all have the same emotions. They just come out in
different situations. Why do you ask anyway? Is Al upset?"

Ed shrugged.

Izumi nodded and took the towel from Ed's hands. "I might have an idea as to
why he is upset, and if I am right, it is not my place to talk." She put a hand
gently on Ed's cheek and looked down at him with a soft smile. "Go to bed,
dear. You look really tired. I'll finish here."

"Teach…" Ed started to protest.

Izumi gently kissed his forehead, efficiently shutting Ed up and making him
blush and look down a bit. "You need to rest, Ed. This has been harder on
you then anyone else because you have been getting injured the most. We
don't know what tomorrow will bring. Rest up and tell the other kids to as
well. You all need to be ready."

*Main Room*

"You agreed to just go to bed without arguing?" Al asked shocked when his
brother told him and the other kids they had to go to bed.

Ed shrugged. "It was Teacher! You can't argue with her!"

Al looked at his brother suspiciously, but didn't argue with him. He noticed a
faint blush on his brother's cheeks when he came out to the main room, but he
knew Ed would never mention what caused it.

May dragged Al off to say good night to him and Lan Fan left to get ready
herself since she was very tired, leaving Ed and Ling by themselves.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Ed asked Ling. "On the couch?"

Ling looked around. "I don't get why they aren't enough rooms for me to have
one. This V.H. guy should have known I would need a place to sleep."

Ed shrugged. "Maybe he–" There was a bright flash of light between the boys
that blinded them both. When the light died down, a letter was slowly
floating to the ground. Ed snatched it up before it fell too close to the ground.

"Dear Ed and Ling: Sorry about not giving you a bed before, Ling. I had
assumed you would sleep on the couch until some things got sorted out. I
have added a bed to Ed and Al's room for you. Sorry I did not get it there for
you before. It took a lot of energy and power to transport all of you to that
room yesterday and I didn't have the energy to get the bed there. Have a good
night. V.H."

"That makes sense, I guess." Ed said, frowning as he looked at the initials of

the letter.

"I guess this means we're roommates!" Ling cheered, hugging Ed excitedly.

"No!" Ed shoved Ling off of him. "No hugging."

Ling pouted.

*Hughes & Mustang*

"Hughes," Mustang said, running a hand through his messy black hair. He
yawned as he collapsed onto the couch next to his friend. "What are you
doing up so late?"

Hughes looked up from the map of Amestris that was on the coffee table. It
had the transmutation circle drawn on it. "I'm just worried."

"About what?" Mustang asked.

Hughes leaned forward and tapped Central with his fingers. "About
everything. My wife and daughter. About all of our comrades. About our
country. I can't help but think that we might fail."

"I know." Mustang said, frowning as he leaned back into the couch. "That
thought has been stuck in my head too. I'm trying not to focus on it by
studying Fullmetal's notes. They are a nice distraction when we take a break.
If I'm not focused on them, my thoughts will move to everything that has
happened and what will happen in the future. We can't afford any mistakes
right now."

"Everything?" Hughes asked, frowning darkly and moving a hand to his

chest.

Mustang looked at the ceiling, closing his eyes. "Yes, everything."

"It does not matter for the future we are saying, but when we leave here we
will try to change the future. But how much can we change?" Hughes asked.
"What if I do survive and not meet Envy but die later on in this battle?"

Mustang glanced at Hughes sharply.

"It is what you are thinking, right?" Hughes asked.

Mustang closed his eyes.

Hughes sighed. "I don't want to die, Roy, but if it happens, you can't let it
change who you are. Don't let anger and thirst for revenge take you. I
wouldn't want that."

"I know, Hughes." Mustang said, though on the inside he was raging with
anger. Hughes may not want revenge, but Mustang would. He couldn't just let
his friends be lost like that and not feel such anger.

*The Boys' Room*

"Mommy!" Ed shouted, running over to her and hugging her around the legs.

"Oh!" Trisha said in surprise, looking down at her little man that was
sniffling. "Ed, what's wrong?"

Ed glanced at her with tear filled eyes. He sniffed. "Mommy, why can't I make
friends like Al? Why do I always mess it up?" He asked sadly, burying his
face back in his mother's skirt. "Am I just a horrible person?"

"Oh, my sweet little boy." Trisha scooped her son into her arms and pressed
a gentle kiss to his forehead. "It is always difficult to make friends." She
gently drew the back of her fingers over her son's cheek, calming him down
in the process. "You're not a horrible person, Ed. You're just shy and hide it
behind a tough boy attitude and with anger." She glanced at her youngest
son, who was taking a nap. "But you know what?"

Ed looked at her curiously. "What?"

"Even if you don't have a lot of friends, Alphonse and I will always be by your
side. We'll be with you forever." Trisha told him softly.

Ed blinked as a grin made its way onto his face. "Yeah! And I'll protect you
guys from all the mean people out there!"

Trisha chuckled. "Will you now? Well, I'm glad to have such a strong little
man guarding me then."

Ed woke with a gasp, eyes staring up in the darkness. Where did that memory
come from? It had been so long since he dreamed about his mother. He rolled
onto his side to see Ling sleeping on the bed that had been added in the other
corner, though it was made adjacent to Ed's bed.

He blinked and looked around in the darkness. Usually Al had the small light
on so he could ready, but there was nothing tonight. "Al?" He whispered so
as not to wake Ling. When he didn't receive a reply, he blinked in confusion.

Sighing, Ed rolled off of the bed and quietly made his way to the bathroom.
He closed the door before turning the light on so he wouldn't bother Ling. He
stood in front of the mirror, blinking tiredly at his image. His hands curled
around the edge of the sink.

He had forgotten all about that memory until now. What made him reminded
of it after all this time?

"Ed?" Ling said softly, pushing the bathroom door open. "You okay?"

Ed blinked. "How about knocking, jerk?" He retorted.

Ling grinned in reply. "What? Shy?"

Ed rolled his eyes. Same old Ling. "No, I just don't want an idiot walking in
the bathroom while I'm in here."

Ling laughed. "Right, right. But why'd you wake up?"

"Why'd you wake up?" Ed retorted.

Ling raised a brow. "Touché. I woke up because my idiot roommate woke up

and was making noise."

"I was not!" Ed snapped, glaring at Ling. "I was being very quiet."

"Not quiet enough. I am trained to wake at the slightest problem since I do

have assassins coming after me sometimes." Ling explained. "What's up with
you?"

Ed ran a hang through his hair. "It's nothing."

Ling raised a brow. "Nothing? Really? Nothing has you up in the middle of
the night?"

Ed shrugged. "Annoyance." He leaned against the sick and sighed. "I guess
that last episode and seeing my mom just brought back old memories."

Ling nodded and didn't ask another question. He understood that some things
were best left alone. And Ed's memories of his mother were private. If he
wanted to share, he could. If he didn't want to share, he didn't have to.
"Whatever you say, Ed. I'm tired and since there doesn't seem to be an
assassin around, I'm going back to bed. You should too unless you want to be
tired tomorrow."

A/N: I swear….it was not meant to be this long of a chapter. I could add
more conversations and other things for the break…but I think there is
enough.

So, there was no pain factor in this episode. Since I wasn't sure if I was
going to do this episode or not, I had to think of how to do it. I decided
that everyone needed a relief episode, and since the episode was mostly a
flashback episode, I decided it would be the relief episode for everyone.

And so we all know, writing out this opening song was very freaking
difficult. Only because the pictures in it flash by so quickly at some
points. It was hard to get them all and in the right order cause of that.
On top of that, writing out "Let it Out" with all those scenes playing
with it was very freaking hard! Not only did I have to make sure I had
the right lines at the right parts, I didn't have subtitles to help me so it
was all my judgment call. I think I got it right.

AND NOW, QUESTION TIME! SERIOUSLY, EVEN IF YOU

IGNORE THE REST OF MY AUTHOR NOTES, READ THIS!

So as we all know, or should know since you should have seen the whole
series people, Ling is turning into Greed soon. I know. I know. We are all
so excited for that part. But here is the question, my dear readers, we
have a few options.

Option number 1: The Ling in the room also turns into Greed for his
duration in the room.

Option number 2: Greedling from far into the future comes into the
room, like from when he is traveling with Ed, Heinkel, and Darius far.
Mostly for the fun and stories he has and because he has his memories
back by then.

Option number 3: Nothing changes at all.

Tell me which option you like better and tell me why! I need ideas and
thoughts, people. Explaining your choice helps me.

Please Review!
*Chapter 28*: Episode 28: Father
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Also, I think there was some confusion about if I brought in Greedling.

One, if he came in, he would be coming in sometime during the six
months he traveled with Ed, Darius, and Heinkel so before the fight
people. And him being him, yeah, he wouldn't share any information,
just stories about his time traveling with Ed, Darius, and Heinkel.

I gave you all three options to help me choose what to do. Well, you gave
me your opinions, and what I was not expecting was that you would ALL
have different ideas! For that simple fact alone, I am now stuck between
options 2 and 3. Thank you very much guys! *Please note sarcasm* If
Greedling does appear in this now, it will not be in this chapter as I still
have a decision to make! Argh, such a hard choice to make.

Sooo, now, this is officially the longest chapter….for the third time in a
row I will say this, DO NOT expect this next time because I SWEAR this
time, I am not doing it again. Besides, it would be next to impossible to
beat this length.

Also, sorry for not getting this up sooner. I study obsessively sometimes
and I did it pretty much all last week so I just couldn't get this done in
time.

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative
Regular talking/actions

"Xingese"

"Xerxian"

"Ishvalan"

Episode 28: Father

"GOOD MORNING, EDO!" Ling shouted in Ed's ear and earned a kick to
the stomach in response.

Ling fell to the ground, clutching his stomach as Ed rolled to the edge of the
bed and looked over the edge to stare down at his friend with unsympathetic
eyes.

"I don't know where you learned that," Ed hissed. "But that is not a proper
way to wake someone up, Idiot Prince. Honestly." He sat up and swung his
legs over the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Why
did I have to get stuck with you as a roommate? Al and I were perfectly
content with just ourselves."

"Such a mean friend." Ling groaned.

Ed looked around the room, ignoring the groaning prince on the ground.
"Where is Al anyway? I didn't notice him last night when…Eh." He cut
himself off.

Smirking, Ling stood up with a bit of difficult and leaned into his friend's
face. "When?" He prompted.

Ed shoved him out of his face. "I just didn't notice him last night."

Ling laughed. "I think he left sometime after we fell asleep. At least, that's
what I heard. He woke me up when he left."

"It seems everything wakes you up." Ed muttered.

"That's the training." Ling said with a grin. "Maybe I should train you like
that because you tend to sleep very deeply and that is the perfect way to…"
He made a slashing motion across his neck.

Ed roared, launching off the bed to tackle Ling to the ground. "Like I would
let that happen, idiot prince!"

"Oi!" Ling growled, struggling with Ed to overpower him. "Who do you

think you are tackling a prince like that?"

"Ha!" Ed said, trying to force Ling's arms away from him. "You can't always
use that excuse, Ling!"

Ling's eyes narrowed. "Good point. Besides, I don't need my prince excuse."
He retorted, and he lifted his back off the ground and wrapped his legs
around Ed's chest. He twisted both of them around and slammed Ed on the
ground by him. Before Ed could wake his dazed self up, Ling grabbed his
flesh arm and twisted it painfully behind his back. Panting, Ling managed to
grin and say, "I win."

"Shit. Ling!" Ed shouted, struggling to pull his arm free.

"If you struggle, you're going to hurt your arm, Ed." Ling warned.

"Just let go!" Ed ordered.

Ling scoffed. "You can't order me around, peasant!"

Ed groaned and slammed his head on the ground. "Are we really back to
that?"

Grinning, Ling leaned down to Ed's head and said, "I'll let you go when you
admit I am better than you and that you can never beat me."

"Bastard. Like I would ever admit to something so false!" Ed snarled. He

pushed up off the ground with his automail hand and threw himself back into
Ling, making the prince let him go. The moment he was free, Ed twisted
around on the ground to face Ling and kicked him in the stomach again. "Not
cool!"
Ling shrugged, rubbing his stomach. "That is definitely going to bruise."

Ed snarled, holding his arm to his chest. "And my arm won't?"

"I didn't grab hold of it as tightly this time. It will be fine, just sore." Ling
replied while Ed rubbed his shoulder.

"Whatever, but never again." Ed muttered.

"You started it." Ling pointed out.

"And now I'm ending it." Ed snapped as he stood up and stretched his arms
above his head, grimacing a bit at the pain flaring in his shoulder. He went to
the bathroom and quickly washed his face and brushed his hair out and pulled
it back into a ponytail.

When he was back in the room, Ling had already changed into the clothes
that V.H sent him yesterday. Ed grabbed the clothes he threw on the desk
chair last night. "Why did you wake me anyway?" He asked as he pulled his
long sleeve white shirt on.

"Your teacher, Izumi, asked that you would come help make breakfast." Ling
told him.

Ed paused in buttoning his cargo shorts to stare at Ling. "Asked?" He

scoffed. "She does not ask, Ling. She orders."

Ling shrugged. "I thought you might like to hear that it was 'asked.' But you
are right. She is impatiently waiting for you."

"SHIT!" Ed shouted. He quickly buttoned his shorts and was out the door
before Ling could say anything else.

*Kitchen*

"You're late!" Izumi shouted when Ed skidded to a halt in the kitchen.

"Blame Ling!" Ed protested. "Stupid prince."

Izumi raised a brow, but didn't comment. "Just start helping with breakfast,
Ed."

"Yes ma'am." Ed grumbled. 'Stupid Ling.'

*Hour and a half later*

"Man," Ling said in between bites of food. "This is the first time I've eaten
your cooking, Ed, and now I know. I really have been missing out a lot on
how good it is!"

Ed rolled his eyes, resting his chin in his hand as he watched his friend
devour his breakfast. "You're a real pig when it comes to food, you know
that?" He asked.

Ling shrugged, looking up from his meal with a grin. "I can't help it, and at
this rate, I'm going to start eating a lot more if it's your cooking I get." He
replied, grinning at his friend. "Why aren't you eating, Ed? Not hungry?"

"I'm surprised you can. I slammed my foot in your stomach twice, Ling! How
are you able to eat without that irritating the bruise there?" Ed asked.

Ling grinned. "I'm tougher than you think, Ed. And don't avoid my question."

Ed sighed.

"Don't you have to eat for you and Al?" Ling asked, frowning now. "You
can't very well afford to skip a meal."

"And what's your excuse for why you eat so much?" Ed retorted.

"I'm a growing boy. I need food." Ling replied, grinning. "As do you,
especially since you are eating for two growing boys."

Ed groaned and closed his eyes. "It sounds strange when you say it like that."

Ling shrugged. "I'm just saying."

"Yeah, well, I ate while I was cooking. Filled up then." Ed replied, glancing
over at his brother, who was talking to May.

Ling followed his gaze then looked back at Ed. "Have you talked to him
yet?"

Ed frowned and looked back at Ling. "I just can't believe you. Al seemed
completely fine to me."

"Because he wasn't glaring at you, but me." Ling retorted, pointing a fork at
Ed. "You just aren't seeing it."

Shooting his friend a glare, Ed looked back at Al. There was no way his baby
brother could feel jealous, but then again, Izumi did say any human could feel
it. But why would his brother be jealous of Ling?

"Ed?" Ling asked.

Ed shook his head and stood up. "Come get me when we are ready to start,
Ling."

"Are you sure?" Ling asked, but Ed was already walking away.

Ed just raised his hand as he left.

"Where are you going?" Ling yelled at him, but was ignored.

*The Boys' Room*

Ed ran a hand through his bangs as his closed his bedroom door behind him.
Nothing was making any sense anymore. Al was supposedly jealous. They
were seeing their future. Those getting into fights were suffering the pain of
all of their injuries. Homunculi were running around and controlling things.
And there was something off with his dad!

They had to all be stressed. The break they took yesterday probably didn't
help everyone all that much because now they were jumping right back into
it.

Was that why Ling seemed to think there was something wrong with Al?
Maybe Al really was just stressed as well and there wasn't really a problem
like Ling and Havoc thought.

Sighing, Ed looked up from the floor. He looked around his bedroom and was
surprised to find one thing strange about it. And that was a pretty thick book
sitting on his desk.

Curious, Ed went over to his desk and stared down at the plain black book
cover. There was not a single word on it to tell him what the book was.
Curiosity overwhelming everything else, Ed opened the book to the first page
and was completely surprised by what he saw.

There were two pictures on the first page. The first one was of Izumi kicking
Al and him across the room when they first appeared here. He sweat dropped
at the picture and looked at the one below it. To his shock, the picture below
it was from a memory that Ed had forgotten about because it happened so
long ago.

Ed, who was just four years old at the time, was sitting on his dad's shoulders
while his dad held him by the ankles. He was laughing with his eyes closed
while Hohenheim smiled sadly with a single tear tracing down his face. Snow
was falling down all around them.

"Why…why are you crying?" Ed asked softly, gripping the book tightly in
his hands. "You left us. You don't love us. Why are you crying? You can't
cry!" He quickly turned the page to forget him and found four more pictures.
"So many."

Ed looked at his bedroom door than back at the book in his hands. He didn't
want anyone else to see these. They were something he wanted to look at
alone. He looked up at the ceiling and saw support beams and grinned.

With cat like reflexes, Ed got up to the support beams and sat on them with
his back against the wall. He left one leg hanging over the edge of the beam
while the other was stretched out straight on it. He opened the book to the
second page again.

The next picture he saw took place a few months after he joined the military.
Mustang and his team were on the stairs outside of Eastern Command.
Mustang and Riza were standing in the back with Fuery and Falman standing
to the side a bit while Havoc and Breda sat on the stairs with Ed sitting
between them. Ed had his elbows resting on his legs and his chin in his
hands, smiling a bit. Havoc had his arms wrapped around Ed's back, grinning
broadly.

Ed smiled a bit at the picture. He had just recently returned from a mission
when that photo was taken. He was annoyed at the time and wanted nothing
to do with it, but Mustang forced him to. Since he wasn't smiling at first,
Havoc started whispering mocking jokes about Mustang to him to make him
smile for the camera.

Under that picture was him and Ling from the day before when they were
lying on the couch and bumping fists when they were watching their fight
with Envy.

A smirk tugged at Ed's lips there. His partner in hell. Looking at the next
page, Ed's smirk turned to a small smile.

Ed was holding Elicia high in the air in the park, causing the girl to laugh
while Al, Hughes, and Gracia sat on a picnic blanket, smiling at Ed playing
with Elicia.

And below that picture was one of Ed with Riza and Havoc at the shooting
range when he was fourteen. Riza and him were in similar stances as they
fired their guns. Havoc stood behind the two with a grin as he held a
scoreboard with 213/213 on it from how many times they each hit the target.

Ed wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or grimace at that one. For one, he hated
guns and yet he was practicing with one. But he wanted to laugh at Havoc
keeping score of how many times he and Riza hit their targets. That silly grin
of Havoc's was just so amusing.

Grinning a bit, Ed turned the page again and was shocked to find himself
staring at four pictures of just his mother. The first was of him on his dad's
shoulders while Al was carried by his mother and reaching his little hand out
to Ed, who was also stretching a hand towards him. Ed and Al were grinning
and laughing while their parents smiled fondly.

Looking at the next one, Ed felt tears prick at his eyes. He was sitting by his
dying mother and learning how to sew from her. It was the last thing he ever
learned from her. This moment was shortly before she passed away….leaving
him and Al forever.

Ed rubbed the tears away quickly. He would not cry. He quickly looked at the
next picture of his mother. This time it was of Ed scowling at a man who was
smiling sleazily at his mom.

Ed glared hatefully at the picture. He remembered that day. Looking at the

next picture, the glare vanished and was replaced by a smirk.

In the next picture Ed was on the floor in front of a transmutation circle and
smiling innocently as the man was seen tripping because of a transmutation
Ed did.

It certainly serves that sleazebag right. He shouldn't have been looking at his
mother like that.

As he turned the page again, Ed felt a grin tug at his lips. It was him sending
a spinning kick at Ling when they were inside of Gluttony. They had been
fooling around a bit there in the beginning of their "imprisonment" in
Gluttony.

The next picture was of Black Hayate biting the leg of some buff man who
had put his hand onto Ed's left shoulder and tried to pull him back. Ed
laughed at the man's expression. Serves the man right for bothering him.

"What'cha grinning at?"

Ed screamed in surprise, almost falling off the beam he was sitting on. What
saved him was Ling's quick reflexes in pushing him against the wall and
sitting on his leg while Ed got his bearings back.

"LING!" Ed shouted, staring at his friend in surprise. "What are you doing
here?"
"You told me to come get you when we were ready to start." Ling pointed
out, grinning.

"But…But…" Ed scowled. "You shouldn't have found me so easily! You

little cheat! You used that whole sensing where people are thing, didn't you?"

"Maybe." Ling said in sing-song, making Ed scowl at him. "Why don't I

teach you?"

Ed blinked, staring at Ling curiously. "Teach me what?"

"How to read the Dragon's Pulse." Ling told him, raising a brow. "Or do you
not care to learn? I don't have to…." He trailed off when he saw the excited
look in Ed's eyes. "Or, I can start teaching you later."

Ed grinned. "Thanks, Ling! It would be very helpful!"

"Now about that book." Ling said, reaching forward for it.

Ed pulled it closer to himself. "No way, Ling!" He said and jumped from the
support beam and to the ground, landing on his automail leg.

"Hey!" Ling said, jumping down at him. "No fair, Ed!" He ran after Ed out of
the bedroom. "Ed! Share!"

Riza looked back at the two laughing boys that were running over to them.
"What are you two doing?" She asked, smiling a bit at Ed's laugh and grin. It
was so rare to see him so happy like this.

"Not–" Ed was cut off by loud barking. He turned around in surprise, only to
get a tiny black and white dog smacking him in the chest. He stumbled back a
step, but managed to stay upright and catch the dog, while managing to keep
hold of his book. "Black Hayate!"

"What?" Riza asked shocked, standing up. "Black Hayate?"

"Lieutenant Hawkeye's dog?" Ling asked, coming to a stop by Ed.

Ed nodded and crouched down to put the dog down. The moment the dog
was on the ground, he put his paws on Ed's knees and pulled himself up to
lick Ed's face.

"Argh," Ed said, rubbing the slobber away. "Go, Black Hayate. Go see your
master."

Black Hayate barked happily and ran over to where Riza was watching on in
amusement.

"Are pets just randomly appearing now?" Hughes asked confused as Riza
kneeled down to catch her dog in a hug. He looked at the ceiling. "What?
We're not getting a letter now?"

Ed put his book under his arm so he could stuff his hands in his pockets. He
walked over the rest of the way to the seats, snorting as he did. "You're not
that special to get a letter, Hughes." As Ed said this there was a flash of
golden light in front of him and he grabbed the newly arrived letter. "I, on the
other hand, am."

Hughes grumbled something about rude brats, but Ed ignored him as he

opened the letter.

"Dear Riza, I thought you would be missing your dog and since he does help
you a bit, I decided to let him come here. V.H." Ed stopped reading when he
saw the words of the next line. 'To you alone, Ed.' Seeing those words, Ed
kept quiet as he read the next part. 'The photo book I sent is for you. It is your
choice whether you show it to other people or not. The photos in it will be
from your time before you came here, anything that has happened in the
room that deserves remembrance, or events that have happened in the future.
Please enjoy yourself as you look at them.'

When he was finished, Ed shoved the note in his pocket since he didn't want
anyone else seeing the part that was meant for him. "What are we waiting
for?" He asked as he sat on the ground, leaning his back against the coffee
table.

"You!" Mustang said. "Where were you anyway?"

Ed shrugged.

Hughes noticed the book Ed was holding in his lap and raised a brow.
"What's with the book, Ed?"

Ling sat next to Ed, grinning at him. "I almost forgot about the book because
of Black Hayate appearing. You should share, Ed."

"Okay." Ed said and he hit Ling in the back of the head. "There, leave me
alone about it now."

Ling rubbed his head. "Still violent, I see."

"Let's just start already." Ed said.

The opening song began.

"What? Does it just begin at Ed's command now?" Havoc asked.

Ed rolled his eyes.

A skull with a fire burning in it appeared on screen as the sound of a

door opening was heard. The scene slowly moved up to show Father's
empty chair. As it continued to move, creepy music started and the
ground was shown, than the doors that Gluttony opened with him
standing between the opened doors.

The doors were zoomed in on as Gluttony walked through the doors. The
scene pulled back to show the door through some pipes as Gluttony was
followed by Al.

Al was zoomed in on, turning his head as he was. He looked in the other
direction.

The many pipes on the wall he was looking at were shown.

"Creepy place, right?" May asked.

"It really does look like it." Al said.

"Probably feels creepy too." Ed said.

"We already knew that because of May." Havoc pointed out.

Ed shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Anyone can get a chill down
their spine from being in a creepy place. The creepiness and the danger you
know is there just pulls at your soul. You don't need to be able to read the
Dragon's Pulse to feel that."

"Have experience with that?" Ling asked.

Ed gave his friend a blank look and just raised his automail arm in reply,
efficiently shutting him up.

"This place couldn't get any creepier, huh?" Al asked.

"Agreed," Al, May, and Sheska said.

"Al, you're agreeing with yourself." Ed said with a teasing grin.

Al just shrugged. "Just making sure you all remember it."

Gluttony's hands were shown to be in the air in waving. "Hello, Father!"

The scene moved down to show Gluttony while Al jumped a bit in the
background and sweat trailed down his suit of armor.

"I brought you a Human Sacrifice." Gluttony said as he started to walk

forward.

Al was shown. "Your Father? Where?" He looked around. "This is

happening too fast."

"Al," Ed said, grinning a bit. "You had the whole walk to Central and through
the tunnels to prepare to meet with Father. You really should be ready by
now."

"You can never be ready to meet Father!" Al protested.

Hughes put his hands in his face. "Roy, you realize what this sounds like?"

"The boyfriend meeting the girlfriend's dad for the first time?" Mustang
asked.

Hughes nodded and raised his face to Mustang's, and both of them grinned.

"I think Al would easily make it pass inspection." Hughes said.

"Fullmetal would fail." Mustang said, grinning.

The scene pulled out rapidly, showing Al and Gluttony from the distance
with a bit of a balcony at the bottom of the screen. Father's foot
appeared on the balcony.

The screen turned to show the scene from behind Al. Father was seen to
be shadowed over mostly because of the dark area he was in.

"And who is this?" Father asked.

Al was shown, gasping a bit.

The picture of the Elric family with Hohenheim's face covered flash onto
screen.

The bottom half of Father's face was shown. The screen slowly moved up
to the rest of his face.

"Dad?" Al said confused.

"No!" Ed and Ling shouted.

Al jumped. He shot a glare at Ling before looking at his brother. "What?"

Ed's eyes narrowed at what his brother did, paying careful attention to it. His
narrowed eyes disappeared after a moment and he grinned at his brother.
"Oh, nothing, just telling your future self not to fall for this guy's appearance.
Appearances tend to be deceiving after all."
"You and Al are perfect examples of that truth." Havoc said.

Ed scowled at him

"Hey," Havoc held his hands up innocently. "Just saying."

"Father"

"The episode is seriously called Father?" Brody asked.

"Seriously? Did you have to interrupt just to complain about that?" Ed

retorted.

"All I'm saying is that it seems like a weird episode title." Brody said. "Is the
whole episode about him?"

Ed's eyes narrowed at him. "If I say yes, will you shut up?"

Brody grinned.

"Then yes." Ed said.

Father reappeared on screen.

"Eh?" Gluttony said.

"Hmm?" Father said.

Blood appeared on screen before Gluttony was shown to be screaming

with blood gushing out of him.

"What happened to him?" Walkers asked shocked.

"A guess?" Mustang said, looking at the back of Ed's head. "I'm guessing
Fullmetal decided he didn't like playing in a fake portal anymore."

"Playing?" Ed scoffed, looking over his shoulder at Mustang with narrowed

eyes. "I wasn't playing in there at all!"
Mustang raised a brow and looked at Ling then back at Ed. "It certainly
looked like you guys were fooling around at times."

"You know nothing!" Ed shouted.

Gluttony's stomach was shown to be ripping open to the mouth with an

eye inside of it. A red slit appeared in the pupil of the eye.

Al was shown from behind as he watched.

The scene moved towards Gluttony again, who was holding his stomach
to try to get it to stop. He fell facedown to the ground and coughed up
blood. He grabbed hold of one of the pipes, which burst and had stream
fill the vicinity.

Gluttony was shown through the stream to be screaming out in pain still.

The eye in his stomach was shown.

"I commend you, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

"And why is that?" Ed asked.

"Because you are putting him in so much pain to open that portal." Mustang
replied.

Ed blinked. "Sadistic." He turned Ling. "I had no idea he was so sadistic."

Ling chuckled.

When Ling looked back at the screen, Ed pulled his knees up to his chest and
opened the photo book to the page he was on last. The next picture was of
him sitting on a wall in Resembool at eleven years old. Al was leaning
against the wall in front him. Both of the boys were grinning. This picture did
nothing to make Ed happy. Instead it just saddened him. This was right
before their Human Transmutation. This was right before everything went to
hell.

Closing his eyes, Ed breathed in deeply. He shouldn't dwell on that right now.
The pupil in the eye shrunk as Gluttony continued to scream out in pain.

The scene rapidly pulled out as red alchemical light flashed around.
When the scene pulled out, a giant hand was shown to be reaching out of
Gluttony's stomach.

The candle inside the skull was shown.

When the scene changed, it was to look at the ground to see Gluttony's
shadow with Envy's arm stretching out of him as the room was lit up
red.

Ed looked up from his book as the flashing red he saw out of the corner of his
eyes and stared, gaping as Envy came out of Gluttony. That had to be so
painful. No wonder Gluttony was screaming so much.

"Are you seriously reading that when we're in the middle of something?"
Ling asked.

Ed looked away from the screen to scowl at Ling. "Got a problem with it?"

"Yes! What is so fascinating about it?" Ling said, trying to see into the book,
but Ed quickly snapped it shut and whacked Ling in the shoulder with it.

"Mind your own business." Ed growled.

"You see, now that just makes me want to know even more." Ling said,
reaching out for the book but Ed leaned away from Ling and held the book
stretched out behind him.

"No." Ed growled.

Frowning, Ling leaned across Ed, one hand on the coffee table and the other
trying to stretch out to get the book.

"And there you two go again!" Mustang growled.

Both boys paused, turning just their heads to stare at Mustang.

"What are we doing?" They asked together.

Mustang blinked in surprise.

"That was creepy." Havoc said.

"You're fooling around in a serious moment!" Mustang snapped when he got

his bearings back. "And Fullmetal, why do you even have a book? Where did
you get it from?"

"….My room?" Ed said a bit confused.

"Why was there a book in your room?" Hughes asked confused.

Ed blinked.

Ling raised a brow. "There are a whole bunch of books in there. There's a
whole bookcase of them!"

"What?" Mustang said, now glaring at Ed's bedroom door. "I didn't get any
books."

Ed blinked again. "What's it matter? You have my research notes to play

with."

Mustang shot his glare at Ed at the mention of those damn notes.

Envy's second hand ripped out of Gluttony's stomach, adding to the

shadows on the ground.

There was a loud thumping sound as Envy's leg hit the ground.

The scene pulled out to show Al standing back before Envy shot out of
Gluttony's stomach and he was zoomed in on. He roared as he crossed
the screen. Al was shown to briefly be covering his face before he looked
over at where Envy fell and the screen went back to normal colors.

Envy's body was shown with steam all around. The screen slowly moved
down the length of his body until it got to his tail.
As Envy groaned, the scene moved passed Envy's tail to show Al's back
as he stared at him, gasping a bit in shock.

"To think, if I had just moved a bit faster, maybe we could have avoided
meeting Father at all." Ed said.

"You don't want to meet him?" Ling asked.

Ed looked at Ling with a frown. "As I said, meeting him could be helpful, but
I really don't want to meet him under these circumstances. You shouldn't
either. We are both severely injured right now."

"What? Are you planning to fight?" Mustang asked sarcastically.

Ed shrugged. "What would you do when surrounded by Homunculi and their

leader?"

"Try to get out of there alive." Ross said.

"Envy." Father said.

Al looked to the side then turned around, causing Xiao-Mei to jump to

his other shoulder. "Envy?" He cried in shock.

"I guess that would be a huge surprise." Ed said.

Al sighed. "Considering the fact that you were with him, Brother, I really
shouldn't be surprised by the dramatic and crazy way you returned, which
started with a giant monster like Envy!"

"….I cannot be held accountable for this one!" Ed protested.

Al turned back around to look at Envy. A part of Envy's body and face
was shown so the crying green bodies on him were seen. "That thing?"

"Since when is he a thing?" Lan Fan asked.

"Since he transformed into that creepy monster." Al replied.

"I thought I was the rude one." Ed said, grinning at his brother.

Ling chuckled. "Don't you say that Al has his moments as well?" He said,
though he was looking at Al, just daring him to do something that would alert
his brother to his strange attitude towards him.

Ed subtly took note of the look that Al had in his eyes when he looked at
Ling, but did answer Ling. "Well, yes, but calling anything a thing for Al is
quite rude and unexpected."

The scene moved angles to show Al staring at Envy. Al moved his head
slightly before he was running. "Brother!"

Ed's legs, which were covered in the dead green bodies from Envy,
appeared on screen.

Ed fell onto his side, groaning a bit as he pulled his legs tighter to his chest.
He kept his arm pinned between his chest and legs as well. "Too abrupt." He
muttered.

"What is?" Ling asked, glancing at him.

"The sudden appearance on screen." Ed replied.

Clanking could be heard as Al ran over and stopped in front of his

brother. Al kneeled down in front of him. "Brother," He said as he
pulled some of the green bodies away from his brother.

Ed groaned a bit as he lifted his head. "Al?" The screen zoomed in on

Ed's face with confused, dazed eyes. "You're back in your armor."

"You know, that could confuse him a lot." Brosh said.

"It would confuse anyone who heard him." Avery corrected. "It's a very
weird thing to say."

He blinked. "So that means…" His eyes moved to the corner of his eyes
before he closed them and smirked. He raised his automail hand and
stretched it to his right.
His automail was shown on screen with Ling's fist appearing next on
screen to bump his hard enough for the sound of clanging pieces of metal
to be heard.

"See?" Ed told Ling with a smirk. "Told you we were fine."

"You cannot predict the future, Ed. Something could have happened to mess
you up at any point." Ling retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes, but smirked. "At least someone gets the idea I can't predict
anything."

"You predicted a lot of correct stuff." Brody pointed out.

"Luck." Ed retorted, brow twitching a bit.

Al shifted on the ground, a bit annoyed with watching his brother and Ling
fist bump with each other like that. That was a thing between him and his
brother. How could he do it so easily with Ling? His hands clenched into fists
on his lap. Was his brother really going to leave him for Ling? What was so
great about Ling? Was it the fact that he was a prince…? Or was it the fact
that Ling had a body and could provide Ed with physical contact that was
warm. His brother claimed to hate contact of any sort, but Al knew that he
really did cherish it. He just would never admit it. And getting physical
contact from someone his age who was a friend was more easily accepted
then contact from an adult or someone he didn't know. And Al just couldn't
give it. Was that why his brother was leaving him?

Ed watched his brother with a frown before turning back to Ling. Why did all
the moves his brother make seem angry or upset when something involved
Ling? He couldn't really be jealous, could he? Then again, now that he
thought about it, Ed had been sitting closer and closer to Ling and allowing a
bit more physical contact then he usual allows anyone. Ed values physical
contact, but usual avoids it. If Al can't feel warmth, why should he be allowed
to? But Ling was just so pushy…and he just lost himself in his friendship
with the boy.

Sighing, Ed gave a sad frown to Ling. "Okay, I admit it. You were right."
"About Al?" Ling asked, confused as to why they were in his language now.

Ed nodded. "Havoc told me earlier what it was I missed and now I've been
watching for it."

"How about speaking in a language we all know?" Luke asked annoyed, but
was completely ignored by the two boys.

"What is it?" Ling asked.

"He's jealous!" Ed half-shouted, causing a few people to jump in surprise at

the sudden shout. "Can you believe that? He is jealous of my friendship with
you!"

Lan Fan leaned passed Ling to look at Ed with a frown. "Is it that shocking,
Edward? You two have barely interacted recently. It's been mostly you and
the Young Lord. Maybe you should try to include Al a bit more."

"It doesn't work." Ed said frustrated. "He just gets upset with Ling no matter
what! And I think he was avoiding me this morning too!"

"He's upset, Ed. I think he feels that he is losing you to the Young Lord." Lan
Fan told him with a sad frown.

"That's ridiculous!" Ed said.

Ling shrugged. "Jealousy doesn't make a lot of sense."

Ed frowned and turned back to the screen. Ling was right about that. This
jealousy Al was feeling was making no sense to him. Why was he jealous at
all? Yes, he was talking to Ling a lot, but why should Al be jealous over that?
He had no reason to be.

The scene pulled out to show Ling sitting next to Ed, still holding his
sword in one hand. "We're back in the real world."

Ling groaned a bit loudly, hunching forward as he grabbed his side where he
felt the broken ribs. The sudden pain in his side had shocked him immensely.
After being able to rest the whole night with no pain, only to have to come
back to this immediately the moment he appeared on screen was a real pain.
He would have liked to have gotten through it last night, but everyone getting
a break was more important than a bit of pain he was feeling. Everyone
needed a night to rest since stress levels were getting a bit high.

Al turned his head to look at him.

"Guess so." Ed replied before he was suddenly tackled into a hug by Al,
making him scream out in pain.

Ed screamed at the pain that suddenly flared throughout his body. He rolled
over on the ground and buried his face in the carpet, which muffled his
screams of pain.

Al looked at his brother frantically. "Brother! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do

that!"

Ed weakly raised his automail hand in the air, but didn't lift his face off the
carpet. "Don't worry, Al." He hissed out. "I'm fine. Was just shocked by the
sudden flare of pain is all. Besides, you didn't know I was injured. Tis
alright."

The scene pulled out to show Ling watching Al swing his brother around
in a tight hug.

"You're safe!"

"You're hurting me!" Ed shouted as Ling looked at the screen.

Miles sighed. "You do realize you are in Father's lair, right?"

"Well, Al knows that. I don't think Ling and I know where we are yet."
Edward replied.

"That doesn't mean anything!" Hughes half-shouted. "You just got out of that
fake portal and you are in a completely new area! You should be on high alert
right now!"

"….How is this my fault? Al is the one who suddenly pulled me in a hug." Ed

groaned painfully, rolling onto his side to stare up at the side with narrowed,
pain filled eyes.

Ling chuckled. "That's a good point, but don't you think you would have been
a bit distracted anyway?"

"I am never distracted." Ed mumbled.

"I'm so happy you're alive!" Al shouted as Ling stood up, blocking the
brothers from sight.

"Your spike is poking my ribs!" Ed screamed.

The scene pulled out to show Ling walking forward, towards the screen,
looking around as he held his side.

"At least one of you is paying attention to his surroundings." Hughes

grumbled.

"That's completely unfair!" Ed protested, half sitting up to turn his head to

glare at Hughes. "He has that unfair advantage of sensing people with the
Dragon's Pulse!"

"I don't have to teach it to you, you know." Ling said.

Ed's brow twitched in annoyance. "Blackmailing jerk."

Ling raised a brow.

"…I'm sorry, Ling."

"That is better."

"Jerk." He mumbled.

"I'm sorry."

Ling looked back towards the brothers to see Al kneeling in front of Ed,
who was sitting in front of him.
"But I thought…I thought you were dead." Al said.

Ed was shown to be staring at Al. He gasped a bit at the trembling

armor. He smiled a bit. "But I'm okay, Al." He said, looking down and
rubbing his automail hand over his nose and mouth. "I'm sorry." Al's
bowed head was shown and Ed's automail hand reached out towards it
and put it on his helmet.

Ed bit his bottom lip as he watched that scene between the two of them. He
and Al were so close, always there for each other! How could he think that
Ed was leaving him for Ling?! Al was always more important than anyone.
He was Ed's first concern. Didn't Al know that? He could never leave him.
Not even if he wanted too, Ed could not leave him.

"I'm sorry I worried you."

Xiao-Mei was shown to be sitting on the ground, looking up at Al. She

suddenly stood up and turned to the screen, shivering and making a
scared sound before turning around and jumping over a pipe to hide.

"So I guess that means the focus is moving back towards Father?" Avery
asked.

"Seems about right." May said. "If his presence is so scary, then he must be
approaching. From what I gathered, the closer I get to him, the worst the
feeling is. If Father is approaching Xiao-Mei, she will get even more scared."

The screen changed to show a wall full of gears as Ed stood up, looking
confused. He turned his head a bit to the side. "Where exactly did we
wind up though?"

"This is a somewhat surprising." Father said.

Ed quickly turned around in surprise to see Father walking out of the

shadows behind him.

"How did he get behind you?" Havoc said confused.

"He seems good at appearing randomly." Luke replied.

"Or, and this is just a suggestion," Ed said sarcastically. "He moved around
when we were distracted with getting back and meeting Al. It's not surprising
we didn't notice."

Father appeared on screen, face being lit up by the light as he did. He

had a hand on his chin as he thought. "People emerging from his
stomach."

"He really does look like your father." Hughes said.

"Yes, we get it, Hughes." Ed said with an annoyed sigh.

"You think he is somehow related to us." Al finished dryly.

"How can two people look that alike and not be related?" Hughes retorted.

Ed sighed. "Doppelgangers, Hughes, doppelgangers."

"That's your explanation?" Sheska asked.

Ed shrugged. "Haven't you read about them, Sheska? They are someone who
looks exactly like you, but is not a twin. Some people believe there is a
doppelganger for someone somewhere in the world. Why would it not be
possible here?"

"It could be a valid explanation," Hughes said seriously, hand on his chin.
"But I think you're just fishing for them now."

Ed flashed onto screen, glaring angrily at Father. "What the…?

Hohenheim?"

"See? Even you believe it!" Hughes said.

Ed's brow twitched. "Never said I didn't see it, Hughes. I just said it wasn't
him after seeing him and hearing his voice. There are quite a few differences
in the two of them."

The screen changed to show Father from behind with Ed and Al in front
of him. As Al stood up, Father said, "Steel appendages and an armored
body." He turned to the side.

Ed and Al looked at each other.

Ed was zoomed in on as Father suddenly appeared in front of him.

"….I'll admit he does move fast." Ed said.

"At least he hasn't attacked yet." Ross said with a bit of relief.

"He has no reason to attack us when he needs us." Al pointed out.

"What about me?" Ling asked, pointing at himself.

Al shrugged. "Dead, probably."

Ling groaned and bowed his head. "Not helping."

"Wasn't trying too." Al replied.

Ling groaned. "Sounds just like Ed before he admitted we were best friends!"
He said as he tried to hug Ed, only to be met with Ed's book in his face,
pushing him back.

"I admitted no such thing, Ling." Ed said as he changed his grip on the book
to whack Ling on the top of the head. "I said we were friends. I don't know
where you got the best part from."

"Aww, you're just trying to hide the fact that I am your best friend because
you're–"

Once again, Ling was hit with Ed's book.

"Ow," Ling whined, rubbing his red face. "Why is that book so heavy?"

Ed huffed and put the book in his lap. "You don't need to know."

"If you're going to keep hitting me with it, I think I deserve to know!" Ling
protested, reaching out for the book, only to have Ed slap his hand away with
his automail hand. "Ow!" He grabbed his hand, frowning at Ed. "Your
automail really hurts."

"It's metal, Ling! What were you expecting?" Ed snapped. "Were you
expecting it to be soft like a pillow? I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to be
disappointed."

"….You're very aggressive today." Ling replied.

Mustang coughed to gain the boys' attention before General Armstrong

decided it was a good idea to cut out their voice boxes. "Boys, shut up so we
can continue."

"He's so demanding." Ed muttered to Ling.

Ling nodded. "Who does he think he is?"

"Can you imagine him as Fuhrer?" Ed asked.

Ling snickered. "When that happens, I'll fully allow you to come to Xing, Ed."

"Thanks for the free pass."

"Anything for a friend."

"I know you two brats are talking about me!" Mustang snapped at them.
"Shut up now!"

"Since when am I classified as a brat as well?" Ling asked, frowning.

"Probably since you started calling me your best friend." Ed replied.

"That seems unfair." Ling said.

Ed shrugged. "Don't take offense. It's Colonel."

"Both of you, shut up now!" General Armstrong snapped angrily. "If you
continue like this, we're not even going to get through one episode today."
Ed and Ling stared at her for a moment before slowly turning their heads
back to the screen.

"She's demanding too." Ling muttered to Ed.

Ed nodded. "And scary."

"If she becomes Fuhrer, don't even waste time telling me you're moving to
Xing. Just sneak into the country and come to the palace." Ling said,
completely ignoring the killer intent he felt coming from Mustang and
General Armstrong.

Ed was not able to ignore it as well as Ling. He was twitching a bit from it.
"Do you think I could move there soon with you? I think our deaths might
have already entered the planning stage."

"I believe we should sleep with one eye opened each tonight." Ling replied.

"Naw, maybe you'll have too, but Al will guard me." Ed said.

Ling frowned. "I get nothing?"

Ed shrugged.

"I find that–"

"SHUT UP NOW!" Havoc, Luke, Mustang, and quite a few other soldiers
screamed.

Ed and Ling blinked, looking up at the soldiers.

"Rude." Ed muttered.

"What's rude is carrying on a conversation of your own in a language that no

one but the people from Xing understand while we are in the middle of
something!" Mustang snapped at him. Now, quiet."

Ed huffed and crossed his arms.

Ed gasped and reeled back in shock as the scene pulled out to show all
three of them.

"Are you two the Elric brothers?" Father asked.

The scene moved to Ed while also showing Father in front of him. "So
you're…you're not…"

"Kind of slow on the uptake, aren't you?" Havoc asked.

When Ed just looked at him, but didn't say anything, Havoc raised a brow.
That was strange. Ed always had a response!

Father rubbed his finger across his chin. "Have you mistaken me for
someone else?" He stood up straight and turned to the side, rubbing his
hand across his chin. "Hold on."

Ed was shown.

"Hoh-en…" The boys were shown from behind as Father suddenly

leaned down into Ed's face again and pointed a finger in his face. "The
name you said! By any chance do you mean Van Hohenheim?" He lifted
his head a bit to look at Al. "And how is it the two of you are acquainted
with him?

"Anyone want to bet that Father and Hohenheim know each other?" Hughes
asked.

"No." Havoc replied. "At this point, it's just too obvious that they know each
other somehow."

Hughes pouted. "You guys never want to bet." He turned to his friend. "And
here I thought your team always made bets."

Mustang scoffed. "They make bets, but not when the answer is so obvious
that they will lose easily. They're not idiots, Hughes."

Al was shown. "Well…He's our father."

The scene moved behind the brothers again to show Father in front of
them. He hummed as he stood up straight. His eyes moved to Ed,
shocking him. Without warning, Father grabbed Ed's head.

Hughes growled softly. How dare that man touch Ed?! This guy was their
enemy! He shouldn't be so calm and kind right now! This was not how any of
this was supposed to go! Fight…leave the place since Father wouldn't harm
them…Talking to Father like this was not supposed to be the plan! He would
much rather see them fight than have this person touch Ed in such a familiar
way!

"No!" Ling cried. "Don't let him touch you, Edo!"

Ed brow's twitched in annoyance, but he kept silent. So the enemy was

touching his head. There was nothing wrong with that. Unless he broke his
neck then it would be bad.

"He's you're father!" He turned Ed's head a bit. "This is indeed

surprising!" He straightened Ed's face to look at it directly. "I had no
idea he had children!" He patted Ed on the head. "Haha!"

Hughes's brow twitched. "Who does that man think he is?" He asked angrily.

Mustang glanced at him with a frown, but didn't reply. He didn't like seeing
Father touch Ed in such a familiar, kind way either. It wasn't right. It was just
disturbing when it was realized that Father was their enemy and wanted to
use Ed and Al as sacrifices!

"Just shove him away, Chief!" Breda said.

Ed rolled his eyes, leaning back against the coffee table. They did realize they
were talking to future him, right? And he wasn't stupid enough to push Father
away. The guy was the enemy! He didn't want to piss the guy off….at least
not just yet when he was so close to him and touching him. That could end up
badly for him.

Ed was shown to be scowling and had a twitch mark on his forehead.

Al sweatdropped.

"Huh," Father was shown with his hand still on Ed's head, which was
pushed down. Father's hand on Ed's trembling shoulder shook. "If you
are indeed his progeny, then why is it your family name is Elric?

The scene pulled out as Edward shoved Father's hands away. "Elric is
our mother's last name!"

Then again, Ed thought with a wry smirk. Maybe he was just crazy enough to
slap Father's hands away.

Father put a hand to his chin. "Oh is that so." Ed reeled back again. "So
where has he been spending his time?

"Who cares!" Ed swung his arm to the side. He pointed a finger at

Father. "Just forget him! Who the hell are you? And why do you look
exactly like him?!

Father turned to the side again, eyes closed. "I know that he can't be
dead."

"And why is that?" Brody asked confused. "He could have died from an
accident or been killed for all he knows!"

"I believe it was said last episode that there was something strange about his
body. Father said that Hohenheim wasn't human." Armstrong said, hand
resting on his chin as he thought.

"That could mean anything though." Mustang pointed out. "Some State
Alchemists are considered monsters and not human at all for what they've
done in war. Father could have meant anything about Hohenheim by not
being human."

"You are suggesting that our father did something horrible?" Al asked
angrily. "He was not like that!"

"Didn't he abandon you guys?" Fu asked, frowning. "Some might consider

that a horrible act. He shouldn't have left his kids and wife behind."
Al huffed, shooting a look at his brother, but Ed didn't seem to be paying any
attention. He was just staring at the screen with a frown. "Not if he had a
reason." Al retorted. "We have no idea why he left! It could have been for
anything!"

"Father is an immoral person and he knows Hohenheim. Doesn't that seem

suspicious?" Scar asked.

Al crossed his arms angrily. Great! Now even Scar was against him in this!
"No, because Father doesn't even know where our Dad is! They may know
each other, but they no longer have anything to do with one another!"

"Hmm, that is a good point. He did seem surprised to hear the name." Hughes
replied.

"What do you think, Fullmetal? Your input usual has value." Mustang said.

Ed just huffed and opened his book once more and bowed his head over it.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked. "Going to say anything. He is your father.

You're smart. Surely you noticed something during your time with him when
you were a child or even the brief scenes we've seen of him! Your dislike of
him surely got you to notice something off about him!"

Ed just studiously ignored him, staring at the picture he opened up too. It was
of his dad holding him shortly after he was born, wearing a very fond smile.
The picture while not surprising was a huge reminder to Ed. Before his father
became distant and left, he was always so fond of his children. He could see
it in his face when he and Al would run up to him or when they were making
messes around the house. Instead of getting annoyed, Hohenheim always
sighed, but still looked at them with so much love and fondness…

Ed furiously snapped the book shut and shook his head. No, his father
abandoned them! There was no way he still loved them after all of that! He
left years ago! He had to have moved on by now!

Edward gaped and his eyes widened. He threw his arms into the air.
"Listen!"

"Brother!" Al moved closer to his brother. "This guy's the one who-" He
grabbed Ed's arm.

Ed screamed out in pain, twisting around halfway to Al and attracting

Father's attention

Ed groaned, hunching forward to grab his arm and pin it to his chest. His
fingers curled a bit, trying to grab his shirt, but the pain was just too much
and he couldn't finish the movement. Didn't his brother see the splint on his
arm? That usually meant there was an injury of some sort there! Why did his
brother even grab his arm?

Crap, Ed berated himself in his head. It wasn't Al's fault. Ed hadn't really
caught him up on anything yet. He couldn't know the full extent of his
injuries just by looking and seeing the splint there. He couldn't blame Al for
this when it was his fault for getting injured.

Father's face appeared on screen. "It would appear that you're injured.
And you're missing your left hand, aren't you?" He started to walk
forward before Al's arm with the missing hand was shown. Father's
hand appeared on Al's arm and red alchemical light appeared as he
drew his hand back as Al's hand recreated.

Al gasped, turning his hand over.

"Okay…Fullmetal, speak!" Mustang ordered. "Enough of your strange silent

treatment. You're an expert in this field. Explain!"

Ed turned his head to look at Mustang, then turned to Dr. Marcoh, who was
also an expert.

"I'm not asking him! I'm asking you so you will just start talking again. Why
are you so quiet? It's not like you." Mustang said.

Ed shrugged. "You said to shut up."

Havoc's head dropped in disbelief. "We didn't mean for the whole time!"
"You're a jerk." Ling muttered to Ed, though he was smirking a bit. "You
should have told me we were going to mess with them like that."

Ed gave a one shoulder shrug.

"Thought you didn't prank." Ling muttered.

"Don't."

"Some might consider that a prank."

"Some might not."

"Fullmetal, focus!" Mustang snapped.

"It's obvious, Colonel." Ed said with a sigh. "Didn't we already make a guess
that this guy had a stone? If he does, he can easily get Al's arm back like
that."

"But without circles or clapping?" Armstrong asked.

Ed scoffed. "Of course. He has a stone somewhere on him! Alchemists who

use it can do alchemy real quick without really needing anything else like
clapping or arrays if they are skilled enough and have enough knowledge."

"Yet you still used an array to get us out of Gluttony." Ling pointed out. "And
this Father guy is making an array around all of Amestris."

Ed shrugged. "They are more complex transmutations, Ling. Even alchemists

as skilled as me or Father still need arrays for the more complex
transmutations like Human Transmutation or this Philosopher's Stone array
plan that Father has."

"There, how's that for you?" Father said as Ed was shown to be staring
in surprise with his arm still raised as mysterious music began. Father
suddenly grabbed Ed's arm, pulling it and Ed around to face him,
causing Ed to wince a bit. "Your arm is broken."
Father put his hand on Ed's arm, red alchemical light flashing around it,
as Ed and Al gasped in surprise.

Ed immediately pulled back the moment Father was done. He was

zoomed in on as he grabbed his arm and stared at it. He grabbed the
gauzed tied around it and ripped it off, tossing it and the wood aside. He
turned to the side, staring at his arm and closing and opening his hand a
few times. "It's not broken anymore."

Ed suddenly sat up straight and looked at his hand, opening and closing it a
few times as well.

"What's wrong?" Ling asked.

"Nothing…" Ed said, frowning. "But the pain went immediately. It didn't

even take time to slowly fade away!"

When he heard footsteps again, Ed looked up again in surprise and wore

a defensive look. The scene pulled out to show the three of them again
with Father running his hands over Ed's shoulder. "Uh! Hey!" Ed said,
sounding a bit scared.

Father moved his hand to Ed's chest, patting it down. His moved his
hands to Ed's side, making Ed have to raise his flesh hand a bit.

"Owww!" Ed cried.

Ed hissed as the pressure being applied to his hurting side.

"A few broken ribs as well." Father said before red alchemical light
flashed on Ed's side.

Ed sighed a bit in relief as the pain suddenly just flooded away.

When Father was done, he stepped back, allowing Ed to look down at his
chest with his brother bending over to stare in shock. Ed patted his chest
then his side in shock. Then he grabbed his arm with Al doing the same
to his.
Father appeared on screen. "I consider the two of you to be vital
resources. You must both remain alive and healthy."

"Figures." Hughes snorted. "Did it for his own reasons."

"That is not surprising." Riza said. "Everything they do is for their own gain."

Ed snorted. "And they say we're selfish." He muttered.

Ed and Al were shown as they looked at each other. "This isn't right,
Al." He whispered. "He performed a transmutation without any
movement at all."

"And he didn't even thin out my armor." Al added.

Both boys looked at Father again. "There isn't any equivalent

exchange!"

There was a clinking sound before Father was shown and Ling said,
"You aren't human!"

"Look who decided to make a reappearance!" Ed said sarcastically. "And

where were you the whole time that bastard kept touching me?"

"Standing back and watching." Ling said.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Not a helpful friend, are you?"

"The same could be said for you." Ling retorted.

Riza whistled loudly. "Boys, again?"

Ed and Ling stared at her.

"First it's Colonel whistling. Now it's her." Ed grumbled, rubbing his ear.

"Now," Riza continued. "Any idea what you meant by now human?"

Ling shrugged. "Probably like the Homunculi."

Ling was shown. He was glaring at Father with his sword pointed at him.
"What are you? What the hell's inside you?"

Father was shown before he was zoomed in on. His face was zoomed in
on with him looking out of the corner of his eye to stare coldly at Ling.

"I would ask who you are, but I honestly don't care." Father said.

Ling's appeared on screen, face filled with fear. His sword could be
heard to be trembling as sweat trailed down his face.

"Yep," Ed said dryly, putting a hand to his temple. "No use, no care. Horrible
people."

The screen changed to show the group from above. Father turned away
and started to walk away as he said, "You can go ahead and eat him."

"Okay!" Gluttony cheered, throwing his arms into the air.

"Seriously?" Ling groaned. "Why is it always me?"

Havoc shrugged. "That's what you get for hanging with the Elrics."

"How is this our fault?" Al and Ed shouted.

"What?" Ed shouted.

Ling hugged Ed, making Ed twitch a bit in annoyance and raise his book to
hit Ling with it again. "I really don't want to go back there, Ed."

Ed swung his book down onto Ling's head to hit him. "Then don't get eaten,
idiot."

Ling laughed and pulled away as he rubbed his aching head. "That's hard to
do when his stomach opens up."

Ed scoffed. "Yeah, I realized. Well, if you do get eaten, too bad."

Ling glared at him. "Thanks for the care."

"Oh, relax, would you? If you get eaten, I promise you I'll find a way to get
you back, even if I'm not eaten with you." Ed muttered.

Ling blinked as he listened to Ed's words. Get him back? He already

promised to get Al back to his body and now he was making promises to him
if he himself got lost? Did that mean that Ed would always have his back as
well as his little brother's? He seemed to have a thing about protecting those
he cared deeply for. Ling smiled a bit. So that had to mean that he really was
on Ed's list of people he greatly cared for. Ling felt like teasing Ed with that
thought but didn't since he really didn't want to get hit again. Ed was
beginning to see him and Lan Fan, and maybe even May, as family.

"No!" Ed shouted as he and Al ran over to Ling. He stopped in front of

Ling. "Don't! This guy's our friend!" Al stopped on the other side of
Ling. "You want to keep us happy, right? So don't kill him, please!"

"Aw, you really did try to save my life. I knew you and future you liked me."
Ling said.

Ed's eye twitched. He didn't know how, but he could feel this jerk grinning. "I
just don't like seeing people die in front of me."

"No, you like me." Ling said. "You already admitted it yesterday,
remember?"

"Horrible mistake on my part." Ed grumbled. 'Stupid Xingese people. I knew I

should have thrown them out of my room when they offered their help in
capturing a Homunculus.'

Father's back was shown as he continued to walk away with Gluttony

being shown on the other half of the screen, approaching the boys. "But I
have no need for him."

"That doesn't mean he can decide whether he lives or dies!" Lan Fan stated
angrily. "It's like he's trying to play God!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Well, he is trying to surpass God! Seems he hasn't gotten
rid of his arrogance like he has everything else!"
"But why does he have to kill me?" Ling asked.

"Actually, he is letting Gluttony eat you, which sends you back to the fake
portal where you will slowly go insane from darkness and die of starvation."
Ed told him.

Ling groaned. "That really does not make me feel better at all, Ed."

"Do you think I'm trying to help?" Ed asked dryly.

"Your friendship doesn't make him any less useless to me."

As Father stopped walking, Ed asked, "What'd you say?"

Gluttony stopped and put a finger in his mouth.

Al appeared on screen, turning his head to his brother. "Brother, the

Homunculi keep calling this guy their father." He looked forward once
more. "I think he's the one who created them."

The scene smoothly pulled out to show's Ed face with Al still being seen
by him. "What?"

"He did heal our wounds though." Al said.

"He didn't heal mine." Ling said painfully, surprising Al as he walked

between the brothers, still holding his side.

Ling groaned a bit and hunched over, hugging his chest.

"Ling?" Ed asked softly.

"Mmm, sorry, I forgot about my broken ribs." Ling replied, pushing himself
up a bit, grimacing a bit as he did.

Ed grumbled under his breath before saying, "Stay down, you idiot. You'll
just agitate your pain by moving around."

"Good point." Ling muttered before collapsing face down on the ground, arm
still hugging his stomach.

Ling stumbled forward a bit before his face was zoomed in on. He raised
his trembling sword up to his face. "I don't like him. I can tell he looks
down on humans and calls us fools."

"Obviously, the arrogant jerk." Ed grumbled. "He thinks because he is so

strong, he can just look down on us. To him, we are like insignificant ants."

Father's back was shown. He turned halfway around to look at Ling.

"When you notice an insect on the ground, do you stop to consider it a
fool?" Ling's angry face appeared on screen. Al was shown. "The life of
an insect is so beneath you, that it would be a waste of your time to even
consider judging it." Al gasped. Father's face was shown again. "That
would be an accurate summation on my feelings towards you humans."

"The more he speaks, the more I hate him." Mustang growled, crossing his
arms over his chest and leaning back in his seat. "What makes him so much
better than us?"

"His cruelty?" Miles suggested. "He sacrificed the people of Xerxes just to
make a stone. That gave him a lot of power and showed just how cruel and
greedy he is. Because he is cruel and decides humans are just his to use, he
believes he is better than us."

Ed snorted. "Sounds like he already believes himself to be God."

Ed's hand appeared on screen to be clapping, causing an echoing ring to

sound. He put his hands on the ground and large rocks sprouted up,
heading towards Father. Father was shown with the rocks approaching.
Without moving, a wall appeared in front of him, red alchemical light
flashing around it as the rocks slammed into it.

"Must you?" Hughes asked, putting a hand to his eyes. "You could have
gotten out of there without fighting."

"Well, Al and I would have survived it, but Ling would probably have been
killed. First, Father has no use for him. Second, I don't think Father will be
too happy to let someone who is not a sacrifice out of there alive. I don't think
he would be too happy to let Ling out of there with information about him
and where he is." Ed pointed out.

"But he'll let you get out?" Ling mumbled.

Ed nodded. "Yes, but of course since we have valuable information now,

we'll probably be restrained in some way so we don't tell anyone it."

"What is this some way?" Sheska asked.

Ed shrugged. "Could be any number of things."

Ed stood up. "Look, you've might have healed our wounds, but that does
not mean we're friends."

"That's good to know that you don't change sides so easily." Karley said.

Ed rolled his eyes.

He raised his automail hand which was in a fist. "It's pretty apparent
that you're the root of all this evil!" He pointed a finger at Father. The
scene moved to show him, Ling, and Al from the side. "I'm taking you
down!" As Ling took a small step backwards, Ed swung an arm to the
side. "I don't care how many cronies you've got!"

"That seems a bit of a foolish move." May told him. "Didn't you tell me to
think of the consequences first, Edward?"

Ed sighed.

"Not to mention you haven't slept all night. You're exhausted and probably
hungry again." Izumi told him. "You don't have the energy for another fight."

"Plus two Homunculi and Father with just the three of you?" Riza added.
"Very reckless indeed."

Ed twitched.
"And considering Envy is still a monster and you and Ling barely survived
that fight inside of Gluttony, I don't think fighting three of them is a good
idea." Lan Fan replied.

"Everyone is against me." Ed grumbled.

"Al and me as well, considering the fact we are with you." Ling said. "But
you did start the fight."

Ed twitched. "I think your appearance there started it."

Envy was shown. "And just who are you calling a crony, pipsqueak?"
He asked as Gluttony jumped in front of Envy.

Ed was shown, gritting his teeth angrily and glaring. His automail hand
slammed into a fist and a twitch mark appeared on his forehead.
"Pipsqueak!?"

Al jumped a bit in surprise and looked at his brother.

"And why are you surprised, Al?" Brody asked, smirking "You know Chief.
Always getting mad."

"I guess I just wasn't expecting him to be that angry." Al said with a shrug.

"You do remember how he reacted in the forest when he saw Envy, right?"
Brody asked.

Al chuckled at that reminder. "I guess in all my worry, I forgot that."

Ed clapped his hands and slammed one of them into a pipe, causing blue
alchemical to flash around as dramatic music began.

Envy and Gluttony were shown before a group of pipes with alchemical
light still flashing around them was seen to be shooting at the two. The
pipes curved before they hit the two and instead went at Father.

Father's feet were shown. The pipes snaked around him, going all the
way up to his chest and closing around him tightly.
"Impressive transmutation." Falman said.

"Very impressive. First that Human Transmutation on a living person, and

now your combat alchemy. It does look exceptional, Edward. You have
improved greatly." Izumi said.

Ed smiled a bit in happiness, but hid it by looking down

"Got you now, boss man!" Ed shouted.

Red alchemical light flashed around Father as the pipes burst apart into
pieces.

Ed and Al were shown with the former gaping.

A shadow covered the boys and they looked up to see Envy towering over
them, growling a bit loudly. He raised his hand.

Ed stood up and jumped backwards to avoid Envy's hand, which was

slamming into the ground near him. He then jumped onto Envy's arm
before jumping again. He was jumping over Envy's open mouth then
body to get to Father, but a wall with red alchemical light sparking
around it appeared in his way. Ed landed on it before being force to
jump backwards and to the side to avoid Envy's tail which slammed into
the wall, destroying it.

"And the chaotic fight has started!" Avery said.

"Why is that you are doing better against Envy now than you were before?"
Armstrong asked, frowning.

"I'm not even fighting him!" Ed said. "I'm dodging."

"And yet, you couldn't even do that inside of Gluttony." Kei told him.

Ed shrugged.

Al was shown to be crouching down on the ground with his hands

pressed onto it. Some of the ground shot up and at Father, curving
through the air as it did.

Father just held up a hand, blocking it. He was zoomed in on, red light
sparking around his hand as smoke and rocks filled the background.

"Is he going to do that the whole fight?" Ed asked annoyed.

"He doesn't seem to be the type of person to just jump around like you, Al,
Ling, May, and Lan Fan do in a fight." Mustang pointed out.

Ed snorted. "You don't do it either…know what, none of you do!"

"We're trained in hand-to-hand combat, not to jump around crazily like you
kids do." Hughes retorted.

Ed scoffed. "Teacher does it. You guys are just making excuses or not
training enough."

"It might just be because of their age." Lan Fan pointed out, much to the
annoyance of the soldiers. They were not that old!

"That's not a good excuse when you consider your grandfather." Ed argued.

Lan Fan nodded. "That's a good point."

"You two…" Mustang said angrily, twitching a bit.

"Perhaps you two should be quiet." Ling suggested.

Ed and Lan Fan shrugged.

The smoke was zoomed in on to show Ling suddenly there, shouting as

he swung his sword back in a ready position to strike.

A pillar shot onto the screen, slamming into Ling's stomach and sending
him back.

Ling jerked back violently, slamming his head into the ground in surprise.
Ling screamed out in pain, hand curling to grab the carpet to grip something
through the pain. His chest felt like it was on fire with how much pain was
spiking in it. There was a pressure pressing down on his chest and ribs which
was making it hard and painful to breathe.

Ed grimaced a bit himself. He knew getting slammed in the chest like that
while having broken ribs was not a fun experience at all. He rubbed his own
ribs as he recalled that pain.

"Ling!" Al said as he was shown before Ling slammed into the ground by
him.

"I don't get it." Ling muttered. "Why does future Al not have a problem with
me why the Al here does?"

"I believe it is because of different circumstances, Young Lord." Lan Fan

informed him.

"What does that mean?" Ed asked.

Lan Fan sighed. Oblivious boys. "I mean, we are in different situations. Al
and Ling in the future were thrown together to work through problems and
plans. Al and Ling here haven't really interacted or anything because they
haven't had too. Ed and Ling have been hanging out more with each other
than in the future, showing more of a close friendship right in front of Al. Al
is hurting to see that."

Havoc frowned to himself. He knew Al was jealous of Ling right now. But
why did Future Al seem fine with Ling? What was the difference between the
two of them? His eyes narrowed, glancing at Al then the Al on screen. His
eyes widened in shock. Smirking a bit he slid off the couch and went over to
Ed and Ling. "Hey Chief, Ling, did you guys know that friendship grown in
battle is stronger than regular friendship? It's because in battle, you have to
adapt quickly to survive."

"Havoc?" Ed said, blinking.

"Al and Ling's friendship is growing differently here because they have been
thrown into a different situation." Havoc said.
Lan Fan smirked at the boys. "I told you, Ed."

Ed sighed. "Then what am I supposed to do? Throw Ling and Al into a life or
death situation so they can work it out so they won't get killed?"

"I'd prefer it if you didn't do that, Ed." Ling said. "I'm getting enough pain
from this future."

"Violence is not always the answer, Chief." Havoc said before going back to
his seat.

"Why didn't we notice that immediately?" Ed grumbled to Ling.

"I never really thought about friendship like that." Ling replied.

Ed sighed. "Same…shit."

"Don't swear in my language!" Ling snapped.

"Whatever." Ed muttered.

Al looked forward once more as he was zoomed in on a bit. "What's

going on here?"

Ed was shown to be pushing himself up out of some rubble with Father

being shown in the background.

"How does he do that?" Ed asked angrily.

Father was zoomed in on, hand still raised and sparking with red light.

"It's like he can transmute just by thinking about it!" Ed said.

"You do pretty much the same thing, just with clapping and a quick slap to
the ground or wall." Mustang pointed out.

"And he just stands there!" Ed cried in frustration. "It's really annoying when
trying to kick his ass!"
Father lowered his hand and sighed. "This is a waste of time." The
ground was shown with the bottom of Father's robes on the side of the
screen. He took a single step forward, and when his feet hit the ground, it
hit it loudly.

The scene pulled out to show Envy and Gluttony in the back with Ed,
Ling, and Al a little bit in front of them, and Father standing at the head
of the room with red alchemical light flashing around him, which turned
the room red.

A wave of energy ran through the room.

"Oh, what now?" Ed asked annoyed.

"Is that even a transmutation?" Izumi asked confused. "It's not doing anything
but passing through the room."

"And that is what makes it even more worrisome." Armstrong said, frowning
as he watched this.

Ed was shown close up as the energy moved passed him. He was shown
to be in shock as the energy wave moved fast enough to blow his bangs
back like it was wind. Next to him, Al gasped in surprise.

Ling's face was shown, hair being blown all around as well.

The scene suddenly changed to a tunnel where at the end of it was

complete darkness with a group of red eyes staring out of it.

The back of Scar's head was shown. He turned around in surprise.

May was shown, looking back as well.

The scene changed to a blue sky. It rapidly pulled out to show the
mountains.

The ground was shown with a foot appearing on it. When the scene
pulled back, it showed Hohenheim turning towards the mountains.
Hohenheim's face, which was frowning, was shown.
The music came to an end as Hohenheim faded away and Ed's hands,
which were pressed into the ground, were shown.

"Dad was shown, probably looking towards Central." Al said worriedly.

"Does that mean he felt whatever that was all the way out there?"

"Probably," Ed said, sighing. "It seemed to be traveling all over the place."

"That can't be done with alchemy, can it?" May asked confused.

"No, so he is either stronger than we thought or it wasn't exactly a

transmutation." Ed replied. "Whatever it was, it did something and we're
probably going to find out exactly what soon."

Ed's hands were shown to be trembling as he breathed shakily in shock.

Ed was shown to be trembling all over as he stared down at his hands in
surprise.

The scene sharply pulled out to show Al looking at Ed, who raised his
head to look at Al. They both sat up and spread their arms out. The
screen split in half with Ed's hands on top and Al's on the bottom as they
both clapped.

The scene pulled out to show Father watching them as they both put
their hands on the ground.

Nothing happened.

"What….what the…" Ed said, eyes wide as he looked at his hands. "What the
hell happened?"

"Why can't we perform alchemy?" Al asked frantically.

"Isn't it just like in this room? We can't perform anything in here." May
pointed out.

"Which is annoying," Ed grumbled, still staring at his hands. "But the one
who sent us here is not Father and Father somehow turned alchemy off in the
future. So either two people know how to do that or we are completely
missing something."

Ed's shaking face was shown close up.

"What's going on?" Ed and Al asked. "I can't transmute!"

Ed's eyes moved to the corner of his eyes as he slightly turned his head
before he and Al were slammed into the ground by Envy's hands. Ling
was shown to be sitting in the background in a bit of pain. "Ed!"

Ed groaned, falling over sideways on the floor. Damn this pain factor. At
least his other injuries were healed or this would hurt a lot more than it was
right now. Though being slammed into the ground did make it hard to
breath…and he kind of needed air!

"Ed, you okay?" Hughes asked worriedly.

Ed lifted his head off the ground and gave Hughes a pain filled grin. "I'm
fine, Hughes."

"Define fine." Ling mumbled as Ed painfully pushed himself up into a sitting

position.

"I feel like I've been smooshed." Ed mumbled to Ling.

Ling patted Ed on the head. "You were, Edo. Envy is standing on you."

Ed blinked. "Not nice. And after his Father just healed me up too!"

"So you're not fine?"

"I have a monster standing up….how could I be fine?"

"You just told Hughes you were fine!"

Ed grinned painfully at Ling. "Yeah, I do that a lot!"

"Right…" Ling said, staring at Ed with a frown. "I think I got that part
figured out."
"Don't act like you've never done it." Ed grumbled, twisting his flesh arm
behind his back to rub it. Damn that Envy. Why did he have to be so heavy?
And why, of the all the things he could have done, did he have to step on
him?

Ling stood up quickly. "Al!" He started to run over to the two, only to
have Gluttony come out of nowhere. Gluttony flipped over in the air,
grabbed Ling by the shoulders and flipped him over in the air. Ling's
sword was shown to be spinning through the air a few times before it
pierced the ground.

Gluttony was shown to be sitting on Ling with one of his arms twisted
behind his back as he ate Ling's sword.

Ling screamed a bit loudly in pain, falling over onto Ed as he did. His hand
grasped at his chest, scrabbling at his shirt there. "Why are we feeling the
weight of them pressing down us?" He hissed, feeling a bit dazed with pain.

"Because it is the pain we are feeling." Ed groaned as he shoved Ling off of

him. "And if you're going to keep collapsing, stay the hell away from me.

"Gluttony is very heavy." Ling muttered.

"Shut up and get farther away from me." Ed mumbled.

"Leave me to my suffering, you uncaring jerk." Ling muttered, rubbing his

chest as he did.

Seeing that move, Ed just sighed. Of course, Ling still had broken ribs and
probably now a severely bruised chest. Being slammed into the ground like
that with injuries like that would not be fun at all.

"That fight certainly didn't last long." Mustang said, grimacing a bit.

"He cheated," Ed grumbled, leaning back on the coffee table, grimacing a bit
as the pain in his back flared at the pressure he applied to it. "Turning
alchemy off like that….however the hell he did it. Cheat move."

"Seriously, Fullmetal? Seriously?" Mustang asked.

"Who's side are you on, Colonel?" Ed snapped back.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "I'm on yours. But really, cheating? I thought you
said there was no such thing as dirty in a fight."

"THIS!" Ed shouted, pointing at the screen. "This is not a dirty fight. This is
cheating! You can't just turn alchemy off like that in the middle of a fight! It
shouldn't even be possible!"

Mustang raised his hands. "Alright, alright. Calm down."

The scene moved to the side to show Ed and Al still being pressed into
the ground. Ed struggled to push himself up, but got nowhere, as he said,
"What the hell did he do to us?"

Al lifted his hands off the ground and looked at them. "I don't know."
His face and hands were shown to be trembling. "Why can't we use our
alchemy?"

Envy laughed harshly. The scene pulled out to show it was behind
Father. Envy looked down at the brothers. "You lower life forms never
cease to amuse me. You get a speck of power," Envy's face was zoomed
in on as he lowered it down closer to the brothers. "And you think you
own the world."

"Yeah, cause that makes completes sense." Havoc snorted.

"It sounds like Envy is trying to imply something." Al replied.

"And that is?" Sheska asked.

Al shrugged. "I'm not one hundred percent sure, but we think Father turned
the alchemy off, right?" When he got a few nods, Al continued. "Well, Envy
might be trying to imply something about the connection between Father and
our alchemy. There was a Philosopher of the West for Xing and the Eastern
Sage for Amestris. Since we know Father caused the destruction of Xerxes, it
makes sense that he came here afterwards and taught alchemy and began his
plan, right?"
"That makes sense, Al, but what does it have to do with our alchemy being
turned off?" Edward asked.

"You don't have any guesses?" Al asked.

Ed waved a hand at him. "You're doing good on your own." He mumbled,

resting his head back on the coffee table and closing his eyes to listen to his
brother's soothing voice.

Hughes glanced at Ed for a moment. Ling was lying on the ground, eyes half
opened. Ed had his legs stretched out in front of him and was leaning back
against the coffee table, seemingly to be half-asleep, if the dazed pain and
tiredness in his voice was anything to go by. Both boys looked half-asleep.
He knew they were in pain, but why did they look so tired? They never
looked this tired when in pain before.

He frowned as he realized it. These boys were drained and exhausted.

Everything they were going through right now was weighing heavily on their
hearts. They were burdened by the future more so than any of the adults.
Especially Ed and Al as they were the ones whose point of view was being
shown. Hughes' heart went out to the boys lying before him, looking so
young.

Frowning, Hughes turned his attention back to Al, who was also staring at his
brother and Ling, looking a bit tense, which was amazing for a suit of armor
to pull off.

"I'm not really sure, Brother. Since it is likely he survived that long, he
created alchemy, but how does that enable him to turn it off by his will?" Al
asked

Ed sighed, rubbing his eyes with his injured hand to try to wake himself up.
"It's a hard question to answer since we don't know that much about Father or
his past or how he created alchemy, if he was really the one to do it. Maybe
we'll get more information later."

"And you don't even know what that power is."

Ed's face appeared on screen as he turned sharp eyes to Envy.

Some of the pipes in the room were shown.

"And then you have the arrogance to assume that you're the one who's in
control of this power. You're like a bad joke that keeps getting dumber."
Part of the pipe broke and collapsed into pieces as it fell.

Ed was shown again as the pieces fell to the ground. "What are you
bastards planning? You promised to tell me everything if I got you out!"

"That bastard isn't saying anything." Mustang growled.

"He says things to mock us with the fact that he knows more than us." Ed
said annoyed, not bothering to open his eyes. "Stupid jerk just can't be
straight with us."

Envy was shown. "Huh? Why I would never stoop so low as to make a
deal with a worm like you." He looked away.

"Liar!" Ed said.

The scene moved to show Father from behind with Envy in front of him.
"You talk far too much, Envy."

"Oh, sorry."

Father was show from the front from the ground. He looked down to the
side at Ling. "You may prove rather useful to me after all."

Ling tilted his head a bit on the ground to look up at him.

"What does that mean?" Lan Fan asked worriedly. "What could he want to
use the Young Lord for?"

"Nothing good, that's for sure." Brody said.

Ling groaned softly so only Ed and Lan Fan heard him. He could tell by his
future self's actions and words. He was scared of this Father guy, and now he
wanted to use him for something? Father was just going to use him like he
was a valuable resource for him now! That's all he thought humans were
good for! To be used by him! It disgusted Ling…and…and scared him a bit.
He had no idea of what use he could be of to Father, and quite frankly, he
wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

Lan Fan looked worriedly down at Ling. Her Lord had paled drastically at
Father's words. He was now staring up at the screen with worry in his eyes.
Something was about to happen to him, and without knowing what it was, he
was scared. And Lan Fan couldn't blame him for this moment of weakness.
She was very scared as well. What if whatever Father did ended up killing
her young master? What if it destroyed him? Anything could happen at this
moment, which made her so scared. She didn't want to lose her young master!
Her hands curled into fists. She was supposed to be there for him right now!
But she just had to get injured, throwing her out of the fight. She wasn't able
to do her job properly now because of her injury! She shouldn't have gotten
injured. She should have moved. She should have dodged. She should have
avoided injury so she could stay by Ling's side and protect him!

Fu's eyes narrowed at the screen. His young lord was in danger right now
because of this Father believing he had the right to judge and control
everything. He was using every human he came across, either for a sacrifice,
to be killed to soak the land in blood, to be sacrificed for his stone, or to be
his pawns! This man was horribly arrogant in his perspective of the world
and humans. And now he was going after his young lord. Doing that just
made it that much more personal for those from Xing.

Father's eyes appeared on screen. "I could always use a new pawn in the
rotation." He lifted a finger to his forehead to poke it. He pulled his
finger away and a slit appeared on his forehead, which opened up to
show a sideways purple eye.

"That is very creepy." Havoc said.

Ed opened his eyes and lifted his head off the table to stare at the scene
taking place in front him with narrowed eyes. Just what was this bastard
planning to do to his friend?
Feeling a hand grab his knee, Ed looked down to snap at Ling to stop
grabbing hold of him and being affectionate, but it froze on his tongue when
he saw that Ling's hand was trembling. 'Must not get violent right now.
Ling...is scared...It's just like Al being scared of thunder...Ling is just...so
scared of what is about to happen to him.' Ed sighed. The fear was even
greater because it wasn't exactly clear of what Father was planning to do to
him.

Just this once, Ed would do something that he wouldn't have to hit himself for
later, no matter how much he would want to. "Ling, don't worry." Ed said
softly, and he knew he got Ling's attention when the prince's grip on his knee
tightened. "Lan Fan and Old Man Fu are here for you. Just remember that."
He peeled Ling's hand off his knee. "You'll be fine."

Dramatic music began as red liquid oozed out of the edges of the eye.
The bottom of the eye was zoomed in on to show the red liquid gathering
together at the bottom of the eye.

Al's face was shown. "Is that a Philosopher's Stone?"

Ling's face appeared on screen, one eye opened half way and narrowed.
"A what?"

Envy appeared on screen. "You're really going to do that?" He asked.

Hughes swallowed thickly after what he saw with the red liquid and Al
confirmed. "I guess that means he's going to try to turn Ling into a
Homunculus?" He asked darkly.

"I don't know what else he would be using the stone for." Al said, feeling a
bit worried himself. Sure, he was annoyed with Ling, but he didn't want
something like this to happen to him! He didn't deserve to become a
Homunculus! He didn't deserve that pain! He didn't deserve this torture or
losing his body! Nothing about this was right! Nothing like this was supposed
to happen!

"But it can't be!" Lan Fan said, eyes widening a bit in fear. "Ed said that
Father's Homunculi came from his human sins! He doesn't have any left! Lust
was killed completely by Mustang. Nothing left of Father's lust exist!"

"But Greed does." Ed pointed out a bit too calmly, which shocked everyone.
"Father took Greed back into his body. Since he wants to be perfect and all
powerful, he'll want to get rid of his greed again."

"So he is just going to use the Young Lord?" Fu asked angrily.

"It's what he does." Ed replied.

"But that will make him lose his soul!" May said in shock, staring wide eyed
at the perfectly relaxed Ed.

"That is likely."

"How are you so calm?" Mustang asked as he gripped his arm rest tightly,
pressing his nails into it so hard that it would leave marks. "Your best friend
is probably about to go through hell, probably going to lose his body, and
you're just sitting there like it is nothing!"

Ed glanced at him for a moment before looking away, not bothering to reply.
How could he? He couldn't just say that while he appeared calm, on the
inside he was a terrified and angry mess. He couldn't just say that he was only
pretending to be calm and relaxed for Ling's sake. That would ruin the whole
point! Ling needed him to be strong, like the day their mother died Al needed
him to be strong. He was needed right now, his emotions had no place in his
mind right now. Ling needed Ed's strong determination and his comfort to get
through this. He would not fail his best friend, not now.

"Do what?" Ed asked.

Envy looked down at him. "He's going to make a new Homunculus."

Ed's face flashed onto the top right corner of the screen. Al's flashed on
the screen right below him and Ling's face appeared on the last section
of the screen.

Envy's face was zoomed in on. "The stone is added into the
bloodstream."
The scene changed to show the red liquid oozing down. With a whistling
sound, it started to form into an oval shape as it fell to the ground.

"If it is able to merge than a human-based Homunculus is created."

The stone was shown to be plopping down into Father's hand.

Ling's face was shown as he winced a bit when Gluttony pulled the
bandage off of his cheek. Ling turned his head a bit on the ground to
look up at Father who was now in front of him.

Father was shown from Ling's perspective through his bangs.

"But it's more common for the stone to overpower the subject and kill
them."

"And even if it doesn't kill him, the young lord is going to be lost, right?" Lan
Fan asked fearfully, staring at Ed for the answer.

Ed wanted to retort and say not to look at him because he didn't have all the
answers, but considering the severity of the situation, he kept his mouth shut
on that issue and instead looked away from Lan Fan, giving her all the
answer she needed.

"…his soul lost among the thousands in the stone." Ed said softly after a
moment.

Lan Fan stifled a pain filled groan that tried to escape her at Ed's words.

"I'm not going to let you do this to him!" Ed said.

Ed and Al were shown, struggling to push themselves up.

"What is this? What's going on?" Ed asked. He brought his hands

together and clapped two times. "Why the hell aren't we able to
transmute?"

Sighing, Ed looked down at Ling, who had lifted his head off the ground so
he stare at the screen.

Ling was getting what he wanted, but it wasn't the way he planned. But what
if he messed up and ended up getting his soul destroyed because of his greed?
He was after this, but he didn't want to die to get it! There was still so much
he had to do. He couldn't leave his friends, people, and subordinates behind
like this.

"This is what I want." Ling whispered so only Ed could hear him.

"…You really are an Idiot Prince."

"It's what I want, but I'm so scared. I'm going to lose everything, Ed. I'm
getting the stone, but in the process I'm losing everything." Ling said softly.
"And I might die here. I might die here and leave everyone behind! I'll either
die in this process or I'll survive and become a Homunculus, but I won't be
me anymore! I'll accept that I'm greedy, Ed. I am, without a doubt, a very
greedy person so I'll accept that stone into my body, but I don't want to get
lost within it."

"I won't let you lose yourself. I'll be the light to your darkness and I'll
guide you back to your loved ones." Edward replied softly, though everyone
heard, but not a single person understood him.

"What did you say?" Mustang demanded.

Ed shrugged, not bothering to reply.

"That was Xerxian, right?" Al asked, a bit confused. He knew how to read it,
but reading it and hearing it were two different things, especially with how
fast and fluent his brother was.

"Mm-hmm," Ed hummed.

"You're not–" Hughes started, but fell quiet. He didn't want to waste time
trying to figure out what Ed said. He said it in a completely different
language so no one would understand him for a reason. If that's what he
wanted to do, fine, but he wasn't going to waste time trying to figure out what
Ed said. They had to see what was going to happen to Ling here. That was
what was most important at this moment.

Al was shown to be tapping his hands desperately on the ground a few

times.

The scene pulled out to show Ed being pinned with Father, Gluttony,
and Ling in front of him. "You bearded bastard, let him go!" He
slammed a fist on the ground a few times angrily. The scene rapidly
showed Ed's face and pulled out from it. "He's got people waiting for
him to come back." He scrunched his eyes shut. "Get off of me!"

"You sound so desperate." Charlie said.

"And you wouldn't if it was your best friend?" Ed snapped at him. More
softly he said, "No one would want to see this happen to their friend."

Ed paused and looked to the side. He reached his arm behind him. The
back of his pants was shown as he grabbed the blood covered gun that
was there.

"I forgot you had that." Dr. Young said.

Ed swallowed the fear he felt when he saw that gun. "Yeah, I did too."

"Don't pull that trigger." Ling whispered, speaking in Xingese without even
meaning to.

Blinking in surprise, Ed looked down at Ling again. "What?"

"I want this, Ed. Don't pull the trigger. A few bullets won't get Envy off of
you, and besides, you fear guns, right? Don't pull the trigger and regret it
later just for me." Ling replied softly, looking up at Ed kindly, which just
killed Ed on the inside.

How could he? Ling knew he was about to go through hell and instead of
worrying about that, he was trying to keep Ed from using a weapon that
scared him?
"Worry about yourself for once, idiot. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.
You're the one in danger." Ed whispered.

Ling tightened his grip on Ed's hand. "Do not pull that trigger, Ed." He
growled, staring up into Ed's eyes with determination.

Ed sighed. Stupid idiot prince wasn't listening.

Ed twisted around and pointed the gun at Envy's arm on him. He gasped
and froze. The scene moved to show the green bodies that Ed was
pointing the gun at. They were groaning and shifting around.

"You froze again." General Armstrong growled.

"Not the time." Ed hissed.

"I think it's the perfect time. Your comrade is in danger. You have to make a
choice. Him or those tortured souls, Fullmetal." General Armstrong said,
glaring at the boy. "It should be an easy choice. Those souls are never coming
back. You can't save them, but you can save your friend."

"In simple terms," Riza said with a sad smile. "Pull the trigger without
thinking, Edward! Don't pause, don't think, just pull it. It's the easiest way to
begin using a gun against an opponent."

Ed sighed, completely ignoring the two soldiers. His fear of guns and
shooting someone with it was not his concern right now. Though, he would
admit that it was getting in the way a bit.

One of the green bodies was zoomed in on as tears trailed down its face.

"Can you really shoot such a sad face?" Envy asked.

"Bastard!" Mustang growled. "He's manipulating Fullmetal into getting even

more scared of firing the gun!"

"Not that he has too." Ed muttered.

One of Ed's golden eyes appeared on screen.

"Can you, boy?" Envy asked

Ed's eye moved to the corner of it as the gun was heard to be trembling
against his automail hand. "Damn you."

"Don't shoot, Ed!" Ling shouted suddenly, causing Ed's eye to widen.

"You are saying that everywhere." Ed growled.

"I want it." Ling said.

"Be careful, Ling. Too much greed is bad."

The scene moved to Ling, who lifted his hand off the ground and pointed
a finger at Ed. "This is exactly what I want." He said greedily. "So you
just stay out of it!"

"Are you insane?" Izumi screamed.

"No, he's/I'm just greedy." Ling and Ed said at the same time, making people
stare at them.

"That doesn't make it any better." Havoc snapped at the two. "In fact, that
makes it worse! Why would you want to actually accept it willingly?"

"Because I need it to save my clan." Ling snarled, moving to sit up, only to
have Ed put his automail hand on his chest and push him back down to the
ground. When Ling just looked at him with annoyance, Ed sighed.

"Ling, you know this is going to hurt a lot. Just stay down for now." Ed said.
"Don't fight against the pain."

"Are you serious?" Ed asked as the screen changed to show them all
from above.

"I came to your land to find a Philosopher's Stone, and now this guy
wants to give me one. I'm not going to turn this down." Ling grunted out
as Envy turned his head to him.
"Think about what you're doing!" Ed shouted.

"Well," Father said as his face was shown. "Now this is new." His hand
with the stone in it was shown. "But we'll see if your body is as willing as
your mind." He turned his hand to its side to let the stone fall down to
Ling. As it fell, it made a whistling sound.

Harsh, rapid breathing grabbed Ed's attention and he looked down at Ling to
see him sweating bullets and breathing rapidly through his mouth.

"Ling, relax. Remember, I'm here for. Lan Fan is here for you. You won't be
suffering alone. We'll be at your side the whole way through." Edward said
quietly, grabbing Lan Fan's attention.

Lan Fan nodded. "Yes, my lord. I'll be right here the whole time. Please,
relax. You'll be fine. You can make it through this." She said as calmly as she
could. If she showed how scared she was, it would only make things harder
for Ling. She had to be strong for him.

Ed appeared on screen, yelling, "No! Don't!"

The cut on Ling's cheek was shown before the stone hit it. The stone
turned into a red glob, shifting around as it slid into the cut. The moment
it was all absorbed pulsating veins spread all around the cut.

Ling stiffened when he felt the sudden painful pulsating in his cheek. His
hand shot forward and grabbed Ed's in a tight hold, making Ed grimace a bit.

Ed winced a bit at the tight grip. Not only was Ling holding his hand too
tightly, but the tight hold was ripping at the cut on his hand and pulling at it.

The scene pulled out to show Ling, eyes completely white, before his
whole body pulsated violently and red alchemical light surrounding him.
His body pulsated a second time, just as violently as the first time,
causing Ling to cry out this time.

Ling twisted around painfully, screaming out in pain as he scrabbled at the

ground with his free hand. His head twisted to the side violently, slamming it
a bit on the ground.

"It's okay...it's okay..." Ed whispered, staring down at Ling, who was

desperately stretching an arm out in front of him on the carpet, looking for
something, anything, to hold onto with it as his body continually screamed
out in pain, fire ripping at his insides, tearing them all apart, only to put them
back together and do it again. "I have you, I have you, Ling."

"I want it. I asked for this." Ling hissed, eyes wide in pain, staring up into
Ed's golden ones. He felt so horrible right now. He breathed in sharply and
deeply, feeling the need to throw up, but feeling nothing come up. He choked
violently on the air, which caused him to cough brutally and painfully as tears
filled up his eyes, making his vision completely blurry.

The scene changed angles to show Ed, Al, and Envy watching. Ling's
hand stretched onto screen twisting around and breaking at horrible
angles with red alchemical light flashing around it as Ling continued to
scream loudly. He put his hand down on the ground before dragging it
back roughly.

"Ling!" Ed shouted.

Lan Fan put a hand to her mouth, tears of fear and sadness caressing her
cheeks gently. She could not sob loudly and openly. She couldn't, but she
also couldn't stop the tears flowing down from her eyes, straining her cheeks
with their glistening spark in them. She was supposed to remain strong for
her lord….! But she couldn't be strong. He was suffering so much. It wasn't
meant to be like this. They knew going after the stone would be a difficult
and dangerous journey, but it wasn't meant to be like this.

Fu bowed his head, frowning darkly and sadly with his own tears pricking his
eyes, but not falling. He had failed his lord. Instead of being by his side, he
was still on a journey across the desert. He left his lord, and now he was
going through hell because of it. His body was being torn up over and over
again because of that horrible stone.

Ling's eyes widened even more as he screamed, twisting his hand, which Ed
held, violently. His nails pulled at the bandages and skin on Ed's hand. Ed
winced a bit at that. Ling continued to twist his arm violently, trying to pull
free, and since Ed thought Ling would actually hurt himself if he didn't, he
released Ling's hand. The moment he let go, Ling's hand ripped away from
Ed, pulling the rest of the now bloody bandages with him.

Seeing the blood on the bandages, Ed looked down at his hand in shock to
see that not only did his cut get reopened, but Ling had ripped at his hand
hard enough to scratch it and pull the skin apart in places. As he felt Ling jerk
on his lap, Ed watched blood on his hand trail down to the edge of his hand
and drip down. He followed the blood drop with fearful eyes as he watched it
land on Ling's cheek. His eyes widened as another drop followed….and
another….and another…

It looked too much like a stone…all he saw was the stone that was being
absorbed into Ling's body….the stone that was torturing Ling….that stone
that was destroying his friend from the inside out.

"I'm sorry." Ed said hoarsely. "I'm so sorry, Ling."

The scene turned again to show Ling on his hands and knees with red
sparks around him with Gluttony backing up a few steps. "I told you to
keep out of this!" Ling paused to scream out in pain as his body pulsated
horribly again. He lowered his body down to the ground, putting his face
down on it as he growled, "Don't you dare interfere!"

"What a true idiot you are." Ed said. How could he let this happen? He said
he was going to keep Ling safe! He said he would protect him from getting
destroyed. This wasn't protecting! He let this happen to his best friend!

Don't interfere is what Ling told him? No matter how much he wanted to, he
couldn't. Envy had him pinned and wasn't letting go. No matter how much he
wanted to stop this, he couldn't. It was far too late. The stone had entered his
body. There was no way to save Ling now. His best friend was going to be
lost.

And it was all because he was too weak to pull the trigger!

As his arms and hands twisted at horrible painful angles, his torso jerked
up violently as it throbbed in a painful manner, making Ling scream out
again.

Ling's back arched up violently, arms and hands twisting backwards and
sideways and forward. The bones in his body flared in pain as the hellish
feeling of all of them breaking and repairing themselves only to break again
traveled through Every Single Bone. Pain…relief….PAIN! It hurt the first
time all his bones broke, but the second time they did….the third time they
did…with each time he felt his bones broke, it was more painful and
miserable than the time before it.

Ed and Al were shown up close with the latter gasping.

As Ling reappeared on screen, groaning, he moved his hand forward and

pointed a finger with one eye open. "Stay back. I promise that I know
what I'm doing."

"You foolish boy. You have no idea of what this transformation will do to
you." General Armstrong growled, slamming a fist into the armrest. What
was wrong with these children? They acted like they had to do everything on
their own! Why couldn't they just accept the help of adults? They didn't have
to do everything alone.

Hughes looked down, hands clenching on his lap. Ling was so determined to
make it through this, but how could he? This process was going to kill him or
bury his soul so he will no longer be who he was. He really had no idea of
what he was getting himself into. He had no idea of what this process would
do to him, and he accepted it anyway. It was a foolish move, but he did it
because of his greed…greed and loyalty. He just wanted to save his clan with
that stone, and now he was going to be lost because of that desperation to
save them.

Once again, his body jerked violently. He gritted his teeth to keep from
screaming. He put his hand on the ground and tightened his fingers as if
to keep hold of the ground. "They're dealing with the future leader of
Xing: Ling Yao." This time, his body pulsated more violently than all the
other times, causing blood to plop out of his mouth as he pushed himself
up once more.
A sharp gasp escaped Ling as his hand flew up to his throat, which was
constricting painfully. His scared breathing became faster…a single tear
slipped down his face. He was so scared. The pain scared him. Was he going
to die here? He couldn't let himself be defeated by that stone! He had to
survive this pain and get the stone!

Gentle fingers were suddenly running through Ling's hair, which had come
loose in all his twisting and struggling around. Ling opened his eyes in
surprise to see Lan Fan doing it. He didn't even realize she had gotten this
close to him. Not that he would complain, the feeling of fingers running
through his hair was soothing.

"I can't keep focused, my body's still wavering/Trembling like I am, my

control is shaky/Both the sun and my luck have turned the other way, but I
whispered, "I've gotta do it," to convince myself/The situation is bad, but I've
got no guts if I run away/Nothing to look forward to, but I gotta have the grit
to get past this…" Ed sang softly, mostly to himself but Ling heard him and
turned his head to him with a weak grin. He didn't know his friend could sing
and it didn't matter. The soft voice of his friend did soothe him a bit, just as
Lan Fan's fingers in his hair did.

Ling's head jerked brutally to the side and one of his arms bent at a
nasty angle.

His face was zoomed in on as he raised his head off the ground, Ling
yelled out loudly in pain as blood trailed down his face from his eyes.
Red alchemical light sparked all over the screen in front of his face.

Ling twisted around so violently, hands flying up to his face to grab his eyes,
Ed was thrown out of his singing and waking up to the horror of watching his
friend suffer.

"Young Lord!" Lan Fan said, staring at her prince in horror.

Without warning, Ed grabbed Ling by the arms and pinned him to the ground
before grabbing his hands and gently, but strongly pulling them away from
his face before he ripped his eyes out. Ignoring the blood that splattered all
over Ling's hand and face from Ed's hand, Ed leaned over Ling's face, staring
into his eyes worriedly.

Ling's fingers curled in Ed's hands, scratching at metal and flesh as the wrists
twisted around, pain flaring in them from trying to escape and from the
future.

Lan Fan stared down at the blood drops on Ling's face, and like Ed, she
imagined it was the stone that was absorbed into his body. The glistening
blood gently trailed down his face which now reminded her of the blood
coming from his eyes in the future. She stifled a horrified gasp and gently
took one of Ling's hands from Ed. "My Lord." She whispered.

"It's okay." Ling groaned out. "I'm fine. I can handle this, Lan Fan."

The scene went dark with a small bright light in the center of it. The
light quickly got brighter and closer to the screen until it changed to
Ling's eye. The pupil, which was now red with souls in it, was zoomed in
on. A dark form passed over the pupil before Ling was shown to be
floating and screaming inside of the stone with all the tortured souls
around him.

A tortured soul came up and slammed into him before continuing to

zoom passed.

Ling screamed in pain, body arching painfully, feet scrabbling at the ground.
This pain was nothing! Another tear escaped down to Ling's cheek. The pain
was nothing. He had to do this. He had to the get the stone! He couldn't…he
couldn't let Lan Fan's sacrifice go to waste. And that was why he would
survive this! He was going through this for her…for his people. They were
all counting on him!

Lan Fan and Ed both released Ling's hands and instead pinned him down to
try to keep him from hurting himself.

A second soul came from the opposite side and did the same thing. A
third soul came and hit him as well, which flipped him over. His face was
zoomed in on, eyes wide in shock and pain. He breathed in a desperate,
hard breath before a soul passed over the screen, blocking him from
sight.

Ling breathed in sharply before he coughed violently. It was so violent, he

tried to fly up into a sitting position, which just caused his muscles, bones, his
whole body to scream out in protest against all of it. He was about to collapse
back into a heap to suffer his coughing fit on the ground when he felt a cold
metal arm wrap around his back and pull him up into a sitting position and
keep him there. Ling gave it no thought as he hunched over, coughing
violently and fighting for air.

When the soul was gone, Ling was shown to be floating inside the stone,
covering his face with his hands.

The wall of souls split into a giant face with sharp teeth that laughed
cruelly, causing Ling to look up. "Am I really supposed to use this little
brat? Oh well. Just hand over your body. I guess I'll have to make do
with it."

Ling looked up, sweat pouring down his flushed face, to look at the screen
once more with ragged breathing.

"You okay?" Riza asked worriedly.

"Of course I am." Ling replied stubbornly, though he had no one convinced
with how badly his body was trembling or his appearance. It wasn't just a
flushed face with sweat all over his body. His fingers were trembling and
looking as if they were trying to close than open than close, but never
succeeding. Sweat and Ed's blood covered his face, mixing together. His hair
flowed down his back freely in a mess.

Ling was shown, face still strained with pulsating veins. "Fine with me."
He pointed his thumb at himself. "Consider it yours. You can have it."

"You're just going to give up without a fight?" Ed asked in shock.

"It's what I want." Ling hissed. "I'm not going to reject it!"

"I know that, but you aren't even going to fight against Greed taking control
at all?" Ed asked.

Ling grimaced. "I can't risk losing this."

"But you're willing to risk your life and soul." Ed hissed angrily, cutting an
end to the conversation by looking away from his friend.

The scene moved to show Ling from behind so Greed could be seen.

One of Greed's eyes scrunched shut. "Huh?"

Havoc snorted, despite the serious moment. Even Greed was confused by all
of this. Havoc was confused, angry, sad, and just feeling a bunch of negative
emotions right now. Ling shouldn't be giving up to a Homunculus like this!
There were other ways to get a stone! He shouldn't just be rushing into it like
this! There was no way that this could end well.

Ling spread his arms wide open. "I said come! I freely accept you!"

Ed just felt his heart go cold as he watched his friend struggle and scream out
in pain as he transformed. This wasn't supposed to happen. His friend wasn't
supposed to surrender to Greed like that! He was supposed to fight...was his
greed so high that he would give up so easily? Were they all destined to sin in
ways that caused irreparable damage to those they loved? Was power as
emperor really that great? Would May do something worse than this for
immortality?

"You know people normally reject me." Greed said.

"Except that Ling is obviously insane." Al said, sighing softly. So far, Ling
was still alive. But how much longer could he actually survive this torture?
And now that Greed had actually arrived, what was going to happen next?
Would Ling become a Homunculus or would he succumb to the stone's
power and die? Al's hand shook a bit. He didn't want either of them to
happen. Ling, despite how much he bothered Al, was supposed to survive!

"You're talking to the future emperor of Xing, monster." Ling put a

hand to his chest. "I am no normal man."
A soul passed over the screen.

"My heart is large enough to hold twenty or thirty of you!" Ling said.

Greed laughed. "Well, I do like how ambitious you are. Just don't try to
change your mind."

"You would impress Greed in your first meeting." Ed said wryly, though his
heart wasn't in the smart ass comment.

"Must be my natural charm." Ling retorted weakly.

Ed rolled his eyes. "More like your greedy nature."

Ling's body was shown from an above angle. "I'll never change my
mind." He jerked forward a bit angrily. "My vassal lost her arm helping
me search for this. I couldn't face her again if I came home empty-
handed."

And Lan Fan lost it. She openly sobbed loudly at her prince's words. He was
doing this for her? He was risking everything just so he didn't have to face
her empty-handed? And what if he died here? That would be worse than him
coming back empty-handed. He was her prince! She needed him. She was
nothing without her prince!

May bowed her head, eyes completely filled with tears that were rolling
down her face. Everything Ling was doing was for his friends and people. All
he wanted was to save them, and he was even willing to sacrifice himself to
do it. He was willing to lose everything to get this stone to make up what Lan
Fan lost for him. It was amazing, but so sad. To her, even though what Ling
was doing was dangerous, she still had to admire him for it. He was so
strong. She doubted she could do what he was doing. She just wasn't as
strong as him in that aspect….no matter how much she wanted to believe that
she was very strong.

Ling was shown from behind with Greed in front of him as sad music
began. "I need this power. I need it to protect." His hand formed into a
fist and fell into place on screen. "To provide for my people." The scene
moved to the side and up a bit to his face. "And to take my place as
ruler." He leaned forward a bit. "And I accept all of the risks."

Hughes clenched his hands tightly on his lap. Why? Why did Ling have to be
the one to do this? He was just a kid…a kid like Ed, Al, and Lan Fan. Why
were these kids suffering so much? None of them deserved all of this
suffering! They deserved to be kids and to have fun! What did they do that
made them have to suffer and get involved in all of these wars?

Once again, Ling was shown from behind with Greed in front of him.
"Your avaricious is certainly appealing." Greed's red face moved closer
to Ling. "But let's see if your stomach matches your appetite." His
mouth opened widely to show a white void.

Red souls passed over the screen, blocking bits of the scene from sight.
Ling spread his arms wide open.

"Can you handle this?" Greed asked.

"He's going to swallow your soul!" Izumi said.

Ling's head dropped onto Ed's shoulder, energy running dry now. One of his
eyes slid shut while he struggled to keep his other eye open. "It's just one of
the many risks." He mumbled.

"You keep talking about risks and how you want this, but I think you need to
think about your friends and subordinates." Mustang snapped angrily at him.
"This may be what you came to our country for, but you were never supposed
to get it like this. You are going to lose yourself to that stone. And when that
happens, what next? Do you really think you'll be able to survive and make it
back to Xing with that stone?"

Ling grimaced.

Ling was shown from the front. He was rapidly zoomed in on before the
zooming in on moved to his eye. His dark pupil was entered, turning the
screen dark with a single bright light at the end, which was rapidly
zoomed in on.
The scene changed back to Ling in Father's lair. He was on his knees,
back and head bent back painfully with a bright red light over him that
depleted itself and disappeared. The scene pulled out to show Gluttony,
Father, and Ling from a distance with Ed on the corner of the screen
watching. The last of the red alchemical light disappeared, though Ling's
body continued to jerk for a few seconds before he lifted himself forward
and bowed his head. As he was zoomed in on, he put a hand to his neck.

"Ling?" Ed asked a bit fearfully.

Ling lifted his head. "What?" He asked in a completely new voice. "Oh,
you mean the guy I took this body from?" He opened his purple eyes and
grinned cruelly as he took his hand off of his neck. "Sorry." The hand
was zoomed in on as the bandages around it slipped off to reveal the
Ouroboros tattoo on it. "But your friend just checked out and left Greed
this body."

Ed and Al appeared on screen to be staring.

"So you're not Ling?" Al asked as Ed blinked.

"Did he say Greed?" Ed asked.

"Argh! Damn it!" Ed groaned.

"What were you expecting?" Darius asked. "There was no other way this
could have ended."

Ed sighed. "I know. There was no other way it could have ended." He said,
avoiding looking at Ling.

Mustang gritted his teeth, looking down. This was not the time to be angry at
the boy for becoming an enemy to them all. He hasn't done it yet, no matter
how many times he says he wants it. He was still Ling here, not Greed.
"Right." Mustang said, taking control. "We need to take a break now."

"What?" Ed snapped, looking at his superior with a frown. "We're in the

middle of the episode!"
"And you are bleeding all over the place." Mustang snapped. "And Ling is in
extreme pain right now. We need to give him time to recuperate and to get
your hand cleaned up."

Ed looked down at his bleeding hand that was still gripping Ling's. Sighing,
he released Ling's hand and stood up, still not looking at his friend. "Fine,
fine." He grumbled.

"I'll take a look at it, Edward." Dr. Young offered.

Ed shrugged. "Do your worst, Doctor." He said as he followed her out of the
room.

Ling watched Ed go with narrowed eyes before he stood up himself to head

to the bedroom he shared with the Elric brothers to get the blood off of him.
The moment he stood though, he stumbled forward and fell back to his knees,
breathing heavily, trying to get his racing heart to calm down.

"Young Lord!" Lan Fan said worriedly, kneeling by him. "Are you alright?"

Ling grimaced, but hid it by bowing his head. He could survive this pain. He
managed to make it through the transformation. The aftereffects were
nothing. They wouldn't stop him. "Yes, Lan Fan." Ling grunted out, pushing
himself back to his feet. It took all of his will power to stay upright, but he
managed it. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He said, managing a small
smile before he left to go to the bedroom, moving more slowly than he would
have liked.

"Great, now we have two teenagers who can't admit they are in pain." Brody
grumbled, staring after the disappearing Ling. Unlike the soldiers of the east,
the soldiers from the north were not that affected by Ling's choice. The
soldiers from Briggs all had dark secrets and all had choices to make. If Ling
made the choice to accept that stone, it was his choice. They were not ones to
judge. They may not agree with the choice, but they would not judge him for
it, especially since it has not yet happened.

*Infirmary*
Ed looked around the infirmary while he waited for Dr. Young. He was
sitting on one the beds, legs swinging back and forth without much conscious
thought. He didn't even realize there was an infirmary here. It was pretty
small though. All it really consisted of was two beds, a counter, and a cabinet
above the counter. Dr. Young was in the process of pulling equipment out of
the cabinet.

"You're upset." Dr. Young commented as she came back to Ed with a tray
which she put on the bed.

Ed glanced at the tray to look at her equipment. "I'm not particularly fond of
stitches in the hand." He looked down at his palm. "I didn't even realize it
was that bad."

"Ling did do a number on it when he ripped his hand across your palm." Dr.
Young replied as she took the hand and looked it over. "But that was not
what I meant." She took a cloth and cleaned the blood away. "You weren't
looking at Ling at all after he became Greed."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "That is none of your business, Doctor." He said coldly,
only to wince when Dr. Young slapped a cloth swathed in peroxide on his
hand.

"The Briggs soldiers do not judge someone for their choices, Edward." Dr.
Young informed him. "We may not agree with someone for what they did,
but we do not judge them for it. You can be upset with Ling for giving up and
becoming a Homunculus, but you shouldn't be mad at him. You made
horrible choices as well, Edward. To be friends and comrades, you should
trust each other to the very end, scold them for their choices in life, but not let
their choices destroy the bond you have."

Ed's automail hand curled into a fist.

*The Boys' Room*

Instead of going to the bathroom to clean up, Ling immediately collapsed

facedown on one of the beds in the room. His body was screaming in protest
to all of his movement. He was mentally drained from everything that had
happened. His mind didn't want to work anymore. It just wanted to rest.

Without meaning to, his eyes slid shut and he fell into a restless sleep.

*Infirmary*

Ed stared down at his hand as Dr. Young gently gave him a shot to numb up
his hand. He closed his eyes briefly before he opened them again as the
doctor took the needle out.

"Fort Briggs is called the perfect defense. Did you know that?" Dr. Young
asked, but didn't wait for a reply. "No one has ever gotten passed the wall.
But it is not just because of the wall that the north is called the perfect
defense. It is because of the soldiers. They look out for each other. They
always have each other's backs. They do not concern themselves with the
choices that their comrades made. In fact, they may not know everything
about their dark past because they like to keep it under wraps. But they still
know there are dark secrets there, but they do not worry about them, because
in the end, it is all about the trust you have for each other. If you can trust
your comrades with your life and trust them to protect you when you can't,
the perfect defense won't be destroyed. It will always be there, whether there
is a leader or not. Loyalty, trust, and strength are all we need. That is what it
means to be a Briggs soldier. I know you have those qualities, Ed, so what is
the problem?"

*Ed*

Sighing, Ed looked down at his newly bandaged hand. After putting the
stitches in, Dr. Young had bandaged it to protect it from germs and to keep
him from ripping the stitches out or something.

Looking towards where everyone was sitting, Ed frowned when he didn't see
Ling so he headed to his bedroom, hoping that Ling was there. He was either
there or in the kitchen eating. Well, unless he was hiding, though Ed had no
idea of why he would be hiding.

Slipping stealthy into his bedroom, Ed quietly closed the door behind him,
only to stare blankly at the prince that was passed out on his bed. Why the
hell was he on his bed? He had a perfectly good bed in here!

"Oi, Ling!" Ed shouted, walking over to his bed and staring down at his
friend. "Wake up, Ling!" He went to smack Ling, but paused when he
remembered that his friend probably felt horrible because of his
transformation. "Damn it." He muttered and instead rolled Ling on his back.
When he saw the way that Ling's brows were scrunched up and that he had
sweat trailing down his face, Ed just sighed. He wasn't even sleeping well!

"Ling!" Ed shouted, shaking his friend roughly. "Ling, wake up now! It's just
a dream."

Ling groaned, but didn't wake up. He just turned his head to side, making Ed
grumble in annoyance.

"Stupid idiot prince."

"Told you not to call me that."

Ed's eyes snapped to Ling's in surprise. The prince was staring at him with
narrowed, pain filled eyes. "And I told you I would keep calling you it until
you became emperor!" He retorted before his eyes and voice softened. "Ling,
are you okay?"

"Not really." Ling said as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "And
what about you?"

Ed blinked. "I'm completely fine, but that's to be expected. Nothing happened

to me."

"I was in pain, Ed, not blind." Ling said. "You were avoiding looking at me
after I became Greed."

Ed stared at him for a moment before turning towards the bathroom. "I can't
believe you. You slept on my bed! And you did it before even cleaning
yourself up!" He stomped into the bathroom to get a washcloth. When he
returned, he threw it in Ling's face. "Get your bloody self off my bed!"

Ling picked the washcloth off his lap where it had fallen and wiped his hand
down with it. "You can't distract me, Ed."

Ed rolled his eyes and leaned against a wall. "I know. I wasn't trying to." He
sighed and bowed his head.

"You're mad at me." Ling said as he wiped his cheek with the washcloth.

"I'm angry because you gave up! You didn't even attempt to fight back or
keep a hold of your body. You let your soul be trapped away in the stone so
easily, Ling! How do you expect to do anything with your soul gone?" Ed
snapped at him, now glaring at him. When Ling just looked downcast, Ed
sighed and slid down the wall and pulled his legs to his chest. "No, that
wasn't fair of me. Sorry, Ling. That's not what I wanted to say."

*Main Room*

"It's hard to accept that he is no longer human." May said softly.

"In the future, but Ling is still Ling here. He hasn't done anything yet."
Mustang replied.

"Though he probably plans too." Riza pointed out, frowning a bit, scratching
Black Hayate's ears. Black Hayate whined and rested his hear on her lap.

"Planning or not, his choice might change as we watch this future." Mustang
replied with a thoughtful frown in place.

Hughes snorted. "Not if he is as stubborn as Ed is."

"Stubborn and foolish." Mustang muttered.

"Stubborn, foolish, and strong." Havoc corrected.

"Stubborn, foolish, strong, and loyal." Breda corrected him.

"Stubborn, foolish, strong, loyal, and trustworthy." Lan Fan added, smiling a
bit.

Dr. Young walked into the main room, hands resting lazily in her pockets.
"Edward's not here?" She asked.

"Is he supposed to be? I thought you were taking care of him." Hughes said.

"I finished." Dr. Young pushed her glasses up. "He left ahead of me."

"He is with the Young Lord in their room." Lan Fan informed her.

"And that ability of yours never ceases to amaze me." Hughes said.

*The Boys' Room*

Ling slid down the bed to sit on the floor. He deposited the washcloth by him
and pulled his legs to his chest. "Then what did you want to say?"

"I can't accept your choice in becoming a Homunculus, especially your

giving up so easily." Ed sighed, closing his eyes. "But, you are still…" He
twitched a bit. "My best friend so I will not condemn you for your choice. I
do not agree with it, but I will not turn my back on you for it. I will continue
to be your friend and try to help you whenever I can."

Ling smiled. "Well, aren't you loyal?"

"Your choice…I think it was hard for everyone to accept, but they will accept
it when they remember who you are and how you helped so many of them
already." Edward replied. "They just don't want to see you as the enemy."

"I put you all into a difficult position." Ling said sadly, bowing his head. "I'm
sorry for that, Ed."

Sighing, Ed pushed himself back onto his feet. "Don't be. The situation we
were in was already difficult. You just made another roadblock is all."

Ling looked up at him.

"We've wasted enough time on this episode, Ling. We should go back and
finish it already." Ed replied, and without waiting for an answer, he left the
room.
Grinning, Ling picked up the washcloth before he stood up. He threw it into
the sink of the bathroom as he passed it as he followed after his friend.

*Main Room*

"Don't talk, don't say anything, don't do anything." Ed said as he walked over
to the group and collapsed on the ground in front of the coffee table once
more. He noticed his book lying on the ground and picked it up as Ling
collapsed by him. "Just start. Enough time has been wasted."

"Who made you boss?" Havoc asked.

"I said no talking." Ed snapped.

The group was shown from above as soft, sad music started.

Ed was shown. "So then, are you the Greed from before?" He asked as
Greed walked over to him.

Greed crouched down in front of him.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Greed asked.

"You don't remember us?" Ed asked.

"From Dublith?" Al asked, making Greed look at him.

Greed pointed at him. "Ah, you must have met some different Greed."

"Which just makes everything that much more confusing." Ed grumbled.

"It does?" May asked.

"Well, for future us." Ed corrected. "We know a lot less in the future than we
do here so we are more confused and ignorant in the future."

The scene moved to show Greed from behind with Father in the
background. As Greed turned to look at him, Father said, "He was my
avaricious before you."
Greed turned away as he rubbed his neck. "Oh, I gotcha." He was
shown from the front. "That makes sense, but if you want to hear it from
me. No, I'm not the Greed you knew."

The scene moved to show Greed from behind with the pinned brothers in
front of him. "But Ling…" Ed said.

"Hmm?" Greed asked. He stood, turning to the side and putting his
hands on his hips. "Well, he was an interesting kid." He was shown up
close up on the side as his head turned to face the screen. "He gave up his
body without any fight at all."

Ed was shown as he gasped. "You're lying! Ling would never give up

and surrender himself so easily!"

"You made a liar out of me." Ed grumbled to his friend.

Ling grinned a bit at him, trying to keep himself from feeling the darkness of
what has happened. "I'm sorry, Edo."

"Stop calling me that." Ed snapped at him. "It's Ed, idiot."

"It's Ling, Edo." Ling retorted good-naturedly.

Ed glared at Ling for a moment before looking back at the screen. "Greed
seems strange though."

"Strange? How so?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "I noticed it first in Dublith, and now with a few sentences from
this one, I noticed it again. He is different from the other Homunculi. I'm not
sure how, but there is something about him."

"Answer me, Ling!" Ed shouted.

Greed was shown, grinning evilly as he chuckled a bit.

"Ling! LING!"
"So, how is Greed different? He looks pretty cruel there." Ling said.

"Sounds weird coming from you since that is your face." Ed mumbled.

Ling blinked for a moment, looking back at Greed than back at Ed with a
blank look. "….that doesn't answer my question."

"I don't expect you to see it yet since this is your first time meeting him." Ed
mumbled.

There was a sound of a door opening which caused the smile to drop
right off of Greed's face.

The doorway was shown with a chimera taking a few steps through it. It
was shown up close before blood sprouted out of it and fell down to the
ground. With it down, Scar was shown to be standing in the doorway.

"Well, it's about time you two showed up!" Al said.

"Al is rushing people?" Avery asked amused.

Al shrugged. "Brother and I have been pinned for far too long. I would like to
get up now."

"And kick some ass!" Ed screamed.

"Brother…."

The scene moved down to show May by his side. She suddenly gasped
and grabbed onto Scar's leg. Scar looked down at her. "What's the
matter?"

"The feeling." May was shown to be staring fearfully in the room. "It's
coming from that man." Father and the top half of Gluttony's face were
shown. "He's a human, but also not."

Scar appeared on screen.

Scar looked up and took a few steps forward. He was shown from behind
so all the Homunculi and the brothers could be seen. "No, he's not. It
doesn't look like any of them are human."

"I take offense to that!" Ed said.

"Don't you call yourself a demon?" Scar asked.

Ed's head dropped. "Even Scar?" He mumbled. "Why is everyone against

me?"

"Because it's fun?" Lan Fan suggested.

"And now Lan Fan!" Ed cried. "Is there anyone else who would like to join in
on mocking or teasing me?"

Mustang looked around with a mocking grin before saying, "I believe we are
good for right now."

Ed growled.

Xiao-Mei was shown running across the ground. She jumped up and
May was shown as she landed on her chest. She picked Xiao-Mei up and
hugged her. "Xiao-Mei!" She rubbed her face against Xiao-Mei's. "Oh,
thank goodness! You're okay."

"Oh, it is wonderful that you two have finally been reunited!" Armstrong said
with tears of happiness spilling down his cheeks.

Ed looked at him strangely before looking back at the screen. He obviously

was going insane and needed to escape this room.

The scene pulled out to show Scar looking at her out of the corner of his
eyes.

"I've been so worried about you." May said.

As he heard mocking clapping, Scar looked forward once more.

Greed was shown to be leaning over to look passed Envy's leg. "Ho! Now
that's a touching reunion right there!"

"Is he being mocking or serious?" Ling asked.

"It's so hard to tell with him." May huffed, hugging Xiao-Mei.

Al was shown to be pinned. He turned his head a bit.

Ed appeared on screen. He looked away from the scene and put his
hands back on the ground to try to push himself up and get free.

Scar was shown with May and Xiao-Mei spinning around in a circle
behind him.

"It's not just the boys." Mustang said, putting a hand to his hand. "The girls
obviously get distracted in the middle of a dangerous situation as well."

All the teenagers and May shouted, "Hey!"

"I never get distracted!" Lan Fan protested.

"I don't either. I am quite serious in dangerous situations." Ling said,

frowning.

May pouted. "I really can't say anything since the evidence is right in front of
us."

"I am always careful when surrounded by enemies!" Ed protested.

"How can you say that about me? I am very responsible when I'm with
enemies!" Al said.

"What?" Ed retorted. "Al, you've gone and talked to your enemies in a fight
when they were trying to kill you. You were trying to convince them to stop
instead of knocking them out quickly!"

"Oh? And what about you and Ling fooling around when you were in that
fake portal?" Al snapped back.
Ed twitched a bit. "Well…got to keep the sprits up?"

"You got distracted when fighting Ed in Rush Valley." May pointed out to
Lan Fan.

"That…that…he was insulting the Young Lord!" Lan Fan objected.

Riza sighed. "See what you did, sir?"

Mustang looked at her with a smile and gave a small shrug. "I honestly didn't
think they would start arguing about it." He put two fingers in his mouth and
whistled very loudly.

"Argh!" Ed shouted, plugging his ears.

May grimaced and put her hands over her ears.

Ling's eye twitched a bit in annoyance at the loud sound.

Lan Fan groaned and covered one of her ears.

"Don't make me separate you!" Mustang snapped. "Behave, kiddies."

Ed twitched. "Did he call us kiddies?"

"Does he think he can control us?" Ling grumbled.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you, he's power crazy."

Ling snickered.

"So the armored boy's not with the Homunculi?" Scar thought as May
tossed Xiao-Mei into the air and caught her. "And they've also got
Fullmetal."

"Please don't try to kill me here." Ed said. "I have enough to deal with at the
moment."

"I don't believe my purpose right now is to kill you." Scar informed him.
"It better not be." Izumi growled, glaring at Scar. No one was allowed to
touch her boys but her.

May ran a few steps forward. "Where is he?" The scene moved to show
the two from the side. She looked up at Scar. "Where is Mr. Edward?"

"Argh, never call me that, May." Ed muttered. "It sounds weird."

Scar pointed at Ed. "He's right there."

May looked to the side then the other side before looking at Scar. "Huh?
He's not really here, is he?"

Scar pointed ahead again, making May look that way. "I told you, that's
him right there!" Envy pinning the brothers was shown. "That little guy
is the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Ed twitched.

"Don't call me little!" Ed screamed.

"Fullmetal, shut up. We're in the middle of something." Mustang said.

Ed twitched. "And what about when you guys start talking?"

"We aren't interrupting for stupid things." Mustang said with a shrug.

"That's it!" Ed shouted. "I have had it! I am no longer speaking to them,
Ling."

"What?" Ling said, looking at him with a raised brow. "Are you going to
speak in Xingese from now on?"

"I'm going to speak in whatever language I want to so they can't

understand!" Ed said.

"Childish, but okay. I'll play along." Ling whispered back.

May was shown to be staring with slightly scrunched eyes. After a

moment, she opened her eyes wide. "Huh?" A charming Ed with a
sparkling grin appeared on screen with a rose background.

"Argh! May, stop thinking of me like that!" Ed shouted.

May blinked at the use at her language. Strange, he had no reason to use it
here. "I'm sorry, Ed?"

"Not to mention since I am not like that, you are just so offended!" Ed
grumbled.

"I'm sorry." May said a bit sheepishly. "I just see the looks right now, not the
greatness of your mind."

"You're just looking for a prince charming. You want one of those? Go to Al."
Ed told her.

The real Ed appeared on screen, staring at her in confusion. May took

up half the screen, turning completely white as she screamed in shock.

The white May moved to the bottom of the screen as a picture of Prince
Charming Ed was shown to be chasing May down a beach.

Ed's brow twitched.

Ed was shown to be on a horse with May with Xiao-Mei climbing a post.

May's eyes widened.

Ed twitched a bit violently.

May was shown to be having dinner with Ed.

The tears in May's eyes grew.

Ed growled.

Ed was shown to be kissing a blushing May's forehead.

The tears strained May's cheeks.

As the picture broke into pieces, May turned an angry red color.

"MAY!" Ed shouted angrily, blushing deeply as everyone else laughed

violently or smirked at him.

"Come now, Fullmetal." Mustang said, not quite able to keep the chuckles
out of his voice. "Little girls are allowed to have their fantasies about their
amazing heroes."

May blushed a dark red color.

"Though, we really should inform people of how you really are if little girls
are having fantasies like that about you." Havoc said, smirking at the
blushing boy.

"Ling, please knock me out. Save me from this." Ed hissed.

Ling looked at his friend, not able to keep the amused smirk off of his face.
"And why would I do that? If I knocked you out, I couldn't tease you about
this."

"Ling!"

"I'm not knocking you out, Ed. May might be upset if I hit her prince." Ling
teased.

Lan Fan snickered.

"Stop it. I want it to stop!" Ed groaned.

"Oh?" Ling asked, grinning widely. "You have a few options, none of which
you'll want to do."

"Tell me. I'll do anything to get them to shut up."

Ling snorted. "Trust me, Ed. You won't. Tell them you love Winry. Join the
teasing and take it good naturedly. Kiss May or Lan Fan. Any one of them
will get them to forget about May's fantasies of you, but whichever one you
choose will give them new material to tease you with."

Ed groaned. "Nothing else?"

"They are many options, but trust me, you do not want to do any of the ones I
haven't mentioned." Ling informed him.

"I almost want to ask what those ones are, but I know better than to." Ed said.

"At least you don't have to suffer this embarrassment alone." Lan Fan told
him, nodding towards May, who was hiding her blushing face in Xiao-Mei's
side.

Ed sighed. "I guess."

May, with tears streaming out of her eyes, screamed at Ed, "HOW
DARE YOU TOY WITH THE FEELINGS OF A MAIDEN, YOU
HUMAN MICRO!

Ed twisted around angrily. "WHAT'D YOU CALL ME, MICRO-

GIRL?!"

Gluttony turned to Father. He pointed at Scar. "That's the Ishvalan I

never got to eat."

"Brother," Al scolded. "Did you do something to this little girl?"

"Not really the time for a scolding, Al." Hughes said.

"And once again, you just prove how you get distracted in a dangerous
situation." Brody said.

Al chuckled a bit. "Well…I guess I have my moments."

Father put a hand to his chin. "Another human with his own plans."

"Of course not!" Ed replied. "And this really isn't the time for that."
"This is the insubordinate whose been using his destructive alchemy to
carelessly interfere with our operation." Father said.

"Oh, right. Good point." Al said.

"At least you two have settled that." Hughes said.

"Yeah, problem is that Envy is really heavy." Al groaned.

"I know. Sense you're a suit of armor, it makes sense that you are fine. But
I'm surprised Ed hasn't been crushed yet." Hughes said, frowning.

"Envy probably has a different amount of force on each brother to keep them
both down." Sig suggested.

"How considerate." Ed said sarcastically.

"We really need to get out of here!" Ed said.

Envy turned to Gluttony. "Go ahead and eat him." Greed looked at
Gluttony as well. "He doesn't have his alchemy to stop you right now."

"Okay!" Gluttony turned around. He ran a few steps before jumping.

Scar was shown with Gluttony in the air in front of him.

Dramatic music began as the screen split into two at an angle. Gluttony
was on the top while Scar's right hand was on the bottom. Scar's hand
tensed. Scar was shown from the front as his hand propelled forward
onto Gluttony's face. Blue light surrounded the two as Gluttony blew
apart into two pieces.

The screen split into two at the opposite angle this time. Envy was on the
left and Father on the right. "What?" Envy shouted.

"My sentiments exactly!" Ed shouted.

"Fullmetal, only the people from Xing can understand you!" Mustang
snapped at him.
Ed shot him a glare. "That's the point, bastard!"

"Fullmetal!"

"I'm sorry. I do not understand you, Colonel." Ed said.

"You're pushing it, brat!"

"So, did alchemy come back?" Lan Fan asked confused, trying to ignore the
two arguing alchemists.

"Shorty!"

Ed twitched.

"Well, it looks like it has." Hughes said.

"Tiny little bean!"

Ed twitched, glaring at his boss.

"Ed! Don't fall for it!" Ling said.

"Pipsqueak!"

Ed screamed in frustration. He jumped to his feet and turned around. "WHO

THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO MICROSCOPIC THAT HE COULD
ESCAPE A JAIL CELL BY JUST SLIDING THROUGH THE BARS WITH SO
MUCH EASE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO LOCK ME UP IN A
COMPLETELY SOLID WALL ROOM SO I WOULD HAVE NO POSSIBLE
WAY OF ESCAPING?"

Many soldiers just blinked in shocked while others were holding their ears in
pain.

"Did…did Chief just rant in another language?" Havoc asked, blinking a bit
dazedly.

Breathing heavily, Ed turned back around and collapsed back to the ground,
crossing his arms and glaring at the screen.

May's finger was shown to be pointing at a confused Ed. "You'll pay for
this!" May's hand curled into a fist and she had tears in her eyes. "You
deceived an innocent girl and you kidnapped Xiao-Mei!" She threw
kunai out of both of her hands.

"I didn't do anything! That was all Al!" Ed shouted angrily, still twitching a
bit because of the Colonel. "Except for the deceiving! Al didn't do that, but
neither did I!"

"Uh…Sorry, Ed." May said, blushing a bit.

The kunai slammed into a rock by Envy.

"Huh?" Envy asked.

"You'll suffer for what you've done!" May said as she put her hands in
the array in front of her.

"Quite the dramatic one, aren't you?" Luke asked, smirking a bit in
amusement, despite the situation.

"Haven't you noticed?" Mustang asked, putting a hand to his temple to rub it.
"All of these kids have had moments where they were dramatic, some overly-
dramatic."

"….I really can't argue against that one." Ed said.

"Nor can I." Ling said.

"All of you!" May shouted as blue alchemical light surrounded her. The
scene pulled up to show a huge hand shooting out of the ground, hitting
Envy and sending Al and Ed flying.

"Well…at least we are no longer trapped." Al said.

"Sorry." May said sheepishly when Ed glared at her, while rubbing his chest.
"I go to the extreme a bit at times."
"Only a bit?" Havoc asked incredulously.

May huffed. "Yes, only a bit."

The three of them screamed out in surprise and pain.

Ed landed on his feet with Al landing next to him.

"About time." Ed said and he and Al shared a look. They both clapped
their hands. Ed slammed his hands on the ground. The scene pulled out
to show the brothers, both with their hands on the ground and nothing
happening.

"Seriously?!" Ed cried.

"You and your brother just can't win it seems." Ling told him.

"I don't get it. Why are May's and Scar's working, but not ours?" Al asked.

May's eyes narrowed in thought. She glanced at Scar's arm than at her hands.
She knew she said earlier that Scar's alchemy had Alkahestry in it. And she
solely performed Alkahestry while the boys performed alchemy. They were
two different things… "It's because we are using different sciences!" She
shouted excitedly.

"What?" Fuery asked confused.

"Scar and I are using Alkahestry while Edward and Alphonse use alchemy.
This father guy, we think he is the creator of alchemy, right? So he controls it
somehow, but he has no control over Alkahestry! They are two different
sciences!"

Ed blinked, thinking about what she said. It definitely made sense. Both of
those sciences were completely different. They were performed differently
and had different origins. "Plausible, definitely plausible."

Ed and Al were shown to be running away from the fighting.

"It still isn't working!" Al said.

"But why is theirs?" Ed asked.

Envy was shown. "How can you use your alchemy here?"

Scar and May were shown.

"What do you mean?" Scar asked.

Al and Ed were shown to be hiding behind some rubble. Al was crouched

down, while Ed was bent over, breathing heavily.

"You're breathing heavily from that?" Izumi asked, raising a brow.

"I thought you were in fit, Edward Elric!" Armstrong cried.

"Give me a break," Ed grumbled. "I have been awake for twenty-four hours,
have barely eaten, and have been constantly fighting. I'm tired!"

The two just stared at him in confusion.

"This doesn't make any sense." Al said, looking at his brother. "How can
they still transmute?"

Ed stood up straight. He put his automail hand on the back of his head.
"I don't know." He said hoarsely. He walked forward a few steps and
put his hand on Al's shoulder. "I have no idea." The brothers were
shown from the front. "But I think this is our chance to turn things
around." Ed ran out from behind the rubble. "Scar!"

Scar and May were shown from a distance with Envy to the side as Ed's
feet appeared on screen.

Ed's was shown, pointing at Scar, with Al behind him, hands held up in a
defensive stance. "You want to know the truth about what started the
war in Ishval?"

"I see. Manipulate Scar to fight on your side by giving him some information
he wants." General Armstrong said, smirking. "A very nice tactic, Fullmetal."
"I don't like being manipulated." Scar growled, glaring at Ed.

Ed glanced at him, frowning. "Is it manipulation when I am just giving you

answers to questions that you have asked for years?"

It wasn't just Scar. Everyone was staring at Edward in shock.

"Was…was that Ishvalan?" Richard asked in shock.

"Where did he learn all of these languages?" Mustang asked, staring at his
subordinate like he had never seen him before.

"You speak my language?"Scar asked in shock.

"I learned what I could of it. It is hard to learn when there are so few books
about it." Edward replied slowly. "I am not fluent…only somewhat
proficient."

Scar nodded in understanding. The language was hard to learn. Any language
was. It was made more difficult by the fact that there was very little
information about his language out there.

Scar and May were shown. "In Ishval?" Scar asked.

"The truth about who shot that child and started the uprising." Ed said
before he was shown. He swung his arm to the side at Envy. "He's
standing right there! It was Envy disguised as a soldier."

Envy gasped.

May whipped her head back to Scar.

Scar's eyes moved to him.

Envy, Greed, and Father were shown.

"These guys orchestrated the entire war!"

"Well, that certainly did it." Hughes said.

"Did what?" Sheska asked confused.

"Scar is an angry person. Throwing that information in his face will severely
anger him and he will fight with the brothers. Not necessarily on the same
side, but they won't be going for each other's throats for the time being."
Hughes said, sighing as he pushed his glasses up. "Just the Homunculi's."

"I wish you wouldn't discuss Scar's anger when he is sitting right there."
Mustang whispered to his friend.

"He's not paying any attention to me at all." Hughes whispered back. "He's
too intent on glaring at the screen."

Mustang glanced at Scar to see that he really was glaring at the screen, hands
clenched into fists. He couldn't blame him for that. If he found out that his
people were massacred as part of a plan, he would be furious as well.

Scar was shown with some red sparks flashing behind him. His eyes
moved to the side. He frowned deeply before Father was shown on
screen.

Scar's angry red eyes appeared on screen. "I'd like to hear more detail
about this." Scar and May were shown from behind as Scar's hand
moved behind him. "In-between your screaming." He said as Gluttony
rose to his feet behind Scar.

Gluttony appeared on screen as he lunged at Scar, tongue hanging out of

his mouth.

Scar was shown from behind, arm moving behind him with blue sparks
flashing around it.

The scene pulled out to show Scar and Gluttony from the side. Scar's
hand was on Gluttony's head. As Gluttony screamed out, the blue
alchemical light intensified and Gluttony's body grew and bloated before
he was blasted away with his head destroyed.

General Armstrong smirked a bit. Just calmly reaches behind him and kills
Gluttony without much thought? Scar was definitely a worthy opponent
indeed. He is aware of all his surroundings at all times. It's like no one can
sneak up on him. Not to mention how skilled of a fighter he was, and that he
was smart and analytic of his situation. No wonder there was so much trouble
with him around.

May was shown up close as the alchemical light died down. She looked
up, scared, at Scar and backed up a few steps.

"Besides the fact that Scar goes around killing people, him becoming angry is
what scares you?" Ross asked, raising a brow.

May shrugged, looking down. Personally, from what she has seen of Scar and
what he has said in this place, he did not seem bad. Just upset and angry over
what had happened to his people. Sure, he was going around murdering
people, but he never hurt her. They actually watched each other's backs. They
were partners in the future. Partners who helped each other. To see him angry
like this was scary because this was the true wrath he was feeling over what
had happened to his people, but besides his anger, he did not seem like a bad
person to her.

Half of Scar's face took over the screen with blue sparks flashing around.
"Now tell me, for what purpose did you choose to slaughter all of my
people?"

Father was shown.

Scar's dark shadowed face appeared on screen. "Depending on your

answer," He raised his head, showing his furious eyes. "I'll send you to
join God." The scene pulled out from him as the glowing alchemical light
around his arm intensified and a whistling sound joined it. "No! You
don't deserve to stand by God alongside my fallen brothers!" The scene
pulled out even more as Scar pulled his arm back, getting ready to strike.
"Your only solace from my wrath will be damnation!" He was shown
from behind before his hand was zoomed in on. He slammed it down on
the ground.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have told Scar that." Ling told Ed.
Ed frowned. "No. He is very angry about it, which is what I was after, Ling. I
did tell him to get to this, but I think I also told him because I believe Scar
deserves to know the truth as well. These guys destroyed his land and killed
his people for their plan. If it was you, wouldn't you want to know the truth as
well?"

Ling stared at Ed for a moment before giving a small shrug. "I guess I would,
Ed. The truth is hard and painful to learn, but it is better to know it than to
continue believing lies which warp the anger one feels. The truth will still
make him angry, but at least his anger won't be directed at the wrong people
anymore."

The destroyed ground flew up, covering the screen. Envy was shown
with the ground around him being completely destroyed, sending him
and the rubble through the air.

Ed and Al were shown to be flying through the air with the destroyed
ground as well, both screaming out.

"What is with the two of you?" Al groaned. "Both destroying everything."

"And you and your brother don't destroy everything?" Scar asked.

"….I take offense to that. I barely destroy anything. It is mostly Brother!" Al

said.

"Who really cares?" Havoc said, smirking a bit. "You guys are completely
destroying Father's lair!"

"First we are scolded for destroying things. Now they want to see us destroy
it." Ed grumbled.

"I can't blame them. I want to mess up his lair as well." Ling told him,
smirking a bit. "If just to annoy Father."

Ed sighed sadly. "You're not there anymore."

Ling looked down, hands clenching into fists.

May was shown to be standing to the side, watching in horror and
holding Xiao-Mei to her chest with rubble flew around in front of her.

Greed appeared on screen, hand on his forehead to shield his eyes as he

crouched on the ground with smoke around him. "Woah! Nice! He's got
some pretty good moves for a human."

Ed sent a look at Ling.

"So he's a bit more relaxed than the other Homunculi." Ling said, frowning.
"It doesn't make him any different, Ed. He's still an enemy."

Ed sighed. "I never said he wasn't an enemy, Ling. I said he was different
than them."

Ling blinked. "It sounds like you are trying to defend him, but at the same
time not defend him. What exactly happened during you encounter with the
first Greed?"

"Nothing. He kidnapped Al, we fought, he ran away. That's it." Ed replied.

"I think I am still missing something." Ling said.

"Greed."

The scene moved back as Greed turned his head to the side to look at
Father there.

"Take care of the outsiders."

Greed stood up. "Sure." He jumped over the rubble he was on. He
walked across the rubble with ease as he approached Envy.

As Greed was walking over, there was a spark of alchemical light and an
explosion occurred, causing smoke to rise in that area.

A pile of rubble was shown. Greed passed in front of it and stopped.

The scene moved up to show Ed crouched on the rubble, glaring down at

Greed.

"You look like a predator on the hunt there, Fullmetal." Mustang told his
subordinate, who just shrugged.

Ed's eyes narrowed. Figures that he would make Greed his target. He had to
know if Ling was still in there or if he was really dead and gone forever.

"Does that make me the prey then?"Ling asked. "Or is Greed the prey?"

Ed stared at Ling for a moment, contemplating that fact for a moment. He

was attacking Greed because he was the enemy and was going to attack them.
But he was also after Greed to yell at Ling and see if he was still in there.
"Both."

"Seriously?" Brody asked. "Stop talking in different languages! We can't

understand you!"

Ed rolled his eyes.

Havoc snorted. "The brat is doing it to annoy us."

"And because I don't want to talk to you." Ed added.

Havoc's brow twitched. "What did you say, Chief? My Xingese is

HORRIBLE!"

Ed looked away, feeling quite satisfied with the annoyance he was spreading.

Ed was zoomed in on. "I know you're still in there." He paused briefly.
"Ling."

"Awww, you still haven't given up on me yet!" Ling said, smiling a small
smile as he swung his arms around Ed in a hug, making Ed twitch and reach
for his book.

'Must not murder…must not murder…' Ed thought as he gripped the book

tightly. 'Bludgeoning him with a book would defeat the whole purpose.' Out
of the corner of his eye, Ed saw Al staring at them again, hands opening and
closing in an angry manner. Ed felt himself twitch again. As if he didn't have
enough to deal with. Idiotic affectionate Ling: Check. Ling becoming a
Homunculus in future: Check. Brother jealous of Ling: Check. Being
embarrassed because of May's fantasies of him: Check. Pain factor: Check.
Why did everything just get harder the moment he came to this blasted room?

"I don't think Fullmetal knows how to give up." Miles said, smirking a bit.

"I know how to give up. I just don't like it so I don't do it." Ed corrected, still
restraining himself from knocking Ling out with a book.

"He speaks a language we all know!" Luke and Havoc yelled dramatically,
pointing at Ed, who shot them an annoyed glare.

"Shut it, idiots." Ed said.

Ling blinked. "Hey! I thought I was the idiot here!"

Ed blinked, staring down at his friend in confusion. "What? You complain I

call you an idiot and now you complain because I call others idiot…? Your
brain has some issues, Ling."

There was the sound of an explosion, causing the screen to rumble and
Ed's hair to blow around him.

Greed was shown, hair blowing around him from the explosion as well.
He opened his eyes and looked out of the corner of his eyes at Ed.
"Nope." He raised his hand with the tattoo on it. "Jut Greed." The
Ultimate Shield ran down his fingers to his hand and arm.

May leaned passed some rubble. She watched Greed run past with Ed
following after him.

Greed was zoomed in on as he chuckled.

"I know him." May said as she was shown again with smoke behind her.
She took a few steps forward. "That's Ling Yao of the Yao clan."
Gluttony was suddenly behind her as the smoke disappeared. "Right?"
May screamed. "Where did he come from?"

"Who cares?" Ed grunted, shoving Ling off of him. "Just move before you
get eaten!"

Gluttony's eyes glinted gold.

May gasped and turned white.

She was shown to be turned around, staring at Gluttony with tears in

hers and Xiao-Mei's eyes.

"A little girl!" Gluttony said, mouth opening widely.

"I can't believe that is what is happening below Central." Ross said, frowning.
"It looked like a nice normal day above ground, but in reality there is a
dangerous fight going on underground. It is hard to believe, even though we
are seeing it."

"They must be really deep underground if none of this is being noticed above
ground. They are causing a lot of noise, explosions, and rumbling." Mustang
said.

Father was shown from behind with Envy shown in the distance with
another explosion happening around him. May was running up some
rubble, still screaming, with Gluttony following her. May jumped into
the air to get away.

".…Absolute chaos." Zampano said.

"No, it's a free for all!" Ed and Ling shouted together before shutting up and
looking at each other with narrowed eyes. "Did you just copy me?"

"Stop that!" Ed and Ling shouted at each other.

Ed and Ling both shut up and just stared at each other, silently daring the
other to say something.

"Young Lord?" Lan Fan asked.

"Brother?"

At Al's and Lan Fan's voices, both boys broke their silent daring contest and
broke out into huge grins.

"Seriously though," Ed said, grinning at Ling.

"Don't copy me." Ling finished.

Ed and Ling stared at each other before slowly turning their heads back to the
screen.

Father was shown from the front, putting a hand to his chin.

Envy's head was shown as he pulled away, screaming out in pain with
blue light sparking around him.

Scar was shown up close, glaring. He backed up a step and Father's chest
could be seen behind him.

Father's face was shown. "Let's talk a moment."

"He really does come out of nowhere!" Walkers shouted.

"Or he is really just that fast." Myers said.

"Where would he get speed like that?" Jerso asked, frowning.

"Don't know, which makes it even more worrisome and dangerous." Al

replied.

A surprised look crossed Scar's face. He turned around.

"How are you able to use your alchemy?" Father asked.

Ed snorted. "Yeah, like he will understand that question. He had no idea of

what that bastard did, or that he even did anything."

Scar lunged forward, hand racing forward with blue light flashing
around it. His hand slammed into Father's head, whistling sound being
heard as it activated.

When it was finished, Father pushed his head forward against Scar's
hand.

"Wow, he wasn't affected at all." Ed said, frowning.

Scar glared at the screen. Ed was right. His attack did absolutely nothing to
him. He let the attack run its course, but it didn't hurt him at all! It made this
that much scarier. If he could be so unaffected by an attack like his, than how
were they supposed to stop him? If they couldn't kill him, they couldn't stop
his plan. Scar felt nothing for Amestris. He didn't want to save it after what it
did to his people, but he couldn't just let this man get away with slaughtering
more people. He needed stopped, and then maybe, things could change…

"Well, you are clearly still transmuting." Father said.

Scar's eyes appeared on screen as they widened. His hand was shown to
be gripping Father's face.

"Physical destruction." Father said as the scene slowly moved back to

Scar. "No. Decomposition, is it?"

Scar's face was shown, sweat pouring down his face. His eyes widened
and he pulled his hand away from Father just as red light filled up the
scene around Father.

Scar screamed out as the scene pulled out to show him jumping back
from Father.

Scar groaned, grabbing a hold of his arm. He brought it up to his chest and
curled his fingers shut. It was a bit painful, but it was nothing he couldn't
handle. He has had a lot worse than this.

Scar was shown close up, blood pouring around him in the air. "If I had
jumped one second later, I'd be a dead man!"

Scar slammed into a piece of rubble, groaning.

Scar hid a wince as pain flared up all along his back and head. His eyes felt
horribly painful so he closed them briefly. This pain was still nothing. The
pain he felt when Kimblee almost killed him was worse. The pain he felt
when his people were slaughter…his family murdered…that pain that never
went away was a lot worse than this pain. He could handle this.

The scene pulled out farther to show May standing on some rubble
nearby. "Mr. Scar!" She turned back around just in time for Gluttony to
come up and slam a hand into her, causing her to drop her kunai and
send her flying. May slammed into the ground and continued to bounce
along until she hit a piece of rubble, letting out a pained groan.

May screamed out in pain, falling onto her side. She wrapped an arm around
her stomach while her other hand went to her head. It hurt. It just hurt so
much. Her whole body felt like it had been punched repeatedly while her
head had been slammed into a wall a few times, leaving her dizzy and tired.

Hearing her scream, Ed looked away from the screen to glance at her. Seeing
her trembling on the ground like that, he felt a bit of pity. He doubted May
had gotten into many real fights. She was so young and from such a low clan
in Xing, she was probably considered an unimportant target. She was trained,
but didn't really have as much experience as everyone else.

Sighing, Ed crawled over to her. Ignoring Xiao-Mei's defensive growl, Ed

gently picked May up off the ground and held her on his lap. He heard a
shock gasp escape May's lip but ignored it as he gently caressed her cheek to
calm her down.

"…Edward?" May said, feeling a bit surprise as she was pulled into his hard
chest.

"You're not used to battles, are you?" Ed asked softly. "You act so tough, but
you truly are not used to battle."

May blinked, tears filling up in her eyes from her pain and fear. "How'd you
know?"
"It's obvious by your actions." Ed whispered.

Mustang stared at Ed comforting May for a moment before slowly turning to

Hughes. He pointed at Ed. "I don't know that kid."

Hughes sighed. "You're so used to him being the badass State Alchemist that
the moment he shows his gentle side, you get so lost."

"Fullmetal with a gentle side sounds too unrealistic." Mustang hissed quietly
at him.

Hughes sighed. "Pay more attention, Roy."

Scar glanced at the two kids. May had her head half buried in Ed's chest. The
other half was staring at the screen. Scar's hand clenched into a fist. He got
that girl injured. He shouldn't have let her follow the Homunculus and Al
down there. He knew how dangerous Gluttony and the others were, and yet,
he didn't stop her from running into that mess.

Gluttony was shown to be standing on some rubble, grinning maliciously

down at the injured girl.

Xiao-Mei bounced in front of her and spread her arms wide.

May lifted her head off the ground as she and Xiao-Mei were shown
from the front. "No, Xiao-Mei. You need to run." Her eye widened.

Xiao-Mei scurried up Ed's leg and jumped onto May's lap. She snuggled into
May's stomach, telling her that she was still there.

Gluttony was shown to be lunging at her. "Time to eat you!"

The scene pulled out to show the three as Al came out of nowhere and
slammed his foot into Gluttony, sending him flying away. Al landed on
the ground, sliding to the side a bit. When he stopped, he looked over at
May. "You alright?"

"About time you made an appearance in the fight, Al." Ed said, grinning at
his brother.
"Thank you, Alphonse." May told him softly.

Al chuckled a bit. "It's alright, May." He turned to his brother. "You say that,
but I don't see you!"

"I'm chasing Greed!" Ed protested.

May buried her face in her hands on the ground.

Al was shown close up, gasping. He stood and ran over to her as
dramatic music began.

The doorway to the room was shown. Al ran out of it with May in his
arms.

He was shown close up, running down the tunnels with May looking up
at him with one eye.

"I never asked you to help me." May said.

"What is wrong with you kids and accepting help? You don't always have to
ask for it!" Hughes said, frowning.

"Save the stubborn pride for later." Al said.

"Good thing I am used to dealing with Brother's stubborn pride." Al said.

"Don't drag me into this, Al!" Ed protested, subconsciously smoothly May's

hair. "Why am I always dragged into things when I am being completely
innocent?"

"Innocent?" Havoc scoffed. "I don't think you even know what that word
means."

Ed shot him a glare. He could too be innocent!

May was shown close up. "Those people kill anyone they don't have a
use for." The tunnel was shown. "We're getting you out of here."
Al rounded a corner and a group of chimeras where shown to be there.

Al paused, gasping as he was shown from behind. He shifted May to hold

her in one arm and raised his other hand in a defensive position.

The group of chimeras was shown.

"Argh, there are still that many of them left after all the ones you and Scar
killed?" Al groaned. "We are never getting through this tunnel."

"Never?" Brosh asked.

"…Never anytime soon. Envy or Gluttony could be coming after us. I don't
have time to fight through all of these chimeras." Al explained. "Especially
not with an injured girl!"

"There's too many of them!" Al said.

Scar appeared to be running through the tunnels, gripping his arm. His
face was shown, blood trailing down it. He looked surprised as Al and
the chimeras were shown to be in front of him. "You two." He said as he
came to a stop. His face was shown. "I thought you made it outside."

"I see how it is." Ed muttered. "Al leaves with May. Then Scar leaves! Thank
you for leaving me behind!"

"Eh…Sorry, Brother, but I believe you could handle yourself against Greed
and besides, they won't kill you even if you can't handle it." Al replied
sheepishly.

Ed sighed. "Forget it. There was no chance of winning this battle for us
anyway. All we were really doing was trying to make sure we all survived.
You escaping with May was the best option to save her life."

The chimeras growled.

Al gasped and looked at them again.

Scar turned around to see Envy and Gluttony approaching them. He

backed up a few steps. The scene pulled out to show Al doing the same
thing so they approached each other.

"Scar," Al said. "Can you make it to the surface with this girl?"

Scar was shown close up, turning his head slightly towards Al. "You will
allow me to escape? Even though I'm the one responsible for the deaths
of your friend's parents?"

"As much I hate to say it, that and this are two completely different
situations. Despite being mad with you about what you did, the primary
concern here is to make sure none of us get killed." Ed said with a sigh.

Al was shown. "Yeah, well I'd rather beat you senseless." May was
shown. "And it makes me sick to have to ask you for help." Scar was
shown. "But right now, we need to save this girl's life."

"What do you plan on doing?" Scar asked.

Scar's hand was shown on half the screen, blood trailing off it. The rest
of the screen showed Envy and Gluttony approaching.

The scene pulled out to show Al and Scar surrounded by the chimeras
and Homunculi. "I don't understand, but for some reason I'm important
to them." Al was shown close up with Scar being seen behind him.
"They're not going to kill me. They said they need me alive."

The scene moved to show Scar from the front and Al and the chimeras
behind him. He gripped his injured hand. "I doubt that I'd be able to get
her safely to the surface with the condition I'm in right now." He moved
forward and to the side a bit. "And I have no intention of turning my
back on this place yet."

"No intention of leaving?" Ed asked, frowning. "What do you plan to do

there?"

"I am going to look for more information about what you said." Scar replied.

Ed blinked, confused. He doubted there would be any information in that

place and no one was going to be willing to share information. What was he
looking for there?

He swung his hand down to the water, alchemical light flashing around
it. The scene pulled out to show Al watching as Scar rapidly turned the
water to stream and sent it at Gluttony and Envy.

Al was shown close up. "Wait, what are you doing?"

Scar's hand appeared in front of Al and pulled his helmet off. The scene
pulled out to show Scar throwing the helmet at a pipe. The helmet
scraped against the pipe, causing a spark, which caused the area around
the Homunculi to explode.

"I must admit I like your style of fighting." Ling said, grinning a bit.

Ed looked at Ling strangely before turning away. He couldn't really speak.

Scar's way of fighting was interesting. And he was a smart and strong
opponent, which is why he was so dangerous.

"Why does everyone feel the need to take my helmet?" Al grumbled.

Ed smirked at his brother. "Al, you have to admit, it is a good weapon at

times."

"But it is annoying when people are just randomly taking it off my head
without asking!" Al said.

Hughes shrugged. "At least he already knew about your body before he did.
He doesn't have to get a huge shock there."

Al sighed. That didn't really help.

Smoke filled the area up.

Al was shown briefly before he too disappeared in the smoke.

The scene pulled out to show the smoke from a distance. The smoke
rolled through the tunnel, expanding itself. Through the smoke, Al was
seen running forward to catch his rolling helmet.

"Geez," Al said as he was shown close up and putting his helmet back on.
"Couldn't you have warned me first? What a rude thing to do!"

"There wasn't any time to warn you." Scar said. "We only had a few seconds
to make a move."

Al huffed. "Sounds like Brother."

"Oi!" Ed growled. "I've never done…"

"Two years ago in New Optain." Al interrupted.

Ed twitched. "Cheap shot."

Envy was shown through the smoke. One of his eyes was seen to be
glowing an angry red. His hand flew out of the smoke and pinned Al to a
wall.

"Stupid Envy." Al grumbled. "It's always about pinning us with him."

Envy was shown close up, red light still flashing around him as he
healed. "I guess you think it was clever igniting the hydrogen like that."

"I didn't do anything!" Al protested. "It was all Scar!"

The scene pulled out to show most of the chimeras destroyed with Envy
and Al still being seen. "Where did he go?" Envy leaned in closer to Al.
"You better tell me now!"

"Why would I know? Scar and I are still enemies! I can't read him like I do
with my brother!" Al protested.

"Stop dragging me into this!" Ed mumbled. He looked down at May, who

was still snuggled into his chest. "How are you?"

May smiled a bit. "The headache has gone down a bit. Thanks for soothing
me, Edward."
Ed nodded, glancing back up at the screen. "You have less experience than
the rest of us in battle." He said. "If you get involved in our problem even
farther, you will earn that experience, but it will be at the risk of your
innocence."

With those words, Ed gently lowered May to the ground by Alphonse. He

stood up, knocked his fist against his brother's shoulder, giving him a small
smile, before moving back over to Ling.

"I have no idea!" Al said.

Envy looked down. "Get up and track his scent, Gluttony…Huh?"

Gluttony was shown, red light flashing around him and gaping with
smoke coming out of his mouth.

Envy was shown. "You used up your regenerative power." He looked

away. "Your body's dying."

"Seriously?" Ed asked. "Scar should have killed him once more before
leaving."

"He's already dying. What's it matter?" Jerso asked.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "You can never be too careful!"

An automail foot appeared on screen slamming into a chest covered by

the Ultimate Shield.

The scene pulled out to show Ed and Ling still fighting in Father's lair.
Father stood in the doorway in the background.

"I know I shouldn't be, but I am excited to see this fight." Clarink said.

"Why?" Avery asked curiously.

Clarink shrugged. "It's Chief vs. Greed in Ling's body. Don't you want to see
a fight between the two?"
"Between Ling and Chief? Sure." Avery said. "But this is Greed he's
fighting."

"How different can it be?" Luke asked. "Who do you think will win? Greed
or Chief?"

"Hmm," Havoc said, leaning back in his seat to listen in. "It's a hard choice.
Greed has the Ultimate Shield and Chief has his alchemy sealed, but he is no
pushover when it comes to pure martial arts."

"Even if he did have alchemy, I doubt he would use it right now." General
Armstrong growled.

"Why would you say that?" Buccaneer asked.

General Armstrong stared at Ed, who was looking down in his book again
with Ling trying to see into it, only to have Ed push him away. "Because of
how close those two are. Fullmetal will fight Greed, but he could never do
any serious damage to him that would cost him some of the stone. He doesn't
want to risk killing him."

"It's admirable how he still wants to protect his friend, despite him not being
there anymore." Miles said, staring at the two arguing friends with a very
small smile.

Seeing as the episode got paused again, to Ed's annoyance, he opened his
book to look at some more pictures. The page he opened it to made his eyes
soften. There were two pictures and they just showed how much he and Al
were there for each other.

"What are you–"

Ed shoved Ling away. "No, Ling."

"Aww, why can't you share?" Ling whined.

Ed hugged the book to his chest protectively. "Not for your eyes, Ling."

"Humph, I think you're just being greedy." Ling grumbled.

Ed snorted. "Please, since you are now…" He swallowed. "Since you are now
Greed, you can't say that to me."

Ling glanced at him, giving him a weak smile. "Right."

Ed lowered his foot and jumped back a couple times until he was no
longer on screen.

"Mmm. That was a good solid kick." Greed said as the shield retracted.
"This should be more entertaining than I expected." He ran after Ed.

"He is having too much fun with this!" Ed grumbled.

The Briggs soldiers, who made a few bets on the fight, looked away from the
two boys. They didn't do anything to wrong! It was just a fight they really
wanted to see.

Ed appeared on screen as he moved back. One of Greed's hands

slammed into his automail arm. Ed scrunched one of his eyes shut in a
grimace. He blocked Greed's hand again as he opened his eye. Another
attack came flying at him which was blocked with his arm again, and
then a third came and he pushed it to the side with his automail palm.
With his flesh hand, he pushed the next hand away as well.

"Humph, at least your defense it good." Izumi said.

Ed twitched. "Seriously, Teach?"

"You move fast." Ling said, smirking a bit.

Ed raised a brow.

"I know I'm fast, and Greed is using my body which is made ready for
fights." Ling said.

"Oh, so you're saying he stole your speed?" Ed said sarcastically.

Ling shrugged. "We're both fast, Ed. It's going to be a fast-paced fight." He
suddenly looked at Ed in worry. "Can you keep it up? I don't want to hurt
you."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Doubt me much, Ling? And you won't hurt me! It's
Greed, not you."

Ling grimaced, but managed a weak smile. "I don't doubt your skill, but you
said it yourself earlier. You've been up all night and have barely eaten. You're
tired."

"It'll be fine. Not like he is allowed to kill me anyway." Ed replied, hiding a

grimace. Sure, he wasn't worried about being killed. But, as much as he
wanted a chance to fight Ling, he did not want to fight him in a situation like
this, especially since it was Greed.

"You idiot, Ling!" Ed said as he swung his arm forward.

The scene pulled out to show Ed and Greed pushing their forearms
together. Both of them were zoomed in on to show their faces on screen.

"Wake up, Ling." Ed said.

"The name's Greed." Greed said.

"Shut up! Give Ling his body back." Ed growled.

"You're never going to give up on that, are you?" Lan Fan asked.

"Would you?" Ed retorted.

Lan Fan gave a small smile and shook her head. "Never. I cannot lose the
Young Lord here."

The scene pulled out to show the two. "Sorry, can't do that." Greed said
before he suddenly headbutted Ed.

Groaning, Ed grabbed his head where the sudden pain was throbbing. He had
no problems giving headbutts, but receiving them always hurt.

"I'm sorry, Ed!" Ling said frantically.

Ed took his flesh hand off of his head and pointed at Ling. He lifted his head
slightly, glaring out from his fingers that were spread opened on his face.
"Shut up." He snarled. "That was not you. That was Greed. Do not apologize
for his actions, Idiot!"

As Ed stumbled back, head bowed from the blow, Greed threw a kick at
Ed's side, which Ed blocked with his automail arm. As Greed brought a
blow down to hit the semi-crouching Ed, Ed ducked under the blow,
twisted around, and jumped into the air to send a kick at the back of
Greed's head.

"OW!" Ling shouted, grabbing the back of his head. "Even when I'm not in
control, I still feel it!"

Ed shrugged. "Sorry about that. And it's still your body so why wouldn't you
feel it?"

"Oi!" Ling snapped. "If I can't apologize, you can't either!"

Mustang stared at the two for a moment before a smirk spread across his lips.
They weren't happy with the situation they were win, but they were trying to
make the best of it. It was all they could do for the time being. Annoy each
other, argue, laugh, fool around. They didn't want to dwell on what Ling did
in the future. They accepted it, but were trying not to focus on it too much.
They didn't want it to affect the friendship they created.

Greed was almost immediately back up from the blow and turning
around to face Ed as he landed. Ed ducked under his arm, swinging his
automail arm up to push the arm to the side. As Greed swung his other
arm around to hit him, Ed slammed his fist into Greed's stomach, which
became a shield to block it.

Ling felt his stomach but no pain came from it.

"You do realize there is a shield, right?" Ed asked.

"Yeah," Ling said, frowning as he looked at his stomach. Nothing came from
the future, but he still felt the bruise there that Ed gave him that morning.
Ed dropped to the ground and swung his leg out against Greed's, sending
the Homunculi flying onto his back.

Ling hissed and rubbed his back. "You are certainly a strong opponent, Ed."

"Did you think I was just an alchemist?" Ed scoffed.

Brody smirked at Luke.

"The fight isn't over yet." Luke hissed at him.

Greed groaned as Ed stood above him.

"Give up already, you idiot!" Ed said as he pulled his fist back.

"Must you always call me an idiot?" Ling asked.

Ed stared at him, blankly. "Annoyed that I call him an idiot, gets upset when I
call others idiots, then goes back to being upset at being called it." He
grumbled to himself.

Greed was shown on screen, one eye cracked open. As Ed's metal fist
came at his face, Greed blocked it with his hand.

Ed's face was shown close up on the screen. "What about your country?
Have you forgotten all about Lan Fan?"

Greed's eyes widened.

Ed was shown, flesh fist getting ready to attack this time. The scene
pulled out just as he swung it down into Greed's face. Greed's face was
shown with Ed's fist in it, blood trailing out of his mouth.

"ARGH!" Ling shouted, grabbing his check.

"At least it wasn't my metal hand." Ed said.

"But you tried to hit me with it!" Ling said.

Ed shrugged. "Sorry, Ling."

"No, don't apologize. It is Greed you're fighting. You need every advantage
you can get." Ling replied, rubbing his aching cheek. "I just wasn't expecting
you to actually make contact."

Ed turned back to the screen. "Didn't you see? Greed hesitated, but it wasn't
him." He looked at Ling with a smirk. "That was you hesitating. You're still
in there, Ling!"

Ling blinked at him.

"Don't doubt me." Ed said.

Ed was shown, gasping.

Ed's hand was lifted onto screen by Greed's, being twisted back at a
painful angle.

"Shit!" Ed growled, grabbing hold of his hand and pulling it to his chest. He
didn't need this when his hand was already injured!

The scene pulled up to show Greed holding onto Ed's arm and pinning
his chest to the ground with his feet.

Ed's choked in surprise at the pressure on his neck.

Seeing his friend choke at the pressure, Ling slapped Ed on the back, making
Ed cough harshly. "Sorry, Ed."

Ed shot him a glare. "I already told you." He hissed weakly. "Don't
apologize."

The scene moved to show Greed from behind as Ed slammed his feet on
the ground, groaning out in pain.

"Hey pops!" Greed said as Father approached the two. "I caught him for
you."
"Did…Did he just say pops?" Ed asked, blinking as he tried to bend his
fingers a bit.

Ling raised a brow. "He did. That's different."

Ed looked at Ling with a meaningful look.

"And there you go again!" Ling said, eyes narrowed. "I am still not sure what
you are seeing that I am missing."

"Ha! He lost." Luke said, grinning at Brody. "Pay up."

"Damn that kid." Brody grumbled, handing over the money.

Very subtly, money was exchanged between the Briggs soldiers that made a
bet on the fight.

Father was shown close up. "Upstairs. I want him taken directly to
Wrath."

"What?" Ed hissed. "Haven't I dealt with enough of them today?"

"Obviously not." Brody grumbled in annoyance.

Ed gave him a weird look, but didn't comment.

There was a scraping noise, making Father turn his head to the door.

Al was seen with his arms in Envy's grip and Gluttony being put down.

"Man, you guys really made a mess of things, didn't you?" Envy asked as
the screen moved up to show him. Al was shown from behind. He turned
his head slightly to Envy. "If you had simply behaved yourself, then we
would have let you go a long time ago."

"Yes, and most likely Scar, May, and Ling would be dead." Al mumbled.

Al looked forward again.

Ed was shown to be approaching his brother, gripping his flesh arm with
his automail.

"Brother." Al said.

Ed stopped and turned halfway around. His face was zoomed in on.
"He's in there. I know it." The scene moved to show Al and Ed staring at
Greed. "Ling's alive."

"Now you just got to drag your sorry ass soul out and retake control of your
body!" Ed said.

"I don't think it is that easy." Ling replied.

"Of course it isn't easy, but you still have to try!" Ed retorted. "You can't let
Greed stay in control!"

"What do you mean?" Lan Fan asked shocked. "How can he be alive?"

Ed glanced at her, shrugging. "I don't know how he did it, but Ling is still
inside of Greed. He's alive. Now we just have to drag his soul out."

Lan Fan smiled faintly. Her master was still alive after all. He hadn't given up
completely. Despite the torture he went through, he still fought to survive
inside of that stone.

The ending song began.

When it ended, the scene reopened to Father standing by Gluttony. He

kneeled by Gluttony, putting a hand on his stomach. "I see that you
exhausted the regenerative powers of the stone." He said as Gluttony
was shown to be struggling to breath. The scene pulled out to show the
two. Father raised his hand. "There's no need to worry. Fear not, my
son." He slammed his hand into Gluttony's chest. Gluttony screamed out
for a moment before going limp. Father pulled his hand out of Gluttony,
resulting in Gluttony disintegrating. Father looked at his hand. He stood
up and opened his hand to show the deformed stone in it. The stone
melted into his skin with a whistling sound. He closed his hand. Father's
face was shown. "I'll recreate you when the time is right. With all of
your memories intact." He looked up at the screen.

"Oh, well, that is just freaking great! He is coming back." Havoc groaned.

"Argh, can't really be surprised." Myers groaned. "Nothing is ever simple

with these guys."

The scene went dark.

Ed jumped up and said, "Wonderful! I need a break!"

"We just had a very long one last night and had one in the middle of this
episode!" Mustang shouted, glaring at the boy. "Sit down, Fullmetal!"

"No can do, Colonel. I need to ask Al something in private." Ed retorted,

glancing at his brother.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Ed saw Havoc look at him with a raised brow
as if saying, I-was-right-wasn't-I? Ed shot him a glare but didn't reply, and he
didn't need to. Havoc knew he was.

Ed leaned next to Ling. "Follow us, okay? But don't come into the room just
yet. I want to talk to Al alone first."

Ling nodded in understanding.

Grimacing at the conversation that was coming up, Ed led his brother to their
bedroom. Once in, he shut the door behind them and leaned against it.

"Is something going on?" Mustang asked confused, watching the brothers
leave with Ling.

Izumi sighed. "There is a slight problem between Al and Ling. It's been there
for a while now."

"Problem?" Sheska asked confused.

"They aren't really getting along." Izumi clarified.

"I never noticed. They are both so good at hiding it. Why didn't you do
something to end this as soon as you saw it?" Mustang asked.

Izumi smiled sadly. "You can't give help if someone won't take it, Mustang.
You know those boys, never willing to help. All you can do is try to give
them advice or knowledge and push them along."

*The Boys' Room*

"What did you need, Brother?" Al asked curiously.

Ed sighed sadly and looked up at his brother. "Al…Alphonse, I'm sorry."

Al blinked a few times, not understanding. "Brother? What's wrong? Why are
you apologizing? You haven't done anything wrong!"

"Al, I love you so much, and yet I hurt you so badly. I'm so sorry." Edward
said. "If you were so bothered about Ling and I being friends, why didn't you
just say so, Al? You know you will always be first to me."

"Brother…"

Sighing, Ed looked at the book in his hand then at his brother. He sat down
on his bed and motioned for Al to as well. "Here, Al. I want to show you
something. This is a photo book I received from V.H. this morning." He
opened it to the page he was looking at earlier and showed it to Al.
"Remember?"

In the first picture, Ed was carrying Al on his back on the way back to their
house while Al slept. And right below that was a picture of Al carrying Ed in
the same way with the only difference being that Ed was covered in bruises.

"We've always been there for each other, Al. Long before the Human
Transmutation." Ed murmured softly. "I love you, Alphonse. We are brothers
and I hold your happiness above my own. I promise, Alphonse...I will fix
everything and nothing will get in the way of that."

Al stared at his brother sadly. His brother, who had already given up so much
for him, was now staring at him with those sad, determined eyes again. "No,
Brother."

Ed looked at him with wide, shocked eyes.

"Please, you don't have to do this alone. Please don't give up so much for me.
We were both at fault and we both have to work together to fix this. Please,
have fun and value your own happiness as well."

Ed's widened eyes were hidden as he bowed his head. "No! I'm your older
brother, Al. I shouldn't have coerced you into doing the human transmutation
but I did. I caused this. I will fix this."

"You didn't coerce me! I wanted to do it too! You don't have to keep pushing
yourself. I can last in this body!" Al argued patting his chest plate. As Ed was
about to argue Al put out both hands, stalling Ed. "Brother, I trust you to get
me back someday, but I also want you to trust me to help you all the way. We
are both at fault for this."

Ed fell silent, rubbing his eyes. He didn't want to argue about that. That
wasn't why he dragged Al in here. "Al, about Ling."

Al stiffened.

"I'm sorry." Ed said. "I didn't realize it would bother you so much."

Al blinked. Bother him? Well, seeing his brother be so close to someone else
did bother him. He was bothered by it because it felt like his brother was
leaving him behind to be friends with someone else.

"I'm a horrible brother." Ed said, bowing his head. "I didn't even notice your
jealously. Ling and Havoc had to point it out to me. I was so blind. I'm sorry,
Al. I should have noticed sooner and set your mind at ease."

"No, Brother! Please, this wasn't your fault. I didn't even realize what I was
feeling was jealousy until recently." Al replied, putting a hand on his
brother's shoulder. "You're not a horrible brother. If anyone is a horrible
brother, it's me!"

Ed looked up at his brother in surprise. "Al?"

Al slid down to the floor, pulling his legs to his chest. "I was jealous of you
making another friend and having so much fun with him. I should have been
happy for you. You've always had so few friends and now you had a great
friend who you could always banter with and tease. And instead of being
happy, I was mad at him for getting close to you."

"But why?" Ed asked softly.

"I have been so used to having you to myself. We've always been by each
other's side, teasing each other and always together in fights. I don't know…I
guess I thought Ling was going to steal it from me."

Ed blinked, staring down at his brother. "Idiot." He muttered, dropping off of

the bed to drop to his knees in front of him. "You're my precious little
brother, Al. Ling is my best friend, but–"

"You'll always be first."

Ed and Al whipped around to see Ling standing in the doorway of the room.

"Ling! I didn't tell you to–" Ed started, but stopped when Ling shook his
head.

Ling walked over to the two boys. "Edo is Edo." He said, smiling a bit at Al
while Ed growled. "But he is your brother before anything else, Al. If you tell
him to stop hanging around with me, he will. He cherishes your happiness
above all else. All you have to do is say it and I'm gone."

"L–" Ed started, but stopped himself. Ling was right. He would stop being
friends with someone if his brother was hurting.

Al stared at Ling, then over at Ed, who was looking at Ling then at him.
"No." Both Ling and Ed stared at Al. "As mad as I was at you, Ling, I could
never do that to Ed. He has very few friends. I wouldn't want to take away
one of the few he does have."

Ed blinked at his brother while Ling broke into a grin. He had been scared for
a moment that he was going to lose his friend.
"I never wanted to be so mad at you, Ling. It was silly." Al admitted. "It's
just…I've never seen Brother be so close to someone so easily before. I
wasn't sure how to react."

"It's alright, but could you stop glaring at me now? It has been making me
uncomfortable." Ling admitted.

"That was the point, Ling." Al replied amused.

"Both of you brothers are cruel." Ling grumbled.

Rolling his eyes, Ed stood up and grabbed his book off the bed. "I can't
believe you two." He sighed. "Well, hopefully this is resolved now and you
two don't suddenly start glaring again."

"Brother," Al said suddenly.

Ed glanced at him.

"You were singing earlier. What was the song? It sounded familiar." Al said.

Ed scoffed and looked away, cheeks a bit red.

"Yes, Ed." Ling said teasingly. "What was it?"

"Both of you can go back to arguing!" Ed snapped, stomping towards the

door.

"Oh, come on, Brother. Please." Al begged.

Ed paused by the door, twitching a bit. "It was the opening song we've been
watching."

"Really?" Al asked surprised. "You learned it that quickly?"

Ed grumbled to himself and left the room.

Ling glanced at Ed. "You knew he could sing?"

Al nodded. "But he doesn't like doing it in front of people. It was surprising
to hear him softly singing earlier." He glanced at Ling. "I guess he just started
doing it because of his worry."

"He–"

"Hurry it up," Ed snapped, poking his head back into the room. "What are
you two? Now gossiping women? We've wasted enough time today."

Ling and Al blinked as Ed disappeared.

"Did you notice your brother is very impatient today?" Ling asked.

Al nodded. "We should probably go before he gets more annoyed."

Ling scoffed. "I find it hard to believe that he could ever be annoyed at you."

"I agree. It's you he would be mad at." Al said before he disappeared from the
room, leaving Ling alone to stare at the door.

"That's completely unfair!"

A/N: Even though it is a short fight, I love the fight between Ed and
Greedling! I wish they had another fight in the show.

Please Review!
*Chapter 29*: Episode 29: Struggle of the
Fool
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Over 1,000 Reviews? I LOVE YOU, GUYS! Thank you!

For those of you who don't get it, Ed can sing because his voice actor, Vic
Mignogna, can sing. That is the only reason why he has the ability to
sing. Ed knows how to cook because it is something I figure Izumi would
have taught the boys since she knows they were relying on themselves
since they had no parents and they also learned a bit while on the island.

Ed can speak different languages because it is something I wanted to do.

He did not learn all of them while as a State Alchemist. It is stuff he has
learned since he was young. And the Ishvalan language. Ed knows very
little of that language. As for Xerxian, it's something for him and Al.
And besides, said he was fluent in what he said. Never said he knew the
whole language. How could he when he only had a few books?

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 29: Struggle of the Fool

Ling grinned at Ed as he sat by his friend.

Ed saw the grin and twitched a bit. That grin never meant anything good for
him.
"Will you sing the opening song when it begins?" Ling asked quietly.

Ed twitched. Nope, nothing good. "No." He snapped at Ling.

"Aww, but Ed…"

"N. O. No, Ling." Ed retorted.

"So is everything good now? Can we move on?" Mustang asked, staring at
the two teenagers.

Ed waved a hand at Mustang, not taking his glare off of Ling. "Ask Al."

Al laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, everything is alright. It was just something

stupid. So, let's move on."

Ed glanced at his brother, blinking. Al really didn't want to talk about it with
everyone else if he was rushing into the episode like that.

The opening song began.

The tunnels were shown from through a gate on the ceiling. Envy
appeared to be walking through the tunnel with Ed and Al following
him. The three were shown up close.

The screen moved to show Envy from behind as he approached a door.

Ed's legs appeared on screen as he followed him.

Ed and Al were shown from the front as they stopped. "Hey. Where are
you taking us?" Ed asked.

"To Wrath." Avery said. "Weren't you listening at all when Greed caught
you?"

Ed's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "It may not have crossed your mind, but I
was in a bit of pain at the time when I was caught. Can you really concentrate
clearly when in pain?"

"Did it really hurt that much?" Ling asked, frowning at his friend.
"I can twist your arm the same way Greed twisted my mine and then pin you
to floor, Ling, so you can figure the answer out for yourself." Ed offered.

"Eh…no thanks, Ed." Ling replied.

Envy clicked something before he turned to look briefly at the brothers.

"Just get in." He said before he entered the elevator.

Ed and Al were shown. After a moment, Ed followed Envy's order with

his brother following him.

"You're not supposed to obey without any argument!" Havoc cried.

"I don't think I want to fight any more at the moment." Ed muttered.

The scene moved to show them from above as they entered the elevator.
Ed and Al were shown from behind as they walked in farther. When
they turned around, the doors slid shut, blocking them from view.

The elevator shaft was shown with the elevator moving up. When the top
of the elevator hit the screen, the scene changed to a door. With a ding,
the elevator doors opened to reveal a soldier with Ed and Al behind him.

"He transformed into a solider?" Hughes asked.

"He does that a lot." Ed said, frowning. "I hate when he transforms into a
soldier."

Brody blinked in confusion. Why should it bother him? He didn't think the
kid cared all that much about the military. So why would someone acting as a
soldier bother him? "Why?"

"It doesn't bother you?" Ed snapped.

Brody frowned. It really did annoy him. Pretending to be a soldier just to get
around was deceiving them all. None of them knew the danger around when
he did that. It could also trick them into believing he was a comrade in the
middle of a fight. And he killed a child to start a war by doing that and
framed an innocent soldier. It really did piss him off to see Envy like that. "It
does. I'm just surprised that it bothers you as well."

"Because he is traveling through our ranks!" Ed said angrily.

"Our ranks?" A few of the soldiers mouthed in shock. None of them could
believe that Ed was admitting the fact that he was a soldier so much in this
room. He usually denies it so much.

"It's like he is infiltrating us. Since we never know when he is doing it, he can
kill as one of us or just get information from someone about something and
they would be none the wiser! Not to mention that he tries to use the faces of
our friends to make us freeze in a fight! Stupid, sadistic, manipulating
bastard! He has no right to be masquerading as one of us."

"I never knew you felt so strongly about your job as a soldier, Fullmetal."
Mustang said. "I always thought you hated it."

Ed twitched. Damn him and his mouth! "I do!" He protested. "I hate the job,
but…eh…I don't like being a Dog of the Military, but I…" He groaned and
slammed his book into his forehead. He should have just kept his mouth shut.

"I never knew you to be so tongue-tied either." Mustang teased.

Ed groaned and hit himself again.

"So I guess the Colonel wins that round." Falman said.

Ed's brow twitched. He lost? Seriously? And that reminded him! He wasn't
sure how, but it did remind him. He never hit himself earlier for being so nice
to Ling! Let's see….he had to hit himself two times for that! Ed whacked his
forehead with the book again.

"Why are you still hitting yourself?" Ling asked, confused.

"Because I have to." Ed replied as he whacked his forehead again.

"Take it from someone who knows, Ed." Ling told him, frowning. "That
book hurts."
"I know." Ed said as he rubbed his red forehead. "But I had to do it."

Ling just stared at his friend. "…Masochist."

"What?" Ed hissed, glaring at him. "I am not!"

"That is hard to disprove since you just hit yourself four times, Brother." Al
said.

Ed hung his head. "Even Al? I feel double teamed."

He walked out of the elevator with Ed and Al following him.

Ed blinked. "This looks like..."

As Al gasped in shock, the scene pulled out to show the brothers through
a window from outside the building.

Ed and Al moved out of the elevator farther.

The scene pulled out to show Central Command.

"It's Central Command! We were right below it!" Al said.

"Seriously? All of that happened right below our very feet?" Mustang asked
shocked.

"And we didn't notice a single thing?" Riza said, just as shocked.

"It must be very far underground then." Al told the two. "That wouldn't
surprise me. Father doesn't want anyone to find him."

"Even if they do find him, they would just be killed anyway." Ling said
angrily.

"They probably wouldn't even make it to him." Avery sneered angrily. "They
would be killed in the tunnels by the chimeras."

"Should we really be surprised by any of this?" Ed asked, frowning. He put a

hand to his chin. "Central Command is the center of the city and most likely
the center of Amestris."

"The center?" Sheska asked confused.

"If he wants to perform his transmutation using the whole country, he needs
to know where the center is. Hence, the center of Central." Ed replied simply.

"So obvious that we wouldn't see it." Izumi said, frowning.

Ed appeared on screen, staring in shock.

"Hey!"

Ed and Al turned to look at Envy.

Envy was shown to be staring at the brothers. "You guys are plastered
with filth."

"And whose fault is that?" Al grumbled.

"When you think about it, it's yours." Hughes said.

"What?" Ed and Al said surprise.

Hughes grinned at them. "All of this started with you guys trying to lure out
the Homunculi."

"….I still rather blame the Homunculi." Ed said.

"Same here." Al said.

A shower head appeared on screen with water raining out of it.

The scene pulled out to show Al sitting on the floor while his brother was
in the shower, washing his hair. "So they've been there this whole time."
Al said.

Ed stared at the screen for a moment before a deep red blush took over his
face, which he hid by smacking his face with his book again. Why? Why the
hell did they have to show him in the shower? This was a moment that could
be skipped over! Why was the future so mean to him? What did he ever do to
it?

"Well…" Hughes started.

"SHUT UP, HUGHES!" Ed shouted, still very red in the face, to the
amusement of everyone. "May, Lan Fan, close your freaking eyes now!"

"Who are you to order me?" Lan Fan retorted while May said nothing. She
had covered her eyes the moment the scene had pulled out. Her face was
already completely red and she didn't think it was going to die down anytime
soon.

Ed shot her a glare, as good of a glare he could with how much he was
blushing. "Just do it." He hissed.

"Awww," Hughes cooed. "Is little Edo embarrassed about–"

"SHUT UP! AND DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Ed screamed before burying

his face in his book. "Stupid bloody future."

"Should I shut my eyes too?" Ling teased.

Ed groaned. "Shut up, Idiot Prince."

"So I should?" Ling asked.

"Are you really a girl masquerading as a boy?" Ed snapped.

"No, pretty sure I'm a guy." Ling said.

"Then you're fine." Ed muttered.

"I never would've guessed they were beneath the Command Center." Al
said.

"No one would have guessed that." Darius said, frowning.

"Until they learned that Bradley is a Homunculus." Ling said. "That might
give them some idea."

"And yet none of us made the connection." Ed said.

"So maybe it's not just the Fuhrer. The entire military might be
involved." Ed said.

"Yeah, couldn't you have realized that a bit sooner?" Mustang asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Your fault for rushing into things."

"That coming from the prince of recklessness?" Mustang sneered.

"Prince of recklessness?" Ling asked, grinning. "I had no idea you were a
prince too, Ed!"

Ed growled. "Ling, shut up."

"We can be best friend princes together!"

Ed whacked Ling in the head with his book. "I said, shut up!"

The valve was shown. Ed's hand appeared on the screen to turn off the
water.

Ed's face was shown. "But hey, there is some good news in all of this."

"There is?" Brosh asked.

"Of course there is!" Ling shouted.

Ed and Al stared at him.

Ling shrugged. "What? There is always some good in a situation…well, in

most situations. You just have to find that good part and focus on it, and not
the bad parts."

"You're too happy and optimistic." Ed said.

Al's body in the portal was shown from behind. As Al slowly turned his
head around, he was zoomed in on.

Ed appeared on the screen, drying his hair in the stall with Al looking at
him. "You saw it? My body's still in there?"

"It is." Ed said. "I tried to reach out for it, but it said it couldn't go with
me since I wasn't its soul."

Al turned his head back around as the scene moved to show only him.
"My body. It still exists!" He brought his hands up to his chest in
excitement. "Yes! Yes!"

"Still exists?" Havoc asked, raising a brow.

"There was a chance that your body didn't exist anymore?" Luke asked.

"Eh, yes." Al replied.

Luke stared at the brothers. "I commend you both for spending three years
searching for your body when the possibility of it not existing anymore was
there. Did you guys ever feel like just giving up?"

"No." Ed replied immediately. "Giving up was never an option."

"What about when you decided to let Scar kill you?"

"I wasn't giving up my search then. I was trying to give up my life. There's a
difference." Ed said.

Ed hands appeared on screen to be clapping his antenna in place. "Yes,"

He said. The scene pulled out to show the bottom half of Al's body taking
up part of the screen as Ed pushed opened the stall door and walked out
of the shower.

Lan Fan squealed a bit, surprising Ed and Ling since they didn't expect
something like that from her. She quickly threw her hands over her eyes.

"I told you to shut them earlier!" Ed said, blushing fully again.
"Girls just can't resist seeing, Ed." Hughes teased. "You are growing into
quite a handsome young man."

Ed screamed and buried his face in his hands. "Hughes." He muttered. "It's
always Hughes…need tape. Need to tie him up and tape his mouth shut."

"It's not like it's a lie." Lan Fan muttered, peeking out through her fingers.
"What he said is true. You are quite handsome, but you aren't my type so
don't take that the wrong way!"

Ed groaned.

"No wonder all the girls you meet fall in love with you." Riza said.

"What are you talking about, Lieutenant?" Al asked confused since his
brother wasn't raising his face out of his hands or stopping his embarrassed
muttering.

"Love letters." Havoc said blankly.

"Girls coming to the Command Center looking for him." Breda added.

"Oh." Al said while his brother groaned loudly. "Even after they see Brother
scream and rant?"

"His actions, intelligence, status in the military, and his amazing fighting
skills make up for that, Al." Mustang told him, smirking as he watched the
back of Ed's neck turn red.

"What does any of this have to do with anything?" Ed grumbled.

"You're just lucky Al's leg is in the way." Hughes said, grinning at Ed.

"And why am I lucky about that?" Ed asked, and almost immediately

regretted it the moment the question was finished.

"Because we can't see how big you are." Hughes said.

Brody snorted. "Probably a bean like him."

"What was that?" Ed screamed, glaring at him.

Brody raised a brow at him. "Want to disprove me?"

Ed slowly turned his head back to the screen, ears completely red. Why did
he rush Al and Ling into watching this episode? He should have made their
conversation in the bedroom longer!

"Well, actually…." Al started, but the moment he did, Ed threw his book at
him, knocking it against his helmet.

"Al, shut up." Ed hissed.

"That wasn't very nice!" Al snapped.

"I am being embarrassed immensely right now." Ed hissed at him, snatching

his book back. "I'm not in the mood to play nice!"

"And now that we know it's there, we're one step closer to getting it
back." Ed deflated after he finished speaking. The scene changed to
show him from behind with Al in front of him and a blushing Xiao-Mei
on his shoulder.

"Why…why is Xiao-Mei there?" Ed asked, staring blankly.

"Al, what's that weird little cat doing here?" Ed asked.

"She is a panda bear! You said it earli–" May shouted, opening her eyes. She
paused in speaking as she stared at Ed on screen and her blush came back full
force.

"Uh…well…" Al lifted a hand. "You know that little girl?"

May was shown to be unconscious inside of Al.

"Seriously?" Mustang roared with laughter.

Ed groaned while May screamed in embarrassment and covered her face

again to hide her blush and also because her head was suddenly flaring in
pain.

"AL!" Ed screamed.

"It was future me!" Al protested frantically, waving his hands around. "And
what was I supposed to do? Scar couldn't escape with her and she's injured! I
had to protect her!"

"But you couldn't tell me sooner? Like before I got out of the stall?" Ed half-
shouted, face completely red, though it was hard to see since he had his face
half-hidden behind his book.

"At least she is unconscious." Ling pointed out with a huge grin in place.

"Unless Brother wakes her up somehow." Al grumbled.

"What? I wouldn't do that!" Ed grumbled.

"Maybe not on purpose." Al muttered.

Ed rolled his eyes. "And you." He snapped at Ling. "Wipe that stupid grin off
your face!"

"Are you serious?" Ed shouted. "She's inside your armor?"

"Brother! Stop yelling!" Al said. "And while you're at it, will you put on
some pants?"

"Yes, Ed, we don't need to risk you ruining her sweet, innocent mind." Ross
teased.

"Even you, Ross?" Ed muttered. "Is there anyone nice enough to not tease
me?" He looked around at the group. "That's it! Scar is now my favorite of all
you jerks!"

"Seriously?" Hughes asked. "You're going to choose the serial killer who
tried to kill you and who was responsible for killing Winry's parents?"

Ed paused for a moment, thinking. "I don't like him for that. But he's not
saying anything right now about any of this so in this situation he is my
favorite!"

The door to the locker room was shown as Envy threw it open. "Hey,
what's the hold up? Get a move on!"

The scene moved to show the back of Envy's head with Ed staring at him
in shock and Al just looking at him.

"What? Even Envy gets to see and we don't?" Avery asked though he was
laughing.

Ed groaned. "I really hate all of you."

"It's because the future doesn't want to embarrass him by showing us just how
small he is." Havoc said, grinning widely.

"What?" Ed shouted. "It's already embarrassing me enough!"

"….I think the future is trying to save the soldiers from embarrassment." Al
said.

"AL!" Ed screamed, whacking his brother with his book again.

"Are you trying to imply something, Al?" Mustang asked, eyes narrowed.

"Yes!" Al shouted quickly as his brother was continuously whacking him

pointlessly with his book.

"I don't get it." May said, not uncovering her eyes.

"May, don't listen!" Lan Fan told her, blushing herself.

Ling, himself, was too busy grinning in amusement at Ed's embarrassment.

"So, you're really that big, Ed?" He asked, unable to help himself.

Ed's book drop out of his hand and he collapsed facedown on the ground. "I
give up. Someone just kill me please."
"No can do, Edo!" Ling said, patting Ed mockingly on the head. "We like you
too much to do that."

Ed groaned. "Why me?" He twitched a bit when he felt heated stares on his
back. First the future embarrassing him, then his own baby brother! Who the
hell did he piss off?

The scene pulled out to show Central Command from outside as both
Envy and Ed screamed.

"You are both acting like little girls over it!" Havoc roared, wiping a tear
away.

"I can't…I can't…" Luke said, laughing so hard that it was hurting to breath.

"You just freaked out Envy!" Ling said loudly. "You should be so proud right
now, Ed!"

"Ling!" Ed moaned. "Leave me alone."

"But you got to mess with a Homunculus's mind. It may have been
unintentional but–OW!" Ling cried, rubbing his stomach where Ed had
managed to hit him without looking up from the floor.

Dramatic music began as the title of the episode "Struggle of the Fool"
appeared on screen.

The hallway of Central appeared on screen with Envy leading Ed, who
was now dressed in black slacks and a white button down shirt with a
black jacket held under his arms, and Al.

"Hey Ed." Ling said, tugging at the sleeve of Ed's shirt. "It's over. You can
watch again."

"Go away, Ling. I'm trying to not die of embarrassment here." Ed muttered,
knocking Ling's hand away.

"Brother…"
"Shut up, traitor." Ed grumbled.

"Aww, Edo, he di–" Ling started.

"You too. You are both traitors!" Ed growled, still not lifting his face from
the ground.

Ling blinked and looked up at Al. He mouthed, "I'm still going to tease him."

Al couldn't help the small chuckle he gave. He nodded to Ling and gave a
thumb's up.

Ed and Al were shown.

"Geez, Al, did you really have to bring her along with us?" Ed
whispered.

"Yeah, kind of, Brother." Al said dryly.

"…I didn't mean leave her to die. I just meant, was there really no other way?
Since I wasn't with you after you picked her up, I don't know what
happened." Ed replied.

"What else was I supposed to do?" Al asked back quietly. "She's hurt
pretty bad."

"Hey!" Envy suddenly shouted and the two boys froze in fear. Envy was
shown to be stopped by a door, holding the doorknob. "Wrath will take
over babysitting you now. Right this way."

"Babysitting?" Ed scoffed, pushing himself back up.

"Yes, Fullmetal, babysitting. They aren't just going to let you run around
freely after all that happened. They have to set some ground rules." Mustang
said.

Ed scowled. "I hate being restricted."

"Haven't you been restricted since you joined the military?" Ling asked.
"Not as much as I probably am going to be now." Ed muttered.

"Wrath?" Ed asked as he and Al were shown.

"That's why future me didn't know where we were going!" Ed shouted

suddenly. "We didn't figure out that Wrath is Bradley in the future."

The doors were shown from the inside as Envy pushed them open. He
moved to the side as Al and Ed walked over to the doors and entered the
room. Both boys stopped and gasped.

The scene quickly moved to show Bradley and Mustang sitting at a table
as dramatic music started.

'Wrath is Fuhrer King Bradley.' Ed thought as Bradley was zoomed in on.

Ed was shown. His face turned to surprise before Mustang was shown to
be looking at Ed out of the corner of his eye. "Colonel?"

"You're still there?" Ed said surprised.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Mustang asked.

Ed shrugged. "You went there the night before. What have you been doing all
night? Surely there wasn't that much to discuss!"

Mustang frowned. "Probably been stuck there all night waiting for you to
make a reappearance. Always getting in the way." He grumbled.

Ed rolled his eyes.

Ed and Al approached the table as Mustang turned his head forward

once more and closed his eyes and kept his arms crossed.

"What's going on?" Ed asked.

"Where should I begin?" Mustang asked. He opened his eyes as he

looked up. "Fuery's been shipped south. Falman's been sent up north.
Breda's been reassigned to the west." Envy was shown backing out as he
closed the doors. "Lieutenant Hawkeye's now a personal assistant to the
Fuhrer." The doors were shut completely.

"So what's been going on with you, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked sarcastically.
"Certainly seems like a lot has happened with you as well."

Ed rolled his eyes.

"A lot is always happening with him." Havoc said. "Never a peaceful
moment when the Elric brothers are around!"

"We're…" Al started. He paused, glanced at his brother, who was staring at

him with a daring look, then looked back at Havoc. "I'm not that bad. Brother
is though."

"Oi!" Ed snapped. "Never back down, do you?"

"Well, I do have you for a brother." Al retorted.

Ed stared at his brother before turning back to the screen with a slightly
shocked looked. What had he been teaching his brother?

Al was shown standing behind Ed, who gaped in surprise at Mustang. He

closed his mouth and glared at Bradley. 'What the hell is this?' He
thought as Bradley was shown to be calmly sitting with his eye shut.
'They're practically holding them hostage.'

"No practically about it." General Armstrong growled. "They are being held
hostage!"

"Just in a way that it is not obvious to anyone but them." Mustang said
angrily.

"But Fuery, Falman, and Breda don't know everything though." May said
confused.

Ed snorted. "Yet, May, yet. Colonel will find a way to inform them of
everything that is going on before they leave. He won't let them leave
ignorant of what is going on and their position. It's always more dangerous
when you are ignorant. He can't protect them where they are going, but he
can protect them by giving them information. Information is always a vital
weapon in a battle."

The scene moved to show the group from above.

"Go ahead and take a seat." Bradley said.

A cup of tea was shown.

Ed and Al were shown. 'The guards left us alone. There are three of us
and only one of him.' Ed thought.

"Already thinking up of plans?" Karley asked amused.

"Can't waste a moment. The moment you do is a moment that your enemy is
planning against you. Got to have a plan in motion in case the enemy tries
anything." Ed said.

"But what do you think you can do against a foe like Bradley, especially
without your alchemy?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "I tend to wing it."

Ling's eyes narrowed. "How dangerous."

Bradley's sword was shown as Al thought, 'He's only got one sword with
him.'

Mustang appeared on screen. 'So he's that confident he can take us all at
once.'

"And as we saw in Dublith, he is no pushover so hopefully none of you will

attack." Riza said.

"Doubt we will. We are already in a bad position. No need to make it worse."

Al told her.

"Besides, I doubt Fullmetal wants to get into another fight." Mustang added,
crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. "How many fights have you
been in during the past twenty-four hours?"

"Well, there was that one with Scar." Havoc said.

"Then the one with Gluttony." Brody said.

"The fight with Envy inside of Gluttony." Avery called out.

"Then that brief fight with Father." Ross offered.

"Then his fight with Greed." Sheska added.

Hughes raised a brow, frowning. "Five fights in less than twenty-four hours?
That has to be a new record for you."

"….It was just a busy day." Ed said.

"At least you didn't destroy anything we have to pay for." Mustang grumbled.

Riza coughed. "He did destroy part of the city during his fight with Scar, sir."

Mustang's eye twitched. "Fullmetal." He growled.

Ed held his hands up. "Future me, not me. I've done nothing!"

"Future you is still you! Just because he is in the future does not mean that he
is not you!" Mustang retorted.

Ed blinked, trying to follow to that. "Huh?"

"Exactly."

Ed stared at Mustang for a moment before slowly turning around. This place
was making them all crazy.

The scene pulled out to show the table from behind Bradley to show the
three alchemists watching him.

There was suddenly a cough that broke the staring.

May blushed. "Bad timing for me to wake up, I guess."

"Horrible timing." Al said, groaning as he recalled what the Fuhrer did the
last time he suspected someone was in his armor. He really hoped he didn't
shove a sword in him again. He didn't want May to die and he didn't want any
more dead girls inside of him. It would be traumatizing enough for it to
happen once. Two times would be just too much.

Ed froze in his seat while Bradley and Mustang slowly turned to look at
Al, who started fake coughing.

Ed put his automail arm on the table and leaned forward a bit.
"Fuhrer." He said as the scene moved to show him from the side.

"Distracting him?" Armstrong asked.

"Well," Ed muttered. "Colonel is not helping by staring at Al as well!"

"Why would I? I would be just as confused as Bradley! I have no idea of the

crazy night you two have been having!" Mustang protested. "I would not
have imagined you did any of what you did!"

"Or that Al would suddenly be carrying an injured girl inside of him that
wasn't even with you guys when you fought Gluttony." Havoc added.

"Uh, well, you know my nights." Ed said. "Never sure what is going to
happen each night."

"So true." Havoc said, frowning. "It's why going on missions with you is
scary."

"Oooh, the big bad soldier afraid of a little danger." Ed mocked.

Havoc scoffed.

He gritted his teeth for a moment before relaxing ever so slightly. "So
what was that in the hospital when you came to visit me? You really had
us going, didn't you?"
Bradley was shown. "I don't recall lying. I instructed you to suspect
everyone and not to meddle any further."

"He did." Hughes said, frowning. "He never said to trust him. We just did it
without thinking because of who he is."

"Just goes to show." Ling said. "You can't trust those in high positions."

"Says the boy who is planning to become an emperor." Ed retorted.

Ling shrugged. "I just have to make my people trust me by my actions."

"Which is harder than it sounds." Mustang said.

"It usual is."

He looked up at Ed. "The only thing you need to know is that you're
important to us, and there's no need for you to dig any deeper. Accept
the importance of your role and keep your heads down."

General Armstrong scoffed. "As if any of us will do that!"

Ed smirked. "Of course. It's not something any of us are good at."

"You do that and no harm will come to you."

The scene turned to show Ed. "Well, that's great for us." He lifted his
automail to point at himself. "But what happens to all the people who
aren't lucky enough to be considered sacrifices?" He put his hand back
down on the table.

Bradley was shown from the side. "There's nothing you need to know
that I haven't already told you. Is that clear, Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"Crystal clear!" Ed said loudly in annoyance. "But that isn't going to stop me
from searching and gathering all the information that I can!"

"You just have to be more secretive about it now." Riza pointed out.
"I have always been subtle about my searching." Ed protested.

Havoc snorted. "Chief, you've had some moments where you haven't been so
subtle."

"And what about the other moments?" Ed asked.

"What other moments?"

"Exactly."

Havoc blinked.

Ed was shown as he closed his eyes and smirked in annoyance and anger.
"You chose that as my title. Huh." The scene moved to show Ed lifting
his pocket watch which was coated in blood. "I only joined the military
because I thought it might help us get our bodies back. But now…" The
scene moved to show Ed looking at his pocket watch from the front.
"Now I know what the State Alchemist program really is." He tightened
his grip on the watch. He glared at it. "You're using it as a way to recruit
your sacrifices." He lifted his eyes. "Well, I'm not going to let you use me
to accomplish your sick goals."

The table was shown as Ed threw his watch. It bounced across the table
over to Bradley.

Brody stared at the screen, mouth hanging open in shock. "You're seriously
just going to throw it away like that?"

Ed shrugged. What did it matter? He was going to quit after he got Al's body
back anyway. So who actually cared if he was quitting?

"Don't you dare quit, Fullmetal!" Mustang growled out of nowhere.

Ed shot him an annoyed look. "It's my choice, Colonel. You know I was
going to quit one day."

Mustang's eyes narrowed at him. "You quit, you lose the privileges that you
need. Just use the military for the time being, forget the Homunculi running
it. Continue on using the military for your own need while you search."

Riza nodded. "You can't quit now, not after all you have invested the last
three years in your search to get your brother's body back. You may not like
what the military is doing with the Homunculi's manipulation, but its
resources can help you. Too many people are waiting for you guys to return
to normal." She smiled at Ed and Al. "If you quit, you lose the money and
resources you need."

Ed looked back at the screen, frowning. They were waiting for him to get Al's
body back? All this time, they were waiting for the brothers to fix
themselves. They trusted and believed in the brothers to do so, and so, they
supported them as much as they could from the background. His eyes moved
down to the book in his lap. With limber fingers, he flipped the book open to
a random page and found himself staring at four pictures.

The first one was shortly after Ed joined the military. Havoc was smoking
with a guilty look on his face while Ed was coughing in the background with
Riza pointing a gun at Havoc with an angry look on her face.

A soft smile spread on Ed's lips. Riza had always, whether it was subtle or
not, been concerned about his health. She always scolded him if he wasn't
taking good care of himself. She also had her subtle moments of helping him.
Whenever she was being subtle, Ed never realized how much she was helping
him until later on.

The next picture was of Hughes kidnapping Ed from the street while Al
reached a hand towards Ed in panic.

That one almost made Ed chuckle, but he held it in. Hughes had kidnapped
him to keep him distracted while Mustang and his crew made a small party
for him for his birthday. Al didn't know that at the time this moment
happened, but when he figured it out, he went to help Mustang and his crew.
It sure was surprising for Ed, or maybe he was so surprised because he was
so scared and twitchy at the time because of Hughes's insane driving.

On the next page, Ed saw a picture of him and Al with Fuery as he gestures
to a radio while the two watch in curiosity while Breda was in the
background with a walker talkie.

That was a picture that was taken shortly after Ed joined the military, like a
few weeks. He was meeting and getting to know Mustang's crew. It was one
of the most enjoyable experiences he had. Everyone was nice and were very
eager to tell him and Al about their specialties.

And the last picture was of Havoc and the Briggs soldiers, including Brody
and Miles, pinning him down when he was suffering the pain of the Human
Transmutation the other day. Despite being hurt by him, they continued to
pin him so he wouldn't hurt himself.

These guys were the ones supporting him?

Ed smiled a bit before closing his book and wiping the smile off his lips as he
looked back up at the screen. He couldn't ask for better people to trust and
support him from the sidelines.

Ed appeared on screen, glaring angrily. "I resign my title as a State

Alchemist."

Bradley was shown to be staring down at the watch from an upward

angle. "The symbol of a dog fittingly crusted with blood."

The screen moved to show Ed, leaning forward slightly on his automail
arm. "Your plans are going to fail. I swear on my own grave that I'm
going to stop you. I'll warn the other State Alchemists. I'll tell them–"

"What was that lovely young girl's name again?" Bradley interrupted as
Ed's anger turned to shock. Bradley was shown to be tapping his head.
"Ah, yes, it's Winry Rockbell."

"Bastard." Ed snarled angrily, hands clenching into fists. "He is really going
to use her against me?"

"Makes sense," Hughes said darkly. "If you resign they will probably lose
track of you and they can't have that. And plus, by using her, you can't tell
anyone about their plans or the Homunculi."
"Didn't he basically threaten you with her earlier? Like a warning for you to
know that he was willing to do something like that?" Lan Fan asked.

Ed's eyes narrowed to slits. He knew the chance was there, but he just didn't
believe that it would come to that. And now that it has, he just felt so angry
about it. It wasn't just angry at the Homunculi. It was angry at himself. He
was the one who asked her to come to Central. It was because of him that the
Homunculi found about her and how much he cares for her. He was putting
her in danger.

Ed and Al were shown as they gasped.

Bradley was shown again as music began. "Your automail engineer," He

moved his hand to rest his chin on it. "And you grew up with her in
Resembool as well if I'm not mistaken. She's practically a family
member, isn't she?"

"For now." Hughes muttered.

Ed shot him an annoyed glare. Did he have to seriously imply that right now
of all times?

Al chuckled a bit, but not a lot since he was feeling quite angry himself. He
knew the Homunculi were cruel, but he didn't expect this…No, it wasn't that
he wasn't expecting something like this. It was that he was hoping that it
would never happen. He never wanted to get Winry involved in anything
dangerous which was part of the reason why they avoided telling her
anything. But this, this wasn't keeping her safe. And it just made him angry
so much. Because of this, their hands were completely tied and now Winry's
life, which should never have been in trouble, was in danger.

Ed was shown, brows twitching angrily and automail hand curled into a
fist on the table.

"I've heard she's made quite a name for herself with her customers in
Rush Valley." Bradley said. "Such a sweet and trusting girl."

"At this rate, she's not going to be so trusting anymore." Ed growled.

"Isn't that for the best though?" Miles asked, frowning. "You said it yourself.
She was too naïve."

"I want her to learn about the real world and the dangers of it, but not become
a hostage because of our problems in the process!" Ed protested.

Ed's teeth gritted angrily. His hand appeared on screen to be slamming

into the table, causing the cup of tea by him to sake. "You stay away
from her!" The scene moved to show Mustang staring at Ed with a
frown. "Just leave her out of this!"

"You're taking this hard." Mustang said, frowning.

"Shut up." Ed snapped annoyed. "Like you didn't when your team were the
hostages."

"Not as badly as you are reacting."

"Yeah, well, our circumstances are different. Your hostages are your team,
which is full of soldiers. Mine is Winry, and she isn't a soldier. She can't
defend herself." Ed growled.

Bradley's finger appeared on screen to be tapping Ed's bloody pocket

watch. "Well, that's up to you." He grabbed the watch and slid it back
across the table to Ed, who stared at it. "If you'd rather not take it,"
Bradley was shown as he leaned his chin back on his fist. "Then I will
simply have to cut her down."

"And Ed being Ed can't let that happen so he'll take it back." Izumi said with
a sigh. "You sure got yourself in a tight spot by joining the military."

"I got it, I got it." Ed said with a sigh. "Bad choice from the start. Should
have listened to you and avoided the military altogether."

"I gave you those rules for a reason." Izumi replied.

Ed raised his hands in defeat. "I know, I know. I should listen to adults more
often."
Ed was shown to be glaring at him.

The pocket watch was shown as Ed picked it up. The scene pulled out to
show everyone at the table as Ed put the watch back in his pocket.

Bradley was shown, smiling. "How thoughtful."

"Bipolar bastard." Ed said, trying to keep his mind off of Bradley taking
Winry hostage. If he got too tense he was liable to get angry about it and
destroy something. "Cruel and cold one second, then back to his kind self the
next!"

"Brother, manners." Al chided playing along, making Ed scoff.

Manners? Him?

"He's your boss, Ed. You shouldn't disrespect him." Ling added with a smirk.

Ed snorted. "I disrespect the bastard as much as I want."

"See it's that attitude that gives you a bad reputation." Al said.

Ed just shrugged.

"Uh, sir." Al said as the scene moved to show him. "You don't have to
worry about us, but I have to ask, if we're going to continue to serve
under your watch, will you please allow us to keep searching for a way to
get our original bodies back?"

"At least one of you can be polite." Karin said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I thought that it was already obvious that I am not a polite
person."

"Maybe not polite, but you do have your moments where you are incredibly
kind." Karin told him.

Sighing, Ed scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to respond.

The scene moved to show Bradley picking up his tea and drinking it.

"Please, sir." Al said.

Bradley lowered his cup. "I don't see why not. As long as you don't
interfere with our plans."

"That's good at least." Al said in relief. "We still have some freedom."

Ed snorted. "Hardly anything free about this."

He turned to look at Mustang. "And what do you have in mind, Colonel?

You wouldn't do something so petty as quit the military?"

Ed rolled his eyes. Petty, was it? He never wanted to be in the military in the
first place! And now being used by the military? Yeah, screw them.

The scene moved to show Mustang, who put his hand to his chin. "Good
question. I'm on a short leash here, but I still find that preferably to
giving up."

Ed scoffed. Was that jerk trying to imply something to him? He wasn't giving
up! He was trying to quit the military, but that didn't mean he was going to
stop trying to get Al his body back. Not after he finally found out where it
was!

Ed and Al were shown to be watching him.

Mustang appeared on screen again. "And I still have my ambitions.

Your plans don't change that." He lifted his pocket watch. "So I'll hang
onto this and I'll retain my rank too."

Bradley was shown. "That's fine with me. We have nothing more to
discuss."

The scene pulled out to show the three alchemists standing up from
behind Bradley. As Mustang and Ed turned to leave, Ed grabbed his
jacket off of his chair while Mustang stopped and spoke, making the
brothers freeze.
"I would like to ask you one question, Sir." Mustang said. The scene
moved to show Mustang's face with his eyes closed with Bradley being
seen behind him.

"Would you now? Go ahead." Bradley replied.

"Are you the one who murdered General Hughes?" Mustang asked.

"You are going to ask every single one of the Homunculi that, aren't you?"
Hughes asked with a sigh.

"Of course," Mustang said, eyes narrowed angrily. "I can't let him get away
with it."

Hughes frowned, looking away from his friend as he crossed his arms. The
more they discussed his death, the more that Hughes saw it. There was so
much rage in Mustang over his death. If he didn't lose it, something drastic
was going to happen and that was something Hughes didn't want to see
happen. He glanced at Ling and Ed, trying to imagine either one of them in
his place. He smirked a bit as he looked down. If Ed died, Ling would
probably be in a huge rage and use his power in his country to find the killer.
If Ling was killed, Ed would try to hide his anger, but it would be there and
he would search. He glanced at Al. It was the same thing there with the
brothers. In all cases, it would be highly dangerous…just like how it would
be if Mustang lost it. They were all just dangerous people in their own ways.

Ed and Al were shown with the latter gasping as they turned to stare at
Bradley.

Bradley appeared on screen again. He closed his eye. "No. That was not
me."

Mustang turned his head to look at him. "Then who did?"

Bradley was shown, hands clasped together with his elbows resting on
the table. He looked up at Mustang. "Colonel, I agreed to one question."

"Of course, doesn't want to sell Envy out." Ed scoffed.

"So you're saying they have some type of loyalty to each other?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "Don't see why that couldn't be true. They were angry when
Lust was killed."

Mustang was shown. "We'll be leaving now." He said after a moment

and he started walking.

The scene pulled out to show the brothers watching Mustang walk
towards the door.

Ed and Al started to move when Bradley spoke again, "Ah, just one
moment, Alphonse."

Al froze, looking up at the screen in horror. Why would Bradley stop him?
He didn't remember the cough from a few minutes ago, did he?

Both brothers stopped and looked over at Bradley.

Bradley's hand appeared on screen to be grabbing his sword. The scene

pulled out as Bradley plunged his sword into the side of Al's armor.

"Shit!" Ed cried.

"May!" Al shouted in shock and horror. "Why is Bradley always doing this?"

May looked down at herself then back up at the brothers. "I don't feel
anything." She said.

"Did he miss?" Al asked hopefully.

May shrugged, wringing her hands nervously. She really hoped he did miss.
She didn't fancy being killed right now. There was still so much she had to
do. She still had to find a stone and save her clan! Being killed would not
save her clan!

Ed and Mustang, who had finally turned back around at the door, stared
in shock.
Al gasped.

Bradley appeared on screen, eye narrowing slightly.

The sword in Al's armor was shown as Bradley slowly pulled it out,
showing it to be completely clean.

"YES!" Al and May shouted excitedly.

What neither of the two realized were the sighs of relief that went around the
room. None of the soldiers wanted to see any of these kids injured or killed.
They were only children. They shouldn't be involved in any of this.

But at least May wasn't killed here. She somehow survived Bradley's blade.

Bradley turned around, staring at his clean blade.

"Uh, is that all?" Al asked.

"That's all." Bradley said as he put his sword back in its sheath. "You
are now dismissed."

The hallway was shown with Ed leading the way out of the room.

"Wasn't I in front?" Mustang asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Stop complaining. What does it matter?"

"I just want to know how you got in front of me." Mustang grumbled.

"….Child." Ed muttered.

He was followed by Al.

The two were zoomed in on and shown from the front as Mustang exited
the room and closed the door behind them.

When the door was shut, both boys screamed and panicked a bit, making
Mustang stare at them.
"Poor future me. He must be so confused about everything now because of
you two." Mustang said.

"Good for you, sir." Havoc said, grinning.

"I see nothing good about it." Mustang growled. "Because once again,
Fullmetal is managing to mess with my brain!"

"…When have I ever messed with your brain?" Ed asked.

Breda snorted. "Oh, you have no idea, Chief."

Ed blinked while Havoc snickered with the others from Mustang's squad
while Mustang just glared at him. WHAT was he missing?

"That was too close!" Al said.

The scene moved down and showed the inside of Al's armor where May
was trembling in Al's left leg and Xiao-Mei was in his right leg doing the
same.

"We almost got stabbed in the head!" May said.

"Nice reflexes." Lan Fan said with a sigh of relief. "You moved just in time
then."

"Good thing I woke up." May said.

"Would that have even happened if you didn't cough and alert Bradley?"
Brody asked.

Al sighed. "It could have. Who really knows what Bradley would have done
if May didn't cough? He might have stabbed me just to make sure no one was
there."

"May dodged. She's alive. What's it matter at this point?" Ed said, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Ling asked quietly.

Ed shrugged. "Just worried about Winry."

Ling smirked. "Someone's in love." He teased.

Scowling, Ed whacked Ling in the arm with his book.

Mustang appeared on screen, staring at the two.

"Oh, hey, Colonel." Ed said, making Mustang turn his head to him. Ed
and Al walked over to him with the former holding his hand out. "Help
us out. Have you got any change?"

"Damn it!" Mustang growled. "You have a job, Fullmetal! How can you not
have change?"

"Seriously?" Ed snapped. "I don't carry that much on me, only what I need.
And besides, if I did have any money on me, I probably lost it. In case you
didn't realize it, I have been getting thrown around for the past twenty-four
hours!"

"I think you are just making excuses to steal my change." Mustang retorted.
"And it's your fault for getting into so many fights!"

"Now really, Colonel." Ed said, smirking at Mustang. "Would I ever do such

a thing as steal my boss's change?"

"YES!" Mustang, Havoc, and Breda screamed at him.

"Wow," Ling said mockingly at Ed. "They know you so well."

Ed rolled his eyes.

Mustang put his hand in his pocket. "You want my money now?" He
asked as he pulled his hand out of his pocket.

"Kind of." Ed said.

"As if I don't give you enough." Mustang growled.

Hughes snickered. "You know what this sounds like?"

Mustang twitched. "He's going to say something stupid again."

"It sounds like Ed asking his daddy for money and daddy grudgingly handing
it over!"

"He said something stupid!" Ed screamed, jumping to his feet.

Mustang slid down to the floor so Ed wouldn't hit him as the boy jumped
onto the coffee table than at Hughes, who managed to jump over the back of
the couch fast enough so Ed landed kneeling on the couch next to Riza, who
just sighed.

"HUGHES!" Ed screamed, vaulting over the back of the couch.

"Aww, come on, Ed!" Hughes said, grinning at the boy sitting on his chest,
glaring at him. "I think it is adorable!"

Ed's eyes narrowed.

"Fullmetal, please don't kill him." Mustang said, not making a move to get
off the floor and help his friend.

"He must suffer." Ed said angrily.

Laughing, Ling leaned over the couch to look down at the two. "You really
feel strongly about this, don't you, Edo?"

Ed huffed. "What is with you, Idiot Prince? Why do you insist on butchering
my name like that?"

"Cause it bothers you." Ling said, grinning at him.

Ed looked up from starting to curl his hands around Hughes's neck to glare at
Ling. "Y–"

"BANZAI!" Ling screamed, jumping over the back of the couch and tackling
a surprised Ed off of Hughes.
"LING!" Ed screamed, kicking Ling in the stomach. "Get off!"

Hughes lifted himself off the ground. He straightened his uniform and glasses
before silently making his way back to the couch. No reason to bring Ed's
wrath back to him.

"NEVER!" Ling shouted.

Snarling, Ed slammed his palm into Ling's chin. With his friend
disorientated, Ed grabbed his wrist and flipped them over.

"Should we stop them?" Sheska asked worriedly as she heard Ling give a
shout of pain. She winced. She wondered what Ed did to actually cause Ling
pain.

"No way am I getting involved again." Hughes grumbled, rubbing his neck.
Ed never choked him because of Ling's interference, but Hughes did have to
wonder if Ed was really going to do it or he was joking the whole time.

"Leave them to kill each other." Mustang grumbled.

Al sweat dropped….Maybe he should do something.

A howl of pain came from behind the couch followed by his brother swearing
and a loud thump being heard.

Naw. They should be okay. They wouldn't really kill each other….right?

"Who will win this one?" Brody whispered to the other Briggs soldiers
around him.

"Well, this one is between the real Ling and Ed and they are both very
skilled." Luke muttered.

"And it seems more like wrestling than actual martial arts." Clarink added
with a smirk.

After a few more quick whispers, the Briggs soldiers were back to watching
the episode while keeping subtle eyes glancing back towards the area the
boys were fighting in.

"Just give it." Ed said, snatching the change out of Mustang's hand. He
looked down at the change in his hand, counting it in his hand as he
pointed at each coin. "Geez, is that all you got? Really?"

"Cheapskate!" Ed screamed from behind the couch before a string of curses

was heard.

"So why are we leaving them to kill each other?" Fuery asked.

"It's just wrestling." Havoc said, wincing when he heard Ling hiss. "Well,
very extreme wrestling for those two."

"Are we sure Fullmetal isn't a selfish brat?" Mustang asked with a scowl.

"Brother isn't selfish." Al huffed angrily.

Mustang held his hands up. No way was he going to argue with Al. "Alright,
alright, Al. I didn't mean it."

Al huffed.

Mustang's hand clenched into a fist. "It's apparently more than you've
got!"

Ed turned around. "Sure, whatever." He said before running down the

hall with Al following him. "See ya!"

"He's not even going to argue?" Brody asked shocked.

"Is he growing up finally or is he just in a hurry?" Havoc asked, equally

shocked.

"Go with the latter. I can't imagine that punk growing up." Walkers said,
frowning as he glanced to the couch that Ling and Ed were wrestling behind.
"It misses something when he doesn't retort."

Havoc sighed. "I know."

"If he does grow up, we're always going to miss it!" Breda said.

"Unbelievable." Riza said with a frown.

Hughes sniffed. "I don't want Ed to grow up either! He's such a cute child!"

Al sweatdropped. His poor brother…if everyone had it their way, he would

remain a young, reckless teenager just for their own reasons. Since his
brother liked annoyed this guys, he should grow up just to annoy and anger
them all.

"Hey." Mustang said a bit weakly.

The boys were shown to be running down the hall.

"Sorry, Colonel." Al shouted back. "We'll explain everything later."

Mustang appeared on screen, staring at the two. "What the hell's with
them?"

"We've had a long night! Leave us alone!" Al said.

"Do you have to run though?" May muttered. "I don't think I would enjoy that
very much."

"Uh, sorry, May. We're just in a hurry." Al replied. "Plus, I have to keep up
with Brother. I'll probably lose him if I don't."

He blinked before gasping. The scene pulled up to show him from above
as he turned around. "No, the Lieutenant!" He ran down the hall.

The Command Center was shown.

The scene moved down to the doors of the Command Center as Mustang
ran out of them. He ran over to the gates as he was zoomed in on.

"Lieutenant!" Mustang shouted as he came to a stop.

Armstrong's massive figure appeared on screen. "Is there something

troubling you, Colonel?" He asked.

"Why?" Mustang groaned. "Why is he there? Where did you go, Lieutenant?
Did you run?"

"I would not do that, sir." Riza replied. "It would not be right to run when
everyone else will be accepting their new assignments with no complaints."

"Not much of a choice." Fuery said, pushing his glasses up.

"All we have to do is survive." Breda added. "Should be pretty easy,

especially when considering you have the worst assignment of all of us."

Mustang deflated and turned to the wall, putting his hand on it and
bowing his head.

"You seem slightly discomposed." Armstrong said.

Mustang was shown with Armstrong behind him. "Just how do you
expect me to appear? I had hoped a young woman would be standing
there, not a mustachio, muscled man." He said as footsteps were heard.

"Colonel," Riza said.

"Told you I wasn't going anywhere, sir." Riza said.

Mustang gave her a smirk and a small shrug.

Mustang looked up to see Riza in front of him. He gasped. "Lieutenant."

"I was getting worried." Riza said before snapping back into
respectfulness. "Sorry." She saluted. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, reporting
back to post from latrine break, sir."

"Not surprising. Standing there all night with no chance to leave would be
annoying." Ross said.

"To be fair, I did not believe it would take that long." Mustang replied,
though he did shoot his a Lieutenant a smile that said thank-you-for-not-
leaving-my-side.

Riza nodded back with her own smile. She could never leave her Colonel.

The scene pulled out to show all three soldiers. "Major Armstrong
happened to be passing by. He was nice enough to watch my post for
me." She dropped the salute and turned to Armstrong. "Thanks for
everything, Major. I appreciate it."

Armstrong smiled and flexed, ripping his shirt off in the process. "It is never
a problem, Lieutenant Hawkeye. I am always willing to help." He said with
sparkles around him.

General Armstrong glared at him. "Idiot, put a shirt on! No one wants to see
that."

"Now sister, there is no need for anger." Armstrong replied.

General Armstrong scoffed. Anger? She was not angry! But if he didn't put a
shirt on soon, she was going to show him just how annoyed and pissed she
could be.

THUMP!

"Damn," Ed hissed.

SLAM!

"Ow!" Ling whined.

General Armstrong stood up, making Armstrong twitch a bit, but she
completely ignored him and walked to the back of the couch Riza was on.

"Maybe we should have stopped them sooner." Mustang said a bit

sympathetic.

"You two!" General Armstrong snarled, grabbing Ed by the back of his shirt
and pulling him up. "Enough!"
Ed glanced at her, ready to retort, but it froze on his tongue when he saw the
dark aura coming from her. "Uh…" He said, though he regretted it as the
blood trailing down from his nose entered his mouth. He grimaced at the iron
taste.

Ling sat up, rubbing his bruised cheek. "I was just about to win too!" He
whined.

Ed's head snapped back to him. "The hell you were!" He snarled, spitting a
bit of blood out of his mouth.

"Enough!" General Armstrong hissed, shaking Ed a bit, making the boy

dizzy. "Both of you are now going to go get cleaned up quickly and return
here with no complaints or detours. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am." Two voices grumbled.

General Armstrong dropped Ed to the ground and the two boys walked back
to their bedroom, grumbling like a couple of scolded children.

"I said no complaining." General Armstrong snapped at them, which just

made the boys hurry back to their room.

"I don't believe it." Luke hissed angrily while Clarink smirked.

"I believe that I have won the bet." Clarink said, holding his hand out for his
winnings.

"I can't believe you actually guessed that right." Brody grumbled, handing
over the money. He just couldn't win today! He should really stop betting on
Ed.

*The Boys' Room*

"First you bruise my stomach, now my cheek?" Ling asked, staring at the
bruise forming on his cheek.

"You started it when you tackled me." Ed said as he held a wet cloth to his
nose. "Your cheek is going to need ice."
Ling grimaced as he poked his cheek. "Your automail really hurts."

"That was the point." Ed snapped at him, grimacing the next second. He
rubbed his flesh shoulder. Damn Ling and his strength. He was going to be
sore for a long while now. "And now, because of you, I have ruined another
shirt!" Ed stomped out of the bathroom, still holding the cloth to his nose.

"You always blame me for everything!" Ling shouted at his retreating friend.

Ed rolled his eyes as he yanked his dresser opened. "Justified!" He yelled

back. "It is always justified when it involves you!" He snatched a black
sleeveless shirt out of the drawer.

Ling stared at the bruise on his face for a moment as he contemplated Ed's
words. Like usual, Ed sounded very annoyed with him at the moment.
Strange, he usually didn't have a problem with fighting like that. "Hey Ed–"
Ling said, poking his head out of the bathroom. He paused when he noticed
the empty bedroom. "Ed? That little punk."

*Main Room*

"Thank you." Ling said, collapsing besides Ed on the floor with ice in a bag
wrapped in a towel on his swelling cheek.

Ed glanced at him, raising a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"For leaving me alone without telling me." Ling said.

Rolling his eyes, Ed looked back at the screen. "Don't be a baby, Ling. I had
no reason to tell you I was leaving."

"Don't take offense, Ling." Al told the prince. "Brother is just naturally a rude
person like that."

"Al!" Ed snapped, throwing his bloody washcloth at his brother.

"Ew! Brother." Al cried, throwing the washcloth back. I don't want your
blood on me."
Ed rolled his eyes, but smiled at his brother as he pressed his cloth back into
his nose.

"No trouble at all." Armstrong said.

Mustang was shown to be staring at Riza. "So you didn't run off?"

Riza looked at him. "Someone once told me to never give up, no matter
what and once was all I needed."

"Aww, isn't that just so sweet?" Sheska said, smiling happily.

"I don't get why those two just don't get married already." Karin muttered to
her.

"I think it is because of fraternization laws that they are not more than
Colonel and First Lieutenant." Ross told the two quietly.

"Oh," Sheska said. That really did make a lot of sense.

Mustang appeared on screen, staring at her in slight surprise. He put his

hand to his hair and looked down with closed eyes. "Just don't ever tell
me you wished you'd run when you had the chance." He turned around
but looked over his shoulder at her. "Alright?"

"Never, sir." Riza replied, smiling. There was no way she could run away
now. Too much was happening. She would never be able to forgive herself if
she just ran away now. Not when everyone else was standing up to fight. She
may not be able to do much because she was no alchemist or martial artist,
but she would do what she could. She had to try her best to help wherever she
could.

Riza was shown. "It's too late for regrets." She said before walking over
to him.

The scene pulled up to show the two approaching the car as a phone
ringing was heard.

The sign for Rush Valley appeared on screen as the sound of a phone
being picked up was heard.

"Hello." Winry greeted. "Ed?"

"Aww, Ed went right to a phone to call his girlfriend." Hughes said, grinning.

Ed turned his head, glaring at Hughes. "Would you shut up and stop making
implications already?"

"Just making sure you never forget your love for her." Hughes replied.

Winry appeared on screen, walking over to a crate with the phone.

"Well, this is a surprise. You didn't break your automail again, did
you?"

"She has no faith in me!" Ed muttered annoyed.

"I don't blame her for asking." Al replied. "You do tend to break your arm a
lot."

"What about his leg? Does he break that a lot too?" Lan Fan asked curiously.

"I am right here, you know!" Ed half-shouted.

Al shook his head, ignoring his brother. "No, he's only broken his leg a few
times. It is usually the arm since that is what he is fighting with most of the
time. The first time he broke his leg was when he jumped off the roof of a
five story building and he landed on it wrong, which destroyed some of the
mechanism inside the leg."

"You jumped off a building that big?" Mustang asked shocked. "Are you
insane?"

Ed rolled his eyes.

"I thought him being insane was obvious." Ling said, a teasing grin in place.

"Says the crazy, greedy prince." Ed retorted.

"What? No!" Ed's voice said.

A phone booth appeared on screen with Al slightly in it while his brother

talked.

"I'm calling because…" Ed paused for a moment. "Is everything

alright?"

Winry appeared on screen.

"Have you noticed anything weird?" Ed asked as Winry blinked. "Like

any suspicious people following you?"

Winry changed the hand she was holding the phone with. "Well, Ed."

Ed appeared on screen with his brother behind him. "What is it?" He

asked.

"You're creeping me out." Winry said.

"Annoying girl!" Ed screamed as he felt himself relax a bit. At least it seemed

like she was alright for now. No one had done anything to her. She was still
safe.

"Well, you have to admit, it is a bit creepy." Havoc told him, smirking at the
teenager.

Ed growled. "And why the hell is it so creepy?!"

Brody snorted. "Do you really have to ask?" When Ed just glared at him,
Brody rolled his eyes.
"Because it's not normal for you to worry. It's so heart stopping when we see
it in here."

Ed rolled his eyes. Was it so wrong that he did care for his friends, but just
didn't show it all the time? He wasn't an emotional person, damn it! He liked
to keep his emotions on a tight lockdown because then it would hurt less
when something did happen…though there were times when his emotions
and feelings escaped. It was never fun when they did.
Ed and Al deflated.

When Ed rose up again, it was to yell, "WHAT'S CREEPY?"

Winry's hand appeared on screen, twisting the phone cord around her
finger as gentle music began. "It's just…Well, it's actually pretty rare to
get a call from you. And I never heard you worry about me."

"Seriously? You never worried about her before?" Hughes asked, frowning.
"For shame, Edward, for shame. She'll never know that you love her if you
don't show her that you care and worry for her!"

"For the love of–"

"And even if you don't love her like that, you still care for her! You should
show her that care, Fullmetal." Mustang added. "It will tell her that you really
care for her a lot."

Ed's eye twitched.

"Come now, Ed. She's already admitted feelings for you. Why can't you do a
bit more to show yours?" Havoc said.

Ed growled. "Why don't you all just mind your own damn business?" He
asked loudly.

Ed appeared on screen, grimacing in annoyance.

"It's weirder than a snowstorm during the summer." Winry continued,

just making Ed madder.

"Those are weird, but they can be very beautiful." Riza said.

"Though cold." Ed grumbled.

"Obviously." Havoc said.

Avery snorted. "You haven't known cold until you've come north."
"Then I am avoiding it like the plague." Ed said.

"Well, fine!" He yelled into the phone. "Maybe I won't worry!"

Ling grinned. "You always seem to get angry where it is normal to be

embarrassed."

Ed gave him a dry look. "I have an idea. Shut it, Ling."

"Thank you, Ed." Winry said, surprising Ed. She appeared on screen,
eyes closed. "Really." She cupped the bottom of the phone with her other
hand. "Thank you. It means a lot."

Ed turned around in the phone booth. "Uh, sure. You're certain

everything's okay, right...?"

"Awww, someone seems embarrassed." Luke teased.

Ed snarled softly. "You will all suffer."

"A true demon." Luke muttered, staring at the dark aura protruding from Ed,
which was making even Ling lean a bit away from him.

"Yeah," He nodded. "Kay, bye."

Ed hung the phone up. He turned around and he and Al sighed.

"I think she's still safe for now." Ed said.

"You know," Greed said as the screen moved to him and Ed and Al
twitched in shock and looked at him. "It's that kind of desperate worry
they're going to manipulate you with."

Ed and Al screamed in shock and surprise.

"Why is he there?" Ed and Al screamed.

"You don't want to see me?" Ling asked, pouting a bit. "I thought we were
friends, guys!"
"Better question, how did he find you?" Buccaneer asked.

Ed pointed at Buccaneer. "Great question!" He looked at Ling. "Must you

whine like that, idiot?"

"But you are annoyed by my appearance in the future!" Ling whined, latching
onto Ed's arm like a petulant child. "Why are you so mean to me?"

"What do you think I am? A stuffed animal?" Ed shouted, trying to push Ling
off of him. "Colonel! Ling is being annoying again!"

Mustang blinked for a moment, staring at Ed and Ling. He sighed and put his
fingers on his temple to rub it. "Fullmetal, I am not your dad. I am not a
father figure for you. I am your Commanding Officer. Anything that does not
have to do with the military or your actions that causes the military problems
or even on the rare chance, gives it support is not my problem. Deal with
your friendship annoyances on your own."

Scowling, Ed looked back down at the idiot prince hanging onto his arm.
"Are you five years old, Ling?" He growled, shoving Ling in the face, trying
to get him off of his arm.

"No," Ling said, grinning suddenly. "But you're right about being a stuff
animal! You are so cuddly, just like one of them!"

"Off, idiot!" Ed growled. "And I am not a cuddly toy, IDIOT PRINCE!" He

slammed a fist down on Ling's head.

"Ow." Ling moaned, holding onto his head. "Haven't you abused me enough
today?"

"No."

"You don't have to be so blunt about it."

"Yes, I do."

"Ling!" Ed shouted as Greed was zoomed in on.

Greed lowered his hand from his head. "No, it's Greed still."

"Whatever." Ed muttered, rolling his eyes. "He better not be there to fight
again! I don't want to get into another one."

"Since when?" Brosh asked.

"Since I have been fighting since the day before! Even I need a break!"

Ed glared at him. "What do you want?"

Greed's hand appeared on screen to be holding out a piece of white

fabric. The scene pulled out to show Greed holding out the fabric to Ed.
"Your pal asked me to bring this to you."

"Ling?" Ed said surprised. "Even as Greed you still find a way to bug me!"

"Bug you?" Ling repeated, frowning. "I am proving to you once again that I
am still alive and you say that I am bugging you? Well, I see where I lie on
the friendship scale now."

"Well, it's about time you've realized where you lie." Ed said sarcastically,
rolling his eyes.

"You're very mean to me." Ling said.

"I have to make up for being so kind earlier." Ed replied, frowning. Oh, the
horror of being kind to him!

"Ling did?" Ed grabbed the fabric and looked at it with Al. "What does
it say? It's in some other language."

"And yet!" Ling said loudly, staring at his friend.

"You can too read that, Ed." Lan Fan added. "You know our language."

"Perhaps." Ed replied, frowning. "But it's not like the note is for me."

Lan Fan raised a brow. "How do you know that?"

Ed held up a finger.

Greed turned his head to side. "Yeah. It is. But he just wants you to
deliver it to some girl."

"There it is." Ed said, frowning. "Since I was with Ling the whole night, I
know everything that happened, but you don't. And Ling did just do a
vanishing act on you by becoming a Homunculus. If he is managing to get
Greed to deliver a message to me, it would be for you because he trust Al and
me to get it to you since he can't possibly find you and he doesn't want to lead
the Homunculi to you."

"You think too deeply into things, you know that?" Brody asked.

Ed snorted. "And that is why I am still alive, even after all the reckless things
I have done." He turned back to Lan Fan. "I respect privacy, Lan Fan. If Ling
put your name on it, it would be the first thing I saw so I wouldn't read your
message. It is none of my business."

Lan Fan smiled. "Thank you, Ed, though I doubt it is anything you have to
avoid looking at. You said it yourself. You were with him all night. You
know everything that happened."

Ed shrugged. "Who knows what Ling could have put in that message?"

"What would I have put in it?" Ling asked confused.

Ed leaned in closer to Ling to whisper, "That you love her and that you will
be back." He teased.

Ling glared at Ed. "I don't love her."

Ed scoffed. "I say the same thing and you don't believe me, so why should I
believe you?"

Frowning, Ling thought for a moment before sighing. "A truce?"

"No more teasing about Winry?"

"As long as you leave Lan Fan out of it."

"Agreed." Ed said and he and Ling shook hands.

"Did we miss something?" Hughes asked Mustang.

"Most likely." Mustang replied dryly. "But who really knows? It is hard to
keep up with those two." He looked at them with narrowed eyes. "Just like
the reckless teenagers they are."

Hughes blinked. "I think we are talking about two different issues. Nothing
they just did was reckless."

Mustang didn't take notice of his friend speaking. "I can see it now." He
hissed, glaring at the two teenagers. "We leave those two alone together for a
moment, and everything will be destroyed. They'll just hijack a car and go on
an insane drive through the city, efficiently scaring everyone and making no
one want to drive in fear of their lives again."

Hughes sweatdropped. "Now, really, Roy, I don't think those two would do
something like that."

"Fullmetal has already stolen a car once." Mustang retorted.

"To get to a hospital." Hughes pointed out.

"And Lieutenant Hawkeye offered to teach him to drive when he got his
permit." Mustang growled.

Hughes shuddered a bit. Ed taught by Hawkeye how to drive? Some might

not think that bad, but Hawkeye really knew how to drive recklessly, but
safely in missions. What if Ed picked up those habits and just drove like that
all the time? He paled, but kept a firm smile in place. "Ed and Ling are more
responsible than that."

"Do you not see the bloody nose Fullmetal has or the bruise on Ling's cheek?
That came from roughhousing and you say they are responsible?" Mustang
scoffed. He narrowed his eyes at the two, rubbing his fingers together as if he
wanted to snap them. Oh, if only he had his gloves. "They must be stopped
before it comes to destroying Amestris."

Hughes blinked. Ed and Ling were going to destroy Amestris now? "Uh,
Roy, I think you are a bit paranoid right now."

"Paranoid?" Mustang said, looking at Hughes with a slight twitch in his brow.
"No, my friend. YOU aren't paranoid enough. You refuse to see the demon
nature in those two!"

'Well,' Hughes thought, staring at his friend. 'If it was Ed's goal to drive
Mustang into an early stage of homicidal paranoia, he's reached his goal.'

"Lan Fan?" Ed asked. "Is this some kind of trick cause if you follow us
and try to kill her–"

"Smart, Fullmetal. Don't just trust him because he has your friend's face."
General Armstrong said.

"Chief is a really cautious person when it involves keeping someone safe."

Havoc told her. "His safety? Not his top priority, but something he will watch
out for since he doesn't want to die. But everyone else is pretty much his top
priority. So it's not surprising he is being careful to keep Lan Fan safe."

"That, and I don't want to put the stress of Lan Fan seeing her young lord as a
Homunculus right in front of her. It would be hard for her to see in her
condition." Ed muttered to Ling.

"She is stronger than you think." Ling muttered back.

Ed sighed. "I didn't say she wasn't strong. I know she is. But she just lost her
arm, Ling. She is still in pain. Trust me, I know." He looked down at his
automail arm. "The pain doesn't just go away after a few hours. She probably
isn't feeling that great either. I don't want to put too much stress on her or
make her have to defend herself against enemies right now."

Ling sighed. "I know. It's a difficult situation for us all."

Greed was shown from an upward angle. "I've got more class then that,
alright. And as a rule of thumb, I don't fight women."
"He said the same thing in Dublith." Ed said, frowning.

"He did?" Ling asked surprised.

Ed shrugged. "Well, not those exact words, but it seemed to be implied."

Ed and Al were shown, glaring at him. The scene pulled out to show all
three again. "And another rule of mine is to never tell a lie."

"Unless that is a lie." Breda said.

"So he could be telling the truth that he doesn't lie or he could be lying that he
doesn't lie." Ling said, frowning.

"Confusing, just like you." Ed told his friend dryly.

"It's Greed, not me." Ling told him with a sigh.

Ed shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that you are confusing as well."

"How am I confusing?"

Ed stared at him before shaking his head and looking back to the screen.

"How am I confusing? Ed? You can't just say that and ignore me! Ed!"

"But hey," He lifted a hand in a farewell call as he turned and walked

away. "It's your call."

Ed and Al watched him go. "Hey! Wait! Ling!" Ed called.

"You never quit, do you?" Avery asked.

"To quit would be to give up." Ed retorted. "I don't give up on my friends."

Greed was shown from behind, lifting a hand into the air as he walked.
"It's still Greed, kid."
"At least he takes it all in stride." Sheska said.

"Did he just call me kid?" Ed asked annoyed, ignoring Sheska. "Who does
that bastard think he is?"

Ling blinked. "Should I feel offended since that is my body you're insulting?"

"Is it your mind?" Ed asked.

"No."

"Is it you speaking?"

"No."

"Is it your soul?"

"No."

"Then why the hell would you feel offended?"

"You're still firing it at me." Ling pointed out.

"And yet I'm referring to Greed." Ed argued. "And you need to kick Greed to
the back seat already, Ling!"

"I've only been him for a few hours, Ed. I haven't had much time trying to…"
Ling paused as he thought up the right word. "To take my body back, I guess.
I don't believe it will be that easy anyway."

"Of course it won't be easy!" Ed said, frowning at him. "But when is anything
easy?"

"Never. Life just isn't that simple." Ling replied, frowning as he looked at
Greed on the screen. Yes, life was not an easy thing. To survive, one had to
stand up and fight for what he wanted. Just sitting back and taking everything
without a complaint would not get anyone anywhere. Just sitting down and
waiting for something to come would be a life wasted because that something
would never arrive. It would only be found when the search has begun and
everything is being done to get what it was that he wanted.

A fist slamming into a chimera appeared on screen.

Scar was shown as he stood up. He looked over his shoulder.

His feet appeared on screen as he walked through the tunnel as creepy

music started. Scar's face was shown from the side. 'Who is that Godless
monster?' Father appeared on screen. He was shown up closeas red light
flashed around him. The scene pulled out to show Scar jumping away
from him. 'What cause would bring to initiate a civil war and ravage an
entire country?' Scar was shown up close with blood spilling around in
the air around him.

"His arrogance." Miles said, frowning. "That is his cause. His arrogance for
power and thinking he is in control of everything."

"Which do you think would be worse?" Ling asked Ed quietly. "The Father
guy doing this for power and to use humans or him doing this all just because
he thinks it fun to mess with humans and watch them kill each other."

Ed stared at Ling, frowning. "Both are horrible."

"I know, but which is worse?"

"Equally horribly." Ed said.

Scar reappeared on the screen. He was shown from the front.

"Is someone there?" Dr. Marcoh's voice asked.

"Dr. Marcoh!" Al said.

"So that's your exact location." Mustang said.

"Huh," Ed said, blinking. "I guess there is someone there that can give Scar
information."

Scar stopped and looked down. His feet were shown to be on the wired
floor. He moved his foot to show Dr. Marcoh looking up at the tunnel
Scar was walking through.

"Who is that?" Dr. Marcoh asked. "Did you come from outside?"

"Talking to someone when you don't even know who it is?" Havoc asked,
frowning. "A bit dangerous. That could be anyone up there."

"And considering Scar is killing State Alchemists, which Dr. Marcoh used to
be, he is putting himself in a difficult spot." Al added.

Dr. Marcoh looked down, clenching his fists. He went to that small village to
hide and try to make up for what he did by saving as many people as he could
there, but the truth was, he deserved death for what he did. He would
welcome dying with open arms, like they were old friends. For taking so
many lives, he had to pay. He had to suffer for everything that he had done to
those poor people.

Scar's face was shown. His bloody hand was shown. Blood dropped from
his hand.

Dr. Marcoh's feet were shown as the blood hit the ground in front of
him. He was shown to be looking down at the blood from an upward
angle so the wired floor could be seen above him. "I can help you if
you're injured." He turned his head to the side briefly before looking
down at the blood. "Why don't you come down here?" He looked up
again. "Is everything alright outside?"

"You are completely cut off from knowledge of the outside world?" Rebecca
asked, frowning. She could not imagine how hard that was. To be locked up
by the enemy to be used by them and have no information about the outside
world would be hard. He would have no idea of what everyone is doing or if
they have knowledge of what is going to happen. It would be hard to deal
with. "The Homunculi are telling you nothing?"

"Nothing." Dr. Marcoh replied evenly.

Dr. Marcoh was shown from a downward angle. "It's safe to come down.
The guard won't be back for a while. Let me help you with your injuries.
I'm actually a doctor."

The wired floor of the tunnel Scar was in was shown with Scar's lower
body being seen through it. Scar kneeled down and moved the wired part
of the floor.

The scene showed Dr. Marcoh from behind as Scar jumped down and
landed in a crouch in front of him.

Scar was shown from behind as Dr. Marcoh looked at him as he stood.

"So you're an Ishvalan." Dr. Marcoh said. "Was your head wounded in
the–" Dr. Marcoh stopped and his eyes widened in shock and horror.
"You're not the one known as Scar, are you?"

"Bingo." Ed said, frowning.

Hughes grimaced. "This will not end well."

"Depends," Ed replied.

"On what?" Karin asked.

"Scar really." Ed said, glancing at the Ishvalan in question.

Scar didn't reply, but he knew what Ed was getting at. He was an angry
person out for revenge, but with everything that he was learning and his
meetings (fights) with the Homunculi, his anger, while not dying, was being
redirected. And he was a smart person. Despite his anger, he was still
analyzing the situation. He wanted answers, which he would make sure that
he got, no matter what.

"Depends on how clear he is thinking right now and what it is exactly he

wants." Ed continued. "If he wants answers and to know clearly what is
happening, he'll temporarily stop hunting us. If his anger hasn't been
redirected just yet and he still wants to kill, he'll kill Dr. Marcoh. So depends
on what Scar is thinking of all of this. But I'm hoping…"
"Hoping?" Buccaneer asked.

Ed didn't finish. 'Hoping that what I said was enough to convince Scar to
look into Father and his plans while stopping his killings for a while."

The scene moved to show Scar from the front. "Tell me who you are
first. And what are you doing down here."

Dr. Marcoh was shown from the front. He closed his mouth and lost the
look of horror as he started to chuckle. The chuckle turned into insane
laughter as Dr. Marcoh put his hands to his head. "My god!"

"Dr. Marcoh?" Al asked worriedly. "You sound insane with that laughter."

Mustang sighed at the laughter. He knew that insane laughter. They heard it
from Fullmetal when he found out his human transmutation wasn't really his
mother. He heard it many times from soldiers after the war. Insane laughter
from grief. Insane laughter from the guilt of what they had done.

Soldiers, especially those who were unprepared, always felt extreme guilt and
hatred for themselves after everything they had done in wars, especially
something like the Ishvalan Civil War where they were ordered to kill
everyone, civilians, women, children. No one was ever the same after war,
but some just handled it worse than others.

Dr. Marcoh glanced at Al, then at his lap. His laughter did sound a bit insane,
but he was just so relieved. Maybe now he could finally pay for all his evil
deeds in that war.

Scar stared in surprise.

The scene moved down to the ground as Dr. Marcoh fell to his knees in
front of Scar. He grabbed onto Scar's pants. "This must be fate."

Ed's eyes narrowed dangerously at that. Fate to meet an Ishvalan? How could
it possibly be fate to allow them to meet like this? Fate because it means Dr.
Marcoh can get out of there? Or fate because this means Dr. Marcoh can
satisfy this death wish that he obviously has? It didn't take a genius to see that
Dr. Marcoh was feeling so guilty about what he did to Scar's people. He
wanted to pay for what he did. Ed scowled at that. Dying was not going to
change anything. Why couldn't the doctor see that?

The scene moved to the side of Scar's face with a downward angle to it to
show Dr. Marcoh.

Dr. Marcoh looked up at him. "I'm the alchemist responsible for the
extermination of your people."

Scar's face was shown as he pulled back a bit in surprise.

"Liar!" Ed said angrily, frowning as he looked at Dr. Marcoh. "You followed

orders and made the stone. It wasn't right. I'll admit that you should have
refused or done something else, but," He swallowed thickly. "Orders are
orders." He closed his eyes briefly. Yes, there were sometimes when a soldier
just couldn't disobey no matter how much he wanted too. Sometimes a choice
had to be made, and that choice was never easy. "But you are not responsible
for all of their deaths. All the soldiers in the war are responsible for every
shot they made, for every transmutation they did. Each one they killed, they
are responsible for. It is not your fault alone. If anyone really should be
blamed, it's the Homunculi for starting the war. Though they are to be
blamed, the soldiers who were in that war still have to take some blame for
the killing of innocent civilians."

Mustang stared at Ed, frowning. "When did you get so knowledgeable about
this?"

"Since we started watching our future." Ed replied, running a hand through

his bangs. And since he also understood regretting following orders
sometimes. He has never killed. He has never been made to, but he has gotten
orders which he had to follow without a choice and he hated those orders. He
regretted following them, but he was put into a difficult position during those
times. Mustang tried to keep him away from those situations, but even he got
his hands tied sometimes or Ed got the orders from a higher-up when
Mustang wasn't around to keep the orders from him.

He regretted those orders, but he didn't let his regrets of those orders control
him. He had to stay strong and follow orders. There was no time for his
regrets. They were there, but he pushed them down because he had to focus
on Al. Al was his first priority. Any guilt and regret he felt came with the job
of being a soldier. He accepted the fact that he was going to have to do things
he didn't want to years ago. It didn't make it any easier, but Al, who didn't
realize the regret and guilt that Ed held in his heart, helped Ed through it.

So, yes, despite what his comrades might think. He did feel the regret and
horror of being a solider, just like they did.

A house appeared on screen with birds chirping as the music ended.

"It's nothing serious." Dr. Knox said. May was shown to be unconscious
as a blanket was pulled up to her chin. Xiao-Mei was on the pillow,
pressing down a cloth on May's head.

May groaned and grabbed her suddenly aching head. Grimacing, she closed
her eyes, wishing for the sudden pain to go away. The light in this room only
made the pain worse so she was hoping by closing her eyes, throwing herself
into darkness, would make the pain lessen.

"Just a mild concussion."

"At least it's not as bad as I thought it was." Al said, sighing in relief.

"Feels pretty bad to me." May moaned.

"Concussions are horrible." Ed agreed.

Mustang snorted. "You would know."

The scene pulled out to show Dr. Knox standing up straight and putting
his hands on his hips. "She'll be fine after a few days of rest."

"I'm so relieved." Al said, putting a hand to his chest.

Dr. Knox turned to Al sharply. "Well, I'm sure as hell not!" He shouted,
scaring Al. Dr. Knox was shown from the front as Al wobbled a bit.
"What?" Al shouted in shock. "What'd I do?"

"You seem to think this is a hospital!" He pointed down at May and his
other hand at his bedroom. "You filled my house with patients."

"Hey, Colonel and Lieutenant Hawkeye sent him Lan Fan! I only brought
May!" Al protested.

"Because of your plan, Alphonse." Mustang retorted.

"….Unfair." Al said.

Mustang shrugged.

He looked back at Al, hands wriggling in annoyance. "Where am I

supposed to sleep now? Tell me that!"

"At least he isn't throwing them out." Al said.

Mustang sighed. "Dr. Knox would never do that to his patients. He is a bit of
a grouch, but he just hasn't treated live patients in a long time. He is not used
to this."

"So basically, horrible bedside manner." Ling clarified.

"Sounds about right." Mustang said. "But he isn't a bad man. Lan Fan and
May are in good hands."

"I don't believe you would have left Lan Fan alone with him if he wasn't."
Ling said.

"Or even have chosen him to be my doctor." Lan Fan added.

Al's head appeared on screen, wobbling a bit. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Lan Fan was shown to be walking out of a doorway, a huge jacket

resting on her shoulders. "You're back, Alphonse?"

Lan Fan bit back a scream of agony by biting her lip. She grabbed her
shoulder in a tight grip, scrunching her eyes shut. It hurt so much right now.
Not as much as it did when she first lost her arm, but it still hurt a lot. But it
wasn't anything she couldn't handle. If her Young Lord could survive
becoming a Homunculus, then she could survive this small bit of pain.

"I'm not running a hospital for injured young girls!" Dr. Knox shouted
as he and Al were shown.

"He shouldn't have to." Riza said with a frown. Neither of these girls should
have to be hiding out in a doctor's house getting treated like this. They were
just children. This is not how they should be spending their time, getting
involved in dangerous situations like this.

"Lan Fan!" Al shouted, running over to the girl. The scene pulled out to
show him catching her as she started to collapse. "What are you doing?
You shouldn't be out of bed!"

"The Young Lord!" Lan Fan said as she was zoomed in on, looking up at
Al. "Isn't he with you?"

"Uh…Brother! Where are you?" Al said.

"What?" Ed asked, eyes narrowed. "Trying to push the difficult task onto
me?"

"You're better at giving bad news than I am!" Al said frantically.

Havoc raised a brow. "Him? Shouldn't that be you since you're the nice one
and can be gentler with it?"

"I don't like giving bad news! I sometimes beat around the bush because I
hate doing it so much!" Al explained. "Brother just comes right out and says
it."

"How is that good?" Havoc asked. "Seems a bit harsh."

"It's harsh to beat around the bush and leave the person in suspense and fear."
Ed retorted.
"So why aren't you there giving it?" Breda asked.

Ed twitched. "How would I know? It's the future!"

"Uh…" Al looked away from her face. "He's not, but he's still alive." He
looked down, drawing Lan Fan's attention there as he grabbed
something. "I got a message from him."

Lan Fan was zoomed in on as she took the cloth and read it. The cloth
was shown. The screen slowly moved down it.

"So what does it say, Ed?" Ling asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "It's in your language. How about you read it for
yourself?"

"I know what it says. I want to see if you can really read our language." Ling
replied.

Scoffing, Ed looked back at the screen. "I don't have to prove myself to you."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Too."

"Not."

"Too."

"How about I bruise your other cheek for you?" Ed retorted, raising his
automail hand.

"You will not!" Lan Fan said angrily. "You have done enough to the Young
Lord."

"So protective." Ed said. "Where was that when I was beating his ass earlier
in our fight?"
"Which one?" Ling asked.

"Which?" Al asked.

Ling nodded. "He tried to kill me this morning in our room too."

"That's because you blew out my eardrums." Ed snapped at him.

"I think that you just like your morning to begin with a spar." Ling argued.

Mustang put a hand to his forehead. "It's amazing you two don't have any
injuries from that."

Ed scoffed and raised his arm. "He hurt my arm."

"He bruised my stomach." Ling whined, pointing at Ed.

Hughes groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Who gave you two
permission to room together anyway?"

"The all-powerful V.H!" Ling said dramatically.

"Still don't know what he was thinking when he made that decision." Ed
grumbled.

Mustang turned to Hughes and pointed at the boys. "They need a babysitter.
Preferably one that will keep them from destroying the country."

"You are still going on about that?" Hughes muttered. This room just created
insanity!

The scene pulled out to show the two as Lan Fan turned around and
walked a few steps.

"Lan Fan?" Al said, reaching an arm out to her.

Lan Fan fell to her knees. "It says." She was shown from the front as she
held the cloth to her eye with Al behind her. "It says he found a
Philosopher's Stone."
Al lowered his hands.

"Is that all?" Al asked worriedly. "He didn't explain his situation at all?"

"It's not like he had a lot of time." Ed pointed out. "He had to make it short
and simple, and then put his trust in us to inform her of the rest."

"You mean his trust in me since you've pulled a disappearing act again!" Al
argued.

Ed held his hands up. "I'm sure I had my reasons for not coming with you."

Al huffed and crossed his arms.

Lan Fan was zoomed in on, tears in her eyes. "The Young Lord has
saved our clan." She lowered the cloth from her eye. "And now, we have
to return to our country. We've got to get the news to our people." She
looked up at Al with a smile as the scene pulled out from her face.

Ling's heart shattered. Such a beautiful smile shined on Lan Fan's face at his
news, and yet, he could not go back with her. He got what they wanted, but it
was at a price. He wasn't himself. If he wasn't himself, he could not go back
to Xing with her and become emperor. That made him trapped in his own
body and in Amestris. What did he think would happen when he accepted
that stone?

"Where is he? Will you take me to him?"

Ling grimaced. She couldn't come to him, especially in her condition. Greed
may not fight women, but the other Homunculi would have no problem
getting rid of her when they considered her a nuisance. For now, she would
have to stay away from him.

Al looked away, causing the smile to slide off of Lan Fan's face.

The scene pulled out farther to show Lan Fan as she walked on her knees
over to Al. "What's wrong?" She put her hand on Al's knee. "Why are
you being so quiet?"
"Just tell her, Al." Ross said, grimacing. The poor girl sounded so desperate
and upset. It hurt to hear her like this. Now she understood Ed's words. It
wasn't harsh to be blunt about something. It would hurt, but being silent like
Al would hurt the other person so much more. It left them in suspense and
fear about what has happened. The truth hurt, but not so much as being left in
the dark. Being left in the dark would just leave her wondering more and
more what happened and allow her to imagine a bunch of different scenarios
that would just scare and worry her.

Al's face was shown. "Has something happened to the Young Lord?"
Lan Fan was shown, staring up at Al desperately. "Please talk to me,
Alphonse! Where is the prince?"

"Eh, I really don't know where he is." Al muttered. "The Homunculi seem to
be on the move a lot."

"But he is still in the city." Lan Fan argued.

"And the city is big!" Al protested.

Central Command appeared on screen.

A scene of Greed's back as he sat on the roof of Central Command was

shown with footsteps being heard.

"Greed," Ed muttered in annoyance, staring at the back of his friend's body.

Ling glanced at Ed. "You going to get annoyed every time I appear on screen
now?"

"Perhaps." Ed whispered. "Would you rather I mock you and Greed and
everything?"

"Well, yes." Ling said, surprising Ed. "The fact that I have lost my body is
already hard enough, Ed. I'd rather not think about it much. And if you are
mocking, it means you're back to normal and we can just not think about it."

Ed rolled his eyes. "It won't make what happened change, but if it's what you
want…Hmm, seems like the greedy bastard is making another appearance in
this episode. He must be oh-so-important now that he is a Homunculus."

"You're hurtful." Ling said.

"You asked me to be mocking." Was all Ed said in reply.

"So what do you think of that body, Greed?" Bradley asked as he

approached Greed.

The scene moved around to show Greed from the front. He had one eye
opened and was looking out of the corner of it to look at the approaching
Fuhrer.

"Decent enough?"

"I think my body is in pretty great shape." Ling muttered.

"That is wonderful, Ling." Ed said sarcastically. "But he wasn't asking you.

Sadly, he was asking Greed and what he thought."

"I know." Ling whined. "I still don't have control. You don't have to rub it in
my face."

"You asked for mocking."

"But not to have that rubbed in my face!"

Ed stared at Ling for a moment before sighing. Right, right. This was hard on
Ling as well. He did want to take control of his body, but it probably wasn't
something easy. Mocking that fact wasn't making it any better.

Greed smirked and opened his other eye. "Ah, so you must be Wrath.
Yeah, the body's great." He grinned. "Listen to this. It's royalty! The kid
was a prince of Xing!" He was shown from the side as Bradley came a
stop behind him. "The funny thing is, he let me take control. He thought
I could make him emperor or something. What an ambitious little brat."

"I take offense to being called a brat!" Ling said, frowning. "Can't call a
prince that!"
"Chief calls you idiot." Havoc said without looking away from the screen.

Ling glared at Ed with a frown. "I know."

"I'm not going to stop calling you an idiot." Ed told him, keeping his eyes on
the screen.

"What did I ever do to you to get called it?" Ling whined.

"I have a list. Do you want to start with the main reasons first or should I
work my way up to them?" Ed said, still not looking at Ling.

"You're a mean person."

"Look!" Ed said, shooting his friend a look. "You're learning!"

Bradley turned a bit to look out at the city. His face was shown. "I spoke
to him once about politics. His naïve theories on leadership were
amusing. He said a king's duty is to his people. As if the people actually
matter when ruling a country."

"Bastard!" Mustang snarled angrily. "Of course the people matter! Without
the people, there is no country! There is just land! A country does not exist
without its people. Bradley really doesn't understand anything about humans
if he is saying things like that."

"Isn't it obvious that the Homunculi do not understand humans as well as they
think they do?" Edward asked, frowning. "They know our dark nature, but
they do not understand our strength or how we will not give up. They
understand nothing about how we can change and get stronger. They just see
our foolish side that repeats mistakes."

Bradley was shown from behind with a bit of Greed's back on the upper
corner of the screen. "The fool, just look where his allegiance to the
people has gotten him now. Typical human."

"Shut the hell up!"

Bradley turned his head to Greed.

"YES!" Ed shouted. "You show those bastards, Ling!"

"How do you–"

"Greed wouldn't say that," Ed said. 'At least not now.' He added in his head as
he recalled the first Greed and how he spoke to the other Homunculi. He
really didn't like them. "And you can recognize Ling's voice there."

"Okay, but what am I showing them?" Ling asked.

"Not to underestimate the strength of humans!"

Ling was shown, glaring at Bradley with his purple eyes. "Don't
underestimate humans."

"Though I guess you aren't fully back if your eyes are still purple." Ed said.
"And the air around you still screams Greed, not Ling."

"You aren't there. How can you tell anything about the air around him?"
Brosh asked.

"Because I am that good."

Havoc scoffed. "Sure you are, Chief."

Bradley was shown, staring in surprise at the boy as soft, suspenseful

music began.

"He really shouldn't now underestimate us now." Mustang said with a smirk.

The scene pulled out to show Greed looking at Bradley. "I know, I
know." He pointed at himself. "He's patient. Just waiting for any chance
he can get. I've got to stay on my toes."

"You should learn that, Ed." Ling said.

Ed glanced at him, frowning. "Learn what?"

"Patience!" Ling exclaimed. "You're a very impulsive punk who just loves to
run headfirst into things. You need to learn patience!"

"Why are we friends again?"

"So Ling can teach you patience." Mustang said.

"So you can keep each other alive." Hughes offered.

"Because you two have fun together." Mustang added.

"Because you two want to use each other in your crazy plans." Hughes said.

Ed shot them a glare. "No one asked you!"

"You did."

"I asked Ling! Not you two!"

"But you still asked."

"Here's an idea, Hughes. Shut up and only answer questions asked to you."

Bradley chuckled as the bottom half of his face was shown. "He must be
starting to reconsider his ambitions." He turned around. The scene
pulled out to show the two as Bradley walked towards the screen. "Now
that he's taken a monster like you into his flesh."

'No.' Ling thought. Taking a monster into him was never the plan, but it
wouldn't stop him from wanting what he wanted. His people and country
would always be on the top of his list of things he wanted to protect. And to
protect it, he had to become Emperor. Nothing was going to take that
ambition from him, not even the fact that his body was now being controlled
by a monster.

The roads of the city were shown from the sky. The scene zoomed in on a
car that wasn't moving.

"Fuhrer Bradley is a Homunculus?" Armstrong said as the car was

shown from behind.
"See? Telling everyone he can trust!" Ed said. "He'll find a way to do it."

"I am glad you can trust me, sir." Armstrong said.

Mustang gave a very small tilt of his head at Armstrong. "If I didn't trust you,
I would not have sent you east to meet Lieutenant Ross."

"He wouldn't have trusted you if you didn't do that." Hughes pointed out.

"You adults are so complicated." Ed muttered.

"Says one of the most complicated people in there." Mustang retorted.

"What? I'm not complicated at all!" Ed retorted.

Mustang snorted.

The car was shown from the front so Riza, Mustang, and Armstrong
could be seen through the windshield.

Armstrong looked up. "It can't be."

A mother was shown carrying a bag of groceries and holding her child's
hand.

A couple was shown to be talking. The girl laughed.

"The only thing I've ever wanted to do was protect my fellow

countrymen."

"Isn't that why most soldiers join the military? To protect and serve the
country?" Al asked. "It would be pretty pointless to join otherwise."

Ed snorted. "Not if they are just looking for money or power, Al."

Armstrong appeared on screen, hand clenched into a fist. "And I'm not
the only one. So many soldiers have put their trust in the military." He
bowed his head down even farther. "And this, this is the truth."
"Just goes to show you can't blindly trust in something anymore." Buccaneer
sneered angrily.

"You never should blindly trust anything." Ed muttered. "Thought that was
obvious."

"Maybe when it is someone," Ling told him. "But people generally don't
think about it when it is the military or their leader. They just automatically
trust then, no thinking about it because they should be able to trust them."

"A dangerous move." Ed mumbled.

"You could resign, Major." Mustang said, making Armstrong look up.
Mustang was shown to have his arms crossed as he looked out a window.
"With your disposition, I'm afraid you'll suffer otherwise."

General Armstrong scoffed. Her brother should have resigned a long time
ago. He embarrassed their family enough. There was no longer a place for
him in the military. Not since he ran away from the Ishvalan Civil War. That
shamed them all so much.

Armstrong was shown. He was zoomed in on until a soft clinging sound

was heard as the scene changed to Armstrong during the war, holding a
dead Ishvalan child with other soldiers watching him from behind.

"How can we fight a war like this?" Armstrong asked. "It's wrong!"

Scar frowned, glaring at the screen. Of course it was wrong. There was no
question about whether it was right or not. It was a complete massacre of his
people that should have never happened! It only happened because of that
godless monster who wanted more power. He thought he could use humans
for his own purposes and for that reason alone, he killed his people! There
was no way he could forgive any of them!

Armstrong was shown from behind with other soldiers and a

Commanding Officer in front of him.

"Major, you're disobeying an order! You're dismissed!" The

Commanding Officer said. He swung an arm to side. "Call Central for a
replacement alchemist!" He turned and started to walk away.

Armstrong was shown from the front, head bowed as the soldiers left.

"I collapsed in Ishval." Armstrong said as he was slowly zoomed in on.

"I couldn't bring myself to stay and fight." Armstrong's face was shown
with tears spilling down it. "The military's methods were ghastly. I could
see the malignance. But still, I chose to turn away and run when I
should've fought to protest their actions."

Ed put his elbow on his leg and leaned his chin on his hand. He couldn't
believe what he was hearing. There wasn't much he knew about Armstrong
from when he was in the war. All the soldiers tended to avoid that topic
unless they had to speak about it. He would have never guessed that
Armstrong actually ran away during the war, but considering his personality
it did make sense. If he was ordered to kill kids, Armstrong would get angry
and hate the orders. He would disobey them because he couldn't handle it. It
was something Ed noticed about the major. He was very protective.

Armstrong's hands clenched into fists. He ran away during the war. It was
something he always regretted. He went against his beliefs and nothing he did
now could make up for it. It was something that would always be a regret of
his. It would be his hugest regret ever. After the regret of running away then
and not protesting the actions, he could not run away from Father or his
Homunculi. If he did, he would regret it forever. He would regret not doing
what he could to protect his country if he ran away now. After the regret he
had raging through him from the war, he could not handle any more. Fighting
now to protect his country and countrymen was all he could do to make up
for what he couldn't do in the war.

The scene faded away to Armstrong's hands. "That decision. It's

haunted me every day since then. It makes me sick that I abandoned my
beliefs." His hands curled into fists. Armstrong's bowed face was shown,
shadowed by the darkness of the car.

"It is hard to stick to your beliefs sometimes." Ed said.

"It is always hard." Ling corrected. "They will always be people who
disagree with you and your choices and beliefs in life. You have to stick by
your beliefs or be swayed by everyone else."

"And if you cannot stick to them, you regret it forever." Ed said softly,
frowning. Armstrong felt that regret every single day and he never once saw
it. He was never able to read Armstrong. All he saw was the kind soldier who
just wanted to help people. He never saw the regret and pain filling him up.
He hurt so much, yet he was able to smile like he did and hide the pain.

"And now that I face the military again," He raised his face, eyes
darkened with anger. "I have to fight. I couldn't live with myself if I ran
away now."

Armstrong nodded to himself.

General Armstrong raised a brow, but didn't say anything. So her brother
regretted his actions in the war? It wasn't about being disgraced to him. He
regretted it for not stopping the war and everyone's actions, which as she saw
were now right. She would never say the war was right, but as soldiers, it was
their duty to fight. It was their duty to kill in war, whether they agreed or not
was not the issue.

Her brother regretted the way things turned out and now when he had a
choice, he decided to fight for what he believed in. He was still weak, but at
least he wasn't running again. But whether he would be of any help or not
was another thing.

The window of the car was shown, showing soldiers marching a bit in the
distance.

Riza and Mustang were shown to be looking out the window. Mustang
was leaning his cheek on his fist.

"And how do you plan on handling all of this, Colonel?" Riza asked.

"The Fuhrer asked me that." Mustang replied. "I told him I wasn't going
to quit or give up my ambitions."
Riza and Armstrong were shown, both gasping.

Mustang was shown, still not looking away from the window. "The
Fuhrer seemed like he was downright eager to reveal his true nature as a
Homunculus to me. It appears he wants me to know there's someone
even more powerful giving him orders."

"Or he was just bored of keeping it a secret and wants us to know that our
hands have been tied even tighter." Ed grumbled.

"Bored?" Hughes asked.

Ed shrugged. "Things are being revealed at a quick rate. While not add to the
plan of what is going on by throwing another surprise at us. 'Hey, I'm a
Homunculus by the name of Wrath.'" He rolled his eyes.

Ling snickered. "What if a Homunculus really did say something like that?"

"Then there is something wrong with their brain." Ed muttered.

He lowered his hand from his cheek to lace his fingers together. "Seems
they're testing me." He looked at Riza. "I have to admit, I'm honored."

"You're so weird." Ed said.

"Coming from you?" Mustang retorted, glaring at him.

"Why would you feel honored?" Ed asked.

"They find me a useful, competent alchemist, but also find me a threat."

Mustang told him, smirking. "Why shouldn't I feel honored about that?"

Riza was shown. "You seem surprisingly calm."

Mustang was shown from the side. "I don't know." He leaned forward a
bit. "It's just. Well, it's similar to how I felt during the battle with Lust."
His hand was shown to show the scar of his transmutation circle. "I've
been called a human weapon and a monster. Maybe I deserve it, but I
can tell you this much." Mustang was shown from an upward angle. "I
never feel more human when I'm fighting real monsters."

"Oh, wonderful speech!" Ed said mockingly, clapping his hands slowly. "It
was wonderful!"

"You are really annoying me today, Fullmetal." Mustang growled

"Good." Ed said dryly before getting serious. "Do you feel like a monster?"

Mustang blinked. "What do you mean?"

Ed shrugged. "You said 'never feel more human.' I thought it was implying
something."

"It is common for soldiers to feel like they are monsters because of some of
the things that they are ordered to do." Armstrong, surprisingly, said. "But for
State Alchemists it is worst. We are forced to use our alchemy to kill in times
of war when we swore to use it for the people. We used our own science for
killing. It is something, for most State Alchemists that we never get over. It
leaves a horrible feeling in us when we use it to kill."

Mustang nodded. "Considering you and Al never use your alchemy for
killing, you wouldn't understand the feeling that we have that makes us feel
like monsters when we kill with alchemy."

Ed nodded, not bothering to reply. He understood regret and guilt, but he

could never understand how it felt to use his alchemy for killing when that
was not what it was meant for.

A light appeared on screen.

"I see." Lan Fan said. She appeared on screen, staring at the ceiling as
she was lying in bed. "He accepted the stone and let the beast take
control."

"See, Al?" Ed said. "It wasn't that hard to tell her."

"We are only seeing the end results of the conversation!" Al protested.
"And it looks like it went very well." Ed told him.

"And Lan Fan would have made it easy. She is a very calm person." Ling
added.

Ed snorted. "Until it involves you, idiot. Then she gets herself all worked up."

The scene pulled out to show Al sitting by the bed. "I'm sorry." He said.
"I wish we could've stopped him."

"Don't apologize." Lan Fan said. "I'm only upset with myself for being
unable to protect him." She turned her head on the bed to look at Al.
"But the prince." The scene moved to show Al from the side as he turned
his head to look at Lan Fan as she looked back at the ceiling. "He's not
gone. He's just trapped inside of this Greed creature, right?" Lan Fan
sat up.

"Well, at least you are looking at the bright side." Hughes said.

"What else could she do?" Ed asked.

"Give up." Brody suggested.

"Decide that her prince is gone." Avery proposed.

Ed snorted. "And that would make her a horrible bodyguard. That's not what
she is. She is too loyal to Ling."

"What does that make you?" Lan Fan asked, smiling at Ed.

Ed blinked. "What?"

"You're the one who was screaming at the Young Lord to wake up and you
keep calling Greed Ling." Lan Fan pointed out, now smirking at Ed. "I'm
loyal to him because he is my prince so your reason is…"

"Lan Fan, shut up." Ed grumbled. "He's my friend. Of course I would be

yelling at him for being an idiot. I want to pull Ling out of Greed's body just
so I can punch him in the face and tell him he is an idiot."
"Don't you call me that enough?" Ling whined.

"Obviously not."

The scene moved to Lan Fan's side as Al sat forward to help her if she
needed it.

Lan Fan put her hand on her shoulder, eyes closed. "I need your help. I
want a new arm." She opened her determined eyes. "As soon as
possible."

"Are you sure?" Al asked. "You haven't healed yet."

Al looked at Ed.

Ed stared at Al. "Completely different circumstances."

"What?" Lan Fan asked.

"Brother got his arm and leg before he was completely healed as well." Al
said. "He was just as determined as you are." He sighed. "You are probably
reminding me of him right now."

Ed grinned. "Yep, so he'll say yes, Lan Fan."

The scene moved to show Lan Fan staring at Al with a slight glare in her
determined eyes. "I need an automail engineer now. Please help me!"

Al was shown. "Uh…"

Lan Fan's face was shown close up, eyes still determined.

The scene pulled out to show Al kneeling by the bed and Lan Fan.

"Yeah," Al said as he reached forward and lowered her back down onto
the bed. "Okay. I'll introduce soon."

"See? No worry!" Ed said.

"Brother." Al sighed.

Ed shrugged. "What? I told her before we would help her."

"When?" Al asked surprised.

Ed thought for a moment. "It was before Gluttony went completely psycho on
us."

He pulled the covers up to her chest. "But you need to get your strength
back first." Al turned as he stood up. "I'll ask Dr. Knox to make you
some food." He paused as stared at the door.

The doorway was shown to have May, dressed in white pants and a
simple pink shirt, standing in it.

"I don't think you should be up yet. It's, um, May Chang, right?" Al
asked.

"Yeah," May said a bit sheepishly. No doubt she was about to argue with Lan
Fan now that they have run into each other for the first time in the country.

"What's wrong?" Al asked, surprised at the sheepish tone.

May just shook her head.

Ling chuckled a bit, drawing Ed's attention. Ling noticed his eyes, but didn't
say anything. He just grinned.

Ed stared at him in confusion.

Ling just looked back at the screen. There was a huge rivalry between the
clans of his country. So like May, he knew what was coming. It would either
be amusing or dangerous. Or both.

Lan Fan was shown, turning her head on the pillow. "May?"

"You guys know each other?" Riza asked.

"Not really." Lan Fan said. "It is mostly by name that we know each other.
We may have seen each other once or twice, but we never interacted."

May's hand was shown as a kunai slipped out of her sleeve as dramatic
music began. May's face was shown as she threw the kunai. The scene
pulled out as the kunai flew at it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Avery shouted in shock.

May grinned sheepishly.

The scene moved to Lan Fan who lifted a book for the kunai to pierce.

"At least your reflexes are still high, despite the injury." Ling said, frowning a
bit.

Ed stared at Ling and Lan Fan. "I'm the reckless one?" He asked, mostly to
himself. "I am called the reckless one, and yet I never got into a fight while
missing limbs!"

The three were shown from an above angle as Al gasped and looked
between the two. "What's going on?"

"Poor Alphonse." May said. "Sorry for confusing you so much."

"But what is going on?" Al shouted, waving his arms around. He looked at
May. "May?" Then at Lan Fan. "Lan Fan?" He groaned. "I blame Brother."

"Hey!" Ed shouted. "What? How? Why? I was just sitting here!"

May was shown as she lowered her arm. "Hmm, you're a watchdog for
the Yao clan."

Lan Fan was shown as she lowered the book. "I know you too. You're
the Chang heiress." She dropped the book to the ground.

"Very good." May said as she walked into the room and Al continued to
look back and forth between the two. "I'm the seventeenth daughter,
Princess May Chang."
"Anyone else reminded of a movie where two mortal enemies suddenly meet
each other?" Ed asked.

Hughes laughed. "Yes!"

"And after this part where they talk, they attempt to kill each!" Ed said,
grinning.

"And you're excited about that?" Mustang asked.

Ed shrugged. "It's not like they will actually be able to kill each other. Al and
Dr. Knox are there."

"Good point." Mustang said. "But I still think you are enjoying this too
much."

Ling chuckled. "I don't think he is enjoying it enough."

Ed looked at him with a raised brow. "You are enjoying this? This is your
vassal fighting you know."

"And I trust her completely to handle it." Ling said.

"Even injured?"

"Even injured."

Lan Fan was shown, eyes closed. "I also know why you're in this
country." She opened her eyes and turned her head slightly to May with
a smirk. "To obtain immortality."

"Brother!" Al screamed.

"Hmm?" Ed said. "What? I'm enjoying this."

"I can't deal with things like this!" Al shouted. "Where are you?"

Ed blinked. "Uh…Al, I think you'll be fine."

"No, I won't. You I am used to dealing with! But two crazy fighting girls? I
can't deal with it, Brother!" Al groaned, bowing his head.

"Hey!" Lan Fan shouted.

"I'm not crazy!" May shouted.

Ed stared at his brother, ignoring the girls. "Uh…" He patted Al's leg. "There,
there, Al. It will all turn out alright."

May was shown, smirking as well with Xiao-Mei on her shoulder doing
the same. "Too bad you won't live to see me get it."

Lan Fan was shown as she threw the covers into the air and climbed off
the bed, kunai in hand. She lifted her hand up to her mouth. "You won't
even leave this room, Princess."

"Planning murder." Al groaned. "Planning each other's murder. Is that what

they learn in Xing from a young age?"

"Just the bodyguards and heirs and heiress." Ling said unconcerned.

Al covered his helmet as he groaned.

May was shown, lifting both hands which were filled with kunai.

The scene pulled out to show Al standing between the two. "Hey!"

"Al, just leave them to fight." Ed said. "It's their problem."

"Brother! Not helping!" Al shouted.

"And you want him to be with you there, why?" Buccaneer asked.

Al sighed.

"Basically so he and I can argue about what to do before I am somehow

breaking it up." Ed replied dryly.
"Just hold on a minute! I don't know what this is about, but you can't
fight like this!" Al said.

Lan Fan and May lowered their weapons and yelled at a surprised Al,
"Quit trying to interfere in with the affairs of our country!"

Al fell over. "Wah!"

"Poor Al." Havoc moaned. "He really should know better than to get between
two feuding girls."

"I don't think he and Ed ever learned that lesson." Fuery said.

"Ah, right. They have a thing about getting involved in every problem they
come across." Havoc said.

"I can hear you." Ed snapped at them. "And it's not like we try to get involved
in every problem…it just happens."

"Trouble magnets." Breda said. "The both of you."

Lan Fan was shown, glaring at May as she lifted her kunai. "My wounds
aren't going to slow me down."

May was shown, kunai lifted as well. "Is that so? Well, neither will
mine."

"Al, I thought you were going to stop them." Ed said.

Al groaned. "Brother, those two are very scary when together."

Ed shrugged. Couldn't fault Al there. Some girls were just really

scary….Hawkeye….Winry…Teacher…Why did he know so many scary
girls?

Dr. Knox's eye appeared on screen, angry and annoyance in it.

The scene pulled out to show an angry Dr. Knox standing in front of the
two girls, whose backs were shown to the screen. "WHAT THE HELL
DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"Aww, right at the good part of the movie." Ed groaned.

"Our life isn't a movie!" May and Lan Fan shouted at him.

Ed blinked. "I can see it now! A Xingese movie about the affairs of the clans
of Xing. Them fighting over the throne. Each clan mortal enemies with each
other! Sounds like a bloody war, but it should have some amazing fighting."

Ling laughed loudly. "Aww, Ed! I'm going to miss you when I got back to
Xing!" He stared at Ed for a moment before grinning. "When I become
emperor, will you be an ambassador for Amestris? I'd love to have my people
meet the insane alchemist who feed their emperor a boot."

"Firstly, no." Ed said, frowning. "Secondly, I did not feed you a boot. Future
me did."

"But, Ed!" Ling whined, latching onto Ed's arm. "I want you to see my
country. I have already visited yours. Why can't you visit mine?"

"I never asked you to come to Amestris, idiot! You came here for your own
purposes." Ed said, shoving Ling off his arm.

"But who is going to direct that movie for me if you aren't there?" Ling
asked.

Ed whacked Ling on the head with his book. "I'm not making a movie, idiot!"

He slammed a bowl of water on Lan Fan's head and a bowl of food on

May's head. The scene pulled out to show both girls holding their heads
painfully with Al kneeling on the ground behind Dr. Knox.

May groaned. Why did he have to do that? Wasn't she suffering enough pain
from her concussion?

Lan Fan hissed as she clutched her aching head. Yeah, Dr. Knox really wasn't
a happy person.
"So, I have to thank you, Colonel." Ed said.

"For what?" Mustang asked confused.

"Never taking me to meet your friend here when I refused to go to a

hospital." Ed replied.

Mustang frowned as he thought about that. "I really should have. It might
have taught you something about staying in the hospital where the doctors are
nice."

"You're supposed to be resting in bed." Dr. Knox said.

"These kids seem to have a problem with that idea." Mustang said, glaring at
them.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You've been telling me that for three years now. Have
never listened, so just lay off, will ya?"

May lifted her head, still clutching it. "Quit trying to interfere with the
affairs of our–"

Dr. Knox suddenly got very big as he yelled, "I DON'T CARE ABOUT
THE AFFAIRS OF YOUR COUNTRY, DUMB-ASS!"

"Really, really horrible bedside manner." Lan Fan muttered, still holding her
aching head.

Al was clutching his helmet behind him while the girls stared at him with
May's arms spread opened widely.

Dr. Knox was zoomed in on as he went back to normal. "Geez." He

turned and started to walk away. "It doesn't matter where you're from."
His back was shown as May and Lan Fan turned to each other, glaring
and gritting their teeth. "You're both my patients." He stopped and
looked over his shoulder at them. He turned back around, shocking the
two girls into staring at him. He was zoomed in on, staring down at them.
"You're not planning on making an even larger mess around here, are
you? Ho, because if you do." The floor was shown, covered in trash and
mushrooms, as he took a step forward, which caused a strange smoke to
come up from the mushroom. "You might release an unknown pathogen
from the floor," The three kids were shown. May and Lan Fan were
hugging each in fear while Al had one hand raised and was staring with
wide eyes. "And kill everyone in the house."

"….What the hell happened to his house?" Ed asked. "Doesn't he know how
to clean at all? He can't treat patients in his house with a mess like that
around!"

"It is a bit unhygienic, but it is a good way to scare you crazy kids into
behaving." Luke said with a smirk.

"It's not funny." Lan Fan groaned.

"He's only laughing because it's not him there." May muttered.

The scene changed to Dr. Knox's kitchen where Al and Dr. Knox were.
Al was packing some things in a box while Dr. Knox was tying a stack of
papers together. Xiao-Mei was also in the kitchen. She picked up papers
and carried them over to a bag to throw away.

Al was zoomed in on as he smoothed the tape he put on the box. 'How

could it get messier in here? I wonder how long it's been since he bothered
cleaning.' He thought as he looked around. "Huh?"

"Simple, send Fullmetal." Mustang said. "I'm sure he'll find a way. Probably
destroy a wall."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't destroy someone's house!"

"You just went on a rampage through the city with Scar chasing you and you
two destroying everything." Buccaneer pointed out.

"Uh…I never destroy someone's house on purpose." Ed said.

A picture was shown to be covered a bit by papers.

The scene pulled out as Al turned to Dr. Knox, holding up the picture. "I
found this on the floor."

"Huh?" Dr. Knox said.

The picture of Dr. Knox, his wife, and child appeared on screen as Al
held it out.

"Ah," Dr. Knox said as he took it. He was shown to be looking at it. "So
that's where it's been all this time?"

Dr. Knox was shown to be turning around as Al stayed kneeling on the

ground. He threw the picture in the garbage.

"Hey!" Al said, reaching forward to grab the trashcan and dig the
picture out of it. "You can't throw away a family picture." He lifted the
picture up.

"Didn't you and Ed destroy all your pictures when you burnt down your
house?" Hughes asked, frowning.

"Well, yes." Al admitted. "But we didn't destroy our family picture! It's still
on the bulletin board at Granny Pinako's house!"

"Was there." Ed muttered. "Hohenheim took it."

"In the future, but we're still not there yet." Sheska told him.

Ed scoffed. "Whatever. Don't even like the picture." He grumbled.

Izumi sighed. Ed probably didn't like the picture because of his dad being in
it.

Dr. Knox turned to him. "I don't speak to my wife and son." The scene
moved to behind Al with Dr. Knox still seen in front of him. "What's the
big deal?" He shrugged.

Izumi sighed. "To a couple of kids who lost their parents when they were
young, it is a big deal. They won't understand why they got estranged or don't
talk." She smiled sadly at Al. Al would especially not understand it. He
values his dad and wants to see him again because he is the only parent he
has left.

And Ed. She glanced at the older boy. He wasn't very social in the first place,
though he still valued friendship and family. Having an estranged father, he
would be furious with his dad. That was what made the brothers different.
Their views on an estranged parent. While Al still values Hohenheim as his
father, Ed was angry at being abandoned and his father leaving his mother.
Ed would have no problem not talking to his dad, but Al would have a
problem with it. Either way, it was still hard for both boys.

"And who are you to decide what I do with my own stuff?" He reached
for the picture, but Al pulled away.

Al was shown to be staring at him, holding the picture protectively.

Dr. Knox stared at him. He sighed and looked way. A cabinet full of
mugs was shown. "Why don't you go get some coffee or something?"

"Can't drink it." Al muttered. "Don't know if I even like it."

"Hmm, I love it black." Ed said.

"Blegh, seriously, Ed?" Hughes asked. "That is so bitter. Why not add cream
or sugar?"

"Never!" Ed screamed. "Don't think you can fool me, Hughes! I know there is
milk in cream!"

Hughes blinked. Well, that wasn't his intention.

"Stop being such a baby, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Ed scoffed. "Milk is horrible, Colonel!"

"I will never understand your hatred of it."

Buildings appeared on screen.

The scene started to move down as a woman said, "Thanks for taking
the time to come by."

Ed, now wearing his black knee length jacket, appeared on screen,
scratching the back of his head as he laughed sheepishly besides a
woman with a huge mess of rubble in front of him.

"See, Al? I had a perfectly good reason for not coming with you." Ed said.

"I'm surprised you're not sleeping." Al muttered.

Ed shrugged.

"I'm actually surprised you came." The woman said. "I was honestly
starting to get a little worried."

"At least she wasn't rude about it." Ed muttered.

"I'm surprised she isn't. You did destroy her balcony." Mustang said.

"Some people are rude and mad at Brother when he destroys things in a fight.
Others are polite and happy that he has come to fix the mess he made." Al
said. "Depends on the person he is dealing with."

"Yes," Ed said, shooting his superior a look. "So there, Colonel! Even when I
destroy someone's house, or in this case, balcony, I go back and fix it!"

"And is your alchemy working?" Mustang retorted.

Ed twitched. "Well, we're about to find out."

Ed's hands appeared on screen as he clapped, a clanging and whistling

sound filling the air. The scene pulled out to show Ed kneeling with the
woman in front of him and blue alchemical light flashing around them.
The blue light lit up the screen, turning it white. When it died down, the
balcony railing was fixed with a gaudy, gothic look.

"Ha! Works just fine!" Ed said.

Mustang put his hand to his temple. "It may not have crossed your mind,
Fullmetal, but not everyone likes the gothic look that you are so fond of!"

"Complain, complain, complain. Is that all you can do?" Ed retorted. "Even
when I fix the things I destroy, you still complain!"

Ed was shown, turned around and staring at his hands while the woman
looked at her new balcony. "It worked. I'm able to use my alchemy
again."

Gentle music began as Ed walked out of the building, still staring at his
hands. He stopped. His face appeared on screen, still turned down at his
hands.

Footsteps were heard, making Ed turn his head.

Two MPs were approaching him. One had a hand raised in greeting and
a smile in place while the other was staring up at his work.

"Hey," The first greeted. "Very nicely done up there. That takes care of
all of our repairs for the day."

"…You only repaired one thing and you're done?" Hughes asked.

"Easy." Havoc muttered. "We are usually out there all day after a fight
cleaning up."

"At least it's not every day." Ross said.

Havoc groaned. "It is pretty much every day when Chief is in town."

Ed shot him a glare. "No, it isn't. I don't get into as many fights as you guys
seem to think I do."

"Which is still amazing." Breda said.

The second officer turned to Ed as he raised a handkerchief to his face

and wiped it. "Yeah, you can always rely on a State Alchemist. These
other alchemists around here just can't compare."
Ed was shown, staring at them.

"You should've seen those guys. We had a couple of local alchemists

helping us with repairs this morning and all they really ended up doing
was looking foolish though." The second officer continued.

Ed's eyes narrowed. Were these guys saying what he thought they were
saying? Was it really possible that it wasn't only him and Al affected by
whatever it was that Father did?

"They came strolling in here like they were the very best." The first
officer said. "And the next thing you know, their alchemy wouldn't
work." He said, turning to his partner who turned to him.

"I said it was plausible, May. Your theory, but the more that I learn, the more
I am convinced you may just be right." Ed said.

"I do not know what else it could be, Edward. If everyone lost their alchemy
at that time, it makes sense that it has to do with the fact that we are using
different sciences." May told him.

Ed turned to them. As he was zoomed in on, he put his automail fist on

his chin. 'He said this morning? That's when we were underground.'

"Mr. Alchemist!"

Ed broke out of his thoughts and lowered his hand as he looked up at the
woman he just helped.

The woman was shown, laundry over her arm. "Thanks again!" She
said, waving at him.

"Such a kind woman!" Hughes said, grinning. "Just like my sweet, sweet
Gracia!"

"You're obsessed, Hughes." Mustang muttered.

"I thought that was obvious." Ed grumbled.

"Oh, you two are such grouches!" Hughes said. "Want to see some of my
pictures? They will make you feel better!"

"No!" Mustang muttered, but he already had pictures in his face. "Hughes!
Get your stupid pictures out of my face!"

Al glanced at the book that was being balanced on Ed's flesh leg. He wasn't
looking at it, but watching Mustang fight against Hughes about the pictures
with a smirk. What Hughes didn't know was that Ed didn't need his pictures
anymore since he had that book.

Ed was shown, staring at her.

A picture of one of the green bodies from Envy's body appeared on

screen as it was deconstructed.

"Thank you." Ed said.

"Does everything remind you a dark memory?" Izumi asked, frowning.

"Not everything." Ed replied.

"Just most things?" Brody prompted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I don't just have dark memories! There are happy times
as well!"

"Hard to believe when you are always so grim and frowning and so serious!"
Luke said.

Ed reappeared on screen, staring up at her. He frowned and looked

down.

The evening sky was shown as footsteps were heard. 'I know Envy told
me they're just mindless energy, but I don't know.' He thought as the scene
lowered to show his back as he walked. 'Just doesn't feel right to me.
Which means I'm not fully convinced.' He raised his automail fist and
knocked himself in the side of the head. 'Snap out of it.' He thought as he
was shown from the front to be walking down a road.
"Huh, I know we sometimes hear people's thoughts, but we usually don't hear
a whole conversation in someone's head." Hughes said.

"At least he isn't talking out loud to himself." Havoc said, grinning. "First
sign of insanity there."

"I thought Chief was already classified as insane." Walkers said.

Ed sighed. Could he seriously not just sit here without being picked on?

"Nothing wrong with a bit of insanity." Ling said, grinning at Ed, hoping to
cheer him up.

Ed raised a brow. "Oh?"

"Of course. It makes everything more fun. If you were completely sane, life
would be so boring." Ling told him.

"Then your world must be heaven." Ed told him dryly.

Ling nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, you should come and visit!"

"No thanks. I'd rather keep what little sanity I have left."

'I've got bigger things to be concerned with. The alchemy. If those guys
were right, then we weren't the only ones who couldn't transmute this
morning.'

Ed's feet were shown as he came to a stop. The scene moved to show Ed
from an upward angle. 'If so, how come Scar and that little girl were able
to use theirs? What does that mean?' The scene moved to show Ed from a
downward angle as the ending music began. A group of birds suddenly
flew across the screen as Ed looked up.

The birds were shown flying away as Ed was shown from behind as he
watched.

'Could their alchemy be different from ours?'

"Oh, do you not realize that I am using Alkahestry?" May asked.

"Considering I don't actually know who you are or that you are from Xing,
though considering your clothes, I should have an idea, no, I probably don't
know what you are using." Ed replied.

'That's the only thing that makes sense. I'm gonna have to make them
teach it to me somehow.' Ed was shown from the front. 'Maybe I can use it
to get Al's body back and take down that bearded bastard.'

"Always eager to learn something new, aren't you?" Mustang said.

"I have a thirst for knowledge." Ed replied with a shrug. "What can you do
about it besides learn new things?"

He started to move forward again, but didn't even get a step before he
was stopping and looking down in surprise. His pocket was shown as he
pulled the gun out of it.

The scene moved to show Ed from a downward angle as he looked at the

gun. "Oh yeah," He said. "I've got to get this to the Lieutenant."

"I have many guns, Edward. That can wait." Riza told him. "You should
probably sleep."

"You're talking to future me who can't hear you." Ed told her. "If he wants to
deliver the gun, let him deliver the gun!"

The ending song began.

As the song continued on after the ending song, Central was shown at
nighttime.

The roof of a tunnel with pipes all over it was shown.

Father's lair appeared on screen. The scene slowly zoomed in on Father

sitting in his chair as the song started to lower in volume.

"They forced me to follow through with their plans." Dr. Maroch's voice
said.

Father's chest was shown, bubbling with veins pulsating in it.

"I made a stone for them, and I used the lives of countless Ishvalans to do
it." He said as a small figure that looked like Gluttony rose up out of
Father's shirt.

"Is that Gluttony or something different?" Ling asked, frowning.

"Who cares? Still disgusting." Ed replied before turning to Dr. Marcoh with a
frown. "If it's your plan to anger Scar enough that he wants to kill you, I think
you are doing a good job of it."

The scene went dark before a wall appeared on screen. The scene slowly
moved down.

"And now, they're forcing me to cooperate on an experiment that's likely

to result in another genocide." Dr. Marcoh said as he was shown to be
kneeling on the ground, face on it.

"Not likely. It will result in a genocide." Mustang growled.

Scar stood in front of him.

"I beg you!" Dr. Marcoh said as he raised his head and stared at Scar.
"Please stop it! You have to kill me, please."

Ed sighed. "Even if he does kill you, it won't stop anything. You are not the
only competent alchemist that they can use."

"Please take my life!"

The scene moved to show Dr. Marcoh in front of Scar.

"My own death is the only form of revenge that I have."

"You really don't have much of an imagination if death is the only idea you
have for revenge." Ed said.
"Or maybe he just doesn't have an evil mind like you." Mustang retorted.

"I am not evil." Ed muttered. "Just like being a bit cruel at times."

"That makes you evil." Ling said.

"Maybe we have different definitions of evil!" Ed retorted.

Scar was shown, staring down at the doctor.

The scene slowly pulled out, showing the two from the side as shadows
with a light shining down on them.

"Your appearance here right now. You're like a god to me."

Scar's eyes appeared on screen, widening. His hand appeared on screen,

tensing as he got ready to kill. He grabbed Dr. Marcoh's face and
slammed him into the ground. The scene slowly moved up from Dr.
Marcoh to Scar.

Dr. Maroch shouted in pain and grabbed his suddenly aching head. So much
pain was flowing through his skull right now. The impact against the ground
with the amount of force that Scar used really hurt a lot. Then there was the
powerful force squeezing at his face. He wasn't sure which felt worse. His
head slamming into the ground, giving him a horrible headache, or his face
being squeezed painfully.

"Tell me everything about Ishval."

Dr. Marcoh was shown, half of his face covered by Scar's hand.

"I want to hear the entire story. What did you use my people for?" Scar's
furious face was shown. "You'll tell me all of it! Give me the truth before
my right hand destroys you!"

His eyes were the last thing seen before the scene went dark.

"Well," Ling said, trying to get that dark moment out of his mind. "That was
a fun episode!"
"Fun?" Ed scoffed. He turned to Scar. "What was with the last line? He was
asking for death, Scar! He wanted destroyed!"

Scar just stared at him, frowning. "I wanted answers before I killed him."

"Eh, seriously, death is not the way to make up for anything." Ed muttered.

Ling turned to Ed, grinning. "So, Ed, will you–"

"No."

"I didn't even finish!" Ling pouted.

"And you're not going to. Whatever it is, I probably don't want to anyway so
don't bother asking." Ed replied.

Ling crossed his arms, grumbling under his breathe, "I just wanted you to
sing the opening song."

Ed shot a look at him. "I am right by you and I have two working ears."

"So?" Ling asked excitedly.

"I told you earlier and I'll say it again, no." Ed growled.

"What does he want?" Hughes asked amused.

"Stay out of this, Hughes!" Ed snapped at him, glaring at Ling and just daring
him to say it.

Ling held his hands up innocently. If Ed wanted to keep it a secret, he could

keep it.

"Woof!"

Ed blinked away his glare before he was tackled from behind by Black
Hayate. Ed groaned. Why did dogs always do this to him?

"Black Hayate!" Ed snapped, lifting his head off the ground. He turned his
head to glare at the dog on his back, but find the dog snarling at Ling. He
blinked for a moment before grinning. At least Black Hayate was on his side.
"Good boy!"

"Good? He's growling at me!" Ling said.

"That's what threats to Edward get." Riza said.

"How am I threat?" Ling cried, inching away from Ed and the dog.

As Black Hayate climbed off his back, Ed sat up and patted Black Hayate on
the head. "Good job, boy."

Black Hayate turned to him, barking before resting his head on Ed's leg.

Ling stared at Ed and the dog as he cried, "What did I do?!"

A/N: Well, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter.

Please Review!
*Chapter 30*: Episode 30: The Ishvalan
War
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: READ THIS! Seriously, don't skip. Some of this is important.

For the sake of simplicity, for me at least, whenever I don't have a

chapter done for a weekend, I will be posting on my profile: Stress Week.
Stress Week now means a chapter is not coming that weekend, guys.
Kind of like last week. Last week was Stress Week.

I also seem to have to make this very, very clear for you guys. Every
weekend, go to my profile and see if I wrote a message about being late
for a chapter. I am a college student who babysits her nephew and works
Sunday mornings. I AM BUSY! I am posting if a chapter will be late on
my profile. DO NOT send me a review saying I am late. I DO NOT need
it. Learn a bit of PATIENCE. These are not easy chapters to write,
especially with how busy I am.

And this chapter so freaking kick my butt, people! I've had two weeks
for this chapter and I lost to this episode! One of the hardest chapters for
me to write.

So you guys wanted me to get into Miles's head about what he thought of
the war. Of course that made me have to look up Miles and research him
to get everything right. You guys wanted Royai (which I am not so good
at writing so you'll have to tell me if I did good or not). Roy being
protective about Riza being in the shower and the secrets shared between
them. Ling being afraid of blood…That one I don't get, but when I wrote
that thing about Ling in the kitchen a while back, I was just bored and
didn't really think about it. Yeah, so, weird.
You guys have killed me with all the researching I had to do to get
everything right. That, and just all of that was freaking hard to write!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 30: The Ishvalan War of Extermination

Ling looked at Ed and the dog resting its head on his lap. "Ed, will you pl–"

"No."

"But Ed–" Ling whined.

"Black Hayate, attack." Ed ordered.

Black Hayate stood up and launched himself at Ling. He slammed into Ling's
chest, sending the teenager flying onto his back. Ling groaned. "Not nice."

Ed sighed. "And here I thought you were learning that I'm not a nice person."

Luke blinked. "What is it that you want so badly from him that you are
willing to get hit and so upset about?"

"Well," Ling started.

"Ling." Ed said warningly.

"Can't say!" Ling said quickly.

"Hmm, you better not say anything." Ed said. "Black Hayate, release!"
Black Hayate barked and ran back over to Ed. He nuzzled his head into Ed's
stomach.

"Good boy." Ed said, grinning as he patted the dog's head. "You did good."

Ling pushed himself back up. "I think you are enjoying having that dog listen
to your every command too much."

Ed looked up at Ling, an evil glint in his eyes.

Ling held his hands up. "I said nothing."

Mustang pointed at Ed, but looked at Riza. "I thought Black Hayate only
obeyed your commands."

Riza shrugged, but smiled softly. "When he is with Edward, he'll listen to his
commands since he is a guard dog."

Mustang sighed. NOW, Ed had a guard dog on his side? He didn't need a dog
that obeyed his every command!

The opening song began.

"Humph," Ling grumbled. "You may not have sung that time, but I will keep
bugging you about it."

Ed rolled his eyes and whispered back, "I only have to last out until we get a
new opening song."

"Then I will ask you to sing that one." Ling replied.

"I only have to last until the end." Ed corrected.

"What if our future never ends?" Ling asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Then it means we have survived this and have a long life
ahead of us when we get out of here."

"So I can bother you your whole life to sing me a song?" Ling asked.
"No."

"Why not?"

"You'll be emperor of Xing, and if you're not emperor, I'll have the new
Fuhrer extradite you back to Xing so I can be rid of you." Ed retorted.

"On what grounds?" Ling demanded.

"Whatever I can come up with to get you the hell out of my country." Ed
snapped back.

A lamp appeared on screen as soft haunting, sad music began.

The chest of a man in a soldier's uniform appeared on screen. The scene

slowly moved up to his face to show it was a younger Mustang as another
man said, "So you've decided to become a soldier after all?"

Mustang looked up in surprise and a bit of horror. This was the last
conversation he had with his master. His hands clenched into tight fists. This
was a private moment between him and his master. No one else had the right
to see it. And he doubted Hawkeye wanted to see her dad again. She suffered
enough in the past. Why couldn't the past just remain closed?

Mustang scoffed and looked down. He was thinking that and yet, they were
seeing so much of Ed and Al's past. Their past was so difficult and they had
to suffer through seeing it again. Mustang had no right to complain when it
was just one difficult moment of his past being seen. But still, that didn't
make it any easier.

Ed's brows furrowed. "Colonel?" He said, frowning. "So this is something

from your past?"

"Yes, Fullmetal." Mustang replied calmly, not indicating how hard this was
for him in his voice.

"Who is speaking then?" Ed asked.

"My master."
Ed blinked. Huh, Mustang had a master? He knew that everyone had to have
had a master at some point, but that didn't make it any easier to realize that
Mustang, of all people, actually needed a master!

"You don't look that old here." Al said.

A twitch mark appeared on Mustang's head. "Are you saying I look old now,
Alphonse?"

Al frantically waved his hands. "I would never say that, sir! I only meant that
you look very young and…uh…..naïve here!"

Ed snickered at his brother.

"He was only twenty at this time, boys." Riza said quickly to save Al from
Mustang. "He hadn't experienced any battles or wars at this point yet."

Ed raised a brow. "So you knew him long before the military?"

Riza stared at Ed, frowning.

"If you know his age at this time, you've had to have known him at this time."
Ed said with a shrug.

"Yes, we did know each other." Riza admitted softly.

Ed hummed and looked back at the screen. So Riza and Mustang knew each
other a long time before they were both soldiers? If they knew each other
before that, they must have had time to build trust into each other and be so
loyal. It was no surprise that they were so close then.

One of the man's eyes appeared on screen as it narrowed. "That's all the
proof I need. You're not ready to learn Flame Alchemy."

"So you didn't create it?" Ed asked surprised.

"I'm flattered you think I am smart enough to come up with Flame alchemy
on my own." Mustang replied.
Ed rolled his eyes. "Can't blame me for thinking that. I've never seen it used
by anyone else and you never were forthcoming with information about it or
where you learned it."

"Because it is a secret." Mustang retorted. "Or, it was a secret."

"Apparently, V.H. doesn't believe that there should be secrets among us." Ed
grumbled.

The scene pulled out to show Mustang standing in front of the old man's
bed where he was sitting up in it.

"But sir, I am." Mustang said. "It's the only thing left. I mean, haven't I
already mastered the fundamentals of alchemy?"

"You didn't master them until you were twenty." Ed said, raising a brow.

"Not everyone is a genius like you and Al." Mustang snapped at him.

Ed shrugged. "I just thought you were smarter than that. Obviously, I had too
much faith in you."

Mustang's eye twitched and he raised his hand, rubbing his fingers together.
Oh, how lucky Fullmetal was right now.

Hughes stared at his friend warily. He knew that Mustang and Ed always
argued and insulted each other. But maybe those two were taking it a bit
far….or they were just really stressed and taking it out on each other…Well,
Ed was taking it out on everyone if that was the case.

"I could have told you that, Fullmetal." General Armstrong said.

Ed raised a brow. "Don't like Colonel?"

"No."

"How blunt." Al muttered.

Mustang sighed. He and General Armstrong had always been….well not

enemies, but perhaps rivals for the power of Fuhrer was the right way to
phrase it.

"Of course you have." The old man said. "And I regret even teaching
you that much now that I know who you plan on using it for." He lifted a
hand to his mouth as he coughed.

"Your master didn't want you to join the military?" Izumi asked as she
crossed her arms.

Mustang shrugged.

Izumi glared at her former students.

Ed looked at her then at Mustang. "Our masters really hate the military. Did
you get a rule not to join the military before he started teaching you?"

"He never said it, but I believe it was implied." Mustang replied. "He never
liked my choice."

"I can tell by his words." Ed muttered.

"It's not surprising. Around the time of Mustang's training the war was going
on for a few years and it was getting the military a bad name. By the time I
taught you boys, the military's reputation was horrible and it had very little
support." Izumi said, frowning as she leaned into her husband. "Joining the
military would only end badly for you."

"Though Chief managed to work it into his favor." Havoc replied.

"That is because of his nature." Al said. "He is just always trying to help.
Even if it is in his own harsh way, everyone still sees the kindness in it and
respects him for helping them."

Mustang smiled, though it was a bit sadly. "Fullmetal is probably one of the
few State Alchemists that sticks to our motto."

"You and Major Armstrong do a pretty good job of it as well." Edward said,
staring at the screen. "But since you two don't travel as much as me, you don't
do as much so it is never noticed."

Mustang's sad smile deepened. Would Ed really still be saying that when he
saw exactly what Mustang did in the Ishvalan war? Just how horrible he was
with the use of his alchemy?

Mustang's face appeared on screen as he said, "But alchemy should be

used for the people. Shouldn't it?"

The old man's face appeared on screen as he lowered his hand. "Hmm."

The scene moved to show it from behind the old man as Mustang took a
step forward and raised his right hand.

"Master, our country is constantly under threat from all sides."

"And now we realize that it is all a set up." Armstrong said angrily.

"Does that include Drachma?" Ed asked curiously. "Or do they just really,
really hate us for no reason at all?"

"I think all the countries hate us." Buccaneer pointed out.

"Xing doesn't!" Ling cheered loudly with a huge grin.

"Xing doesn't interact with Amestris." Ed muttered.

"That's only because of the desert." Ling replied.

Ed rolled his eyes. "And if there wasn't a desert, we would be enemies."

Ling paused for a moment before shrugging. "Probably."

"The military needs alchemists." He lowered his hand. "It's a matter of

defending our homes."

Mustang's master's eyes appeared on screen as they narrowed.

"If we don't help–"

"I'm tired of hearing that vile verdict." Mustang's master said.

Mustang appeared on screen as he gasped.

Coughing was heard.

The scene moved to behind Mustang to show his master in front of him,
coughing again. Mustang took a step forward, but his master held up his
other hand to stop him.

"Is he sick?" Izumi asked worriedly.

Riza's eyes dropped to her lap. He was horribly sick. It was amazing that he
didn't die sooner than this. It never showed, but she did love her dad and it
hurt her when he died. Her father died and he was no longer there with her. It
was the first most difficult moment of her life. After that, came Roy and her
decision to give him the secret of her dad's research. Next came her decision
to join the military and all the difficulties that came with being a soldier. It
seemed like an easy choice when she decided to follow Roy, but it was hard
to stick through with her choice and not to run.

"Yes," Mustang said, but he wasn't looking at Izumi. He was looking at Riza
with a sad smile. Like Riza, it was hard for him as well. Her father was his
master. He trained Mustang for years. Despite his choices in life, Mustang
was still close to his master and it was horrible to see him collapse like he
did. If only he had gotten more money than he could have gone to a hospital
and got treated…then maybe he wouldn't have died.

"I can't stand to see you like this."

The house they were in was shown from outside.

"There's no reason for a man of your stature to suffer in this kind of

squalor. If you would simply join the military." Mustang said.

"Yeah, because that would have made everything better." Ed grumbled.

"He would have money to take care of himself." Mustang retorted.

"Do State Alchemists really make that much?" May asked, blinking.

Ross and Sheska stared at her blankly. "You have no idea." They said
together.

May stared at the two in confusion.

"Seriously, Chief, how much did you pay Sheska for her help?" Havoc asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "That is between me and her. And that isn't the issue here!
We are discussing Colonel and his always trying to drag people into the
military. Even when he first became a soldier, he was trying to recruit!"

"Shut up, Fullmetal." Mustang snapped. "I was trying to recruit him to get the
money he needed for his health. I recruited you to help you."

"And for your own reasons." Ed retorted.

Mustang frowned. Well, he did have his own reasons for recruiting Ed, but he
really did also do it because Ed looked so pitiful when they first met and he
just hated it. He looked so lost then. It was horrible to see. Kids should not
look that. He gave Ed the opportunity to get some points with the higher-ups,
but also to save Ed from that hopelessness he was lost in. It would be hard for
any adult to see a child who looked like that.

The room reappeared on screen behind Mustang's master with Mustang

in front of him.

"You could get grants for your research. You could–"

"I don't need a grant for something I've already completed." Mustang's
master interrupted.

"You finished your research?"

"Why was it so shocking?" Hughes asked, raising a brow.

"It is a complex alchemy, Hughes. He's been working on it for years. I

thought he would never complete it with how complex it was and how little
money he had to research it." Mustang replied with a small shrug.

Mustang's master lifted his face to the ceiling. "I've created the most
powerful alchemy."

"It is definitely powerful." Armstrong said, remembering the destruction that

Flame Alchemy caused in the war. He didn't work with Mustang in the war,
but it was hard to miss his Flame Alchemy when he did use it. It really filled
the air and caused destruction all around if he didn't control it properly.

"It would only cause tragedy if I placed it in the wrong hands."

Ed shuddered a bit at that. He has been on missions with Mustang and seeing
him use his Flame Alchemy was a bit frightening at times, not that he would
ever admit it. He remembered a mission with Mustang. He wasn't sure how it
happened, but he remembered finding himself lying on the floor with
Mustang standing by him with a cold, focused look in his eyes. It was the
first time Ed had ever seen him so focused and angry like that. He just
snapped his fingers and set the enemy trying to kill Ed on fire before pulling
Ed to his feet and away from the area. That was the first time, and since then,
Ed had grown so indifferent to it. He had grown used to it, and just handled
the horribleness of it.

If Flame Alchemy was ever in the hands of an enemy, it would be so

disastrous for them all. It takes a lot of control to keep it from getting out of
control and to keep the size right. If the enemy had it and he was just evil,
everything would be destroyed within hours. It was a good thing that
Mustang was such a good man. Again, not something Ed would ever admit.

"And now that I've finished it," His eye was zoomed in on from the side.
"I've allowed myself to grow complacent."

Mustang's face was shown from an upward angle as he swallowed.

The scene moved to show the two from above and behind Mustang.

"We alchemists are hungry creatures. We must continue the hunt for
knowledge as long as we live."
"Knowledge about everything, isn't it, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.

Ed shrugged. "I like knowledge, Colonel. I can't stand being idle and not
coming up with new theories and ideas. And you can't say you're any
different!"

"He can't?" Darius asked confused.

Riza smiled a bit. "Colonel and Edward, surprisingly, have had their days
where they just sit in Colonel's office for hours and work together on theories
and discuss alchemy."

"Wait." Hughes said in shock. "No fighting?"

Havoc shook his head. "Nope."

"No yelling?" Miles asked.

"None." Breda said.

"Short jokes?" Avery asked.

"None." Fuery said.

"Insults?" Ross asked.

"They have only ever discussed alchemy on those days." Falman said.

"We are right here." Mustang said annoyed.

"You two have seriously…"

Ed rolled his eyes. "We do respect one another." He snapped. "Moving on."

The soldiers, who weren't from the East, just stared at the two in shock.

"If we forego pursuing the truth, then we allow ourselves to die."

Mustang's master said before he was zoomed in on. "Trust me. I've been
dead for a long time." His eyes widen and he made a sound of pain.
The scene moved to show him from behind as he lurched forward and
Mustang took a hurried step forward.

"Master!" Mustang cried as his master coughed harshly.

Mustang stiffened at this next part. He knew what happened. His master was
going to die here. It was hard enough going through this once. To see it again
would just rip open all his memories and feelings from this time. He didn't
want to see him losing his master again.

Ed's hands curled into fists on his lap. Mustang's master just collapsed. His
master just collapsed. His master just collapsed. Was he going to die? No,
that couldn't be right. He couldn't die here. He didn't give Mustang the secret
of Flame Alchemy yet. So that meant that he had to survive, right? He was
only ill here. There was no way that Mustang's master died right in front of
him.

Mustang's master continued coughing harshly as he fell forward. He fell

forward, falling off the side of the bed as the scene moved to the top of a
cabinet where a bunch of books were.

Ed swallowed his fear. Watching Mustang's master fall like this reminded
him too much of finding his mother collapsed in the kitchen. She was
bedridden for the rest of her life afterwards before she died. Like Mustang's
master she was coughing horribly like this at times and she had a horrible
fever. She was so weak on days that she couldn't even sit up in her bed. All
she could do was stare at her sons with pain filled eyes and sweat pouring
down her gentle face.

No!

Ed shook his head violently. He couldn't be thinking about that right now. He
had to focus on watching the future. That was what was important. They were
being shown Mustang's past for a reason, right? He had to focus on this.
Maybe he would come to understand his boss a bit more if he did.

There was a thumping sound as he hit the floor.

"Are you alright?" Mustang said as he was shown to be kneeling by his
master who was still half on the bed. He put his hands on his master's
back. "Master Hawkeye!"

"Hawkeye?" Al asked shocked.

Riza sighed sadly. She knew this was going to come up. It had to since she
gave Roy the Flame Alchemy secret. "This is my father, Alphonse."

Ed stared at her, gaping. Hawkeye's father taught Mustang? He looked back

and forth between Mustang and Hawkeye. Hell, no wonder the two knew
each other before they both joined the military and became close comrades.

Master Hawkeye's face was shown on the ground with blood trailing out
of his mouth and covering the floor where his face was. "Look
after….my daughter. She's in possession of…my research." Very softly
he added, "Look after her."

Master Hawkeye's mouth dropped open, tears straining his face as he

died.

Ed swallowed thickly. His master really did die right in front of him? He had
no idea of how hard that would be. It was hard for Ed to lose his mother in
front of him, but a master was on a different level than a parent. The pain felt
in both moments would be so different. Different, but difficult. Ed knew that
he felt so scared as a kid when his master collapsed because of her illness. He
was afraid he was going to lose her. It must have been hard for Mustang to
his master die like that.

And then Mustang got the research from Riza? His master must have really
trusted Mustang a lot to give him that information. Though he didn't really
understand why he decided to tell Mustang where his research was when he
was just saying a minute ago that Mustang wasn't ready for it because he
joined the military.

Riza tightened her fists. It was years ago. So many years had past since her
father died and yet the pain of losing him was there. She was never going to
forget the pain she felt when she lost her father. The pain of losing a loved
one never went away. All she could do was move on and try not to think
about the pain.

But seeing this past moment was bringing up all the pain of the past and hurt
she was feeling when she lost her dad. She had her problems with her dad.
They were estranged a bit when he was alive, but he still took such good care
of her and made sure she got a very good education. Their relationship was
difficult, but he was her dad and she did love him so this all did hurt.

Ed glanced at Riza than at the dog resting on his lap. "Black Hayate," He
whispered. "Your master is upset."

Black Hayate lifted his head off of Ed and nodded. He ran over to the Riza
and jumped onto her lap. He nuzzled his head in her stomach making Riza
smile a bit.

Mustang glanced at Riza, smiling sadly at her. Master Hawkeye dying was a
difficult situation for both of them.

The sad music got louder as the title, "The Ishvalan War of
Extermination" appeared on screen.

"We have to learn more about the war?" Edward asked, frowning.

"Are we in a history lesson?" Ling asked.

Ed stared at him, frowning. "History lesson?"

Ling raised a brow. "You know, being taught the history of the country."

"Uh…" Ed glanced at Al then back at Ling. "Nope, don't know."

"You've never been in a history lesson before?" May asked in disbelief.

Ed scratched the back of his head. "Well, Al and I stopped going to school
when we were pretty young."

"Is that even allowed?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "We come from Resembool. It's common for kids to stop
attending school sometime between ten and thirteen so they can start learning
their trade."

"I see." Ling replied. "That is different."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Being a prince, I doubt you would understand the life of
those in rural areas."

"That's why we're friends!" Ling said, grinning at Ed. "You can teach me so I
can understand it better."

"No."

"Why?" Ling cried.

"I don't want to deal with you anymore than I have to." Ed retorted. "And that
wasn't the point of this. The point was about the war!"

"You mean how we are going to learn about it again?" Ling asked.

Ed growled. "I'm done with you." He said before turning back to the screen.

"What did I do this time? Or do you just want to be annoyed with me?" Ling
asked, frowning.

"Ling, shut up." Ed growled.

A tree appeared on screen.

"So you're annoyed with me?" Ling asked.

Ed shot him a scowl. "I said to shut up!"

The scene moved to show Riza and Roy standing in a cemetery in front
of a grave from a distance.

"What did I do to make you annoyed with me? I don't think anything I did
recently is out of the ordinary." Ling said.
Ed growled softly, hands clenching into fists. "Ling, I swear to God, which is
pretty amazing for you since I DO NOT BELIEVE, if you don't shut up, I am
going to kick your ass to FREAKING HELL AND ENJOY EVERY
FREAKING SECOND OF IT! EVERY FREAKING SECOND OF
PUNCHING AND KICKING YOU!"

Ling blinked. "Eh…"

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Go ahead, Ling. Say something. I dare you."

Ling opened his mouth but Lan Fan suddenly leaned towards him and
whispered, "I don't think that is a wise idea, Young Lord. He seems to have
lost it a bit."

"Uh, Ed? Is something wrong?" Hughes asked.

Ed looked at him, frowning. "Of course not. Why would you think there
was?"

'Because you were just threatening your friend.' Everyone in the room, except
Ed and Ling, thought.

"You've done so much." Riza said. "I don't think I could ever thank you
enough."

"It's the least I could do after everything he's taught me." Roy replied.
He reached into his pocket.

The scene zoomed in on the two as Mustang pulled his hand out of his
pocket and held out a card to Riza.

"This was back when you had short hair." Rebecca said softly.

"I forgot you had short hair before." Al said.

"Not surprising. We only saw her with short hair once." Ed told him.

"I'm surprised you noticed with how dead you looked at the time." Havoc
muttered.
Ed rolled his eyes and turned to Riza. "Why did you grow your hair out?" He
asked curiously.

Riza smiled at Ed. "Because I met a little girl in Resembool who had long
hair and it looked kind of good so I decided to grow my hair out."

Al chuckled. "That's a pretty simple reason."

Rebecca laughed. "I told her the same thing when I asked."

Ed turned back around, smiling softly. "It seems that you and Winry both
influenced each other in some way in that meeting. She pierced her ears
because she saw your ears pierced and thought it looked kind of good too."

"Really?" Riza asked surprised.

"Yep, you girls are insane." Ed informed her.

"What's so insane about changing something about our appearance?" Rebecca

retorted.

"The fact that you have to see it on another girl and declare you like it and
then go and do it as well!" Ed retorted loudly. "You can't just do it without
seeing it on someone else!"

"I don't see the problem in that." Ross said.

Ed stared at the girls blankly for a moment before turning away. Girls!

"You should take this." Mustang said as Riza turned her head to look at
it. "You can call me in the military if you need to."

Riza turned to him and took the card in both hands.

"You look…" Al said slowly.

"What?" Riza asked sharply.

Al chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, I was thinking you looked so cute and

innocent." He said embarrassed. "You look very young because of it." He
paused before he frantically began waving his hands. "Not that you look old.
You don't at all. I just meant that you looked very young here! That's all I
meant! I swear."

Riza laughed. "It's alright, Alphonse. No need to be so nervous. I'm not the
Colonel."

"Hey!" Mustang shouted. "What is that supposed to me, Lieutenant?"

"I was only about seventeen here which is why I look so young." Riza told
him, ignoring her boss.

Ed leaned forward, putting his elbows on his legs to lean his head in his
hands. "When does that change? When you join the military or during the
war?"

Riza swallowed thickly. "It's during the war, Edward."

Ed nodded, mostly to himself. He did ask because he was curious, but also
because he wanted to be as prepared as he could for learning about this war.
If Riza changed from what she was at seventeen to how she was now, it
really must have been a difficult war.

Riza looked at the card.

The scene moved to show the grave in front of them. The grave read
"Berthold Hawkeye. 1860-1905."

"Let me guess." Mustang said. "You also don't approve of me becoming

a soldier."

"What did it matter if she approved or not?" Ross asked confused.

"Considering that Colonel trained under her father, they probably met and
became close friends." Edward told her. "That tends to happen when you are
put in situations like that."

"I think it's just because Roy wants her approval because he has a crush on
her." Hughes protested, grinning widely. "And who could blame him?
Lieutenant Hawkeye is a very beautiful girl, even back then!"

"Hughes," Mustang growled, glaring at his friend and rubbing his fingers
together. "I will fry you when I get my gloves back."

"Sheesh," Hughes said, frowning. "First Ed is making death threats, now

you?" He sighed. "I remember when Ed first joined the military. He was so
sweet and shy. But then," He glared at Mustang. "IT WAS YOU! You had to
go and corrupt him and introduce him to death threats!"

"What?" Ed and Mustang screamed.

"That bastard didn't introduce me to anything!" Ed shouted. "And I wasn't

shy at all! Your memory is faulty!"

"I don't know, Chief." Havoc said, grinning. "I remember when I met you in
Resembool. You were pretty soft spoken then, and when you came to the
office the first few times, you weren't really loud. You were polite and bit
unsure of what to do or how to act."

Mustang smirked to himself while Ed glared at Havoc. It wasn't exactly as he

planned, but his death threat got the eyes off of him and Riza and onto Ed
which was what he wanted. He didn't want eyes on him about any of this, and
he doubted Riza did too. This was a private moment for both of them. He
hoped that no one asked too many difficulty questions or looked too deeply
into this. It was already bad enough that their past was being explored like
this.

"Your memory is faulty too." Ed growled.

"Am I?" Havoc asked. "What do you think, Falman? You've got an
impressive memory."

Ed's glare moved to Falman.

"He was definitely much more sweet and innocent than he is now." Falman
said.
"Ha! Take that, Chief!" Havoc said, grinning widely.

"Damn it, Falman!" Ed screamed, pulling at his hair.

"Your father told me soldiers are left to die like trash on the side of the
road."

"Is that so?" Ed asked surprised, dropping his hands from his hair. "I didn't
hear that all from his words."

"It was implied." Mustang said, rolling his eyes. "Though," He frowned at
Ed. "That wouldn't be your fate, Hero of the People."

Ed twitched. "Must you mock me?"

"He's not mocking." Hughes pointed out. "It's pretty much true. Anyone who
finds the Hero of the People lying on the side of the road would stop to help.
Not only because you are a hero, but if they don't know your face, they would
help you because you're just a kid."

"Can we forget who I am? We are discussing Colonel and soldiers here!" Ed
snapped. "Soldiers would really be left to die?"

"It depends on who comes across them." Havoc said with a shrug. "Some
people just couldn't live with themselves if they left a soldier to die just for
being a solider. Others would say they got what was coming to them."

"That is horrible." Ed muttered.

Al blinked, staring at his brother. "Would you have been any different if you
weren't in the military, Brother? You never supported the military or liked
soldiers for helping to ravage Resembool because of their war with Ishval."

Ed shrugged. "Who knows what I might have done if I never joined the
military and met soldiers? It's a different path."

The scene moved to show Mustang's face from the side with Riza's next
to him with her looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. "That may
be, but I know it's the only way to make a difference. And I know I'll
never be happy if I don't try to make this country a better place."

"You would regret it forever." Armstrong said mostly to himself as he

frowned. He could understand that. He didn't follow the path he wanted to
follow in Ishval, and because of that, he had this horrible feeling always
residing in his heart. The regret he felt weighed him down a lot.

Riza turned to face Mustang in surprise at his words.

Mustang caught her eyes and looked away at the screen, a bit
embarrassed. "Man, I must've sounded pretty childish, huh?"

"You sound so idealistic." Ed murmured. "Both of you do."

"That is pretty normal for young people, Ed." Hughes told him.

Ed blinked and then looked at General Armstrong then back at Hughes while
pointing at the General. "Even her?"

General Armstrong raised a brow, frowning at Ed.

"I'm sure," Hughes said, twitching a bit. Ed just had to pick her. "She was like
that at one point. Even you and Al were, though you seem to have lost it in
the past few years. And Ling is like that. And so is May and Lan Fan. It's a
young people thing. Everyone was like it at one point."

Riza looked forward again, smiling a bit. "Not at all. There's nothing
childish about caring."

"That's right!" Hughes shouted, grinning. "Everyone cares about something

after all."

"But, of course, you shouldn't make that care so well-known, especially as a

soldier. It can put the people you care for in a dangerous spot." Mustang said.

"Even if you don't make it so well-known, it will still be seen." Hughes

retorted, looking between his friend and Riza, which made Mustang's eyes
narrow at him.
The scene moved to show the two from a downward angle behind them.

"I'd like to believe you're serious about this." Riza said. "That you really
do care. Can I trust you, Roy?"

Riza looked down. If she was being honest with herself, she gave Roy the
secret of her dad's research because the burden of carrying that secret was so
heavy. She trusted Roy at this point and gave him the research so he would
help her carry the burden of the research because she just couldn't do it alone.

"Oh." Ed said softly.

"What?" Mustang asked, frowning.

"Lieutenant trusted you this soon?" Ed asked. "You guys really must have
known each other for long if she trusted you this quickly with it."

"What makes you so sure that is what she is talking about?" Mustang
retorted.

"Because," Ed sneered, smirking at him. "You said it yourself. My guesses

have been really good lately."

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Yes, Fullmetal, this is when I got the research from
Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"He had to get it at some point." Hughes said. "But that's not what shocks me
here."

"And what is it that shocks you?" Brosh asked.

"She called him Roy!" Hughes half-shouted. "Never, in all the time I've
known Lieutenant Hawkeye, have I heard her call him that! It's the
apocalypse!"

"I don't get it." Ed said dryly. "I thought you were rooting for Colonel to
pluck up the nerve and ask Lieutenant Riza out."

Mustang growled and glared at Ed.

"And now that she is saying his first name, it is apparently wrong! You make
no sense at all! Can't you just be satisfied that they did, at one point, use each
other's first name? It means that they probably have a slim chance of actually
getting married!" Ed continued on, either ignoring or not noticing the glares
sent his way from Riza and Mustang.

Mustang raised a shaking fist, wishing to hit his subordinate so much right
now. "Fullmetal." He snarled, twitching angrily.

"I know we are all rooting for them to finally get together and save us the
suffering of them tiptoeing around each other and those fraternization laws.
So don't go yelling about an apocalypse wh–"

"FULLMETAL/EDWARD!" Mustang and Riza screamed at the same time,

glaring at the teenager, who just glanced at each of them with a deadpanned
look.

"What? Everyone sees it." Ed looked away with a sly look, but still looked at
Mustang out of the corner of his eyes. "So either you two are really blind or
are denying your love for each other."

"We see it, but you're not supposed to mention it." Havoc said, glancing
between the three, shuddering a bit in fear. "Because we value our lives."

"Dealing with Hughes is bad enough, but if you start as well, Fullmetal, you
will not live to see the end of this." Mustang snarled.

Ed scoffed. "I'm not scared of you, Colonel! Try your best!"

"Brother, please. We don't want any wars going on in here." Al said

worriedly.

"He wants one!" Ed and Mustang screamed, pointing at each other.

"And once again, they are back at each other's throats." Breda said dryly.

"Can they please go back to dealing with each other?" Fuery groaned.

Mustang glared at the back of Ed's head. It was all his fault. His and
Hughes's! He didn't love Riza that way! He never…Well, he'll admit, at least
to himself, that he did have a crush on her back then. She was just so sweet
and beautiful. She still was, but she was also a strong and loyal woman as
well. Why wouldn't he l–Damn it! He didn't like her like that! Why couldn't
Ed and Hughes just mind their own business?

"With my Father's research?" Riza asked as the sound of water hitting

the ground was heard and a shower head appeared on screen.

"What is with all the shower scenes?" Havoc asked, grinning.

Ed snorted. "As long as it's not me this time, I don't care!"

"I think you are getting too much pleasure at embarrassing people, Havoc."
Al muttered.

"Well, it all depends on who it is. Now, if it was Lieutenant, yeah." Havoc
shuddered at that thought.

Riza's face was shown from the side, head bowed with her hair shielding
her face as the water rained down on her.

"I feel like I jinxed us." Havoc groaned.

"It's one thing to see a boy in the shower, but a girl?" Ross asked, frowning.

Mustang growled to himself. How dare the future show his Lieutenant in the
shower? Seeing Fullmetal was funny, but there was nothing funny about
showing HIS Lieutenant naked in a shower. It was bad enough that part of
her past was shown, but to show this as well? Oh, the future was lucky he
didn't have his gloves or he would have fried the screen already.

Riza blushed a bit at that. She really didn't want anyone to see her naked. No
wonder Ed got so red in the face and angry when he appeared on screen in
the shower. Being stared at while in the shower would be so uncomfortable
and strange. It would feel too much like peeping with everyone watching.

"If you value your life at all, you will all shut your damn eyes now." Mustang
snarled angrily.
Sheska yelped and threw her hands over her eyes.

"Sheska, don't worry. He meant the guys." Ross told her soothingly.

Sheska nodded and peaked out through her fingers nervously.

"Does that include you, Colonel?" Ed asked sarcastically. "Or have you
already seen it all?"

Riza's face flushed a deep red color at that. How could Ed? He should know
that a shower scene was not fun at all and he was making it worse!

Mustang gaped at his youngest charge, along with some of the other soldiers.

HE DIDN'T VALUE HIS LIFE AT ALL!

Mustang rose to his feet, hands clenched at his sides. "You're dead,
Fullmetal."

Ed glanced at him then away. "I should run?"

"You should." Havoc, Hughes, Luke, Breda, Darius, and Heinkel all shouted.

Al sighed as his brother jumped on him to flip himself in the air and behind
one of the couches. Why couldn't Ed just keep his mouth shut and not mock
someone for once?

Ling glanced at Mustang as he chased after Ed. His friend seemed to like to
anger everyone. Did he not know how hazardous that was?

Riza sighed. His bosses were acting like a couple of kids again. Granted, Ed
was a kid, but he was usually more mature than this. This only happened
because her Colonel was so protective of her. She smiled softly. It was really
a bit sweet how he wanted to protect her from being ogled at. He always did
care so much about her virtue.

But now onto more serious matters. She was embarrassed but she couldn't let
Ed be killed. She didn't have her gun so that would be a bit problematic when
stopping them, but she wouldn't be Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye if she couldn't
come up with a way to handle a situation without a gun.

Rising to her feet, Riza set a stern expression on her face as she marched to
the kitchen.

*Kitchen*

"Now Colonel, I really think–" Ed yelped and ducked away from Mustang
who tried to grab him. He ran around the island to put it between the two. "I
didn't mean anything by it!"

Mustang glared at Ed across the island. "The hell you didn't! You try to act
innocent, but I see, brat! I see! You've got a little devious mind and you know
what the hell you meant by that line!"

"I can't help it that you are just too embarrassed to admit that you love her!"
Ed retorted.

"Oh?" Mustang's eyes narrowed dangerously. "The same way you are
embarrassed to admit your love for your little mechanic?"

Ed snarled and slammed his hands on the counter of the island. "Leave Winry
out of this! She has nothing to do with this."

"You are right." Mustang growled. "The problem is you mocking my

relationship with–"

"So there is something there!" Ed shouted, pointing at Mustang.

Mustang's eyes narrowed to slits and he gripped the edge of the counter
tightly. "Fullmetal." He hissed.

"Uh…" Ed said, staring wide eyed at Mustang. Maybe saying that wasn't
such a good idea. "Colonel, I–OI!"

Mustang reached across the counter and grabbed Ed by his shirt and yanked
him across the island.
"Colonel!" Ed shouted as he was dragged over to the fridge, which Mustang
threw open so hard that Ed was amazed the door didn't snap off. "Wait…
What are you doing?"

Mustang grabbed a carton of milk out of the fridge.

"No! No! No!" Ed half-shouted in fear as he tried to pull Mustang's hand off
his shirt. "I don't want milk!"

"Maybe this will teach you not to make such comments." Mustang told him.

"No!" Ed shouted as he managed to pull Mustang's hand off of his shirt. But
the moment he did, he lost the support Mustang's weight had on him that kept
him up and he fell to the ground. Ed flew to his feet to run away, but Mustang
grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him back, which sent both of them
to the ground.

Mustang wrapped his legs around Ed's to keep them trapped while one of his
arms around Ed's chest to pull him into his chest and keep him there.

"No!" Ed said, pushing the milk carton away. "I'm sorry! I won't say it
again."

Mustang stared at the milk carton for a second. 'He really hates milk if he is
trying to apologize.'

"Well, too bad, Fullmetal. It is too late for apologies." Mustang said, putting
the carton to Ed's lips, though Ed turned his head to the side.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment!" Ed screamed, struggling to break

free of Mustang's hold.

"Accept your punishment like a man, Fullmetal!" Mustang retorted, forcing

the carton to Ed's open lips.

Riza walked into the kitchen, only to freeze at the scene in front of her.
Mustang forcing Ed to drink milk….How were these two her superiors?

"Oh, hello Lieutenant!" Mustang greeted cheerfully while Ed shot her a

desperate look. He really hoped she wasn't holding a grudge.

Riza stared at the two for a moment before sighing. "Sir, don't make Edward
drink milk if he doesn't like it."

"But Lieutenant, his mouth…" Mustang whined.

"Fine. Edward, if Colonel lets you go, you promise to stop with the
comments?" Riza asked, frowning.

Ed nodded frantically.

"And if you start again, Colonel will punish you and I won't stop him that
time." Riza said.

Ed made a disgruntled noise, but did nod in agreement.

"Okay, sir, let him go now." Riza ordered, glaring at her superior and just
daring him to disobey her.

Mustang grumbled, but obeyed and let go of Ed, who flew to his feet and ran
over to the sink where he spit out all of the milk in his mouth. He turned the
faucet on and started to rinse out his mouth.

Mustang stared at the carton of milk then at Ed, who now filled the sink up
with water and dunked his head in it. Well, this carton was wasted. What
should he do with it now?

Riza stared at the two, not daring to leave the kitchen yet since she didn't trust
the two to not start fighting the minute she was gone.

Shrugging, Mustang went over to the counter to find a pen or marker. When
he found one, he wrote "Ed's punishment" on the carton and put it back in the
fridge. No reason to waste the milk completely.

Riza, who saw what he did, just sighed. Those two…

"Come on, you two." Riza said, clapping her hands. "We've wasted enough
time."
Ed lifted his head out of the sink, water trailing down his face. "It's the
Colonel's fault for being overly-sensitive." He grumbled.

"Says the brat who has to drown himself in a sink for having a bit of milk."
Mustang snapped at him.

"Boys!" Riza snapped, glaring at the two. "Enough. Colonel, you're an adult.
Act like it. Edward, you're…Edward, just go back to joking around and
hitting Ling. At least he is your age. And dry yourself off before people start
thinking that Colonel tried to drown you in here."

"Too late for that." Ed said, walking out of the kitchen, running a hand
through his wet bangs.

Riza sighed while Mustang just pinched his nose.

"He's a handful." Mustang said.

"You both are." Riza snapped at him before turning around to hide a fond
smile.

Ed poked his head back into the room. "Are you two going to kiss and make
up?"

Before either of the shocked soldiers could reply, Ed ducked back out of the
room, cackling madly.

"You should have let me drown him in milk." Mustang snarled.

*Main Room*

"Brother, you're all wet!" Al said worriedly.

"I know."

"Why do you have to test Colonel? See? He tried to drown you." Al said
frantically.

"Uh, I drowned myself in the sink, Al. Colonel didn't do this." Ed told him
calmly.

"Then what did he do?" Havoc asked amused.

Ed waved him off. "Not important. But, despite the punishment, it was totally
worth it!"

"The fact that you believe that does not surprise me in the least." Brody told
him dryly while Ed just grinned at him.

"That was enough time wasted." General Armstrong growled as Mustang and
Riza came back and took their seats next to each other since Hughes moved
over for them.

Ed turned to the two, opened his mouth to say something, but thought better
of it and turned around. He pissed Mustang off enough right now.

"Eyes shut." Mustang said angrily before the episode began again.

Riza lifted her head to show her face.

The scene changed to her back to show a burned tattoo there.

"That's an interesting tattoo." Ed said.

"Fullmetal, shut your damn eyes now!" Mustang snarled at him. "Don't you
know how to listen?"

"I feel like this conversation happened before." Ed said airily, quite amused
by all of this.

Mustang glared at him. "Fullmetal." He snarled.

"Chief! Stop testing him already!" Breda said, not opening his eyes.

"But–"

"I will make you drink a whole carton of milk if you don't shut up, brat. And
this time, Lieutenant Hawkeye won't be there to save you." Mustang growled.
Ed's eyes widened in disgust and he made a move of running his fingers
across his lips like he was zipping them. He locked them and threw the key
away before putting his hands over his eyes.

"That's better." Mustang growled.

Riza's downcast eye was shown as Black Hayate was heard to be

barking. Her eye widened and she woke up from her thoughts as her eye
moved to the corner of her eye.

Black Hayate appeared on screen, panting.

"Go ahead and open your eyes." Riza said.

"At least it wasn't long." Al said as he lowered his hands from his eyes.

"Anyway," Ed said, opening his eyes. "That tattoo on your back? Is that the
Flame Alchemy research?"

Riza smiled sadly. She was really hoping to avoid the fact that she had the
research on her back, but it seems that her future had other ideas.

"That's what you saw?" Havoc asked surprised as he had his eyes closed at
the time.

Ed nodded. "I know your dad said you had the research, but he seriously put
it on your back? Isn't that a bit…I don't know, extreme?"

"He wanted to hide it so no one would find it. No one would think to look on
his daughter's back for the secret of Flame Alchemy." Riza told him softly.

Ed swallowed. Hide his research? He could understand that. Some of the

alchemy being researched was very powerful and dangerous, but most people
just hid it in coded notes, not on someone's body.

"Did you consent to it?" Al asked with a bit of worry. Being forced to carry
the research for something so dangerous would be really dangerous for her
and if she didn't consent to it, she would be unwillingly put in that spot and it
could put a strain on her relationship with her dad.
Riza just frowned, not bothering to reply. Consensual? Was it? She would
claim that it was. That when her dad approached her to put it on her back, she
agreed to let him. But to be honest, when it was about his research, her dad
seemed a bit mad. And when he finished his research and decided to put it on
her back, she agreed only because she was scared of the mad glint in his eyes.
She didn't dare say no to that. She didn't dare scream or protest at the pain on
her back from the tattoo being put on. She just scared about it.

"Al," Ed mumbled so only his brother heard him. "Please don't ask that. We
don't know much about her father or their relationship. It's probably not
something she wants to think about."

Al stared at his brother for a moment before nodding. He could understand

that not our relationships were perfect.

The scene pulled out to show Riza, eyes closed and arms crossed,
standing outside her apartment door with Ed lying on the floor and
Black Hayate standing on him.

"Every time." Ed groaned, rubbing his head.

"The dogs really seem to love you, Chief." Avery said, grinning widely.

"I don't get why!" Ed shouted.

"Because you're so small and cuddly!" Hughes said cheerfully. "The dogs
can't help but want to pounce on you."

Ed twitched, eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Hughes, shut up about that before

I decide to hit you."

"You're very violent."

"No, Hayate. Bad dog." Riza said.

Black Hayate whined as he jumped off of Ed.

The scene moved to show Riza leaning over a bit, eyes opened, as Ed sat
up, rubbing his head. "Sorry about that." Riza said.
"Hmm," Ed said.

"What?" Mustang asked.

Ed shrugged. "Just realized something."

"And that is?"

"Lieutenant Riza is always very pretty, but she is very stunningly beautiful
when out of her uniform and when her hair is down." Ed said.

Riza smiled. "Thank you, Edward."

"At least he can admit it." Hughes said, shooting Mustang a meaningful look.

"Don't worry. It happens all the time." Ed replied.

"Humph, if that was anyone else's dog, you'd be yelling at them." Mustang
grumbled.

"If it was yours? Oh, most definitely would I be screaming at you." Ed

retorted. "But I don't yell at Lieutenant Riza."

"Why not?" Mustang demanded.

"I respect women more." Ed snapped. 'Because I know how scary they can
be.'

"You yell at Winry all the time!" Havoc pointed out.

"And at that Paninya girl." Luke added.

"Let me rephrase." Ed said, rolling his eyes. "I respect older women more."

Ed's face was shown as he lowered his hand. "So I, uh, heard you're
working for the Fuhrer."

Riza was shown, standing up straight, giving Ed a small smile. "Yeah."

The outside of the apartment complex was shown.

The scene changed to a hallway, showing Ed and Riza sitting at a table at

the end of it in a kitchen.

"Looks like things got pretty serious." Riza said.

Ed chuckled a bit sheepishly. "Just a bit."

"If that is your definition of a bit serious, than I don't want to see what you
consider a big serious situation." Riza told him.

"Whether you want to see it or not, we're going to have to see it." Ed replied
with a grimace. "Homunculi, Father, and their plan."

A pan filled with water appeared on screen. Inside it were the pieces of
Riza's gun soaking to get the blood off of them. In front of it were her
hands, holding a white cloth as she dried the pieces of her gun.

"Yeah," Ed said. "But I didn't use it."

The scene pulled out to show Riza from behind with Ed sitting in front of
her, hands on his lap.

"I didn't have to." Ed replied.

"Liar." Havoc and Luke cried.

"You were just too scared to pull the trigger." Avery added.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Just shut up."

"That reminds me." Hughes said.

"If you're going to say something stupid, I'll save you the time. Shut up now,
Hughes." Mustang snapped at him.

Hughes waved him off. "I'm not." He looked at Ed. "I was wondering. Could
you pull the trigger if you weren't aiming to kill or if you were using it for
something other than shooting someone?"

"Easily." Ed replied. "It's just with killing I can't pull the trigger."

Hughes nodded. "I see. Do you have a gun assigned to you?"

"Of course he doesn't." Al said confused while Ed just frowned and looked at
the ceiling. "He has no use for one." Noticing his brother's frown, Al stared at
him. "What's wrong?"

Ed sighed. "Al, I do have a gun. I just don't carry it on me."

"You do?" Havoc, Breda, Fuery, Falman, Walkers, Karin, Jackson, and
Skylak asked shocked.

"You guys work with him in the east. How could you not know?" Brody
asked confused.

"It's not surprising they don't know." Riza said, eyes closed as she sighed.
"Only Colonel, myself, and Edward knew about the gun he owns. I only
know because I am the one who helped him get it."

Al glared at his brother. "When was this? And why didn't you tell me?"

Ed scratched his cheek with a finger. "I wonder."

"Brother!"

Ed sighed. "It was when I was fourteen, Al. It was just something I was
required to do at that point. I signed on for it by the Generals' order, but it
was something I was ordered to do. Colonel and Lieutenant Riza disagreed
with the order to giving a kid a gun so we agreed that we wouldn't spread the
news around. I would get the gun, but I would leave it with Lieutenant Riza.
The only time I am to have it on me is if I am at HQ and there is an
inspection. Since I haven't been there for an inspection, no one knows I have
it…well, they didn't until now."

"But why didn't you tell me?" Al asked hurt.

"Because I didn't think it was important to know since I wouldn't be carrying
it on me!" Ed exclaimed. "It wouldn't be the first thing you don't know about
what I do at work!"

"There's more?" Al asked.

Ed groaned and put his face in his hands. Al knew about the missions that Ed
couldn't tell him about, but he didn't know the rest that happened in HQ.

"Nice one, Fullmetal." Mustang said. "I thought you could keep your mouth
shut."

Ed's head snapped to him. "Shut up! I last three years without one slip!"

"What else happened?" Al demanded.

Sighing, Ed looked at his brother. "You know I can't tell you, Al. Military
stuff."

Al huffed and looked away from his brother, missing the hurt look in Ed's
eyes. It's not like Ed didn't want to tell him. He just couldn't.

"So that gun Lieutenant Hawkeye handed you in the future." Ross asked.
"Was it yours or hers?"

"It was definitely mine, but I handed him that gun because that is the one he
owns and is most familiar with." Riza replied.

Ed looked down.

Riza was shown, looking down at her hands as she dried the piece of gun
that was in her hands.

"Well, I," Ed said as he was shown to still be looking down. "I couldn't
pull the trigger."

Riza's face appeared on screen as she looked up in surprise.

"Why so surprised?" May asked confused. "Are you shocked that he had an
instance where he had to use it but couldn't?"

"I'm sure that is part of the reason." Riza replied.

"And the other part?" Hughes asked.

Havoc sighed. "That he hesitated. In the shooting range, Chief never hesitates
in pulling the trigger and he never misses. It's what makes him almost as
good as Lieutenant Hawkeye."

Riza nodded. "I must be surprised, but I really shouldn't be since Ed has
never used a gun in a real life situation."

"No wonder he is so hesitant about using it! You need to throw him into a
situation where he can't use alchemy and has to rely on it." General
Armstrong growled.

"I think I would just carry a hidden knife on me or use martial arts if that was
the case." Ed said dryly.

Gentle, sad music began as the scene pulled up to show the two and
Black Hayate, who was staring up at Ed, from a downward angle.

"It's pathetic, huh?" Ed asked.

"He admits it!" Havoc, Luke, Avery, and Myers shouted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Idiots."

"At least you can admit that it's sad that you can't pull it." Darius scoffed.

"You can shut up." Ed snapped at him.

"You're not the boss of me." Darius retorted.

"Well, who is? I want to talk to him about you and your buddies being rude
people!" Ed snapped.

"And what about you, you rude brat?" Heinkel retorted.

"We all know who my superior is!" Ed shouted, pointing at Mustang without
bothering to look at him. "That arrogant jerk!"

"What was that, you brat?" Mustang snapped.

"You heard me, Mustang." Ed shot back.

"Uh, Ed, I think–" Ling started, only to get glared at by Ed.

"Who said you could talk?" Ed snapped at him. "Do you want me to kick
your ass to hell?"

Ling raised his hands in defeat.

Ed turned back to continue his argument with Heinkel and Darius, but before
he could, he heard Ling say, "I honestly don't think you have any reason to be
annoyed at me. In fact, I'm sure of it! You have no reason, Ed!"

Ed scoffed.

"You're upset with me, Ed. I don't know what for, but you're hiding your
concern about my choice behind your anger." Ling said, frowning.

"I already told you, Ling!" Ed snapped. "I was angry, but I was going to look
passed it because of our friendship."

"Then why are you so mad at me right now?" Ling retorted.

Ed paused, staring at Ling for a moment before looking away. "I don't know.
I just am."

"No." Ling's eyes narrowed at Ed. "You do know. I told you, Ed. I'm your
friend and I see you. You're angry and you just won't tell me."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I told you, Ling. I'm just upset with your choice. It is
nothing more than that."

"Sure it isn't, Ed. Does our friendship mean that little to you? I know you
won't tell me no matter how much I ask, but how about stop throwing so
much anger at me? I don't like having my friends mad at me." Ling snapped
at him.

"You never let anything go! I'm not mad or hiding anything behind my anger!
I'm just frustrated!" Ed retorted.

"Hey, seriously, guys. It's bad enough when you argue in our language. It's
pretty annoying to hear you argue in Xingese." Avery told them annoyed.

"Shut up." Ed and Ling snapped at him before going back to glaring at each
other.

"Frustrated?" Ling asked, staring at Ed. "About what? Come on, Ed. You can
tell me. Didn't the break last night relax you?"

When Ed just stared at the screen, frowning in annoyance, Ling sighed. "Ed."
He said softly, but just got a cold glare in response that said leave-it-alone.

Ling sighed and glanced at Al, who was still a bit annoyed with his brother
for keeping the secret about the gun. He glanced at Ed than at Al. He
suppressed a groan. He needed Al for this, but with Al annoyed and Ed and
him talking in Xingese to keep it private, it was too complicated! What was
he going to do? Ed needed someone to talk to and it obviously wasn't going
to be him anytime soon. And Al was too annoyed to be of any help.

"If I had just…Well, I was just useless." Ed continued as Riza stared at

him.

"What?" Havoc asked shocked.

Ling stared at Ed, frowning. Useless? Useless about what? He did so much in
all of his fights that took place. Well, except for the one inside of Gluttony
against Envy, but they could excuse that one as a moment of weakness for
Ed. And he did get them out of Gluttony so that made up for it.

"You weren't useless at all, Ed. You did as much as you could. That's all
anyone could ask of you." Riza told him gently.

Ed frowned. Wasn't useless? He made Winry cry and let her find out the truth
about her parents' death. He then sent her to HQ and got her in the sights of
the Homunculi, making her bait for him! He froze in his and Ling's fight
against Envy and just made everything worse for both of them and almost
died there, which would leave his baby brother behind and leave Ling trapped
inside of Gluttony to die of starvation or by Envy's hands. He couldn't even
land a hand on Father. And then he couldn't shoot Envy and save Ling from
falling to Greed. He messed up in everything!

"No one should expect perfection from anyone." Riza added when Ed still
looked down.

Riza looked back down at her gun pieces and continued to dry them.
"Tell me what happened."

"Will you tell her what is bothering you?"

"Yes," Ed said.

"Really?" Avery asked surprised.

Ed shrugged. "I need to talk to someone about it. Lieutenant Riza seems to be
the best person to talk to about it."

"Why is that?" Hughes asked curiously.

"She doesn't have a biased opinion about it. She understands what I am
feeling. And she won't mock me or anything. She'll just listen and give advice
where she can." Ed replied.

Ed looked down.

Ed was zoomed in on. "You know Scar? I found out he murdered

Winry's parents."

Scar looked down, frowning. It seemed that was going to come up a lot now.
No matter how bad he felt about those deaths, which he does admit shouldn't
have happened, they were not going to come back. They were the first deaths
he caused, and they were something he had to live with.
Riza's hands were shown. They stopped drying her gun.

A hand appeared on screen to be reaching towards a gun with Ed

shouting something.

Scar was shown, staring at the gun pointed at him.

Winry's face with tears pouring down it appeared on screen.

"She could've shot him."

Ed bit his lip. Could have and would have. He saw the desperation and
anguish in her eyes. He knew that if he wasn't there to stop her, she would
have done it. If he didn't jump in front of her, she could have pulled that
trigger. Whether the bullet actually hit Scar was another thing, and that didn't
matter to Ed. All that matter was the fact that he knew she could have pulled
that trigger and that she would have forever regretted it, because like her
parents, her hands were for healing and giving life, not killing. It would have
ruined her to shoot that gun. He was told that he was reckless for jumping in
front of her, but he knew better. He hurt Winry by letting her hear him yell at
Scar for killing her parents, but he also saved her from destroying herself. But
she should have never been forced into that situation.

Riza's back appeared on screen with Ed in front of her. "But deep down,
I knew that would be wrong." Ed said. "And all of a sudden that gun
seemed like something evil."

"Wait, you didn't see guns as evil before Winry picked it up to shoot Scar?"
Ross asked confused.

"I never liked guns, but my hatred of them grew more when I saw Winry
holding one while in that much anguish and wanting revenge for the pain and
loss that someone else caused her." Edward said, wringing his fingers
together and around each other as a dark look entered his eyes. "Like Scar's
master said, it would just cause an endless cycle of revenge. Everything Scar
is doing is causing people anger and sorrow, so they know how he feels and
it's just a huge cycle of revenge if this continues. Seeing Winry like that, I
saw the urge for revenge raging in her and I didn't like it. It didn't belong in
her."

"Seeing a gun in the hands of a dear friend after revenge put the thought that
guns are just used for killing and revenge in your head." Riza summarized.

Ed nodded.

Havoc stared at Ed, slightly dizzy. "I didn't get that at all."

"It was there, just hard to see." Breda muttered.

"Next thing I knew."

Ed's face appeared on screen, turning upside down. Ed was shown to be

sitting on the ground, blocking Winry from Scar while pinning the gun
to the ground.

"You were doing a reckless move!" Mustang said.

"I don't regret it." Ed muttered to himself. He could never regret it if it meant
protecting Winry. He didn't want her to be so naïve anymore, but he didn't
want her to lose her kind nature. He would protect her from losing her
kindness by making sure she never had to do anything so horrible to anyone.

Ed appeared on screen, being seen from an upward angle, holding a

mug. "I stopped her, but I honestly think she would've shot him if I
hadn't been there."

Al's hands tightened into fists. She would have done it? Did his brother really
believe Winry capable of pulling that trigger? Taking a life was a very hard
thing to do. It was something he and his brother have never been able to do,
and yet his brother thought Winry, who has never been in a real fight or knew
just how dangerous this world was, would be able to do it?

"She could hardly stop crying once I got the gun away."

Winry was shown, covering half of her face with her hand as tears
trailed down her face. She bowed her head, grabbing Ed's red coat in her
hands.
Ed's mug appeared on screen. His reflection was seen in his drink. "And
it's my fault. I've got no resolve."

"That's a lie if I ever heard one." Al said angrily. "What about all your
determination to get my body back?"

"Or your resolve to use the souls in Envy's stone as payment to get us out of
Gluttony?" Ling asked.

"And what about my weakness in fighting Envy inside of Gluttony or not

being able to shoot Envy when my alchemy was sealed?" Ed retorted angrily.

"You had a few moments of weakness!" Ling argued. "It happens. Even the
strongest person is still human, Ed. So he still has his weak moments.
Everybody is vulnerable to something. Just because you made a few mistakes
and were weak to some things, it doesn't mean anything. You're still strong
and determined. You can fix things."

"I only managed to make things worse."

"It just means that you tried. It is better than doing nothing." Riza said softly.
"And it means you can continue to try to fix it and make it right. That is
always better than doing nothing."

The scene moved to show Ed from behind on the one side of the screen
with Riza in front of him, drying her gun again. "You're just dwelling on
this stuff because you made it back alive."

Ed raised a brow at that. "So basically, you're saying that future me wasn't
expecting to survive any of that?" He asked. "And now that he did, he is
thinking up of all the things he did wrong in the twenty-four hours of fighting
and no sleeping?"

"Yes," Riza said.

"It is amazing he did survive all of it." Mustang said, frowning as he leaned
back in his seat. "In fact, it's amazing all of you survived all of that."

"Isn't that more because they wouldn't let each other die?" Hughes asked. "Al
protected his brother against Scar. Ling saved Lan Fan from being eaten by
Gluttony. Lan Fan cut her arm off to get Bradley off their trail to protect her
prince from him. Ed carried Ling when he gave up in Gluttony to die of
starvation. Ling saved Ed from Envy at one point. Ed saved them both by
using Envy's stone to get them out of there. May, unintentionally though it
was, set Al and Ed free from being pinned by Envy, allowing them to fight
and get Scar to help them. Al protected May. They were always fighting, but
in the process, they were doing what they could to protect each other and
keep everyone alive!"

Ed twitched, looking slyly at Ling and then at Al. "What can we say?"

"We're just loyal friends." Ling added.

"And siblings." Al said.

"And subordinates." Lan Fan said.

"Plus, I don't think any of us actually like death." May added in.

"You kids are insane." Jerso said, smirking. "Insanely loyal to each other."

"They would make the perfect team." Zampano said, grinning. "Xingese
royalty, subordinate, and a couple alchemist brothers. All of them highly
skilled in martial arts and intelligent."

"Not really a team I would want to meet." Clarink said.

Ed looked up at her.

Riza was zoomed in on. She lifted a small piece of her gun and looked at
it. "You need to stay focused on living. That's how you'll help Winry."

The scene moved to show Ed holding his mug, still looking downcast. He
lifted his mug to his lips to drink.

"How else can you protect her?" Riza said.

Ed looked up at her.
The scene pulled out to show the two and Black Hayate.

"I mean after all, you love her, don't you?" Riza asked.

Ed half-shouted, half-gagged himself by grabbing his throat and falling over.

"Uh…Brother?" Al asked worriedly, looking down at his brother in concern.

Ling blinked as he looked at Ed. Well, that wasn't the reaction he was
expecting to that.

Ed flew half-way up, to glare with his eyes over the edge of the coffee table.
"Even you, Lieutenant? Even YOU?! I FEEL BETRAYED!" He fell face
down back onto the carpet to hide his burning face.

Mustang laughed loudly. "That's what you get, Fullmetal!"

"It's not like you are fooling anyone." Riza said calmly. "It's quite obvious
you have feelings for her."

Ed groaned into the carpet.

"So stop denying it, Ed!" Hughes added, grinning widely. "I'm surprised there
haven't been more people mentioning it to you since you make it so obvious!"

"I hate you all."

Ed was shown from behind. His head whipped to the side as he spit out
his coffee in Black Hayate's face.

The scene moved to his face as he looked at Riza, completely red in the
face. "No! No! No! No!" He said as both he and Black Hayate shook
their heads quickly. He shook his hands quickly. "It's…It's not like that!
W-we've just been friends since we were little kids. She's like family to
me! I mean, of course I'm going to protect her, you know."

"You're still not fooling anyone." Havoc said slyly.

Ed lifted his head off the ground only to slam it back on it. Why? Why was
this always being mentioned and brought up? Couldn't they just forget this?!
What was wrong with him caring so much about Winry because they are
close friends and she is like family? There was always a hidden implication
in everything!

Riza was shown, looking down at her gun again. "What happened with
Scar." Her gun was shown as she screwed in a screw. "I'm sorry. This
only added to your burdens."

The two were shown at the table from an upward angle.

"At this point, what's it matter?" Ed groaned into the carpet. "The more the
merrier! Let's just add a whole lot more crap to my burdens. It makes no
difference anymore. Nothing is simple anyway! It's just one new burden after
the other at this point!"

"I'm surprised you're not slowly dying of stress if that is how you are living."
Ling told him.

Ed lifted his head off the ground to stare him. "I am suffering under burdens
and my job, not stress."

"Stress will show up because of all of that at some point." Ling retorted.

"I know." Ed grumbled. "I've dealt with it enough times."

"I'm surprised you're not more stress, considering you a kid in the military."
Havoc said.

"It's not like you see him all the time." Al muttered.

Ed was zoomed in on. He looked up at Riza.

The scene pulled out to show the two from behind Ed.

"I've got to ask." Ed said. "Does it ever feel like a burden to you?"

"I've lost the right to look at it that way." Riza replied, not looking up
from reassembling her gun. "So I'd be wrong to complain. I'm not proud
of it." She was zoomed in on as she closed her eyes. "But I've killed too
many to feel sorry from myself."

"Well, I don't fully understand that, but at least you aren't pushing the blame
for what you did onto someone else." Ed said.

"Why would they do that?" May asked confused.

"Some people have a hard time accepting what they did, whether it was in
war or just a horrible mistake they made. They just can't accept it so they
push the blame of it on someone else to convince themselves that they did
nothing wrong and won't get in trouble." Ed murmured softly.

"And others can't help but take all the blame and put it on themselves."
Mustang added, looking pointedly at Ed and Al.

"Hey! We are not the ones on trial here!" Ed protested.

"There's a trial going on? Since when?" Al asked. "Most people just find
Brother immediately guilty. They don't bother with a trial."

Ed shot his brother a look. "Hardy har har, Al."

"Besides," She opened her eyes. "I can't deny that I'm the one who chose
this path."

"When did you become a soldier?" Lan Fan asked curiously, looking at Riza.
The more she saw of Riza, from her past and her future, the more she liked
the older woman. She was a very strong and independent woman. She took
no crap from anyone but was still completely loyal to Mustang without a
question. She was definitely someone that Lan Fan could look up to,
especially since they were a bit alike. Maybe she could be someone to help
Lan Fan with some things.

Riza blinked for a moment before smiling at the girl. "Winry asked me the
same question when I first met her. And I'll give you the same answer I gave
her. Because there's someone I have to protect."

Hughes smiled a bit. It seemed the girls, May, Lan Fan, and Future Winry a
bit, really looked up to Hawkeye. The girls were strong in their own ways,
but seeing someone like Hawkeye, her burdens and how she stuck through
them all would teach these girls to be that much stronger. He didn't know
much about Hawkeye's past, but he knew a bit from the war. And it wasn't
easy, but she stood tall through it all and followed Mustang loyally without
question. Lan Fan and May could learn a lot from her, just from her
experiences in the war.

Ed was shown, staring at her with wide, shocked eyes. He swallowed.

"You mean Ishval?"

Riza's shoulders and the bottom half of her face were shown as she
continued to work on her gun.

Ed's face was shown close up. "Can I ask you about that? Would it be
alright?"

"No wonder this episode is about the war. Edo is asking for a history lesson!"
Ling said.

Ed scowled at him. "Again with that name?"

"It still bothers you, so yes." Ling replied.

Black Hayate was shown, looking up at the screen. He whined and tilted
his head a bit.

The gun appeared on screen as Riza clicked the mag back in it.

A foot appeared on screen.

The scene pulled up to show Scar from behind as he looked down at Dr.
Marcoh, who was sitting on the floor and grimacing.

"It's time to confess." Scar said.

The scene moved to show Dr. Marcoh's face on half the screen from an
upward angle so Scar could still be seen looking down on him.
"Tell me your sins."

"Argh, sounds like some religious leader you are confessing to." Ed groaned.

"How would you know what that sounds like?" Breda asked.

Ed stared at him, frowning. "What do you guys think I do on missions? Look

at the mission details and just charge in there to arrest without doing any
investigating?"

"Basically." Havoc replied.

Rolling his eyes, Ed looked at his brother. "You would be wrong. I do

thorough investigating on my missions. And that investigating has included
going into churches."

"You make it sound like such a pain." Brody said.

"It is. It's even worse when I have to go into church when it's not even for a
mission. I just somehow end up in it!" Ed said, frowning.

"Why did you go to it then?" Havoc asked curiously.

Ed shrugged. "I got injured."

"Shocker." Mustang muttered.

Ed shot him a glare. "There wasn't a hospital nearby and I was bleeding a lot
so I collapsed on the steps to the church. The Head Priest found me and
helped me into the church and helped me."

"Wait." Hughes said confused. "Where was Al?"

"We got into a fight earlier that day and went our own ways in the town." Ed
explained.

Al glanced at his brother. He heard the story of what happened that day. Al
was sitting at the only source of water in the town, a river, as he thought
about their fight. When Ed didn't show up like he normally did to find him
after a fight, he started to get really worried. In the end, he took two days to
find his injured brother. The church was the last place he expected to find
him.

"And once again, not surprised about you getting into a fight." Mustang said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I do not always get into fights when Al isn't with me."

"That is hard to believe." Hughes said.

"No faith." Ed grumbled.

"What did you do to my people?" Scar asked angrily.

"You definitely angered him." Zampano said, frowning.

"Scar has always been an angry person so angering him is not hard to do." Ed
said.

Barren land with smoke rising in the distance appeared on screen as

gentle, mysterious music began.

"Even if I didn't ask Lieutenant Riza, we still would have seen this because of
Dr. Marcoh." Ed said.

"Ishval is a harsh and barren country, filled with rocks and sand." Riza's
voice said.

"Back and forth. Back and forth." Hughes groaned. "I thought this was
supposed to be Dr. Marcoh's side as we just saw him and Scar."

"Make up your mind, future!" Jerso shouted.

"Considering the terrain, it's not surprising it would give birth to such a
stringent religion."

Scar frowned at that. It wasn't said in an offensive way, but there was nothing
wrong with his religion being strict. It gave him a code to go by while other
people were too free and loose in their lifestyle. They needed more strictness
in their lives. There were so many problems in this world because humans
didn't have enough strictness in their lives.

A group of Ishvalans sitting in a circle in a hut appeared on screen.

Ishvalans in one of their street markets was shown.

"Or that its people would be so earnest and resolute."

Miles smiled a bit to himself. His people took their religion and beliefs very
seriously. They were strict in their teachings and by living by it. His paternal
grandfather taught his father the religion. And in turn, his father taught him it
so he knew his religious teachings well. Despite being a soldier for the
country that destroyed Ishval, Miles did follow the religious teachings.

A group of Ishvalans standing on a platform, rallying their people,

appeared on screen.

"It's only natural that a faction of the population would protest the
country's annexation by Amestris."

"A faction?" Ling asked, frowning. "It seems like most of the country
protested it, didn't they?"

"Despite their strict teachings and being so set in their ways, they were
actually some Ishvalans who supported the annexation and tried to argue that
it was right and best for Ishval." Mustang explained, arms crossed with his
hands gripping his upper arms tightly. "Though that support died down when
Envy shot that child. There was actually a lot of support for it before Envy
messed it up. That killed it all."

"Really?" Ling said interested. He looked at Ed. "I was expecting you to
answer."

Ed rolled his eyes, but he did look just as interested as Ling. "Ling, I was a
kid when all this happened. I knew very little about it and it's not like there is
any concrete information about it that I can look into."

Miles frowned at that information. The truth about Ishval would never be
known by the kids of Amestris. They would grow up, oblivious of the horrors
that their military caused in Ishval. And if they did learn anything, it would
just be biased information that the government allowed the kids to learn. And
they would probably make it seem like the Ishvalans were the ones at fault.
The only ones who knew the truth would be the soldiers that were in the war
and the Ishvalans. And even then, it would all eventually die down and be
forgotten. And if it was forgotten, the future generation would learn nothing
about the mistakes that the past made and would be doomed to repeat it. That
couldn't happen. They had to know the truth so that it could be fixed and so it
would never happen again.

Ed turned to Riza. "So is that why you said it was only a faction of the
population that protested?"

Riza nodded. "Yes, Edward. Like the Colonel said, the annexation, though
while not widely popular with Ishval, was supported. They didn't like, but
agreed that Amestris could probably help them as long as we didn't use
alchemy in Ishval. That was agreed to because the more alchemy that was
used around them, the more that the tension between Ishval and Amestris
grew."

A soldier holding a gun appeared on screen, being shown from a

distance.

The soldier's face was zoomed in on, eyes bright blue as he looked down.

"Their mistrust was soon justified."

A little Ishvalan girl looked up at him with her bright red eyes and a
smile as the gun rose to her face. The smile dropped from her face and
she took a small step back.

Miles frowned as he crossed his arms. They had already seen Envy shoot this
child. Seeing it once was hard enough. Why did they have to see it again?
Seeing Envy shoot that child just got his blood boiling, not that anyone would
know that since he kept a tight wrap on his emotions. That one bullet was
what started everything. It was what started the destruction of his Ishvalan
roots.
The soldier was shown, grinning widely.

The scene pulled out, going to a negative color effect as the soldier shot
his gun. The bullet tore through the girl's head, adding the only color to
the scene. Bright red blood that splashed out of her head.

Scar's hands clenched into fists as he watched that. That poor girl was used as
a means by Envy to start that war. She did not deserve to be shot like that.
And there were Ishvalans around who watched that child get shot and they
couldn't stop it. They were supposed to protect children, keep them safe from
harm and make sure they grew up well. And yet, this is what happened to that
child because of the Homunculi. And she was only the first of many.

A group of angry protesting Ishvalans appeared on screen with soldiers

standing in front of them with guns.

"That one bullet changed everything."

The scene moved along to show all the angry Ishvalans.

"Their mistrust turned to outrage. And dissidence spread like a

contagion."

"I was wondering something." Al said. "Do you guys think something like a
war would have still happened in Ishval without Envy shooting that child?
There was a lot of tension between Ishval and Amestris, right?"

"It really depends on how the situation was handled." Hughes replied,
frowning as he thought. "If tensions kept rising as they were, a rebellion
probably would have happened. And as we saw in Liore, rebellions like that
can be pretty violent. If we worked on cutting down tensions and negotiating
between the Ishvalans and Amestrians, maybe things could have turned out
differently, but it is a difficult thing to judge, Al. We can never know what
could have truly happened differently."

"Most of my people would not have started a conflict," Scar said. "They
didn't like Amestrians presence, but they tolerated it. The ones that would
have caused a problem would have been the protestors."
"And the Amestrians defending themselves against them or pushing them
back would just cause anger among your people and cause more problems."
Mustang told him.

Scar frowned, but didn't rebuke that statement. It was true. In any situation
where that could have happened, tensions would have risen.

The roof of some buildings appeared on screen as an explosion rocked

the screen and dark smoke filled up the air.

As the scene changed and it turned dark, only the fire in the background
being any light, a group of Ishvalans, some holding pitchforks or guns,
were seen walking passed the fire.

"That looks ominous." Ling said.

Ed elbowed him in the side. "Not the time for jokes." He hissed quietly.

"I wasn't joking. It really does look dangerous." Ling whispered back.

"Doesn't mean you have to comment on it." Ed whispered feverishly back.

The scene faded to the background as a map faded onto the screen.

A crackling fire appeared at the bottom of the map where Ishval was. It
expanded itself to reach other parts of the country.

"It soon escalated into a civil war. And the fighting lasted seven long
years."

A scene of Bradley sitting at the head of a table with his generals around
the table appeared on screen. Bradley was signing a piece of paper.

"Until a simple one page document determined the Ishvalans fate."

Bradley slid the paper over to the side of the table where the soldier
standing at his shoulder stamped it with the seal.

Scar scowled angrily at Riza's words. It took a single page to send the State
Alchemists into his country and ravish it? One page was all it took to decide
the fate of his people? A single piece of paper was the decision maker to kill
innocent civilians, kids and women, who couldn't fight to defend themselves!
The decision they made was horrible enough, but the way Riza said it made it
sound like it was a simple decision for them to make. There should be
nothing simple about killing.

The Amestrian State Alchemist's crest that was on the paper appeared
on screen. The scene slowly pulled out from the crest.

The paper was shown with a black background with fire raging in front
of it at the bottom of the screen.

"Executive Order 3066. The official order to initiate the Ishvalan War of
Extermination."

Soldiers appeared on screen, marching towards Ishval. Tense, dramatic

music began as the sound of the soldiers' marching feet was heard.

"Is that really the official name of what that war was?" May asked, frowning
darkly. "An extermination of the people?"

Mustang rubbed his temple. "Extermination of everything, not just the

people. The point of the war was to destroy the country, the people, the
culture, the religion. The higher-ups' idea was to destroy the problem
completely."

Ed snorted. "Stupid. Obviously some of the Ishvalans were going to run from
Ishval to survive when they saw the fight was fruitless when the State
Alchemists showed up." He pulled at the carpet in frustration. "And the
military may have destroyed their land, killed their people, taken everything
from them, but they would not take their faith and religion from them. They
would not let themselves be killed of their faith. That would be when they
finally lost. As long as they stick to their faith and religion, they are still alive
and who they are. Nothing can take that from them."

"You seem to believe strongly in this, despite not being religious." Havoc
said.
"It's not just about religion!" Ed shouted angrily. "It can be about anything
you believe in that someone tries to take from you or make you lose faith in.
And from what I've seen, Ishvalans are very religious and believe strongly,
right? Nothing the military did was going to kill them completely."

"As long as enough blood was split to make a crest, I do not believe the
Homunculi really care." Miles said darkly, though he was looking at Ed
contemplating. What he said did have value in it. Keeping their religion and
faith alive would keep the Ishvalans alive and they wouldn't die out. It wasn't
just their looks that would distinguish them from Amestrians, but also their
beliefs that they stuck strongly too.

The soldiers' feet appeared on screen to be walking down a road in

Ishval.

Their faces were shown, completely blank and unblinking.

The scene changed to a row of cannons, firing one after the other.

A cannon was shown from behind with two soldiers, one kneeling and
one standing, by it.

A part of Armstrong's face appeared on screen as he stared at the battle.

Armstrong grimaced at his appearance in the war. He was there for a while,
so it wasn't a surprise that he was shown. But he just didn't like the reminder.
Though he didn't like it, he wasn't going to run from it. He would no longer
run from anything. If that war taught him anything, it was to stick to his
belief. It was to stand up and fight for what he believed in. No more running.

A hand with a transmutation circle and writing all over it appeared next.

"Giolio Comanche." Ed said.

"Know him?" Ling asked.

"No, we saw Scar kill him, remember? It was the first thing we watched
when you arrived." Ed told him. "I noticed his tattoos then."
Kimblee was shown from behind, standing on top of a cliff as he looked
over Ishval, which had smoke rising out of it.

"And that is Kimblee, right?" Ed asked.

"Most likely." Mustang said.

"Don't know him for sure?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "Haven't seen much of him. I only recognized Giolio because of

the tattoos."

The bottom half of Grand's face and his shoulders were shown from the
side as his arm, which was covered in a metal gauntlet and a ring around
his wrist, was lifted.

"Basque Grand." Ed said.

"Who?" May asked.

"State Alchemist that Scar killed a few weeks before we came here." Ed
replied. "Those gauntlets of his are pretty unique."

Mustang's hand appeared on screen as he was pulling on his ignition

glove.

"Fullmetal?"

"Like Major Armstrong, you get no comment from me." Ed growled. "You
know who you are."

"And we also knew who the others were." Mustang retorted.

"May, Lan Fan, Fu, and Ling didn't!" Ed said loudly in annoyance. "And…"

"And?" Mustang prompted.

Ed scowled. "Nothing."
The screen showed Mustang's face as he lifted his eyes, which were
shadowed with determined anguish, to the screen. A blue spark flashed
in front of his face before the scene changed to soldiers that were ducked
behind walls, one of them injured, as guns fired out one of the buildings
at them. A moment later an explosion rocked the building, sending the
whole thing up into flames.

Scar's hands tightened into fists as he watched that. He saw so many

explosions caused by the Flame Alchemist during the war. Every explosion
he saw Mustang cause just got his blood boiling. He was setting his people on
fire with that horrible alchemy. They were being burned to death by him. The
smell of burning flesh and fire filled the air of the war because of him. It was
a horrible smell, something that Scar never wanted to smell again.

Miles frowned as he watched Mustang blow up a building with his people in

it. He couldn't fault Mustang for it. He was doing his job in the war and
protecting his comrades. Being a soldier himself, he could understand that
killing was necessary in war. He killed soldiers who had family and people
he was fighting for as well. He didn't like it, but he could understand the
actions.

The scene changed to show Ed staring at Riza.

"It was like hell on Earth." Riza's face was shown. She was looking
down, frowning, and her eyes sad and dark as she recalled the war. "The
air was tainted with the smell of human decay. And the desert sand
soaked up the blood like a sponge."

Ed grimaced as he listened to Riza's words. Riza was the best person for him
to ask about the war, because unlike the others, she would not hold back. He
always knew that. Hughes would never tell him anything if he ever asked.
And Mustang, well, he didn't give a lot of information away ever so there was
no way that he would tell him too much about the war if he ever asked. He
probably didn't even want to discuss it. Riza probably didn't either, but she
would so Ed would understand. Mustang probably didn't want to discuss it
because of the horror he went through in using his alchemy for war for the
first time.
"You're getting pretty graphic." Hughes said with a frown.

"Edward can handle it, and he'll understand it better if I am." Riza told him.

"That doesn't make it any easier for you." Mustang said quietly so only she
and Hughes heard him. "This is hard for you. I know this is very difficult for
you."

"It's hard," Riza admitted. "But many things in life are. And by telling
Edward, I am educating him of the horror that is war and how it was wrong.
By telling him, the truth of it won't die with those of us who were in it."

Ed's face appeared on screen. He was staring in horror at Riza.

An Ishvalan seen through a scope appeared on screen.

The scene moved to show the Ishvalan from behind as he stood amongst
his dead comrades. A partially destroyed building was a small distance
from it. From it was a small flash of light that was accompanied by the
sound of a gun going off before the Ishvalan was giving a small shout as
he went flying back into the ground.

The screen showed Riza, face partially hidden by a tan-white cloak hood.
She lowered her gun and stared with dead eyes.

Scar growled to himself. All the anger he felt about this war was coming
raging back. It never left. It only got redirected from everything he has seen
of their future. But seeing the war again, seeing parts of it he was not there to
see before, was bringing his full rage he felt for the soldiers back.

"Most combat is blind. A normal soldier might fire erratically without a

clear target in mind."

Riza's face was zoomed in on to show her shadowed eyes.

"But it's different for snipers. Someone is sure to die when we pull the
trigger."

Ling tapped a finger on his knee with a frown. "Do you remember every
face?"

Riza grimaced and tightened her hands shut. "Every single one. It is
impossible to forget them."

Mustang put his hand by his leg on the couch and Riza lowered one of her
hands down to it. He closed his hand tightly around hers to tell her that he
would stay with her the whole way through. They both knew how difficult it
was. The faces never left their minds. They would come back to haunt them
at the worst possible time. It was difficult, but they dealt with it for years.
They could suffer all the guilt until they could make up for it.

A pile of dead Ishvalans surrounded by blood appeared on screen.

May grimaced at the sight of those bodies. She wasn't a stranger to training or
fighting, but she has never seen something so gruesome. Their bodies were
just lying everywhere, bleeding out as they died or maybe they died the
moment they were shot. It was such a horrible sight.

Al glanced at May as she swallowed thickly. He couldn't blame her for the
look of horror on her face or how pale she was. He was just as horrified by
what he was seeing and what Riza was saying. War really did look like a
horrible thing. It was not something he would ever want to get involved in.
Well, hopefully he would never have to. Dealing with the Homunculi seemed
hard enough. He had to wonder though. Which would be worse? Fighting
against immortal beings or going to war and being forced to kill people in
order to survive and follow his orders? Considering he wasn't a soldier, he
would never have to deal with that, but his brother was a soldier. What if it
happened to him? Al's hands clenched into fists at that thought. He would
never be able to handle it if his brother went to war.

The scene slowly moved up to show an Ishvalan walking slowly and

slightly hunched.

"Where other soldiers don't always have a direct line of sight on the
effects of their actions."

There was the sound of gun firing and the Ishvalans was shot in the back
before he fell onto his face.

"Snipers do."

Grand was shown as he walked through a part of Ishval. He was walking

towards the screen.

"And of course, the State Alchemists."

"I was wondering something." Ed said, frowning. "I don't know much about
Grand. What was he like during the war?"

"He was a great man of honor." Hughes told him as he recalled Grand. They
were in the same unit for some time. "He didn't like the war and wanted to
end it quickly, and he also did what he could to protect his men. He would
charge in as a vanguard in battles, despite his men protesting against him
doing it."

"Kind of sounds like something Fullmetal would do." Mustang said,

smirking.

Ed scoffed. "Like you wouldn't do it to if it meant being able to protect your

men?"

The smirk Mustang was wearing dropped and he shrugged in reply. He

couldn't deny that.

Hughes rolled his eyes at the two, but frowned when he looked back at the
screen. He recalled Grand shooting his superior officer when the Supreme
Cleric offered himself up to end the fighting. Since Fessler refused to
cooperate, Grand shot him in front of a bunch of soldiers, and no one even
batted an eye at it. It was something that all the soldiers kept quiet about.
Hughes never even told Mustang that small bit of information.

A group of Ishvalans were shown to be hiding behind parts of destroyed

buildings, watching and waiting. One of them gasped before the scene
changed to show Grand's torso and arms, where his gauntlets were.

The scene quickly moved up to show his face. "Listen here. I am the Iron
Blood Alchemist, Basque Grand." He lifted his arms.

The scene moved to show one of his arms lifted high into the air.

"Iron and blood!" Grand's face was shown as he moved his other arm
across his chest. "I am both soldier and weapon."

The scene pulled out to show him from the front at a small distance.

Grand moved his arms down to hold them stiffly in front of his chest.
"Now stand down." He suddenly slammed his fists together and bright
blue alchemical light sparked around the screen. "I am the only man
able to take the lead in this battle."

"…Did he just give a speech in the middle of battleground?" Ling asked.

"Why didn't one of the Ishvalans shoot him in the middle of it?" Ed asked
blankly.

"Because it is rude to interrupt someone when they are talking." Ling told
him.

"I think anything is allowed in war, Ling." Ed retorted.

Ling shrugged. "If you say so."

He was shown from an upward angle with blue light still flashing around
him. He lifted his palm. The scene moved with the hand to show it
slamming into part a building that was left. The building was moved
along as iron chains shot out it. The chains zoomed passed the building
with multiple cannons soon joining them.

The screen moved to show that part of Ishval from the sky as an
explosion rocked the screen, black smoke rose into the sky and
screaming and groaning was heard.

Mustang's hand appeared on screen as he snapped. Orange-red sparks

surrounded his hand before the scene moved to show him from behind.
As more screaming was heard, a building burst into flames and heavy
smoke as the screen shook violently from the explosion.

The bottom half of Mustang's face was shown with him frowning and
burning ashes flying in front of him.

Ed grimaced. Mustang's eyes were purposely hidden from them there. Why?
They already saw the horrible look in Riza's eyes. Mustang's eyes had to be
the same as hers so why bother hiding them? They were all suffering greatly
in that war. From all the killing. From watching comrades die. From
watching all those kids and women be killed by their own hands. The
Homunculi said that humans just continued to repeat their mistakes and cause
bloodshed, but it was because of them that they were all thrown into these
violent wars and rebellions. They manipulated every situation so it happened.
It was because of them that so much guilt and pain was created.

Ed's hands clenched into fists. It was because of them that Winry's parents
were killed. It was because of them the Ishvalans were killed and lost their
land. It was because of them that Scar became a vengeful, angry man when
he was probably a kind and caring man before. It was because of them that so
many soldiers suffered horrible guilt from that war.

Ishvalans were shown to be running down a street with smoke behind

them.

Armstrong's hand appeared on screen as it slammed into the ground,

blue light flashing around it.

An Ishvalan was shown coming to a halt in horror as a giant shadow

covered his form.

The scene showed the Ishvalans from behind as a giant wall finished
forming.

One of the Ishvalans turned around. A woman did the same as him.

The scene moved to show soldiers behind them.

May shut her eyes briefly, hugging Xiao-Mei to her chest. "You trapped them
to be slaughtered? How horrible."

Armstrong grimaced and closed his eyes as well. That was one of his acts that
he hated most of all during the war. He saw the Ishvalans running and he
trapped them in the street for the soldiers to shoot. He ran from the war, but
before he ran, he had already caused so many deaths.

The male Ishvalan was shot while the woman stared on in horror. She
and another Ishvalan made to run when they were both shot down.

Armstrong appeared on screen, kneeling behind the wall he created with

a look of horrified anguish on his face as he listened to the gunshots. His
face was zoomed in on. With him zoomed in on, it could be seen that he
was shaking.

"Why did you become a soldier with your soft nature?" May asked softly.

"I wanted to protect my country and people." Armstrong replied, covering his
eyes with his hand. "I knew war was part of being a soldier, and I was
prepared for it. What I wasn't prepared for was slaughtering innocent people."

"They were going to die whether you stayed or ran away." General
Armstrong growled. "All running did was save you from dirtying your hands
even more while everyone else stuck it out and soaked their hands in the
blood of the dead."

Ling's eyes widened at those words. Instead of being in the room now, he
instead found himself standing inside of Gluttony's stomach, in all that blood,
watching Ed get thrown around like a doll. He just stood there, watching his
friend get beat up and there was nothing he could do. He just stayed in the
blood, becoming soaked in the sticky liquid as he was so helpless.

"Ling?" Ed hissed, knocking his feet against Ling's leg.

Ling snapped back to reality and stared at Ed.

Ed raised a brow. "You okay?" He whispered.

Ling nodded, looking away as he released a shaky breath. "Fine, just fine,
Ed."

Ed just shrugged.

The other side of the wall was shown. The soldiers were by the wall now,
still shooting the Ishvalans into the ditch caused by the wall.

"Shot down like dogs." General Armstrong growled as she crossed her arms
and stared at the screen with a frown.

"That's a horrible way to put it." Ed muttered.

Mustang closed his eyes. "Perhaps, but it is the truth. We were treating them
like animals to be slaughter."

Riza squeezed Mustang's hand. He opened his eyes and looked at her with a
faint smile.

An explosion of fire overtook the screen as the scene changed.

A few soldiers were shown. Two of them were beating an Ishvalan down
with their guns as the woman screamed out in pain.

"What the hell are they doing?" Al asked angrily. "Why are they beating
him?"

"As horrible as it, there were some soldiers who were pretty racist, Al."
Hughes told him darkly. "They took pleasure in killing Ishvalans. I am not all
that shocked that they would beat some of them to death."

Scar growled to himself at that. They actually beat his people to death
because they were different? Because they had different skin color and red
eyes? Because they had a different religion and didn't like alchemy? Where
was the justification in any of that? They were all still human. They had no
right!

"If they are racist like that, how did they ever handle working with the
Ishvalan soldiers?" Ed asked.
"It wasn't easy for the Ishvalans in the military. They survived it, but it was
never easy for them." Mustang told him as he recalled Heathcliff from the
academy. He grimaced sadly at that reminder.

Ling looked at him curiously. He had no idea that Ishvalans were in their
military had one point. "What happened to them all when the war was going
on?"

"They were arrested. They were no longer allowed to be part of the military.
Instead of letting them go back to Ishval where they would fight against us,
they were locked up." Hughes explained, frowning darkly.

"And after the war?" Ling asked.

Hughes shrugged. "Could still be in jail. Could have been killed. They may
have been buried in the system. To be honest, it's not very clear of what
become of them."

"Used for a stone?" Ed suggested, glancing at Dr. Marcoh.

Dr. Marcoh sighed. "It is a possibility, Edward, but if they were used for the
stone, they weren't in their uniforms so I had no idea that they were soldiers.
Anything could have happened to them."

Miles frowned at that. His brethren who were not as lucky as him were lost,
either killed or locked away deep into the system. He stayed with the
Amestrian military so he could attempt to change things from within. While
Scar looked for revenge, Miles was looking for a way to change what
Amestris had done…to make sure something like another genocide never
took place again.

A crying child appeared on screen.

The child faded off the screen as a tall building faded over it as the music
snapped to an end.

The scene slowly moved down to a military camp where soldiers were
standing around in front of tents.
Isaac, who had a dark depressed look, was shown.

Giolio's face appeared on screen sideways since he was being carried on

a stretcher. "They took my leg!"

"…He lost his leg in the war?" Ed asked.

"Yes." Hughes replied.

"Eh, how did that happen?" Ed asked.

Hughes shrugged. "I never asked. Unless the person likes giving exciting
stories, it's not common for someone to go around bragging about how they
lost a limb. You should know that better than anyone."

"It's not like I can tell stories of how I lost my limbs. Not unless I want
arrested." Ed mumbled.

"Those savages for the dogs!"

Scar scowled at that. His people were not savages. How dare he call his
people savages when the Amestrians were the ones beating his people to
death? He was lucky a leg was all that he lost in that war. It could be a lot
worse, like it was for his people. Losing a leg was nothing compared to what
his people lost in that war. If anyone was the savages, it was those damned
State Alchemists.

Hughes's face appeared on half of the screen as he took a drink from his
mug as Giolio was carried away on the stretcher behind him.

"Damn them!" Giolio shouted. "Damn them!"

Hughes looked up in surprise.

Mustang's back was shown as he walked through a crowd of soldiers.

Hughes appeared on screen as he stood up.

"Hey Roy!"
Mustang's back was shown again as he continued to walk away.

"It's not nice to ignore your friends, Colonel." Ed said.

"Aren't you the one who silenced Ling because you were annoyed?" Mustang
retorted.

Ed twitched. "That was different."

"How is that?" Ling asked.

"Shut up, Ling." Ed said.

Ling blinked. "You're not helping your case."

"That is not the point here." Ed grumbled.

"So what is the point?" Ling asked.

"That Colonel is ignoring his friend!" Ed said.

"I wasn't ignoring him! I just didn't hear him yelling to me." Mustang
retorted.

"Roy Mustang!"

Mustang stopped and turned halfway around.

"Well, it's about time." Ed said.

Mustang growled. "Fullmetal, just shut up."

Ling smirked when Ed scowled. "Doesn't feel so great to be told to shut up,
does it?"

"Ling, shut up." Ed snapped.

Ling crossed his arms and frowned. "Rude."

The scene changed to show a soldier sitting against a wall, looking
downcast.

The scene slowly moved to the side to show Hughes and Mustang in the
distance a bit. Hughes was standing beside Mustang as he splashed water
onto his face.

"So you got deployed too." Hughes said.

"Did you guys not know each other that well at this point?" Havoc asked.

"We met at the academy and became friends, though we got stationed in
different areas, which wasn't all that surprising." Mustang replied. "We didn't
stay in contact much because we were both pretty busy."

"Then it must have been fate that you met up again in war." Fu said.

Hughes grinned. "Yes, fate! We were destined to be great friends, Roy!" He

swung an arm around his friend's neck, making Mustang twitch in annoyance.

Brody blinked, staring at the two. "Does that remind you of anyone?"

Quite a few eyes moved to Ling and Ed.

Ed growled. "What the hell are you implying?"

Ling swung his around Ed's neck with a grin. "I think it is pretty obvious
what is being implied, Edo."

Ed elbowed Ling in the side. Ling hissed and let Ed go.

"As violent as ever," Ling wheezed, rubbing his side.

"I am nothing like Mustang!" Ed said annoyed.

"They meant our friendship." Ling said.

Ed whacked Ling on the head with his book. "You be quiet."

"Brother, you don't have to be so frustrated and annoyed by this." Al tried to
placate him. "Just how you picked up some habits from Teacher, you've
picked up some habits from Colonel over the years as well."

Ed's eye twitched violently and he threw his book violently at Al. He threw it
so hard that it knocked Al's helmet off his head and sent it flying into the air.

"AH! Brother!" Al yelled annoyed, jumping to his feet and trying to catch his
helmet before it hit the ground. It slipped from his hands and went flipping
through the air until Izumi reached a hand into the air and caught it.

"Here you go, Al." Izumi said, tossing the helmet to Al.

"Thank you, Teacher." Al said, shooting his brother a glare.

"You misspoke, Al." Ed told him innocently, picking up his book.

"Don't try to act innocent with me!" Al shouted. "I know you! You're not
innocent!"

Ed blinked and looked at Mustang then back at Al. Weird. That was pretty
similar. "….Does everyone think I'm a demon?"

"Yes!" A few soldiers shouted.

"Don't worry, Edo!" Ling said, hugging him. "Even if you are a demon, I'll
still be your friend!"

"Oh joy." Ed said sarcastically.

"Well, it's good to see you. Although," Hughes appeared on screen, arms
crossed as he looked at Mustang. "You've changed since the last time I
saw you."

"And that was when exactly?" Ed asked.

"The academy." Hughes said.

"Huh, you guys didn't see each other since the academy?" Ed asked.
"As we said, we were busy." Hughes replied.

Mustang scoffed. "Despite being a State Alchemist, you still manage to have
a lot of time on your hands, don't you, Fullmetal? Always traveling around
the country, doing your own things."

Ed rolled his eyes. "It's your fault for not always giving me missions. And
you gave me full range to do what I wanted after I completed my missions so
I don't wanna hear it, Colonel!"

Mustang's face appeared on screen, dead eyes staring at Hughes as he

dried his face. He lowered the towel.

The water tank that Mustang was using was shown. His reflection was
seen in the water. "I could say the same, Hughes."

Hughes's face appeared on screen, glasses reflecting the sun so his eyes
were hidden.

"You have the eyes of a killer."

"More prominent back then." Ed muttered.

"What do you mean?" Lan Fan asked curiously.

"When I first met Hughes and Colonel and Lieutenant Riza, I would have
never guessed that they participated in this war. Their eyes didn't show the
eyes of a killer, just the eyes of a soldier that has seen too much horror." Ed
explained.

"Not surprising. It's not like we always want to look dead and like a killer."
Mustang said, frowning. "It just makes everything a lot harder if we just stay
focused on it all the time."

Ed hummed to himself, thinking about that. Makes it harder? That certainly

reminded him of Scar. Scar was just defending his land and people during the
war, but the war was what had him suffering so much. Unlike Mustang, Riza,
or Hughes, he didn't get passed it. Neither did they, but they weren't focusing
on it all the time like Scar obviously. Scar focused so much on what the
soldiers did which was why it was a lot harder for him and he was hunting for
revenge, unlike the other Ishvalans who just sat behind in the slums.

Hughes looked surprised for a second before he tilted his head down a
bit so his dead eyes could be seen. "Yeah."

The blue sky was shown with dark smoke in it.

"Look at this country." Hughes's voice said as the scene slowly moved
down. Hughes and Mustang were shown from a distance, walking
towards the screen. "It's not exactly the future we imagined when we
were at the academy."

"Yeah," Mustang said before his face appeared on screen. His eyes were
shut. "I guess that future could never be."

"What future was that?" Avery asked.

Hughes and Mustang shared a look, neither deciding to answer Avery.

"I see you guys aren't very eager to share." Avery grumbled. "I thought there
were no secrets here."

"There're a lot of secrets not being shared. We only get to learn the main
secrets it seems." Clarink mumbled.

The scene moved to show the two from behind at an upward angle from
the bottom of a cliff. Another soldier ran over to the two and saluted as
he said, "Captain." He held a letter out to Hughes. "You have a letter."

"Oh, thank you." Hughes said.

The soldier saluted once more before leaving.

Hughes looked at the letter before laughing in a happy, crazy way.

"You can still sound like that in the middle of a war?" Havoc said, raising a
brow.
"I can't help it! It was a letter from my sweet, sweet Gracia!" Hughes cooed.
"She is such a sweet angel! Oh, you have to see this wonderful pic–"

Mustang grabbed a pillow by him and slammed it into Hughes's face,

efficiently shutting him up. "No one wants to see any pictures. We are trying
to watch our past."

Hughes pulled the pillow off his face with a frown. "I was in the war once
already. I know what happens, and it's not fun, Roy. You know that. If I want
to try to keep my spirits up while seeing this war again, don't stop me."

"I think Fullmetal, Ling, and Al are doing a good job of keeping the air from
getting too tense and dark. They don't need your help." Mustang informed
him.

"Hey!" Al, Ed, and Ling shouted.

"We didn't do anything!" Al protested.

Mustang raised a disbelieving brow.

"How did I get dragged into your shenanigans?" Al complained to his

brother.

"Huh?" Ed said, staring at his brother. "How is this my fault?"

"Because you and Ling always have to fool around and make jokes. And now
you've somehow got me dragged into it!" Al exclaimed.

Ed stared at his baby brother.

"What?" Mustang asked shocked. "What's wrong?"

Hughes appeared on screen, cheeks bright pink in excitement as he held

the letter between two fingers from each held while Mustang stared at
him. "I've still got a beautiful future." He hugged the letter to his chest,
hearts fluttering around him as he turned in a circle while Mustang
twitched in annoyance. "And her name is Gracia. And she's patiently
waiting in Central for the day I can come home."
Hughes suddenly deflated and frowned. "All alone." He was suddenly
zoomed in on as he gritted his teeth angrily. "How long before some jerk
puts the moves on her?"

"You've got amazing mood swings." Havoc said dryly.

"Isn't it just that he is too over-excitable? Like a puppy?" Ed asked.

"Watch it you two. I am still a higher rank than either of you." Hughes
warned.

Ed huffed. "Since when do you assert your power?"

"Like you," Hughes said, smirking. "I do use my power when I need too."

"Humph, well, you can't deny that you were a wee bit too excited over that
letter." Ed grumbled.

"It was from the love of my life! You would be excited too if you were in a
war and got a letter from Winry." Hughes retorted.

Ed twitched. "Back to that, are you?"

"I would say Roy would be ecstatic to get a letter from Lieutenant Hawkeye,
but since they are both in the military and would probably go to war together,
they would have no need to send letters to each other, unless they wanted to
be very sweet and just send little love notes to each other." Hughes added,
grinning widely while Mustang glared darkly at him.

"I told you–" Mustang said angrily.

Hughes leaned in closer to Mustang to whisper, "If you're going to keep

denying your love for her, you shouldn't be holding her hand." His eyes
moved to where both of their hands were still interlocked.

Mustang scowled at his friend and looked back at the screen, but didn't let
Riza's hand go.

The scene changed to show Hughes holding the letter to his cheek with
his back to Mustang, who just stared at him with a deadpanned look.
"No. Gracia would never do that to me." He put the letter to his mouth.
"She'd never have an affair like that." Hughes pulled the letter down
and stared at it. "But she is all alone."

Mustang turned away and closed his eyes. "Hey Hughes. I've got a little
advice for you."

"I don't get it." Ed said.

"Don't get what?" Ling asked.

Ed ignored him and turned to Mustang. "You and Hughes are best friends,
right? So why does Hughes call you by your first name and you call him by
his last name?"

Mustang stared at him with a frown. "Because."

"Because why?" Ed asked.

"Just because."

"That's not a good explanation!"

"I don't care."

Hughes turned to him.

Mustang's face was shown up close. "It happens in movies and novels all
of the time." He looked at Hughes. "The soldiers who never shut up
about their girls back home." He made a gun with his fingers and
pointed it Hughes.

Hughes was shown to be staring at him with Mustang's finger gun in his
face.

Mustang jerked his hand up a bit like he fired it. "They don't make it."

Ed smirked a bit in amusement.

Ling stared at him with a frown. "You would find that amusing."

Ed shrugged and turned to Mustang. "You are a really great friend by telling
him that."

"He told him he was going to die!" Brosh exclaimed.

"And underneath it, he was saying to be careful!" Ed retorted.

"Oh, so you can read into my words now?" Mustang asked, raising a brow.
"Where was that skill when we were on that mission a couple years ago?"

Ed looked away with a sly look. "Well, I didn't know you that well then so it
was harder to read into it."

"And?" Mustang growled.

"I may have ignored what I was reading in your words." Ed admitted.

"Fullmetal." Mustang growled angrily.

"Hey!" Ed cried, raising his hands. "It was two years ago! I say just forget it!"

"You purposefully put yourself into a dangerous spot." Mustang said angrily.

"Uh…this isn't really the time. We are trying to watch the Ishvalan War." Ed
replied.

Mustang's eyes narrowed. "I won't forget this."

"…You say that, but you will." Ed mumbled to himself.

Hughes twitched angrily. "Not funny, Roy."

"See? Even he didn't find it amusing, Ed!" Ling said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I don't think you found it funny either."

"Course not." Ling cried, hugging Ed's arm. "I could never say such a thing to
my friend."

Ed whacked Ling on the head. "Let go, Idiot Prince!"

The letter that Hughes got appeared on screen.

Hughes's eyes were shown as they opened a bit more.

Hughes and Mustang were shown from behind.

"Alright then. I can make it through this day." Hughes said.

Mustang turned his head towards him.

Hughes's face was shown from the side with Mustang's face in the
background still turned towards him as gentle sad music began. "This
letter is all I need. I can think about tomorrow again." He frowned and
looked down. "Even if this damn battlefield might not let me see it."

"That's pretty depressing." Al said.

"It's how we lived in war, never knowing if we were going to survive so see
the next day or not." Riza told him softly. "We fought to live, but we were
prepared for death as well, even if we didn't want it. That is how war is."

The scene pulled out to show the two from a distance. Mustang turned
his face forward once more.

"I can't picture any way out of this war." Mustang said.

Hughes lowered his letter to his side.

"No matter how much military force we throw at it, the desert seems to
just suck it up like water."

Ishval was shown, smoke rising out of it.

"All of this destruction, for what purpose?"

"To create a blood crest." Armstrong said darkly.

"All that's left is sand."

Mustang and Hughes were shown from behind.

"True, it seems a little excessive to suppress an uprising." Hughes said.

"Isn't war always excessive?" Ling asked, frowning.

"It is necessary sometimes if the other side refused to negotiate and continues
to attack the borders." Hughes said, frowning as well. "But in this case,
putting a stop to the uprisings was necessary, but a full scale war was not. It
was very extreme. Lot of soldiers thought that, but there was nothing they
could do when they were thrown into the battlefield."

"Because they are humans, all they could do was fight." Ed murmured. "A
part of them did it because it was their duty to serve their country and fight.
But really, they did it because they are human, and humans are selfish beings.
They didn't want to die, so they fought back and killed so many to survive
and get out of there."

Hughes frowned sadly. Ed read right into his reason, even though his reason
for fighting wasn't said.

Footsteps had both of them falling quiet.

The scene moved to show them from the front as they both turned
halfway around to see a soldier carrying a gun wrapped up in cloth and
wearing a tan hood approaching them.

The soldier stopped at the bottom of the cliff. She was zoomed in on as
Riza removed her hood. "Hello Major Mustang." Riza said. "Long time
no see." Her face was zoomed in. "Do you still remember me?"

Mustang's face appeared on screen. 'Damn this war. Even her?'

"You didn't know she had joined the military?" Lan Fan asked. "I thought
you guys would have stayed in contact since you were friends."
"No. It was too hard to do." Mustang admitted. "It was her choice to join the
military. I was pretty surprised to see you there though. You couldn't have
graduated yet." He added, looking at her.

"I hadn't." Riza told him. "I was in my last year at the academy. Since the east
was so understaffed, I was stationed there."

"That's a great way to spend your last year." Ed muttered.

"Be glad you never had to go through it." Mustang told him.

Ed weakly raised a hand. "I'm glad." He said, grimacing a bit. Yeah, going
through military training really would not be something he would be all that
happy to do.

The scene pulled out to show the three from the side.

'She has the eyes of a killer too.' Mustang thought.

"Course she does. All soldiers have that in war." Havoc muttered darkly.

The three appeared on screen to be sitting on crates somewhere in Ishval

with other group of soldiers standing around and talking.

"Maybe you can answer this, Major." Riza said. Riza's hands appeared
on screen. "Why are we being order to kill citizens when we should be
the ones protecting them?" Riza's face appeared on screen. Her eyes
were staring at Mustang. "I thought alchemy was meant to be used to
help people. So why is it being used to kill them instead?"

"Was alchemy ever used for the people before the war?" Sheska asked.

"Eh, that is a difficult question." Mustang said. "It really depends on who you
are asking. Some will say the purpose of State Alchemists was never to use
their alchemy for the people, but for the military. While some will say there
were good intentions, but being part of the military, those good intentions
were corrupted."

"And as we saw from your master, he was one of the people who did not
agree with the State Alchemist program at all." Izumi said.

"Did he have a problem with regular soldiers?" Ed asked. "He didn't seem
happy you became a soldier."

"He didn't mind soldiers too much as he did understand a military was needed
to protect the country. But he didn't like me becoming a soldier because he
feared I would probably one day become a State Alchemist and use what he
taught me." Mustang said.

"Well, his fear was realized." Hughes said.

Riza gripped Mustang's hand a bit more tightly. She knew he wanted to be a
State Alchemist, but he waited until he got Flame Alchemy and mastered it.
Would he have become a State Alchemist and used it in the war if she never
gave him the research? Was it because of her that Mustang suffered so much
in using his alchemy to kill civilians in the war?

Mustang's face appeared on screen, eyes looking at Riza as he frowned.

The scene pulled out to show the three with another soldier sitting a bit
away from them on the side of the screen, though his face wasn't shown.
He lowered his mug and said, "Because that's the job we State
Alchemists have been given to do."

"What? To follow orders without question?" Ed asked, frowning. "What did

you think when you, a State Alchemist, was order to go to war and kill with
your alchemy?"

"I was confused and horrified, not understanding the order. I did not see how
killing people with my alchemy would be helpful to the people." Armstrong
said.

"It didn't affect me much since I was just a researcher State Alchemist." Dr.
Marcoh admitted. "It didn't truly hit me home until those Ishvalans were
brought to me and I was ordered to use them to make the stone."

"I see." Ed said, not bothering to question Mustang about what he thought.
He knew Mustang didn't like talking about the war. It was a hard enough time
for him. And he just never spoke of it. He didn't want to. He couldn't. In fact,
it was amazing he got an answer at all from Dr. Marcoh and Armstrong.

The scene moved to show Kimblee bowing his head with closed eyes.
"You ask why we're here killing these people instead of protecting
them."

"Of course it's Kimblee talking." Havoc growled.

"Did you know him as well?" Ling asked.

"Not well. I heard his name and what he did. I talked to him like once or
twice, and I hated every moment of both conversations." Havoc said.

"It also doesn't help that we don't know if he is going to kill us or not in the
middle of the conversation." Breda added.

Ed raised a brow. "What were you guys talking to him for?"

The two soldiers shrugged. "Work."

"Just casual talk when you see each other." Breda said. "Though when it's
him, there's nothing casual about it."

"Because this is a war and that's what soldiers do."

"Soldiers do not just kill." Riza said angrily. She couldn't say it back then
because she was still so horrified and confused about what she had gotten
herself involved in, but now. Now she was stronger and calmer. "Soldiers
protect as well. They protect their land and people. That war was wrong
because we were ordered to kill our own people. We went against our duty to
protect our people."

His face was zoomed in on as he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Isn't
that right?"

The scene moved to between Riza and Hughes so it could be seen that all
three of them were looking at Kimblee.
"You think this our job?" Mustang asked. "To cause tragedy?"

Kimblee put a hand to his chin. "Well, that's how it seems. But let's see."

Riza's face appeared on screen.

"Tell me, miss." Kimblee said, surprising her a bit. "You're not very
happy to be here, are you? Well, you don't appear to be."

Riza looked down.

"Why would anyone be happy? It's war. Soldiers know there is a chance they
will go to war when they join, but they do not want it. They do not want to be
in war, especially when they believe that it is wrong." Izumi growled. She
may not like the military, but she did understand it. It wasn't the soldiers that
were wrong. It was the corruption in the military that gave it a bad name and
reputation.

Kimblee's eyes appeared on screen. The background darkened and

shadowed his eyes. "But can you honestly tell me, in that split second
when you take down an enemy."

Riza's face appeared on screen, darkened from the background as well.

She stared in horror at Kimblee.

"You don't allow yourself to feel the slightest twinge of satisfaction and
pride in your skills?" Kimblee asked as Riza's horrified eyes were
zoomed in on. "Well, Miss. Marksman?"

Mustang growled softly. How dare he say that to Riza? What would he
understand about the horror that Riza felt? He wasn't a sniper. He was an
insane alchemist who enjoyed all the killing he got to do. How could he tell
Riza that she enjoyed what she did? It just made her more horrified at what
she was doing.

Riza frowned a bit. The truth was she did feel a bit of pride and satisfaction in
skills, and that just increased how horrified she felt. She felt terrible killing
all those civilians. But what made the guilt in her all the more worse was that
she was proud of her skills. She was proud that she didn't miss. It made
everything a lot harder to accept when she knew she was just a bit proud of
her skills. She didn't like all the deaths she caused. She never could like that,
but pride in her skills was just not something she could get rid of. It meant
she would never miss what she was aiming at. Her job counted on her skills.
Without her skills as a marksman, she was nothing.

Mustang squeezed her hand to get her to look at him. He was staring at her as
if he knew what she was thinking. "It's alright to have so much pride in your
skills, Lieutenant. If you didn't have that pride, I wouldn't be able to trust
your skills. We are all very prideful about something we have skill in. That
pride makes us practice more and more to keep up our skills."

Riza smiled softly, but also a bit sadly, at him. It was so much more than that.

Mustang appeared on screen to be grabbing Kimblee by his jacket.

"That's enough, Kimblee."

"Whoa, where is the calm, annoying Colonel?" Ed asked.

Hughes chuckled. He had to wonder how Ed would react if he knew what

Roy was like during their days at the academy. "He was young and reckless
at one point too, Ed. He just grew up the way he did because of the war and
missions he has done."

"And you guys complain about me being hotheaded?" Ed asked, smirking.

"At least I am a hotheaded teenager, and not a young adult."

"The difference between you and me is that you had to grow up a lot sooner,
but you're still a kid so you're hotheaded while I didn't have that hard life so I
didn't learn the harshness of the world until the war." Mustang retorted.

"Wow," Ed said sarcastically. "Colonel admitted something about himself."

A second later a pillow slammed into the back of Ed's head, which smacked
Ed's head down a bit. His head snapped up and he turned his head back to
Mustang. "Colonel!" He cried.
"It was a pillow. Don't be a baby." Mustang said.

Ed scowled at him.

"I'll tell you what I don't get. Did you people expect something different?
You act like you're surprised. Like you didn't choose this."

"We chose the military. What we didn't choose was killing innocent
civilians." Mustang said angrily.

"There are just some things in the military that you don't expect when you
join. You know what you are signing up for, but you sometimes get orders
which do not seem like something a soldier should be doing." Karley said,
frowning. And those orders brought dark secrets to the soldiers that they
could never share.

Mustang's face appeared on screen. He pulled his head a bit back in

surprise.

One of Kimblee's narrowed eyes appeared on screen. "Did you put on

that uniform thinking you wouldn't be asked to kill?"

The scene pulled out to show Mustang from behind as he held onto
Kimblee's jacket with some soldiers in the background watching the two.
As Kimblee stood up, Mustang let go of him.

"The one thing worse than death is to avert your eyes from it."

"How is that worse than death?" May asked confused.

"Because it means you are hiding from what you have done. You can't admit
that you are the one who killed. You are hiding from everything you have
done." Mustang said. "If you can't accept what you have done, can't accept
that you have killed, you will never make it as a soldier. In fact, you probably
couldn't live with yourself after the war."

"In a strange sense, it also means you are dishonoring those you have killed.
You are in a blood fight. Everyone in it knows there is a chance they will die.
Averting your eyes from those you have killed is in a sense, a way to
dishonor the fight and them." Riza added. "It is not an easy fight when the
goal is to kill so you want to turn away from the people you are killing but
that is just a way to anger your enemy. You are killing people from their side
and averting your eyes? It's almost as if saying they are not worth it."

"That's pretty dark and depressing." Ed murmured.

"Killing and war are always like that." Riza said sadly.

As Kimblee leaned into Mustang's face, he was zoomed in on. "Look

straight at the people you kill. Don't take your eyes off them for a
second." Riza's horrified face was shown, eyes shaking. "And don't ever
forget them." A part of Ishval with bloody dead Ishvalans lying around
and smoke rising out of it was shown. "Because I promise that they
won't forget you."

"So was that advice or him just being a jerk and making your state of minds
worse?" Ross asked.

"As crazy as it might sound, I think it was a bit of both." Hughes said. "The
guy is still an insane psychopath who enjoys killing too much though."

A bell was rung as the group was from shown from the sky at a
downward angle.

"Oh, too bad. There's the bell." Kimblee said. He was zoomed in on as he
turned around and straightened his jacket collar as Mustang stood
behind, glaring with his dead eyes. "Time for me to get back to work."
He walked away.

Miles frowned as his hand curled into a fist. That man was taking too much
pleasure in killing his people. Unlike the other soldiers, he didn't look dead or
tired from the war. He just looked like a cold blooded murderer. No one
should get that much pleasure from killing.

The scene showed Mustang's face from behind as Hughes stood up in the
background and said, "I've got to head out too." He turned around and
lifted a hand into the air. "See ya later, Roy."
"Hughes." Mustang said, making Hughes stop. "Can you tell me why
you fight?"

"Shocking to hear Colonel ask such a question." Ed said.

Mustang looked around for something, found another pillow and threw it at
Ed's head.

Ed's head snapped down in surprise, then back up angrily. He shot a glare at
Mustang. "Stop doing that!"

"You need to learn to keep your mouth shut." Mustang retorted. "I was asking
a serious question."

"I know it was serious! I just can't believe that there was a point in time that
you had to ask such a question!" Ed shouted, holding his head.

Mustang blinked. Did Ed really believe that he has always been like he was
now?

The back of Hughes's head was shown. He turned his head to the side to
look at his friend.

The scene changed to show Hughes, Mustang, and Riza all from behind
from the sky.

"It's simple. I don't wanna die. That's the only reason."

"And there's the selfishness of humans." Ling said.

"That selfishness is also part of the reason that soldiers were able to pull the
trigger." Hughes said sadly. "It starts as fear for why we were able to pull the
trigger, but then it gets easier and we pull the trigger for the selfishness of
preserving our own lives."

The side of Mustang's face appeared on screen.

"Your reasons are always simple." Hughes said.

"Hear, hear!" Al and Ed said.

Ling looked at Ed, raising a brow. "Thought you didn't do that."

Ed shrugged.

Mustang closed his eyes.

Mustang's hand appeared on screen as he pulled his glove on.

A part of Ishval was shown with an explosion of fire happening in the

distance that ravaged that part of the country.

The dark smoke with bits of fiery ashes zipping through it appeared on
screen. The smoke blew away to show Mustang walking towards the
screen with the fire raging behind him.

"Oooh, dramatic." Hughes said.

Mustang sighed. Ed and Hughes. Such an annoying pair. He knew Hughes

was trying to keep his spirits up by joking around, but he expected more from
Ed. He expected the boy to be more serious since this was about the war. But
even he was joking, even if it wasn't a lot. What was he playing at?

'If that's so, what the hell is the reason for this war' Mustang thought as
his face was zoomed in on.

"You guys ask that question a lot." Avery said.

"I've been asking the question for years whenever I think about the war." Riza
admitted.

Mustang wouldn't say it, but he too was always thinking about the question. It
was something that bothered him. He never thought he would get an answer
to the question, but everything they were learning was giving him an answer.
He was learning the truth, and while it was hard, he was glad to learn it.
These truths led to answers of so many unasked questions he had.

"The reason." Dr. Marcoh said. He appeared on screen, head bowed as

Scar stood over him. "There is one. But it's worse than you can
imagine."

A lab at nighttime appeared on screen. A gunshot was heard followed by

groaning and more gunshots, which led to more crying as sad mysterious
music started.

The inside of the lab where the Philosopher's Stone array was appeared
on screen. Scientists and soldiers stood around the array, while Ishvalans
were tied up and lying in the circles of the array.

Dr. Marcoh stared in horror at the screen. He knew he was telling Scar what
he had done, but he never thought that this horrible process would be shown.
No one should have to witness this. He couldn't even stand to see it again. It
was just too horrible. And he was the one who caused it. He used those
Ishvalans to make that dreaded stone.

"What is this?" General Armstrong growled.

"It is the making of the Philosopher's Stone." Dr. Marcoh admitted softly.

A pair of Ishvalans tied together was zoomed in on. The scene slowly
moved to the side to show another pair of Ishvalans. Blue alchemical
light flashed around them, making them gasp.

Scar growled. The making of the stone? They were making the stone with his
people. He already knew that, but now they dare to show it? What was the
purpose of showing this? Seeing the war. Seeing those damn State Alchemist
and soldiers do all that to his people angered him so much. But to see his
people used to make a stone? That vile stone was made with his people's
souls. That vile stone was made for an experiment. That vile stone didn't need
to be made! And yet it was, and it was his people used for it! If this damn
country wanted a stone, why not use its own people for its dreadful
experiments? Why did it have to be his people? Those damn Homunculi
didn't care for anyone, so why didn't they use the people of Amestris for it?

A sad looking Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen with his scientists behind
him, watching in glee.
An Ishvalan was shown, staring in horror at the blue alchemical light as
it got brighter.

Another Ishvalan was zoomed in on. He started screaming out in pain.

Ed grimaced at that. He knew that the process of making a Philosopher's

Stone was a horrible one, but he didn't really know how bad it was. And
seeing this, he really didn't want to see anymore. The process of making a
stone seemed very horrible and painful. He never really thought about it, but
it should have been obvious that the process of making a stone would be
painful for them. Their souls were being stolen from their bodies. They were
being killed, souls stolen for a stone. He should have realized it. It was the
opposite with Al, who lost his body and not his soul, but it was the same
thing. He felt Al's body being stolen. He felt that horrible pain. Why wouldn't
it hurt to have one's soul stolen instead?

Another pair of Ishvalans was shown, also screaming out in pain with the
blue alchemical light zapping around them.

Another pair was shown, struggling and trembling violently as they

screamed out.

May stifled a gasp and hugged Xiao-Mei closer to her chest. She knew that
the stone was made from human lives, but it never really processed into her
mind until now. This was the stone being made. She was being shown the
stone being made. These humans were being used for the stone. The same
stone that she was after. This was the Philosopher's Stone. The way to
immorality. This was it. Could she accept such a thing? Could she accept the
stone that stole the lives of so many?

Dr. Marcoh's face appeared on screen, staring in horror.

Scar's hand slammed into the armrest. All he did was stare in horror while his
people were sacrificed to make a stone? He knew it was wrong, but he did
nothing to stop it. He just let it happen to his people without a word.

An Ishvalan appeared on screen, screaming out. His head rose, eyes

turning completely white.
The scene pulled out to show the scientists watching the array, which was
completely lit up in blue while red steams appeared. The red steams were
swirling in the air around the center of the array.

Al's hands curled into fists. The stone that his brother and him have been
searching for. This was the stone they spent three years looking for. It was
being made right in front of them. They were seeing how a stone was being
made and it just depressed Al so much. The stone they spent years searching
for was being made using humans. There was no way he or Ed could ever use
the stone to fix their bodies. They have wasted three years for a mythical
stone that they could never bring themselves to use.

Dr. Marcoh was shown, eyes averted from the process. When the blue
light was gone, he looked at the array again.

"Don't avert them." Ed whispered hoarsely, horrified. "You are the one doing
this. If you can't face the horrible deeds you have done, you don't deserve to
be a well-known alchemist. Face what you did head on. It won't make the
guilt any less, but at least the truth of what you have done will be in your
eyes and you won't be able to blame anyone else."

The red light in the center of the array appeared on screen. The red
steams that were connected to it continued to swirl around as they slowly
entered the red light.

Dr. Marcoh's eye appeared on screen.

The red light was shown to be turning into a Philosopher's Stone. There
was a blue spark accompanied with a zapping sound from it as the red
steams continued to spin around the oval stone.

Scar yanked Dr. Marcoh up to his face and asked angrily, "You took the
lives of my people to create a Philosopher's Stone?"

Scar growled angrily at that.

The stone appeared on screen with Dr. Marcoh's hands appearing under
it as it finished completely with a low whistling sound.
And instead of being upset or horrified at what that stone was made of, he
just accepted it into his hands like that. "You." Scar said angrily.

Ed's head snapped up in surprise.

"You murder my people with your vile alchemy for that stone." Scar shouted
angrily. He flew out of his seat and lunged across the room.

"Shit!" Ed cried. He put a hand on the table behind him and flipped over it
with Ling jumping backwards over the same table to avoid getting trampled
by Scar. Ed landed in Mustang's lap while Ling landed on Hughes. Both
soldiers shouted out in pain from the weights landing on them. Though
Mustang had it worse since Ed had those two automail limbs and his automail
arm slammed into his chest.

Al dived to the side, pushing May out of the way while Lan Fan jumped onto
the coffee table with a frown.

Ross grabbed Sheska by the arm and pulled her away as Scar lunged at a
shocked Dr. Marcoh. His hands wrapped tightly around Dr. Marcoh's neck.
Dr. Marcoh scrabbled at Scar's hands, eyes staring widening in horror at
Scar's furious face. He knew that he was after death, but he didn't expect it
now. And Edward told him to live to make up for his mistakes and to try to
help. He couldn't do that if he died here.

"Scar!" Mustang screamed, throwing Ed off of his lap and onto the floor.

Ed groaned when his head hit the ground.

Mustang flew to his feet, which made Ed roll onto his side so he wasn't
stepped on. Black Hayate jumped off of the couch and nuzzled Ed's cheek.

"How dare you?" Scar shouted.

May stared in horror from where she was in Al's arms. This wasn't Scar. She
was watching him. He wanted revenge for what had happened to his people,
but she saw beneath his anger. He was really a kind person. This angry
person, upset over the death of his people, trying to kill the doctor wasn't
right.

"How dare you use MY people to create that stone? My people who have
suffered so much because of your damned country?! They did nothing to
deserve such a horrible death." Scar screamed.

"That's enough, Scar!" General Armstrong shouted, standing up. "Release Dr.
Marcoh now! This was all in the past!"

"Trying to reason with a vengeful, angry man?" Ling muttered, rolling off of
Hughes's lap and into a crouch on the floor by Ed.

Ed sat up, rubbing his aching head as he stared in horror at Scar. He knew
what Scar was like when he tried to kill him. He knew how angry the man
could be, but this was just unrealistic. He looked absolutely manic right now.
"Damn, take alchemy away all you want, V.H., but you can't stop martial
artists or vengeful Ishvalans."

Dr. Marcoh gasped and struggle for breathe, clawing at Scar's hands.

Armstrong grabbed Scar's hands and forced them off of Dr. Marcoh's neck
and pushed him back. When Scar tried to lunge again, he was tackled by
Darius and Heinkel. They managed to keep the Ishvalan down for a few
seconds, but it seemed being blinded by fury made him that much more
dangerous as he managed to threw both soldiers off of him.

"Ed," Ling whispered. "What do we do?"

"Nothing." Ed muttered, clenching his fists shut. "We do nothing."

Ling stared at him in shock as Scar dodged a punch from Armstrong.

"Nothing?" He repeated. "Scar is trying to kill Dr. Marcoh and your solution
is to do nothing?"

"I've fought him before. He is very dangerous, but when people are blinded
by fury like this, they are even more dangerous. They will do anything to get
to the one who angered him." Edward hissed. "And right now, Scar is pissed
off at Dr. Marcoh and probably everyone else who was in that war. I could
barely handle him in East City and now my automail arm isn't in top
condition. I'd just get in the way."

Ling suddenly grabbed Ed's shoulder and yanked him down just as Jerso
went flying over their heads and slammed first into Mustang, sending him
flying back onto the couch, which caused Jerso to slam into Riza and Hughes
as well.

"Dr. Marcoh," Ross said worriedly, sitting beside the doctor, despite the fact
that Scar might make it back there.

Dr. Marcoh gasped for breath, gripping his neck tightly. He knew that Scar
would be furious about what he saw, but he wasn't expecting such a strong
reaction from him. He has been mostly calm in this room. Scar was so calm
that Dr. Marcoh was starting to forget just how angry of a man he was.

As Scar made another lunge for Dr. Marcoh, Izumi growled and intervened.
She grabbed Scar by his arm and shirt and threw him across the room. He
went soaring through the air. He flipped over to land on his feet, but Izumi
jumped at him and sent a kick into his chest, which sent him flying into a
wall, creating a crater in it.

"That's got to hurt." Ling said with a frown. This was getting a bit out of
control.

Scar pushed himself out of the wall and ducked under a punch from
Buccaneer, who came out of nowhere.

"Get off." Mustang hiss as he pushed Jerso off. When Jerso hit the ground,
Mustang immediately turned to Riza. "Are you okay?"

Riza rubbed her stomach, breathing a bit heavily. She nodded. "Yes, Colonel.
Just a bit bruised from that I believe."

"What? You're not worried about me?" Hughes asked.

Mustang shot him an annoyed look.

CRASH!
SLAM!

Mustang's head snapped back to Scar to see Buccaneer slammed into a wall
and Scar lying on the ground.

"Buccaneer!"

Scar jumped back onto his feet, only to jump backwards to avoid a punch
from Armstrong.

Izumi jumped over Armstrong and sent a flying kick at Scar. Scar blocked it
with his arm before throwing his arm out to the side to send Izumi flying.
Izumi flipped in the air and landed in a crouch. She went to charge back into
the fight when she suddenly coughed violently. Blood spurted out of her
mouth, making her wrap an arm around her stomach and put her other hand
on her mouth.

"Teacher!" Al cried. He set May down and stood up.

"What's wrong?" May asked worriedly. She ran over to Izumi with Al and
kneeled by her. "Miss Izumi?"

Ed growled and slammed his automail hand into the coffee table, putting a
hole in it. "ENOUGH!"

"Chief?" Havoc asked shocked, staring at Ed, who had his head bowed so his
bangs hid his face.

Al looked up from where he was kneeling by Izumi. "Brother?" He asked

worriedly.

"Enough, just enough." Ed said angrily. He pulled his arm out of the table
and stood up. "All of this! Fighting Scar? It's not going to solve anything! He
is blinded by fury! He is just going to keep fighting until there is no one left
to challenge him!"

"Fullmetal?" Mustang said, frowning.

"Scar!" Ed shouted, glaring at him. "You can be furious at Dr. Marcoh all you
want, but you shouldn't let that anger take control of you like this. You're just
going to lose yourself in it at this rate!"

Ed glared at Scar and everyone who was fighting with him for a moment
before growling. "Just get yourselves cleaned up!" He turned around, stepped
on the couch between Hughes and Mustang and jumped over the couch.

Scar growled, glaring at Ed's back, but before he could act on his anger again,
a hand grabbed his arm.

"That's enough, Scar." Miles growled, grabbing hold of Scar's arm.

"Well, that was…" Hughes started, staring at Mustang.

Mustang shook his head and Hughes fell quiet.

Dr. Young flew to her feet, looking around. "Anyone who got involved in
that fight, infirmary now." She looked at Mustang, Hughes, and Riza. "You
three too. I want to check that you didn't get more than bruises."

Al picked Izumi up and headed to the infirmary with her.

*Miles & Scar*

Scar glared at Miles and ripped his arm free before walking angrily over to an
empty dark corner of the room. He wasn't going to do anything to the kid.
Just hearing him yell at him annoyed him so much right now. He was
frustrated and angry about everything.

Miles followed after Scar. "I know you're angry about having old wounds
opened up like this."

"You understand nothing." Scar snarled at him.

"You think you are the only one suffering from this? Everyone is horrified.
Those who were in the war are guilty about what they have done, but they are
handling it in their own way. You are just letting your anger about it get to
you and are attacking people. I thought that you were learning the truth and
redirecting your anger, but it seems just seeing the future isn't enough for
you." Miles said, frowning.

"It will never be enough." Scar said angrily, turning to glare at Miles. "They
killed my people. They destroyed my country. And now they are forcing my
people to live in the slums and face racism for being different and having
different beliefs."

"You see all Amestrians as being the same." Miles retorted. "Not all of them
are racist. Take Fullmetal for a reason."

Scar frowned.

"He noticed my secret on the first day and he never once mentioned it to
anyone because he doesn't mind. It doesn't bother him." Miles pulled off his
glasses and revealed his blood red eyes as Scar stared in shock. "My red eyed
brother, your anger is taking over you. Going after revenge will solve
nothing."

"Why?" Scar asked, hands clenching into fists. "How? How can you serve the
country that destroyed our land and killed our people?"

"Because I will change the opinion that Amestrians have of us Ishvalans.

Like you, I am furious at what happened to our people, but I'm not going to
search for revenge. I am going to change things from within. What you are
doing will only spread more anger and make Ishvalans less trusted. What I
am doing is trying to fix things." Miles told him. He turned around and put
his glasses back on. "You should think about it a bit more."

*Ed's Room*

Ed gripped his automail arm in annoyance. He kicked his bedroom door shut
behind him with a scowl. He knew that tempers were going to be rising, but
he didn't expect Scar to attack like that. Scar had been mostly calm in this
place, but no more. Seeing the war opened up horrible memories and feelings
for him so it shouldn't be a surprise to him that Scar suddenly lost it.

Sighing, Ed let go of his arm and let it hang limply by his side. With all the
wrestling he has done with Ling, his arm had survived, but slamming it
through a table? That just called for it to break at last. Now, how to handle
this?

A few minutes later Ling walked into the bedroom and just stood in the
doorway, staring.

"What are you doing, Ed?" Ling asked, looking around at the room that was
torn apart.

Ed poked his head out of the bathroom to look at Ling. "Where's Al?"

"Took your teacher to the infirmary." Ling said, kicking some clothes out of
the way. "Why are you tearing our room apart?"

"Looking for something." Ed said before disappearing back into the

bathroom.

Ling walked over to the bathroom door and leaned against it as he watched
Ed tear the bathroom apart with one hand while his automail arm hung limply
at his side. He sighed. "Break your arm finally?"

"Yeah," Ed grumbled. "Dr. Marcoh?"

"Looks like a bit of damage to his neck. Might just be bruising. I'm not sure."
Ling replied.

"Hmm, probably have trouble swallowing and talking for a while." Ed

mumbled.

Ling sighed. "Want me to go get something from the infirmary for you? I
don't think you're going to find anything in here."

"Fine." Ed grumbled, slamming the cabinet shut.

"So grumpy." Ling teased, ducking out of the bathroom just in time to avoid
getting hit by the bottle of soap. "Clean the room up while I get your sling!"

"What are you? My father?" Ed screamed from the bathroom.

*Infirmary*

"Well, you were lucky, Colonel." Dr. Young said. "Just bruising."

Mustang nodded and pulled his shirt and military jacket back on. "Thank you,
Dr. Young."

"I'm fine! I'm fine, Al. Stop worrying." Izumi growled.

Mustang smirked a bit as he walked around the curtain and saw Izumi sitting
on one of the beds with a worried Al standing over her.

"Oh, hello Colonel." Al said as he looked at him. "Clean bill?"

"Just bruises." Mustang replied. "Hughes and Lieutenant Hawkeye got away
with the same."

Al nodded. "That's good. I was worried since it looked like Jerso slammed
into you guys pretty hard. Is everyone else okay?"

"It's mostly bruises, but some had a few cracked and fractured bones." Dr.
Young said as she came out from around the curtain. "Though Captain
Buccaneer cut his head open a bit. A few stitches and all is good to go."

Al grimaced. "Scar is really dangerous when he is mad."

"That's an understatement." Dr. Young replied.

The door to the infirmary was thrown open and Ling came in. "Are you done
with everyone?" He asked.

"Just about." Dr. Young said.

Ling nodded. He had been waiting for most of the patients to be treated since
he didn't want to get in anyone's way but Ed was probably getting tired of
waiting. "Well, Ed's needs a sling."

Mustang sighed. "What did he do now?"

"Nothing. His automail arm just broke." Ling replied.

"Well, it was only a matter of time." Dr. Young said.

"I guess slamming his hand into the coffee table was a bad idea." Al
murmured.

"When is that ever a good idea?" Mustang asked.

Al shrugged.

*Main Room*

Once Ling helped Ed get his arm into a sling, they were back in the main
room with everyone else. The destroyed main room that was. The coffee table
that was destroyed was pushed against the wall that had craters in it. His
black book was resting on it.

Ed went over to the table and grabbed his book off of the coffee table. "Is
everything good and we can go on? Or are we still on high alert?" As he said
this, he spared a glance at Scar, who was staring at him. He looked away
quickly. He should have kept his mouth shut earlier.

"Whenever you're ready." Mustang said.

"Right." Ed muttered, being sure to avoid Scar as he moved back to his seat
on the floor in front of the couch that Mustang and Hughes were on. Nothing
against Scar. He just didn't want anything to start at the moment.

"Did your arm finally break, Chief?" Havoc asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

"What happened to this stone?" Scar demanded as Kimblee's back

appeared on screen as he stood around raging fires and the complete
destruction of Ishval.

"It was given to Major Solf J. Kimblee." Dr. Marcoh grunted out.
"Not at all shocking." Mustang growled.

"Why's that?" May asked a bit hoarsely. She hugged Xiao-Mei closer to her
chest as she leaned into Al's metal chest.

"He would take pleasure in using the stone and he would tell no one he had it.
No one could know he had it and he would keep it a secret and feel no
remorse or horror about that stone." Mustang said.

The side of Kimblee's malicious grinning face was shown.

"He was known as the Crimson Alchemist."

"The Crimson Alchemist?" Ed repeated with a frown. "He was known for
causing explosions and they called him Crimson?"

Scar's face appeared on screen, glaring into Dr. Marcoh's. "Did you see
what this man looked like? Did he have black hair and cold eyes?"

Scar growled to himself. There were many State Alchemists that he hated for
their role in the Ishvalan War, but Kimblee was one of the ones he hated the
most. He was the one to kill his family. He was the one that caused his
brother to have to sacrifice himself for him. It was because of him that he lost
his family. He lost his land and his people were killed, but his family almost
escaped. They were so close to escaping until that man showed up.

Dr. Marcoh nodded. "Yes."

Red alchemical light lit up the screen as Scar's brother jumped in front
him to protect him from the explosion. Scar's brother's face was zoomed
in on. The screen turned white.

"My brother." Scar said.

Scar reappeared on screen. He shoved Dr. Marcoh to the ground.

"Keep talking." Scar growled.

"Everything changed." Dr. Marcoh said. "That single stone changed the
battle around."

"What does that mean? Amestris was still losing the war despite having State
Alchemists there?" Al asked confused.

"We weren't losing, but we weren't winning." Mustang said slowly. "Despite
facing State Alchemists, the Ishvalans were quite determined to fight back.
Then Kimblee suddenly showed up with more power than ever and the battle
really was different than what we were used to."

Ishval appeared on screen, explosions being heard in the distance as the

scene slowly moved up to show a hand holding a Philosopher's Stone.
"Ah, what a beautiful sound." Kimblee said. The screen moved to show
Kimblee standing on a building from an upward angle. "It doesn't get
any better than that. I can feel it deep in my bones." He lifted his hand to
his face to look at the stone. "Like a part me I never noticed before, that
sound is an extension of my being." His face was zoomed in on as he
continued to stare at the blood red stone. "And this land. This land that's
governed by death, I will paint it red with this shard of destruction."

"He really enjoys destruction too much." Al mumbled. "He's a sociopath."

"Coming from you, that is amazing." Ed replied. "But the more I listen to
him, the more I think he is a philosopher."

"That's not surprising. He is more than just a sociopath. He's also a bit of
philosopher, which just makes him that much more annoying." Mustang said.

He put the stone between his teeth. His cold eyes that shined with
darkness for the destruction to come appeared on screen. "I couldn't
dream of a more fulfilling job." The scene moved and his hands rapidly
clapped as they appeared on screen. Red alchemical light sparked
around his hands.

The scene pulled out to show the explosion he caused moving down the
building he was standing on to the Ishvalans standing at the bottom of it.
Red light sparked around the building and red light filled up the ground
as the Ishvalans screamed out. Scar was shown, staring at the ground as
it broke and rose.

"Did we really have to see that again?" May asked sadly.

"Of course. The future wants to annoy us by showing the same scene a
hundred times from different perspectives." Hughes said, frowning as he
crossed his arms.

"I don't think it's to annoy, Hughes." Mustang told him. "It's to help us
understand."

"What's to understand?" Hughes cried. "Kimblee is an insane sociopath! Case

done!"

"Is that how you handle all investigations?" Ed asked dryly.

Hughes grabbed a pillow and whacked Ed's head with it. "Shut up, kid."

The scene went white.

One of Kimblee's cruel eyes appeared on screen. The scene moved to

show Kimblee from behind at a downward angle as he covered his face
with his hands. "Such a beautiful sound." He shouted. He spread his
arms wide. "Like a symphony!"

"Explosions sound like a symphony?" Havoc scoffed.

"He's insane." Ed said. "Explosions are loud and destructive."

"You're just complaining because you went temporary deaf for a few days
because of the first explosion you got involved in." Havoc said.

"Who wouldn't complain?!" Ed cried, rubbing his ears. "That was annoying
and nerve-racking. I thought my hearing wasn't coming back!"

Mustang grimaced at that. That happened just a few months after Ed joined
the military. It was really worrisome for them all. Not only would Ed losing
his hearing cause the boy a lot of problems in life, it made Mustang feel
guilty. He was the one to send Ed on that mission. He almost destroyed his
senses. And if Ed lost his hearing completely, it would have caused a lot of
problems within the military and among the citizens. Allowing a kid to
become a State Alchemist caused many protests. Ed almost losing his hearing
a few months after joining would have caused those protestors extreme joy
because they would have had something to go on which is why Mustang and
his team kept very quiet about it.

The destroyed land and building caused by him were shown.

"This stone is amazing!"

A mug appeared on screen as it was put down as the music ended.

The scene pulled out to show Riza looking down at the mug with Ed
watching her.

"It didn't take long after that. The Ishvalans were slaughtered." Riza
said.

A group of Ishvalans holding a white flag appeared on screen with some

soldiers crouching behind some rubble looking at them.

The leader of the group was zoomed in on. His eyes were closed as he
bowed his head just a bit.

"With no other option, the Ishvalans surrendered. The High Priest of

Ishvala, Logue Lowe, offered himself to the Fuhrer on behalf of his
people."

"I never heard about that." Ed said with a frown.

"That's because the Fuhrer refused his offer." Hughes told him.

"He had the Ishvalans surrendering and he didn't accept it?" Ed asked in
disbelief. "There was so much bloodshed at this point already. Surely the
blood crest was done."

"Bradley is a very cold person in war." Mustang growled.

"Of course he is, and it probably has nothing to do with him being a
Homunculus. You can't be gentle and nice in war." General Armstrong said.

Bradley appeared on screen, sitting in a chair with his face resting on a

fist. Behind him was an Amestrian flag and soldiers stood in a line on
either side of him.

"So," Bradley said before the group of Ishvalans was shown to be

standing at the other end of the table, tied up. "You're asking me to take
your life in place of the remaining tens of thousands of Ishvalans."

"That's correct." Logue replied. "I stand–"

"How arrogant of you." Bradley interrupted. He was shown, staring

coldly at the group. "Do you sincerely believe that your single life is
equivalent to the remaining multitude of your followers? Your stature
has gone to your head." His face was zoomed in on. "The life of any
individual human is only worth one life. That's all. Nothing more and
nothing less."

"Uh, I don't like Bradley, but he does have a point." Ed said. "That wasn't a
good negotiation tactic on the Ishvalan's side. Though Bradley was also
wrong on one point."

"What point is that?" Fuery asked.

"The life of a human is only worth one life." Al said. "It is wrong."

"A human life is equal to nothing. Any life is sacred. It's like," Ed hummed.
"If the choice was between a family member and someone you didn't know,
you would obviously save your family member and let the other person die.
But that person has family and friends as well so the life for a life thing
equals nothing. Each life has value. Maybe not to you, but to other people."

"Think a lot on that or was it something you learned over the years?" Riza
asked.

"Something we learned during all our travels and from learning more about
Human Transmutation and the Homunculi." Al replied. "It's just all teaching
us."

Logue's face was shown from the side with his fellow Ishvalans being
shown behind him.

"Your life is not enough to call off the extermination." Bradley said.

"Maybe not, but you could at least negotiate terms, you jerk!" Luke said
angrily.

"How can you be so inhuman?" One of the Ishvalans said angrily.

"You will suffer the hammer of God!" Another Ishvalan shouted.

The screen moved to show Bradley from behind on the side of the screen
with Ishvalan group and some of the soldiers being seen in front of him.

"God you say?" Bradley asked. "Now this is intriguing." He lowered his
hand from his face and held it palm up in front of him. "How much
longer do you think your God plans to wait before unleashing his fury?"
Bradley's face appeared on screen as dramatic music began. "Just how
many thousands of lives must I take before he decides to strike me
down?"

Logue and another Ishvalan were shown from behind.

The Ishvalan leaned forward a bit and said, "You're a monster."

Bradley stood up and put his arms behind his back. "Open your eyes.
God is nothing more than a constrict created by man to expire fear and
promote order." Bradley's stomach appeared on screen. The scene
slowly moved to his chest then face. "If you wish to see me struck down
for all these atrocities, use your own hands to do so, not God's!"

"And he is only saying that because he knows that none of them can touch
him." Darius said.

"Don't they have warrior priests?" Ling asked.

"What's your point?" Jerso asked.

"I think they could injure him. Maybe not kill, but injure sure. If Ed is
insisting that Scar will be the demise of Bradley then Scar has extensive
training from a master so surely one of the other warrior priests could
possibly injure Bradley as well." Ling said. He turned to his friend. "As a
matter of curiosity. Why did you choose Scar as your guess of who would
defeat Bradley?"

Ed shrugged. "Because he has every reason to want to go after Bradley.

Bradley was the one who ordered the extermination of Ishval."

"You're just filling his revenge." Ling said.

Ed shrugged. "It was just a guess, Ling. We won't know if it is right or not
until the end."

A mug of coffee appeared on screen.

Ed's downcast face was shown.

Riza's face was shown. "And that's it."

Weary soldiers appeared on screen as they trekked up a hill. A couple of

jeeps were in the background driving up the hill.

"The war soon ended."

A couple of soldiers were shown to be posing for a picture.

"And we were all discharged and returned to our homes."

Another group of soldiers with shown saluting Grand, who was saluting
back.

Hughes's frowning face appeared on screen. "Now we know." He said.

"We really are as expendable as garbage to them."

Mustang's face appeared on screen. "Yeah. The power of one man

doesn't amount to much."

"I remember this scene!" Ed shouted, pointing at the screen. "Colonel was
dreaming about it in an earlier episode!"

"Congratulations, Fullmetal." Mustang said sarcastically. "Your memory is as

good as ever."

Ed rolled his eyes. Stupid Colonel.

The scene slowly started to pull out to show the two standing by each
other.

"But that doesn't matter."

The scene continued to pull out higher and higher to show Mustang and
Hughes from a downward angle surrounded by soldiers all around.

"With what little strength I have, I'll do whatever it takes to protect the
people I love. And in turn, they'll protect the ones they love. It seems like
the least we tiny humans can do for each other."

Bradley was shown to be standing at the top of some stairs as he looked

down at his soldiers. He turned his head and stared down at them. The
top half of his face was zoomed in on, showing his cold eye staring at
them.

The scene went dark, music ending with it.

Mustang appeared on screen to be sitting behind his desk. The sound of

a door opening was heard and Mustang looked up. It closed and
footsteps were heard next as they approached the desk.

A pair of feet was shown as they snapped together.

The back Mustang's head appeared on screen as the scene moved up to

show Riza standing in front of Mustang, saluting.

Mustang appeared on screen, hands interlocked in front of his face. "So

you decided to take this path after all, even after what you went through
in Ishval."

"You were expecting her to leave after it?" Ross asked.

"She wouldn't have been the only one to leave after the war." Mustang
replied.

"But if I left after all that killing, everything I would have endured up to that
point would have been pointless. I would have to live with the horror of what
I had done while living as a civilian if I left. I would have put myself through
all of that for no reason. By staying in the military, I could still make a
change and make sure something like that never happened again. I can do
nothing as a mere civilian." Riza replied.

"Did you think long about it or was that answer already there in your mind?"
Hughes asked.

"Seeing everything we did in the war solidified my beliefs." Riza said.

Riza appeared on screen. "Yes sir." The scene moved to show the two
from a downward angle. "If the world truly operates based on the
principle of equivalent exchange, then we soldiers have plenty to give
back. If this world is meant to prosper," Half of Mustang's face and one
of his hands took up half the screen with his window behind him was on
the other half. "Then it is our duty to carry the bodies of the dead across
a river of blood to their resting place."

"What is with you two and rivers? River of mud. River of blood. You really
need to come up with new metaphors." Ed said.

"That wasn't the point of that at all." Mustang said.

"Yeah, yeah, Lieutenant Riza feels extremely guilty about the war and she
wants to give back to the country to make up for it. About the rivers." Ed
said.

"Forget the rivers!" Mustang and Riza said.

Mustang closed his eyes. He was shown from behind as he stood up and
looked at Riza. "From now on, I'm assigning you to be my assistant. I
feel like I can trust you to watch my back."

Riza's face appeared on screen.

Mustang appeared on screen. "Although, I expect you understand what

this means. You'll be able to shoot me in the back as well."

The scene moved to show Riza from the side at an upward angle with
Mustang still being seen behind his desk.

"If I ever deviate from this path, then I want you to shoot me, and I'm
trusting you to do so." Mustang told her.

"That wasn't dark at all." Havoc said sarcastically. "I didn't know that was
your role."

"I doubt they would want to publicize that deal between them." Ed said dryly.
"It's a private promise between them."

"A promise to shoot him?" Hughes echoed. "You made the woman who loves
you make that promise?!"

"Hughes!" Mustang snapped, glaring at his friend. "Would you drop that
already? We don't love each other that way!"

Hughes scoffed. "Just like Ed. Always denying it. You trust her that much to
show her your back. She is the only person you will ever leave it wide open
to. You leave yourself open for her, and only her."

Mustang's eyes narrowed at him. "You're implying it again."

"And I will keep implying it until you admit your love for her." Hughes
hissed quietly at him.

Mustang rolled his eyes.

Riza's face appeared on screen.

"Do you accept my offer?"

Riza closed her eyes. "Of course I do, sir."

"Not at all surprising." Ed said.

The scene moved to show Riza from behind at a distance.

"I'll follow you into hell if you ask me too."

"Not surprising." Havoc said.

The scene went dark and reopened on an empty mug.

The scene changed to show Ed and Riza from a downward angle.

"But even if the Colonel does become Fuhrer, how will that change the
fact that this is still a military state?" Ed asked.

"Well, it won't. The first thing we'll have to do is restore power to the
parliament. We'll take it back from the military and make it democratic
again." Riza said.

"Which will probably take a long time." Mustang said.

"And who says you'll become Fuhrer anyway?" General Armstrong said,
glaring at Mustang.

Mustang smirked. "I say I'll become Fuhrer."

"It seems to always be a war for leadership. Doesn't matter what country it
is." Ed muttered.

The scene moved to show the back of Riza's head on half the screen and
Ed's face on the other half.

"Only after the full extent of the military's corruption has been brought
to light can this country move forward."
Ed's eyes widened a bit. "What do you mean?"

Riza's eye was shown. It narrowed a bit. "For example, those who were
praised as heroes during the Ishvalan campaign will be brought to trial
as war criminals."

"I said earlier that it was good you weren't pushing the blame, but that there,
Lieutenant, is really stupid." Ed growled. "You killed a lot in that war. And it
is horrible, but that was your order. That is what happens in war. No one likes
it, but people die in war."

"It's different here, Fullmetal." Mustang snapped.

"How so?" Ed retorted. "Because you killed civilians?"

"Of course that makes it different. They couldn't fight back. It was genocide."
Mustang retorted. "We killed innocent people when there was no need to. We
destroyed so many lives. I'd expect you'd to understand with everything
you've seen in the past three years, Fullmetal."

Ed snarled at him. "So you think you should be the ones to judge all those
soldiers who killed in the war? You think it's right to take all those who were
praised as heroes and now call them war criminals? What the hell gives you
that right? All you do–"

"Who the hell are you to lecture me when you've never been to war? You've
never killed! You don't understand anything, Fullmetal." Mustang snarled.
"You don't know how hard it is to pull that trigger the first time. Or that it
gets easier with each pull of the trigger. You know you're killing innocent
people who deserve it, but you don't care. You just want to survive and get
out."

"Don't you dare cut me off!" Ed growled, glaring angrily at Mustang. "All
you doing is suffering in that guilt. I get that. I get that you will forever feel
that guilt. You think I don't get it? I performed human transmutation. I lost
my brother's body. I couldn't save Nina. You have no idea of what I've seen
in my past three years. You don't know that I've accidentally caused the death
of a man or how much that thought torments me." [1]
"What?" Mustang said shocked. "When was–"

"Don't assume you know everything." Ed snapped at him. "It was when I was
twelve, shortly after I joined the military. And that is not the point here. You
say I don't understand, but I do, Colonel. What you're doing is just running
away in the end! You feel guilty about it so you are after a trial to be found
guilty and sentenced to death. It's running away into the hands of death!"

"So what?" Mustang snapped angrily. "It's our choice. That war was wrong
and should never have happened. We killed too many innocent people to be
seen as good people now."

"Your choice! And what about all those other heroes of Ishval? Where's their
choice? They were following orders and now you think it's right to declare
them criminals? And what do you think happens if you get killed?" Ed
snapped. "You think the country will stay the same after your deaths? What if
another big shot takes over for you and ruins everything you worked for,
huh? Just like I've said to Dr. Marcoh, dying changes nothing! But you know
what? Don't listen to me! You're too bloody stubborn to listen."

"Uh…" Hughes looked at Mustang that at Ed.

"Shut up, Hughes." Ed growled, looking back at the screen.

"I think he got his point across well." General Armstrong said.

"I found it more awkward than anything." Buccaneer said, glancing between
the two alchemists.

Ed's eye appeared on screen, widening in horror as dramatic music

began.

The scene moved to behind Ed "That's right. In a just peaceful world,

after all we've done, we'll be seen as mass murders."

"Then every soldier who has been given that order is a criminal in yours
eyes." Ed said angrily.

Ed leaned onto the table. "And the Colonel is trying to make sure this
happens? Isn't that just like committing suicide?"

Riza closed her eyes.

Ed appeared on screen, staring in horror at her. "But the Homunculi

were the ones pulling the strings. They caused the civil war."

Riza was shown. "Even if they were the ones responsible for it, we were
the soldiers who carried it out." Riza was shown from behind with Ed
still staring at her. "You should never avert your eyes from death. Never
forget the people you've killed. Trust me." Riza's eye was shown from
the side. "No matter how much time passes, they will never forget the
ones who killed them."

"Well, it seems you took Kimblee advice." Havoc said, glancing awkwardly
between Mustang and Ed, both of who did not look amused at all. They were
both sitting so tensely with scowls. It was amazing fists didn't go flying
between the two.

Ed's automail hand appeared on screen, clenching into a fist. "It's not
right."

Riza's gentle face was shown. "You don't have time to start worrying
about us."

"Shut up!" Ed said angrily, glaring at the two.

"Ed?" Riza asked shocked.

"You don't get it at all." Ed snapped, glaring at Riza.

"Fullmetal," Mustang said angrily. Ed could be mad at him, but he had no

right to glare at Riza.

Ed scoffed and looked back at the screen.

Hughes looked between the three with a frown. Of course that was the
problem. Ed didn't want to hear about Riza and Mustang preparing to die for
what they did in Ishval. He didn't want to lose any more people he cared
about. The thought of them becoming war criminals and being killed scared
him.

"Your hands are already full. You need to look after your brother, Ed."
Riza said. "And you need to get your bodies back."

Ed was shown.

"You better get to it." Riza said. "You've got plenty of people waiting for
that day."

Ed closed his eyes. He opened his eyes and nodded.

The night sky was shown.

"I'll get our bodies back." Ed said as the scene moved down to a house.
"And Al will help me."

The door to the house opened and Al stepped out, saying, "Good night,
Dr. Knox. Sorry for the intrusion."

Al's face appeared on screen.

"Excuse me," May said. "Mister Armor."

"Mister Armor?" Al asked amused, though he spared his glaring brother a

worried glance.

"Well, you never told me your name in the future." May huffed.

"My mistake." Al said.

Al looked down.

May was shown, staring up at Al with Dr. Knox leaning against a wall in
the hallway behind her. "I just wanted to thank you for your help. You
saved both of our lives."

Al was shown, leaning over to May. "My name's not Mister Armor. It's
Alphonse Elric."

"Your name is Elric?" May asked.

"You remember Edward Elric, don't you?" Al put his hand a short ways
above the ground. "The little alchemist you screamed at."

"AL!"

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Al shouted. "Brother! Stop hitting me with your book! I'm
sorry!"

Ed huffed, but his glare didn't lessen.

"Well, I'm actually his younger brother."

May's face was shown as she stared at Al.

"It's kind of a long story, but I lost my body." Al said.

May put a hand to her chin as she imagined a fire breathing Edward.

Ed scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Eh, sorry, Edward." May said unsurely as she stared at the angry Elric.

"Don't even try, May." Al mumbled to the younger girl. "Brother is too
frustrated to listen to anything right now."

"So you're his younger brother, huh? You probably look just like him
then."

"How rude!" Al cried.

May snapped back to attention as Al was shown, hands on his hips.

"For starters, I'm way taller than my brother is, and I don't have a mean
face like his, and I'm a much better fighter too." Al said.
"And I'm the arrogant one?" Ed scoffed, staring at his brother. "Not only am I
offended, Al, but that was very arrogant of you."

"It's not arrogant if it's true!" Al retorted, staring at his brother annoyed.

"Nope, still pretty arrogant, Al. And besides, we don't know who is the better
looking!" Ed argued. "How arrogant of you about your looks. I never would
have thought that would come from you!"

"Eh, Ed, Al, could you two please not argue right now?" Hughes asked.

"Stay out of it." Ed snapped at him. "It has nothing to do with you."

"Well, when I said that stuff to May, it's not like I meant for you to hear it."
Al mumbled.

"Oh, perfect!" Ed said sarcastically. "My brother just insults me behind my

back while boosting himself. Learn something new every day!"

"That's not what I meant! What does it even matter?"

Ed scoffed angrily.

"And, I don't have temper like he does. I'm a gentleman!" Al said.

"And a bragger." Ed muttered.

"Am not." Al said.

"Are too." Ed snapped, glaring at his brother.

"You're just mad because you know everything I said is true." Al said angrily.

"Oh, look, there's that arrogance again." Ed retorted.

"Are you going to fight with everyone, Ed?" Ling asked.

"Shut up, Ling. It has nothing to do with you." Ed snapped.

"I was just asking." Ling mumbled.

"Well, don't ask!" Ed screamed.

"You don't have to yell at young lord because you're frustrated." Lan Fan
growled.

"Yes, everything is my fault!" Ed screamed. He stood up, jumped over the

couch between Hughes and Mustang and stomped away.

"Ed, where are you going?" Hughes yelled.

"Away from here!" Ed screamed.

Hughes stared after Ed with a frown. "How strange." He mumbled.

"Stupid brat is just frustrated." Mustang growled.

Hughes shot his friend a glare. "You're blinded by your annoyance as well, I
see."

Mustang shot him a frown. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Hughes gave him an almost pitying look. "I can see now why your
relationship with Ed is such a complicated one."

"That's not an answer." Mustang said annoyed.

May's eye was shown, widening. She imagined a charming prince Al and
got all dazed and happy. "Oh, Alphonse."

"Eh…" Al said. May really did have the weirdest fantasies.

"Eh," May chuckled a bit nervously. "Sorry, Al."

"Right." Al muttered. "It's alright. I understand that little girls have a lot of
fantasies."

Al turned around at the door he was about to exit to stare at May who
had sparkles around her.

"I really hope that you get your body back soon." May said.

Al nodded. "Oh, well, thank you."

The ending song started.

Envy appeared on screen, knocking a metal door. "Hope you decent,

doc." He said. "Time for your supper."

"Hopefully Scar is no longer in there. That will cause a lot of problems." Dr.
Marcoh said hoarsely.

The dark room was shown.

As Envy opened the door, the light from the hallway lit the room up a
bit. "Huh, it sure is quiet in here." He said. His malicious grinning face
was shown as he walked in with a tray on his hand. "Are you thinking
about Ishval and crying yourself to sleep?" He stopped his talking and
looked at a wall. His arm was zoomed in on as it widened.

The wall was shown. In blood was the word "vengeance" written.

"That is definitely Scar's work." Havoc said darkly.

"Since when does Scar write vengeance in blood?" Breda asked.

"When you want to screw with the Homunculi, you do that." Havoc replied.

The scene pulled out to show Dr. Marcoh's body without a head.

"No! Dr. Marcoh." Armstrong said horrified.

"Hmm, strange." Dr. Marcoh said hoarsely, touching his bruised neck. "I
don't feel any pain at all."

"Really?" Ross asked, looking at the doctor in horror, but also in curiosity.
"But that is your body there. How could you not feel any pain from this?"
The scene pulled out farther to show Envy staring at the wall.

The scene went dark.

"So, I believe we should stop and take a break before the tension in here
suffocates all of us." Hughes said thickly.

*Training Room*

Kei walked into the training room, biting down on his cigarette when he
found Ed lying on the sparring mat. He walked over to him and looked down
at the boy. "Are you hoping someone will come fight a boy with a broken
automail arm and his other hand injured to help you relieve your frustration?"

Ed opened one eye to glare at him. "Go away."

"I can try to fix your arm." Kei offered.

Ed opened both eyes and looked up at him with a frown. "Try?"

"It's your friend's work, but I saw her tinkering with it a bit earlier in what we
watched and I am an automail mechanic. I might be able to fix it." Kei told
him.

"And what happens if you're wrong?" Ed asked.

"The worst that can happen is I could probably make it worse." Kei said and
when Ed just stared at him with narrowed eyes, he laughed. "You trust me
that little? You have two options. I can attempt to fix your arm and make it
worse, not better, which will just add to your stress levels. Or I can manage to
fix it and take one less thing from you to be stressed about. What do you have
to lose?"

"My sanity most likely." Ed grumbled.

*Al*

Al stared angrily at a wall. What was up with his brother? He really took it
too far with what Future Al was saying. Why did he have to take it so
seriously and argue with him about it? Normally it wouldn't have bothered
him at all so why was it so annoying to him now? He knew his brother was a
bit frustrated and tense from everything that they had seen, but that was no
excuse for him to argue with Al about what his future self was saying to May.
And it was said to May! Al basically redirected her affections to him, which
was completely unintentional. One would think his brother would be happy
about that!

*Hughes & Mustang*

"What did you mean earlier?" Mustang asked.

Hughes glanced at him. "Have you calmed down?"

"Do I not look calm?" Mustang retorted.

Hughes turned to face his friend fully. "Not at all. You still look annoyed."
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Roy, why do you think Ed got so
mad about what Hawkeye said about you guys becoming war criminals? You
were only thinking about becoming war criminals and being punished for
your crimes. You didn't look at it from Ed's side at all."

"From Fullmetal's?" Mustang scoffed and shoved his hands in his pockets,
frowning as he thought. All Ed really did was yell at him that their choice
was a stupid one and that it would solve nothing if they died for what they
did in the war. He was saying to stay and change things and make sure
nothing happened to their new country when it came to be. "Damn it,
Hughes. Are you seriously telling me he was upset?"

*Training Room*

"Do you even have the tools for such a procedure?" Ed muttered.

Kei grinned and held up the missing screw from Ed's arm.

Ed groaned and covered his eyes with his flesh arm. "Where did you get
that?"

"You'd be amazed at what appears in front of you in this place when you
need it." Kei replied.

Ed muttered a curse under his breath.

"I'll take that as agreement to me fixing your arm." Kei said, grinning. He
reached down and grabbed Ed by his flesh arm and pulled him to his feet.

*Kei's Room*

Ed laid at the end of a bed on his stomach, head pressing into a pillow which
he had his flesh arm wrapped around. His automail arm was stretched out
onto a stool with Kei sitting on a chair by the bed.

"Your arm is amazingly done." Kei said. "I almost don't want to tinker with it
with how amazing and complex it looks."

"You can't fix it then?" Ed asked.

"Didn't say that. It will just be harder and take a while longer than I thought it
would." Kei replied, biting on his cigarette as he frowned. "Or I could make it
that much worse faster."

"That's it." Ed started to push himself up. "I'm out of here."

Kei pushed Ed back down. "Don't worry so much. Your friend isn't the only
competent automail mechanic in the world."

"This is a bad idea." Ed groaned, burying his face back into his pillow.

"You had some quite strong reactions to that argument." Kei told him as he
started work on Ed's arm.

Ed groaned into the pillow.

"I know; it's just frustration and stress talking." Kei said.

Ed turned his head on the pillow to look at him with a frown. "That doesn't
make anything I said less true."
"Including what you said to your brother?" Kei asked without looking up.

Ed frowned at him. "That…that was just a side effect to my stress. It meant

nothing."

"It meant something to your brother." Kei retorted.

Ed scoffed. "How would you know?" He retorted and buried his face back in
the pillow.

"We all have our secrets." Kei told him.

Ed rolled his eyes. That had nothing to do with this at all.

"I used to have an older brother as well." Kei said.

Ed turned his head to look at him in surprise. He didn't expect to hear that.

"There was a two year difference between us, but we were still really close.
We had a lot of fun building things as kids, but it usually ended badly and we
had to go to the hospital." Kei continued, frowning. "When he was old
enough, he enlisted in the military while I went off to train to be an automail
mechanic because I wanted to continue building things which is why
automail became a passion of mine."

"That is interesting, but I don't see what it has to do with anything." Ed

replied.

"Shh." Kei scolded. "My brother ended up in the Ishvalan Civil War and
because of that, he lost his arm. He was so devastated. He thought his career
as a soldier was over until I made him an arm and helped him through
rehabilitation so he could go back to working as a soldier. When that
happened, it opened my eyes that there were quite a few soldiers losing limbs
or having problems with their automail so I enlisted in the military as an
automail engineer. I got some basic training, but when I told my brother what
I was planning, he got mad. He didn't want me in the military as well. He was
scared I might have to go to war some day and get killed."

"Sounds hypocritical of him." Ed muttered.

"Perhaps, but he was a bit of a protective brother. We got into an argument
about it one day when I was doing some repair work on his arm. I got really
frustrated with him so I was glad I was leaving the next day to head north for
my assignment. My brother and I parted on horrible parts, and the next time I
saw him, a few weeks later, it was at his funeral." Kei said, frowning darkly
as the memory came back to him. "I told you before that I would never want
to admit that I made a mistake with the automail I made someone and that a
mechanic is bound to make a mistake at some point because it teaches them a
lesson."

Ed buried his face in his pillow. He had a feeling he knew where this was
going and he didn't want to hear it.

"My brother was on a mission when his automail messed up. It messed up at
a bad time and resulted in his death. I made a mistake in his repairs because
of my frustrations with him and it cost him his life. We never even got to
make up after our last argument." Kei said softly. "I don't think he even
realized how much he was hurting me in our fight. He just kept yelling and
saying I didn't belong in the military. You were frustrated with Al and saying
things you didn't mean. Your brother is a nice person, Ed, but that doesn't
mean he doesn't feel hurt when his brother screams at him."

Ed buried his face deeper into the pillow, almost suffocating himself. 'I got
it." He mumbled quietly. "I got it. I know."

An hour later, Ed was sitting up and cautiously opening and closing his hand
a few times. When that worked, he rolled his shoulder and stretched his arm
above his head. "Hmm, well, it seems to be working." Ed said.

"Does it feel like it is sticking at all?" Kei asked. "Or stiff?"

"It feels a bit different." Ed said, stretching his arm in front of him. "What did
you do?"

"Your friend and I are different people who have had different masters. A
few things got shifted because of that, but the design is all the same. This will
probably take a bit of getting used to." Kei informed him.
Ed nodded. "But it is fix?"

"Much better than before, but you're going to want to get Winry to look at it.
But it shouldn't break again." Kei told him.

"That's good then. Thanks." Ed said.

"Now, I'm starving." Kei stood up and stretched his arms. "We're probably
late for lunch."

Ed gave a weak smile.

"Hey," Ed said, making Kei stop in leaving. "You made a mistake that cost
your brother his life. After that, why did you stick with automail?"

"Simple. To make sure another soldier never dies from an automail

malfunction." Kei replied.

*Al*

"Al."

Al looked away from the wall to look at his brother who was standing by him
suddenly. "Come to yell at me some more?" He said bitterly.

Ed shifted uncomfortably. "Al, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean anything by it.
When I was talking earlier about you being arrogant about boosting yourself,
I meant it to be teasing, but it came out angry because I'm frustrated right
now. I'm just so frustrated right now. And because of that, you took it the
wrong way and it just made me worked up. I'm sorry. It wasn't meant to be
like that."

"I know you're frustrated, Brother, but that doesn't mean you have to take it
out on me." Al said.

"I know." Ed said, frowning. "I'm sorry, Al. This is all just a lot to take in that
I lost myself in my stress. Can you forgive me?"

"I wasn't mad, just upset and hurt." Al replied, holding up a fist.
Ed grinned and bumped his brother's fist. "I really am sorry, Al."

"You know you have to talk to Colonel and Lieutenant Riza as well, right?"
Al asked.

Ed groaned and turned away from his brother. "Why did you have to remind
me of that?"

Al chuckled and stared at his brother in confusion. "I thought your arm was
broken."

"Kei managed to fix it, though it's a bit stiff." Ed replied as he grabbed his
shoulder and rubbed it.

"Better than being broken."

Ed yelped and looked over his shoulder to see Mustang there. "…Colonel."
He muttered, looking away with a slight scowl.

"Al, mind if I steal your brother?" Mustang asked.

"Not at all, sir." Al replied.

Ed frowned at his brother, who just shooed him away to talk to Mustang.

Ed shoved his hands in his pockets and followed Mustang with a scowl.

*Mustang's Room*

"Colonel, what did you want?" Ed grumbled.

Mustang turned around and stared at Ed for a moment before sighing and
wrapping his arms around Ed's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Ed."

Ed stared blankly at Mustang's blue jacket.

"I understand now. You don't want to lose any more people you care about."
Mustang said.
"It doesn't matter." Ed replied as he pulled away from Mustang. "You're
going to do it anyway. Can we just forget that argument?"

"What do you think?" Mustang asked.

Ed growled and walked over to one of the beds and sat on it. "Colonel, it was
a war of opinions."

"A war that revealed much." Mustang said. He turned around, facing Ed with
a frown. "Why did you never tell me you accidentally caused the death of a
man?"

"The same reason you don't tell me about the war. The guilt. The horror." Ed
muttered.

"You killed after you became a soldier. You should have reported it."
Mustang said.

Ed sighed. "It doesn't matter."

Mustang sighed. "Going to tell me about it?"

"No." Ed replied. "I don't want to discuss that."

Mustang frowned, but didn't pursue the subject. "So then you want to discuss
how much you care about me?"

Ed glared at him. "I don't know what you mean, Bastard!"

"When I made that plan, I never expected to gain so many close allies,
Fullmetal. I never expected a couple of kids to show up and," Mustang
paused and scowled a bit.

"And?" Ed prompted.

Mustang sighed. "And for me to end up caring so much for those kids."

Ed nodded. "Okay."
Mustang blinked. "Okay what?"

Ed jumped off the bed. "I've had enough of this…THIS! We're good, right?
I'm leaving. I want lunch."

"You're really horrible with your positive feelings, aren't you?" Mustang
asked.

"Shut up." Ed grumbled as he headed to the door. "Mention this to no one!"

Mustang smirked as he said, "Why would I want to? We're enemies,

remember?"

A/N: [1] Majhal's death. I know it is exclusive to the 2003 anime, but I
mentioned it here, but I changed it a bit. Ed won't go into detail on it, but
what he meant by it is this. After Ed got his state certification, he went
back to Resembool to get Al and burn his house down. On his way back
to East City, they met Majhal and that story happened. Simple as that.

Please Review!
*Chapter 31*: Extra 1: Tales of The Master
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: I had no plans to update today or to even post this for a few more
weeks, but I found something online. I don't even remember what it was
at this point, but seeing it reminded me of the date.

Special Gift For October 3rd! Enjoy!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Extra 1: Tales of The Master

"Lieutenant."

"Ed." Riza replied, staring at the boy. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ed said, frowning. "I just wanted to apologize for yelling earlier."

Riza smiled at Ed. "Don't worry about it, Ed. I understand that you were just
upset about the choice that Colonel and I have decided on."

"It's still stupid." Ed grumbled, looking away at the wall of the cafeteria with
a frown.

"Well, that is your opinion on the matter, Edward." Riza replied, ruffling his
hair.

Ed scowled and ran a hand through his hair to fix it. "So, you're not mad?"

"I wasn't mad, Ed. Your…rant was intriguing, but maybe you should have
been calmer about it, like your future self." Riza said.

Ed shrugged. "Future me didn't want to yell at you, and I do understand why

you want to do it. I just don't agree with it. And Colonel did rile me up a bit
as well."

Riza sighed. "You two. It is always something. Come on, Ed. The others are
waiting for us to start the episode."

Izumi appeared on the screen, struggling to get through a winter storm.

"Izumi Harnet, 18 years old. For certain reasons I am currently located
on the Northern Mt. Briggs."

"Oooh, is this Teacher's training?" Al asked excitedly.

"We get to see her training now?" Ed asked, perking up in interest and
confusion. "But this has nothing to do with what was just going on."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it. After the last episode, I'll
take anything that is much calmer than what is going." Ling replied.

"Those reasons I'll leave for later…For now, I just want to yell…" The
scene pulled out to show Izumi trudging down a snowy path with snow
covered trees all around. "This is bad! I'm about to die!"

"And we thought you guys had it bad." Hughes told the brothers, who were
watching the screen with rapt attention. "Uh, Boys?"

"Hughes, hush!" Edward ordered. "This is our only chance to see how much
Teacher struggled in the beginning of her training."

"What was that, you brat?" Izumi growled.

Al shrugged. "You only ever said you survived up in Briggs for a month and
fought a bear. We don't know much else or how you struggled in the
beginning. This is our chance to see the truth!"

"You guys have so little faith in your teacher?" Avery asked, grinning.

"Of course not!" The brothers said together.

"But no one can easily conquer the survival exercise in just a day. It takes a
while to get used to it. That's what we want to see." Edward explained,
smirking.

"What bratty boys I trained." Izumi mumbled to herself.

"Tales of the Master"

Havoc grinned. "I really like that title. It really fits for you, Izumi."

Izumi laughed. "Maybe now you will learn something, Al, Ed."

"That you failed at the start as well?" Al asked innocently.

Ed snickered while Izumi threw one of her sandals at Al, who yelped in
surprise. Hearing his laughing, Izumi threw her other sandal at Ed's head,
efficiently shutting up the boy.

"I am curious to see your training as well. There have been many stories
about you and your actions during your training." General Armstrong
informed Izumi.

Brody grinned. "Those stories are legend because no one knew who was
stealing and attacking our men. A good story to tell the new recruits that
come to Briggs. It really gets them learning quickly that the weather up in
Briggs isn't the only dangerous thing around."

"Glad to be of service." Izumi informed, smirking.

Ed snorted. "Those stories have to die down at some point since this was
what. Seventeen? Eighteen years ago? She hasn't appeared since. To keep the
scare up on your recruits, she should have another go at your soldiers."
"Fullmetal, you actually approve?" Mustang asked surprised.

Ed shrugged. "A little scare is a good way to get them to listen and not think
they know everything."

"We should send you up there, you punk demon." Mustang muttered.

"No way! It's too cold up there!" Ed said. "I am never heading north!"

A picture of trees with snow blowing all around was shown. This picture
was followed by a tree with a hollow bottom where a family of animals
was living. A deer turned its head to look at the screen. The deer walked
away before the screen went dark.

When the scene lit up once more, it said 'a few hours earlier' on the
screen with a clear sky and a mountain in the background.

"It looks so peaceful and clear. Are you sure this is only a few hours earlier?"
Ling asked confused.

"That's Brigg's weather. It can be completely clear one minute and change
within a minute to a blizzard with frigid temperatures. That's what makes it
so dangerous." Miles explained.

Ed shivered. "Yeah, I am definitely never heading up there."

"I feel that you just jinxed us." Al muttered.

"Psh, yeah right. Don't believe in jinxes, Al." Ed said.

A village near the mountains was shown before a yellow building was
zoomed in on.

"Mr. Silver Steiner." Izumi's voice said. Her back was shown as she
stood in front of a table in front of fireplace in the building. "I've heard
you are a renowned alchemist, so I've traveled from the western country-
side to meet you."

"As straightforward as always." Ed said.

"You are not one to talk, Chief." Havoc retorted. "I always knew you were
blunt, but I didn't know just how blunt you were to everyone, including
civilians, until we got here."

"Beating around the bush just wastes time!" Ed defended.

"So basically, he's impatient." Al said, making Ed glare at him.

Izumi's face was shown. "My name is Izumi Harnet." The man she was
talking to was shown. "I'd like you to make me your apprentice."

Steiner raised a hand to his ear.

Izumi put her hands on the table and leaned forward. "You are the
alchemist Silver Steiner, correct?"

Izumi growled softly to herself. She would forever be annoyed at this

mistake, but she did have to admit the survival training was useful. But she
would have been furious if she died in the mountains for it to have been for
the wrong person. Still, she couldn't believe she actually made that mistake!
It would always be a sour point, despite how useful the training was.

"Yes, my name is Steiner." Steiner replied. "Is there something I can do

for you?"

"Is he deaf or something?" Ling asked.

"He is old so he had bad hearing." Izumi replied, hiding the bitterness in her
tone.

"And you wanted to train under him, why?" Ed asked. "Sounds like an
annoying master to have."

"I'm hoping for an apprenticeship." Izumi replied.

"Why yes, I'll be turning 89 this year." Steiner replied.

Ed snickered. "How did you ever get anything through to this guy?"
"Stubbornness." Izumi replied.

"And a bit of shouting." Al added.

"I was not talking that loudly." Izumi protested.

"That's not what I asked…" Izumi said.

"The weather should be clear tomorrow." Steiner said.

"Where did the weather come from?" May asked confused.

Izumi sighed. "He is hard of hearing. He is talking gibberish."

"Why did you even continue to try to get him to teach you?" Ed asked,
frowning. "There doesn't seem much that this old geezer can teach you in his
state."

'You don't know how right you are.' Izumi thought angrily.

"Brother, be more respectful to the elderly." Al scolded.

'I don't care how wise he's been speaking since we got here, he is still a
disrespectful brat deep inside.' Mustang thought, shooting a glare at Ed.

Ed looked at Mustang confused when he felt the glare. What did he do to him
this time?!

Izumi leaned in closer to him to yell in his ear. "Not that.

Apprenticeship!"

"And you say I'm impatient." Ed teased.

Izumi, who had somehow got her sandals back, threw one at Ed's head.

Ed yelped and grabbed his head. "And violent!"

"You can't talk." Riza said.

Ed frowned and muttered something under his breath.

"Ap-pren-tice-ship!" She stressed.

Steiner leaned back in his sit. "What? Apprenticeship? Why didn't you
say so sooner? It's terrible that kids these days know nothing of
manners."

Hughes laughed. "At least it wasn't Ed or Roy that was asking him."

"Hey!" Ed said, but couldn't really protest. He probably would have broken
something by now in frustration.

"Fullmetal maybe, but I am not like him." Roy argued.

"Maybe now, but as a teenager?" Hughes said, grinning.

Mustang glared at him. "I had more manners than Fullmetal when I was a
kid. "

Ed snorted.

Izumi gritted her teeth and glared at him. Steiner threw a knife on the
table in front of her.

"One month." He told the surprised Izumi. "Using that knife, try to
survive on Mt. Briggs for one month." He opened his eyes which looked
completely black with white orbs in the center of them. "Accomplish this
and I'll take you as my apprentice."

Izumi gulped. 'What does this have to do with alchemy?'

"Doesn't this seem familiar to someone else's training?" Breda asked,

grinning.

Ed growled. "Of course it does because no one would have a clue in the
beginning how the two are connected!"

'No, this is the famous alchemist, Silver Steiner.' Steiner was shown on the
screen, looking like a demon with his strange eyes and the fire in the
fireplace behind him blazing. 'I'm sure there must be some deep meaning.'
Two pieces of meat cooking over that fire were shown. "One month on
Mt. Briggs."

"Doesn't that seem a bit extreme for survival training for someone's first
time?" Sheska asked worriedly.

Ed snickered. "Maybe for Al or me, but Teacher already knew martial arts
before this and she's smart. She'll catch on quick, maybe in a day or two."

"That's not as long as you took. Didn't it take you two almost a week?" Havoc
pointed out.

Al and Ed shared an annoyed look. "We were kids!" The former protested.
"And we didn't have to worry about freezing to death since we were on an
island. Teacher has to worry about the cold. She doesn't have the luxury of
going without food for a week. She needs it to keep the meat on her body to
keep the warmth in her."

"Whatever you say, I think the starvation the boys faced on that island was a
good, difficult lesson for them. They needed it." Mustang commented.

"It's cause I'm a soldier, isn't it?" Ed asked.

"Yeah, I hope that training taught you some discipline. Did it?" Mustang
asked.

Ed shrugged. "It taught me a bit of lots of things."

The screen moved closer to the fire before it changed to a tiny fire that
suddenly proofed out of existence. Izumi looked at the fire in shock and
horror. The scene pulled out to show her in a small cave that was
surrounded by snow.

Izumi shot up. "That was close! I glimpsed the afterlife!"

Ed and Al chuckled at that.

"You brats better shut it!" Izumi growled dangerously.

"But we can't help it." Al pleaded.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, you are acting so different than what we are used to. You
are usually so wise and cold and tough."

"This is before she is trained." Hughes pointed out. "Even the masters of
these days had to have someone teach them."

"Still hard to believe." Al muttered, and to his surprise, Lan Fan and May
nodded in agreement with Ed.

Active, silly music entered the scene as the sun rose over the mountains.
A tree was shown with a slash in it as Izumi walked onto the screen,
pushing her knife into the tree to make another mark. "If I sleep at
night, I'll freeze to death. I'll have to sleep during the afternoon when it's
warm." She was shown picking up pieces of wood. "I'll have to make a
fence to keep the wolves away."

"Wolves?" May cried horrified.

"Wolves." Al echoed. "Well, at least there were no animals after our heads
when we were on the island."

Ed glared at his brother. "Foxes."

Al sighed. "It was only once!"

"What about foxes?" Riza asked curiously.

"One of them bit Brother's arm when we were training. (Note: I know it was
only in the first series that this happened, but I do not care.) It left a scar
if I remember correctly." Al added.

A few of the soldiers stared at Ed's arm. "I don't see a scar." Karley said.

Ed waved his automail arm around. "It was my right arm!"

"I also need to gather wood to keep the fire from going out." Izumi said.

"She learned much faster than you guys."

"Of course she did! Teacher is eighteen, ten years older than us!" Ed argued.
"And plus, she is in more danger at the beginning then us!"

Izumi grabbed a stick that was stuck so she deposited her others to grab
it with both hands. She stood up and pulled with all her strength. Using
her strength, she got the stick out of the snow, but the sudden release
caused her to go flying back and slam into a tree. Her back slamming
into the tree caused the snow in it to be released and fall on top of her.

Izumi plowed out of the snow, screaming. She breathed heavily for a
moment before she stood up. "In what way is this training for alchemy?"
She screamed.

"…So you asked the same question." Al said.

"You asked yourselves that?" Fuery asked.

"Multiple times." Ed replied.

Something rose up from the ground behind her. The white cloak fell
away to reveal a soldier, who pointed a gun at Izumi.

"Ah, my first meeting with a Briggs soldier." Izumi said, smiling softly.

Ed twitched. "You're smiling about that? I don't even want to know what you
did to that man."

Izumi shrugged. "Nothing horrible."

A second solider stood up in front of her.

"Put your hands up, nice and slow!" One of them ordered.

Izumi slowly raised her hands. 'The Mountain Guard? Damn, I was this
close to Fort Briggs?'
"You sound so regretful about that." Buccaneer said, grinning.

"It's not like I meant to get near your fort. Even I would not dare to do
something so reckless." Izumi said.

General Armstrong smirked. "You attacked my men and stole from them."

"I'll do what I must to survive. Those guys showing themselves to me just

helped me along with making that choice." Izumi replied.

"What are you doing here?"

"No, you see, this is training." Izumi said, turning her head to the side a
bit.

"There's no idiot who would come here in this season for training." The
soldier behind her said.

"But I'm that idiot." Izumi said.

"She admits it!" Ed and Al shouted.

"Shut it!" Izumi threw a sandal at each of them.

"Ow! How do you keep getting those back?" Ed growled, rubbing his head.

Ling grinned to himself, making sure neither of the brothers could see it. He
so loved teasing Ed. His reactions were so amusing.

"You're coming with us, move."

Izumi was pushed forward by the soldier behind her and forced to walk.
"H-hey. Wait a minute!" She protested. "If I can't survive here for one
month alone, I can't get an apprenticeship."

"Be quiet, like we'd believe that nonsense."

Ling grinned. "Sometimes the most unbelievable things are the truth. People
need to learn to understand that."
"What'd you say?! Isn't it the job of the military to protect weak
citizens?" Izumi asked.

"Since when are you weak?" Al asked incredulously.

"That's not the point, Al." Izumi replied with a sigh.

"Then what was?" Lan Fan asked amused.

"That I was a citizen of Amestris and that I shouldn't be treated like a

criminal." Izumi explained.

"The title of weak citizens does not apply here."

"Oh, really?" Ling asked.

"If you are weak, you die in Briggs. If you are strong, you survive. Survival
of the Fittest. That is the way of Briggs." General Armstrong explained.

"Sounds right." Ed grimaced. If a weak person went up to Mt. Briggs, it

wasn't likely that they were returning with the way it was up there.

"There are spies from Drachma who dress as ordinary citizens and cross
the nation's borders."

"We are the National Guard, the word 'negligence' is not in our
dictionary. Briggs law is survival of the fittest. If you are not prepared,
then you will be eaten first."

"The survival of the fittest thing again, eh?" Ed asked. He looked at Ling.
"You wouldn't last a minute up there."

"What? Why is that?" Ling asked offended.

"Because you're a pig!" Ed shouted. "You can't survive an hour without

food!"

"I can too!" Ling retorted.

Ed snorted. "Only if you eat a huge meal that costs ME a large sum."

"Eh…Well…"

Izumi was shown again. "You just said something good!" She swung her
foot back and kicked one of the soldiers in the stomach.

"You bitch!" The other soldier said as he turned his gun to her, but
Izumi kicked it out of his hand before chopping him on the back of the
neck.

"You are so violent." Ed said.

"Isn't there a saying for that?" Al mused. "Something about the pot calling the
kettle black?"

"I wasn't saying that I wasn't violent!" Ed protested. "Just that Teacher is very
violent."

"I believe I went easy on these guys." Izumi said.

"They are lying face down in the snow." Mustang pointed out.

"I'm sure they were fine." Izumi said.

"But do you know for sure?" Hughes asked.

"Well, I'm sure they were." Izumi replied.

The scene moved to cans of food filling the screen. "All right! Military
rations!" Izumi said.

"So that was how the thieving was started." Miles said.

"Well, this is where I was introduced to it, but I didn't really start thieving
right away." Izumi replied.

Izumi was shown eating some of the food as one of the soldiers grimaced
on the ground. "I'm sorry, this is survival of the fittest, it's the law of
nature." She said. After finishing that bar, she stood up with some of the
food held under her arm. "I have to survive here for one month, no
matter what it takes."

"You know, if there are Briggs soldiers up there, why is that where he is
having you train? Seems a bit insane." Ling said.

"To put more a challenge into it." Ed replied. "Plus, it's a good way to learn to
fight."

"Though it seems Teacher already knows how to fight." Al said dryly. "Or
has the general idea."

"I can't imagine a day where she didn't know how to fight." Ed added.

The scene changed to a setting sun with a tree shown with eight marks
on it. At the bottom of the screen, it said '8th Day.'

"That's what I said..." Izumi said before she was shown to be lying in a
cave with a little fire by her. "It really is impossible…" Her stomach
growled.

A wolf walked across the screen as sad music began.

"We were wrong." Al said.

"Teacher took forever to get the hang of it." Ed added, grinning evilly, though
the grin slipped away when two sandals hit him in the head one after the
other. "Ow! Teacher! Not cool!"

"It's what punks get." Izumi growled.

Izumi's hand was shown. "I can't move anymore." She turned her hand
over. "I'm equal to garbage in this big world. At this rate I'll become
food for the wolves, won't I?" The fire was shown for a second before the
screen moved up to Izumi. "What a tiny existence. If I'm the type who
would die like this, I should have given up training and quickly gotten off
the mountain." She put her head down on her arm and stared out of the
cave. "Now I don't even have enough strength to get off the mountain.
Eighteen years, huh?" The sun dropped, making it even darker. "What
a short life."

Izumi suddenly screamed and grabbed her head. "I can't die!"

"There's Teacher!" Al and Ed said, grinning.

"Sheesh, who the hell was that weak person before?" Ed muttered, glancing
at his brother with a smirk.

"Shut up, you brats. You didn't do much better in the beginning either." Izumi
snapped.

"I still think we figured it out faster." Ed said.

Izumi scoffed. "Maybe a day. But I was alone, you punks."

"But we were younger." Ed retorted.

"I'm not a punk!"' Al protested.

Ed shot him a look. "Not the point, Al."

Izumi picked up some wood. "A young maiden of eighteen." She held the
wood over her head. "I haven't even felt the flames of love yet! There's
no way I can die!" She threw the wood on the tiny fire. "Don't be
ridiculous! Stop messing with me!" She threw me wood on the fire as the
fire started to spread to the other sticks. The fire suddenly became huge
as a heavily breathing Izumi was shown.

"I think she is going crazy from her isolation." Ling said.

"Yeah, at least Al and I had each other when we were doing the training." Ed
replied.

"I guess that is why she is talking to herself." May said, smiling a bit in
amusement.

"And I don't think she ever recovered fully from it!" Ed said mockingly.
"You're really pushing it." Izumi growled.

Ed grinned at her.

Growling was heard, making Izumi look over her shoulder. She stared
out of her cave as dramatic music began to see a pack of wolves taking
down a deer.

Izumi jumped in the air at them, eyes glowing in the darkness. The
wolves stared at her in fear. "Food!" Izumi cheered as the night sky was
shown. Dogs whining and thumps was all that was heard.

"Those poor wolves." Al said sadly. "They really had no idea of the danger
that was around."

"I think she is insane for taking on a pack of wolves." Hughes said.

"No, it was an unfair fight for the wolves. They needed more wolves on their
side." Ed argued.

Hughes laughed. "That's a scary thought you know."

"Doesn't make it any less true." Al mumbled.

A piece of meat on a knife was shown cooking over a fire. "It pisses me
off." Izumi was shown with tick marks on her face. She bit into the meat
while it was still on the knife. "Even if I die, the sun will keep setting and
rising as if nothing happened."

A tree was shown with sixteen marks on it and at the bottom of the
screen it said '16th day.'

"Really, the flow of the world is strong, fast and cruel!"

A bunny was shown to be running across the screen. Izumi was shown to
be chasing after it.

"Uh, Teacher, you could just set traps, you know." Al said.
Izumi stared at him, making Ed laugh. "Don't tell me!" He cried with a smirk.
"You don't know how to make traps?"

All the answer Ed got was another sandal to his face, but it was so worth it.

An anime body on a stick was cooking over a fire.

A gun was sticking out of the ground as the screen moved to show a
couple of unconscious soldiers on the ground.

"Fighting soldiers now?" Miles asked.

"Of course. You really should train them to fight in hand-to-hand combat
better." Izumi informed them.

"How often is it that they are going to meet a crazy housewife who knows
martial arts in the mountains?" Ed asked sarcastically.

"They should be prepared for anything!" Luke shouted. "Who knows who
they will meet up there?"

Izumi stood over them, carrying their supplies and biting down on some
food.

"This world's flow abides by a great power."

Izumi stood in front of a wolf with other wolves watching on. When the
wolf lunged at her, she kicked him in the chest.

"However, the origin of that flow is a gathering of tiny existences like

us."

"Though it is different words, this speech reminds me so much of

Fullmetal's." Mustang said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Of course it does, Colonel. The concept is the same." He
sneered. "And everyone is unique so they would say things in their own
words."
A picture of Izumi taking down an animal was shown. Her cave was
shown with a couple of gates in front of the entrance made of branches.
Izumi was shown cuddled up in blankets against the wall by her fire.

"Without us, that great flow would cease to exist!"

The tree was shown with twenty-four slashes and the words '24th day' at
the bottom of the screen.

A bear lunging at the waiting Izumi appeared on screen.

"If the powerful flow of the world is known," Izumi threw her knife
away and lifted her hands as the bear lifted a claw. "And that power can
be used by a tiny existence…" Izumi pushed his paw away and grabbed
his arm. "…that person is…" She pushed her foot into the ground to
stable herself "…the alchemist!" She threw the bear over her shoulder.
"The principal is 'One is all, all is one!'"

"Seriously, a bear?" Buccaneer asked with a smirk. "You really are one
strong woman to take a bear on without a weapon."

"I thought Briggs soldiers could all take down a bear." Darius said.

"Seriously?" Ling asked. "And they still can't beat a housewife?"

"I wasn't a housewife at this point." Izumi said.

"The concept is still there." Ling replied.

The bear slammed into the ground, tumbling back until it hit a tree.

Izumi stood up straight, smirking as the sun began to rise.

Music began as Izumi was shown from the front, smiling. 'My master,
Silver Steiner,'

Izumi growled to herself. Master? As if.

'You must have told me to survive in this cruel land so I could learn this
lesson.' The wind blew her hair.

'No, it's because I ran into an old man who needs his ears checked!' Izumi
thought angrily.

The scene went dark for a moment before lighting up again in front of
the yellow building.

"Hey, did you hear?" A voice asked as the building was zoomed in on.

"Yeah, the Mountain Guard is being taken out." Another voice said.

"Taken out?" Izumi shouted. "I never killed any of them. They were not taken
out!"

"But you incapacitated them." General Armstrong growled, though she would
have to admit that watching Izumi beat the weather and soldiers on the
mountain was quite amusing.

Izumi snorted. "They just need to be trained better. Obviously they didn't
learn enough in training."

"Or maybe she is just freakishly strong." Ed muttered to Ling.

"What was that?" Izumi shouted, glaring at Ed.

While Ed hid behind Ling, the prince chuckled. "She also seems to have great
hearing so you might want to stay quiet, Ed."

"I thought she and General Armstrong were talking." Ed groaned.

A group of soldiers were shown at a table as they talked.

"They say someone is attacking them and stealing their equipment." A

soldier said.

"Are they really spies?" Another soldier asked.

"No, just a crazy housewife." Ed muttered, only to be reward with a sandal

being thrown at his head. "Ow!"

Ling looked at him with an amused smirk. "I told you. You might want to
stay quiet, Ed."

"How about you shut up, Ling?" Ed suggested sarcastically. "You're not
being helpful at all."

"Well, it's your fault for mocking your teacher so much right now." Lan Fan
informed him.

Ed shrugged. Well, it was amusing.

Another group of soldiers was shown.

"They still haven't caught them yet?"

"How pathetic! The Briggs patrol name has been disgraced." Another
soldier said.

"On top of that, I hear a woman's responsible." Another soldier said.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ross asked angrily.

Izumi cracked her knuckles with a dark aura radiating off of her.

Ed and Al stared in fear at their former teacher, both twitching a bit.

"I think they are calling us weak." Riza said angrily.

"Well, clearly," Ed said, still twitching a bit because of Izumi's evil aura.
"They are idiots who understand nothing about a woman's strength."

The women glared at him.

"Are you just saying that to get into our good graces?" Lan Fan demanded.

"Definitely not." Ed muttered. "I grew up all around women. My mom.

Granny Pinako. Aunt Sara. Winry. Teacher. They are all strong, independent
women. I know how strong and scary you females can be. Clearly those
soldiers don't understand that."

"So sweet." Ross told him, smiling. "But Ed."

"We aren't scary!" Rebecca, Ross, Karin, May, and Lan Fan screamed at Ed,
who just twitched a bit more.

Women!

He gives them a compliment and they yell at him! What the hell did they
want?!

The doors to the building were shown to be thrown open by Izumi, who
was carrying a bear on her shoulder.

A group of soldiers were shown to be turning their heads to the door in

surprise.

The scene moved to show the soldiers from a different angle as Izumi
walked between the tables and bar counter to get to Steiner.

Steiner appeared on screen, head hanging down as he was half asleep.

"Doesn't he do anything but sit there?" Ed scoffed.

"Like what?" Heinkel asked.

"I don't know," Ed said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "What about TRAIN?!
Study! Research! His brain is dying the more he just sits there."

The scene pulled out as Izumi dropped her bear in front of the table.

"One month." Izumi said.

"Couldn't you have just, I don't know, pretended to do the training? Hid
somewhere for the month?" Havoc asked.

"And what would she have learned then?" Ed retorted.

"There is no honor in that!" Al added angrily.

"I think you guys are more protective of the training because you had to do it
and had no escape." Ling told them.

Ed scoffed. "It was good training!"

Ling held his hands up. "I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just saying you're making
excuses."

Steiner appeared on screen as he lifted his head. "Huh? Oooh, If I

remember correctly, you're the one who wanted an apprenticeship."

"Why would you want to train under this old guy?" Mustang asked. "He
doesn't seem to be in the right state of mind at all."

"Because apparently the student just wants the best." Hughes told him. "You
had an amazing teacher. Al and Ed had a great teacher. Why can't she have
one too?"

"Because with his mind state, I don't think he is great any longer." Mustang
said dryly.

Izumi appeared on screen, hands on her hips. "That's right. As

promised, you'll teach me alchemy now, right?"

Steiner lifted a hand to his ear. "Huh?"

Izumi stared at him before smiling. She closed her eyes and walked
towards him.

The scene moved to show her leaning front of Steiner, cupping her
mouth with one hand. "Please teach me alchemy!" She asked loudly.

Steiner leaned back. He tapped his fist into the palm of his other hand.
"Oooh, alchemy!"

Izumi was shown.

"You must be talking about my younger brother."

"Eh, what?" Hughes asked.

Izumi growled to herself, eyes flashing angrily as she cracked her knuckles.

Izumi blinked and gasped.

Steiner was shown. "My name is Gold Steiner. I'm Silver's older
brother, known for being a fighter."

"…Wait…you had the wrong one?" Darius asked, trying to bite down an
amused smirk.

Izumi glared at him. "Do not mention it." She hissed angrily.

"So basically, you went through all that for nothing?" Jerso asked, not
bothering to hide his smirk.

"All of you shut up." Izumi growled.

"You certainly made a mistake." Ed said.

"…Wait, if that training was for being a fighter, then it had nothing to do with
alchemy! Why did we have to do it?!" Al shouted.

"Weren't you just defending the training?" Ling asked, smirking.

"Unfair!" Al and Ed screamed.

"I don't care if it was good training!" Ed growled, staring at his former
teacher.

Izumi raised a brow and crossed her arms. "I found the alchemical point of
the training during my training which is why you two had to do it. Don't
complain!"

Izumi was shown to be staring at him.

"My younger brother died long ago."

"Well, that sucks. I guess you don't get a good teacher." Mustang said.

"Wait…if you didn't have a teacher, who trained you?" Fuery asked
confused.

Izumi just smirked.

Izumi's eyes widened as she stood up straight and Steiner laughed. Her
mouth hung open in shock.

She appeared on screen on all fours with a light hanging over her
depressed figure. "Wrong person?"

Steiner was shown, hand on his chin. "What? So you weren't aiming to
become a fighter?"

"Isn't that obvious?!" Havoc and Luke shouted.

"She has only ever been mentioning alchemy!" Brosh screamed.

Steiner smirked as the background changed with a zing and dramatic

music started. "But, you still did well to endure that one month…" His
face suddenly appeared on screen, eyes lit up brightly with
determination. "I am pleased! You will be my apprentice!"

"This guy is an idiot." Ed said dryly.

"Hey, someone might have just settled for that." Buccaneer pointed out.

Ed snorted. "Not anyone who was serious about wanting to learn alchemy.
They would accept no less than an amazing alchemist for a master."

Izumi was shown, still kneeling on the ground. Her eyes grew angry and
a tick mark appeared on her face.

An arm, fire wrapping around it, appeared on screen as it rose. The

other arm was shown, fire also wrapped around it, as it lowered. The
scene pulled out to show Steiner without his shirt off and falling into a
fighting position with fire all around him. "Ooooh." He said as he was
zoomed in on. "Let us walk this road of death toget–"

"This guy is mental." Ed muttered.

"And your teacher isn't?" Ling whispered very quietly to him so Izumi
wouldn't hear him. "How did she train you again?"

Ed twitched. "Do not start, Ling."

He stopped and blinked as everything went back to normal.

Izumi was shown with a blue-purple fiery aura around her. She slowly
raised herself, face angry with her teeth like fangs.

Steiner was shown to be staring at her. He swallowed as the scene

zoomed in on him, turning white as it did.

"Got to feel a bit sorry for him." Al said, wincing a bit. He knew his
Teacher's temper and it wasn't fun.

Ed nodded, trembling a bit in fear for himself. He did not like invoking the
wrath of Teacher.

"Please," Mustang scoffed. "Fullmetal probably would have done the same
thing to this guy."

Al sighed. "Sadly, Teacher did influence Brother's violent habits a bit."

Ed growled, glaring at Al. "Teacher didn't influence me!"

Al stared at his brother. "….Wasn't she the one to teach you to kick in the
doors because you thought it looked fun?"

"Uh…"

"What?" Mustang shouted, glaring at Izumi. "You're the reason my door

suffers?"
Izumi shrugged, but didn't hug her smirk. Now that was a reason to be proud
of Ed for joining the military. Angering his superiors. She taught him so well.

The outside of the building was shown as it started to shake and loud
thumps and thuds were heard. The snow fell off of the roof because of
the powerful shaking.

"Conventional year, 1897." A narrator's voice said. "Record of Briggs

National Guard."

The inside of the building was shown with soldiers and a waiter standing
by the fireplace, just staring at the screen.

"In the beginning of this year in the mountain area neighboring

Drachma."

Steiner was shown, lying on the ground with a huge lump on his head.

An unconscious bear was shown.

"Cases of soldiers being attacked by a woman repeatedly occurred."

"And she was never caught!" Ed said, grinning. "Pathetic of the Briggs
soldiers!"

Al sighed. "Brother, really. You can't blame them."

Ed raised a brow at him.

"IT was Teacher they were up against. They never had a chance." Al said.

Ed laughed. "Of course."

"You little punks." Buccaneer growled. "I think you're calling us weak."

Ed smirked at him. "What was your first clue?"

Izumi was shown to be walking down the street from behind.

"Where's the bear?" Havoc asked, frowning. "You left the bear? After what
you went through to kill it?!"

The scene pulled out to show her walking away through the doors of the
building as gently mysterious music started. Soldiers were shown to be
staring through the doors at her with Steiner still lying on the floor.

"Assumed to be committed by the same person, the surprise robberies

suddenly stopped after one month."

The entrance to a cave was shown with a blizzard raging on.

"Since that time, no one in the Mt. Briggs area to the north has seen that
mysterious woman again."

"Because she is hiding in the south." Ed and Al cried together.

Izumi threw a sandal at each of them.

"Ow!" Ed cried, grabbing his head. "You can't deny it, Teacher!"

"There is a training room here, Edward. Would you like to go train?" Izumi
asked.

Ed yelped and ducked behind Ling. "I'm sorry! Please spare me!" He shouted,
trembling in fear.

Ling glanced at Ed, raising a brow. His teacher really did scare him…Wait,
wasn't he expelled? And, he was still scared of her?

The tree that Izumi was marking was shown to be covered by ice and
snow.

"The end" appeared on screen before the ending song began.

"Well, that was certainly interesting." General Armstrong said, frowning. "If
my men can't handle one woman, they obviously do need more training."

"I feel sorry for them then." Al muttered to his brother.

"So, you going to train them?" Armstrong asked.

"I should, but I don't have the time." General Armstrong growled. She looked
Ed then at Izumi. "One of you should come up north and whip them into
shape."

"I am not heading north ever!" Ed growled.

The bear appeared on screen as Izumi said, "Oh no! I'm late, I'm late!"

The scene pulled out to show Izumi running down the street with her
bear, looking all cutesy and innocent with fun, adventurous music
playing. "After one month of winter training on the mountains, I'm
supposed to start my main training with Master! If I keep going like this,
I'll be late!"

"Master's First Love Story" appeared on screen.

Ed and Al twitched a bit.

"No." Ed said horrified.

"Not again." Al groaned, falling on all fours and staring dejectedly at the
ground.

"What's up with you two?" Hughes asked.

The boys just looked at him before groaning.

The street she was running down was shown. A figure walked out in
front of her.

A puff of smoke surrounded by yellow stars filled up the screen as the

two hit each other and the music ended.

As the pink smoke disappeared Izumi appeared on screen, sitting up as

she rubbed her butt.

"P-pardon me." The man she ran into said.

Izumi turned to him angrily as the scene pulled out to show her bear
lying in front of her along with the man. "Why don't you watch where–"

"Wasn't it also your fault?" Kei asked amused.

"You never blame a lady!" Ross growled.

"So, a lady is never at fault?" Brody asked.

"That is right, unless she decides to take the blame." Rebecca said.

"This is too confusing." Brosh said, pulling at his hair. "How does that make
any sense?"

She paused as Sig was shown, sparkles and a pink background around
him.

"You're not hurt are you, young lady?"

Izumi was shown, same background around her, as she held a hand to
her cheek and blushed. 'What a gentleman.'

"Well, I never thought I would see that reaction from her." Ling said amused.

Ed and Al twitched a bit. He really had no idea.

Izumi stood up as the fun music began again. "N-no. I'm sorry for
causing you to worry."

"So is that her way of accepting the blame for the crash?" Brosh asked
confused.

"No, she was apologizing for making Sig worry." Ross said.

"None of this make sense." Brosh moaned.

"W-well…I'm in a hurry so…" She started to run forward to leave. She

was shown from behind as she left.
Sig reached his hand forward on the screen. "Please wait a moment!"

Izumi stopped and turned back to him.

Sig was shown, lifting up the bear. "The bear, you dropped it."

Izumi was shown. "Oh no! How could I be so clumsy?" She walked
forward to the take the bear from Sig. As she was taking it, her hand
touched Sig's.

Sig was shown, sparks flashing behind him.

Izumi was shown with the same sparks around her.

"This is pretty weird." Mustang muttered.

"What is?" Hughes asked.

Mustang stared at him for a moment. "It's even weirder than you."

"What?" Hughes asked offended. "What is?"

"The lovey dovey crap!" Mustang growled.

"There is nothing wrong with being so in love." Hughes grumbled.

The scene pulled out to show the two, still holding the bear, with roses all
around them.

"This was the fated encounter that started their love."

A light, which was off, appeared on screen.

The scene moved down to show Izumi in Sig's arms, hearts flashing
around them with two small heads on the bottom corners of the screen.

"Since then, we've been a romantic lovey-dovey couple." Izumi said.

Ed and Al were shown to be staring blankly at the two. They turned

their heads to each other, facial expressions not changing. They turned
back to Izumi and Sig, still just staring.

Al blinked.

Ed blinked.

FIN flashed onto the screen in pink letters outlined in gold.

The ending song began.

Hughes grinned widely. "I love it! That ending with the two confused
brothers!"

"You found it funny." Ed groaned.

"But it really wasn't." Al moaned.

"Brats, I tell you an amazing story and that's how you behave?" Izumi
growled.

Sig pulled her back and Izumi turned to him, staring at him with a very happy
smile. "It was a nice memory to see again." He said.

Izumi nodded. "It was. It was nice to see after all the horrors we have been
watching."

"Maybe for them." Ed said, twitching a bit. "Let's just move on quickly
before I lose my sanity from this."

"I thought you lost it a long time ago." Ling said.

Ed shot him a glare. "This is so funny, Ling."

"You're not laughing." Ling pointed out.

"Oh, look at that! I'm not. Guess I just forgot." Ed said sarcastically. "And do
not say another word, Ling. We are moving on now."
A/N: Please Review!
*Chapter 32*: Extra 2: Yet Another Man's
Battlefield
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Extra 2: Yet Another Man's Battlefield

Yet Another Man's Battlefield

Mustang appeared on screen.

Mustang stared in horror at the screen. No. No. Not this! That punk
subordinate of his couldn't see this!

A white screen with the words "Roy Mustang, 18 years old" appeared on
screen.

"What?" Ed cried. "What the hell is this? It has nothing to do with our
future!"

Hughes snickered. "Ed, this is Roy's time at the military academy. I think
you'll enjoy this a lot."

Mustang snarled and glared at Hughes. "Seriously? You're in this too."

Hughes shrugged. "Just enjoy it."

"Can I lock Fullmetal in a room during it?" Mustang asked.

"No."

"Then I will not enjoy it."

The feet of the cadets standing at attention appeared on screen. The

scene slowly moved to the side as footsteps were heard. The pair of feet
that was moving appeared on screen. They stopped. The drill sergeant's
face was shown. He frowned. "Listen up! You're lucky I don't make you
lick your boots clean."

"That seems a bit extreme." Ed said.

"It's called discipline. Now that I think about it, I should send you to the
academy so you can learn that." Mustang sneered.

"I'll learn how to break out." Ed retorted.

"That defeats the purpose of it completely." Darius said amused.

"That's the point." Ed replied. "I will not go there!"

"It's not that bad." Heinkel tried, only to get glared at by Ed. "But if you want
to break out and be punished when you're caught, go ahead."

"I don't get caught." Ed growled.

"Considering you're a soldier, you'll have to come back to HQ at some point

so you will get caught." Mustang pointed out.

Ed twitched.

The scene pulled out to show the drill sergeant pointing at the cadet.
"Now, drop and give me seventy-five."

"That's punishment?" Ed scoffed.

"What's punishment to you?" Havoc asked.

"You do not talk about it!" Al and Ed screamed at him.

Havoc held up his hands. "Okay, okay, sorry for asking. But seventy-five
push-ups is a lot, guys."

The boys just scoffed at him.

"Sir, yes sir!" The cadet replied before dropping to the ground and
starting the pushups while the drill sergeant continued down the line.

"One!"

The drill sergeant's face was shown from the side as he looked at each
cadet.

"Two!"

"Three!"

Mustang was shown as the drill sergeant walked passed him.

"Four!"

"Look at you, you slob!" The drill sergeant shouted, making Mustang
straighten up a bit.

Ed snickered. "You look so nervous and scared."

Mustang's hand curled into a fist and shook. "Fullmetal, you really
understand nothing of the horrors of life at the academy."

"And I never will." Ed said.

"Be careful, Ed. If you anger him too much, he might throw you in there just
to teach you a lesson." Havoc warned.

"Five!"
"Your collar's unbuttoned!"

"So, what, is the appearance of you guys more important than anything else?"
Ed asked.

"If you are going to interrupt every few seconds, I am going to throw you into
another room and lock you in there until this is done." Mustang growled.
"And appearance is important, Fullmetal."

Ed snorted and held his hands up. "Right, right. Appearance is very important
for respectable soldiers."

Mustang's face was zoomed in on.

"Now, drop and give me one hundred and fifty."

"Sir, yes sir!"

Mustang's eyes moved down.

"One! Two!"

A blue sky with clouds in it appeared on screen with the words

"Fullmetal Alchemist" on the screen.

"Why is your name there? It has nothing to do with you!" Mustang growled.

Ed just stared at him with a frown while Mustang glared at him. It wasn't his
fault!

The scene moved down to show the academy with all its fields and
buildings.

One of the buildings appeared on screen with a cadet walking towards it.

A group of four cadets being led by a blond appeared on screen. One of

them was half turned around talking to the other two.

Hughes and Mustang shared a look at the sight of those four. Neither of them
could stand those four at all.

Mustang appeared on screen, lying on the ground with his hat turned
around and a rifle with him. He fired and the target he was firing at was
shown. The bullet missed and hit the stone wall behind it, shooting dust
up. Dust shot up in a second place as he missed again. A third dust cloud
rose up from the wall.

"You have sucky aim, Colonel." Havoc said, grinning.

"Shut up. I was still new." Mustang said.

The shooting range was shown from the sky as the screen slowly moved
to the side to show the track.

A couple pair of legs appeared on screen, running around the track.

Mustang appeared on screen, covered in sweat with other cadets behind

him, jogging as well.

Brown color started to appear on the right side of the screen and spread
over to the left side. The brown added a tired looking Mustang walking
down the hall.

"Out of shape?" Ed asked.

"More like, he was never in shape until he joined the military." Hughes
corrected.

"I never had a reason to be." Mustang growled.

"You mean besides the reason that it is healthy to be in shape?" Ed retorted.

"Didn't I tell you to keep your mouth shut?" Mustang snapped.

"Yes, but let's be honest, Colonel. Neither one of us believed that was going
to last." Ed replied.

"You weren't even quiet for more than a minute." Mustang growled.
Ed shrugged.

Mustang looked up.

A group of three cadets were shown to be walking in the opposite

direction of him.

"So then the next thing out of my pop's mouth was priceless." One of the
cadets was saying.

The cadets were shown up close as the blond one turned to his friends
and curled his hand into a fist. "It is your destiny in life to earn even
more medals than I did, he says."

"I don't like him already." Ed said.

"You don't even know him!" Riza said.

"He's a jerk." Ed muttered.

"You can't say that when you don't even know him." Izumi said. "Though he
does seem like, you can't just say he is!"

"If you earn that many, then you'll be a general." One of his friends said
as the group passed a saluting Mustang.

"I know!" The blond said and the group laughed.

When they passed, Mustang lowered his salute and turned to leave when
he heard a thump.

"You seriously have to salute other cadets?" Ed asked.

"Just the ones that are in a higher year than you." Riza replied.

"Seems annoying." Ed said.

"Only because you never salute." Mustang retorted.

"I salute sometimes." Ed retorted. "I have to put that stupid skill you forced
me to learn to use somewhere."

"And yet, I rarely see it." Mustang grumbled.

"I just don't like saluting you." Ed mumbled to himself.

A pair of books dropping to the ground appeared on screen.

"Woah."

The scene moved to show the blond and another cadet on the ground
with the blonde's friends standing there while Mustang was turned
around in the distance watching.

"You alright?"

"Aw man." The blond said.

One of the blonde's friends grabbed his arm. "Just like a true general."
He turned to the other person. "You okay? Sorry about that." He
stopped, which grabbed the blonde's attention. He looked over his
shoulder to see the other cadet.

The cadet they bumped into appeared on screen, showing that he was
Ishvalan.

The blond was shown, a cruel smirk spreading across his face. "An
Ishvalan, huh." He said as the Ishvalan was shown.

Scar growled. The moment they realize that it's not an Amestrian, they turn
cruel. It sickened him to see this. They had no right to treat him any
differently just because he was a bit different.

"So, what's with the cruel smirk?" Al asked. "Were Ishvalans really treated
badly even before the war?"

"Yes," Hughes said sadly.

Mustang was shown to be watching.

The group was shown as the blond stood up and the one who apologized
said, "I take back that apology."

The blonde raised his arm to look at it. "He got his dirty desert stink on
my shirt." He held his arm out to his other friend who raised his hands
and made a disgusted sound.

Ed growled angrily. "Bullying? Seriously? They are in the damn military and
are adults and they are bullying like this?"

"It's racism." Riza said. "Being an adult has nothing to do with it. Adults can
be very racist, which teaches children to be like that and that is how they
grow up. It is as simple as that. Being a mature adult doesn't necessarily mean
not being racist."

"Well, these guys piss me off. Someone should hit them." Ed grumbled.

"I agree with you there." Ling said.

Ed stared at him in surprise. "Didn't think you were that violent."

Ling shrugged. "I'm not, but I don't like bullying. I don't necessarily want
them hurt, just to have someone knock sense into them."

Hughes and Mustang shared a look.

"Think it will be shown?" Hughes asked.

"It was the major point of our time at the academy." Mustang replied.

Hughes grinned widely.

"Disgusting. Dirty Ishvalan stink."

Miles hands clenched into fists. He knew what facing that bullying felt like.
He faced it at his time in the academy as well. It was a horrible experience.
There were a lot of horrible cadets that understood nothing and just felt the
need to insult him because he was a bit different.

The boy whined when his friend waved his hand in front of him.

The blond turned back to the Ishvalan. "What's a filthy Ishvalan

doing–" He stopped and frowned.

The Ishvalan's face appeared on screen to show that he was just staring.

The blond pulled back a bit when he appeared on screen.

Mustang appeared on screen, just staring.

The Ishvalan was shown from behind, still sitting on the ground with his
books in front of him.

"Come on." The blond said and he started walking away. "Why are we
wasting our time on this trash?"

"Because you're assholes after a reaction and when you don't get one, all you
can do to save yourselves is saying it's stupid and walk away?" Ed said
angrily.

"You are very opinionated." Havoc said.

Ed growled. "I don't like people like that. They are all jerks!"

"When did you ever meet bullies?" Fuery asked.

"Everywhere! They are freaking everywhere!" Ed said angrily.

"Uh, yeah!"

The Ishvalan was shown from the side, looking out of the corner of his
eyes as they passed. When they were gone, he looked back down.

"You alright?" Mustang asked.

The Ishvalan looked up.

The scene pulled back to show Mustang approaching him.

"Well, at least someone has manners." May said, frowning.

"I think it's more that he has a better moral code than that group." Al said.

"Who cares what it was? He should have moved sooner and punched one of
them!" Ed shouted.

Mustang sighed. "And gotten into trouble?"

"They are more important things then getting yelled at." Ed muttered.

Mustang started to kneel on the ground. The scene moved to behind

Mustang to show the Ishvalan in front of him as Mustang started to pick
up the books. He picked them up quickly and held them out to the other
cadet.

The scene moved to show the cadet from behind and Mustang in front of
him. "That was pretty messed up." Mustang said.

The scene pulled out to show the two from the side.

The Ishvalan took his books and said, "Always is."

Ed blinked and looked at Miles with a curious, dark look.

Miles caught his eyes and nodded to his unasked question. Yes, he had faced
bullying at the academy, despite not being fully Ishvalan.

Ed looked back at the screen with a scowl. That wasn't right at all. They went
to the academy to join their military, which they had every right to. What did
they all have against Ishvalans anyway? Sure, Ed was scared of them and
angry when they brought their war to Resembool, but he also learned a lot in
his time in the military and managed to look passed it as he looked at it with
open eyes.

He stood up. "Thank you." He started to walk away.

The scene went dark and reopened to the sound of frying as a cafeteria
was shown. Incoherent chatter was heard as the scene slowly moved to
show cadets standing in line to get food.

Mustang walked onto screen. The food choices were shown on screen.
The scene stopped on one plate quiche that was left. Mustang's hand
appeared on screen to be reaching for it when another hand appeared on
screen and snatched it first. Mustang appeared on screen, turning his
face to look at the person who took it.

The quiche was shown to be put down on a tray. "Sorry pal. Spinach
quiche is my favorite." Hughes said as the scene moved up to his face.

Ed roared with laughter. "Hughes! Why didn't you ever tell me you messed
with Colonel when you guys first met?"

"You are the worst loyal subordinate that I have ever had." Mustang growled.

"…What?"

Hughes laughed. "Well, if I knew you wanted stories to mock Roy with, I
would have told you some, Ed."

"And you are the worst best friend." Mustang snapped at him. "The two of
you together is the worst combination ever."

Hughes slapped him on the shoulder. "Stop being so serious."

"The day that happens is the day Fullmetal gets one up on me." Mustang
replied.

"….You mean that day hasn't happened yet? What about all those arguments
that I won?" Ed said.

"You may have won arguments, but you have not won the war!" Mustang
retorted.

"It's only a matter of time, old man!" Ed retorted.

Mustang growled. "I'm not old!"

"Just can't resist it, you know." Hughes said as he turned around.

Dramatic music began as Mustang watched Hughes leave.

A tray suddenly slammed onto a table as Mustang growled. He pulled

the chair out as he sat and the other cadets stared at him in confusion
and surprise.

"What? Damn!" Ed said. "Hughes, you have to tell me how to anger Colonel
like that!"

Hughes snickered. "Sorry Ed, but I don't think it is that easy anymore."

"Too bad. It would have led to many enjoyable fights if Chief could anger
Colonel like that." Havoc said.

Mustang shot him an annoyed look. "This isn't a game!"

"Right, right. It's war according to you." Havoc snickered.

Mustang sat down and folded his hands in the air in front of him with his
eyes closed.

"I see your mannerism are still the same." Ed muttered.

He opened his eyes as he turned his head.

Hughes appeared on screen to be sitting with the blond and his friends
from earlier. The blond was talking to Hughes about something.

"Why the hell are you sitting with them?" Ed growled.

Hughes shrugged.

"So, how did you and Colonel become friends?" Al asked.

"Through war." Hughes replied, grinning.

"War?"

"War."

"That makes no sense." Al muttered.

"So, he's one of them." Mustang said as he appeared on screen.

"One of them? What is this? High school?" Riza asked.

"Yes." Mustang and Hughes said.

Ed snorted while Riza sighed.

"Sometime I don't think either of you ever left high school." Riza said.

The track appeared on screen with a group of cadets running around it.
The cadets were shown close up with Mustang being seen among them.
Hughes's back appeared on screen as he was in the group as well.

Mustang was shown, staring at him.

Hughes appeared on screen, lying on the ground with a rifle and firing it
a few times.

Hughes was shown from behind as the scene slowly started to move back.

Mustang appeared on screen, holding his own rifle while he waited. He

looked over his shoulder to glare at Hughes.

"Think you might be a little obsessed, sir?" Breda asked.

"He was just admiring me." Hughes said with a smirk.

Mustang scoffed. "As if, Hughes. I was planning."

"Planning what?" Karley asked.

"His demise." Mustang growled lowly.

Hughes raised a brow. "You were planning to destroy me?"

"Yes."

"And you two became friends, HOW?" Ed asked.

"I already said. Through war!" Hughes shouted as he threw a fist in the air.

Ed blinked. These two were insane.

A classroom appeared on screen with a soldier at the head of the room,

lecturing.

The back of Hughes's head appeared on screen with him resting his head
in his hand. His head bobbed a bit. His hand was shown to be holding a
pencil still in his notebook while Mustang could be seen in the back of
the classroom, writing variously things in his notebook. Mustang paused
to look up at Hughes.

"Obsessed." Luke muttered.

The cafeteria appeared on screen with cadets all around.

"Aw man, I'm starving." A cadet said.

"Time to eat."

Hughes appeared on screen as he walked in front of the kitchen to get his

food.

The spinach quiche was shown as he reached for one.

Another hand appeared on screen and grabbed the one that Hughes was
after.

Hughes appeared on screen, looking surprised. He looked to the side.

"Sorry pal. Just can't resist it, you know." Mustang said as he appeared
on screen. He turned to Hughes with a smirk. "Spinach quiche is my
favorite."

Ed snickered. "Mocking Hughes with his own words?"

"Hey! I thought you were on my side!" Hughes snapped.

Ed blinked, staring at him. "Since when are they sides?"

"Since you dislike him." Hughes whined, pointing at Mustang. "And are at
war with him now."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Firstly, our war and your war are two different things.
And secondly, I don't dislike him. I like mocking him, but you have to admit,
he got you this time. I am still curious how you guys go from mocking each
other to becoming best friends."

"How did you and Ling become best friends?" Hughes grumbled. "Nothing is
right in this world anymore."

"Don't be such a child." Mustang told him.

"Seriously? The moment Ed takes your side, you don't snap at him anymore
and start to enjoy it?!" Hughes asked. "This makes no sense!"

"What sides?" Ed asked annoyed. "I didn't join a side!"

Hughes appeared on screen, staring at Mustang for a moment before he

smirked.

A cadet in a soldier's uniform and wearing a pack appeared on screen,

running around a track.

The scene moved to show a group of them running around the track.

"Look at those two freaks up there."

The scene moved to show two of the cadets running ahead of the group.
They were zoomed in on to show them as Mustang and Hughes.
"You guys battled it out to be better than one another?" Ling asked.

"I told you it was war!" Hughes shouted. "And there are sides in war."

Ed sweat dropped. "Hughes, this is the past."

"Don't mind him, Fullmetal. He is just like an over excitable puppy."

Mustang said.

"If anyone is the puppy, it's Ed!" Hughes retorted.

Ed shot him a glare. "What? I am not a puppy, Hughes! Don't say stupid
things!"

"Well, actually…" Havoc said.

Ed moved his glare to him. "Don't say it." He hissed.

"They have a point." Mustang said. "Many soldiers and Sate Alchemists have
called you a puppy since you become a Dog of the Military at such a young
age."

"What?" Ling said, roaring with laughter. "You were called a puppy?"

Ed scowled at him. "Shut up, Ling."

"Did you already know?" Hughes asked.

"I'm not deaf or blind." Ed snapped. "I heard it multiple times."

"I think it just fueled Brother's anger and recklessness." Al added.

"What?" Mustang growled.

Ed swallowed. "And moving on."

"Maes Hughes!"

Hughes appeared on screen as he stood up in a classroom. "The object is

victory so focus on it and not the campaign."

"Excellent!"

"Is it always a drill sergeant's voice no matter the circumstances?" Lan Fan
asked.

"Yes." All the soldiers replied.

"That sounds really annoying." Ed muttered.

"I have to make a list of the pros and cons of sending you to the academy."
Mustang said. "Con, you would probably end up beating up half the people
there cause they annoyed you."

"I would not!" Ed shouted.

Many soldiers snorted at that.

The scene moved to show Hughes from behind and the drill sergeant at
the front of the class.

"Now then, tell me what that means. Fredrick!"

Fredrick stood up. "I-I'm not sure, sir."

The drill sergeant was shown up close. "Then you're a dead man!"

"Well, that's nice." May said.

"He's just prompting them to study…in his own special way." Mustang said.

"Mustang, you tell me."

Mustang stood up. "The battle changes. You cannot cling to an initiate
plan of attack. Your strategy must adapt to counter your enemy's."

"Excellent. Next."
Mustang was shown up close as he sat back down.

"The sun and the moon descend."

Mustang looked up.

Hughes was shown looking out of the corner of his eyes at Mustang.

"In order rise, the four seasons pass away to return anew."

Hughes slowly turned his face forward.

"Great. Now you are both obsessed with each other." Ross said.

"In war, you must know your enemy well to be able defeat him." Mustang
said.

Ross almost smacked her forehead. These two were completely serious about
this.

"Were you guys really fighting like it was a war?" Al asked.

"Sort of." Hughes said, grinning.

"How long did it last?" Ling asked amused.

"Just a while." Mustang replied.

Ed snorted. "A while. Sure."

Gun fire was heard as the target boards appeared on screen. A bullet
shot through the one closest to the screen. More bullets fired, hitting
each target board.

Mustang and Hughes were shown to be lying on the ground with rifles,
firing at the target boards.

Two cadets were shown, holding their own rifles. "What's with those
guys?" One of them asked. "It's like they can't stop competing."
"I had no idea you were so competitive, Hughes." Ed said.

Hughes smirked. "Someone had to challenge this punk." He smacked Roy's

shoulder. "He wasn't a punk like you are, but he is a punk."

Ed laughed.

"So, want to return to my side?" Hughes asked.

"It was years ago, Hughes! The sides had died!" Mustang retorted.

"You just don't want Ed on my side!" Hughes retorted.

Ed smacked his face. Idiots.

"Fullmetal/Ed!" Mustang and Hughes shouted.

"Seriously, Colonel? Seriously? I thought you had more sense than Hughes."
Ed growled.

"You're either with me or against me, Fullmetal!" Mustang said, glaring at the
boy.

"You don't want me as an enemy, Ed." Hughes warned.

Ed blinked and looked at Ling. "How did I get dragged into their insanity?"

"Either they really are insane or they are messing with you." Ling told them.

Ed glanced at the two glaring at him then away. "I don't like this game."

"We're playing a game?" Ling asked. "Since when?"

Ed groaned and buried his face in his hands. Why him? What did he do to
deserve this?

"I noticed." The other cadet said.

Mustang was shown from the front as he fired again.

Hughes was shown next, firing also.

Mustang's face appeared closed up on the screen as he continued to fire.

Hughes's face was shown close up as he continued to fire.

The building with a fountain in front of it appeared on screen.

Mustang appeared on screen, walking as he read his book. He was shown

from the front as he walked out of a building. He stopped as mysterious
music started and he was shown from the side so a group of cadets could
be seen entering the alley between two buildings.

The end of the group was shown close up to show the Ishvalan from
before with them.

Mustang appeared on screen, staring at the spot where the group

disappeared to.

The end of the alley was shown as Mustang walked in front of it.

"You never did know when to mind your own business." General Armstrong
said with a smirk.

"It has to be his honor streak." Miles said, feeling a bit relieved at Mustang's
actions. It was not often that there was always someone there willing to
defend an Ishvalan at the academy.

"You sure think pretty highly of yourself, don't you?" The blonde's voice
said.

The scene pulled back to show the Ishvalan kneeling on the ground,
surrounded by the group.

"Yeah really."

"Are you freaking kidding me? Where do they get off saying crap like that
when they are the idiots who think highly of themselves?" Ed said angrily.
"Not to mention, did you see the size of that group? They can't even bully
him in a small group or by themselves because they're cowards." Al growled.

"Anyone who bullies does it for some stupid reason. They feel insecure so
they pick on others to make themselves feel better. Or they bully others to
make up for crap that happens at home. It can be any reason that they can use
as an excuse." Hughes said, frowning as he thought about it.

The group was show from Mustang's point of view.

"And what makes you think you belong here with us?" Another cadet
said.

Mustang appeared on screen, gritting his teeth angrily.

"Enough!" Mustang shouted as the group was shown again. He appeared

on screen as he marched over to them.

"Who the hell is this guy?" The blond said as he turned around.

"A better person than you?" Ed suggested angrily.

"I think anyone can be a better person than them." Lan Fan said angrily.

"I know him." Another cadet said. "Roy Mustang. He's a year below
us."

The Ishvalan was shown with Mustang seen at an upward angle.

"There's no point to this. Just think about it. Ishval a part of Amestris
now so he's a citizen, understand?" Mustang said.

"I don't think talking will do anything." Havoc said.

"You won't know if you don't try." Al replied.

"He has the exact same rights as anyone else–"

"You left out their inferiority." The blond said.

"Someone dare interrupt the great Roy Mustang?" Ed said mockingly,
making Mustang roll his eyes.

"By saying that, they really do think highly of themselves." Scar said angrily.

The blond appeared on screen, raising a hand. "That's why they got
taken over."

"Someone please, I don't care who it is. Just someone, punch this idiot now!"
Ed growled.

Mustang smirked while Hughes glared at him. "What?" Mustang asked. "You
wanted to hit him too."

"But now Ed is going to join your side." Hughes grumbled.

Mustang laughed. "He's already on my side. He has been since he joined the
military."

"That's unfair! You have that advantage." Hughes whined.

The Ishvalan was shown, still kneeling on the ground and glaring up at
the blond.

Mustang appeared on screen, frowning. He walked forward.

The group was shown again with the blond looking surprised. Two of the
cadets turned to the side to watch as Mustang walked passed them and
kneeled by the Ishvalan.

"Don't accept this." Mustang said, putting his hand on his shoulder.

The Ishvalan was shown, staring at him.

The blond was shown, looking down at Mustang snidely. "You're going
to smell like an Ishvalan now."

"Ew, he stinks." Another cadet said as he plugged his nose and waved his
hand.
Ed snorted. "Idiots. Not only are they annoying, but they are really dumb.
Their insults suck and they just use the same ones over and over again."

"Not everyone has as creative as a mind as you do." Brody told him.

"Except, I don't bully people like this with my creative mind." Ed growled.

The cadets above Mustang laughed.

The blond one was shown before Mustang rose quickly and grabbed him
by his shirt. They turned around by Mustang's will before he slammed
his fist into the blonde's face and let go of him to send him flying to the
ground.

"About freaking time!" Ed screamed, waving a fist in the air. "…Wait…Was

that Colonel who just did that? The same Colonel who scolds and yells at me
for getting into unnecessary fights?"

"This was different." Mustang defended.

"How so?" Ed demanded.

"Those guys were being racist jerks." Mustang growled.

"Well, whatever. At least someone punched him, even if it is the least likely
choice." Ed said, grinning.

"Aww, does this mean that you're on his side?" Hughes whined.

"Once again, they are no sides!" Ed snapped.

"You still have to choice one." Mustang told him.

"I don't have to do anything, you nutcases!" Ed shouted.

The blond slammed into the ground facedown. His friends stared at him
before turning around.

"Bastard!" One of them cried.

Mustang appeared on screen, staring at them.

The cadet grabbed him by his shirt. "You don't even touch an
upperclassman." He slammed his fist into Mustang's face.

Mustang grunted in pain and grabbed his cheek.

"You know, it might not have been a good idea to start a fight when you are
so outnumbered." Armstrong said.

"Better to start a fight then to walk away knowing that I will regret it."
Mustang replied, rubbing his cheek.

Armstrong frowned at that. He did have a point. Walking away from

something that went against your beliefs left a horrible feeling in you.

The scene moved to show Mustang from above as he stumbled back a

few steps. He rubbed his cheek as the cadet ran at him again. He threw a
punch at Mustang, which Mustang dodged. He grabbed cadet's shoulder
before he kneed him in the stomach. The cadet groaned and grabbed his
stomach while another cadet lunged onto the screen and slammed into
Mustang's stomach. Mustang' pushed down on his shoulders and pushed
his feet into the ground to stay up.

Mustang felt the air get knocked out of him, but recovered a second later with
a bit of difficulty.

The Ishvalan appeared on screen, staring in shock.

"Don't just stare! Get up and help!" Ed said. "No matter how good someone
is, one person can't handle that many enemies at once!"

"You realize it's just a schoolyard brawl, right?" Karley asked.

"A fight is a fight!" Ed retorted.

Buccaneer laughed. "He's right. It doesn't matter if it is a life or death fight or

not. A fight is a fight, and you don't want to lose no matter what."
Mustang appeared on screen as he punched the cadet in the face, sending
him flying off of him and into the dirt. Another cadet ran up behind
Mustang and grabbed him by the shoulders to restrain him. The blond
cadet got up and punched Mustang in the face.

"Kick him! Kick him in the stomach!" Ed shouted, waving a fist in the air.
"Escape and bury his face in the dirt!"

"I think he is getting too excited about this." Hughes muttered to Mustang
who was rubbing his face in pain again.

Mustang sighed. "We all knew he was violent and liked to fight."

Mustang slammed his foot into the blonde's stomach. The blond grabbed
hold of Mustang's shirt.

"Hit him again!" Ed shouted.

"Brother, please." Al said. "Calm down."

"Hit him!" Ed shouted again, ignoring Al.

"Alright, Mustang!" Hughes said.

"Hughes, we don't have time for your war with him. He is beating this guy's
ass! Or, that's what he is supposed to be doing!" Ed growled.

"Back down."

Mustang and the two cadets holding him looked at the end of the alley.

The scene moved to show Mustang and the blond with Hughes seen at
the end of the alley between their faces.

"Maes?" The blond said.

Dangerous, dramatic music started as the gun in Hughes's hands was

shown to be pointed at Mustang.
"I thought cadets weren't allowed to carry guns at the academy." Fuery said.

"They aren't." Havoc said.

"Where'd you get the gun then?" Brody asked.

Hughes grinned. "Snuck it out."

"You were even devious back then!" Havoc said amused.

"I have a better question. Why are you pointing it at Colonel?" Ed shouted.
"How did you two ever become friends?"

"Ed, I have said it plenty of times already. We became friends through war."
Hughes said.

"And that still doesn't make any sense." Ed retorted.

"Really? You're so competitive and you can't figure it out?" Mustang asked.
"We enjoyed our war with each other. Rivals turned friends."

"Since when am I competitive?" Ed asked.

"Is that all you heard?" Mustang muttered.

"What's with the gun, Hughes?" Another cadet asked.

"I'd like the seniors to keep quiet please." Hughes said. He was shown,
glasses reflecting the light so his eyes couldn't be seen. "I would prefer to
handle this one on my own."

"You're being weird, Hughes." Ed said.

"The Hughes character here has been acting pretty strange the whole time so
far." Hughes told him.

Ed blinked. "Did you just refer to yourself in the 3rd person?"

"Perhaps." Hughes replied.

"Okay, the Hughes character in here is being pretty weird too." Ed said.
"Seriously, character? Why not Past Hughes?"

"Where is the fun in that?" Hughes asked.

Ed shook his head. "And that got us completely off track. Why are you acting
weird?"

"To confuse you."

Ed blinked. "You can't confuse me. This is the past. Past you doesn't know
that present us is going to be able to see this someday!"

"Or does he?"

"He doesn't know!" Ed growled.

"You're getting off track again." Mustang told him.

"Argh, forget it! Forget I even asked anything." Ed said annoyed.

Mustang was shown, still being held by the two cadets.

Hughes appeared on screen, still pointing the gun at Mustang. "Alright,

Mustang. You and the Ishvalan step this way."

The cadets holding Mustang let him go. The Ishvalan and another cadet
stood up.

"NO! You ended the fight!" Ed shouted. "Why? Curse you, Hughes!"

"That's not very nice." Hughes said.

"And you're pointing a gun at your best friend! How is that nice?" Ed
retorted.

"You don't seem that concerned about it." Hughes pointed out.

"It's in the past. Colonel is right there." Ed pointed at Mustang. "So you either
didn't shoot him or your aim sucks. Which do you think it is, Al?"

"Well, unless the Colonel is absolutely crazy, I don't think he would befriend
the person who shot him so I don't think Hughes shoots him." Al said.

"But Al, he really is that insane." Ed protested.

"Fullmetal." Mustang growled.

Ed grinned at him.

Hughes was shown from a slight distance.

Mustang's legs appeared on screen as he walked over, followed by the

Ishvalan's. As they walked over, Hughes turned to keep his gun trained
on them. They stopped a little ways away from Hughes.

Hughes was shown from behind, pointing his gun at them.

Hughes's face appeared on screen as he stared at Mustang.

Mustang's face appeared on screen as he stared back.

"If you're going to shoot, just shoot already." General Armstrong growled.

"That's not nice. It's like you want me dead." Mustang said.

"Less competition." General Armstrong told him with a smirk.

"That is too cruel." Mustang muttered.

Hughes appeared on screen again and smirked. The screen moved with
him as he turned his gun back to the other cadets. The group was shown
from a downward angle.

"Woah, what are you doing, Hughes?" The blond asked. "We're your
friends."

Hughes appeared on screen. "You think so? You think that I'm friends
with cruel bullies? I HATE PEOPLE LIKE YOU!"

"YES!" Ed and Al screamed, pumping fists into the air.

"Kick their asses!" Havoc shouted.

"You as well?" Fuery asked.

"Come on. This is getting fun!" Havoc said.

"Are you back to normal now?" Ed asked excitedly.

"If what you consider Hughes normal than yes, he is." Mustang replied.

"Are you calling me weird?" Hughes retorted.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "What was your first clue?"

Hughes punched him in the shoulder, making Mustang smirk.

Dramatic, action music began as the group was shown, staring in shock.

Mustang appeared on screen, staring in surprise.

Hughes smirked and looked over at Mustang. "The object is victory."

Mustang's face appeared on screen as he smirked. "Focus on it."

"Does that mean you are friends now?" Ed asked.

"Yes." Hughes said.

"Yes! So that means the war is over and I don't have to pick a side, which
was really stupid by the way." Ed informed them.

Hughes and Mustang shared a look then looked back at Ed.

"You still have to pick a side." They both said.

Ed looked back and forth between them.

"That was creepy." Ling and Ed said.

Ed's eyes widened and he shot a look at Ling. "No, just no. Do not do that
again." He growled before turning back to Mustang and Hughes. "You can't
make me pick when the war is over! It would be pointless!"

"Why is it such a hard choice?" Mustang growled, leaning into Ed's face.

"Yeah Ed," Hughes said, leaning into Ed's face as well. "Obviously, I am a
better friend then him so just pick my side."

"But you trust me more for having known me longer." Mustang said.

Ed backed up from the two. "Right. I'm just going to…you know…I think I
have something to do over there." He motioned to a random area and crawled
over to it. He ended up sitting in front of the amused Briggs soldiers, but he
didn't care as long as he was away from those two crazy people.

Mustang, Hughes, and the Ishvalan were shown. Hughes lowered the gun
and put it in the back of his belt while Mustang turned to the group of
bullies. Hughes and Mustang charged at the group together, yelling.

The group was shown. Hughes grabbed the blonde's wrist and punched
him in the gut while Mustang went for another cadet and punched him
in the face.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Ed chanted excitedly.

"It's a good thing you didn't continue school." Kei said, snickering. "You
would be the kid instigating fights if you did."

Ed turned around to give him an evil grin. "I would also be jumping into the
frays."

"Brother." Al said with a sigh. "Honestly."

"The genius delinquent." Havoc snorted.

The Ishvalan was shown to be standing behind them, watching. He was

shown close up to be just staring.

The track appeared on screen with a group running around it.

The group was shown close up to be the group of bullies, all with faces
bandaged.

"What? No more fight?" Ed moaned.

"Did you guys get caught?" May asked.

"You can't hide a fight like that with all those injuries." Hughes said with a
shrug.

"But you guys sure did a number on them." Brody said with a grin.

"We were so determined to beat each other that we practiced really hard in
everything, including hand-to-hand combat." Hughes said.

Ed grimaced. Was that so? And if Mustang kept up on his training, no

wonder he beat Ed in that spar, especially since Ed was trying to restrain
himself from using his automail against Mustang.

A ditch appeared on screen as the cadets ran passed. Some dirt was
thrown out of it.

"You haven't told us your name yet." Mustang said.

"Heathcliff." The Ishvalan said as more dirt was thrown out of the ditch.
"Heathcliff Erbe."

"Yeah, you kind of look like a Heathcliff." Hughes said as he appeared

on screen, throwing more dirt out of the ditch with Mustang and
Heathcliff doing the same behind him.

"You guys got punished by having to dig a ditch?" Ed asked.

"Yes." Hughes and Mustang said.

"And the other guys just had to run laps?" Ed said. "Why the different
punishments?"

Mustang shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe so we wouldn't end up fighting

again."

"So Heathcliff," Mustang said as he paused in shoveling. "What drove

you to sign up for the academy anyway?"

A shovel appeared on screen as it hit the dirt and stayed there.

The scene moved to show Mustang watching Heathcliff.

"For the sake of my fellow Ishvalans." Heathcliff replied. "I hope to

climb the ranks and someday abolish discrimination within the
military."

"Well, it's a better goal then what Scar has." Clarink said.

"Too bad it could never be achieved." Mustang said sadly as he recalled the
death of Heathcliff. He and Hughes shared a look.

Scar growled and shot Clarink a dirty look, but he couldn't really rebut him
for the statement. Miles gave Scar a look, making Scar look away. Maybe
going after revenge wasn't the best idea, but he was just so angry and upset
when he started. And after his first kill, it brought him some relief. That was
his start. And after he started, he couldn't just stop so he continued doing it.
Continued killing those damned State Alchemists.

Hughes and Mustang stared at him.

Hughes went back to shoveling. "And what made you enroll, golden
boy?"

Ed snorted at the name.

"Shut up, puppy." Mustang growled.

"Damn it! I'm not a puppy!" Ed snarled.

Mustang looked at him before going back to shoveling. "Look at
Amestris. We're surrounded by other superpowers. I intend to doing
everything I can to defend this nation."

Heathcliff was shown to be staring at him as music started.

"Even if that means dying by the wayside to do it." Mustang said.

"And dying by the wayside will accomplish what exactly?" Al asked.

"Nothing, but to him it would mean that he died for what he believed was
doing the right thing." Ling said.

Hughes appeared on screen as he finished throwing dirt out of the ditch.

"Well then that's where the two of us differ. I can do without the dying
part. I'll live off of weeds if I have to."

"Oh yeah?" Mustang said as his back was shown as he shoveled more
dirt out of the ditch. "Then why'd you even bother enrolling?"

Hughes moved his shovel to stick it in the ground. "You've got dreams of
protecting the country. But I want to protect the woman I love."

"You already knew Gracia at this point?" Havoc asked.

"I thought when he got that letter in the war, he was telling Colonel about her
like he didn't know who she was." Ed said confused.

Mustang stopped and looked over at Hughes. "She must be one hell of a
girl."

"Oh, she is!" Hughes said as he whipped out some pictures. "Look this is my
precious Gracia when we went on a picnic. And this is her putting Elicia to
bed. And this–"

Mustang snatched the pictures out of his hand and threw them away, which
resulted in them hitting Ling in the head.

"My pictures!" Hughes cried, dropping off the couch to get his pictures.
"Hey!" Ling cried, grabbing his head. "What'd you do that for?"

"Sorry, you were in the way." Mustang told him.

"That's not a good reason at all!" Ling exclaimed.

Hughes appeared on screen. "Yeah, she will be." He looked up with a

slight laugh and smile. "I just haven't exactly met her yet."

Mustang and Heathcliff appeared on screen, staring at him. Mustang

suddenly laughed. Hughes appeared on screen as he started to laugh as
well. Heathcliff appeared on screen, staring for a moment before he
started laughing as well.

The three were shown from above to be standing in their hole as they
laughed.

"So you guys became friends with Heathcliff?" Al asked.

"Yeah." Mustang said thickly.

"What happened to him with the war?" Ed asked.

Neither Hughes nor Mustang replied.

The evening sun was shown.

The scene went dark and the year "1908" appeared on screen as music
started.

"What is this? It just went forward five years." Havoc said.

Hughes grimaced. "Five years later we were in the war."

"The war? Seriously? Again?" Ed groaned. "How much of this war do we

have to see?"

"The Ishval War of Annihilation"

An explosion rocked the screen, shooting up dust which covered the
screen. Some destroyed buildings were seen behind the smoke. The scene
slowly moved to the side.

A fork with food on it appeared on screen. It moved towards a soldier's

mouth. The soldier chewed the food.

"So, eating in the middle of a war?" Al asked.

"You have to eat when you can because you never know what will happen."
Mustang said with a shrug.

The scene changed to show a building that was half destroyed. Mustang
appeared on screen, running with other soldiers behind him.

The screen moved to show Mustang and the soldiers finishing climbing
the stairs that lead to the half destroyed building. Mustang was shown
from behind as he headed over to Hughes and his team that were hiding
in the half destroyed building.

Mustang kneeled down on the ground while one of his men leaned
against the wall next to a window. "What's the status?" Mustang asked.

"So this would take place after what we just watched since you two already
know each other is in the war?" Al asked.

"That would be correct." Mustang said.

Hughes glanced at his friend worriedly. He knew that his friend never liked
what happened here, but he had to do it. There was no other option. It was
him or Mustang, and Hughes wasn't ready to let his best friend die.

Hughes put more food in his mouth before pointing up at the window
with his fork. Mustang looked at it.

The window was shown as Mustang raised his head. He leaned his back
against the wall and looked out the window.

The destroyed ground and buildings outside the window were shown. On
top of one of the buildings, flashes could be seen from the gunfire.

"Rooftop of the building facing us." Hughes said. "They've got at least
two snipers."

The soldiers, including Hughes and Mustang, appeared on screen.

"We can't risk charging them. We just don't have enough men for it."
Hughes said.

Mustang was shown close up. "Understood." He said as he pulled his

glove on.

"Wait, I'm confused. I thought Mustang had the higher rank." May said,
frowning.

"He does. I'm a Captain here and Roy is a Major." Hughes explained.

"Then why does it seem like you're in control?" May asked.

"The situation called for it." Hughes said with a shrug.

"And it's not like he was in control. It was more of an exchange of info before
I was left to handle the situation for him." Mustang added.

The scene pulled out as Mustang started to walk away. "Well, let's go."

"Sir!"

Hughes appeared on screen, chewing his food. He put his food can down
and stood up.

A pair of feet appeared on screen, running across the ground.

Mustang was shown, running alongside a building. When he got to the

end of the building, he leaned against the wall and looked around the
corner. The building where the gunfire was coming from appeared on
screen. Bullets suddenly slammed into the building from the soldiers.
"Hmm."

"What?" Mustang asked.

"Nothing." Ed replied. "I'm just not used to seeing you fight like this is all.
You're being very cautious and ducking behind walls."

"It's war. It's a bit different from other situations. And I behave like this in
some battles. You've been with me in some of them, and then there was that
one with Lust." Mustang retorted.

"You ended up in the hospital in that one." Ed retorted.

"Well, it's better than a brat who is completely reckless all the time." Mustang
snapped.

"It's not all the time!" Ed protested. "Just most of the time."

"And that makes it better, how?" Falman asked.

Ed twitched. "Eh, well…"

"You've got nothing, don't you?" Havoc asked, grinning a bit.

"…Shut up."

Mustang appeared on screen as he took this chance and ran for the
building. He was shown from above as he snapped his fingers while
running. Red-orange sparks filled the air. They were shown to be
heading to the top of the building where they blew up into an explosion
of fire.

Scar glared angrily at the screen. He knew he couldn't attack again, but just
watching Mustang use his alchemy in such a way angered him so much. So
many of his people were burned to death because of this man. They all
suffered greatly because of him. Burnt to a smoking corpse. Alchemy was the
devil's work. And Roy Mustang with his accursed flames was the devil
himself working with fire in his hellhole.
"So, despite being an alchemist, you still couldn't run all around on the
battlefield, taking out all the enemies on your own because of the danger of
getting shot." Ed said, frowning. "I can now see why the battle didn't turn
completely in Amestris's favor until Kimblee got the stone."

"It took you long enough to figure out." Mustang said.

"So sorry that I've never been in this type of situation before." Ed said
sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I'm still figuring it out."

"Well, hopefully, he'll never actually have to experience it." Hughes

whispered darkly to Mustang, who nodded in agreement. War was a horrible
place. It was hard enough for adults. To throw a kid like Ed into war would
probably destroy him completely.

A couple of soldiers hiding behind some rocks were shown to be

watching the explosion.

"He got them!" One of them said.

Mustang was shown from a distance as he leaned against the wall of the
building to look passed the corner.

Mustang grimaced as he watched. He really wanted to tell his past self not to
go up there. To not check that he got all of them, but he knew it would make
no difference. He couldn't change what happened in the past, no matter how
much he wanted to at times. This had already happened, and though it was
difficult, he was just going to have to accept that it happened and not focus
on it.

When he saw it was clear, he ran up the stairs to the roof.

The smoking bodies of the Ishvalans were shown with Mustang in the
background looking passed the wall slightly to see if it was clear. When
he decided it was, he stood up and walked onto the roof.

The bodies of the Ishvalans were shown as smoke filled the screen.

"Gruesome." May said softly in horror. She was a fighter. There was much
she could handle, but fighting and killing were two completely different
things. And the way that Mustang killed was just too horrible.

Ed frowned at the sight of the bodies. He had been around Mustang when he
burned people before, killing them or just injuring them. Because he knew
what it was like in real life, he knew it was much more horrible than just
seeing it on screen. Because in real life the screams sounded so much worse
and the smell was so horrible it made his stomach churn. It took forever to
get used to.

Mustang was shown as he looked around and walked farther onto the
roof. The sound of some rubble moving had Mustang on high alert and
him raising his hand to snap again.

An Ishvalan appeared on screen, stumbling out the doorway of the

building. He leaned against the wall as he was zoomed in on. His face was
shown up close to show it was Heathcliff.

Mustang appeared on screen, staring in shock and horror. "Heathcliff

Erbe?"

"Your friend from the academy?" Ross said horrified.

"I don't think it's likely that they consider each other friends at this point
anymore." Ling said darkly.

"It's really sad. Friends torn apart and forced to become enemies because of
war." Sheska said, frowning sadly as she stared at the screen. She knew what
it was like to lose friends, not because of war, but just because they left her or
ignored her so much that eventually they just dropped apart. It hurt a lot to
lose friends like that, but to face a former friend in war like this must be so
difficult.

The scene moved to show Mustang and Heathcliff staring at each other.

"Roy…Roy Mustang." Heathcliff said. He was shown up close, staring in

horror and shock. His eyes turned sad. "How could you?" He grimaced
and pushed himself off the wall and turned to face Mustang. He raised a
gun and fired without pause.

Mustang was shown, reeling back in shock.

Mustang hunched over, grabbing hold of his chest with a hiss. Even though
he wasn't actually hit back then, that still hurt a lot. It was no wonder he
passed out back then.

Another gunshot filled the air as Hughes was shown, firing his own gun
before Heathcliff was shown with a bullet tearing through his skull.

"The hell!" Ed cried in shock, shooting up straight. "Colonel? Hughes?"

Hughes closed his eyes. "That was a pretty insane, scary moment." He
murmured. He had followed Mustang there because he was worried. He had
seen it in Mustang's eyes at the time. Mustang still hadn't accepted what he
was doing. It was still very difficult for him, even if it wasn't all that visible
to everyone. But since they were best friends, even if they didn't see each
after the academy, Hughes could still read him so he saw it in his friend's
eyes and he followed him out of worry and because he didn't want to leave
Mustang's back open by letting him go up there alone.

"That's all you're going to say?" Ed pulled at his hair. "You just shot one of
your former friends who just shot one of his former friends! Who the hell
does that? It's completely messed up!"

"A lot of horrible things happen in war that no one wants to happen, but these
things can't be controlled." Mustang said darkly.

"But what are the chances of something like this?" Al muttered sadly.

Sad music started as Mustang was shown to falling down with Hughes
shouting, though it wasn't heard. Mustang's body hit the ground with a
thump as the sky was shown.

"Roy!" Hughes screamed. "Hang on, Roy!"

Mustang grimaced at hearing Hughes scream. He barely noticed it back then

as he was fading into obliviousness, but it hurt to hear. His friend sound so
scared and hurt.

"Fired a second too late?" Miles asked.

Hughes grimaced. "Yeah. I wasn't fast enough in getting there."

"But the difference is that you managed to kill him in one shot while Colonel
survived." Havoc muttered.

The scene went dark and reopened on a military camp with a soldier
standing watch.

A pocket watch with cracks and a dent in it from a bullet appeared on

screen.

"Your pocket watch saved you?" Myers said surprised.

"They tend to do that." Ed muttered.

"And you would know that how?" Riza asked suspiciously.

"…Colonel just proved it." Ed said.

"And Fullmetal decided to get stabbed, but his pocket watch saved him from
getting injured." Mustang growled.

"So, you know about that." Ed said nervously. "How do you know about
that?!"

"Just one of the many things you didn't mention." Mustang said, glaring at
him.

"Hey, isn't this supposed to be about you? Why don't we continue with that?"
Ed said quickly. "And just forget the knife thing!"

Mustang was shown from the side with a blanket over his head as he sat
in his tent with only a lantern on.

"I never believed you to be so weak." General Armstrong growled.

Mustang frowned as he leaned back in his seat and rubbed his chest a bit
more. Weak, was he? She was probably right about that. He has never been
as strong as some people. Perhaps it was his nature to care too much for his
friends that he was so weak at times. It made people strong that sense of care,
but it also made them weak in situations like the one with Heathcliff.

Footsteps were heard before Hughes pushed the flaps of Mustang's tent
and entered as he was shown close up. "Alright Major, it's time to get to
work."

"So what? Does rank mean nothing with you two?" Ed asked.

"Not when Roy is being all depressed and angst like." Hughes replied.

"The Colonel?" Ed asked. "The Colonel depressed?"

"War does a lot to a soldier." Hughes told him. "Makes them stronger or
destroys them."

"And there's plenty of it." Hughes said as he walked farther in.

Mustang was shown, still with a blanket over his head.

"We've been assigned the mission of eradicating Sector 27."

Mustang was shown from the side with Hughes in front of him.

"As always, I'm counting on you."

"You're a slave driver, Hughes." Mustang said.

Hughes put his hand on his hip. "I'm just following orders. Don't you
want to get a promotion?"

Mustang was shown. "Tell me something. Why are my orders to kill the
people of my own country?"

"You guys sure ask that question a lot." Brody said.

"It was a question that many soldiers desperately wanted answered, but all we
had was the answer that we got from the higher ups. And suffice to say, it
didn't satisfy many." Hughes replied.

Hughes appeared on screen as he sighed. "I told you. The Ishvalans pose
a threat to our security. We have no choice but to purge them, and that's
from Central."

"That's what you were told?" Ling said in disbelief.

"And how did we pose a threat?" Scar asked angrily.

"Central gave any excuse they could come up with to get us to fight without
argument. It does not mean what they said was necessarily true." Riza
answered in the hopes of getting Scar to calm down a bit so nothing would
happen again.

Mustang's bowed head was shown. "To purge them, huh? Such a vague
word. Political code for ruthless slaughter."

Hughes was shown to be standing in front of Mustang. "Hmm. Oh, and

speaking of Central." He said as he reached into his coat. He was shown
from behind as he moved over to Mustang and sat next to him as he
pulled a letter out. "Gracia sent me a letter and a picture. Here, I'll show
you."

"You never give up with those pictures or letters, do you?" Walkers asked
tiredly.

"He wasn't as crazy back then." Mustang admitted with a slight smile.

Ed glanced at him. "You need to cheer up, Colonel. Don't let this get to you
now."

"You know yourself, Fullmetal, that it's not that easy."

Ed grimaced, but didn't retort. He was right. Watching his past a couple of
days ago was just as hard on him as this was probably on Mustang.
The two were shown from the side as Hughes looked at the letter. "It's
kind of shocking how much she loves me. Man, talk about an amazing
woman. As soon as we're out of this hellhole, I'm going to ask her to
become my wife. And don't think you're going to skip out on the
ceremony."

"You would skip your best friend's wedding?" Riza scolded.

Mustang twitched. "I–"

"He would skip his own wedding if he could." Hughes teased, throwing an
arm around Mustang's neck.

"And considering his soon-to-be wife would be Lieutenant Riza, he would be

a great fool to skip that wedding because she would hunt him down and hold
him at gunpoint until the ceremony was over." Ed said with a huge grin.

"And I thought Hughes was the one supposed to be making stupid

comments." Mustang snarled, ripping Hughes's arm off of his neck before
standing up and glaring at Ed.

"Uh…" Ed stared at him. "Just speaking the truth?"

Mustang walked over to Ed and stared down at him. "Try again."

"You know you want to marry her?"

"Strike two."

"Brother, I highly suggest you stop while you're ahead." Al muttered.

"That would be backing down!" Ed growled.

"You should listen to him." Mustang snarled, dragging Ed's eyes back to him.

The two stared at each other for a moment.

"Lieutenant threatened you to marry her."

Riza frowned. She would never do that!

"Strike three." Mustang snarled. "You're out."

"Yep, I thought as much." Ed said before flying to his feet and running away.

Hughes laughed as Mustang chased after him.

"How do I keep getting dragged into it?" Riza sighed.

"Aw, Ed was just trying to get Roy out of his depressed slump." Hughes said.

"I had no idea that Chief was so suicidal." Havoc laughed.

*Training*Room*

"I had no idea you could be so morbid, Colonel!" Ed shouted over his
shoulder.

"Fullmetal!"

Laughing, Ed skidded to a stop and turned to face Mustang. "You're so easy

to rile up when it involves Hawkeye! I wish I knew this before!"

"And I wish I knew how much of a punk you were before I let you join."
Mustang growled as he lunged at Ed.

Ed sidestepped Mustang, who landed on all fours and swung his leg out to
trip Ed up.

Ed shouted out as he fell onto his back. "Argh, I think all the time spent here
is messing up my skills." Ed groaned.

Mustang leaned over him to look him in the face. "We've only been here a
few days. You're just making excuses."

"Since this is a spar, this is totally allowed." Ed said before he slammed his
head into Mustang's.
Mustang swore as he grabbed his head and fell back. "Such a horrible,
disrespectful puppy you are." He hissed.

"Damn it." Ed growled, sitting up. "I'm not a puppy, Colonel!"

"Oh yeah?" Mustang smirked as he lowered his hands from his face. "How
old are you again? Fifteen, wasn't it? Still just a kid."

"Yeah, well, in dog years, you should already be dead, old man!" Ed shouted,
throwing a punch at Mustang.

Mustang rolled out of the way and stood up.

Growling, Ed rose to his feet as well.

Mustang smirked condescendingly at him. "Bring it on, puppy."

Ed snarled and lunged at Mustang.

*Main*Room*

"Are they coming back or not?" Izumi asked annoyed. "It's already been
fifteen minutes."

"They ran into the training room, so I doubt it." Avery said.

"Forget them then." Hughes said.

The scene moved to show Hughes's face with Mustang seen by him. "Can
you really hold the woman you love with your blood stained hands?"

Hughes suddenly adopted an angry look.

Mustang was shown as Hughes suddenly grabbed him and pulled him up
into his face. Mustang face was shown as Hughes yelled, "If there's one
thing I learned in combat, raising a family with the woman you love may
be a universal right, but you have to earn that love first. Understand?"
Hughes's furious face with his dead eyes was shown. "And I will do
anything it takes to be the man she loves. I'll survive this war." His
angry expression relaxed to be replaced by horrified sadness. "And when
I return home," Mustang's destroyed pocket watch was shown. "I will
swallow every horrible thing I've done here and I will smile when I'm
with her."

"So basically hide all the pain and horror you felt from the war inside so she
doesn't have to suffer with you?" Lan Fan said sadly.

"The things we soldiers must do are just too horrible to share with civilians. If
we love someone, we should be able to share our pain with them, but there is
just some pain that we can't share because of how horrible it is." Havoc
replied.

"So you choose to suffer so as to not burden those you care for." May said,
closing her eyes briefly. This world really was a horrible, painful place.

*Training*Room*

"Okay, I won." Ed said.

"No, you didn't." Mustang retorted.

Ed turned his head on the ground to glare at Mustang, who was lying next to
him. "I did too."

"No. It was a tie."

Ed scoffed. "Why can't you just admit that you lost to me?"

"Cause I didn't lose!"

"Did too."

Mustang rolled his eyes. "I'm not arguing with you about this. It was a tie."

"Sounds like arguing to me."

"You're such a child."

Ed growled and sat up. "I do not have to sit here and take this!" He stood up
to leave when Mustang grabbed his ankle and pulled hard on it. "What the–"

"Argh," Mustang groaned when Ed landed on his stomach. "You're heavy."

"It's your fault!" Ed shouted before getting off Mustang. "What's your deal?"
He stared at Mustang and reeled back a bit in shock when he saw the sad,
horrified look in his eyes. "Eh, I think I'll just leave you alone. You don't
have to come back to the screen room with me."

Mustang grabbed Ed's wrist to keep him from leaving. He sat up and pulled
Ed into a hug.

"Okay, this is very awkward." Ed said into Mustang's chest. "Uh, Colonel, I
think you want to be alone for a while. Could you stop hugging me?
COLONEL! I'm not a freaking cuddly toy to comfort you! Get off!"

"Shut up, Fullmetal."

"Argh, you know, I can get Hughes or even Hawkeye!" Ed said quickly.

"I thought I told you to shut up." Mustang said, tightening his hug on Ed.

"Is this what I get for opening my mouth about Hawkeye?" Ed groaned. "I
thought you were working passed the horror you felt from the war!"

"You never shut up, do you?" Mustang asked.

Ed sighed and started naming all the elements in his head. Mustang had to let
go at some point.

The side of Hughes's anguished face appeared on screen. "I swear on my

life." He closed his eyes. "I will make her happy." Hughes was shown
from behind as his shoulders shook and Mustang watched through his
own dead eyes.

Mustang looked away.

The two were shown from above.

The two were shown close up as Hughes let go of Mustang.

"We don't have time for this kind of crap." Hughes said.

"Seriously? That coming from you?" Myers asked shocked.

"I can be serious when I need to be!" Hughes protested.

"And that is still shocking." Luke said sarcastically.

He stood up. "We've got work to do." He turned around to show his
back to Mustang. "Let's get moving."

Hughes's face was shown with Mustang still sitting behind him.

"Just give me…"

Hughes looked over his shoulder at him.

"Give me thirty seconds." Mustang said.

Hughes pulled a watch out of his coat. "Thirty seconds, but that's it."
His watch was shown.

The scene slowly faded away from the watch to show Mustang with his
elbows on his knees so he could rest his forehead on his interlocked
hands.

The entrance to the tent was shown.

Mustang's destroyed pocket watch appeared on screen.

Hughes appeared on screen, looking down at Mustang.

The second hand on Hughes's watch was shown.

Hughes was shown as he stared at his watch. He closed his eyes.

The hills outside were shown as the sun started to rise over them.
The tent flaps appeared on screen again.

Mustang was shown, head still bowed on his hands.

Hughes and Mustang were shown from above.

The second hand on the watch was shown again.

"That's thirty seconds." Hughes said as he put his watch away and
looked back at Mustang. "Come on. On your feet, Flame Alchemist."
Mustang's hands that hid his face were shown. "We got work."

Mustang lowered his hands and lifted his face as dramatic music started.
His hands were shown as he pulled on his gloves. "Yeah. Let's go."

Hughes was shown from behind as he pulled the flaps from the tent
away, filling part of the screen with a blinding light from the sun.
Mustang followed him. The scene froze on their backs.

"It's time for war." Mustang's voice said.

The scene slowly pulled out, turning completely white.

A train station roof appeared on screen as a train whistle blowing could

be heard.

"What? Just like that? The war is gone?" Ed said as he jumped over the couch
and landed on the floor by Ling.

Ling wrinkled his nose. "You smell. You should take a shower, Ed."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Leave me alone. I just had a very frustrating time."

"All I want is for you to shower!" Ling said.

"Not just him." Hughes glared at Roy who was leaning on the back of the
couch.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Fine. I don't need to see this anyway."
Ling glared at Ed as Mustang left to go to his room. "And why can't you be as
simple as that and just go take one?"

"Because he isn't a very obedient puppy." Mustang yelled over his shoulder.

Ed twitched.

Ling continued glaring at him.

Ed glared back.

"Just go shower, Ed." Hughes said with a sigh. "I don't think you're going to
miss anything now that the war part is over."

"Probably just things to mock the Colonel with." Ed grumbled.

"I'll tell you all about it." Ling bargained.

"It's not the same." Ed muttered.

"I don't care." Ling argued.

"Brother, stop wasting time and just go shower." Al said.

"Bunch of jerks." Ed grumbled, but he rose to his feet.

"Thank you!" Ling shouted at Ed's back as he left, which just made Ed flip
him off.

Ling blinked. "How rude."

The scene slowly moved down to the train as sad music replaced the
dramatic one.

"Papa!" A child cried as some soldiers and their families and friends
were shown.

The scene slowly moved to the side to show more soldiers and families.
"I never thought I'd see you again, Mom."

"I can't believe how much you're grown since I've left."

Hughes and Mustang were shown as they climbed off the train.

"She said in her letter that she was going to pick me up from the train
station." Hughes said.

"Maes!" Gracia's voice said.

Mustang and Hughes looked to the side.

Gracia was shown as she ran over to the two. She stopped before she got
there. She stared for a moment in relief before she ran over.

Hughes and Mustang were shown.

"Gracia." Hughes said. He ran over to her. "Gracia!"

The two were shown from above as they reached each other and hugged.

"That reminds me of those cliché scenes where two people in love run at each
other and catch each other in a hug." Al said.

"There is nothing cliché about my love for Gracia!" Hughes cried offended.

"Good point." Al said while Hughes smiled. "There is no cliché love I know
of that involves shoving pictures in people's faces."

Ling laughed. "Al, I think your brother has influenced you with the stupid
comments and the insulting nature."

Al sighed. "It was noticeable? I always knew he was influencing me in a bad

way, but I thought I was keeping it under tight wraps."

"I guess you really have been around him too long." Lan Fan said.

"What's wrong with showing people pictures of my family?" Hughes asked,

but was completely ignored.

They were shown close up. "I will swallow every horrible thing I've done
here." They broke apart and smiled at each other. "And I will smile when
I'm with her."

The scene slowly pulled out to show Mustang watching the two as they
embraced again. "Hughes, you're a strong man." Mustang's face was
shown as he watched them. He looked down at his hand. "A much
stronger man than I'll ever be."

"He just called himself weak!" Havoc shouted.

"He called me strong?" Hughes asked surprised.

"In the mental sense is what he means, I believe." Riza told him. "You can't
beat his alchemy, but your mental state and being is probably much stronger."

"It's because he is dreaming too big and cares for too many people." Hughes
muttered. Hughes cared too, but first and foremost, he was fighting for his
friends and family while Mustang fought for everyone. It was no wonder that
it was harder on him.

He curled his hand into a fist.

Mustang was shown from behind as he turned around and walked away.

"It's kind of sad to see a soldier walking away after returning from war on his
own." Izumi said. She may not like Mustang that much, but that really did
look really hard. And considering that Mustang just returned from war, he
was hurting so much but he had no one to go to for himself to be distracted
from it.

The scene pulled up to show Mustang as a tiny speck as he walked

through the train station that was filled with all the other humans.

The ending song began.

"Well, that was depressing." Luke said.

"The second half. The first half was pretty amusing." Brody corrected.

"Well, it was war. War is always depressing." Havoc muttered.

"I guess we have to wait for Roy and Ed before we can continue now."
Hughes said.

Al sighed. "If that's the case, we'll be here a while."

"Why?" Ling asked.

"Brother will have to dry his automail when he is done so he doesn't rust." Al
explained.

"Well, at least he is taking care of it." Kei said.

General Armstrong scowled. "At this rate, we are not going to get anywhere
today with all of these interruptions."

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 33*: Extra 3: Simple People
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: For my own personal reasons, I won't be doing Blind Alchemist so

this is the last extra. And guys, I know Hughes waited a full minute in the
last ova, not half a minute. But when I was writing the episode out, I
could only find the ova on one website because that ova is always being
taken down. And the player I was using kept screwing up and making
me reload it and go through all the ads again. I got annoyed and didn't
want to put the thing about Hughes waiting a minute because I didn't
want to go through all that crap again to just watch for that one scene to
watch it again so I didn't put it in.

Also, someone asked this. I did these ovas to give myself a break. Yeah, I
know, I had two weeks for chapter 30 in which I fooled around quite a
bit, but I also did try to work on chapter 30 during the week I wasn't
updating. That and all of my studying that week didn't count it as a
break. And since I had most of episode 31 done, I decided to do the ovas.
They are a diversion from the more serious show which I highly need a
break from. So I took last weekend as a break by doing ovas and
lowering the amount of studying that I have been doing.

I was going to post this earlier this week and post episode 31 this
weekend. Obviously, that's not going to happen. I got busy and pretty
distracted this week with obsessively working on Your Last Day. But I
swear, episode 31 will be up next weekend.

And Greedling! Guys, I haven't forgotten about him. I still haven't made
my choice about whether to put him in or not.

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Extra 3: Simple People

"Are you happy now?" Ed grumbled as he walked back into the room in
black shorts and a sleeveless white shirt with a couple of towels.

"What's with the towels?" Mustang asked.

Ed dropped to the ground next to Ling. "No point in wasting any more time
when I can just dry my limbs while watching."

"I'm happy. You no longer smell." Ling said with a grin.

Ed smacked Ling in the face with a towel.

"That wasn't nice." Ling said.

"Don't care." Ed replied as he set to work on drying his arm.

The Rockbell's house appeared on screen.

Winry's trembling hand that was holding a tray with tea on it appeared
on screen. "I hate what you soldiers do."

Riza appeared on screen, staring down at Winry. "Well, to be honest, I

don't like everything we do either." She looked away from Winry.

"…I have a feeling this still isn't about the future at all." Ling said.

"More waste of time." General Armstrong growled. "There is no point to any

of this."

"It's not like it matters. Time is frozen outside of here so we can waste as
much time as we want here." Mustang said.
"I think it is the impending battle." Ed muttered. "Having been to war and on
many operations, you should realize that, Colonel. We know who the enemy
is now. Though we don't know their full plan, we're going to have to stop
them. There are always a bit of nerves in our systems when we were awaiting
a battle."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't focus on it right now. Try to have a bit of fun while
here." Hughes said.

"The future is dark and he says to have fun." Ed grumbled.

Riza lifted her tea. "Especially not when we're asked to take the life of
another person."

"I think that contradicts the whole soldier thing since they have to kill,
especially in war and battle." May said.

"I do kill, but I avoid it when it is unnecessary." Riza said. "Not every soldier
likes killing, but does it when it is needed. They become soldiers for their
own reasons, not because they want to kill."

Winry was shown as she turned her head to Riza. "Then why are you a
soldier?"

The scene pulled out to show the two sitting on the couch as Riza drank
her tea. She lowered her cup. The bottom half of Riza's face was shown
from the side, including her ear which was pierced. "Because there's
someone that I have to protect."

Winry's face appeared on screen as she blinked as soft, sad music

started.

Riza's eye appeared on screen, being seen from the side. "But still, it's
not like they asked me to join or anything. I made that decision." The
scene of her eye slowly faded away to be replaced her hand holding her
cup. "I'm the only one who pulls the trigger when I take a life."

Winry's face appeared on screen.

Riza appeared on screen from Winry's point of view. "And I'll continue
to make that choice until he's done."

"Until he becomes Fuhrer?" Al asked.

"Until Colonel has created his democracy and gotten himself tried as a war
criminal and killed." Ed corrected bitterly. "You do realize Winry was only
eleven at this point, right, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, I realize that. Why?" Riza asked.

Ed shrugged. "Seemed to be some pretty deep and a bit dark stuff you were
telling a little kid."

"I speak to you like an adult as well. She has suffered as well in life, just like
you and Al. She understands pain and I just wanted to help her understand a
bit more. I will not talk down to you kids." Riza replied.

"If you say so. It did help her to become a bit more accepting of soldiers at
least." Ed said.

Winry's eyes appeared on screen.

"I'll do whatever it takes to protect him." Riza said.

The title, "Simple People," appeared on screen.

"That's a strange title." Hughes said.

"Strange title for a completely pointless episode, I bet." Ed muttered.

"Nothing is ever pointless." Hughes replied, grinning. "And, Ed."

Ed glanced over his shoulder at him for a second before going back to getting
every part of his arm dry. "What?"

"You still haven't picked." Hughes said.

"Picked what?"
"A side."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I haven't picked because there is no point, Hughes!"

"There is always a point!" Hughes said. "I just told you nothing is pointless!"

"This is."

"But Ed," Hughes whined.

"Colonel, control your friend." Ed grumbled.

"But I agree with him." Mustang said, smirking at the prodigy.

Ed twitched. "Obviously asked the wrong person."

Ling leaned over to Ed. "At this point, what do you think it is? They're insane
or they're messing with you?"

"I honestly can't tell with these two." Ed muttered back.

"You might want to figure it out." Ling told him.

A blue sky with clouds in it appeared on screen with neighing horses and
footsteps being heard. Active, fun music filled the scene as it moved
down to show a city.

"What's a good gift idea?" Al asked as some vases were shown. "I can't
think of anything."

Pipes and tobacco appeared on screen.

"Hmm, we could always get some good tobacco for Granny." Ed said.

"You're a kid. You can't buy–" Avery started.

Ed fished his pocket watch out of his pocket and held it up without looking
up from his arm.
"You abuse that watch more than I realized." Mustang said with a frown.

"Even if I didn't use it, no one says no to Al since they think he is just a big
guy in a suit of armor." Ed said.

"But Al wouldn't use that to get things he shouldn't have. So, you're the one
misbehaving." Mustang growled. "That's it. I'm making a list."

"A list?" Al asked.

"Of everything your brother did that was wrong or an abuse of power."
Mustang said, standing up. "And I'm going to write it all down so I don't
forget."

"To yell at him later?" Ling said.

"To scold and punish." Mustang corrected as he left to find paper and a pen.

Ed groaned. "This is unfair! Why am I the only one dealing with this?"

"Because you're the one who is always misbehaving." Al said dryly.

"He can't punish me though!" Ed said angrily.

"Actually, I think he can. You know, being your Commanding Officer and
all." Havoc replied, grinning at Ed.

"It was all in the past so it is pointless." Ed growled.

"Once again, nothing is pointless." Hughes told him.

Ed rolled his eyes. "How is this not pointless?"

"You'll understand why it's not pointless when you have kids someday."
Hughes told him.

Ed blinked. What the hell did that mean?

Ed and Al appeared on screen, standing on a sidewalk as they looked

around at the stores around them.

"Sure, but what about Winry?" Al asked.

"What a pain." Ed said, making Al look at him. "Who cares? I say we

get her a big box of nothing!" He shook his head a bit hard. "Nothing!"

"That's not very nice to do to the girl you love." Hughes teased.

"I don't love her!" Ed growled, shooting the man a glare. "Stop saying that
already!"

"Stealing a car and driving it into a hospital, abuse of State Alchemists rights'
and power to get tobacco, going to bars and brothels, purposefully putting
himself in dangerous situations."

Ed looked over at Mustang as he returned with a small notebook that he was

concentrating on as he wrote everything down. "Hey! The one about the car
is unfair! I stole that car for a good reason. And I never drank at those bars or
brothels."

"You still should have known better than to be in them." Mustang said as he
sat down with his notebook. "And stealing is wrong, Fullmetal."

"Not if it's for a good reason. And you stole that couple's car in the future!"
Ed protested.

"And that was to help you and we know how to drive. You were driving
illegally and had no idea of how to do it. I would have someone teach you to
drive for everyone's safety if you're going to steal cars." Mustang grumbled.

Hughes looked over Mustang's shoulder at the list. "Oooh, put down 'not
caring about his safety.'"

Mustang looked at Hughes with a raised brow. "But he doesn't want to die so
he ca–"

"He was in Central before and I discovered an enemy of his coming after
him. I put a protective detail on him and told him to only go to the library,
HQ, or the dorms. He disobeyed and almost got himself killed." Hughes
growled, glaring at Ed's head.

"It was fine." Ed grumbled.

"You disobeyed a direct order from a superior and almost got killed?"
Mustang asked dangerously. "And why didn't I know about this before?"

Hughes pointed at Ed. "He convinced me to keep the whole incident quiet."

"Which, apparently, you suck at!" Ed growled.

Mustang whacked Ed in the head with a book. "When I get out of here, I am
going through all your missions and files. I will find everything that you hid
from me. I will analyze it all and we will talk."

"It is all from a long time ago!" Ed snapped

"And since there is so much in those three years, guess what soldiers get to
help." Mustang said, ignoring Ed.

All the soldiers who worked with Mustang in the east groaned.

"But Colonel." Havoc said. "That is so much, especially with the work we
already have."

"I think he just wants a reason to yell at Chief." Breda mumbled to Havoc.

"Well, why does he have to drag us into it?" Havoc grumbled.

Al's face appeared on screen. "That's just a bad idea, Brother." He

turned his face forward. "You haven't done any maintenance on your
automail."

"That will break it for sure." Kei said.

"I got it. I got it. I learned from this lesson." Ed grumbled.

"When was this?" Kei asked.

"When Brother was twelve." Al answered.

"Then I hope you take better care of it now." Dr. Young told Ed.

"I do. I do." Ed mumbled, twisting his arm around to look at it for any water
still on it. "Stop lecturing me already."

Ed's face appeared on screen. He was frowning and had his eyes closed.

"It'd be a smart move to get on her good side, unless you want her to kill
you." Al said, making Ed's eyes snap open as he trembled a bit.

"She wouldn't kill him." Riza said.

"Just beat him senseless." Ross said a bit amused.

"And, I hate this episode already." Ed grumbled, throwing his towel to the
side. He looked at Ling who still had the towel that Ed threw at him. "Give
me that towel, Ling."

"Bossy." Ling replied, but he handed the towel over so Ed could work on
drying his leg. "I don't get a thanks?"

"You get nothing." Ed said, pulling his leg up to his chest as he dried it.

"That seems kind of rude." Ling said.

"I don't care." Ed replied.

Ed's right arm was shown, covered by his clothes. He struggled a bit as
he bent the arm. "Geez, this is downright depressing." He said. His face
appeared on screen. "You know, we made such a big deal about leaving
Resembool behind us, and now we're crawling right back." He sighed
and dropped his head.

"It's your fault for not taking care of your arm." Al told him.

"It's just so boring." Ed muttered.

"Not everything in life is fun, Fullmetal." Mustang informed him, not
bothering to look up from his list.

"Don't I know it?" Ed grumbled.

"So you're going to do the boring things in life?" Mustang asked.

Ed frowned. "Eh…Sure, I will."

Mustang looked up from the book with a frown before looking back down at
his list. That was really not believable at all. Boring to Ed meant that he had
to cause chaos to enjoy it. Nothing was ever simple with him.

His bent automail arm appeared on screen as Ed grabbed it with his

flesh hand and tried to push it down. "Maybe I can fix it myself." There
was a snapped as Ed's arm fell to his side and hung limply there. Al and
Ed gasped in shock.

"Yeah, foolish idea." Kei scolded. "Someone who is not an automail

mechanic will just make it worse, not better."

"Brother learned that lesson very quickly." Al replied dryly. "But he still
doesn't follow as he always should."

"It's bothersome so why should I?" Ed retorted.

"You are still such a child." Hughes said, grinning.

"Oh, just because I don't always do my maintenance?" Ed grumbled.

"One of the many reasons." Mustang mumbled.

"Could you be more focused on that book?" Hughes asked.

Mustang glanced at him then back at his book, not bothering to reply.

The scene pulled out to show Ed gaping and Al staring.

Ed sighed and closed his eyes. He opened his eyes and stared at
something as he was zoomed in on. Al looked where he was looking.

A window display of a jewelry store appeared on screen.

"If I remember correctly, didn't Winry get her ears pierced?" Al asked.

"Bribing a girl for forgiveness with jewelry at such a young age?" Avery
asked with a grin.

"Well, at least he knows that lesson in life. He can apply it to when he angers
his wife in the future." Clarink added, while Ed rolled his eyes.

"You tend to learn a few thing about women when you grow up around
them." Ed said.

"Too bad you never learned not to anger them." Ling teased him.

Ed scoffed. "I know not too. I just don't follow that life lesson."

"Why?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "Where's the fun in it?"

"Most people find it dangerous to anger woman." Havoc told him.

"Yeah, well, I thrive in chaos." Ed replied.

"So, what is it called when she hits you with a wrench?" Brody asked.

"Pain." Ed said blankly.

The automail sign outside of Winry's house appeared on screen as Den

was heard barking.

Ed's automail arm appeared on screen as Winry's hands held it and

moved it a bit, making it flap uselessly.

Winry appeared on screen as she pulled back with a frown and sighed.
The scene moved to show Winry from behind, kneeling on the ground
with a bowed head while Al and Ed sat on the couch. Ed was holding a
cup in one hand while his other hand limply swung.

"I don't even get how you could break it this quickly."

Ed laughed nervously.

Mustang snorted. "You don't laugh, even if it is nervously, when you've done
something to anger a woman. It only makes them madder, Fullmetal."

"Where was that knowledge years ago?" Ed retorted.

"I thought you knew women." Mustang snapped back.

"I'm fifteen! I don't know everything!" Ed replied.

"Waoh, did Chief just play the age card?" Havoc asked shocked. "I never
heard that one before!"

"Same here." Breda, Walkers, Skylak, and Rufus chorused.

"I have." Hughes said, grinning. "When he was thirteen and wanted to get out
of a military function."

"I heard it as well." Mustang said. "It's rare, but he has used it before."

"That's shocking for you." Ling told Ed. "I never thought it would come from
you."

"Why does everyone say stuff like that when I do unexpected things?" Ed
asked, not looking up from his leg.

"Because it is too shocking." Breda said.

Ed rolled his eyes.

The bottom half of Winry's face was shown from the side. "Ha. Ha. Ha.
That's all you have to say to me?" She asked angrily. A suddenly very
angry Winry appeared on screen, wielding a wrench. "You haven't
called me once since you left and now you show up thinking that–"

"And the start of never once getting a call!" Havoc shouted.

"I just called her a few episodes ago!" Ed protested.

"To check on her safety after she was taken as a hostage." Riza pointed out.

"What else am I supposed to call about?" Ed grumbled.

"That you're alive, that you want to talk to your friend." Riza told him.

"Argh, sounds like a pain."

"You're such a good friend." Brody said dryly.

"What more do you people want from me?!"

An angry Ed appeared on screen, holding two small boxes that were blue
and pink. "Hey look! I brought you a present!"

The scene pulled out to show a frozen Winry standing up with a wrench
and a frozen Ed sitting on the couch with his hand held up to show two
small boxes.

The boxes were shown in Ed's hand as Winry stared at them. She
blinked. Winry sighed as she lowered her wrench and took a box in each
of her hands. "What am I going to do with you?"

The scene showed a dark Al and Ed, who was grinning. Both closed one
of their hands into a fist. "Operation bribe accomplished." Ed said.

"Even you, Al? Even you?" May asked amused.

"Well, I couldn't bear to see my dear brother beaten to death!" Al said.

"So you helped him bribe to save him? You take the fun out of things."
Mustang said.
"You're a jerk, Colonel." Ed grumbled.

Fun, active music began as the boxes appeared on screen as Winry took
the lids off of them to show a pair of silver hoops and studs. "Oh, wow.
Silver earrings." Winry said.

"I hope they're not too bland for you." Al said.

Winry appeared on screen as she looked at Al with a smile. "Not at all.

They're perfect. I'm guessing you picked them out, Al."

Ed scoffed.

"She realized Chief's sense of taste sucks." Breda said.

"Or maybe you guys are just too boring." Ed retorted.

"How did you even get into your gothic sense of taste?" Hughes asked.

"That is a very good question." Mustang said, looking up from his book.
"You certainly didn't have it when you were a kid from what we've seen."

"People change." Ed mumbled.

"Aw, you can't blame him. He's had a hard life and kids with hard lives
sometimes turn dark." Havoc said.

Ed's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "That has nothing to do with this, Havoc! I
just like that stuff."

"And I'm trying to give it a reason since you won't!" Havoc retorted.

"Not everything has to have a reason!" Ed snapped.

Al chuckled. "Yeah."

Ed appeared on screen, hand resting on his chin. "I don't know." A very
demonic looking earring appeared on screen and Ed pointed at it. "You
don't want something fancier."
"They're not for you." Brody laughed.

Mustang snorted. "Even when he had his own ears pierced, he didn't wear
anything like that. Yet he wants to get someone else it."

Ed shrugged. "I think I was tricked into getting them pierced."

"Wait." Ling said, grinning. "You had pierced ears? I would have loved to
have seen that! Why don't you have them anymore? Did you hate them that
much?"

"Colonel made me get rid of them." Ed replied.

"Such a hater." Ling replied.

Ed laughed.

Mustang rolled his eyes.

"But no demonic earrings? That doesn't seem like you." Lan Fan said, smiling
at Ed in amusement.

"I'm not sure if I should be offended or not." Ed mumbled.

A giant 'X' hit the earring, shocking Ed while Winry appeared in front
of him, smiling. "They aren't for you, Ed."

"You don't have any taste at all!" Ed said.

"Other way around, Chief." Brody teased.

Ed scoffed.

Lan Fan stared at Ed with narrowed eyes.

"Uh, is something wrong, Lan Fan?" Ed asked nervously.

"I'm trying to figure out what type of earrings you wore when you had them
pierced if they weren't demonic." Lan Fan replied.
Ed blinked. "You could have just asked. I wore–"

"Silence!" Lan Fan ordered. "I will figure it out on my own."

Ed blinked and slowly looked away. Girls were weird.

Winry's pierced ear appeared on screen.

"Hey, you only have your left ear pierced, Winry." Al said. Al appeared
on the side of the screen with Winry in front of him, smiling down at the
earrings. "We would have just gotten one if we'd known."

Winry looked up at Al with a smile. "No, no. It's a good reason to get the
right one pierced."

"Why didn't she get it pierced in the first place?" Ling asked.

"Because girls are weird." Ed answered dryly.

"Is that going to be your answer for everything?" Havoc asked amused.

"For the time being, yes." Ed replied.

She was zoomed in on with a colorful background that had bubbles in it

behind her. "Thank you, guys."

Ed and Al appeared on screen. While Al rubbed his head, Ed just drank

his drink. "Heh." Ed said.

The window was shown.

"Nothing to get so excited about, you simpleton." Ed said.

"Well, she likes different things then you, Ed. You both get excited over
different things." Hughes said.

"I could understand it if it was automail, but not if it's over earrings." Ed
retorted.
"She can have more than one like." Hughes argued.

"It was jewelry!"

"Girls really like jewelry though." Riza said.

"Do you?" Ed asked.

"I own some, but I only wear it on special occasions." Riza replied.

"Except your earrings, which you always wear." Ed finished with a sigh.

"Well, I don't want my holes to close up." Riza replied.

Ling poked Ed's ears. "Like Ed's ears."

Ed smacked Ling's hand away. "Don't touch my ears, you weirdo."

"Will you ever pierce them again?" Ling asked.

"Of course I/he won't!" Ed and Mustang snapped.

"Don't tell me what to do, Colonel!" Ed shouted. "I'll pierce them again just
to anger you."

"Disobedient little brat." Mustang growled.

"Didn't he give you a huge lecture about your pierced ears the last time,
Brother? Do you really want to go through that again?" Al asked.

"If it pisses him off, I'll pierce each of my ears in three places." Ed said,
smirking.

Smack!

Ed yelped and grabbed his head where Mustang whacked him.

"You will do no such thing." Mustang growled.

"You can't stop me." Ed retorted.

Mustang grabbed Ed's ear and yanked on it hard. "Want to bet?" He growled.

Ed growled, refusing to tell his Colonel that was actually hurting.

"So, are you actually his father and you never told us?" Hughes asked
teasingly.

Mustang looked up from glaring at Ed to look at Hughes. "Huh?"

Havoc snickered. "You're behaving like father, sir."

Mustang twitched and looked back down at Ed. "This is your fault."

"You're the one getting so upset about it and pulling on my ear!" Ed

protested. "By the way. Get off!"

"Spiky studs!" Lan Fan said suddenly, staring at Ed in determination,

seemingly not noticing Ed and Mustang in the middle of an argument.

Ed turned his head the best he could to her. "Huh?"

"Is that what you wore?" Lan Fan asked.

Ed whacked Mustang's hand off his ear. "No."

Lan Fan frowned and glared at Ed like it was his fault that she was wrong.

"Black hoops."

"No."

"Steel hoops."

"No."

"Red studs."
"No."

"Silver studs."

"No. I had simple steel studs with a black hoop on my left ear." Ed told her.

"You said you didn't have black hoops!" Lan Fan accused him. "And I
wanted to figure it out!"

"I said no to having black hoops, never said anything about having only one."
Ed replied.

Lan Fan glared at Ed. "Jerk."

"Sounds pretty simple. Why did you make him get rid of them?" Avery asked
Mustang.

"Because he didn't need them." Mustang growled.

"Stickler." Ed muttered.

"I thought you didn't like them." Havoc said.

"I didn't hate them, but I didn't love them and I'll gladly have them if it
annoys Colonel." Ed replied.

"My subordinate is not going to have pierced ears." Mustang snapped at him.

"Humph, it's my body."

"Which the military owns since you signed up to become a State Alchemist."
Mustang told him.

"I think you're using any excuse to assert your power over him to keep him
from getting his ears pierced." Hughes told Mustang quietly.

"He doesn't need them. His outfit already draws bad attention to him. I'm not
letting him have pierced ears and bring any more to him." Mustang snapped
quietly.
Hughes snickered. "What do you think he is going to do? Get involved with
bad teenagers and start doing drugs?"

Mustang stared at Hughes with a frown.

"Okay, I'll admit that bad crowds are out there, but Ed knows better." Hughes
said.

Mustang raised a brow.

"Well, anything could happen. I guess he could get addicted, but not on his
own. If someone forced it onto him and got him addicted." Hughes said. "Or
a bad crowd pressured him into it. Peer pressure is hard to deal with…Then
after that…" His eyes widened in fear. He turned to glare at Ed's head. "Ed,
you aren't allowed to get your ears pierced ever."

Ed turned to look at Hughes shocked. "What?"

"Never." Hughes growled.

Ed looked between Mustang and Hughes. What the hell did those two just
discuss? "They're just earrings." He muttered. "Nothing is going to happen
because I have pierced ears. It means nothing, you lunatics!"

The scene went dark and reopened on a scared Ed backing up into a

wall.

"Someone looks scared." Brody teased.

Ed scowled. "I was twelve! Someone was trying to kill me! I wasn't used to it
yet!"

Mustang frowned. He remembered when Ed first joined the military and

someone first tried to kill him, he had been so scared and unsure. He was
almost afraid that Ed would get Post Traumatic Stress from it and have it ruin
his life, but he helped Ed get passed it and he started to get used to it slowly.
It was one concerning thing about allowing a kid to join the military. Would
the military and its missions ruin the kid who was not used to such dangerous
situations? But luckily, none of the soldiers were right in their bets about the
military breaking Ed. He survived and pushed through it.

Dramatic music started as a bald man appeared on screen and threw

knives at Ed.

"Damn!" Ed shouted as he appeared on screen as he ran to the side to

avoid the knives, which pierced the wall. Ed was shown to be running.
"How many knives does this guy have?" He was forced to stop as a knife
pierced the wall right in front of his face. He ran forward and ducked as
two more knives pierced the wall right where his head was moments
before.

"At least you can dodge." Izumi said.

"Well, you made sure we could dodge knives." Al pointed out.

"Ah, that's right. She always threw knives at you." Havoc said. "Well, it was
an insane thing to do, but it did seem to teach you two something."

"How to dodge?" Al asked.

"How not to get killed." Havoc corrected. "Though, Chief does miss the
whole 'not get injured' thing."

"It's impossible to never get injured in this job!" Ed retorted. "It's a very high
demanding job!"

The scene pulled out to show Ed flipping on the ground to land in a

crouch with his opponent chasing after him as more knives slipped out of
his sleeve. Ed stood up and ducked under the knives that his opponent
swung at his head.

"Why aren't you transmuting?" Sheska asked.

"Not enough time." Ed replied. "I either try to transmute and get my head cut
off or I keep dodging and keep myself from getting injured. I can't dodge and
transmute at this high speed fight. He's not giving me a chance."

The scene changed to show Ed's opponent from behind as Ed ran to the
side. Ed jumped and grabbed hold of a pipe.

"Again with the pipes. You really are like a monkey." Havoc said.

"I'm not a monkey!" Ed snapped.

As he swung himself up and hung upside down on the pipe by his legs,
his opponent cut the pipe where he just was. Ed swung himself to the side
to grab the next section of the pipe with his hand to swing away from his
opponent and started climbing the pipe.

"So, not a monkey?" Luke asked.

Ed twitched. He had forgotten about this fight. "It's part of my martial arts
style."

"Excuses, little monkey." Luke replied.

"Don't call me that!" Ed snapped. "First it's puppy, now monkey. You guys
are getting really annoying."

Ed's opponent was shown as he threw more knives at Ed.

Ed was shown to be holding onto the pipe and gaping in shock as two of
the knives pierced the wall, while the third cut the pipe he was holding.
Ed shouted as he fell back to the ground.

Ed's opponent appeared on screen, smirking as he pulled out another

knife.

Ed was shown to be falling.

An alchemically created fist appeared on screen, blue light still sparking

around it.

"Nice timing, Al." Ling said.

"He usually has great timing when helping his brother." Lan Fan added.
"Well, someone has to keep him alive." Al told them.

"I can keep myself alive." Ed retorted, and when he just got looks, he added,
"Eh, most of the time. Sometimes I just get into small jams that I need help
out of. But most of the time I am fine on my arm! I'm not an incompetent
fighter!"

The scene pulled out to show the fist slamming into the bald man while
Ed fell to the ground.

The bald man was shown rolling across the ground from the hit.

Ed appeared on screen, landing on his feet with Al shown behind him,

kneeling in front of a transmutation circle.

"Is that the end of the fight? He looks out." Breda said.

"If only. They never want to stay down." Ed grumbled. "They always have to
get back up and cause me more trouble."

"It's cause they don't want to lose to a kid. It's pathetic." Havoc said.

"This kid can easily kick you to kingdom come if you want." Ed said.

"Uh, no thanks, Chief. I never said I had a problem with it!" Havoc said
frantically.

"You're scared of a kid." Avery told him dryly.

"Why don't you go fight him and then get back to me?" Havoc retorted.

Ed looked at his brother and gave him a thumbs up with a bit of a

nervous chuckle. "Thanks for the hand there, Al."

"Don't get distracted!" Izumi growled. "That leads to getting hurt. Pay
attention to your opponent!"

Ed's opponent was shown as he rolled onto his feet to skid to a stop
before running back at Ed. As he was running, his sleeves were shown
with another blade coming out of it.

"Where does he keep all those blades? It's like a never ending supply!" Ross
said.

"Welcome to my world. The people Colonel sends me after always seem to

have some trick up their sleeve." Ed said annoyed.

"It's not always." Mustang snapped.

"Fine, maybe not always, but quite often it is. Are you trying to get rid of
me?" Ed asked.

"You sure complain a lot." Mustang told him.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Why would I send you to get killed on a mission when it would cause me so
much more work?" Mustang asked. "Do you think I want to deal with all that
paperwork?"

Ed scoffed. "Jerk."

Ed appeared on screen. As he turned his head to face his opponent again,

he was rapidly zoomed in on, eyes wide in shock. His arm came up to
block his face, making the scene go dark as metal clanging against metal
was heard.

The sky was shown as metal pieces and pieces of Ed's red cloak flew
through it.

"Oh, yeah. I remember now." Ed said, looking down at his arm. "This was the
first time that my arm actually lost pieces because of a fight."

"And it happened because you weren't paying attention to your opponent so

you couldn't dodge in time." Izumi growled.

"Oh, come on! I was still new at this at this point! Fighting against Al or you
is good training, but it's not experience like fighting a real opponent that
really wants to kill me." Ed protested. "I was still learning!"

"So, what you're saying is that I didn't try to kill you hard enough?" Izumi
asked.

Ed twitched. "No, you did pretty good in the training. It's just a bit different."

Ed and his opponent appeared on screen as Ed ducked down farther

with his automail arm raised into the air. As his opponent pulled his
blade back, Ed lowered his arm and stood up straight. When his
opponent sliced his blade at him, Ed jumped back to dodge before
ducking when his opponent swung the blade at his head.

Ed's face appeared on screen as he jumped backwards. He grabbed his

metal arm as he was in his jump.

The scene moved to show Ed and his opponent as a distance from the
side.

Ed's opponent was shown up close. "You're done for. That arm's useless
now."

"NEVER!" Ling and Ed screamed.

"My arm shall not be stopped because of this!" Ed cried.

"Beat that jerk into the ground!" Ling shouted.

Ed and Ling stared at each other.

"Huh?" Ed said, blinking. "You have something against this guy?"

"He's a Xingese assassin for hire. He tried to kill me once before, but he got
away and escaped from Xing. I guess he went to Amestris." Ling told him.

"He tries to kill your first, then me. Figures." Ed muttered.

"What horrible luck." Ling added.

"You two would meet the same assassin." Mustang muttered, rubbing his
temple. "How could you guys let him get away, Fu, Lan Fan? I thought you
were professional body guards."

"I was still just being trained at the time." Lan Fan protested.

"What happened to him?" Fu asked, frowning. This was one assassin he

wouldn't mind hunting down if he could get a lead.

Ed and Al shrugged. Like they knew what happened to the criminals they
dealt with and handed off to the MPs.

"But he was seriously Xingese?" Al asked.

"Yeah, I definitely know that face." Ling told him.

"Huh, that would definitely explain some things." Al said.

"Like what?" Lan Fan asked.

"His fighting style and the clothes." Al said with a shrug.

Ed appeared on screen, still holding his arm. The scene moved down to
show his automail arm. He tried to move it a bit, making it tremble.
"Don't you flatter yourself, pal." He said as he started to bring his arm
up with a bit of difficulty.

"Didn't you call Slicer pal too?" Hughes asked.

"Yeah, think so." Ed said, thinking back to that fight.

Hughes snorted. "You're not friends with your enemies, Ed."

"It's just a way to address them. It means nothing." Ed said.

"It means friend." Hughes said.

Ed rolled eyes. "So what should I call them, Hughes?"

"Mister, sir, idiot, jerk," Ling listed off. "You have a whole range of things to
call them."

"You're not helping." Ed hissed at him. "And I didn't ask you!"

Ling shrugged.

The Xingese assassin appeared on screen, staring in shock. "What the–"

Ed's body was shown as his arm squeaked as he brought it up even more.

The Xingese assassin was shown. "How can you still move it?"

"Because Winry's automail is just that good." Ed and Al said.

"The arm she made when she was eleven is that good?" Lan Fan asked.

Ed grinned. "Yep. She's one of the best. A prodigy in her field. She's been
training since she was young. Probably almost as long as Al and I have been
studying alchemy."

"What is with kids from rural areas being prodigies?" Brody muttered.

Ed appeared on screen, automail arm raised in front of his face to show

the outer layer of it was gone. "I've got the best automail engineer in the
business." He pulled his arm back. "So don't insult her!"

The Xingese assassin pulled back to avoid the punch from Ed. Ed flipped
over as he tried to kick the assassin. He landed and rose up, to push the
Xingese assassin's arm up to avoid getting stabbed then punched him in
the stomach as his blade dropped to the ground. Ed pulled out as the
assassin bent over to grab his stomach. Ed's leg covered the screen as he
raised it in the air. He brought it down quickly. The Xingese assassin was
shown right as Ed's leg landed on the back of his neck.

"That's why you don't fight Chief." Havoc told Avery. "He takes down
martial artists who are much older and have a lot more experience than him.
At twelve."
"Sorry, Avery." Ed said, glancing at Havoc then at the Briggs soldier. "Havoc
will just never forgive me for the first spar we had when I was twelve."

Avery laughed at Havoc's annoyed face. "What happened?"

Breda laughed. "You should have seen it."

"Shut up, Breda." Havoc snapped.

"It was certainly something to see." Mustang said, smirking.

"Can someone just explain?" Brody asked annoyed.

"I would like to know too. I don't remember Brother fighting Havoc." Al
said.

"It's cause I did it shortly after I became a State Alchemist before coming
back to Resembool to pick you up." Ed told him.

"And you never mentioned it because?" Al asked.

Ed shrugged. "Didn't seem important."

"What happened?" Brody, Avery, and Luke shouted impatiently.

"I told Havoc to have a spar with Fullmetal to test if he could fight because I
didn't want to send him out on missions without anything but alchemy to
protect himself." Mustang explained.

"And Edward managed to take Havoc out within a minute." Riza added.

The soldiers from Briggs laughed.

"You lost to him within a minute?" Clarink asked through his laughter.

Havoc scowled. "I went easy on him cause he was a kid!"

"Sure you did." Luke said, smirking.

Havoc glared at him.

"If that's true, why did you never have a rematch with him?" Breda asked.

Fuery nodded. "You kept saying that you wanted one."

Mustang laughed. "Is it that you are scared to face him again?"

"I'm not." Havoc snapped.

"You wanted rematch?" Ed asked surprised. "Why didn't you ever ask? You
could have saved me from a lot of boredom at work by having rematches
with me."

"Yeah." Hughes drawled. "Why did you never have another one?"

Havoc glared. "Fine! Elric, you and me later. Rematch."

"What? Today?" Ed asked surprised. "And did you just call me Elric?"

Havoc glared at him.

"Eh, well, I guess we can have one." Ed mumbled.

The scene pulled out to show the Xingese assassin rolling across the
ground as Ed lowered his leg and put his fists up back in his fighting
stance.

Ed was zoomed in on with Al behind him. When it was realized that their
opponent wasn't getting back up, Ed lowered his arms and stared down
at his opponent with narrowed eyes and a frown.

"Oooh, such an intense look." Hughes teased.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's more like him than that scared boy from earlier." Mustang said.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Ed asked.

"No. How often do we get to see you look scared?" Mustang asked.

Ed groaned.

The scene went dark and reopened on the Xingese assassin being in
handcuffs.

"We're grateful for your assistance."

An MP appeared on screen. Behind him was another MP and the

Xingese assassin.

The MP saluted. "There's no way that we could have done it without

you."

Ed appeared on screen, smiling a bit nervously. He put his automail arm

behind his back and waved a bit with his other hand. "No, no. It was no
big deal. Really, it was nothing."

"It's the innocent façade!" Avery and Luke shouted.

"Well, it was pretty real back then." Mustang told them.

"This was real?" Luke asked in shock.

Mustang nodded. "Yeah, the military and all his missions corrupted that
innocence though and made him into the demon he is today."

"I'm not a demon." Ed muttered.

"You keep saying that, but no one really believes you anymore." Al pointed
out.

"Why did you hide your arm behind your back?" Ling asked curiously while
Ed just glared at his brother.

"Huh?" Ed asked, looking away from Al to stare at his friend for a moment
before shrugging. "Whenever an MP or soldier saw me injured or saw
something happened to my automail, I could just see the guilt shining in their
eyes about making a kid do the fighting for them. And they would get
worried and ask about my wellbeing or make me go to the hospital. I don't
like people fussing like that so I just hide it."

"You really shouldn't hide injuries." Hughes scolded him.

"Yeah, yeah." Ed muttered. "I don't anymore."

"You don't?" Brody asked surprised. "What changed?"

Ed jerked his head at Mustang. "That jerk."

Mustang shrugged at the looks he received. "I realized what he was doing and
since I can't have an injured subordinate running around, I did a thorough
search to make sure he wasn't injured each time he returned to HQ. He got
the message eventually and stopped hiding them."

Ed twitched at the reminder of those searches. They annoyed him so much,

and Mustang never let up once. Every return had a thorough search. A very
annoying search. And if an injury was found, he was dragged to the hospital
then scolded and yelled at after the visit for hiding it. And Al was no help at
all! He just said that he deserved it and shouldn't hide his injuries and that
Mustang had every right to be mad.

The MPs were shown from behind as they led the assassin away.

The scene pulled back to show Ed's back as he watched them walk away.

The scene moved to show both Al and Ed. "Are you alright?" Al asked.

Ed sighed and brought his arm out from behind him to look at it. "No,
I'm far from alright, Al." His arm appeared on screen. "Winry's not
going to be happy when she sees this."

Al appeared on screen. He looked at his brother fearfully. "Do you think

it will be a wrench or a spanner?"

Ed was shown as he turned to Al. "Hmm?"

"I'm trying to guess what she's going to throw at your head." Al said.

"I thought you were supposed to be the nice one." May teased.

"I am nice." Al protested.

"I didn't realize nice people tried to guess what their siblings were going to be
hit with." May said.

"They do when their brother is Edward Elric." Al said.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Ed demanded.

Al just stared at his brother and sighed.

Ed stared at Al with a fearful, worried look. "Why couldn't you guess a

pillow?"

The scene moved to show Al from behind. "I'm being realistic." The
scene started to rise to show the buildings around the two. "She just
repaired it for you."

"Yeah, but that was because I neglected my maintenance." Ed said. "But

this time." The walls were shown with knives still piercing them. "It got
destroyed in the act of catching a criminal so it wasn't actually my
fault."

The fist that Al created was shown.

"You don't really expect Winry to buy an excuse like that, do you?" Al
asked as the brothers were shown.

"Why shouldn't she? It was true." Avery said.

"Well, that's another reason we don't tell Winry how my automail gets
destroyed. She won't believe us or she'll just get mad that we were fighting,
and in her mind, fighting recklessly. Crazy automail geek just wants to see
her work in pristine condition.'' Ed grumbled.
"With anyone else, I bet it would be in pristine condition." Havoc said.

"Well, not everyone is a State Alchemist on a dangerous journey!" Ed

retorted.

Ed's head dropped, dejected. "No." He was zoomed in on as he raised his

head with a sigh. "Man, what am I–" He opened his eye and paused. A
sudden evil grin appeared on his face which was shadowed by his bangs
as he chuckled evilly.

"Demon." Ross said.

"Hughes is the kidnapper and Edward is the demon. They make quite a pair."
Sheska said.

"I feel sorry for anyone who has to face those two together." Ross laughed.

"They'll probably be scarred for life." Brosh said.

"We're not that bad!" Hughes and Ed said.

The alley between the buildings was shown to show a jewelry store
across the street. "Now that. That might just save my ass."

Happy, fun music began as the Rockbell's house appeared on screen with
Den standing outside it.

Winry's bedroom appeared on screen. She was shown from behind as

she sat in front of her mirror on her dresser and fixed her earrings as she
hummed.

Her window was shown from outside to show her from the front. She
smiled at her reflection as she finished before looking out the window as
she heard Den barking. The window was shown from inside to show Ed
and Al walking towards the house. The back of Winry's head appeared
on screen as she looked out the window. Winry turned around with a
small chuckle.

"Well, she really seems happy that you are back. What happened?" Avery
asked.

"She's still happy to see us!" Al said.

"Yeah, all the wrenches to Chief's head proves that." Havoc replied.

"She just gets a bit mad when she sees Brother's arm and she's learned to
expect something wrong with it when we return, but once she gets past her
anger at Brother, she is really happy to see us." Al protested.

"Are you saying it's my fault?" Ed asked.

Al nodded. "I thought that was the obvious part."

Ed's eyes narrowed in annoyance, but he really couldn't deny it.

The stairs of the house were shown from the bottom as Winry's legs
appeared on screen as she ran down them. Winry grabbed the railing at
the bottom of the stairs.

The doorknob of the door was shown as Winry's hand grabbed it. The
door was shown from the outside as Winry opened it. "Welcome home!"

Ed and Al appeared on screen. "Good to be back." They said.

"For all your complaining about going back earlier, you say that?" Hughes
asked amused.

The boys shrugged.

"It's not like we hate it there. It's still home, but we just don't want to spend so
much time there so soon after leaving." Ed replied.

"It's just travel, travel, travel with you two. You should just stay in one place
for longer than a few days." Luke said.

"We do!" Al said. "We stayed in Central for a couple weeks."

"Because of decoding my notes." Dr. Marcoh pointed out. "I think they mean
to stay in one place for a while and rest."

"Psh, who needs rest?" Ed scoffed mockingly.

"Everyone." Hughes said dryly. "Unless you'd rather collapse from

overwork."

Winry lifted her hair up as she was shown to show off her ears, which
had one steel earring in her left and the other steel earring and the two
studs in the right. "What do you think? Do they look alright?"

Winry was shown from behind as Ed and Al walked in the doorway.

"Hey, you're wearing them." Al said.

"Yep." Winry said.

Ed ignored the two and walked passed Winry. "Hey, Granny. We're
home again."

Havoc smacked his forehead. "You're supposed to compliment her, Chief."

"Why would I?" Ed asked.

"Cause you love her!" Hughes and Havoc sang together.

Ed twitched. "What? Did you two plan that?"

"No, if we plan something, you'll know it." Hughes said.

"I'd rather not see it." Ed grumbled.

Winry stared after him in annoyance while Al just watched.

"Hmm, back already?" Pinako's voice asked. "We're having stew for
supper."

"Ah, terrific." Ed's voice said.

"You'll talk to her but not Winry?" Fuery asked.

"Eh…"

"Brother just likes to tease or annoy Winry." Al said. "Well, that's what I
think since he is always doing it."

"Or he just hasn't learned not to annoy her yet." Mustang said.

Ed scoffed.

"Or maybe he does it because he's a little boy and doesn't know how to show
the girl he likes that he likes her." Hughes teased.

"Ah, that is quite probable." Mustang said while Ed flushed deep red.
"Fullmetal may be a State Alchemist, but he is still just a young teenager.
Kids never seem to know how to tell their crushes they like them."

"Someone…" Ed moaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Yes?" Ling asked.

"Kill me." Ed moaned.

"I don't think I can do that." Ling replied.

"Argh, you suck as a friend."

Ling blinked. That really didn't make any sense. He was a bad friend because
he wouldn't kill his friend?

Ed's feet were shown as he put his suit case down.

A table with a bunch of tools on it appeared on screen.

"Ah, hey Winry. I'm in need of a few quick repairs." Ed said.

"Repairs, huh?" Winry said softly. An angry Winry suddenly appeared

on screen, holding up a wrench. "Don't tell me you already broke it!"
Ed's hand appeared in front of her, holding a small blue box. "For you."
Ed said as his evil grinning face appeared on screen.

Winry appeared on screen, staring at the box. She closed her eyes and
lowered her wrench. She opened her eyes. "Well, what can you do?"

"Her attitude changes so quickly." Ling said amused.

"It's so much easier when they are younger and you first start bribing them
for forgiveness." Mustang said. "But the more you do it, the wiser they get
and they don't lose their anger as easily."

"Well, good thing we don't give her gifts anymore." Al said. "At least then,
Brother can give Winry a gift sometime in the future and she'll just be happy
to get it."

"Yes, Fullmetal, be sure not to give her random gifts often when you know
she'll be mad. If you do it rarely, she'll be more accepting." Mustang said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Like I'd ever take advice from any of you."

"You'll be asking for it one day." Hughes said.

Ed scoffed. Like he would ever ask any of these idiots for advice about
women or love.

Winry's hands appeared on screen, holding the box as she opened them
to show two steel hoops. "Oh right!" She rubbed the box against her
cheek while Ed and Al stood behind. "A new set of earrings!"

Ed's antenna twitched. He looked over at Winry with an evil, satisfied

grin in place. "Score." He said while Al chuckled.

Ed's broken arm appeared on screen to be sitting on a table.

"Hmm." Winry said. "Knowing you, you'll bound to break it again.

Maybe I should fortify the plating."

The scene moved to show Ed sitting on a couch and Al standing by him

with Pinako sitting on a stool at the table and Winry standing by the
table at the front of the screen. "Well, the problem with that is you don't
want to make it too heavy. How about this? Try reinforcing the armor
and refine the hydraulics to support the weight."

"Anyone actual understand what that means?" Havoc asked.

"It's not that hard to understand. They are going to–" Kei started.

"Yeah, no one really cares." Luke said. "None of us are even automail experts
so I doubt that any of us will fully understand what you say anyway." He
turned to the laughing Elrics, who were reminded of Winry when Kei started.
"If we don't tell him to shut up, he'll just start going on and on about
automail, leaving all of us extremely confused."

"Sounds like what Winry does to Ed and me." Al said amused.

Ed was shown up close as he lounged on the couch with a bored look.

"Yeah, good idea." Winry said.

As Winry started to work, she was shown from behind.

"So, what possessed you to get your ears pierced in the first place,
Winry?" Ed asked.

"You never bothered to ask before?" Sheska asked.

"They're boys. What do you expect? They didn't even know that she only had
one ear pierced before." Ross said.

"Just like boys. They never noticed anything when a girl changes something
about her appearance." Rebecca said annoyed.

"Hey! We noticed that she did get ears pierced. We just never really gave it
much thought." Ed protested.

"Ah, good question." Winry said as she lifted the plating of Ed's arm to
look at it.
Ed appeared on screen, closing his eyes and smirking. "You're not trying
to look sexy–" He said amused as a wrench suddenly slammed into his
face, cutting him off.

"Chief, that was the wrong thing to say to a girl." Havoc said.

Ed lifted his hurting face out of his hands. "Would you shut up?" He hissed
before going back to rubbing his face.

"That's what you get fore insulting a young lady." Brody teased.

"I wasn't insulting her!" Ed snapped.

"No, just mocking her." Brody said.

"Because a girl apparently can't change her appearance unless she is trying to
impress someone." Riza said annoyed.

Ed groaned. He didn't mean anything by it!

Ed's arm appeared on screen.

"Maybe it had something to do with that one soldier lady." Winry said as
her hand appeared on screen covered in a thick brown glove as she
grabbed a wire in the arm.

"What soldier lady?" Al asked as he appeared on screen, arms crossed as

he stood by Ed who had his face in his hands. "You mean Second
Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

Ed sat up and rested his arm on the back of the couch. "She's a First
Lieutenant now."

"Why did you know that and Al didn't?" Avery asked confused.

"Al hasn't seen Lieutenant Riza since our first meeting." Ed replied. "He
never really went with me to HQ in the beginning. He started coming with
me a few months after I joined."
"And Brother never thought it important to tell me that Lieutenant and
Colonel were both promoted since we last met them." Al said dryly.

"They seemed to be many things he found unimportant." Mustang muttered.

Al appeared on screen, turning his head to his brother. "Winry knows

her?"

Ed appeared on screen, looking down to the side with a frown, looking

kind of bored. "Yeah, they met once." He said. "On the day I decided to
become a State Alchemist."

"You, the less observant of the two on that day, noticed that the two met
while Al didn't notice?" Walkers asked.

"Well…I got nothing. Al?" Ed asked.

Al shrugged. "I was more concerned with what Colonel was saying and about
your health, Brother. Plus, I knew Winry didn't like soldiers so I didn't think
they would have talked."

"I thought I taught you to be observant." Izumi growled.

Al yelped, having forgotten about his former teacher. "But…but…Brother

was in bad health and very depressed! I was worried!"

"No excuses!" Izumi snapped before glaring at Ed. "And you!"

"What'd I do?" Ed shouted shocked.

Izumi's eyes narrowed at him. "Just don't do something stupid like get so
depressed again. It hurts all your friends to see you so sad and hurt."

"Um…right." Ed mumbled. Weird.

The side of Winry's face was shown as the screen slowly moved to the
side to show more of it.

Soft, sad music began as a faded out memory of Al, Pinako, and Winry
being shown from behind as Mustang Hawkeye left in the cart down the
road appeared on screen.

"Can you even believe these State Alchemists?" Pinako asked as the door
to the house was shown from the inside. The door opened to show Pinako
with Winry behind her. "Who would willingly become a dog of the
military?"

"Well, at least I now know the initial reaction after I left." Mustang said.

"Sorry, sir. Granny Pinako has never really liked State Alchemists." Al said.

Mustang shrugged. "Most people don't so don't worry about it."

"Does she still have a problem with soldiers after Chief became one?" Breda
asked curiously.

Ed shrugged. "Well, she doesn't like them, but she is more accepting of them
coming to the house with me since I would never bring someone I didn't trust
to the house. She'll trust the soldiers I trust."

"Well, at least she isn't unreasonable." Hughes said.

The floor of the house was shown.

"I would." Ed said as Pinako's feet walked onto screen.

The scene moved to show Ed from above, sitting in a wheel chair with
Pinako, Winry, and Al staring at him. The wheel chair was shown from
the side, slowly moving up to Ed's face, which was half covered because
of his bangs. "If it will help me get Al's body back, then I would gladly
become a dog of the military. Or anything else that it takes."

"It certainly didn't take you long to decide after he left." Avery said.

Ed shrugged. "No time to be unsure. He was right that it could help me."

"Huh, so you do have simple reasons for doing things." Ling said.
Ed rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, I do."

Winry and Al appeared on screen.

"Brother." Al said.

"But Ed," Winry said softly.

Ed's one determined eye was shown as the other was covered by his
bangs.

The scene turned white before Winry reappeared on screen. "That's

right." She said as the scene pulled out a bit to show Ed sitting behind
her, hand rolled into a fist as he rested his chin on it and his flesh leg
folded up to rest on his automail knee. She raised her gloved covered
hand that was holding a screwdriver to run the back of it across her
forehead. "I remember looking at Miss Hawkeye's earrings, and I
thought they looked kind of nice."

"Such a simple reason." Myers said.

"Most things in life are simple, unless you are a complicated person that has
to overthink everything." Hughes said. "Like Roy or Ed."

"Hey! I'm not complicated!" Ed protested.

"No, you and Colonel can be very complicated at times." Riza said.

"I am n–"

"It's just cause of how smart you are." Ling interjected. "You just tend to over
analyze everything."

Ed huffed.

"But as I just said, your reason for becoming a State Alchemist was pretty
simple so you're not too complicated." Ling amended.

Ed lifted his chin off his fist to turn his head to her. "Well, that seems
like a rather simple reason."

Ed's automail hand was shown as Winry screwed something in. "What's
the point in over thinking things?

"Well," Ed said as he appeared on screen, eyes closed and hand resting

on the couch beside him. "It's gonna take a hell of a lot more than
copying her piercings to make you anything like the Lieutenant
Hawkeye–" A wrench slammed into his face again. His head flew back,
blood sprouting out of his nose.

"Well, I believe you were complimenting me, so thank you, Edward, but you
shouldn't upset your friend like that." Riza said.

"I wasn't! I was speaking the truth." Ed protested while holding onto his
aching nose. "I was just saying that you were very beautiful and Winry wasn't
at your level yet!"

"Yet?" Ling asked slyly.

Ed turned a glare to Ling that was ruined because of the pain shining in his
eyes. "Have you forgotten about our truce?" He hissed.

Ling stared for a moment before pouting. Stupid truce meant that he couldn't
tease Ed about his love.

"So you think Winry is really beautiful?" Rebecca asked, grinning at Ed.

Ed twitched. "I am not getting into this with you guys! Leave it alone!"

"Someone's embarrassed." Hughes sang.

Ed turned around, grabbed the pillow Mustang had and slammed it into
Hughes's face. "Next time," Ed hissed. "I'm going to stuff it down your throat
and watch you choke in pure evil enjoyment."

Hughes looked at Ed nervously while Mustang snickered at his friend. That's

what Hughes got for mocking Ed about Winry. Why did he never do that
when Hughes told him to marry Riza? He would have to think about that
later.

The outside of the house was shown.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Winry screamed.

"He's just saying that you're nothing alike." Al said.

"And you're agreeing with him, Al?" Winry shouted and there was the
sound of metal clanging against metal.

Rebecca laughed. "You have all the men after you, even the teenagers."

Riza sighed.

"I think you have it wrong." Al told her. "Sure, Lieutenant is very gorgeous,
but Brother would never give up Winry for her."

Ed fell over in shock. "Even you, Al? YOU TRAITOR!"

"I'm just saying!" Al said.

"That I love her when I don't!" Ed screamed.

"It's not my fault you love being in denial!" Al protested.

The scene moved down to show Den sitting on the ground with a chicken
by him.

"Ah! Don't knock my helmet off!" Al cried.

Den yawned.

"What is with you people and knocking my helmet off?" Al grumbled.

"Come on. You have to admit. It's a good weapon at times." Ed said.

"I'd rather keep my head on my body!" Al shouted.

"Most people do prefer that." Avery said sarcastically.

"Don't get mad at us just for being honest!" Ed said. "I mean–Argh!"

Ed groaned and grabbed his head again. Stupid bloody wrench.

The scene went dark and reopened on a blue sky with a cloud in it as fun,
active music began.

"So how long until she stopped beating you both?" Clarink asked amused.

Ed and Al twitched and looked at him with blank eyes.

"Do not speak of it." They both said.

"That's why you should tell a girl she is pretty." Mustang said.

"And then they call you a liar and say they aren't pretty at all!" Ed shouted,
pulling at his hair. "They make no sense! It's easier to just anger them on
purpose!"

"Are you suicidal?" Havoc and Luke shouted.

"No. Just a bit annoyed with how complicated girls can be." Ed grumbled.

The scene moved down to show the Rockbell house.

"Well, we're heading out." Ed said.

Ed and Al were shown to be standing in front of Winry in the house.

"Thanks again for fixing up my arm."

"Just keep up with your maintenance for now on." Winry said before her
ear was shown close up to have a bloody cloth on the edge of it. "And
don't go using any cheap oil."

"Yeah, yeah." Ed said annoyed. He appeared on screen, looking

surprised. His expression dropped to a semi-annoyed one. "What's with
your ear? You pierce it again?"

Winry appeared on screen, smiling as she nodded. "Mm-hmm. For the

pair that you gave me yesterday." She held up two fingers. "Two holes!"
She grinned.

"Did she seriously pierce her ears for each new pair she got?" Havoc asked
shocked.

"Yes." Ed and Al said dryly.

"Why?" May asked.

"She's insane, that's why!" Ed half-shouted.

"Is this why you stopped giving her gifts?" Hughes asked.

"Yes." Ed said.

"Then why didn't you just get her something else?" Karin asked.

Ed snorted. "Because if I got tools then she would hit me with them! If I got
her earrings she would put more holes in her body. I can't get her rings since
they would get in the way of her work. She's too damn complicated."

"And yet you still love her." Hughes teased.

Ed growled. "I do not!"

The scene moved to show the three from above.

"Couldn't you just take turns and swap them out?" Al asked.

"My ears hurt just from looking at you." Ed said blankly.

"Huh?" Winry said. She appeared on screen. "But you guys gave me
these earrings as a present." She covered her ears with her hands.
"What's wrong with wanting to wear them?"
Riza chuckled. "She must really love you two a lot to want to wear
everything you give her."

"It's still stupid!" Ed shouted.

"Someone seems embarrassed." Riza teased.

Ed groaned. "Even you?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious."

"I would like if you could all just stop." Ed muttered.

Ed and Al appeared on screen, white background behind them as they

stared in shock.

Al jumped in front of a scared Winry, holding his head. "You can't

pierce your ears every time we give you a new set of earrings!"

Ed jumped in front of her next. "ARE YOU REALLY THAT MUCH

OF A SIMPLETON?"

"You don't have to scream." Ling said amused.

"I'll scream all I want at her!" Ed shouted. "She doesn't need all of those holes
in her ears."

"But they do look nice the way she did it." Ross said.

"That's not the point at all." Ed muttered. "The point is she doesn't need all of
those holes in her!"

Winry appeared on screen, staring at the two.

"What are you going to do if ten or twenty more people give you earrings
as gifts? Your ears will be dragging on the ground!" Ed said.

The more Ed spoke, the angrier Winry got.

"Or you'll have to stick them in your face!" Ed said.

"And that many piercings, Winry?" Al asked. "You know they'll get
infected, right?"

"You are really, really, really, really, really dumb!" Ed said.

"Must you guys shout over each other? It's annoying." Mustang muttered.

"Did you just call Winry dumb?" Hughes asked amused, pushing Mustang
away to look at Ed with a grin.

Ed stared at him with a frown. "What? Are you deaf? It's pretty obvious that
is what I said!"

Havoc chuckled. "Sorry, Chief, but it's just hard to imagine you shouting like
a little kid."

"I was a little kid back then! I was twelve!" Ed said.

"Yeah, but we never saw that, except for your yelling matches with Colonel
and rants about not being short, at HQ." Breda pointed out.

Ed shrugged.

"Dumb?!" Winry shouted angrily as the outside of the house was shown.
"You're calling me dumb?"

"Yeah, Dumbie!" Ed shouted as Pinako was shown to be sitting on the

stairs outside with Den. "We can't even give you a gift without you doing
something dumb!"

Den yawned.

"Anyone who uses the word dumbie is a dumbie!" Winry screamed.

The soldiers snickered.

"Ah, little kids. Always fun to listen to them argue." Brody said.
Ed's face flushed a bit.

"What logic they have." Avery added amused.

"Stupid bloody future." Ed grumbled.

"This is the past." Lan Fan told him.

"…Yeah, but it's because of us being here to see the future that we are seeing
this!" Ed said angrily.

"Oooh, okay! Fine. How about airhead?" Ed asked.

Winry gasped.

Pinako was shown up close from the side, taking in some smoke from her
pipe.

"You mean little beansprout!" Winry shouted.

"Did you just call me a beansprout?" Ed asked angrily. "And a little

beansprout at that!"

"Al, where are you? Why aren't you stopping them?" Riza asked.

"I was sitting in a corner laughing." Al admitted.

"Yeah! No help whatsoever!" Ed shouted.

"You seemed to have it under control!" Al protested.

"She called me a little beansprout!" Ed retorted.

"Well, you are pretty short." Havoc said.

Ed growled and snatched a pillow from Hughes, who had held it out for him.
Ed latched it hard through the air and it smashed into Havoc's face. "Say it
again and I'll come over there and personally punch you with a metal hand!"
Pinako turned to Den and put her hand on his head. "Sure is peaceful,
huh?" Pinako asked.

"That is the last thing you should ever call me!" Ed shouted.

"Really? Last thing? What about tiny little pipsqueak? Or miniscule atom?"
Mustang suggested.

"I AM NOT SMALL!" Ed screamed angrily. "Do not call me those things!"

"Temper, temper, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

"Sir, please stop teasing him." Riza told him.

Mustang shrugged, but grinned at the glare that Ed was giving him.

The scene changed to Eastern Command Center as dramatic music

began.

The roof of the shooting range appeared on screen.

One of the target boards was shown with a bullet zipping past it to the
wall behind it.

The shooting range was shown from above with soldiers around it.

The scene moved to show some soldiers lying on the ground, shooting
with their rifles.

A pathway was shown with a soldier walking down it.

Two more soldiers were shown up close as they walked in the opposite
direction.

The two stopped and saluted Hawkeye as she reached them. Hawkeye
saluted back without pausing. The two soldiers moved to the side to let
her pass.

"Were they of lower rank or something?" May asked.

"Yes, they were. You salute those of higher rank whenever you see them."
Riza explained.

"Unless you're Ed, who only does it the soldiers who have a stick up their
asses." Havoc said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so most of the Generals and some of the Colonels."

"Where's my salute?" Mustang asked.

"You don't get one ever, you jerk!" Ed growled.

"It's not like you ever demand one of him anyway." Riza pointed out.

Mustang shrugged. "Can't resist teasing him."

Riza was shown from behind, long blond hair waving across her back.

"Hey, was that–" One of the soldiers said as they moved back to where
they were standing.

The two were shown again, staring after Riza.

"Yeah, Eye of the Hawk." The other soldier said.

"You really are famous for your skills." Lan Fan said.

Riza gave a small smile and shrugged. "They were shown off a lot in Ishval."
She said sadly. "A senior cadet sniper that was out-sniping the soldiers with
years of experience gets talked about a lot."

The first soldier put a hand to his chin. "You know I'm almost surprised
someone as good as her still feels the need to practice."

"She is so good because she practices. Those who don't practice get out of
touch and lose their skill." Havoc said.

"Which reminds me." Riza said. "Ed, you haven't been to the shooting range
in a while. You really need to practice."
Ed groaned. "Been avoiding that place."

"Well, if you keep avoiding it, you're going to lose your skill and not be able
to match Lieutenant Hawkeye in the shooting range anymore." Havoc pointed
out.

"What he needs is to practice using a gun in real situations." General

Armstrong growled.

"Yeah, no thanks." Ed muttered, shivering at the idea. He would not be able

to handle a gun in a real situation. He would probably be so scared that he
would misfire and that would make him make a huge mistake.

Riza's face was shown from the side.

The girls' locker room was shown.

A locker with the name Hawkeye on it appeared on screen as a pair of

hands grabbed the lock and put a key in it. When the lock was off, the
hand pulled it off and opened the latch before the door was opened to
show a rifle. The scene moved down to show all of it.

The scene moved to Riza's face as Rebecca walked behind her. "Hey,
your hair's getting pretty long, huh?"

Riza turned her head to watch her walk pass. "Yeah, and it's been
getting in my way lately."

"Such interesting conversations in the locker rooms." Mustang muttered.

"What else is there to talk about?" Riza asked.

"Well–" Mustang started.

"Say it and I will make you suffer." Riza growled dangerously, glaring at
Mustang.

Mustang swallowed nervously.

Hughes snickered. "Whipped."

Mustang glared at him. "Fullmetal, hit him."

Ed blinked and looked back at Mustang to see him pointing at Hughes. "I'm
not your attack dog." He mumbled.

"You're a State Alchemist under my command, so yes, you are." Mustang

said.

"True, but Ed has decided to join my side!" Hughes retorted.

"What?" Mustang snapped. "When was this? Fullmetal!"

"I've decided nothing!" Ed protested. "Leave me out of your insanity! Al!"

"No." Al said. "I'm not getting involved. This is your problem."

"Traitor!"

"You can't not pick a side forever." Hughes told Ed warningly.

Ed twitched. Why? What did he ever do to deserve being involved in

Hughes's and Mustang's insanity?

She put her hands under her hair and lifted it up a bit. "Maybe I should
start wearing it up." Her earring was shown up close.

"Either way it is pretty." Ed said.

Riza smiled. "Thank you, Ed."

"He gets thanks while I get glared at when I say something." Mustang
muttered.

Riza shot him a glare. "Because Ed's words do not have a hidden meaning
behind them."

"Mine don't either!" Mustang said.

Riza's eyes narrowed.

"All the time. They don't have a hidden meaning all the time." Mustang
corrected.

The scene moved to show Riza from behind as she dropped her hair with
Rebecca watching from the side.

"You kept it short for a very long time." Rebecca said before looking in
her locker to pull out her rifle. "What made you decide to grow it out all
of a sudden?"

Riza looked back at her.

Rebecca pulled out of her locker with her rifle and grinned at Riza. "Are
you trying to impress some guy?"

Riza sighed. "You never change."

Rebecca grinned at her. "Nope."

"Still haven't reached your goal either." Riza pointed out.

"Maybe not, but one day I will!" Rebecca declared. "Just you wait and see,
Riza!"

Riza laughed. "I can't wait to see that day."

Riza's hand was shown as it grabbed her rifle. "No, there's no guy." Riza
was shown, holding her gun with both hands and eyes shut. "Back when
I was in Resembool, I met a little girl who had long hair."

A picture of Winry appeared on screen. She was shown from the side as
she looked down at the ground with a tray of tea on her lap.

"And I thought it would be nice to grow it out." Riza said.

"You seem to know girls with long hair. Why did it take until seeing Winry
that you liked it?" Al asked curiously.
"Because I never thought about it much before, but when I saw Winry, who
has the same hair color as me, I couldn't help but wonder what long hair
would look like on me. Her hair looked very pretty long so I wanted to give it
a try." Riza explained.

"Once again, girls are so complicated." Ed muttered.

"It's a simple reason, but I guess when you look it from her not making that
decision until she met Winry than it seems a bit complicated." Al said.

The scene went white and changed back to Riza and Rebecca walking
through the locker room.

"That's it?" Rebecca asked. "Seems like a pretty simple reason."

"Is it?" Riza asked before her face appeared on screen with Rebecca's
seen behind her. "Yeah, maybe it is, but most of my reasons are." The
door they were approaching was shown. "When it comes down to it, the
life of a sharpshooter is pretty simple."

"I believe life is simple for everyone. Sure, it's hard at times, but our reasons
tend to be simple." Hughes said.

"Unless you're a complicated person that likes to make everything

complicated." Ling said.

Ed rolled his eyes when Ling shot him a look. "I don't make things
complicated."

"Maybe not everything." Ling amended.

"You said it yourself that some of my reasons are simple." Ed retorted.

"Doesn't mean you aren't a complicated person." Ling retorted.

The doors opened.

Riza and Rebecca were shown from behind as they walked out the door.
"We pull the trigger and an enemy falls." Riza said as the doors closed
behind them. The doors slammed shut at the end.

A target board was shown with a bullet slamming through the center of
the head on it.

Riza was shown lying on the ground, staring at the board with her rifle
still smoking.

The ending song began.

"What a way to end it." Brody said amused.

"At least it wasn't depressing." Ed said.

"How could it be depressing when listening to you have a childish argument

with Winry?" Avery asked amused.

Ed twitched. "I am really starting to dislike you soldiers from Briggs."

"Aww, you're so hurtful." Clarink teased.

Ed rolled his eyes. Stupid soldiers.

"So, now that this insightful episode is over…" Hughes said, grinning madly
as Ed, who wasn't looking at him but could feel it on the back of his head
which is why he twitched.

"Hughes, seriously let it go." Ed said. "Between you and Colonel and the
Briggs soldiers, I'm not sure who I am hating the most right now."

"Awww, Edo is so mean!" Hughes cried, sliding off the couch and hugging
Ed from behind.

Ed growled. "Hughes, you better let go of me now, damn it! Ling is bad
enough!"

"What'd I do?" Ling protested. "I'm just innocently sitting here."

"You introduced Edo!" Ed shouted. "And you hug me which is annoying!"

Ling huffed.

"Hughes!" Ed growled when Hughes still didn't let go.

"You just have to say you'll be on my side!" Hughes said.

"Side for what? Your war with Colonel is over!" Ed growled. "It ended a long
time ago!"

Mustang smirked. 'Keep on hugging him, Hughes. He'll just get more
frustrated with you and join my side.'

"For Rivalry War II with one Colonel Roy Mustang!" Hughes declared,
hugging Ed around the neck with one arm to raise his other fist dramatically.

"Oh, you want to start something, Hughes?" Mustang said, snapping out of
his thoughts.

"Hell yes!" Hughes said, turning to Mustang as he let Ed go.

Ed fell on all fours. Oh no. What did any of them do to deserve this?

"I really don't think–" Al started.

Mustang and Hughes turned to glare at Al. "Do not interfere." They hissed.

"Ah, right! Sorry, sirs." Al said quickly. "Have fun, Brother!"

Ed blinked and looked up. "Huh?" He looked over his shoulder at Mustang
and Hughes and groaned. Why? Why were they even having another war?
Did he miss something that would cause a second war between them? "Al,
are you betraying me to these two nutcases to save yourself?"

"Yes."

Ed groaned. "You don't have to be so blunt about it."

"You'll be fine, Brother. They won't kill you…" Al paused and glanced at
Mustang and Hughes. "Well, they shouldn't."

"That's helpful." Ed muttered.

"You should have just chosen a side earlier and then maybe this wouldn't
have happened." Clarink told him.

"How so?" Ed asked.

"Because they invented this war just to drive you even crazier and make you
pick a side." Clarink explained.

Ed twitched. Avoid the crazy soldiers. He looked around. Well, actually,

most of the soldiers were crazy. He groaned. Only one thing to do then.
"Forget whatever it is you two want to war over! We have to start the next
episode. We need to stop wasting time."

"We'll go on, but this isn't over." Mustang growled.

Ed whacked his forehead. Stupid, annoying soldiers.

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 34*: Episode 31: The 520 Cens
Promise
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: In hindsight, it was apparently very foolish of me to believe that I

wouldn't have to explain this. Ed is 15, guys. 15! So when he says
"women" or that they are complicated, it is a joke because he doesn't
fully understand them yet. It is all meant to be taken as a joke! Some of
you take things way too seriously. Learn to take a joke. And dudes, I
thought this was freaking obvious, but I AM A GIRL! I am a pretty
unique girl myself. And I know women are not another species or have
their own customs and are all not the same. I am making a joke! Sheesh!

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 31: The 520 Cens Promise

The beginning of the bloody word vengeance appeared on screen. The

scene moved to the side to show the rest.

"Strange beginning." Ed said.

"Oh, you weren't here for this." Ling said. "Well, Ed, Envy went to Dr.
Marcoh's prison to give him food and instead found this word on the wall
with Dr. Marcoh's body, missing the head, under it."
Ed frowned and looked at Scar then Dr. Marcoh. "Gruesome, but I guess this
means that we are finally back to the future."

"Yeah, looks like." Ling replied offhandedly. "But here's the really strange
thing about this."

"Please stop." Ed said.

Ling stared at Ed with a frown. "Why? I'm just filling you in."

"You are sounding too much like a gossiping girl and it's freaking me out."
Ed replied.

"How would you know what a gossiping girl sounds like?" Mustang asked.

"Because of all those stupid missions you send me on!" Ed hissed.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "All missions I send you on have a point, Fullmetal.
They are necessary, though why you are talking to girls on them I will never
understand."

Ed growled. "I was ta–"

"Ed, I wasn't done." Ling said, frowning. "Dr. Marcoh didn't feel the pain of
missing his head."

Ed looked back at Ling with his brows furrowed. "His body was missing his
head?"

"Is that all you got from that?" Al asked.

Ed shrugged. "It's just very extreme for Scar. I don't know what you want
from me." He turned to Dr. Marcoh. "I am deeply sorry for your death,
Doctor."

Dr. Marcoh just waved him off before going back to rubbing his neck with a
frown in place. Why wasn't he feeling anything?

The scene pulled out show the wall with Dr. Marcoh's body leaning
against it.

Envy appeared on screen, glaring angrily at the wall. "Vengeance, huh?"

He threw the tray to the ground. Breaking glass was heard as he
screamed, "Damn it!"

The scene moved to show one of the guard chimeras, while the other
chain for the other chimera was empty.

"It's Scar. Marcoh must've told him about his role in Ishval." Envy said.

The empty collar was shown close up.

The opening song began.

"Ed?" Ling asked hopefully.

Ed just stared at Ling with a frown. "What do you think?"

Ling sighed. "Why can't you just–"

"Because I don't want to." Ed hissed.

"You're no fun." Ling mumbled.

"Not to mention it is inappropriate to ask that right now, considering Dr.

Marcoh may or may not have just been killed." Ed added.

Ling frowned. "Well, yeah, I'll give you that. But we still aren't sure about
that."

"Exactly. So quiet, Ling."

The door of an apartment complex appeared on screen.

"I'll let you know if I hear anything new." Riza said as she appeared on
screen with Ed, who was walking towards the door.

Ed's back appeared on screen as he stopped in front of the door. He

turned halfway around to face her. "The Fuhrer basically hired you to
be his hostage. Will you be alright?"

Riza appeared on screen. She put a finger to her chin and looked up at
the ceiling. "Well, it's all on how you look at it I guess. This close to him
just means I'll have a better chance to kill him in his sleep."

"Well…This is the woman you trust to have your back?" Havoc asked
Mustang.

"I did give her permission to shoot me if I deviate from my path." Mustang
told him.

"Plus, she loves Roy too much. She'll never shoot him in his sleep." Hughes
said, grinning.

"Why would she even be in his place why he was sleeping?" Ed asked.

Mustang growled, glaring at the two.

"Well, if they are married," Hughes said.

Ed nodded. "I see. So when Colonel pisses the Lieutenant off, he should sleep
with one eye open?"

"I'm not going to marry the Lieutenant. Both of you shut up now." Mustang
growled.

"Harsh." Ed grumbled.

Ed appeared on screen, grinning a bit nervously as gentle music started.

"You scare me."

"Since when do you admit you're scared?" Brody asked.

"Do you think he is a fearless jerk?" Al asked.

"Offensive!" Ed said. "And who wouldn't be scared of Lieutenant Riza? Have

you seen her wielding a gun?"
"Sure have. I've seen you wield one too. You're both scary." Havoc said with
a grin.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Difference between her and me on guns. I've only ever
used one in a shooting range. You can't compare us until I've used one
outside of the shooting range."

"And if it's up to you, that day will never exist." Breda said.

"Exactly."

Ed opened the door and took a step out it before he stopped. "Oh yeah."
He turned his head to look at Riza. "Pass this on for me. Tell the Colonel
that Scar is back."

"Yes, as an afterthought." Mustang said sarcastically. "It's nothing

important."

"You're lucky I remembered at all." Ed said dryly. "I had a lot of other things
to focus on."

"Yes, yes, a hectic day." Mustang replied.

Riza appeared on screen. "Sure thing. No problem."

The hallway appeared on screen.

The screen slowly moved up to show Ed walking away from Riza's

apartment with Riza standing in the doorway with Black Hayate in her
arms.

Ed stopped. "Hey Lieutenant."

"I don't think you want to leave her apartment. You keep stalling." Avery
said.

"Or, my mind is just racing with things that I want to talk to her about. That
tends to happy when you are learning a lot." Ed retorted.
"Naw, I think it really is that she is too kind to you so you take comfort in her
presence and are not worried about talking with her." Avery replied.

"Or, she is a trustworthy comrade that I can talk to without too many worries
about who is or who isn't listening in." Ed replied.

"So my presence doesn't calm you?" Riza asked.

Ed frowned. "I didn't say that. It's just…" He thought for a moment before
sighing. "You're a very skilled soldier so having you watch my back is
calming. I can see why Colonel trusts you. I just meant here that you don't
yell at me or get annoyed or just mock me when I'm wrong so I can talk to
you with ease."

Riza turned to Mustang with a frown. "You mock him when he is wrong?"

"Why do you suddenly turn to me? It could be anyone!" Mustang protested.

Ed snickered.

"Is it you?" Riza asked.

Mustang shrugged. "Only on the things that aren't vital or for the military."

Hughes smirked. "I can see why now."

Mustang looked Hughes in confusion. "See what?"

"Oh nothing." Hughes replied, staring at his friend with a look that said I-
know-something-you-don't-know.

Mustang scoffed. "You're so childish."

"But you want to know now." Hughes replied.

Mustang scowled and didn't reply.

"Yes, what is it?" Riza asked.

The back of Ed's head was shown. He turned halfway around to look at
Riza through his bangs. "I just want to say thanks for telling me about
Ishval."

"Huh, you do have manners." Darius said.

"What the hell does that mean?" Ed asked angrily.

"I think it is obvious what it means." Darius retorted.

"That you are still a rude person?" Ed suggested.

Darius rolled his eyes. "That it's amazing a rude brat like you has any!"

Ed scoffed. "I was raised around women. Teacher taught me for six months.
Granny Pinako watched out for Al and me after we lost our mother. Do you
seriously think they taught me nothing?"

"Yes." Darius replied.

Ed rolled his eyes.

Riza appeared on screen, smiling a small smile as she moved Black

Hayate to hold him with one arm while she raised her other hand to
wave. Black Hayate barked after Ed.

Ed grinned. "Black Hayate. Always a farewell bark."

Black Hayate barked and bounded over to Ed. He climbed onto Ed's lap then
put his front paws on Ed's shoulders to lick his face, making Ed laugh.

"I never get one." Mustang grumbled.

"Oooh, so you have private meetings with your Lieutenant at her house?"
Hughes asked slyly.

"What? No!" Mustang hissed. "That's not what I meant, Hughes."

Hughes smirked. "Sure it's not."

"Knock it out already." Riza growled, glaring at Hughes.

"Oooh, both of you are defensive." Hughes said.

Ed snickered, but turned to Hughes. "Perhaps you should shut up. You really
don't want to anger Colonel about this."

"Good point. He is a pretty cruel person." Hughes said.

"I am not!" Mustang growled.

"Are too." Ed mumbled.

Mustang whacked Ed in the back of the head with a pillow.

Ed grabbed his head in annoyance.

"And he isn't helping his case either." Ling said and got rewarded with a
pillow to his head as well. "Unfair!"

"The 520 Cens Promise"

"A promise? This is about a promise?" Havoc asked.

"So maybe a lot isn't going to happen for once?" Sheska asked hopefully. She
really needed a peaceful episode after everything that had happened so far.
Those extra shows about the past were enjoyable. She wasn't ready to go
back to the darkness of the future.

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Ross asked. "A another calm episode. It would be
wonderful."

The music ended as Al appeared on screen to be walking down the

sidewalk at night.

"Al!" Ed screamed.

Al stopped as footsteps were heard.

Ed was shown to be running towards Al.

"Brother," Al said as Ed stopped and bent over, hands on his knees, as

he breathed heavily. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that I think Ed is out of shape." Izumi said, glaring at her
ex-student.

"I am not! You have no idea of how long I was running for!" Ed protested.

"Hmm," Izumi said, still glaring at Ed.

A clock tower was shown as the minute hand moved.

"Twelve thirty at night." Mustang said. "Why out so late?"

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Is there a curfew?" Ling asked.

"For kids and teenagers, yeah. But I never follow it." Ed said. "It's not like I
can, Colonel." He added, glaring at his boss. "Not when you have me running
around doing missions and trying to help you catch someone."

"You could at least follow it when not doing anything military related."
Hughes grumbled.

Havoc snickered. "Colonel tried to enforce the curfew on Chief when he was
younger, but since he couldn't always make sure he was, he would send lower
rank soldiers to do it. Chief either scared them away or messed with their
brains."

"Why couldn't you just order them away with your rank?" Lan Fan asked.

Ed shrugged. "Tried to a few times until I realized since they were following
a Colonel's order, his order over ranked mine so they didn't have to listen to
me."

"So he came up with new creative ways to get rid of them until Colonel just
gave up." Al said dryly. "Unless it was the Lieutenant he sent. Brother never
disobeys her."

"I should have sent her all the time." Mustang grumbled.

"That's terrible." Al said as the scene slowly moved down the clock
tower. "It's tough to even hear about Ishval."

"Of course the first thing you would do afterwards would be to inform your
brother." Brosh said.

"Hey, the military makes me keep enough secrets from him. I have to tell him
what I can." Ed mumbled.

"And she didn't hold back." Ed replied as he and Al were shown to be

sitting on a fountain at the bottom of the clock tower. "Even though I'm
practically a kid."

"Isn't that what you were expecting when you asked?" Riza asked.

"Probably, but I didn't really know just how horrible it was going to be." Ed
replied.

Ed's automail hand appeared on screen as he stretched it towards the

sky.

"They say an alchemist is one who seeks after the truth." Ed turned his
hand over. He curled it into a fist. "And yet."

The scene moved to show the brothers sitting by each other.

"I knew nothing about what happened in Ishval." Ed lowered his hand
as Al turned forward.

"You think the Colonel's concerned about what happens after he gets
what he wants?" Al asked.

Ed and Al turned to look at Mustang.

Mustang shrugged. "Of course it is concerning, but it is what I am working
towards. It is my goal. It worries me, but it's what I'm determined to do. I
can't let a few worries stop me from doing what I believe is the right thing to
do."

Ed rolled his eyes, but didn't retort. If it's what he wanted, there was nothing
Ed could do to talk him out of it.

Ed appeared on screen, looking down. "I know I would be if I was him,

you know." He turned his head to his brother. "Hey Al, what are you
going to do when you get your real body back?"

"That's a strange thing to ask all of a sudden." Mustang said.

"I'm more surprised that we never talked about it before." Al said.

"You guys never discussed it before?" Zampano asked in surprise.

Al shrugged. "Never really had time before."

"And now, we are much closer than we ever have been before now that we
know Al's body still exists so it is a good time to talk about it." Ed added.

"I mean, afterwards." Ed said.

Al appeared on screen. He turned his face forward once more. "Well,

let's see. First thing." A picture of a smiling Winry with an apple pie
appeared next to him. "I really want to eat some of Winry's apple pie."

"The first thing is food." Ross chuckled.

"Well, I miss the taste of it." Al said.

Ross nodded, smiling sadly. "Yeah, you don't realize how good something is
until you're no longer able to have it. We humans really take too many things
for granted."

Ed and Al were shown from a slight distance as Ed turned his face

forward with a smile. "Ha."
Al turned his head to his brother. "And what about you?"

"This should be good." Havoc said.

Ed rolled his eyes. What did they think he had planned? Some evil act to do
after everything was back to normal?

The bottom half of Ed's body that was sitting on the fountain appeared
on screen. "Hmm, I've been so busy trying to get our bodies back that I
haven't even thought about what happens next."

"Well, that's pretty sad." Havoc said. "You never dream of the future?"

"I dream of having everything back to normal." Ed said.

"But you don't dream of your future plans?" Riza asked.

"No time. Have to keep researching and traveling." Ed replied.

"Where do you get the time then, Al?" Brosh asked.

Al sighed. "I have all night to think about it. I try to read or research or just
find something to do during the night, but my mind just trails sometimes."

Ed smiled sadly at that. He really wished Al didn't have to continue spending

the nights alone all the time. Not only was it probably boring, but it was also
very lonely. He left his brother alone every night and it made him feel so
guilty.

The scene pulled out to show both of them.

Ed stood up and interlocked his fingers together as he stretched his arms

in front of him. "I guess the first thing, I'll make some courtesy calls."
He put his hands on his hips and looked at Al. "Let Granny and our
Teacher know we're alright."

"So you make one up on the spot." Mustang said. "You better include us in
those courtesy calls."
Ed shrugged. "Sure, sure. I have to if I want to quit the military."

"I see how much you care for us." Havoc muttered. "Only informing us so
you can leave."

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Will I get a call too?" Ling asked.

"And me?" May asked.

Ed groaned. "I'm not coming to Xing, guys."

"Humph," Ling said. "Won't even visit your friends. Jerk."

"Yeah, of course." Al said. "They both helped us out so much."

Both boys turned their faces forward.

The scene moved to show the back of Al's head as it slowly moved to the
side.

"And you know what? They'll be smiling when they see us." Al said.

The scene continued moving to the side to show the back of Ed's head.

"Yeah."

"That'll be nice. Just to see them smile." Al said.

"Yeah."

"Cat got your tongue, Ed? You usually say more than that." Izumi said.

"Not much to say there." Ed replied. "Al said it all."

"You usually find something to say though." Mustang muttered.

"Not always." Ed retorted.

The scene moved to show the two from a downward angle from the sky.

Al stood up. "I know things are rough right now, but I'm starting to
cheer up."

Ed turned to Al as the brothers were zoomed in on. "Well, I found a

trace of hope for us."

"What trace? When did you find any hope?" Fuery asked.

"Chief always finds hope while the rest of us miss it." Breda said.

"Or just forget it." Ed muttered.

"Oh, so you know what the ray of hope is?" Havoc asked.

"Uh, it's a possibility." Ed replied.

Gentle, mysterious music started as Father appeared on screen from a

distance with red alchemical light sparking around him.

Ed and Al were shown, lit up with red light.

"You know how our alchemy wouldn't work when we were under
Central Command?"

Ed was shown, pinned by Envy as he tried to clap his hands.

Al appeared on screen, tapping his hands uselessly on the ground.

"Well, guess what." Ed said.

An alchemist appeared on screen, kneeling in a transmutation circle with

a couple of MPs standing around, watching.

"It wasn't working above ground either." Ed said.

"Oh, that's what you meant by hope. How is that hopeful?" Luke asked.
"Because it tells us it wasn't only us affected or because we were
underground. And two, it makes us wonder why May and Scar could still use
their Alkahestry. It is giving us hope." Al explained. "We just have to analyze
it a bit more and talk to May and we should be fine. Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Well, Alkahestry is what works, but learning a whole new science will be
difficult." Al replied.

"Then we have to get May to teach us or see if we can find information about
it at the library." Ed said.

"Wasn't that what McDougal used?" Mustang asked suddenly, looking at

Hughes. "You mentioned it to me."

Hughes nodded. "Yeah, McDougal used it. Though neither one of us knew
what it was."

"Not surprising. I didn't know about it before May showed up either." Ed

said.

"I guess it's really not well-known in other countries." May said.

"Nope. It seems to be a pretty unique science." Al told her.

The scene went white as it flashed back to Ed and Al.

"But what about Scar and that girl?" Al asked.

"That girl?" May huffed. "You know my name, Alphonse. You could at least
call me by it!"

"Uh…" Al said.

Ed snickered. "That's right, Al. Girls don't like being referred to as 'that girl.'"

"Not helpful, Brother." Al muttered.

"Why would I want to be helpful?" Ed asked amused.

"Exactly. They were the only ones who could use it." Ed replied.

Al's face appeared on screen. "Well, if that's the case, they're doing
something different." He turned his face forward. "Something with their
alchemy we don't know about."

Ed's face appeared on screen. He turned to face the screen fully,

smirking. "Yeah. Which means we haven't hit a dead end yet."

The outside of a hotel appeared on screen.

"You mean she's gone?" Ed said. Half of Ed's face appeared on screen as
he spoke into a phone. "The little obnoxious girl left?"

May frowned. "Are you talking about me?"

"Yep." Ed said.

"I'm not obnoxious!" May said offended.

"Eh, well, you did have your moments." Havoc said. "But so did Ed and
Ling, so it's not a problem."

"Hey! I take offense to that." Ling said.

"I don't." Ed said.

"Why not?" Ling asked.

"Cause it's true." Ed replied slowly, grinning a bit at Ling.

Havoc stared at him. "You're going to admit it?"

Ed shrugged.

"…Huh."
May huffed and crossed her arms.

"You're weird." Ling told him.

"Human flaw." Ed explained. "We have a lot of them."

Ed and Al were shown to be standing at the counter in the lobby as Dr.

Knox said, "Yeah, sometime this morning."

"But she…where was she going?" Ed asked.

"She didn't tell me." Dr. Knox replied.

The phone was zoomed in on as Ed put it down angrily.

"You could have at least said good-bye." Brody said.

"I was wrong earlier. You don't have manners." Darius said.

Ed rolled his eyes.

Ed turned around and angrily walked away with Al following him. "We
can still find her." Ed said.

"For some reason, that scares me." May said.

"As you rightly should be." Fuery said. "No one likes being tracked down by
Ed."

"Wow, I track you down once, and you just hate it." Ed muttered.

Fuery grimaced. "Well, I didn't enjoy it when you suddenly showed up.
That's for sure."

"What did–" Al started, staring at his brother in confusion.

Ed waved his brother off. "Not important. I just needed Fuery for something
was all."
"But what did you do to make him hate it?" Al asked.

"Al, there are just some things that you don't want to know so you shouldn't
ask about them." Ed replied.

"….You scare me sometimes, Brother."

Ed grinned evilly at him.

"But this city is huge." Al said. "And we don't have any clues."

The back of Ed's head was shown as he stopped. He turned to look at Al

with a smirk.

A picture of May with Xiao-Mei on her shoulder appeared on screen.

Xiao-Mei was zoomed in on.

"But we do have a clue, Al." Ed said.

"Xiao-Mei?" May asked. "How will that help?"

"How many tiny panda bears are there in a city?" Ed asked. "And how many
of them have little girls with them?"

"Good point." May replied.

The scene went dark and reopened up on the hospital as soft music
began.

A pair of dumbbells rolled on a bed.

The scene pulled out to show Havoc lying in bed and staring at them
with Breda standing by him.

"What the hell is that?" Havoc asked.

"I believe that is your comrades not letting you go without a fight." Edward
said. "But I could be wrong. Is it something else, Breda?"
"Nope." Breda said, smirking. "You're exactly right, Chief."

Havoc sighed. "You guys are so–"

"Amazing." Breda said.

"Loyal." Mustang said.

"The best comrades you could ever have." Falman said.

"I was going to say annoying." Havoc said, grinning a bit at them.

Mustang scoffed. "That does not do us justice at all."

"They're a gift from me." Breda said.

Havoc sighed and stared distastefully at them. He grabbed the sheets in

his hands and shook his head back and forth with his eyes closed. "Oh,
come on." He stopped shaking his head, but didn't open his eyes.
"Couldn't you have just gotten me some magazines with girls in them?"

"Why would you want that?" Al asked.

"Because he enjoys pointless reading." Ed muttered.

"There is nothing pointless about it! How can you two not get it?" Havoc
said, sighing sadly. "Much too focused on your goal. You should really enjoy
the pleasure of females. They can be so–"

Two pillows came flying at Havoc and hit him in the face.

Mustang and Hughes looked at each other for a moment before lowering their
hands and smirking.

Havoc coughed and blinked in surprise.

Breda appeared on screen. He smiled a bit.

The screen showed Breda from behind with Havoc on the bed in front of
him.

Breda turned and started walking away. "These should keep you from
slacking off while we're gone."

Havoc opened his eyes and watched his friend walk away. "Leaving
already?"

The scene moved to Havoc's side as Breda stopped in front of the door.
"Yep." Breda said. "Gonna eat some of that famous western cuisine."

"Be sure you do." Ed said. "It is really good. Al, when you get your body
back, you have to eat some of it too."

"Can I come?" Ling asked excitedly.

"No."

"What? Why not?" Ling asked, frowning.

"Because I am not paying for your meals anymore." Ed snapped.

Ling grinned. "Okay, but what if I paid for my meal and yours and Al's?"

"With what money?" Ed retorted.

"After I become emperor." Ling said.

Lan Fan sighed. "Young Lord, you can't just travel between countries
whenever you want when you become emperor or use the country's money
for such things."

"She is right, Ling, so become emperor quickly and never come back." Ed
said.

Breda's back was shown up close. He raised a hand and curled it into a
fist. "Hold down the fort until we get back."

Havoc appeared on screen, smirking. "Right," He said as the sound of a

door opening was heard. "I'll see you later."

The sound of a door closing was heard.

A chicken leg appeared on screen. The hand holding it lowered, making

the screen lower with it to show Black Hayate, who took the chicken leg
in his mouth.

"Here you go, boy." Fuery said.

Black Hayate barked happily. Ed scratched his ear and smiled at the dog.

"You always were fond of dogs." Falman said.

"Just like Al is with cats." Ed said, grinning. When he first noticed Fuery's
love of dogs, he couldn't help but see how it was similar to Al's love of cats.

Black Hayate whined when Ed stopped scratching his ear and nuzzled his
head in Ed's stomach.

The scene pulled out to show Fuery crouching on the ground in the
shadow of a building with Black Hayate in front of him.

"You eat up so you can grow big and strong." Fuery's face was zoomed
in on. "You be good. Look after everyone."

"Sergeant Fuery." Falman said, making Fuery look up.

The scene moved to behind Fuery to show Falman approaching him.

"Hey." Falman said, holding a folded up chess board under his arm.

Fuery stood up. "Oh, Officer Falman. I thought you had already left for
the north."

Falman held up the chess board. "I've got to return something to the
Colonel first." He lowered his arm back to his side.

"That job has been done for a couple of days now. You sure put that off." Ed
said.

"Considering everything that has happened in those couple of days, I think it

is best I put it off." Falman replied.

"Yeah, I guess it was a couple of hectic days." Ed replied.

"I think a better way to describe it would be dangerous." Ling corrected.

"Those few days were many things." Ed said dryly.

Both of them turned to look up at the building by them.

The scene changed to show the building from an upward angle.

"Oh man." Falman said. "We really weren't in Central for very long."

The screen changed to show Fuery and Falman from the side from a
short distance away.

"You're being deployed to Southern Command, right?" Falman asked.

"Yes sir. The opposite from you." Fuery replied.

"It's going to be so cold. I always get the worst posts." Falman said.

"At least you're away from Bradley." Al said.

"I would rather be deployed somewhere that wasn't cold." Falman said. "Like
east."

"Too bad that is where we came from. They're not going to send anyone back
there." Havoc said.

"They wouldn't have had a choice if you didn't get paralyzed." Breda pointed
out.

Havoc snorted. "Well, one good thing came from that. I got out just in time.
Though, I'd rather I still had my legs so I could help fight with you guys."
Falman lifted his arm that held the chess board. "Well, I've got to get
moving. You take care, Sergeant."

Fuery was shown close up as he saluted. "Yes sir. I'm sure we'll meet
again someday."

Mustang appeared on screen, sitting behind his desk in the office.

"Eh? Are you actually working?" Ed asked shocked.

"Not like he has much of a choice now. He no longer has a team to work with
him or to distract him." Riza said, glaring at the rest of Mustang's crew.

"We don't distract him!" Havoc said.

"Often." Breda added. "And part of that is Chief's fault."

"Don't drag me into this." Ed muttered.

"You can't deny that you have some part in our distraction from work." Fuery
said softly.

"Even you, Sergeant?" Ed asked shocked.

Fuery just shrugged.

Ed huffed.

The chess board was shown to be next to his arm on the desk as knocking
was heard. He looked up as the door was shown in front of him. The
door opened and Riza came in.

"Sorry for the interruption." Riza said.

"Well, one good thing about Lieutenant Hawkeye being assigned to Bradley."
Hughes said. "You two can still see each other and pass information along in
code."

"Whereas it will be a bit difficult for the rest of us to pass information on and
keep informed." Breda said.

"Doesn't matter." Ed snorted. "You guys always find a way to keep informed
anyway."

Mustang appeared on screen, blinking. "Oh, sure."

The cabinets in the room were shown.

Riza walked onto screen, looking over at Mustang. "I just came by to get
something that I left." She turned to the cabinets.

"Ah, right." Mustang said.

Riza opened the cabinet. She reached up to get something off the top
shelf.

Riza's body appeared on screen from the front so Mustang could be seen
at his desk behind her. "I got Intel that Scar is back on the prowl." Riza
said before she put a book in her hand.

"Thank you passing the message along." Ed said.

"Of course." Riza replied.

"Strange way to pass it on though." Ed added.

Riza shrugged. "We are being watched carefully. I have to be careful in my

meetings with him."

"It's just warning, nothing more than that." Ed said confused.

"Then why couldn't you just tell me?" Mustang asked. "Why have the
Lieutenant do it?"

"Because I'm busy and don't know if I'll see you again before I'm running off
to a different part of the country." Ed grumbled.

"You could at least tell me before you go running off so I know where you
are going." Mustang grumbled.

Ed snorted. "You know where I am whether I tell you anything or not."

"I guess I'll have to watch out for him then." Mustang said as Riza
reached up and pulled another book down.

Riza reached up again to grab another book.

"Things are going to be tough without my bodyguard." Mustang

continued as Riza put another book on her pile.

"Bodyguard." Lan Fan muttered to herself. She thought Riza was just a
soldier and adjutant to Mustang. She didn't realize that also included body
guard in that.

The scene moved to show Riza from behind as she closed the cabinet.

"Just don't get killed, sir." Riza said.

Mustang's scarred hand appeared on screen writing something on a

document. It froze. Mustang's face appeared on screen as he looked up.
"Sure." He looked back down and the sound of a pen scratching on
paper was heard. "You must be anxious, huh?"

Riza appeared on screen, turning around with a slight smile. "Maybe I

picked the wrong person to side with after all."

Mustang appeared on screen, leaning his elbows on the desk and folding
his hands over each other to lean his chin on them. "Go ahead and shoot
me if that's what you think. You promised me that you would."

"You haven't gotten quite that bad." Riza said.

"Aww, such a sweet and soft conversation. Is this how you two talk in
private?" Hughes said teasingly.

"Back to that, are you?" Mustang growled.

"If that's how it is at the office, I have to wonder what it is like at your homes
in private." Hughes added, grinning widely when two pair of eyes shot him
evil glares that were wishing he would burn.

Mustang chuckled.

The scene moved to behind Mustang to show Riza walking towards the
door.

Mustang stood up. "You're too kind, Lieutenant."

"The Hawk's Eye is being called kind?" Rebecca said.

Riza chuckled at her friend.

"Amazingly kind." Ed corrected.

"Maybe to you, but we don't get to see it too much." Havoc muttered.

"That's cause she is just so strict and serious when at work and on a mission."
Ed said.

"She's nice to you in the workplace." Havoc grumbled.

Ed shrugged, having no reply to that.

Riza was shown close up. "Well then, Colonel." She saluted. "See you
later."

Mustang appeared on screen. He gave a small nod before saluting back.

"Until then."

Riza's back was shown as she opened the door. She turned back around.
"One other thing. Try not to slack off too much."

"Is that possible for him?" Havoc asked.

"Probably not, but I had to tell him anyway. It's better than not trying to get
him to work." Riza replied.
"I'm not that lazy." Mustang said.

"You made Ed do your paperwork once, sir." Riza retorted.

Mustang frowned. "Once." He muttered. "It was once."

"And one time which they will never let go." Hughes told him.

Mustang appeared on screen. "Right."

The door closed as she left and Mustang sat back down.

The scene moved behind him to show the whole room as slow, sad music
started.

Mustang's hands appeared on his desk. He grabbed the chess board and
opened it up. He grabbed a white pawn. "My pawn."

Fuery appeared on screen, communication equipment around him. He

looked up and smiled at the screen. "Yeah, it started off as a hobby of
mine."

Mustang's hand appeared on screen, holding the bishop. "My bishop."

Falman appeared on screen, saluting. "Yes sir. I'd consider it an honor."

"You call your team chess pieces?" Ed said, raising a disbelieving brow.

"Yes." Mustang replied.

Ed frowned. "Why? What's the point?"

"It has to do with their ability, usefulness, and personal links to me,
Fullmetal." Mustang explained.

"They can't just be comrades to you?" Ed muttered.

"Not for the tactical mind who is preparing strategies and operations."
Mustang retorted. "Thought you would have realized that by now."
Ed snorted. "What I've realized is that if you are using chess pieces to call
your team by, then you are going to call yourself the king, Colonel."

"What better position for the future Fuhrer?" Mustang asked.

General Armstrong scoffed. "You're such a dreamer."

"Hmm, pawn." Fuery said sadly. "The weakest piece on the board. Sounds
about right."

"It may be weak, but it is still a valuable piece." Mustang said. "It helps set
the stage. Every good team needs them."

Fuery smiled a bit. At least his brother didn't consider him a weakling and
saw value in his work.

"And I'm the bishop?" Falman asked.

Mustang closed his eyes. He crossed his arms and leaned back into his seat.
"In reference to your way of thinking and calm, skilled way of gathering
information."

Falman nodded. That sounded about right from his knowledge of chess. The
bishop did fit him perfectly.

Mustang's hand appeared on screen as he slammed the Rook down on

the board. "My rook."

Breda appeared on screen, looking over his shoulder at the screen with a
sandwich in his mouth. "Hello sir."

"Rook." Breda said with a smirk. "I like it."

"And what does the Rook mean?" May asked curiously.

"The Rook is an attacker and defender." Mustang explained. "Breda is good

at offense, but also as defense with his intelligence."

"Sounds like an important role." May said.

Mustang smiled. "All of the players in chess are important. Every single
one."

Mustang's hand appeared on screen, holding the knight. "My knight."

"No doubt. It's Havoc." Ed said.

"Correct." Mustang said.

Havoc smirked at Breda. "A Knight. I love it."

Breda rolled his eyes, but smirked.

"And?" May prompted.

"The Knight is a sly and elusive player." Ed said. "Just like Havoc. He's not
the smartest, but he is very street smart and that makes him an elusive and
manipulative player. All of them are valuable players to have at your back."

"I didn't think you knew anything about chess." Havoc said.

Ed sighed. "Came across it once, learned about it, hated it."

"Because you suck at it." Al said.

Ed scoffed.

"That doesn't surprise me." Ling said amused.

Havoc appeared on screen, cigarette in his mouth as he held a gun. "I

doubt that I'm the brightest guy you'll meet, but I do know how to
shoot." He lifted the gun and turned to the side as he aimed it.

"Which makes Lieutenant Riza the Queen, which is not all that surprising."
Al said.

"Why is that?" Lan Fan asked.

"You've seen the Lieutenant. There is no question about it." Ed said. "The
queen: strongest piece. Lieutenant: strongest and most useful of Colonel's
team and to Colonel."

"I would be offended, but he is right." Havoc added.

"It's also highly appropriate because with Roy as King and Lieutenant
Hawkeye as Queen." Hughes said slyly.

"Do you always have to imply something?" Mustang asked annoyed.

Ed snorted. "He wouldn't be him if he didn't."

"I don't want to hear that from you." Mustang snapped.

"I haven't said anything bad recently!" Ed protested, but only got glared at.

Mustang's eye appeared on screen. "And, worst of all." He lifted the

queen piece to be in front of his eye.

Riza appeared on screen, saluting. "I'll follow you into hell if you want."

The chess board appeared on screen.

"They've even taken my queen." Mustang said as he put the queen in her
place on the board.

"You keep saying my. You sure are possessive." Charlie said, grinning.

"Probably a good thing we only worked closely with him in the war."
Damiano said. "Or that could have been us."

Ed snickered. "You guys are so loyal."

"Being so loyal to him is dangerous." Charlie said, staring at Ed. "So, what
does that make you?"

Ed raised a brow. "What makes me what?"

"You're part of his crew so are you a chest piece as well?" Charlie clarified.
Ed snorted. "I work more separate from Colonel and his crew in most cases
so no."

Hughes turned to Mustang. "You never assigned him a position in your

team?"

Mustang shrugged. "If you must know."

"So there is a piece!" Havoc and Breda shouted.

Ed gave them a strange look.

"We're just as curious as to what piece Colonel would pick for you." Fuery
told him.

Ed gave them a deadpanned look. "Seriously? You're all idiots."

Mustang shot Ed a mocking smirk, making the boy twitch. This couldn't be
good.

"Fullmetal is the Prince." Mustang said in a very serious tone, making it that
much harder to believe.

Ed growled.

"Prince?" Brody asked.

"The Prince of Recklessness." Mustang said mockingly this time, making Ed

glare at him. "It's the piece that traipses all over the board, doing what he
wants and still somehow managing to help his comrades survive."

"Now you're just making up crap." Ed muttered.

"I don't think he is." Havoc said. "He has called you that a few times since
we've come here."

Ed glared at Mustang.

"So if Lieutenant Hawkeye is queen and you're King." Hughes said, grinning
widely.

"Damn it, Hughes! Seriously? Stop adding literal meaning like that."
Mustang hissed while Ed blushed a bit from embarrassment and anger.

"I hate you all." Ed grumbled. "This is your fault, Colonel."

"Shut up, mini Prince." Mustang snapped.

Ed groaned and fisted his hands in his hair. "No. Just no!"

"So you are a prince?" Ling asked, teasing grin in place.

Ed glared at him. "Not helping."

Ling shrugged. "I see no reason to help. This is amusing, Prince."

Ed resisted the urge to scream and pummel Ling into the ground.

The white pieces were shown from an upward angle with Mustang seen
between the pieces, looking down at them.

The scene moved to show him picking up the king. "But, I'm still not in
checkmate." Mustang was shown, staring down at his hand. There was
the sound of something unscrewing.

The king was shown as Mustang pulled the bottom of it off as he finished
unscrewing it to show a rolled up paper inside of it.

"Eh, what's that?" Al asked.

"A piece of paper." Mustang said.

"Obviously," Ed scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I think he meant how did you
know about it."

"Do you remember where I got the board?" Mustang asked.

"Uh," Ed said, thinking for a moment. "It seemed like such an insignificant
moment, but didn't General Grumman give it to you before your transfer?"

"If it's so insignificant, why remember it?" Hughes asked.

Ed shrugged. "So, this is?"

"Something to only be used in emergencies." Mustang said.

"Doesn't help much." Ed muttered.

"Just wait. It will probably be shown." Mustang said.

"Not yet anyway.'

A picture of a demon looking Xiao-Mei appeared on screen.

"Hey, have you seen this cat?" Ed said as he moved the drawing and his
face appeared on screen.

"She's not a cat and she doesn't look like that!" May said angrily.

"Don't get offended." Al said dryly. "That's just Brother's demented nature
again."

"What the hell does that mean?" Ed asked angrily.

"I believe that it is obvious what I mean, Brother." Al replied.

"I don't get why you keep calling her a cat. You said panda bear before!" May
said before Ed could argue with Al.

Ed shrugged. "Eh, well, you know…"

"No, I do not know."

"I don't either."

"But it's you! You should know."

"Future me and myself have a different thought pattern as of now!" Ed
protested.

"I'm trying to find the little girl who owns it." Ed said.

The scene pulled out to show Ed and Al surrounded by people. Al was

showing some people a realistic drawing of Xiao-Mei.

"Look familiar?" Ed asked before jumping to the next person.

"No, it looks like this." Al said to the girl he was talking to as Ed

continued to jump between people.

"At least one of you gets it." May grumbled.

Ed snorted. "Your panda bear is a demon when she bites people and gets all
defensive."

May huffed. "How rude. She's just protecting herself."

"I promise it's not some weird alien." Al said.

"First it's a demon. Now it's an alien?" Ed scoffed. "Make up your mind, Al."

"Well, it's hard to tell with your demented mind." Al muttered.

A lamppost appeared on screen in the evening. The fire inside the

lantern suddenly lit up.

Ed appeared on screen, sitting on a bench with Al standing behind him

as he sighed.

"Not as easy as you thought it would be, huh?" Avery said, smirking.
"Central is a really big place."

"So is East City and I still managed to track down my targets there." Ed said.
"It's just a roadblock!"

"Why couldn't there be roadblocks in East City?" Fuery moaned.

"Are you still on about that? It was a year ago!" Ed told him.

"Seriously, Brother, what did you–"

"Don't ask, Al. Please just don't ask." Fuery said.

"Seems like this search is getting us nowhere." Ed said as Al looked to

the side.

Al looked back at his brother. "You know they might not be Central
anymore." He said as a car was heard.

A car pulled onto screen, blocking the boys from view as it stopped.

Mustang was shown to be sitting in the driver's seat, looking out the
window.

"How the hell do you always find us?" Ed groaned.

"It could be that I just happen upon you two out of luck." Mustang said.

Ed shot him a look. "No way is it luck. You always need something when
you pull up next to us."

"Not always. Maybe I just do it to annoy you." Mustang said.

"Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Ed was shown as he stood up. "Colonel."

The car appeared on screen as it moved down the road.

"Did I seriously get in the car with you driving?" Ed asked horrified. "What
the hell was future me thinking?"

"I am not a horrible driving." Mustang growled.

Ed snorted. "You gave me nightmares the first time I ever got in a car with
you driving."
"That wasn't my fault!" Mustang snapped. "That was the other person's fault,
damn it!"

"What was?" Clarink asked.

"Car accident." Ed replied.

"Car accident." Brody repeated blankly. "You two were in a car accident."

"Yes."

"For all the crazy things you do, kid, you getting in a wreck just seems too
unrealistic." Darius said.

"Yeah, well, it happened." Ed muttered.

"And it still wasn't my fault." Mustang snapped at him.

A drawing of Xiao-Mei appeared on screen in Mustang's hand, resting

on the driving wheel as he drove. "You don't say? Xingese Alkahestry."

The scene moved to show Mustang and Ed sitting in the front of the car
with Ed leaning his chin on his hand as he stared out the window while
Al sat in the back.

"Sounds promising." Mustang said as he held the drawing back out to

Ed, who took it without taking his eyes off the window.

"That's all you'll say? You could mention McDougal." Ed grumbled.

"At this point, that was pretty long ago." Mustang said.

"You should still remember." Ed said.

"Not off the top of my head, I won't." Mustang retorted. "Besides, I doubt
that would be of much help to you."

"I'll ask around and let you know what I find." Mustang said.
Half of Ed's face appeared on screen as he continued to look out the
window. "Thank you, but I don't really want to get any deeper in debt to
you then I already am."

"Can't it just be a friend doing another friend a favor?" Sheska asked.

"Not with those two." Havoc said, frowning. "It doesn't matter what it is.
They always make the other pay up for the help they give."

"Would explain why they are always yelling about not wanting to be in debt
to each other." Alexandre said, thinking about all the yelling he always heard
around Eastern Command.

Mustang appeared on screen, shown from the side. "Speaking of." He

turned to Ed and held his hand out.

"Don't take your eyes off the road!" Ed screamed horrified. "We're going to
die!"

Mustang glared at him. "Stop worrying so much. It's fine."

"It's not!" Ed shouted.

"You owe me some money. So how bout you cough it up?"

"Wow, cheapskate. You waste no time in demanding money back from a

kid." Havoc said, smirking at his boss, who just scoffed.

"If I don't demand it, I probably won't get it back." Mustang said.

"You would too!" Ed protested.

Ed appeared on screen, an angry look on his face. "Eyes on the road!"

The car was shown from the sky, swerving all over the road and around
cars as Ed and Al screamed.

"Don't worry?" Ed shouted, twisting a bit. "And you wonder why I'm afraid
of your driving."
"From the recklessness that I see from you daily, I cannot believe you are
complaining about that." Mustang said.

"You may not realize this, Colonel." Ed snapped. "But I like living and I like
being in control. Whenever I do something reckless, I'm in control. I can't be
in control when you're driving!"

"So now you have control issues?" Hughes asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Not control issues. Just like being in control when I'm
doing something reckless because I know what I am doing."

Ed appeared on screen, hand over his head and pressing into the
window. "You remembered?" He asked when the car got under control
and he lowered his arm. "Come on." The scene pulled out to show
Mustang, looking at the road, and Ed looking at him. "How much did I
borrow? 500 cens?"

"It was 520 cens!" Mustang said angrily.

"Wow, 20 cens difference." Luke said, grinning. "You really are a

cheapskate."

"Don't con me." Mustang said.

"Seriously? It's just 20 cens!" Ed cried.

Mustang glared at him. "That 20 cens can make all the difference!"

"Difference in what?" Ed asked sarcastically. "Do you owe someone money

and you need the exact amount you owe or they are going to kill you?"

"I'll fry you if you don't pay me back properly." Mustang growled.

"That's completely unfair." Ed grumbled. "I'm your comrade. You can't do

that."

"Want to bet?" Mustang asked.

"I'm not conning you!" Ed screamed. He put his hand in his pocket as he
turned back to the window. "I'm just not a penny pincher like you are."

"Truer words have never been spoken." Avery said, grinning widely while
Mustang glared at him.

"You all keep saying I'm a cheapskate, but can you honestly say you would
act differently in this situation?" Mustang snapped.

The scene moved as Mustang frowned to show Al behind him, sweat

dropping.

"I'm sorry, Colonel." Al said.

"Don't apologize to that cheapskate!" Havoc, Luke, and Ed shouted.

"Thank you, Alphonse. Your brother can be pretty horrible at times."

Mustang said, ignoring the three.

"Trust me, Colonel. I know." Al replied. "I've lived with him for fourteen
years after all."

"Al!" Ed shouted.

"You can't deny that you can be pretty horrible, Brother." Al said.

"You're just being more and more offensive the more you speak!" Ed
retorted.

The change in Ed's hand appeared on screen. Ed's face was shown from
an upward angle. He blinked before the scene moved back to Ed's hand.
He closed his hand into a fist around the change. One of Ed's eyes
appeared on screen. "I'm just going to hold onto this." He blinked and
when his eye opened, he was looking at the Colonel out of the corner of
his eye. "But I promise to pay you back when you become Fuhrer."

"You're going to make a promise like that?" Ross asked.

"And over such small change?" Brody added.

"The 520 cens promise! The title of the episode. How did we not see this
sooner?" Hughes said, smirking.

"Doesn't that just say it's a small promise?" Brosh asked.

Ed rolled his eyes. "The change for the promise is small, but that is not the
point of the promise. The meaning behind the promise and the trust between
us that says Al and I will keep it a secret is what the promise is meant to be
about."

The scene rapidly moved to Mustang's eyes, which was also looking out
of the corner of it at Ed. "Who told you?"

"You never told him?" Hughes asked.

"Why would I? He has things he needs to focus on." Mustang said with a
shrug. "Besides, telling him would involve talking about the war, and you
know I don't like doing that."

"Good point."

The car was shown from behind as it continued down the road.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye told me." Ed said. "She told me about Ishval too."

The car was shown from above to be stopped in front of the hotel. The
doors opened and Al stepped out first.

The scene moved to show the car from the side as Ed stepped out and
Mustang turned in his seat to watch the two.

"Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Ed turned around to face him.

Mustang's face appeared on screen. "Go on and keep that money for
now, but you will pay me back."

Ed appeared on screen, smirking a bit. "Alright, and when that day

comes, I'll borrow some more change." Ed's face appeared on screen.
"And pay that back when this country's a democracy."

"Argh, you just don't want to pay me back." Mustang groaned.

"I'll just keep taking money and making promises with you." Ed said. "Until
one of dies or you go insane with annoyance."

"See? Another reason I don't tell him stuff. He's a punk." Mustang informed
Hughes.

"Humph, I trust you. I don't see why you can't return the favor." Ed
grumbled.

"Well, obviously Lieutenant Hawkeye trusts you enough if she told you about
my goal." Mustang muttered.

"Don't worry, Chief. Colonel must trust you a bit since he hasn't fried you yet
for knowing his ambition." Havoc told Ed with a grin.

Ed frowned. "That comforts me a bit?"

"Why is it a question?" Mustang demanded.

The scene moved to show the front of the car with Mustang seen through
the windshield and Ed seen through the window of the opened door with
Al behind him.

"But when that day comes, I'm gonna ask to borrow even more money
from you." Ed said.

Mustang turned back forward, putting his hands over each other on the
wheel. "You're not planning to let me off the hook for a very long time,
are you?"

"Look who's catching on!" Ed said, grinning.

"Are you trying to say I'm slow?" Mustang asked.

"Yes."

Mustang glared daggers into Ed's back. "Keep talking, Fullmetal. Keep
talking. There is a carton of milk with your name on it."

Ed looked at Mustang with a frown. "What?"

Izumi smirked. "He's right. There is. It says 'Ed's Punishment' on it."

Ed blinked for a moment before gagging. "Seriously? You put my name on

that horrible cow juice?"

"You shouldn't have drank from the carton." Mustang said with a shrug.

"That was your fault!" Ed snapped.

Havoc blinked. "Did we miss something?"

"No!/Yes." Ed and Mustang said at the same time.

Ed shot him an irritated glare.

Ed took a step back and grabbed the door. "Now you get it. And you
better not worry the Lieutenant either."

Mustang was shown from the side as he looked back at Ed as the boy
slammed the car door shut.

"Thank you for that, Edward." Riza said. "But do you think he'll get the
message?"

"Who knows? Colonel doesn't seem to think wisely at times." Ed said.

Mustang growled and stood up.

"What are you–" Hughes started to ask, but Mustang was already walking
away. He blinked. "Well, that was strange."

"He's just weird." Ed said offhandedly.

Mustang winced and sat up, staring out the window at Ed.

"Thanks for giving us a ride." Ed said.

Mustang lowered his hand and frowned.

Ed was shown through the window of the door, waving a bit.

Mustang appeared on screen. He smiled and turned forward again, eyes

shut. "Sure. See you later."

The scene pulled out to show the car from a distance as Mustang turned
it back on and drove down the street towards the screen.

The scene changed to a dark room. A door was seen in the darkness with
some hair seen on the bottom of the screen. The door was opened by Ed
with Al behind him, letting light into the room.

A pair of eyes suddenly appeared on screen. "You took long enough." Fu

said.

"What the–" Ed screamed.

"It seems I have returned from Xing." Fu said.

"Why the hell are you in our room?" Ed shouted.

"Better question, how did he know what room was ours?" Al asked loudly in
shock. "He wasn't with Lan Fan and Ling ever when they broke into our
room, was he?"

Ed and Al both jumped backwards, falling into defensive positions.

"The first thing you do is get prepared to fight?" Sheska asked.

"We don't really like people unannounced in our room." Al said dryly. "It
never ends well."

"So this happened before?" Riza asked.

"By Teacher, which taught us to be defensive of it. But we have had enemies
appear in our room before." Ed said.

"And it usually ended with Brother getting angry and kicking them through a
wall." Al added. "Which wasn't always good since we were sometimes on a
high floor."

"Tsk, they always survived. Just not in the best condition, so who really
cares? They shouldn't have been in the room." Ed muttered.

The scene showed Fu, slowly moving up to his face. "I was getting tired
of waiting."

The outside of a bar was shown.

The door of the bar was shown from the inside as Mustang opened it and
walked in. "Hey." He greeted, raising a hand.

The sound of the door closing was heard as all of the bar was shown with
all the women in it turning to look at him.

"It's Roy!" One of the girls said before Mustang was shown from the
side.

The woman who spoke ran over to him and hugged him.

"Well, I'll be damned."

"We have to watch Colonel in a bar fraternizing with women? Seriously?" Ed

grumbled in annoyance.

"And it seems he frequents visiting it." Havoc grumbled.

"Don't be such a jealous child." Mustang said as he returned, holding a glass

of milk, which he held out to Ed, who just gaped at it. "It's my adopted
mother's bar."

Ed snapped out of his gaping to look at him. "Your adopted mother?

Where're your parents?"
"They died when I was young. This glass is for you." Mustang said.

"I don't want it." Ed grumbled.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "I don't care. Drink."

Ed took the glass and glared at it hatefully.

Mustang smirked and moved back to his seat on the couch. "Glaring at it
won't make it disappear any faster."

Ed rolled his eyes and turned back around.

Ling looked at him amused. "Just chug it down, Ed."

"No way. I didn't do anything to deserve this." Ed grumbled.

"He probably won't let you out of drinking it." Ling pointed out.

Ed glared at him.

Ling raised his hands. "Just saying." He added quietly, "You probably need to
drink it anyway, shorty."

"What was that?" Ed hissed dangerously.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything." Ling said innocently.

"Long time."

Mustang chuckled. "Hello Vanessa. You're looking well."

"My, has it been a blue moon already?" Another voice asked as Vanessa
started to take his scarf off.

The scene changed to show an old woman leaning on a counter.

"Well, good evening to you, Madame Christmas." Mustang said as he

approached her.
"And that is?" Avery asked.

"My adoptive mother." Mustang replied.

"Your adoptive mother owns a bar?" Ed muttered.

"It's a hostess bar. Surely you've been to one of those as well?" Mustang said
sarcastically.

"…Well…"

Mustang frowned. "Hell no. There was no way–"

"Sorry, Colonel, but we have been in that one before. We just never realized
that your adoptive mother was the owner." Al admitted.

Mustang twitched and got up again. Without a word, he left the room again.

"Where is he going this time?" Hughes asked.

"How you holding up, Roy?" Madame Christmas asked.

Roy and Vanessa were shown to be approaching the bar counter. He sat
down in one of the chairs with Vanessa taking the one next to him. "Ha,
I'm barely holding up at all. I was hoping you could cheer me up."

Madam Christmas turned around. "You want a drink?"

Mustang's chest appeared on screen with Vanessa's smiling face on the

other half of the screen.

Mustang reached into his jacket, making Vanessa look at him. "It's
probably not the best idea. I just got out of the hospital."

The counter was shown as Mustang put a piece of paper face down on it
as dramatic music began.

"And that slip is from the King?" Al asked.

"You would be correct." Mustang said as he returned with a second glass of
milk which he held out to Ed.

Ed looked at that glass then to the one in his hand. "What? What did I do?!"

"Drink up." Mustang said with an evil smirk.

Ed looked back and forth between the two glasses.

"Maybe you should just drink them before they start piling up." Ling
suggested.

Ed shot him a glare while the soldiers either smirked or snickered at him.
"Jerks." He grumbled. He glared down at the glass he was holding with
distaste. If only no one was watching so he could dispose of this some other
way. Grimacing, he put the glass to his lip and tilted his head back. He
managed to get half of the glass drank before feeling the need to vomit. He
pulled the glass away and gagged.

"It's not that bad." Havoc told him, smirking.

"Shut up." Ed muttered, wiping his mouth. "Why don't we have you drink
something you hate?"

"Come on, Fullmetal. Still a glass and a half to go." Mustang prompted. "It
will help you grow."

Ed shot him a vicious glare. "I'm not short, damn it!" He went back to glaring
at his milk. "And I didn't do anything to deserve this! You're just being a
sadistic jerk!"

The scene moved up to Mustang, who had his hands folded in front of his
mouth. "But I could use something special. Eh, Madame?"

Madame Christmas appeared on screen, looking down at the paper. She

picked it up and smirked at it. Her eyes moved back to Mustang. "My
pleasure."

"Ack! Poison!" Ed cried, slamming the empty glass onto the ground.
"You are ruining the dramatic scene." Mustang growled.

Ed snarled. "It's your fault for giving me this horrible drink for no reason at
all!"

"Your fault for being such a child about it." Mustang said as he handed Ed
the second glass, making the boy groan.

"Cruel and inhuman, Colonel. Cruel and inhuman!"

Eastern Command Center appeared on screen at nighttime. Knocking

was heard followed by a door opening being heard.

An office appeared on screen with a soldier standing in the doorway.

"General Grumman, you have an outside call from Madame Christmas
in Central."

"No wonder you had Madame Christmas make the call." Hughes said.

"Why's that?" Al asked.

"Because no one knows she is my adoptive mother. Well, no one knew until
this. They had no idea that she and those hostesses are very helpful to me."
Mustang said.

Ed looked up from glaring at his milk to look at Mustang. "Helpful?"

"Informants." Havoc clarified. "Did you really think we had none, Chief?"

"Huh," Ed said, going back to glaring at their milk. "What kind of informants
wouldn't tell you that your youngest subordinate walked into their bar?"

Mustang growled. "I swear you did something."

Ed rolled his eyes. "What would I have done? I didn't even know you knew
them!"

"What were you doing in that bar anyway?" Jerso asked.

"I was looking for Intel on something I was doing…Huh, you know, I flashed
them my watch and they didn't even react one bit to it or that I was the
Fullmetal Alchemist." Ed muttered.

Mustang smirked in a condescending way when Ed looked at him. "Why are

you looking at me? You are a well-known State Alchemist." He said.

"I guess." Ed muttered, going back to glaring at his milk.

Hughes leaned in next to Mustang. "So?"

Mustang raised a brow. "Why must there be a so?"

Hughes looked at him with a frown.

Mustang frowned. "Fine, I did tell Madame Christmas and the girls about
Fullmetal and how he was my youngest subordinate. I also told them about
his trademark red jacket so if they ever saw him they could make sure he was
okay for me."

"You used those girls to spy on Ed?" Hughes asked shocked.

Mustang shrugged. "I have informants all over, Hughes."

Hughes just shook his head, smirking.

"Don't tell him. He'll just be paranoid then." Mustang added.

Hughes laughed. "Right, right. I promise."

Grumman appeared on screen, polishing a wooden bear with a fish in its

mouth. "Oh?"

The scene pulled out to show the office from the side as the soldier
approached the desk. "Please sir, you really shouldn't be giving out our
secret line to civilians." He said as he went around the desk as Grumman
spun his chair to the side.

Grumman laughed. "Not too bad for an old fart like me." His face was
shown from the side. "The ladies still come calling for my services." He
said as the music ended.

"Good acting on his part." Heinkel said.

"He's so eccentric that I'm not even sure when he is or isn't acting anymore."
Mustang muttered.

"Still one of the nicest Generals out there." Ed said.

"And one of the few not to piss you off." Havoc added.

Ed scoffed. "Most of them are idiots who really understand nothing."

General Armstrong frowned.

Ed twitched, just feeling her glare burning into his skull. "I said most!" He
shouted. "Most!"

A house appeared on screen at nighttime as sad, mysterious music

started.

"You lost your arm." Fu said as he appeared on screen. "You couldn't

protect the prince."

Lan Fan appeared on screen, looking down.

"Uh, to be fair, she did the best she could by cutting her arm off. But she
really had no chance against Bradley in a fight." Ed said.

"Thank you, Edward, but I really should have been able to do more." Lan Fan
said sadly.

"You can't beat yourself up for every blotched fight." Ed retorted. "It sucks,
but it should just motivate you to get stronger to do better. I know I have to
do better. I have been losing too much lately." He added when she still
continued to look down.

"And look at you now." Fu said.

The scene changed to show Fu from behind, staring at his
granddaughter while Ed, Al, and Dr. Knox watched.

Lan Fan was shown up close, eyes shadowed by bangs when Fu slapped
her across the face.

Lan Fan's hand flew up to her cheek at the pain flaring in it.

"That's a bit extreme." Ling said, frowning. "She did what she could, but
mistakes happen. A bodyguard doesn't always win. Besides, Ed is right. She
did the best she could. In fact, she did amazingly with being able to brave
cutting her own arm off."

"It's alright." Lan Fan said, holding her cheek more tightly. "I take this as a
learning lesson. I'll do better next time. Next time, I won't fail."

Ed looked at her with a frown. Bodyguards were so strange. Riza was always
determined to protect Roy as well and when she failed, she would get upset if
her failure led to drastic results. "Still, you hit your own granddaughter?" Ed
asked Fu, getting back on track.

"She is my subordinate first as it is our duty to watch out for the Young
Lord." Fu replied.

"Sounds harsh." Ed muttered.

Ed and Al appeared on screen, staring in shock.

Fu was shown from the front with Dr. Knox behind him. "Hey! What do
you think you're doing?" Dr. Knox demanded as Fu raised his hand
again, making Dr. Knox grab it.

"Can he ask that? He hit Lan Fan and May earlier." Al asked.

"Well, he didn't hit as hard as Fu did." Mustang said slowly.

"Just because he's your friend doesn't mean you have to defend him." Al said.

Mustang's eyes narrowed. "It's not cause of that, Al! Different circumstances.
Let's go with that."

"How dare you call yourself a member of the chosen clan?" Fu

demanded.

Ed rolled his eyes. He really didn't get bodyguards or the whole Xing thing at
all. "You say that, but can you honestly say that you haven't ever made a
mistake when you were young? Lan Fan is still just a kid. She may have been
trained for a long time, but making mistakes is how she is supposed to learn."

"There is no room for mistakes when being a bodyguard." Lan Fan said
darkly. "A mistake could mean the life of our master. That is the ultimate
failure."

"Complicated and annoying." Ed muttered.

"Which is why you will never be one, Fullmetal." Mustang said.

Dr. Knox's face appeared on screen. "Cut it out, old man. She hasn't
recovered yet." As Fu continued to struggle, Dr. Knox shouted, "I told
you to stop."

Fu stopped struggling and said, "It's really gone."

The scene slowly moved down to Fu's shocked face.

"Your arm."

"So it's anger then shock." Havoc said.

"Wait, anger about her losing Ling or anger that she had to give up her arm to
save Ling because they got into such a hard predicament?" Fuery asked.

"I believe it would be both." Fu answered sadly.

"You lost your arm."

The scene changed to show Dr. Knox holding Fu up from above and Lan
Fan on the couch. Lan Fan turned her head to him. "Please forgive me,
Grandfather." She looked down, hand curling a bit on her pajama pants.
"I'm sorry."

The scene moved closer to Lan Fan's side. Ed stood in the background,
watching with sad eyes as Fu walked over to his granddaughter and
grabbed the empty sleeve of the jacket resting on her shoulders. His
hand trembled. "You fool." Fu's chest was shown. He lowered his head
and covered his face with the hand holding the sleeve as he cried. "You
damn fool."

Ed coughed uncomfortably. He was never good with people crying. He

looked at the glass of milk in his hand and chugged it down quickly. This
situation was getting too sad and awkward for his taste.

"Well, this is understandable." Hughes said, swallowing. "She may be his

subordinate, but even that can't destroy the family bond between the two."

Lan Fan swallowed thickly. She didn't want to see her grandfather cry.
Losing her arm was tough, throwing the consequences of it onto Ling and her
grandfather was much harder. She could handle the loss, even if it was hard
to accept, but she couldn't handle hurting those she cared for like this.

The scene pulled up to show the whole group.

The house was shown from the outside.

The coffee table appeared on screen with a few drinks on it.

"I promised Lan Fan that I would introduce her to an automail

engineer." Ed said.

Fu and Lan Fan appeared on screen. Fu turned his head towards the
screen.

"At least that's back to normal." Ed said. "That must have been really hard for
you to return to." He turned to Mustang. "Here's your damn glasses. Now
leave me alone about the damn milk."

"If you keep that tongue of yours from being sharp." Mustang said.
Ed scoffed.

Clarink snorted. "That doesn't sound likely."

"Well, at least he might finally grow an inch." Hughes said, grinning widely,
which made Ed glare at him.

"I'm not short." Ed growled dangerously.

"We decline."

Ed and Al appeared on screen. Ed lowered the cup he was holding from

his mouth.

The scene moved to show Dr. Knox, Ed, and Al from behind with Lan
Fan and Fu in front of them. "We appreciate such a kind gesture, but
you've already helped us enough."

"I would say you were being too stubborn, but then I would be a hypocrite
since I told Colonel that I didn't want in his debt so he shouldn't help." Ed
said.

"We can find an engineer on our own if we must." Fu said.

"But we have to do something." Al said.

"No, you don't. You have already done so much to help." Lan Fan said,
smiling a bit sadly at the brothers.

Fu was shown up close.

"The enemy has now clearly seen Lan Fan's face." Fu said as the scene
slowly moved to Lan Fan's face. "We refuse to risk the life of your
engineer friend."

Ed appeared on screen, looking sad.

"Well, that's nice, but too bad for Winry. She would have loved a new
automail project." Ed said.

Lan Fan smiled. "I don't know if that's true. I could be a tricky customer if I
had to get automail."

"Why is that?" Al asked.

"I would want some type of weapon in my arm." Lan Fan admitted.

Ed laughed. "Damn, we would have to keep that from Winry. She'll be so

upset she didn't get you as a customer. I never let her do anything like that to
my arm so she would love a customer like you."

"Then I apologize." Lan Fan said amused. "Perhaps you should just let her do
something unique to your arm."

"No way. She'll just go overboard if I give her permission to do anything." Ed

retorted.

Ed looked down for a moment, blinking before he looked back up at

them. "Alright then. Thank you."

Dr. Knox appeared on screen, smoking.

The scene pulled out as Fu walked over to Dr. Knox as he removed his
white headband.

"You're the only reason that my granddaughter is still alive." Fu put his
hands together as if in praying and bowed his head. "You have my
gratitude."

"What? Do I look like the kind of doctor that wants gratitude?" Dr.
Knox asked angrily.

Mustang laughed. "He hasn't treated live patients in so long so he no longer

knows how to handle gratitude and thanks."

"So he reacts with anger?" May asked. "Seems a bit extreme."

"People like to hide embarrassment and the fact that they don't know how to
handle something under anger." Mustang said with a shrug. "Look at
Fullmetal. He always does it."

"What?" Ed asked, whipping his head about to glare at Mustang. "I do not."

"Sure you don't." Ross teased.

Lan Fan appeared on screen, looking at the doctor. "Thanks, Dr. Knox."
She bowed her head. "Thank you for saving me."

Dr. Knox's face was shown up close as he gaped a bit.

The scene pulled out to show all four watching him as he threw a hand
into the air and said, "Just clear out already. I'm not such a pushover
that I'm going to let you take my bed for another night." He turned
around. The scene showed him up close as he walked out of the room to
leave the group watching him. "Now get out."

"He's so pushy." Havoc said amused.

"Or maybe the past few days made him stressed since he is so not used to it
apparently." Breda suggested.

The outside of the house appeared on screen again. The scene slowly
moved down to show Fu, who was now in a suit, watching Lan Fan, who
was now wearing a trench coat as she walked out of the house. They were
both shown from behind as they looked at the city.

"The emperor's health is only growing worse each day." Fu said.

The scene moved to show the two from the front. Lan Fan gripped her
trench coat in her hand.

"We don't have much time to find the prince, but he must return to Xing
with the means to immortality. Let's go." Fu said.

La Fan turned to him. "Right."

Fu turned around, raising a fedora to his head.

The scene turned to show him walking towards the screen as he put the
hat on and Lan Fan followed after him.

"Where did you guys even get these clothes?" Ed asked. "It didn't look like
you were carrying anything on you."

Lan Fan laughed. "Secret."

"That's not cool."

"We are all allowed our secrets."

Lan Fan stopped after a few steps and turned around. Her face appeared
on screen. "I promise, I'll seek out the evil here." As she began to fade
into the background to be replaced from the city above, she said,
"Remember us."

Greed was shown to be sitting on the roof of a building, overlooking the

city.

"We will return." Lan Fan said.

"The ninjas disappearing in the dead of the night with the promise of
returning. Cool, but a bit creepy." Ed said.

"I thought it was Hughes who said stupid things." Ling said.

"I was being serious." Ed replied. "Also, I don't think that milk agrees with
me. I feel sick."

Ling leaned away from him. "Random, and don't throw up on me."

"There's nothing random about it! I hate milk!" Ed shouted as he jumped to

his feet and left for his bedroom to get to his bathroom to drown his head in
the sink again.

"I don't think he is returning anytime soon." Hughes said, watching Ed leave.
"Baby." Mustang scoffed.

Greed's face was shown up close from the side.

Barking dogs could be heard as Dr. Knox's house appeared on screen

again.

As a hallway appeared on screen with a door opened a crack in the

distance to show a bit of light, the screen slowly moved forward.

The kitchen appeared on screen with the scene slowly moving to the side
to show a doorway that had light shining from the other room.

The living room appeared on screen where Dr. Knox was sitting on the
couch with his head tilted back.

The scene flashed white before Dr. Knox, dressed in white with a white
mask and hat on appeared on screen, holding a scalpel.

The scene moved to show him from behind at a distance. He was

working at a table with other doctors around with a body on the table.
On the ground behind him were bodies covered with tarps. Two bloody,
grotesque hands hung onto the screen.

Scar stared at the screen in disgusted horror. He knew Dr. Knox said earlier
that he dissected the bodies that Mustang burnt, but he didn't really believe it
would be something as horrible as this. It looked more like they were just
cutting them open to find what they wanted, then leaving his people's bodies
lying around like discarded trash. He said something in Ishvalan that had
everyone staring at him in confusion.

"Woah, that doesn't sound good." Ed said, dropping back down next to Ling.

Ling turned to Ed. "You weren't gone very long."

Ed shrugged.

"What did he say?" Ling asked.

"How would I know?" Ed snapped.

Ling shrugged. "Well, you know Ishvalan and said it didn't sound good."

Ed smacked Ling in the head. "I know minimal of it. I only picked up bits
and pieces of it. And besides," He glanced at Scar then back at Ling. "I
meant, judging by the tone of his voice, I doubt we want to know."

Ling hummed. "So, what did you do? You were gone like a minute."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I was just getting a quick drink, nosy."

The scene moved down farther to show the burnt corpses of various
Ishvalans.

Dr. Knox came back onto screen. His head was tilted back on the couch
towards the ceiling while he smoked.

A picture of May and Xiao-Mei kneeling on the ground appeared on

screen. "I'll always be indebted to you for taking care of me." May said
before she and Xiao-Mei bowed low to Dr. Knox.

Lan Fan appeared on screen next, holding a jacket on her shoulders.

"Thanks, Dr. Knox." She bowed her head. "Thank you for saving me."

The scene went white and went back to Dr. Knox. "Treating me like a
real doctor? What's the world coming to?"

"What? Is he not real?" May asked.

"It's complicated." Mustang said sadly. "The war destroyed many doctors
with the orders they were given. Because of what he was ordered to do, he
has never felt like a real doctor after it."

"Haunted by it?" Ed mused. "Is that why he and his wife are estranged?"

Mustang shrugged. "I don't know. I never knew they were estranged, but if I
had to guess, I would say that she and his son weren't able to handle
everything that was going on with him when he returned. Hughes made it
work with Gracia while it seems Dr. Knox wasn't able to. It's not that
surprising at all. There are just some families torn apart when soldiers return
from war because they can't handle all of it."

"Even for those who do make it work, there is nothing easy about it." Hughes
said. "I struggled for months to get myself back to normal after I returned. I
smiled when with Gracia like I said I would, but there was nothing easy about
it." He closed his eyes briefly. That's right. He always smiled with her, but
when he first returned home, each of his smiles felt wrong. His heart had
been screaming at him that it was wrong to smile and it just hurt so much, but
he continued to smile just for her. It was a difficult battle, but he managed to
get through it.

The couch he was sitting on was shown from behind for a few seconds
before there was knocking heard.

Dr. Knox turned his head on the couch to look at the screen. "Huh?"

The backs of the heads of a woman and a man were shown in front of a
door.

"Yeah, yeah." Dr. Knox said before he opened the door. "What do you
want?...Huh?"

The scene moved to Dr. Knox's side to show the man and woman in front
of him.

"Uh, good evening, dad." The man said. "Good to see you."

"It's family time!" Hughes cheered.

"Thought they were estranged." Ling muttered.

"Even the most estranged can visit family if they try and want to." Hughes
told him. "Now shush. It's family time."

"And what if something goes wrong during family time?" Ed muttered.

"If they all try, nothing will go wrong. Now shush." Hughes told him.
"Stupid, crazy family man." Ed grumbled.

"I said shush." Hughes said, whacking Ed in the head with a pillow.

"Hey!" Ed shouted.

Hughes leaned over to press the pillow into Ed's face. "Shush, Ed."

Ed mumbled something, but seeing as a pillow was on his face, it wasn't

understood.

"It's been a while. How are you?" The woman asked.

The scene changed to show the woman and man from a downward angle
with Dr. Knox in front of them.

"Fine." Dr. Knox said.

"We were in the area so we thought," The scene moved to show the son
from the side with his parents around him.

Dr. Knox looked his son up and down. "You sure have grown up. And
you." Dr. Knox turned to his former wife. "Looks like you've lost some
weight."

"I think both of us have." The woman said.

"Well, stress will do that to you." Dr. Marcoh said. "And the past few days
must have certainly been stressful for him."

"I gave him the chance to refuse helping us. He refused it." Mustang said.

Ed muttered something, but he still wasn't understood.

Ling laughed and turned to Mustang. "Ed said, 'Cause that's not confusing at
all.'"

"You can understand him?" Havoc asked.

"A bit." Ling said.

"Considering you know what happened, you should be able to tell that there
is nothing confusing about it." Mustang snapped at Ed, who just growled low
in his throat. Mustang turned to Hughes. "Try not to suffocate him with that
pillow. Don't remove it. I like not having to hear his voice."

Hughes nodded amused while Ed twitched and tried to move Hughes's hand
from the pillow.

"How's work going?" The son asked, making Dr. Knox look back at him.
"Keeping you busy?"

Dr. Knox's face appeared on screen. He scratched his neck. "Yeah. I'm
surrounded by corpses as usual."

"LIES!" Al shouted.

Ed ripped the pillow off his face and laughed. "Al?"

"Yes?"

"I thought I was the one who screamed." Ed said, grinning at his brother.

"Eh…well…I was just saying." Al replied.

Chuckling, Ed turned to Hughes and smacked his knee. "That wasn't cool,
Hughes."

"I think we should put a pillow back over his face." Mustang said.

"You're a jerk, Colonel."

Dr. Knox turned his head to look back into his house. "Well, I actually
spent the last few days treating some live patients."

"That's better." Al said, nodding.

"Uh, what's with Al?" Ling asked Ed quietly.

Ed shrugged. "He's just very supportive of family. You mess with a family or
pull them apart and keep them apart, he won't be happy at all."

"Like upset, not happy or angry like you get when called short not happy?"
Ling asked.

Ed blinked and went over the question a few times in his head. "Eh, the
second one?"

"You sure?" Ling asked amused.

"Your fault for phrasing it like that." Ed snapped. "And yes, I'm sure. He's
gets really angry when family is messed with. Well, there are times when it's
the first…It just depends on the situation, I guess."

"So we shouldn't anger Al?"

Ed nodded. "That would be a wise move."

Dr. Knox's former wife and his son appeared on screen, smiling at that
news.

"Absurd, huh?" Dr. Knox asked. "Just try to picture me saving lives."

Dr. Knox's son and former wife shared a look before looking back at Dr.
Knox.

"Hey Dad. I…Well, I want to become a doctor."

"Awww, he's wants to follow in his daddy's footsteps." Hughes said before
pausing and thinking about it. "Well, minus the whole war and dissecting
humans part."

"It's called an autopsy." Sheska said confused.

Mustang put a hand to his mouth, frowning in disgust as the memories came
back. "In the war, it was more like dissecting them. There was nothing
humane about what we did back then with their bodies."
Dr. Knox's face appeared close up. He looked at his son in surprise.

Dr. Knox's son's hand appeared on screen, shaking. "I know that you've
been haunted by the things you were ordered to do in Ishval."

Dr. Knox's face was shown from the side.

"No matter what, you never gave up on helping people. That takes
courage." Dr. Knox's son was shown as he lifted his head back to his
dad. "For that, for being a doctor, I love you."

"That is so sweet." Karin said.

"At least, despite being estranged, he never forgot his father or how much he
was suffering from the war. He still loves him, despite everything." Al said
while shooting his brother a look.

"Do you seriously want to go into that now?" Ed asked annoyed.

"I'm only saying." Al retorted.

Ed scoffed. "Whatever."

The scene moved to Dr. Knox's son's shoulder to show Dr. Knox staring
at him.

"You stubborn jackass." Dr. Knox said as he turned his eyes to the
ground.

"A great thing to call his son." Ed said sarcastically.

Dr. Knox was shown from behind. He turned around with his former
wife and son watching him.

"Come on in." Dr. Knox said. The two behind him shared a look while
Dr. Knox walked away. "It's not gourmet or anything, but I'll brew us
up some coffee."

The kitchen was shown with Dr. Knox at the cabinet getting glasses.
Dr. Knox's chest was shown.

"Oh man. It's a disaster in here." Dr. Knox's son said.

"Come on, why don't we try to clean up a little before he can tell us not
to." Dr. Knox's former wife said.

The tray was shown as Dr. Knox put the third coffee mug down.

"I don't know if you actually exist or not, God, but cut me some slack."
Dr. Knox said as a teardrop hit his hand. The bottom part of his face was
shown with tears streaming down it. "Even a guy like me needs a
break." The scene moved up to his watery eyes. "Just please. Let me
enjoy the happiness of having a cup of coffee with my family."

"All the crying in this episode." Ed groaned, looking away from the screen
with a frown. Seeing crying girls was hard enough, seeing all these male
adults crying was just making things awkward. He could understand their
tears, but he didn't want to see them all. They were strong, and grouchy in Dr.
Knox's case. They shouldn't be crying, but he knew that even the strongest of
people had their weakest moments. Dr. Knox was only hoping to have a nice
time with his family that he hasn't seen in a long time. Seeing them after all
that time must have been so relieving and happy for him.

"He really does love them!" Al said. "He was being such a grouch about it
before it was hard to tell, but he really does want his family back in his life."

Mustang smiled a bit. Yeah, it was good that things were looking up for Dr.
Knox. It seems that getting him to help Lan Fan and May really did help him
a bit, despite how much he was complaining about it and saying he wasn't a
real doctor.

His face faded out to his house from the outside.

The scene changed to the prison in Central.

Kimblee appeared on screen, sitting in his cell. He hummed to himself as

he looked at the red stone in his hand.
"If he has that stone, couldn't he have escaped prison easily?" Lan Fan asked.

"Yes, he could have." Mustang told her.

"Then why didn't he?" Ling asked confused.

Mustang sighed. "I really hate to say it, but Kimblee was never a bad soldier.
I didn't like him, but he did his job. He took too much pleasure from it in the
war, but he was good. The only thing he ever did wrong was kill our higher
ups. That was the first time he ever did something wrong and everyone
thought he just snapped from the war."

"He snapped?" Ed scoffed.

"Well, not really snapped. More like revealed his psychotic nature of not
caring for anyone but himself." Mustang replied.

"Okay, but why didn't he break out when he easily could?" Ling asked again.

Hughes shrugged. "We can only make guesses for why he didn't since we
don't know him. But maybe, he was just waiting for the right moment."

"Or he just didn't care since he just wanted the stone." Mustang said. "As
long as he had that, he probably didn't care where he was."

"He just sounds insane." Ross muttered.

The light in the cell was shown. Kimblee raised the stone in front of the
light. His face was reflected in the stone.

"The battle is over." A higher up said as the stone slowly faded away as a
group of higher ups appeared on screen. "Ishval is now under our
control. And all thanks to you." The scene slowly moved down to show
Kimblee standing at the end of the small table that the higher ups were
around. "Well done, Major Kimblee."

"So tell us, how did the stone work out?" Another higher up asked.

Kimblee was shown from the side. He lifted his hand which had the stone
in it to stare at it. "It's beyond amazing. It lets you bypass the equivalent
exchange to harness an immense power."

"As bad as it sounds, that really does sound amazing." Mustang said.

"You've got enough power, Colonel." Ed retorted, but grimaced a second

later. He couldn't deny it. The stone did sicken him, but he searched for that
stone for years. He learned so much about it and he did want to feel that
power for himself. He wanted to see what it felt like. For so many years, he
dreamed of that stone and its power. But now that he knew the main
ingredient of it, just wanting to use that stone to feel that power disgusted him
so much. He would never use the stone solely for that purpose. If he ever had
to, he would use the stone for a purpose that wasn't for himself. And in that
moment, he would feel that power he had been searching so long for. But
maybe, maybe he was just trying to justify wanting to feel that power for
himself.

The scene moved to show the table and some of the higher ups from an
upward angle.

"Excellent." The first higher up said. "Write up the details in your

formal report for us."

Kimblee was shown, staring at the stone.

"But we'll need the stone back first." The second higher up said.

Kimblee glanced at him and smirked. He tossed the stone in his mouth
and swallowed it.

The two higher ups that spoke were shown, staring in surprise and
anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The second higher up asked.

"Keeping all that power for himself." Dr. Marcoh said with a frown.

"You knew he had the stone. Why didn't you say anything about him having
it before you left?" General Armstrong demanded.
Dr. Marcoh didn't reply. He didn't really have an answer to that. After he
created that stone, after the war ended, he just wanted to get as far away as
possible. He couldn't leave his research to those monsters to create more
stones. And if he stayed, they would only make him make them more stones.
He knew that Kimblee was being taken to prison, but he had no idea about
the stone. There was never anything mentioned about it, but that didn't
surprise him. If the Homunculi intervened, of course they would be no
mention of it. Nothing he did would have changed anything with the
Homunculi and the higher ups in the background controlling everything so he
did the only thing he could do. He kept his mouth shut and ran away. Not to
forget. He could never forget this, but to try to cope and do what he could to
repent for what he did.

"If he ever used that stone to break out of prison, a lot of blood would have
been spilled. Knowing you, you would feel guilty and that their blood was on
your hands because you didn't say anything." Edward muttered.

Dr. Marcoh closed his eyes and nodded. Yes, that had always been a fear of
his. He had hoped that Kimblee didn't have the stone on him. That it had been
taken away, but there was always this fear tickling at the back of his mind
that he still had it somehow and that he might use it again. That stone which
had so much horror in it that he created.

Kimblee's eye appeared on screen. "Now let's see. I guess this makes you
the only ones who know that I'm in possession of this stone."

"Well, no, Dr. Marcoh knows." Hughes said, glancing at the doctor. "He
doesn't know that you know who has the stone?"

"I guess not." Dr. Marcoh replied.

"Doesn't really matter since you didn't see any point in telling anyone that he
had it." General Armstrong growled.

Ed sighed. "He made a mistake. All of us have. What was it? Briggs soldiers
all have their own dark secrets and pasts full of their own regret?"
Mustang raised a brow. "Where did you hear that?"

Ed waved a hand at Dr. Young and Kei. "You'll be surprised at what you talk
about when being treated by those two."

The two just smirked and shrugged at the looks the Briggs soldiers gave
them.

General Armstrong frowned, but didn't say anything. Ed was completely right
in that aspect. She guessed this just frustrated her a lot because of all that she
was learning. There was so much hidden darkness and conspiracy in their
country and she just wanted to wash it all away.

The second higher up was shown. He charged at Kimblee, who jumped

away. "Traitor!"

Kimblee's feet were shown as they landed on the table with the higher up
being seen behind his legs to look up in surprise.

The scene rapidly moved up to Kimblee's hands which were showing the
screen his tattoos while he looked down. He smirked cruelly.

The outside of the building was shown with two soldiers standing guard.
A sudden explosion from inside had the two falling and screaming in
shock as smoke blew out from the windows and doorway.

"He killed them just for knowing about the stone?" Ed said in disbelief.

"Looks like it." Mustang replied. "We never knew why he did it, which is
why we assumed it was a moment of pure insanity caused by the war. Now
that we know it was about the stone, it's obvious why he didn't state the
reason."

The scene changes to show soldiers standing around and staring at the
building with a few more running onto screen.

"What happened?" A soldier shouted.

"Was that a bomb?"

"What's going on?"

Some of the smoke appeared on screen. It twisted around, slowly

disappearing to show Kimblee's tattooed palm.

"Did he blow them up too?" Al asked worriedly.

"No, he actually surrendered himself there." Hughes replied. "You can see
why we all believed it to be a moment of pure insanity on his part."

The scene moved to show Kimblee from the sky as it slowly moved up
and he laughed crazily.

"Yeah…I can see why you guys think he's insane." Ed said.

"We can't think that every person who laughs insanely is crazy." Ling said.

Ed raised a brow. "And why is that?"

"Because you laughed like that earlier when you dug up your Human
Transmutation creation." Ling pointed out.

Ed rolled his eyes. "They are different types of insane laughter! Mine and
Kimblee's were completely different!"

"You still had your moment of insane laughter." Ling said.

The scene faded out to the red stone that Kimblee was holding in his cell.

A pair of feet appeared on screen as they walked down the hall.

Kimblee appeared on screen, turning his head towards his cell door.
"Visitors." He looked back at the stone and threw it in his mouth,
swallowing it.

The door of his room was shown. The small window on his door was
opened so the guard could look in. "On your feet, Kimblee." The guard
said as dramatic music started. "You've been released."
"WHAT?" Havoc and Hughes screamed.

"Released?" Mustang said blankly. "Who in the hell would release that
maniac?"

"And why would they want to release him after all this time in the first
place?" Riza asked. "After all this time, would he really be released for no
reason at all?"

General Armstrong growled. Kimblee should have been sentenced to death a

long time ago. He should not be getting released.

Kimblee's face was shown. He opened his eyes.

The ceiling of a hallway of the prison appeared on screen.

The scene moved down to show Kimblee, now dressed in a white suit,
being led down the hall between two guards.

"Didn't we see Kimblee in that suit in the opening song?" Fuery asked.

"Yes. Why didn't we realize before that he was probably going to go free if
he was in a suit and not his prison uniform?" Falman asked.

"Yeah, Chief. Why didn't you realize it?" Havoc teased.

Ed shot him an annoyed look. "Why the hell would I realize that? The
opening song could mean anything. I can't just figure out that this bastard is
going to be released from seeing him in a suit! That could have so many
meanings."

"Well, you're usually good at guessing." Mustang said.

Ed rolled his eyes. He was good at getting information and analyzing it to

make guesses! Not just random guesses. His random guesses were for fun. It
didn't necessarily mean they were going to happen.

"So who made this decision?" Kimblee asked as mysterious music began.
"I didn't say you could talk, Kimblee." The warden said.

"Must have been someone pretty high up." Kimblee said.

Kimblee and the warden were zoomed in on.

"Shut your mouth." The warden said. "You must have some kind of big
connection to avoid the death sentence. It makes me sick."

"Nope, no connections. I just deserve to go free." Kimblee said.

"Does he really believe that?" Brody asked in disbelief.

Avery shrugged. "Who knows? It's so hard to follow an insane person's

mind."

"I think it depends on the person and how well you know them." Ling said. "I
mean, it took me a while to figure out Ed's mind, but now I understand it
quite well."

Ed glared at him. "I'm not insane, Ling!"

"Not the way Kimblee is." Ling admitted. "But your mind certainly works in
insane ways."

"Oh, if we're working on that assumption, then you're insane as well, Ling!"
Ed retorted.

Ling shrugged and grinned at Ed. "Not denying it, buddy."

Ed twitched and restrained himself from whacking Ling for calling him that.

"We can be insane friends together."

"No, we can't." Ed growled.

Ling blinked. "Aww, why not?"

Ed pointed at Mustang and Hughes. "Because we'll end up having pointless

rival wars like them."

Hughes blinked. "Oh, right! The war! Ed, you still have to pick a side!"

Ed smacked his face.

"You only have yourself to blame for bringing it up and reminding them."
Ling informed him.

Ed drew his hand down his face and glared at Ling. "You are going to shut up
now."

"Ed." Hughes whined, poking the boy in the head.

Ed growled and shot Hughes a glare.

The doors they were approaching where shown. Two more guards were
shown, holding the door handle of each door.

"You really are psychotic." The warden said. "What kind of political
move is this? Letting a nutjob like you out?"

The doors were opened by the guards, sending a blinding white light
onto the screen.

"The first light for a man that has been imprisoned for years!" Luke said.

"He seriously hasn't seen light since he's been imprisoned?" Ling asked in
disbelief.

"He's an insane former State Alchemist who blows things up and killed his
own comrades. Would you let him out of that cell just for fresh air?" Mustang
asked.

"That's a good point." Ling said.

The blinding light covered the whole screen before it changed to Kimblee
standing outside, holding his hat up for shade. He lowered his hat and
looked up.
Kimblee's legs were shown with the gate ahead of him being seen
between them. The gate was held open by two guards.

The side of Kimblee's face appeared on screen as he smirked. His back

was shown. "You know, Warden." Kimblee said as he turned around.
He held out a hand to the warden. "I appreciate you taking care of me."

The warden appeared on screen, staring at him. He raised his hand. "I
hope I never see you again."

"No! Don't take his hand!" Ed shouted.

"What's with you, Chief?" Havoc asked.

Ed groaned. "You've met him, right, Havoc? Would you willingly take
Kimblee's hand?"

"Well, no." Havoc replied.

"And rightly so!" Ed said.

"What are you getting at, Ed?" Hughes asked confused.

Ed shrugged. "Not really sure, but between the music and from what I've seen
of Kimblee, there is no way I would grab his hand."

"Well, the warden can't hear the music." Luke pointed out.

"So? The warden has been guarding Kimblee for years! He should know
better than to shake hands with him!" Ed said.

"Kimblee just got released from prison. I don't think he is going to do

anything stupid to get sent back there this quickly." Mustang said dryly.

Kimblee's hand was shown as the warden grabbed it to shake. The

moment their hands touched, red alchemical light sparked around their
hands. The warden pulled back in shock and stared at his hand. His
wrist was shown with a small ticking bomb on it.
Ed raised a brow at Mustang.

Mustang frowned. "Well, then again, he is pretty insane."

"There's a bomb on his wrist and that's what you two are discussing?" Havoc
asked in disbelief.

"Well, it's the future so it's not like it has actually happened yet." Mustang
replied. "And if it happens the second time around, we'll make sure he doesn't
die."

Kimblee was shown with two guards standing by him, looking shocked
and horrified.

Kimblee folded his arm, which held his hat, across his stomach, and
bowed his head. "Just my way of saying thanks."

"That's a horrible way to say thanks!" Al said angrily.

"Saying thanks for what?" Ed asked confused.

"Not the point, Brother!" Al shouted.

Ed shrugged. "I was just wondering. Who says thanks after getting out of
prison?"

"The criminals who were rehabilitated." Hughes said.

"Which Kimblee is not." Ed pointed out.

"Then because the warden took care of him for the time of his imprisonment
like he said." Armstrong told Ed.

"Weird thing to thanks him for by putting a bomb on his wrist." Ed muttered.

The warden appeared on screen, holding the bomb. "What is this?" He

asked. "I can't get it off."

The guards rushed over to him to help.

Kimblee's face appeared on screen, smirking cruelly.

"Help me!" The warden cried. The panicked warden was shown with the
guards trying to help. "Don't do this to me!" His horrified face was
shown as he shouted, "Kimblee, please!"

The clock on the watch was shown as the ticker reached the skull at the
top where it started.

A little duck bounced onto screen with a spring attached to it with a

colorful background.

It squeaked as the scene pulled out to show it coming from the watch
with the warden sitting on the ground, trembling as he stared at it.

"Wow. That was a horrible trick to pull." Ed said.

"A really horrible trick." Al said angrily. "Who does that to someone?"

"I think it was supposed to be a prank. A very cruel prank though." Havoc
said.

"From a very insane person, so it's not all that surprising." Brody said.

Kimblee was shown. "It's nothing but a harmless toy. I thought you
could give it to your kid or something." He turned around and put his
hat on as he started to walk away.

The guards were shown as they all sat on the ground.

"Farewell, Warden."

The gates were shown as they closed with a whining sound from the
metal. Kimblee was shown outside the gates as they slammed shut at the
end.

"Now then," Kimblee lifted his head. "What next?" He looked around.

A car honking had him turning his head.

A car was shown with a hand waving out the window.

Kimblee was shown as he opened the car door and got in the back seat.

"It's been a while, Kimblee." The soldier in the driver's seat said as
Kimblee closed the door.

Kimblee looked at him.

The soldier's face was shown as red alchemical light moved up from his
neck to the top of his head to change it to Envy's evil grinning face as
dramatic music began. "Congrats on the early release."

"HIM!" Ling and Edward screamed angrily.

"We should have expected it to be the Homunculi that released him." Izumi
growled.

"Who cares about that?" Ling and Ed shouted.

Hughes blinked. "Then what is the problem?"

"It's the jerk that almost killed us!" They shouted.

"You do realize that a lot of people have tried to kill you two, right?"
Mustang asked.

Ed looked at Mustang annoyed. "Of course we know that! But he's the
biggest bastard of all of them!"

"I get that he is horrible, especially with his manipulation of human emotions,
but that seemed a bit of an extreme reaction." Brody said.

"Not really." Ed and Ling replied.

"Then what is the problem with him?" Brody asked.

Ed and Ling shared a look, but didn't bother to reply to Brody. Their issues
with Envy were their own. It wasn't just because Envy tried to kill them that
they had a problem with him. Their whole meeting with him inside of
Gluttony had bothered them and hit them both really hard. It bothered
everyone, especially with what Envy admitted about the Ishvalan war, but to
them, it wasn't just about that conversation. Their whole experience inside
that fake portal of truth was difficult for them. They were the ones inside it.
They were the ones feeling all the pain. They were the ones suffering in their
weakest moments. To them, that experience felt so much more real to them
than it did for the others. The whole experience inside the fake portal. The
whole experience with Envy. All of it. The experience was always more real
for those experiencing the pain and horror of it all. And Ling and Ed felt the
horror, even in this room. It was playing with their minds.

The scene moved to show Envy and Kimblee as the latter smirked.

"So I take it I have you guys to thanks?" Kimblee asked as Envy looked
forward and his face changed back to a soldier's.

"Yep. We could use a little extra help." Envy said.

Kimblee's face was shown up close. "My first day out of jail and I
already have a job."

The scene went dark and reopened on the car window with the buildings
outside it moving passed as the car drove down the road.

"Is he driving? Homunculi can drive now!" Havoc said.

"And driving better than Fullmetal most likely." Mustang added.

"How is that a fair comparison? You've never seen me drive! And he's had
quite a few decades to perfect his driving!" Ed said angrily.

"With your reckless attitude, I don't need to see your driving, which you have
no training for, to know that it is horrible!" Mustang retorted.

"You remember Dr. Marcoh, don't you?" Envy asked.

"The scientist who created the Philosopher's Stone?" Kimblee asked.

"How could I ever forget him?"
Envy's head was shown from behind. "It appears he's escaped. Or we
think he has."

"He's escaped. He hasn't and is dead!" Ed said. "Which is it?"

"I would like to go with alive." Dr. Marcoh told him.

Ed shrugged. "I believe that is the choice that most people would pick. But
hey, at least it seems like you are messing with Envy which is always a great
thing to do."

"First you're screaming about hating him and now you're talking about
messing with his head. I think you need to make up your mind." Mustang
said.

"Messing with his head because I hate him! Seems like I have made up my
mind!" Ed retorted.

Kimblee's face was shown as he lifted his eyes, which were shadowed by
his hat, to look at Envy. "You think?"

"We're still sorting out all of the details." Envy said.

The single guard chimera and an empty chimera's collar appeared on

screen.

"One of the chimeras that we had watching over him has gone missing."
Envy said.

Dr. Marcoh's beheaded body with blood all over it appeared on screen.

"Marcoh's specialty was transmuting living tissue." Envy said. "He

might of used the chimera in his place."

"That's what you specialize in?" Al asked surprised. "I thought it would have
been something about the stone."

"I specialize in that because of the knowledge that the Homunculi gave me. I
believe they saw my knowledge of alchemy being very valuable and a lot
which is why they thought I was the perfect alchemist to create the stone for
them." Dr. Marcoh explained.

The scene pulled out to show the bloody word 'vengeance' above
Marcoh's body.

"And if that wasn't bad enough." Envy said.

The scene went white and reopened on part of Envy's face with
Kimblee's face taking up the majority of the screen in the background.

"We think he might have escaped with an Ishvalan warrior known as

Scar." Envy continued as the scene slowly moved closer and closer to
Kimblee's face.

"Isn't that amazing? There's a chance that Scar actually didn't kill Dr.
Marcoh." Clarink said.

"And that's amazing because?" Myers asked.

"Because it's Scar! He was so angry and just killing State Alchemist, and yet
there is this slim chance that he hasn't killed Dr. Marcoh!" Brody exclaimed.

"So basically, Scar might be starting to think rationally?" Liran said.

Brody nodded. "Exactly."

The outside of the car was shown as it drove onto the screen.

"Well, how about it?" Envy asked as the car started to come to a stop.
"Considering you were the one responsible for the extermination and
all?"

Kimblee appeared on screen. "You do have a point." He put his elbow

on the door and leaned the bottom half of his face in his hand. "It's
inexcusable if I let a survival crawl out of my path of destruction."

"Then he screwed up badly." Ed muttered angrily. "There are Ishvalans all

around, living in the slums."

"Well, don't go telling him that. He'll end up killing them all, and he'll be able
to get away with it." Mustang said irritably.

The traffic light was shown. The light changed from red to green.

The car was shown as it started moving again.

"You're free to kill Scar if you want, but we do need Marcoh alive."
Envy said.

Kimblee was shown as he took his face off his head and turned his head
back to Envy as he smirked. "You released me just for this little
errand?"

Envy's cruel face appeared on screen as he chuckled darkly. "After

you've nabbed Marcoh for us, there's a certain little town we'll be asking
you to wipe off the map."

Dr. Marcoh gasped.

"I guess they mean that little village of yours?" May asked worriedly.

Dr. Marcoh nodded.

"Protecting that village is simple." Ed scoffed. "Just don't get caught."

"What do you mean?" Dr. Marcoh asked.

Ed sighed. "Envy said 'after you've nabbed Marcoh.' Which is basically

saying that the village won't be destroyed until they've recaptured you."

"They probably want to see if they can hold the village over you still until
they've gotten you back." Mustang said with a frown.

The scene moved to show Envy turning his head to Kimblee, who just
watched him. "That's your kind of job, right?"
As Envy turned his head forward once more, Kimblee's head dropped a
bit as he smirked. Only one cruel eye of his was seen while the other was
hidden by his hat. "It's remarkable how cruel you are."

"Anyone else think that he is complimenting him on his cruelty?" Ed asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he was. They are both really cruel and might just
thrive because of their cruel natures." Hughes said.

Kimblee's torso was shown from the side as he pressed his hand into his
stomach. The scene moved to his face as his tongue came out of his
mouth with his stone on it. He picked the stone up and looked at it. "It's
been too long since I've used this."

"I don't know if that one's going to be enough for this job." Envy said,
making Kimblee look up.

Envy was shown from behind, hand raised with a stone between two of
his fingers.

"Are you kidding me?" Izumi asked shocked. "He is going to have two now?"

"Great, as if it wasn't hard enough." Havoc groaned.

"So, is Kimblee an enemy since he is working with the Homunculi? Or is he

still considered to be on our side since he is a State Alchemist and hunting
down Scar for us?" Ed asked.

"Hard choice. Perhaps it is a bit of both." Mustang answered bitterly.

"Though, I wouldn't trust him at all. He already killed his comrades before.
What's to say he won't do it again?"

"Yeah, so Ed, don't fight him." Hughes warned.

"He's in the military! Apparently, partly on our side or something like that.
Why would I fight him?" Ed asked.

Havoc shrugged. "Why do you do any of the things you do?"

"I don't fight my comrades!" Ed protested.

"Yeah, but Kimblee isn't necessarily a comrade if he is working for the

Homunculi." Havoc pointed out.

"We're all basically working for them!" Ed shouted.

Brody growled. "He said it."

"We were trying to avoid that thought." Avery groaned.

"So I definitely shouldn't fight him because he is a fellow soldier?" Ed asked.

"Forget whether he is a comrade or enemy! You shouldn't fight him at all

because he is too dangerous." Mustang said. "Stop making this so
complicated!"

"I just want to know what he freaking is!" Ed said.

"Go with enemy!" Luke and Clarink shouted in frustration.

"An enemy with two Philosopher's Stone so you should not fight him!"
Mustang added.

"Why would I fight him? We have two different goals! He's hunting Scar. I'm
looking for May." Ed said.

"They're traveling together." Armstrong pointed out.

"Doesn't mean we'll meet each other and even if we do, we have no reason to
fight." Ed replied. "Besides, May isn't even with Scar right now because they
got separated."

Kimblee's arm appeared on screen as he took the stone. "A new stone?"
His hand appeared on screen as he turned it around to show the red
sphere. "Did you use more Ishvalans to make it?"

Envy was shown from the side. "We actually used Dr. Marcoh's
assistants who helped make the first stone for us."
Dr. Marcoh grimaced at that. So that is what happened to his assistants. They
shouldn't have stuck around. The Homunculi were loyal to absolutely no one.

The scene moved to show the bottom half of both Envy's and Kimblee's
faces as they smirked cruelly while Kimblee put the stone in his pocket.

"Your cruelty's infinite." Kimblee said.

"Okay, I have to agree with you, Chief. It really seems like he is

complimenting Envy on how cruel he is." Brody said.

"As you should!" Ed said. "Those two nutcases just talking to each other
about their cruelty like it is nothing! 'Oh, that is just so delightfully cruel.'"

"'Your cruelty just amazes me.'" Ling mocked.

"'You must teach me your cruel ways.'" Ed said with a mocking, evil laugh.

"'Only if you teach me yours as well.'" Ling said.

"It's stupid!" Ed snapped. "Stupid, crazy idiots."

Ling laughed.

"They're crazy, but you two are the insane ones." Mustang muttered.

"Says the old man getting involved in Rival War II with Hughes." Ed
grumbled.

"And we're still waiting for your answer." Hughes told him.

"No response." Ed said.

"You have to choose!" Mustang and Hughes said.

Ed growled and looked at Ling. "I will crush them both if they don't stop."

"That seems a bit extreme just because they want you on their side for their
little war." Ling replied.
Ed turned his head to Ling, suddenly grinning very evilly.

Ling looked at him wearily.

"Ling," Ed said innocently, not matching his evil grin at all.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to teach them a lesson." Ed replied.

Ling blinked. "Uh, what do you mean?"

"I'm not choosing a side." Ed growled. He smirked at Ling. "But you and I
are going to teach them a little something."

Ling raised a brow. "You want to start a war against Hughes and Mustang?"

"Now you're getting it."

"Must you two swap languages?" Breda asked annoyed.

"Yes." Ling and Ed said.

"So war?" Ling said, turning his attention back to Ed. "You really want to go
to war against them?"

Ed grinned evilly. "Oh yes."

"I thought you weren't into things like that."

"They must suffer."

Ling chuckled a bit. "Okay, it should be fun."

"This is no place for fun, Ling! It's war!" Ed snapped.

Ling sweat dropped. Ed was already getting too into it.

The scene went dark and reopened on an alley.

The scene moved down to show Scar standing in front someone who was
sitting on a crate with a cloak over his face.

The scene moved closer to show Dr. Marcoh being the one covered with
the cloak. "Why didn't you kill me back there after all I've done?"

"Oh, look Dr. Marcoh is alive!" Ed said. He turned to the Doctor. "I take back
my sympathy of your death and replace it with the sympathy of, I'm sorry you
are now traveling with Scar. That must be hard for you."

"Are you being sarcastic?" Scar asked.

Ed shrugged. "Could be, could not be. Who really knows?"

"Fullmetal." Mustang said.

"Fine, serious. Why would I be sarcastic about that? Scar is a State Alchemist
killer. Why would any alchemist be comfortable traveling with him?"

Scar appeared on screen, arms crossed as he glared down at Marcoh.

"We haven't finished our conversation yet, Marcoh."

The bottom part of the crate and one of Marcoh's bare feet appeared on
screen.

"Tell me everything you know about Kimblee." Scar said. Scar's hand
came onto screen. "Also," His face was shown as he raised his hand and
curled into a fist. The scene moved to his arm to show his tattoo. "You
might be able to help me decipher some of the research notes my brother
left behind."

"So you do still have them?" May asked.

"I have them hidden." Scar replied.

"Yep, those two are traveling together. Should be interesting." Ed said,

though sounded a bit unsure.

"Well, at least he won't be getting killed." Al pointed out.

Dr. Marcoh was shown as he raised his face to Scar. "Research notes?"

The ground of the alley was shown. The scene slowly moved up to Scar
and Marcoh as they talked.

"Before he died, my brother told me there was something strange about

this country's alchemy. His notes should explain why." Scar said. He was
shown up close as he lowered his arm.

"Why didn't you study them before?" May asked.

"He's not an alchemist. I doubt he understands any of it." Ed said dryly. "It's
amazing he's figured out how to use that array on his arm."

"There is also the fact that I didn't care to know." Scar added.

Ed nodded. "That too. He was just too angry and upset about everything, plus
his hatred of alchemy rose a lot from the war…Right?" He asked, looking at
Scar.

Scar nodded. "You are correct."

"There are many reasons why he didn't look at them before then." Ed said.

"You only named two." May pointed out.

"The two that were obvious from watching all of this!" Ed retorted. "I'm not a
mind reader. I can't just dive into his head and name all of his reasons for
why he didn't do anything with the notes before this."

"You are apparently skilled with alchemy. Can you tell me what he
meant?" Scar asked.

Dr. Marcoh's face was shown.

Dr. Marcoh put a hand to his chin. "He said that our alchemy was
strange? I don't know."

Scar was shown from the side.

"Sir." Yoki said. He was shown, pointing down the alley as May ran
down it towards them. "That little girl was able to find us."

The scene moved to show Yoki and Scar from behind as May ran onto
screen.

"How'd you manage that?" Brosh asked surprised. "Central is big and it's
really hard to find someone there, as Ed and Al proved."

The brother twitched.

"It must be even harder for you since you're looking for a serial killer who is
hiding in the shadows." Ross added.

"She's cheating, that's how!" Ed shouted. "Stupid Dragon's Pulse Sensing

thing. Why did you have to go back to Scar when I am trying to find you?"

Ling raised a brow at him. "If it's stupid, I don't have to teach you."

"It's stupid until I learn how to do it." Ed grumbled.

"What great logic." Ling replied dryly.

"Because they are the only people I know and trust." May answered Ed.

Ed groaned. Rotten luck for him.

Scar turned to face her as she stopped. "Looks like you made it out, Mr.
Scar."

The scene changed to show May from behind with Scar and Dr. Marcoh
in front of her. May looked at Dr. Marcoh, who turned his head away
from her. "Do we have a new companion?" She asked.

Scar looked at Dr. Marcoh. "He's not our companion. His name is
Marcoh."

May and Yoki appeared on screen, staring at the two.

"He created the Philosopher's Stone."

May and Xiao-Mei gasped.

"And he killed my people to do it."

"The Philosopher's Stone?" May asked as low, dark music started.

"Immortality."

"It's like all you hear is Philosopher's Stone. You don't even hear the whole
'killed my people' thing, do you?" Ed asked.

"Well, I'm just very eager to find the stone to save my clan." May said
weakly.

Ed sighed. "You need to open your ears a bit more, May. Otherwise, you're
going to find yourself in a bad situation."

"But her behavior is typical for a kid." Riza said. "It's normal for kids not to
listen."

"Does that include Chief?" Avery asked.

"A bit." Mustang said. "He has always been better than most kids, but he's
had his moments where things we say go in one ear and comes out the other."

Ed rolled his eyes.

"What?" Izumi growled.

Ed yelped.

"I thought I taught you to always listen to everything that someone tells you."
Izumi said.

"Eh…"

"That would explain why he wasn't as bad as other kids." Hughes said,
laughing.
"You're not helping." Ed hissed at him.

Izumi glared at Ed, who twitched.

Dr. Marcoh was shown from the side as May ran to his side and grabbed
his arm. "Mr. Marcoh, please teach me how to create the stone."

The scene moved to behind the two to show Scar watching them.

"How did you make it?" May asked.

Yoki walked onto the screen.

"I'm begging you to show me." May said.

"No." Dr. Marcoh said. "I can't."

"Quiet." Scar ordered as he turned to the side. His face was zoomed in
on. "You shouldn't desire such things."

May appeared on screen. She blinked.

The scene went back to Scar's face. He turned his head towards the
screen, frowning deeply.

Dr. Marcoh and May was shown.

As Marcoh was zoomed in on, footsteps were heard. Dr. Marcoh looked
up before the scene moved to show Scar's hand rapidly moving towards
the screen. The scene changed to show Scar's hand on Dr. Marcoh's face,
holding the doctor up.

"The hell you doing, Scar?" Ed shouted.

"I thought we agreed that he wasn't going to kill him!" Myers said shocked.

"Well, apparently Scar has his own agenda." Mustang said darkly. "And it
doesn't necessarily mean that he is going to kill Dr. Marcoh. We have no idea
of what he is planning."
"Still can't be anything good if he is using that hand." Ed muttered.

There was a bright flash of blue alchemical light that sparked around
Dr. Marcoh's face while Dr. Marcoh's screams were muffled by Scar's
hand.

A scream of pain suddenly tore from Dr. Maroch's throat. He grabbed at his
face, hands curling tightly over his face as he tried to push the thought of the
pain back, but it was just too much. Painful throbbing that felt like it was
ripping his skin apart, splitting it up into slits all over ran all through his face.
It was like his skin was being partly torn off of his bones.

"Well, at least he's not killing him." Al said weakly. "If he was, it wouldn't be
taking so long."

"Doesn't change the fact that whatever the hell this is, it's still a horribly cruel
thing to do." Ed said, glaring at Scar.

Scar closed his eyes. "I would not be doing this if I didn't have a reason,
Elric."

Ed scowled. "It better be a damn good reason to hurt the doctor like this."

May was shown, staring in horror.

The ground was shown, blood splattered all around it as Dr. Marcoh
collapsed to his knees, covering his face with his hands. He screamed out
in pain as blood dripped from his hands to the ground. He was zoomed
in on, one strained and pain filled eye seen between his fingers.

"I only destroyed the surface." Scar said.

Dr. Marcoh groaned, fingernails pressing harshly into his skin. Even if it was
just the surface, that didn't lessen the pain at all. It felt like his head was
going to explode from the amount of pressure building up inside of it. But
with Scar no longer attacking his face, the pain diminished a bit, just a bit
though.

"Oh, that makes it so much better." Mustang said sarcastically.

Ed tilted his head back to look at Mustang upside down. "I didn't realize you
could be sarcastic, Colonel."

Mustang pushed his head back up. "Not the time, Fullmetal."

"You're the one being rudely sarcastic." Ed grumbled.

May and Yoki were shown to be standing by Scar, both of them staring
in horror.

"You can stop the bleeding, can't you?" Scar asked.

May looked up at Scar. "Right." She ran over to the groaning Dr.
Marcoh.

"Well, that's just an abuse of her skill." Al muttered angrily. "Would you still
have done that if May wasn't with you?"

May was shown as she kneeled by Dr. Marcoh.

"It will be easy for us to travel if your face is unrecognizable." Scar said.

"I'm gonna help you. Is that okay?" May asked.

"And if May wasn't there to stop the bleeding, how would you have
traveled?" Hughes growled. "You wouldn't have been able to do this without
her since he would have most likely died of blood lost."

"Not that I disagree, but I really don't think we should focus on the what ifs
right now, Hughes." Ed said. "It isn't really going to change anything right
now."

"The chance was there that May would not have found you. What would you
have done if she didn't? There was a second plan, wasn't there? Why couldn't
you use that instead of destroying the surface of his face?" Hughes asked
angrily, ignoring Ed.

"And, I've been ignored." Ed muttered.

"Would you go with a plan that was less likely to work just because you
didn't want to cause pain?" Scar retorted.

"You don't care about causing pain at all." Mustang growled. "You probably
felt great pleasure about destroying Dr. Marcoh's face since he was the one to
kill your people for the stone."

"I really don't think this is the best time to discuss this." Ed said.

"If it was about causing pain, I could have done a lot worse. What I did was
to assure our safety while on the run." Scar growled. "I may be angry, but I
do think rationally and plan accordingly."

Ed looked at Ling in frustration. "Why are they ignoring me?"

Ling shrugged. "Just leave them to argue about it."

"Great idea. You do remember what happened earlier, right?" Ed asked.

Ling grimaced. "That was a horrible fight."

"Oh, that's rich coming from the guy who tried to kill a kid who had nothing
to do with the war!" Brody retorted. "You tried to kill him just for being a
State Alchemist! An innocent child!"

Ed blinked. "Did I just get dragged into this?"

"Seems like it." Lan Fan said. "But I don't know where the innocent part
came from."

Ed opened his mouth to retort, but paused. She did have a point.

"I believe he met in reference to the war, he was innocent." Fu explained.

"That makes more sense." Lan Fan replied.

"It is not like I am the only one who ever tried to kill him. He knew the risks
when he joined." Scar retorted.
Ed turned to Riza. "Can you please get them to stop arguing about this?"

Riza sighed. "I don't know how much I can help you, Ed."

"You're usually good at taking control of a situation." Ed said.

"But there was no reason for you to go after him!" Izumi growled. "They are
right when they say he is innocent about the war. There is no reason for an
Ishvalan to want to attack him."

"OI! You jerks!" Ed shouted, turning away from Riza and stopping Scar from
retorting again. He looked at Riza. "Fine, I'll handle it myself." He turned
back to the others. "You were arguing about his treatment of Dr. Marcoh.
Why the hell did you drag me into it? Knock it off! Sheesh, you guys are so
annoying."

"You didn't have to shout." Havoc muttered.

Ed growled. "Can we just please move on? Arguing about Scar and his
methods isn't going to change anything right now."

Yoki was shown as Scar walked behind him.

"It's time to leave." Scar said.

Yoki turned his head to follow Scar's path with his eyes. "Huh? Where
are we going?"

The side of Scar's face appeared on screen. "We need to get to the place
where I hid my brother's research notes."

Scar's face faded away to be replaced by hilly land that had snow
blowing all around.

"The north."

The scene went dark and the ending song began.

"That's wonderful." Ed said. "Al, we are going to find a different method to

learn Alkahestry. I am not going north just to seek May."

"Brother," Al sighed.

"No, there is no way I am heading north. I hate the cold." Ed grumbled.

"I thought you hated the heat." Ross said.

"I hate both." Ed replied. "I need a temperature in between them."

"Sounds complicated." Ling said amused.

Ed shrugged and glanced at Mustang and Hughes to see them still glaring at
Scar, who was glaring back. "This place is getting tense again real quick."

"That doesn't surprise me." Ling replied. "The future is a tense, stressful
time."

"Yeah," Ed muttered. He glanced back at Ling with a grin. "What do you say
to revealing our war soon?"

"Devious and unexpected." Ling smirked at his friend. "I like it. But we need
an idea of how to start it."

"And it has to be a great one. Any ideas?"

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 35*: Episode 32: The Fuhrer's
Son
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 32: The Fuhrer's Son

"What are you two doing?" Mustang asked suspiciously to Ling and Ed who
had their heads together.

They both turned to Mustang, grinning widely. "Nothing."

"It isn't nothing when two insane teenagers have their heads together and are
whispering!" Havoc retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You guys are so suspicious."

"Well, when it's you, how can we not be?" Hughes teased.

Ed shot him a glare. "I am not–"

Ling pushed Ed down and buried his face in the carpet. "Yeah, you're not a
demon. Forget that, Ed."
Ed growled and pushed himself up. "The hell you doing, Ling?" He snapped.

Ling ignored his friend and looked at Mustang with a grin. "We were not
conspiring anything. We were arguing cause Ed still won't s–"

Eyes widening in horror, Ed tackled Ling to the ground and attempted to

choke him. "YOU SHUT UP!"

"Young Lord!" Lan Fan cried and proceeded to punch an unsuspecting Ed off
of Ling.

Ed flew onto his back and stared up at the ceiling while Lan Fan helped Ling
sit up. Chuckling, Ling rubbed his neck.

"That was mean, Ed." Ling said.

Ed sat him, rubbing his cheek. "Yeah, well, you were about to say it."

"Well, now he has to finish what he was saying." Mustang told Ed with a
smirk. "Because now we are really curious."

"Not if he wants to live to see the outside of this room." Ed snarled.

Ling stared at Ed with an evil smirk. "You won't kill your bestest friend."

Ed's eyes narrowed at him. "Want to b–"

"Ed can sing!" Ling shouted quickly before Ed could realize what he was
doing.

"Traitor!" Ed screamed, tackling Ling again.

Lan Fan blinked and backed up this time. She really didn't think it was wise
to get involved if Ling was going to betray Ed's secret like that.

"You said you wouldn't tell!" Ed screamed.

"I promised no such thing!" Ling shouted through his amused laughter.
"Brother, please!" Al said, pulling his brother off of Ling. "You can't kill
him."

"Oh, yes, I can!" Ed yelled, struggling to get away from Al.

"Fullmetal sings?" Mustang scoffed. "Anyone can sing, but most are not good
at it, just like him."

Ed stopped glaring at Ling to turn it to Mustang. "I'll have you know, my

voice is not that bad."

Mustang raised a brow. "How arrogant."

Ed growled.

Ling leaned in closer to Al and whispered, "What are we missing?"

Al sighed and dropped his brother. "Colonel is doing what you want."

Ling blinked.

"He's egging Brother on to get him to sing, just like you want."

A very evil, satisfied smirk appeared on Ling's face. "I should have shouted
that sooner."

Al sighed. "Ling, Brother really is going to murder you one day if you keep
this up."

"Naw, you know he doesn't like killing." Ling replied.

"But he will make you suffer." Al said.

"You are doubting me!" Ed shouted, pointing a finger in Mustang's face.

Mustang smacked Ed's hand out of his face. "Fullmetal, be realistic."

Ed glared at him. "You think I can't sing because I'm a reckless punk
alchemist? I'll prove you all wrong!"
Ling grinned. "Really should have said something sooner."

Al smacked his helmet. His brother was supposed to be smart and not fall for
such easy tricks.

The opening song began.

When it was over, everyone stared at Ed.

"I thought you were going to sing." Mustang mocked.

Ed rolled his eyes and stood up. "I will, but I needed to hear the lyrics one
more time so I can translate them for you jerks. Unless you want to hear it all
in Xingese?" He scoffed and left to find some paper to write down the lyrics.

"And what if the next episode has a different song?" Hughes asked when Ed
returned with a few pieces of paper.

"Then you are out of luck." Ed replied as he sat down and began scribbling
the lyrics in Xingese on the paper.

A demented picture of Xiao-Mei appeared on screen.

"Again with that picture?" May asked annoyed.

"Yeah, you're right." Ed said.

"It does look like her." Al said.

The picture lowered to shown a black and white cat in a woman's arms
as fun, active music started. The cat sneezed.

Ed and Al were shown to be staring disturbed at the cat.

The scene pulled out to show the two from a slight distance at the side.
Some laughing kids ran across the screen.

"She's a darling girl, isn't she?" The woman asked.

Ed and Al were shown from behind. As the cat yawned, the brothers
rapidly turned around. "That's definitely not her."

"What was your first clue?" Havoc said sarcastically. "The fact that it is an
actual cat?"

"That cat cannot compare to Xiao-Mei at all!" May said, smiling softly when
Xiao-Mei kissed her cheek.

"Uh…sorry for offending you and Xiao-Mei?" Al said.

May nodded. "That's better."

Ed blinked and turned to Ling.

Ling stopped him before he could ask and just shook his head.

"Yeah, I know." Al said.

Ed looked at Al angrily with his sharp demon teeth as he pointed over

his shoulder. "We can't afford to waste our time here humoring some old
lady and her stupid cat." He sighed while Al looked at the picture again.

"You are such a rude child." Heinkel said.

Ed scoffed. "You guys never let anything go."

Darius and Heinkel shared a look. "We're let it go for now, kid." Darius said.

"But some day you're going to have to grow up and learn some respect and
not to be so rude." Heinkel added.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I am perfectly fine where I am at."

"You're the rudest kid here." Darius said dryly.

Ed shrugged. "If you have a problem, stop talking to me then."

"I'd rather keep annoying you." Heinkel said.

"As if I didn't get enough of that from Ling and Hughes and Colonel and
Havoc and Brody and Luke and…" Ed trailed off with a scowl. "You are all
freaking annoying!"

"You're just now realizing that?" Havoc teased.

Ed smacked himself in the head with his book. When he lowered the book, he
looked at Ling with a slightly crazed look in his eyes.

"Uh…Ed, you're kind of scaring me." Ling said.

"It is now against them all." Ed growled.

Ling blinked. "I think that is a bit extreme just for a little annoyance they
caused you."

Ed grabbed Ling's shirt and pulled him up into his face "You're either with me
or against me, Ling!"

Ling peeled Ed's hands off his shirt and looked at Al. "So you know, I think
your brother is losing it."

Al sighed dramatically. "It was only a matter of time, Ling. Only a matter of
time."

"Come on." Al said.

Al's picture of Xiao-Mei was shown.

"Where are you hiding?" Ed and Al asked.

The picture faded away to show Xiao-Mei riding on May's shoulder.

The bag of food that May was carrying was shown.

May's legs appeared on screen and the scene slowly moved up to her
smiling face.

"The Fuhrer's Son"

"Why is there a whole episode dedicated to Bradley's son?" Hughes asked
curiously.

"Fuhrer's son…Fuhrer's son…That is…Selim, right?" Ed asked.

Havoc smacked his forehead. "Serious, Chief? Took you that long to figure it
out?"

"I've never met the kid. What do I care what he is called?" Ed retorted.

"Because he is the son of the leader of our country?" Brody suggested.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I have more important things to worry about
then that kid's name."

"You'll upset that kid. He is such a huge fan of you. Heaven knows why he is
though." Mustang said dryly.

"He's a fan of me. Whoopie freaking do." Ed retorted. "He's not the only one
and I don't have time to be wasting making them all happy."

"Run around. Run around. Run around. That seems to be all you do." Hughes
said. "You should try to focus a bit more on the civilians that love you. It will
get support for you and the military."

"I'm not in the business of making things better for the military." Ed retorted.

"And yet you manage to do it at times with your actions." Riza pointed out.

Ed groaned.

The top of a train appeared on screen, stream blowing out of it. The
scene moved to show the train station from above with people all around
and two trains in it.

"East City!" A train announcer said. "East City!"

"Are you in Easy City?" Ed and Al shouted in frustration.

Ed groaned and hit his forehead with the book. "Why East City? Why can't
you still be in Central?"

"I thought you were heading north." Ling said confused.

"They would be tracked too easily if they headed directly north. They are
making a trail of many confusing turns to escape the military." Mustang
explained.

"That sounds so bothersome." Ed muttered.

"Not that you would ever have to do it." Hughes told him with a smirk. "You
spend all your time just going where the world leads you with no set
destination in mind. No one would be able to follow such a strange trail."

A bunch of people appeared on screen. May was shown as she ran

through the station. She was zoomed in on. She gasped and slowed to a
walk. Her face was zoomed in on to show her worried eyes.

The scene moved to show her from above as she walked passed two MPs.

"We received new Intel on Scar." One of the MPs said.

"He's still running then." The second MP said.

May's face was shown as she walked passed, looking at them out of the
corner of her eyes.

"Does he never give up?"

"Are they blind? Surely they heard about the little girl helping Scar." Brody
said.

"I don't think I am as important to them as Scar so they aren't really paying
attention to me." May replied.

"Then why'd you slow down?" Sheska asked.

May hummed to herself and thought about it. "Well, running by might pull
more attention to me and plus, if I slow down, I can eavesdrop on them. I
have to get information about what is going on somehow."

"Smart girl." Hughes said, grinning. "And stupid MPs."

May bumped into a person because of her lack of attention. She and
Xiao-Mei both shouted in surprise and May's groceries spilled all out of
the bag. May's food was shown as it hit the ground. Xiao-Mei hit the
ground next, flipping backwards.

"Aww, poor Xiao-Mei." May said. She looked down at Xiao-Mei and
smoothed her fur. "You okay?"
Xiao-Mei nodded her head.

The scene changed to show the old lady and May staring at the mess. As
May dropped to the ground and started to grab her groceries, the old
lady said, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry about that dearie."

"At least it's a nice old lady you bumped into." Al said cheerfully. "Brother
usually bumps into mean people….Or they are made mean because of
Brother's attitude."

Izumi glared at Ed. "I thought I taught you to be more observant than that."

Ed twitched. "Thanks a lot, Al." He turned to Teacher. "I am observant."

"He just gets excited sometimes and turns to me to say something so he gets
distracted." Al hurriedly added in his brother's defense.

"Yeah, yeah, that's it." Ed agreed quickly.

Ling snickered. "You are so scared of her."

Ed shot him an annoyed glare. "I'd love to see you get trained by her." He
growled.

"No thanks. I've already been trained." Ling replied amused.

May turned her head to the old lady while Xiao-Mei rubbed her back.
"No, ma'am. It was my fault really."

The old lady turned around.

May was shown from the side as she started putting food back in the bag
and the old lady moved to her side.

"That's an interesting outfit you're wearing." The old lady said as she
crouched down to help. She held up a carton to May. "Where are you
from, dear?"

May closed her eyes and smiled as she took it. "Xing actually." She said
before opening her eyes and putting the carton in her bag.

The old lady looked back at the mess to pick something else up. "Is that
right? You here sightseeing?"

The train was shown with smoke blowing out of it.

"There's not much to look at in East City." The old lady said.

"That's an understatement." Ed said dryly. "It's pretty boring there."

"No, it's boring when you're not there." Havoc retorted.

"When you're there, it's one trouble after the other." Breda agreed.

"I am not that much of a bad luck charm." Ed muttered.

May chuckled. "No, I'm just here transferring trains." The two were
shown as May stood up with her bag full of groceries again. "I'm
heading north right now."

Ed smacked his forehead. "May, no matter who it is, even if it is this nice old
lady, you don't tell anyone you don't know or trust where you are going when
you're on the run."

"Well, how am I supposed to know?" May huffed. "I've never been on the run
before. Besides, what's it matter? She's not going to tell anyone."
"You can't know that for sure which is why you keep where you are going a
secret." Mustang replied with a sigh. "Though, saying north is pretty broad so
you should be fine."

"Still, it is a dangerous thing to say. Anyone could have overheard." Hughes

pointed out.

May huffed. "Fine, I get it. I'll be more careful." She looked at Ed. "Besides, I
thought you wanted to find me."

"No thanks." Ed said dryly. "You're heading north. I no longer want to find
you so don't make any more mistakes."

"Come on, kid. The north isn't that bad." Buccaneer said amused.

"I am not heading up there! It's too cold!" Ed shouted. "I hate the cold!"

Brody scoffed. "You're such a baby when it comes to a bit of cold."

"It's not just a bit! I may have never been up there, but I've heard about the
cold up there and it's approaching winter which makes it worse!" Ed cried.

Avery rolled his eyes. "Don't you have translating to do, punk?"

Ed scoffed. "Fine." He grumbled, going back to his paper to translate the

lyrics which he hadn't even started. "Still not going up there."

The Briggs soldiers chuckled in amusement.

"The train bound for North City is departing from platform three." A
train announcer said.

"Oh, that's me!" May said before running around the old lady.

The old lady turned to watch her go.

The scene changed angles to show May as she spun around and ran
backwards while saying, "Thank you for all your help, ma'am." After
saying that, she spun back around.
"At least someone has manners." Jerso said, giving Ed a very obvious look.

"Let it go already!" Ed said annoyed. He turned to Ling while pointing at the

chimeras. "They are at the top of the list with Hughes and Colonel."

"That doesn't make me feel good." Darius said when he saw Ed pointing at
them and saying something in Xingese.

"Do you think we're on his list or something?" Zampano asked.

"List of what?" Jerso asked.

Zampano shrugged. "I don't know, but it can't be a good list if said list
exists."

The old lady raised a hand in farewell. "Take care, dearie."

May was shown from behind as she ran over to a bench where someone
was sitting with a cloak covering their face. May grabbed the person's
arm and pulled him to his feet. Xiao-Mei was shown running over to the
two.

The old lady was shown. "Eh?"

Xiao-Mei appeared on screen. She stopped and looked back at the old
lady for a second before running off again.

The old lady appeared on screen, tilting her head. "I've never seen a cat
like that."

"She's a panda bear!" May cried in annoyance. "Why can't any of you get it
right?"

Al chuckled. "Because none of us have ever seen a panda bear with a disease
that stunt growth like that."

"She's obviously a panda bear." May huffed.

"Well, it's not like they are commonly seen in Amestris anyway." Hughes
pointed out. "In fact, I've never seen one before Xiao-Mei so it's not
surprising that confusion is happening."

A night sky with a crescent moon in it appeared on screen. As the scene

moved down to an empty alley where a manhole that was opened was,
soft music started. The roof of the sewers was shown as the scene
continued to move down to the paths in it.

Footsteps that were walking on a metal gate were heard.

The bottom of the metal gate was shown as a couple pair of feet walked
over it. The scene moved to show two figures covered in tan cloaks from
above. They were shown from behind as Scar turned his head to look
over his shoulder. Scar's face was zoomed in on, face half hidden by his
cloak's hood.

"So Scar is in the sewers and May is in East City." Al said. "They're not
together?"

"Well, a bigger group is easier to find." Hughes said. "Traveling in pairs and
in different directions might just be safer for them."

A group of footsteps could be heard hurrying towards them. Scar pushed

his comrade to the side and they hurried off screen just as a light in the
distance appeared on screen.

The MPs were zoomed in on, stopping as one asked, "Which where did
he go?"

"I know I heard footsteps coming from over that way." A second MP
said.

The dark sewers, lit up only a bit by the light from the MPs flashlights,
was shown. In the darkness stood a figure facing them.

"That's pretty creepy of him to just stand there." Ross said.

"It's scarier when you're the one there facing the creepy person." Ed replied.
Ross raised a brow. "Any situation that you haven't been in?"

"Hmm." Ed thought for a moment. "Well, I never got killed, but in reality
was just really faking my death."

Ross chuckled a bit sarcastically. "Thank you, Edward."

Ed grinned at her. "No problem, Lieutenant."

The MPs' lights moved around the sewers to find someone.

When it landed on the figure, he was rapidly zoomed in on.

The MPs were shown. The one at the head of the group pulled back in
shock, while the one behind him pointed at Scar. "Look! Over there!"
He shouted.

The MP at the head of the group recovered and pointed his gun at Scar.

General Armstrong scoffed. "He shouldn't have needed to recover at all. That
moment of shock would have gotten him killed if his opponent wanted to kill
him."

"You mean Scar doesn't want to kill him?" Ed asked sarcastically.

Scar scoffed. "It is not my goal to kill every Amestrian, Elric."

Ed shot him an annoyed look. "Perhaps not, but you are on the run so I
wouldn't be surprised if you did start killing again."

"I believe I am putting a halt to my killing after what you told me when we
were underground. I have to do some investigating of my own." Scar replied.

"We can only hope to at least have that happen." Mustang muttered. "We all
need some type of relief."

"I thought you wanted to find him." Hughes said.

Mustang frowned. "And now, I have bigger things to worry about, Hughes."
'Like the Homunculi and finding that bastard, Envy!'

Scar was shown, head still bowed and covered by the cloak's hood. He
raised his hand and the scene rapidly zoomed in on him, just briefly
showing his face as it did. The scene moved to show his hand from the
side as it hit the wall. There was a slight whistling sound as the wall lit up
blue.

The scene pulled out to show the blue alchemical light moving up to the
roof. The scene followed it to the roof where it sparked around the pipes.

The MPs were shown, gasping in shock.

The roof was shown to show a rectangular portion of it starting to fall.

The scene changed to show Scar and the person he was traveling with
from behind as they ran down the sewers. Rubble fell in front of the
screen, blocking them from view.

The MPs were shown up close as they watched.

The falling rubble appeared on screen, hitting the ground loudly and
kicking up a dust cloud, blinding the MPs of the two completely.

The portion of the roof that was destroyed was shown so the crescent
moon outside could be seen.

"Well, at least he didn't kill them." May told Ed.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Well, it doesn't seem like he did, but that move would
have injured some of them at least."

"It's still better than killing them." May defended.

Ed stared at her for a moment in confusion, but he just shrugged it off. If she
wanted to defend Scar, that was her decision. It was probably for the best
since they were traveling together in the future if she trusted him enough to
defend him like this.
Central Command appeared on screen.

"He was seen with a middle-age man who had black hair, right?"
Kimblee asked.

The bottom half of Kimblee's face was shown from the side with an MP
in the background, looking at him as he said, "Yes, that's what it said in
the report, sir."

"I feel sorry for those guys who have to work with him." Havoc said
sympathetically.

"Because you would be worried that he would kill you at any moment?"
Brosh asked.

"Yes!" Havoc shouted. "I don't trust him at all!"

"I really doubt he is going to start killing comrades again." Mustang told him
with a frown. "He only did it before to keep the stone a secret after all. Not
that I trust him or like him." He added when Havoc gave him a dry look. "But
I am being sensible about this."

Havoc shrugged. "Well, it's not like any of us have to deal with him."

"And we should keep it that way." Breda muttered.

Kimblee walked forward.

The scene moved to show Kimblee approaching a map on a bulletin

board from a downward angle so the whole room could be seen with all
the MPs in the room watching him.

A portion of the map was shown up close as Kimblee pointed at a red dot
on it. "And this was yesterday." He moved his hand to the left on the
map. Kimblee was shown as he moved his eyes along the map to follow
his finger. The map was shown as Kimblee drew his finger to a stop on
West City. "West, huh?"

"First it's east. Now it's west." Lan Fan said.

"Well, at least it seems that Kimblee is falling for the false trail." May said
hopefully.

"But how long will that last? If he is smart, he'll realize something is up."
Hughes said with a frown.

The scene moved to show Kimblee and a MP from a slight distance.

"Several of our own people were injured while trying to apprehend

him." The MP said.

Kimblee lowered his hand from the map and raised the report he was
holding again. "Scar must be getting desperate." His face was shown.
"But that could help us." He put his index finger and thumb to his chin.
"He's leaving us a good trail."

"But it's also a false trail, so isn't he making it obvious? So obvious that they
should know it is a trick?" Brosh asked.

"What I don't get is why? It is just putting them in more danger and at a
bigger risk to get Dr. Marcoh recaptured." Armstrong said with a thoughtful
frown.

"To be fair, we probably have more information than them because we are
seeing all of this so it is easier for us to think for." Hughes pointed out.

The word 'West" from the map appeared on screen as slow, mysterious
music began. Kimblee's face reappeared on screen.

Kimblee's fedora that was on the table appeared on screen. Kimblee put
his hand on the hat. "Alright." The scene changed to show Kimblee and
another MP from an upward angle. Kimblee put his hat on and started
walking towards the screen. "It's time to get to work."

The scene changed to the outside of a train station being shown from the
sky. A car was seen driving down the road and coming to a stop in front
of the building. The car was shown up close as Kimblee stepped out of it
with the MPs, except the driver, following him. The stairs were shown
from above as Kimblee and his man walked up them while the old lady
from earlier was shown walking down them.

"The old lady?!" Ed and Ling shouted.

"Yeah, seems like it. What's the matter?" May asked confused.

Ed sighed. "You don't get it? I doubt the future would be making her so
obvious to us if she wasn't important."

"Well, the future does do that, but it might just be screwing with us right
now." Clarink pointed out.

"That would make the future very cruel. It can't just suddenly change to
showing unimportant people just for the heck of it!" Ed grumbled.

The stairs appeared on screen. Kimblee's legs and the old lady's
appeared on the screen at the same time, walking past each other. The
MPs' legs followed Kimblee's. The scene moved to show Kimblee and the
MPs from behind as they climbed the stairs. When he was nearing the
top, Kimblee stopped, making the MPs stop. Kimblee turned halfway
around.

The old lady was shown from a downward angle as she approached the
bottom of the stairs.

Kimblee's face appeared on screen, being zoomed in on a bit as he

frowned. "Hmph." He closed his eyes and smirked a bit. "A suspicious
woman, but that isn't my job."

"Suspicious." Ed mocked, shooting a look at Clarink, who just raised his

hands.

"I was just saying there was a chance she could be a no one." Clarink replied.

"But what makes her so suspicious to Kimblee?" Walkers asked confused.

"Who knows? It could be anything." Myers said.

"Or Kimblee's instincts are still off after being in prison for so long." Heinkel
said.

"That is a good point." Ed murmured thoughtfully. "Well, not the instincts."

Heinkel shot him an annoyed glare. "Then what is a good point?"

"He's been in prison for so long. Solitary confinement." Ed explained,

frowning. "He hasn't fought in years. He can't be in the best of shape right
now and he is going to chase after Scar, who hasn't stopped fighting? I really
don't think it would turn out well."

"Depends on how he fights." Mustang pointed out. "A frontal attack would be
pretty foolish. His alchemy works just fine, but like you said, he isn't in shape
for combat like Scar is."

"So the wisest move would be an ambush, but considering who Scar is and
how tricky he is, that would be difficult to pull off successfully." Hughes
finished.

"So who are we rooting for to win this whole chase-attack thing?" Ling
asked. "Kimblee or Scar?"

"Well," Mustang said, frowning. "I don't like either of them so that is a hard
choice to make."

The scene pulled out to show Kimblee from behind once more as he
turned around and continued on with the MPs following him.

A bell ringing and birds chirping was heard as the scene changed to the
gate of the cemetery. The ringing bell was shown.

Hughes's grave was shown with a bouquet of flowers on it.

"Seeing my grave is so depressing." Hughes moaned.

Ed patted Hughes's knee in mock sympathy. "There, there, Hughes. At least

you aren't dead yet."
Hughes blinked. "Yet?!" He cried.

Ed shrugged. "Well, everyone has to die at some point."

Hughes groaned and buried his face in his hands. "You little punk. You are
messing with me."

"No denying that." Ed said.

Mustang whacked Ed in the head with a pillow. "You shouldn't mock your
comrades."

Ed huffed and pulled his hair out of the braid. How many more times was he
going to get hit with pillows? Well, probably a lot at this rate seeing as he had
no plans to stop his mocking. If it got amusement to spread instead of more
depressing feelings, he would mock….and then get hit with pillows. He
quickly fixed his hair and redid the braid.

The scene moved to show Mustang from behind as he stood at the grave.

Footsteps were heard before the old lady appeared on screen,

approaching Mustang.

"What is with this old lady?!" Brody and Luke shouted.

"She is everywhere!" Havoc screamed.

"I'm telling you! There is something about her!" Ed retorted.

"She's an old lady though! What could she possible do?" Breda asked.

Mustang was shown as he stared into the distance with a frown.

"Looks like a funeral precession." The old lady said, making Mustang
turn his head to her.

The scene moved to show Mustang and the old lady from a distance
when she stopped next to him in front of Hughes's grave.
"Well, this is the place for it." Mustang said.

"It's quite depressing. When you reach my age, you think about it being
you in the box, instead of watching it go by." The old lady said.

"Surely you can't worry too much about that? You still look plenty
young to me." Mustang said.

"…Too weird." Ed said. "Even your conversations with old women–"

Ed was shut up when Mustang pressed a pillow into his face and didn't let it
go. The boy waved his arm around, hitting Mustang's arms, but Mustang
didn't move away.

Ling smirked. "You really need to learn to keep your mouth shut, Ed."

Even though he couldn't see because of a pillow, Ed still managed to whack

Ling with his book.

"Ow! That wasn't nice at all." Ling said.

"I should make you drink milk for that." Mustang grumbled as he let go of
the pillow and it dropped to Ed's lap.

Ed shot Mustang a glare. "You can't just pull milk out for everything you
don't like that I say!"

"I should." Mustang retorted. "Maybe you'll actually grow an inch then."

"It has nothing to do with milk!" Ed screamed.

The old lady was shown up close. She put her hand on her lips and blew
a kiss.

Mustang was shown, eyes shut and smiling. His eyes opened widely and
the background changed blue as he stared in shock, gaping.

Ed snorted. "Nice face, Colonel."

Mustang twitched and tried to take a pillow from Hughes to smack Ed with,
but Hughes pulled the pillow back to him and shook his head at his friend.
Mustang growled and glared at Ed's head. 'Next time. Just you wait, punk.
Next time.'

With a pong, the scene changed red and pulled out to show the old lady
from behind with Mustang staring.

With a second pong, the scene changed blue and pulled out farther. A
picture of the old lady appeared on screen. The picture changed to
General Grumman while Mustang said frantically, "General Grumman,
is that you?"

"What?!" Havoc, Breda, Walkers, Rufus, Charlie, and Richard screamed in

shock.

"Old man Grumman is dressed like a girl?" Ed said more calmly, but he was
staring wide eyed and gaping at the screen.

"Don't call a general that, Fullmetal." Mustang said, but there seemed to be
no authority behind it as he was too busy staring at the screen, trying to figure
the future out.

"Why not? He never cares that I call him it." Ed grumbled.

Mustang snapped out of his trance and stared at Ed. "You've called him that
to his face?"

"Yep!"

Riza sighed. "Sir, he doesn't mind. He's quite fond of the fact that Edward
feels comfortable enough with his presence to give him the name."

"Well, it's a good thing he's such a trustworthy and kind guy." Mustang
grumbled, looking back at the screen. "But what is with the clothes?! Why
would anyone dress like that? And willingly?"

"Well, at least we now know that old lady is suspicious." Ling said amused.
"Because he is a crazy old guy dressing like a woman?" Ed snorted.

"Exactly!"

The scene pulled out to show the two from a slight distance, colors going
back to normal. As fun, silly music began, Grumman chuckled. "The
plan was to meet in front of General Hughes's grave, wasn't it?"

Mustang appeared on screen, turning rapidly towards the screen and

putting his hands over his mouth as he tried to keep himself from
laughing, but he couldn't stop himself from letting a few muffled
chuckles loose.

"Oooh, what is this? Laughing at a superior?" Ed said, mocking his Colonel's

voice. "For shame, Colonel! For shame! You are supposed to respect them!
How dare you laugh? Show the respect that he rightly deserves!"

Mustang managed to wrestle the pillow off of Hughes and whacked Ed

upside the head three times. "Shut up, brat! Who wouldn't laugh at that?"

Ed growled and pointed at Riza. "Lieutenant Riza."

Riza had to turn her head to the side to hide the fact that her lips were
twitching. She was trying very hard not to smile right now.

"And stop hitting me with those damn pillows!" Ed snapped as he went to

fixing his hair a second time, glaring at Mustang.

"Stop being a rude brat." Mustang retorted.

"I'm beginning to think that is an impossible thing for him to do." Darius
muttered.

"I don't think he even knows what respect and politeness is." Jerso added,
grinning. "And his brother is one of the nicest people ever. How can you not
learn it, kid?"

Ed glared at him. "Maybe I like being this way! Did you ever think about
that?"
Behind Mustang, General Grumman kneeled down and put his bouquet
on Hughes's grave. "I thought the situation must be serious for you to
resort to the last ditch plan, so just to be safe, I wore a disguise."

"He couldn't have worn anything else?" Ling asked amused.

"He probably could have, but really. Where is the fun in that?" Brody asked,
grinning widely.

Ling snorted. "Ah, good point. Will you dress like a girl someday, Ed?
Apparently it is a really fun thing to do."

Ed shot him a glare. "Seriously, Ling? Seriously?"

Ling grinned at him. "Come on. Where's your sense of humor?"

"It died the moment you suggested I dress like a girl." Ed said dryly. "I will
never do that in a million years."

"What if I paid you to do it?" Ling suggested.

"No."

Ling huffed. "You're no fun."

"Why don't you go do it then?" Ed retorted.

Ling wrinkled his nose. "Why would I want to do it?"

"You shouldn't try to get me to do something if you yourself don't have the
guts to do it." Ed snapped at him.

Mustang turned his head to him slightly, still not managing to get rid of
his grin. "Of course."

"And here I thought you had better control of your emotions, sir." Fuery said
amused.

Mustang turned his head away, unable to hide the fact that he was grinning
and trying not to laugh here as well. "Well," He said, snickering a bit. "I've
never been in a situation like this. I don't know how to handle it. It's just like
the first time Fullmetal screamed one of his short rants."

"Must you bring that up?" Ed grumbled.

A sudden feral grin appeared on Heinkel's face. "What happened the first
time?"

Ed twitched. "We do not discuss it!"

"He's right." Havoc muttered. "We don't discuss it at all."

"But that just makes the story sound even better." Brody said.

"We don't discuss it!" Havoc and Ed screamed.

"I'm sensing that Havoc was involved in this story." Luke said, grinning
widely.

"Stop fishing." Ed growled, glaring at him. "You're not getting the story. Not
now. Not ever."

"Now I see why you're known for being eccentric. That really is some
getup, sir."

Grumman's face was shown from the side. "Eccentric? I think I'll choose
to take that as a compliment." He turned his head to Mustang and said
more seriously, "Now, what is it you need?"

A stone symbol on the library appeared on screen.

"Alkahestry…" Al said.

The scene pulled out to show the roof of the library.

"Maybe they have some information in the library." Al said.

"Yeah." Ed replied.
The scene slowly started to move down to show Al and Ed, whose hands
were folded behind his head, approaching the library.

"If we can't find that bratty little girl, I don't see what other choice we
have." Ed said.

"I take offense to that." May huffed.

"You take offense to everything I say about you." Ed replied.

"Well, you are always being rude to me!" May said.

Ed raised a brow. "You kicked me in our first meeting and in our second, you
attacked me and screamed at me for not being your prince charming."

"Eh…well…" May looked down in embarrassment. "The first time was

justified cause I was helping Scar, but I may have….just may have…over
reacted a bit in our second meeting."

"I think that is the best you are getting." Mustang told Ed. "You should just
accept it as an apology."

"Apology?" Ed asked. "I'm not even mad! I was just saying! It's future me
who has the problem with her!"

May looked up. "You're not mad at me?"

Ed just stared at her blankly. "Why did everyone assume I was mad?"

May grinned and launched herself at a surprised Ed, hugging him around the
waist. "Thanks for not being mad!"

Ed blinked and looked towards Ling for help, but the prince was just
snickering at his predicament. "Unhelpful." He mouthed at his friend, making
him smirk. Looking back at May, Ed frowned. "Uh…" Ed patted May on the
head gently. "Yeah, no problem, May."

May released him and smiled at him before moving back to her spot next to
Al, leaving a slightly twitching Ed behind.
Ling patted Ed on the shoulder. "Nicely handled." He mocked.

Ed slapped his hand away. "Knock it off, unhelpful jerk."

"But you had it handled." Ling teased.

"I swear, I want to put you on the list." Ed hissed at him.

"Awww, but I'm your partner in crime, buddy." Ling said. "You can't do
that."

"Should be able to." Ed grumbled.

"I hope we can at least find something." Al said.

Some graves appeared on screen. The scene slowly moved to the side
through them, showing a funeral in the distance. Grumman and
Mustang were seen a bit closer than the funeral in the cemetery.

"The scene with Ed and Al seemed almost pointless." Lan Fan said.

"What is with you kids and thinking things are pointless?" Hughes asked with
a sigh. "I'm telling you all! Nothing is ever pointless!"

"I see." Grumman said. "The Central senior staff have all turned, have
they?"

Mustang and Grumman were shown from the front at a slight distance.

"You've gained some information, but you've lost too much doing it."
Grumman said.

Hawkeye appeared on screen, saluting.

Fuery was shown next, surrounded by his equipment. He looked up with

a smile.

Falman was shown, saluting a soldier.

Breda was shown, standing in front of someone who had a paper lifted
onto screen to look at it.

Havoc appeared on screen, looking down sadly.

"With all the people you can trust stripped away from you, you won't get
anywhere." Grumman said.

Grumman and Mustang reappeared on screen.

"Yes. You got it exactly, sir." Mustang said.

Grumman sighed. "Even Raven too?" His face appeared on screen. "Not
too long ago, I came to Central and he asked me something. Something I
found quite strange."

Raven appeared on screen, standing up straight and raising a hand into

the air. He held the hand out towards the screen as dramatic mysterious
music began.

"He wanted to know if I'd be interested in a corps of immortal soldiers."

"In a what?" Miles asked shocked.

"Immortal soldiers?" Buccaneer repeated with a frown. "What could that

mean?"

"I'm guessing he means an army of immortal soldiers." Ed said sarcastically.

Mustang whacked him with a pillow while saying, "The Homunculi?" He

frowned thoughtfully. "They are the only immortal beings that I know."

"I doubt that is what he meant." General Armstrong said. "It's not the
Homunculi. They have been around for centuries and have only ever worked
in the shadows. They are the ones planning everything so I doubt the army is
them."

"Well, what else could it be?" Mustang asked frustrated.

Raven's mouth appeared on screen as he grinned in quite an evil way.

Mustang appeared on screen, gasping. "Immortals?"

Gluttony was shown when he had the mouth in his stomach opened.

Lust was shown next as she was dying.

"Did he mean Homunculi?"

Grumman and Mustang were shown from a downward angle from the
side.

"The idea of immortality is simply ridiculous." Grumman said.

"Course it is ridiculous." Hughes scoffed. "There is nothing great about

immortality. It is just surviving on this planet forever while you watch
everyone else die. You have to watch your friends and family grow old and
die while you stay the same. What's so great about that?"

"Well, some people are scared of death. To them, immortality is the greatest
gift ever." Ed said, scratching Black Hayate's ear, making the dog bark
happily.

"And to others?" Havoc asked.

Ed hummed and looked down at Black Hayate. "Hell on Earth."

"Short, simple, and sounds horrible." Hughes said.

Ed shrugged.

"I told him as much and ended the conversation." His face was shown up
close. He turned to the screen smirking a bit in dark amusement. "And
not long after that, I was transferred."

The scene moved to show Mustang looking at Grumman.

"You mean you were demoted?" Mustang asked.

Grumman looked back at the grave. "Indeed I was. And since then, I've
been struck with the inglorious job of cleaning up the messes in the
Eastern Area."

"Oooh, so just because he didn't agree, they kicked him out of Central?"
Brody scoffed.

"That seems to be the thing to do. Get rid of the people who won't side with
you." Breda said.

"I'm surprised they didn't kill him." Ed said, looking back down at his lyrics
that he was getting nowhere in translating. "Since they told him part of their
plans, you think they would have offed him to keep the plans a secret."

"Not that it really matters since he never mentioned it before this." Mustang
pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "But why would he keep it quiet?"

"Not enough information or he didn't know for sure what Raven meant or if
he was serious. It could be any number of reasons." Hughes replied. "And
causing a stir over nothing would have ruined his reputation and made things
worse for him."

Mustang's face was zoomed in on. He looked back towards the grave.
"And speaking of messes, do you remember the difficulties that we had
in Liore?"

Cornello appeared on screen, arms spread wide.

"No, I do not!" Ling said loudly, glaring at the screen as if it offended him.

Ed stared at him dryly. "Ling, I told you about that."

"But I didn't get to see it!" Ling whined.

"Why do you even want to?" Hughes asked. "It wasn't anything special."

Ling pointed at Ed. "Cause he was involved in it. And the things he gets
involved in usually turn out a bit amusing cause he is so evil."

Havoc thought back to Liore and felt a smirk tug at his lips. "You know, he is
right. Chief's trip to Liore certainly had quite a few amusing situations."

"Now I want to see it even more!" Ling moaned.

Ed sighed. "Stop acting like a little child being withheld candy, Ling."

"A false priest was scheming for power until the Fullmetal Alchemist
uncovered his plan."

Cornello was shown, lying on the ground in pain with Ed standing in the
background, clothes all ripped and staring down at Cornello.

"What did you do to him?" May asked.

"We just fought." Ed said.

"And somehow your clothes ended up ruined." Ling said amused. "Why do
you clothes always get ruined?"

"Because apparently the jerks I fight have a problem with my sense of style!"
Ed growled, fist shaking in anger.

"Yes, I remember." Grumman said.

The blue sky filled with clouds appeared on screen. The scene slowly
moved down to the two.

"Liore fell into chaos after that. But from the outset, forces from the east
acted quickly. They brought the uprising under control." Mustang said.

The scene continued to move down and showed the two from an upward
angle.

"Yes." Grumman said. "But then the forces from Central came in, and
all of the Eastern forces were dismissed. Were you aware of that?"
"Yeah."

A window appeared on screen. Something smashed through it,

destroying the glass completely. A group of people were shown, fighting
with each other.

"And the peace in Liore was shattered." Mustang said.

Liore was shown from above, smoke rising up around it.

"After the Central forces appeared." Mustang said.

Grumman and Mustang reappeared on screen.

"What are they planning now?" Grumman asked. "And what is they
intend to do next?" He raised his arms and shook them. "And why can't
they hold off?" He put his hands back on his cane and bowed his head.
"I'm almost retired. If they'd only wait, I'd be free and clear."

"Seriously?" Ed asked surprised. "If anything, I would have expected he

would want involved."

"Why do you think that?" Al asked.

Ed shrugged. "From what I know of him, that just seems more like him,
getting involved and stuff."

Mustang smirked to himself. He knew his future self didn't just ask Grumman
to meet him to trade information. There was more to it than that. He wanted
Grumman on his side to help in whatever way he could.

"Now I know that you're bluffing." Mustang said. He was shown up

close, smirking a bit. "I'm sorry, General, but someone like you, you
don't know how to sit by and watch. You can't do nothing."

Grumman's face was shown from the side.

"Especially when your soldiers are all hardened veterans. Men who
fought in the Ishval conflict." Mustang said.
"Sooo." Ed said.

Mustang sighed. "Yes, Fullmetal. You were right. You and I had the same
train of thought."

Ed wrinkled his nose. "I don't want to have the same thought pattern as you."

"Too bad." Mustang drawled. "You already did."

"Argh!"

Grumman chuckled, which turned into loud laughter. He grabbed the

edge of his hat and pulled it down farther as dramatic music started. "I
expected you to come crying to me."

"Colonel crying?" Ed asked. "Hmm…yeah, can't see it."

"He cried at my funeral." Hughes told Ed before grinning at Mustang.

"Because he loves me sooo much!"

Mustang shoved a pillow in Hughes's face. "No, Hughes."

"Why are you friends with a person who abuses you?" Ling asked amused.

Hughes looked at Ling with a raised brow. "Are you seriously asking me that
when you are friends with Ed?"

"Ah, that is a very good point." Ling said.

Ed snorted. "It's cause both of you are masochists."

Hughes and Ling both grabbed a pillow and whacked Ed with them.

"Why are there even pillows in here?" Ed asked in frustration, taking the
pillows from Ling and Hughes and throwing them away, though they just hit
Al.

"Hey!" Al said.
"Whoops. Sorry, Al." Ed said, grinning sheepishly at his brother. "Just hide
them!"

Al sighed. "Brother, I'm not getting involved in your battle over there."

"Come on, Al! Help a brother out!" Ed whined.

"I'm not getting involved." Al said, but he handed the pillows to May, who
used them as cushions for her and Xiao-Mei.

"Traitor." Ed grumbled.

The white king appeared on screen as Mustang removed the bottom of it.

"When you sent me that note, I thought you just wanted some advice."

Hughes's grave appeared on screen.

"But you're trying to get me involved in this too, aren't you?" The
bottom part of Grumman's face appeared on screen. The scene slowly
moved up his face. "And you know, it's working. Since things are
becoming so interesting over at Central Command, just when I thought
my embers of ambition was dead." He raised his head to show his
determined eyes to the screen. "I'm finding myself fired up again."

Mustang's face was shown from the side, smirking. "Careful now. You
don't want to mess up your make-up, right, ma'am?"

The scene pulled out to show the two from the side. Grumman went back
to his woman's voice and covered his mouth. "Oh my. No." He gave a
strange woman's chuckle.

Mustang laughed and turned to him. "Do you have an opening later,
sir?"

Grumman turned to him.

Mustang turned around and started to walk away. "Maybe you and I
could grab a cup of tea somewhere."
Ed snickered. "It sounds like you are asking him out on a d–"

Mustang whacked Ed in the face with a pillow.

"Where do these pillows keep coming from?!" Ed shouted, looking at the

ceiling. "Is there a pillow fairy I don't know about?"

"Very sorry, but no." Grumman said as Mustang stopped and stare at
him. "I appreciate the invitation." He was shown from the front. He
tilted his head slightly.

The files under Mustang's arm were shown to show a picture of Xiao-
Mei there.

"There it is!" Ed and Al shouted.

"Huh?" May said.

"He saw Xiao-Mei and now he's seen the drawing! He's going to mention it."
Al explained.

"Nooo." Ed groaned. "Don't mention it. I'm sorry for telling Colonel about it."

"You know, I hope they do tell you so you have to come north." Avery
grumbled. "That way we can kick your ass when you get up there!"

Ed scoffed. "You? Beat me?"

"Oh, are you doubting the Briggs soldiers?" Buccaneer asked.

"Come north, you little punk." Brody growled, fist shaking a bit in anger.

Al sighed. "Did you have to anger them?"

"I just don't want to go north!" Ed cried.

The outside of the library appeared on screen.

The top of Ed's head appeared on screen, twitch mark appearing there.
The scene changed to show multiple piles of books in front of Ed. The
scene slowly moved to show Ed with another a book in his hand. As he
shut his eyes in annoyance, he snapped the book shut. A pile of books
was shown as Ed put the book on the top of it.

"No use." Ed said.

"Well, that's not really all that surprising." Hughes said. "Considering no one
really knows about Alkahestry, I doubt we would have any really helpful
books on it."

"Well, we need to get some obviously!" Ed snapped.

"Going to make sure we do?" Havoc asked amused.

"If I have too." Ed replied.

"Which means bothering the Colonel about it for months until the Colonel
caves and has to do all the paperwork for it." Breda said with a snicker.

Mustang glared at Ed. "I should make you start doing some desk work."

"No thanks. I'm fine the way I am." Ed replied.

"Well, I'm not." Mustang snapped at him. "I'm tired of all the paperwork you
cause me."

Ed just shrugged.

"You're driving him insane, and you're grinning?" Ling muttered.

"Of course." Ed said.

Ling just shook his head. Was it their job in life to drive the other one
completely insane?

The scene moved to show Ed from a downward angle as he walked

through an aisle of bookshelves, carrying books under both arms.
"Why is there so little information available on Alkahestry?" Ed said
with a sigh.

A section of a bookshelf was shown up close as Ed slid a book back into

place.

"You know, most libraries don't like you putting books away on your own."
Falman said.

"I know." Ed said. "I've had the librarians scolding me for putting books
away because they think I am putting them in the wrong spot, though it was
always the right spot I was putting them in."

"How'd you get them off your back?" Falman asked.

Ed shrugged. "I told them to teach me their system, even though I was
completely right and knew how to do it already. And after I learned it, they
got off my back and left me to my own devices."

"Mostly." Al corrected.

"Yeah, mostly. They still felt the need to watch my every move in the
beginning, like I was planning to burn the place down." Ed grumbled.

"Considering your record on your missions, can you blame them?" Havoc
asked amused.

Ed twitched. "That's different!"

"How so?"

"Someone is usually trying to kill me then! I don't blow things up just for the
heck of it, you know!" Ed retorted.

"Pretty hard to believe." Breda muttered to Havoc.

The scene changed to show Ed from the side. "At this rate, I'm thinking
we might as well go to Xing." He put his hand on a book from the pile he
was holding in his other arm. "It'd be hard. Crossing the desert in
automail sounds hot." He put another book on the shelf and was sliding
it back in when a huge shadow covered him. Ed gasped and his eyes
widened.

The scene changed to show Ed's face, eyes widened in slight fear as he
looked up.

"What's with the look?" Mustang teased. "I never knew you to be so afraid,
Fullmetal."

Ed glared at him. "Yeah, well, I've had a very frightening experience

recently."

Mustang raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Ed shrugged. "Envy." He muttered. The moment he saw that huge shadow,

all he could think about was Envy.

Hughes frowned. "You mean when he transformed into that giant monster?"

Ed nodded.

"Well, I highly doubt Envy is going to show up in monster form in the library
to finish the job." Darius said sarcastically.

"You never know with that psychotic freak!" Ed shouted.

"Considering you are back in the real world and that you are needed as a
sacrifice, I'm pretty sure he isn't coming for you." Heinkel told him

Ed huffed. Who ever knew with the Homunculi? Stupid, annoying jerks.

The fear disappeared and was replaced by shock as Ed screamed and

jumped backwards, books falling out of his arms as he fell onto his butt,
one hand going to the ground to hold him up while the other was held up
in front of him. "What the–"

The scene moved to the back of Ed's head and slowly moved up the
bookcase to the top to show Armstrong's head on the other side, sparkles
all around him.

"You trying to give me a heart attack?" Ed shouted.

"What? Of course not, Edward Elric." Armstrong replied offended. "I would
never."

"Well, appearing like that, what do you think will happen?" Ed growled.

"I did not realize that it would give you such a fright. You are usually fine.
How was my future self supposed to know about the incident inside of
Gluttony?" Armstrong asked.

Ed frowned. "Well, fine. That is a good point. But still, suddenly appearing
like that will freak anyone out!"

Armstrong's face was shown up close. "Ah-ha."

The scene moved to show Ed from behind at an upward angle with

Armstrong's head still seen at the top of the bookcase. Armstrong
suddenly pushed the two bookshelves apart.

Ling stared. "Seriously? He's that strong?"

"Yes." Ed and Al said blankly.

"Moving bookshelves." Ling muttered to himself. "How does someone find

the strength to do such a thing?"

"Yeah, that I don't have the answer to." Ed muttered back. "It's never made
sense to me."

Ling stared at him with a sudden grin. "When did you first met him?"

Ed stared at him with a frown. "Why do you ask?"

"I think it would be an interesting meeting." Ling replied.

Ed scoffed. "Interesting is one word for it. Another would be annoying and
another is freaky."

"So–"

"I'm not telling you."

"There you are, Edward Elric." Armstrong said as he walked through

the path between the bookshelves. He put his hands on the bookshelves
behind him and pushed them back closed. "I found you."

Ed's face was shown. It suddenly turned angry as he sat up. "You?
Damn it, Major! What do you want?"

"No need to be so rude." Brody teased.

"I just almost had a heart attack. Leave me alone!" Ed said.

"Besides, we're all used to his anger taking over after he's had a momentarily
freak out moment." Havoc added with a teasing grin.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Havoc is just below the chimeras who are below Hughes
and Colonel."

Ling sweat dropped. "This is going to be a long list, isn't it?"

"It's everyone!" Ed hissed. "Remember? War against them all!"

"Including your teacher and General Armstrong?" Ling asked.

Ed paused, slight fear in his eyes, and he frantically shook his head. "You're
insane!"

Ling laughed. "Well, you said everyone."

"Everyone but those two insane women!"

"Oooh, look who is brave when they can't understand him." Ling teased.

Ed glared at him.
The major was shown in front of Ed, holding a finger up as he looked to
each side. "Shhh. This is a library you know. Quiet."

"You're the one playing with bookshelves!" Ed retorted. "I'm surprised one of
those crazy librarians didn't come over to yell at us just for that!"

He looked back at Ed. Armstrong leaned down, cupping a hand at the

side of his mouth. "I understand you're after a certain Xingese girl who
possesses a strange black and white cat." He looked to the side then the
other side as he lowered his hand.

"Yeah." Ed said. He turned on the ground to look in the direction

Armstrong was looking with a suspicious look. "But how do you know
that?"

The scene pulled out to show the two from a slight distance, looking quite
odd with one sitting on the ground and the other crouching in front of
him.

"Colonel Mustang informed me." Armstrong said as footsteps were

heard and Ed looked back at him. A pair of legs passed the screen. "I'm
running errands for him today."

"Hmm?"

"The word is the girl is headed north." Armstrong said.

"Don't tell me that!" Ed moaned pitifully.

"Going to give up because of a little cold?" Mustang asked amused. "Your

options are the library, which is a bust, or heading to Xing. I doubt the
Homunculi would be too happy about you going there, but if they weren't an
issue, it would be the choice between too hot or too cold."

Ed groaned. Stupid temperatures always got in his way.

Ed's face appeared on screen as he frowned.

"According to an eyewitness, she departed by train from East City very

recently." Armstrong said.

An evil grin spread across Ed's face. "North huh?" His automail hand
formed into a fist in front of him. "Now that is some information I can
act on." The scene pulled out to show the two of them as Ed looked up at
Armstrong. "I appreciate it, Major."

"I don't." Ed muttered.

"I am eagerly waiting for your arrival." Clarink sneered.

Ed glared at him. "Maybe I won't come visit you guys. Ever think about that
one?"

"Well, someone is coming north at some point to tell us."

"Yeah," Ed snorted. "Sure as hell is not going to be me."

Ed turned to the books he dropped and started to pick them up. "And
thank the Colonel for me too."

Armstrong held a hand up. "Hold on a second."

The back of Ed's head appeared on screen. He turned his head slightly to
Armstrong in confusion.

"There's more." Armstrong said. His chest appeared on screen as he

reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope.

General Armstrong scoffed when she saw that envelope. She knew what it
was immediately. A letter of introduction. Her brother should honestly know
by now that she didn't care for such things. She would judge a person by what
he or she showed to her. What they prove to her. A letter introduction meant
nothing. It was just one person's opinion of that person. And no one else's
opinion meant anything to her. She would judge a person on her own.

Ed was shown as he stared at Armstrong with a slight frown.

Armstrong's hand appeared on screen in front of Ed, holding the

envelope out. "Take this." He said.

Ed blinked and moved his eyes down to the letter.

The letter was shown up close to show the red wax stamp on it.

"What is it?" Ed asked.

The scene moved to show the two from a downward angle. Ed was
holding the letter, staring at it.

"A letter of introduction." Armstrong said as low dramatic music began.

"But it might not be much use."

"It won't be of any use." General Armstrong scoffed.

"Eh…?" Ed said confused.

Armstrong sighed. "Sister, you really need to at least read them. Even if you
don't agree with them, they can at least help you understand a bit."

General Armstrong glared at him. "And then my mind will be filled with
biased thoughts and impair my judgment."

"So, I don't follow this. Do you?" Ed asked Al.

Al shrugged. "Sibling squabble?"

General Armstrong shot an annoyed glare at Al.

"Then again," Al said frantically. "….uh…Brother?"

"You got yourself into this. Get yourself out." Ed informed him. Yeah, he
was not getting involved in anything to do with General Armstrong. He did
like living!

"Uh…" Al stared at the glare that General Armstrong was sending his way.
This was all his brother's fault! Al has been around him way too long if he
was being influenced like this!
Armstrong's face appeared on screen, looking very seriously. "First
thing, see her."

Ed appeared on screen as he looked up from the letter. "Her who? What

do you mean?"

The scene changed to the snow covered mountains up north with a snow
storm blowing around with the dramatic music getting a slight spooky
tone to it.

"Even further north than northern command," Armstrong said as the

scene changed to show a tall wall through the snow storm in the distance.
"You'll find an officer nicknamed the Northern Wall of Briggs that
defends our border."

"You do know what Fort Briggs is, right?" Avery asked.

"Eh…well," Ed thought. "It's a giant wall on the border in the mountains that
protects the border." When he just got stared at, Ed blushed a bit. "I didn't pay
it much attention, okay? We all know I don't have much care for the
military!"

"Still, you would think you would know more about us. We do keep the
Drachmans out." Luke muttered.

"I'm busy dealing with all the other problems in this country I run across. I
don't have time to concern myself with the freaking ice cold north!" Ed
retorted.

A pair of legs appeared on screen. "Major General Armstrong." The

scene moved up to show Armstrong, head bowed, sitting in a chair with
her sword stabbing the ground in front of her with her hands resting on
the hilt. Behind her in the shadows stood Miles and Buccaneer. General
Armstrong's face was shown up close, though nothing could be seen
because it was covered with shadows.

"Because that's not scary at all." Ed muttered.

"That's the whole point." Buccaneer said with a slightly dark grin, making Ed
twitch a bit.

"So I take it you and Major Miles are the second and third in command up
there?" Al asked, ignoring his twitching brother.

Miles nodded. "That is correct. I'm second in command and after me would
be Captain Buccaneer."

"So, if all three of you were gone, either killed or away from Fort Briggs,
would it be in chaos or would someone else take control?" Ling asked
curiously.

General Armstrong smirked. "My men don't need a leader there. They'll be
loyal and do what needs to be done, whether a person is there to give the
commands or not."

Brody shared a smirk with Avery. "Well, since you were told to come to Fort
Briggs…"

"Son of a–" Ed started, but was cut off when Hughes slammed a pillow in his
face. "I don't want to head up there!"

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you hate us." Luke said.

Ed groaned.

The railroad tracks were shown as active, dramatic music began once
more with a whistle being blown. The scene moved up to a bridge that
was over the train tracks with two figures running across it as the whistle
continued to blow. Some MPs ran onto screen on the bridge behind the
two.

The two figures covered in tan cloaks were shown up close. Scar looked
over his shoulder at the MPs.

The MPs were shown from a distance, running towards the screen.

Scar and his partner were shown once more. Scar pushed his comrade in
the back to make him go farther. "Hurry." Scar said.

"Pushy." Havoc muttered.

"Can't blame the guy. They are getting chased. This is no time to be slow."
Breda said.

A group of MPs were shown to be standing in front of the two on the

bridge, guns pointed at them.

The MP at the head of the group was shown up close as he said, "There's
no escape for you now, Scar."

Scar and his comrade were shown. Scar looked over his shoulder at the
group behind him that had their guns pointed at them.

Scar looked back at the screen. His face was zoomed in on as a train
whistle was heard.

The scene changed to show the group from a slight distance with a train
approaching the screen.

The guns from one group of MPs appeared on screen as they pointed at
the two.

The other MPs' guns were shown with Scar and his companion in front
of them. The scene slowly moved closer to them.

The train's wheels appeared on screen.

Scar's trembling companion was shown, face hidden completely by the

cloak. Scar's scary, frowning face appeared on screen next.

The train was shown from an upward angle approaching the bridge,
right under where Scar and his companion were standing. The train was
shown from the side as it passed under the bridge.

The black smoke from the train was shown covering Scar and his
companion from view.
Scar's face was shown up close as the dark smoke blew around his face
until he could no longer be seen.

Ed scoffed. The MPs should have made a move when they had a chance. Scar
was never going to go down like that. It was obvious that he was waiting for
something. He made it seem like he was trapped, but Ed knew. From being
trained by Izumi and from doing it frequently himself, he knew that Scar was
going to jump onto that train. It was a dangerous move and required precise
timing, but he was sure Scar could do it and that was his plan….or something
alone those lines.

The scene was shown from a downward angle.

The MPs were shown up close with smoke around them. As the smoke
started to disperse, they stared in shock.

The scene moved to show MPs running onto screen towards the other
group with Scar and his companion gone.

"Where are they?" One of the MPs shouted.

"That was obviously coming." Ed scoffed.

"What was coming? That fact that Scar is now a magician?" Luke asked.

Ed smacked his head. "He hates alchemy. Why would he do something like
magic, which is impossible?" He muttered.

The bridge railing was shown as some of the MPs turned to it and looked
over it at the train. One of the MPs growled before the end of the train
was shown with Scar and his companion on the roof of it.

"That was what was obvious, you magic obsessed freak!" Ed shouted.

"I don't like magic though." Luke said.

Ed glared at him. "And yet you dare suggest that Scar is a magician?"

Luke sweat dropped. He didn't mean anything by it.

As the train pulled farther and farther away, the MPs backs were shown
as one shouted, "Report to Command. They jumped on a train bound
for West City." The MP's face was shown. "Damn."

The scene changed to piles of neatly stacked books.

Al sighed. He appeared on screen, sitting at a table surrounded by books

with a book in his hands. "I can't find any details about Alkahestry." He
lowered his book.

"As Ed already pointed out." Hughes said.

Al huffed. "Well, it is annoying. Brother make sure to get more books at the
library."

Mustang twitched. He was not doing more paperwork! "You want those
damn books, Fullmetal, you're doing the paperwork!"

"I didn't even say anything!" Ed protested.

Mustang glared at his head. "But you want them."

"…Maybe."

"You deal with the work it will take then."

"…Do I want them that badly?" Ed asked.

"Yes!" Al said loudly.

"You're not the one being threatened with the paperwork." Ed grumbled.

May's feet appeared on screen as she finished drawing the array with
her foot and dropped the kunai in the points of the star. May crouched
down and put her hand in the center of the array. The train where the
other array was appeared on screen.

"That May girl use of long range alchemy was pretty impressive." Al
said.
The scene was shown from above as the train blew up and black smoke
filled the vicinity.

The scene went back to Al, showing him from behind. "I wish we could
use it. I should have asked her more about it when we were at Dr. Knox's
place."

"Even if you had, I couldn't have told you much in the short time I spent
there." May told Al. "It would take a lot of studying, Al. And we didn't have
enough time for all that since I had to leave to find Scar."

"Well, it's not like you had to go back to him." Al huffed.

"I think I did have to go back. There's a purpose for everything." May replied.

"I can't wait to see this purpose." Al muttered.

"Beyond her healing Dr. Marcoh, you mean?" Ling asked.

"Yes, beyond that." Al grumbled.

A pair of legs appeared on screen, walking in front of it, blocking Al

from view for a second. The legs stopped and turned to face Al.

Al's face appeared on screen. "Ling did say it was specialized for the
medical field." He gave a small gasp and turned his head.

A little kid's face appeared on screen, sparkles around it and in his eyes.

"Uh…what?" Al asked.

"I believe that is a very excited kid." Hughes said, grinning.

"And why?" Al asked.

"Because kids find people in suits of armors interesting and unique." Havoc
suggested.

"Oh, thanks." Al muttered dryly.

Ed snickered. "A lot of kids do seem to like Al, instead of being scared of
him." 'Which is really lucky.' Ed thought to himself. 'Al would be so upset if
he scared people.'

The scene moved to show Al staring at Selim.

"Who is that?" Ed muttered.

Havoc smacked his forehead. "Chief, you really need to learn about these
things. That is Selim Bradley. Open your eyes and ears already and learn
this."

"You're wearing a full suit of armor. Does that mean you're the
Fullmetal Alchemist's brother?" Selim asked.

Ling whistled. "You guys really are well known if you can be recognized just
by a suit of armor."

"Well, I doubt anyone else would go around the country as a suit of armor so
it's not hard to be recognized by a suit of armor." Al said.

"Uh, yeah, I am." Al said.

Selim appeared on screen, throwing a hand into the air. "Awesome!"

A second level of the library was shown with adults on it, who looked
down when Selim started laughing loudly in excitement. Another group
of adults at the information desk were shown as they looked towards the
two.

Al appeared on screen, hand on his head, with Selim in front of him,

excitedly waving his hand back and forth in the air. "Thanks." Al said.
He took his hand off his head and used his other hand to hold a finger up
to his helmet. "But maybe you should be a bit quieter."

Selim blinked and put a hand over his mouth, a lot calmer now. "I'm
sorry." He leaned in closer to Al and cupped his mouth with one hand.
"So what are you studying? Something cool?"
"It's called Alkahestry." Al said.

"What's Alkahestry?" Selim asked.

"It's alchemy from the country Xing." Al explained.

Selim was shown to be approaching all the books that were on the table.
"Oh, it's from Xing, huh?" He looked at Al. "But you and your brother
are already good enough at alchemy to practice here in Amestris, our
country's major alchemical power, isn't it? We got all sorts of talented
alchemists." The scene pulled out to show Selim from behind with Al
turned to face the boy. "So why would you guys look into the kind of
alchemy that they practice in a foreign country?"

Al was shown up close as he turned his head away slightly. "I can't tell
him I'm trying to find a way to get my body back."

"Any time now, Brother." Al said.

Ed blinked. "Any time for what?"

"For you to show up and bail me out of this!" Al exclaimed.

Ed raised a brow. "No, I think I'll let you deal with it."

"Brother!"

"You're the one who wants to throw me to the paperwork." Ed pointed out.

"Doesn't mean you have to throw me under the bus." Al grumbled.

"Or that we need to figure out how to fight against the Homunculi. So what
am I supposed to say?"

"Well," Al said.

The scene pulled out to show an excited Selim watching a falsely cheerful
Al.
"Alkahestry's supposed to have a lot of medical uses so I'm just doing
some research to see if any of its properties can be used to save people's
lives." Al said.

Ed snickered.

Al glared at his brother.

"Sorry, Al, but that was pretty amusing with your tone of voice." Ed replied.

"Doesn't mean that you have to laugh." Al huffed.

Ed grinned.

"Like teasing your brother?" Ling asked amused.

"Of course!" Ed said, but when he noticed the sad look in Ling's eyes, his
grin dropped. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry, Ed." Ling replied, attempting to smile. "It's just, I can't do that with
my brothers and sisters. We are all pretty much enemies trying to become the
next ruler."

"Sounds boring and dangerous." Ed replied.

"You have no idea." Ling muttered.

Ed stared at Ling for a moment before sighing and leaning in closer to his
friend to hide what he was going to show Ling. Ling looked at the black book
that Ed put on his leg. Ed opened the book to a new page to show Ling a
bunch of pictures. The first picture was of Ling hugging Ed from behind after
Ed helped him with the bite mark on his neck.

The picture below that one was of Ed pinning Ling to the ground while Ling
suffered through the painful transformation into a Homunculus.

On the next page was a picture of Ed wearing a surprised face as he looked

up to see Lan Fan and Fu on the chandelier.
And the final picture was of Ling, grinning, with Al in their bedroom as the
boys teased Ed about being able to sing.

Ling looked up at Ed in shock. "Where did you get this?"

"A gift from V.H." Ed replied with a smile. "Forget your half-brothers and
sisters. You have Al and me now."

Ling stared at Ed in shock. Did Ed really say that? Did Ed actually say, in a
roundabout way, that they were family now? "Thanks, Ed." He said with a
soft smile.

Ed rolled his eyes and snapped the book shut. "You better not get all touchy
feely on me now."

Ling grinned suddenly. "But I have to now!" He cried before engulfing Ed in

a big hug.

"No!" Ed snapped, whacking Ling uselessly as they both fell over. "Off
now!"

"What were you two talking about to cause this?" Heinkel asked amused.

"No time for amusement!" Ed cried, still hitting Ling with the book. "Off!
Black Hayate, attack!"

Black Hayate barked and jumped on both boys.

"Argh!" Ed and Ling shouted in shock when they felt the paws digging into
their sides.

"This is your fault." Ling said as he released Ed and rolled onto his side,
rubbing his side.

"Told you not to get touchy feeling." Ed groaned, rolling onto his back with
Black Hayate moving position to lie on his chest.

Selim smiled brightly and sparkles flashed around him. "Oh, wow.
That's just what I would expect an Elric brother to say."
"I hope he isn't serious." Ed growled. "I don't want a reputation like that!"

"What? A good one?" Avery asked sarcastically.

"Of course he doesn't want a good one! He's a demon! Demons need bad
reputations." Luke said.

"That's not what I want! I don't want a really good one that is practically
saying I'm a sweet angel, but I don't want one where I am seen as a complete
devil! I want one in between!" Ed said.

Brody sighed. "He's just so complicated."

Ed rolled his eyes. "It's not complicated at all!"

"It is and you can't always get what you want." Hughes teased.

A pair of legs appeared on screen, running towards it. "Al!" Ed shouted.

Al and Selim were shown.

"Hey Al!" Ed said loudly.

"Do you even know how to be quiet?" Darius asked.

"Course I do." Ed retorted.

"You would think he would have more respect for the library and being quiet
in it." Mustang said.

"I do have respect for it!" Ed said.

"Says the boy shouting in it." Jerso replied.

"Well…"

"He's just naturally loud. It's hard for a naturally loud person to be quiet."
Hughes explained to Ed's annoyance.
Black Hayate barked and nuzzled Ed's neck, making Ed sigh and relax a bit
under the dog. He pet Hayate's head with a soft smile.

Selim turned his head to look at the screen.

Ed's grinning face appeared on screen. "Get ready. We're leaving."

The scene pulled out to show Ed coming to a stop in front of Selim and
Al, who was now standing up.

"Quiet, Brother." Al said. "This is a library. So, where are we going?"

Ed was zoomed in on from the side. "Look, don't worry about it. I'll tell
you everything on the way. For now, let's just get moving."

"Always in a hurry." Hughes teased.

"Sue me for not liking to waste time!" Ed retorted.

Hughes shrugged. "Alright." He turned to Mustang. "How much should I sue

him for?"

"Hmm." Mustang said thoughtfully.

"I wasn't serious!" Ed snapped. "You will sue me for nothing!"

"Darn. I would have liked that money." Hughes muttered.

An excited Selim with sparkles all around him again slid onto screen in
front of Ed.

"He's being creepy!" Ed said.

"He's just excited to meet his hero." Buccaneer said. "You can't fault him for
being excited."

Ed growled. "I can and I will!"

"First we'll need to stop by the hotel." Ed said before pausing and
blinking. He looked at Selim. "Hey, who's this kid?"

"A bit oblivious, aren't you?" Izumi growled. "You should have noticed him
right away!"

"I'm kind of busy with making plans." Ed muttered.

"Not so busy that you should miss a little kid standing right there!" Izumi
said.

"Fullmetal has his moments of complete obliviousness though." Mustang

pointed out.

Ed groaned. "That's not helping, Colonel."

Izumi raised a brow. "I would like to hear about these moments."

"I wouldn't." Ed retorted.

Selim's face appeared on screen, sparkles around it and in his eyes.

The scene pulled out to show a sweat dropping Al on one side of the
screen and Ed looking down at Selim on the other side. "Mr. Armor
called you brother." Selim said. "Does that mean you're Edward Elric,
the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Ed smiled. "Yeah."

Selim's excited face with his eyes shut appeared on screen. "Oh, cool.
You are a tiny alchemist just like everyone says."

The scene pulled out to show a suddenly angry Ed in front of Selim.

"Now, Ed, you can't do anything." Riza said calmly.

"Sure he can." Mustang said with a smirk. "He just might get shot if he does."

"So, I'm guessing there are guards around him?" Ed asked weakly.
"Yes."

"And they have no problem shooting a State Alchemist?" Ed asked.

"None whatsoever. If they threaten the young master, they get shot."

"Right." Ed said. "Avoid Selim and Mrs. Bradley. I don't want to deal with
anymore bodyguards then I already have to."

Ed made some incoherent sounds before raising a fist in anger. "What

was that, you brat? Say it again?" He put a hand on Selim's head with
his other hand still in a fist and trembling in anger. "Once more. I'll send
you flying!" He leaned down into Selim's face. "You hear me? Your little
body will go straight out into space."

Brody grinned widely. "I love your threats, kid."

Hughes smacked his forehead. "I thought you were good with kids, Ed. How
is threatening a child going to help anything?"

Ed blinked. He lifted his head off the ground and looked at Hughes with a
blank look. "…At least I didn't yell. Doesn't that count for something?"

"I think this threat is worse than yelling." Riza told him.

"You guys are never satisfied." Ed said before dropping his head back to the
ground.

"I'm satisfied!" Brody said. "I loved your threat."

"Argh, just shut up." Ed muttered.

"That's true too!" Selim said. "You hate being called small just like
everyone says!"

A demon expression appeared on Ed's face as fire surrounded him as he

screamed.

"At this point, I think he is doing it on purpose." Havoc said, grinning.

"Or he is that amused about it." Charlie said, smirking.

"He has no right." Ed growled.

"I think he has every right. Just look at the demon expression you're wearing.
It can be pretty amusing when you're not scared." Breda pointed out.

Ed scowled. That meant they were getting used to his evilness! That could
not be allowed!

The top of Ed's head appeared on screen with two guns being pointed at
it. Ed's eyes appeared on screen, widening a bit as he gasped.

The scene moved to show Ed from an upward angle, hands raised, with
Selim and two body guards, who were the ones pointing the guns, around
him. "Step away from Master Selim."

Selim spread his arms wide and waved them frantically. "No, wait! Don't
shoot him!"

"You're lucky that Selim has a good sense of humor and is a nice boy."
Mustang told him.

"You're lucky it's them. If it was me and the Young Lord, you would already
be bleeding on the ground." Lan Fan said.

"Your bodyguards scare me sometimes." Ed muttered to Ling.

Ling chuckled. "They are just really good at their job, Ed."

"Can we have some type of contact between us where your bodyguards don't
attack me, oh I don't know, EVER?" Ed asked.

"Well," Ling said.

"Come on, dude. Aren't we friends? Friends that like to attack each other?"
Ed asked. "I can't have your bodyguards attacking me every time I hit you."

Ling grinned. "But it's funny."

Ed glared at him.

Ling shrugged. "Maybe I'll think about it."

"You suck."

The body guards pulled their guns away.

Ed was shown up close as he looked down at Selim. "Master Selim? Are

you Selim Bradley?"

"Look who is finally catching on!" Ling teased.

Ed snorted. "Like you knew it was him either without being told."

Ling shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm from Xing so I'm allowed to not know. You,
on the other hand, have no excuse."

"So, you can't remember his name, but when someone else says it, you
automatically know it?" Luke asked.

"It's different." Ed muttered. "Hearing the name brings it up in my memory,

but when I have to come up with it on my own, it's harder."

Al appeared on screen, taking a step back. "Selim, the Fuhrer's son?"

He asked.

Selim's grinning face appeared on screen. "Yep, that's me."

Soft music began as the Bradley estate appeared on screen.

A chandelier appeared on screen.

The scene slowly pulled out to show Ed and Al sitting on a couch with
Mrs. Bradley and Selim sitting on some chairs opposite of them.

"I was in such a hurry to leave….how did we end up at the Bradley estate?"
Ed asked blankly. He wrapped his arms around Black Hayate and sat up. He
lowered the dog to his lap.
"Well, this certainly should be interesting." Hughes said.

"I don't think I want to be there, Brother." Al moaned. "I really don't want to
risk running into Bradley again."

"I agree. I'd rather not meet him a second time that day after the last meeting
we had with him." Ed grumbled.

"I doubt you're going to meet him, Fullmetal. He is a busy man and has a lot
to do at the Command Center." Mustang said.

"Fine, fine, fair point. I just rather not deal with him ever again." Ed
muttered.

Ed and Al were shown up close. Ed covered his mouth and whispered to

Al, "How did this happen? We were supposed to be heading north."

"Don't look at me." Al said.

"I'm so sorry." Mrs. Bradley said.

"You do know who Mrs. Bradley is, right? Or did you have no idea of what
she looked like either?" Mustang asked sarcastically.

"Of course I know!" Ed said annoyed. "Unlike Selim, I have seen her at
military functions." He paused for a moment. "And, uh, a few months after I
joined."

Riza frowned. "What do you mean?"

Ed blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, I ran into her in
Central, quite, um, literally."

Mustang sighed. "Honestly, Fullmetal, if I didn't know any better, I would

say you were blind."

Ed shot him a glare before looking back at Riza. "I had guns pointed at me
for that too. I was starting to freak out when Mrs. Bradley ordered them to
stand down and to not shoot a kid for an accident. She is a very kind woman."
Hughes chuckled. "What happened in this meeting?"

"Uh, my pocket watch fell out of my pocket and she noticed it. She asked if I
was Edward Elric because she heard about me from her husband." Ed said.
"And, well, she dragged me off to a restaurant for lunch and to ask me how I
was doing as a kid in the military."

"That was kind of her." Riza said.

"It was more like uncomfortable with her body guards around." Ed corrected.

Riza chuckled at Ed's expression.

Ed snapped his eyes back forward and took his hand away from his
mouth as Al turned his head back forward.

Mrs. Bradley and a smiling Selim appeared on screen.

"It's just that Selim's been in awe of you for such a long time, Edward."
Mrs. Bradley said.

The scene pulled out to show all four from a downward angle.

"Huh?" Ed said. "Me? Really?"

"You sound so surprised." Havoc said dryly. "And you know that people
have been in awe of you before."

Ed rolled his eyes. "You're just jealous that no one is ever in awe of you."

Havoc threw a pillow at Ed's face.

Ed huffed and knocked the pillow away when it was falling so it wouldn't
land on Black Hayate. "Unnecessary." He snapped.

"On the contrary," Havoc retorted. "That was completely warranted."

Ed's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Ling almost wanted to move away before Ed started talking about his crazy
list again.

"Selim, are you interested in alchemy?" Al asked.

Selim nodded his head. "Yes! My dream is to learn how to practice it.
And after that I want to become a State Alchemist just like you, Ed."

Ed put his automail hand to his forehead and turned his head slightly to
the side with a grin. "Aw, just like me." He said with sparkles around
him.

"Someone sure is humble." Walkers muttered.

Ed shrugged. "What? It's kind of sweet."

Walkers stared at him. "Sweet?" He repeated. "Did I hear that right? Major
Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, designated bad boy of the military
just said it was sweet that a kid wants to be a State Alchemist like him?"

"Designated? When as I chosen for anything?" Ed asked.

Myers smacked his forehead. "That wasn't the point of what he said. And we
voted on it when you were on a mission."

Ed scowled. "You can't make that kind of decision without telling me!"

"Too bad." Jackson said amused. "We already did. Two years ago."

"And you never told me?" Ed asked shocked.

"Naw, it was just too amusing to call you it behind your back." Breda said.

Ed glared at Mustang's team. "You knew about it too?"

Riza sighed. "Everyone at Eastern Command knew it."

"And all the other soldiers you met in other parts of the country." Havoc
added. "They were involved in the vote."
Ed gaped at them.

"You'd be amazed at how many people voted against calling you the bad boy
of the military." Hughes said, snickering.

"And none of you thought to tell me?" Ed shouted. He glared at Fuery and
Falman. "I expect it from most of them, but neither one of you thought to tell
me?!"

"Well," Fuery coughed nervously.

"We did find it amusing as well." Falman said.

Ed growled and turned to Riza. "Even you, Lieutenant?"

Riza shrugged. "Sorry, Ed."

"You are all traitors!" Ed snapped. He glared at Walkers since he was the one
who let it slipped. "Ling."

"You can't keep adding people to this list!" Ling said. He really should have
moved when he had the chance.

Ed moved his glare to him. "It sounds like you are against me."

Ling sighed. For the love of…!

"Are you?"

"No, I'm not, but you are going a bit insane. I can see why you didn't prank if
this is the extreme you are going to." Ling said.

"You haven't seen extreme." Ed growled.

Selim's grinning face appeared on screen. "And then I'll be able to help
my father out as well."

The area between Mrs. Bradley and Selim appeared on screen to show
Al and Ed, who was frowning slightly with a worried look.
"Aww, Edo has such a cute look on his face!" Hughes cooed.

Ed gently put Black Hayate on the ground and turned to Hughes and whacked
him hard in the chest with his automail. "First of all, do not call me Edo."

"Yeah, only I get to call him that." Ling interjected and was rewarded with
Ed punching him in the face and sending him flying back.

Ed looked back at Hughes. "And two, I am not cute!"

"Hmm, I don't know, Chief." Havoc said teasingly. "That is a pretty cute
expression on your face."

Ed glared at him. "What?" He hissed. "That's it! You are moved up on the
list!"

Havoc blinked. "List?"

"Yes! The list!" Ed shouted while Ling just groaned from where he was
holding his face with a worried Lan Fan kneeling by him.

"What list?" Havoc shouted a bit scared, especially by the mad gleam in Ed's
eyes.

"The list." Ed hissed.

Breda snickered and patted Havoc's shoulder. "You should be scared, really
scared."

"You don't need to tell me." Havoc said weakly. "Anyone know what this list
is?"

"No. He's never said anything about a list." Brody said.

Ling groaned. "Lucky them." He muttered.

Ed's face was shown from the side as he frowned. "Yeah, Fuhrer
Bradley. Tell me, Selim. Do you get along with your father? You like
him?"
Selim's smiling face appeared on screen. "Yeah, of course."

"Does this kid ever not smile?" May asked. "It's been all smiles with him."

"Well, he is meeting his hero. How can he do anything but smile?" Lan Fan
said as she helped Ling sit up.

"Did you have to use your automail?" Ling asked.

"Yes." Ed growled.

Selim opened his eyes.

"Then what kind of man is he?" Ed asked.

Selim raised his hand and curled it into a light fist. "An amazing man.
His job is more demanding than anybody else's in the world. He spends
all day everyday thinking about the people of this country."

"Sure he does." Havoc snorted.

"Thinking about how he is going to end them!" Luke added.

Al and Ed appeared on screen. Ed closed his eyes and grinned a bit.

"Haha. Of course he does."

"Aw, another cute look." Hughes cooed.

"Though he is forcing the grin." Mustang pointed out.

"Still cute." Hughes retorted.

Ed twitched a bit.

"Uh, Ed?" Ling asked.

Ed slowly turned his head to Ling. "They will perish. You can still back out,
Ling, but you will meet the same fate as them if you do."
Ling sweat dropped. "Well, how can I back out then?" He leaned in closer to
Ed. "I don't want to back out, Ed, but I really think you are going a bit crazy
over all of this."

"And I have every right to!" Ed shouted, making people look at him
strangely.

"Lower your voice." Ling hissed.

"Those two have been driving me insane for far too long." Ed hissed. "It's
time to return the favor."

"I think you already drive them crazy." Ling pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "Maybe, but this time, I will be deliberately doing it with war!"

"The Fuhrer's duties must keep him very busy all the time." Al said.

Mrs. Bradley appeared on screen as she sighed. She opened her eyes and
smiled. "That is true. It's something he always insists upon. He's just
determined to work himself ragged."

Ed and Al appeared on screen.

"At his age, I'd prefer if he took it a little easier." Mrs. Bradley's face
appeared on screen. Her eyes looked to the side. "It's nothing new. He's
always been devoted to his work." She closed her eyes and smiled.
"That's what he's good at. But then where women are concerned, I'm
afraid, he's a bit of an oaf."

Selim's face appeared on screen, staring at his mom.

"An oaf? A Homunculus is an oaf?" Havoc asked amused.

"Isn't Gluttony a bit of an oaf?" Hughes asked, grinning.

"Yeah, but he is different from Wrath. By the fact that Wrath can think for
himself and was a human once." Mustang pointed out.
"Still, I can't imagine him being horrible with women. I never would have
thought about that happening." Luke said.

"The first time we met, he made me so angry, I actually slapped him."

Mrs. Bradley said.

Mustang snickered. "I wonder what he did to anger her so much."

"I know. I thought it was impossible to get her mad." Hughes said. "She's
always been so calm and kind."

"You know here well?" Ling asked.

Hughes shrugged. "I've spoken to her at military functions and when I've
been to the Bradley estate a few times. She never seemed like she had a
temper where she would slap someone."

"You would think someone called Wrath would have been really angry about
that." Ed muttered.

Ed and Al, both staring with blank looks, appeared on screen.

"Ah!" Al said.

"But it worked out for the best." Mrs. Bradley said.

The scene pulled out to show the four with a flowery background.

"He asked me out after that and our first date was amazing." Mrs.
Bradley said. She snapped back to reality and the flowery background
disappeared.

"Because that makes complete sense!" Ed exclaimed. "Hit someone and get
asked out!"

"Isn't that what is going to happen with you and Winry?" Hughes asked with
a smirk. "She hits you all the time and you still love her!"

Ed's face flushed. "We are not talking about the nonexistent love between
Winry and me!"

Hughes sighed dramatically. "Are you really still in denial, Edward?"

"There is no denial when it doesn't exist!" Ed snapped.

Hughes sighed sadly. "You poor, poor boy. You can't even face the fact that
love is in your heart."

Ed glared at him.

"Oh, sorry. Listen to me blabbering like a little school girl." She

chuckled.

"Oh, don't worry." Ed scoffed. "I get it enough from Hughes. Getting it from
someone new is an improvement."

"I don't blabber. I just want to tell you about my wonderful family!" Hughes
protested.

"All the time so you are blabbering." Mustang retorted.

Hughes huffed. "You two are such downers."

Al and Ed, who had his eyes closed and was smiling a bit, appeared on
screen. There was the sound of a door opening so Ed and Al turned to
look at it.

A pair of feet appeared on screen as they walked into the room and
stopped. The scene rapidly moved up to Bradley's face, which was
shadowed by the darkness from the hallway. His face was zoomed in on.

"You lied to me, Colonel!" Ed cried, pointing at the screen. "He's there!"

"Who could have expected that he was actually going to show up?" Mustang
retorted. "He is usually too busy to actually return home during the day."

Ed groaned. "I don't wanna be there anymore."

"Did you ever want to be there?" Buccaneer asked.

"Well, no." Ed said. "Mostly because future me is in a hurry."

Ed appeared on screen as he looked on in slight shock and horror.

Selim and Mrs. Bradley appeared on screen. Selim stood up and shouted,
"Dad's home!"

"Hi dear." Mrs. Bradley said.

Bradley was shown as he walked down the few steps in the room.

"Hello Daddy!" Selim said as he ran onto screen.

Bradley opened his arms and Selim hugged him around the waist.

"Aw, he is so innocent!" Karin cooed.

"He's hugging a Homunculus." Ed muttered.

"Who is also his dad. Kids are just really adorable when they are cuddling up
to their parents." Hughes said dreamily.

"He's thinking about his precious daughter." Mustang said dryly.

Ed and Mustang shared a look. Ed stood up and caught a pillow that Mustang
threw at him. Mustang grabbed another pillow and both of them whacked
Hughes in the head.

"Snap out of it!" Mustang growled.

Hughes huffed and grabbed the pillows. He threw one at Mustang and the
other at Ed. "That was not needed."

"Stupid family obsessed man." Ed grumbled, sitting down and hugging his
pillow to his chest.

Bradley chuckled and rubbed Selim's head. "Well, hello there, my little
one."

The scene moved to show Bradley from behind with Mrs. Bradley, Ed,
and Al in front of him, watching him. "What are you doing back home?"

Bradley dropped one of his hands from Selim and Selim pulled his head
back to look up at his dad. "I had some free time for a change so I
thought I'd check in on my family." Bradley said.

Selim's face appeared on screen.

Bradley's face appeared on screen as he turned it a bit. "And I also

happened to hear that the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother were
paying us a visit."

"Who told him?!" Ed and Al shouted.

"I want to pummel them!" Ed added.

Mustang whacked Ed in the back of the head with a pillow. "No pummeling
your comrades."

"But they practically sent Wrath to meet us at his estate! I don't want to deal
with him anymore!" Ed groaned.

"There, there." Ling patted his shoulder. "At least he won't kill you."

"That's not very helpful." Ed muttered.

"That's cause you like looking at the dark side." Ling retorted.

The scene moved to show Ed and Al with the back of Bradley's head on
one side of the screen.

"Hello sir." Ed said softly.

"Long time no see." Al added.

Bradley turned his head to the screen a bit. "Long time? I just saw you
boys at Central Command, right?" He said before laughing.

"Unfortunately." Ed groaned. "And you just took our friend hostage, so stop
laughing! Stupid jerk and his act."

"It is hard to believe that he is Wrath with his personality." Darius agreed.

"Until you remember what you saw in Dublith when he fought the first
Greed." Heinkel pointed out. "That was horrible."

"So basically, he's a really good actor?" Havoc asked.

"That, or he really is this jolly and happy person with a horrible dark side."
Ed muttered. "I don't know which is worse for him to have."

Ed and Al appeared on screen.

Gentle music began as Selim's face appeared on screen.

The chandelier was shown. The scene slowly moved down to show the
group. Selim was now leaning against his mom's chair while Bradley sat
in the other chair, holding a cup of tea.

"So, you ran into these two at the library, Selim?" Bradley asked.

Selim appeared on screen. "Yep!"

Bradley raised his cup to his lips and took a sip.

The side of Ed's face appeared on screen. He blinked once before the
scene went back to Bradley as he lowered his cup. "Are you wondering
why he doesn't look like us?" Bradley asked.

"Nooo. I already have an idea of why." Ed snarled. "I just want out of there!"

"Just try to relax and not give anything away." General Armstrong told him.

"That is always easier said than done." Ed groaned. "I'm not too happy with
him at the moment."
"No one is." Mustang said dryly.

"Right!" Ed said. "Your team is hostages as well."

"You forgot? I don't feel the love anymore." Breda said sarcastically.

"I didn't forget! Just pushed it to the back of my mind." Ed retorted.

Havoc put a hand to his chest. "Right in the heart, Chief. Right in the heart!
No love."

Ling snickered. "I like your comrades."

Ed rolled his eyes, but was smirking a bit in amusement.

Ed appeared on screen, raising his automail hand. "N-no sir." He said as

Bradley lowered his cup to the coffee table. "It didn't cross my mind."

The scene moved to show the Bradley family.

"Well, it's because we aren't related by blood." Bradley said.

"We were unable to have any children of our own." Mrs. Bradley said.
"So we adopted Selim and he's our son now."

"It's like people can't help but give you information." Brody said. "They just
love giving it to you!"

"Yeah, that happens to us quite a bit." Al replied. "Sometimes I wish it would

stop happening. It just leads us into horrible situations sometimes."

"But we always make it out of those situations alive at least." Ed pointed out.
"Maybe a little bit worse than wear, but still alive!"

Al groaned. "That's why I like avoiding them."

One of Ed's eyes appeared on screen.

"I'm proud of my boy." Bradley said. Bradley and Selim appeared on

screen with Bradley ruffling his son's hair. "He's grown into a fine,
devoted son."

"Would you cut it out already, dad?" Selim asked.

"That would be Elicia with a dad like Hughes." Havoc said dryly.

"Wait until she is a teenager. I can't wait to see what she is like then."
Mustang added, grinning.

Hughes glared at the two. "My sweet little princess will always be a
wonderfully, sweet girl."

"Anyone can be corrupted." Breda pointed out. "I mean, look at Chief."

"I think there is an insult in there somewhere." Ed muttered.

"I think they implying that my little girl is going to be corrupted by

someone!" Hughes said, glaring at Ed.

Ed blinked. "Why are you glaring at me? You can't think that I am the one
going to do it?"

"I wouldn't put it past you!"

Ed sighed. "I thought we were friends, Hughes. How can you think I would
do something like that?"

"Oh, we're friends, Ed, but I also know you are a bit of a demon." Hughes
growled.

"It doesn't mean I'm going to corrupt people!" Ed retorted. He turned to Ling,
brow twitching. "He's at the top."

Ling sweat dropped. 'Demon. Not helping your case at all, Ed.'

Al was shown.

The scene slowly moved down from him to Ed.

"You're embarrassing me." Selim said.

"But it's the truth." Bradley said before he chuckled.

Bradley and a laughing Selim appeared on screen.

Ed's face with a sad expression on his face appeared on screen.

"Aww, you look so sad. Don't be sad, Ed!" Ross said.

"Can't help it. Mrs. Bradley and Selim are living with a monster and they
don't even know it. Their happy family will be destroyed one day because of
everything that is going to happen with the Homunculi and the country." Ed
murmured.

Bradley's face appeared on screen as he looked towards it. "What's

wrong, Elric?"

Ed appeared on screen, looking up in shock.

Selim looked at Ed, blinking with his dad staring coldly.

The scene changed to show them from a downward angle.

Al raised a hand. "Oh, um, it's just we never see you, except at the
Command Center." He said hurriedly, lowering his hand. "So this is
kind of, you know,

Ed put a hand to his hair. "It's a side of you we're not used to seeing.
That's all."

"You're not used to his jolly side? I'm pretty sure you have seen that before."
Riza said confused.

Ed shrugged. "I think we are referring to the last meeting we had with him,
right, Al?"

Al nodded. "I would guess that too. That meeting and this one are completely
different. This one is a lot calmer."
"That is not at all surprising since his wife and son are there with him and
they don't know anything." Skylak pointed out.

"I see." Bradley said. His one cold eye appeared on screen. "But as you
can tell, even a man like me has a family waiting for him at home."

Al and Ed appeared on screen as Ed gasped.

The brothers were shown from behind with Bradley and Selim seen in
front of them as the Fuhrer rubbed his smiling son's head. "I'm sure, of
course, it's quite different from yours."

Ed's face was shown up close from the side as he gasped.

Pinako appeared on screen, tapping her pipe against an ashtray.

Winry appeared on screen, turning around with a smile with a wrench in

her hand.

Al, in his human body, appeared on screen, smiling.

Ed smiled softly when he saw his brother's human body, smiling at him. He
looked so happy and healthy there. He grimaced a second later. His brother's
life had been spent as a suit of armor for the past few years. He didn't get to
grow up normally at all. That wasn't fair to his brother at all. He should be
growing up with a normal happy life, not a life of running around the
country, getting into life or death situations while trying to find a way to get
his body back.

Ed's horrified face appeared on screen once more. He clenched his teeth
shut and looked down.

"I'll kill him." Ed hissed, closing his eyes.

"That's pretty dark for you." Hughes said, leaning forward and ruffling Ed's
hair, directly the boy's annoyance to him. "But I have to ask, where was I in
your flashback of your family? I feel quite offended now."

Ed rolled his eyes. "You're dead in the future, Hughes. It would be quite
pointless to have you there."

"Oh? So you do think of me as family?" Hughes asked with a grin.

Ed blinked. "Wait…No! That's not what I meant."

Hughes leaned back in the couch. "Too late."

Ed huffed. "Fine, but I still want to punch Bradley!"

Bradley was shown as he stood up.

The Elrics were shown from behind as Bradley turned and walked
around his chair.

"Aw, Daddy." Selim said, turning to watch his path as he headed for the
door. "You're leaving already?"

"Yes, you know I have duties to get back to, Selim." Bradley said with a
slight chuckle.

Selim ran in front of his mom and around her chair before stopping. His
sad face was shown with a smiling Mrs. Bradley behind him.

The scene moved to show the group as they watched Bradley walk up the
few stairs that led to the door. "Please, make yourself at home." Bradley
said before the back of his head was shown up close. He turned his head
to the boys. "You're welcome any time, State Alchemist."

"Yeah, never going back there!" Ed shouted.

"You could at least visit Selim and Mrs. Bradley." Hughes said.

Ed scoffed. "And risk seeing Wrath again? Not likely."

"I think it's just because he is not very social." Mustang told his friend.

"I'm plenty social!" Ed retorted.

"No, Brother, you're not." Al said blandly.

"Thanks for the support, Al!"

Al and Ed, whose eyes were wide and trembling, appeared on screen.

Bradley was shown as he opened the door and walked out, pulling the
door shut behind him.

The group was shown once more.

Bradley's legs were shown outside the room. They turned and started
walking down the hall, passed another pair of legs that were dressed in
the same military pants.

"Let's go." Bradley said.

The scene moved up to the soldier's face to show Riza. She turned and
walked off screen to follow Bradley.

"Hey Lieutenant!" Ed greeted. "I wonder if you knew Bradley was there to
meet Al and me."

"I probably had my suspicions." Riza told him softly. "If I heard your voice
or heard Bradley say your name, I would guess you were there. And I'll
probably tell Colonel at some point."

Ed chuckled. "And I'll be long gone before either one of you can mention it to
me."

The two were shown from behind as they walked down the hall.

An almost empty cup of tea appeared on screen.

The Bradley estate was shown from outside in the evening with a bird
cooing in the background.

Selim and Mrs. Bradley appeared on screen with both of them waving.
"Please come back and visit us soon, okay?" Selim said.

Ed and Al appeared on screen, waving back. "We will. See ya later!"

"No! Future me! Bad!" Ed cried.

"He's not a dog, you know." Havoc pointed out.

"Of course I know that! He is me!" Ed growled before pausing…He was

treating his future self like a dog…he was treating himself like a dog. Ed's
head dropped. "Damn."

Ling snickered. "Nice one."

"Shut up, Ling. Just shut up."

Al chuckled.

The brothers turned around and started walking away.

The four were shown from the side at a distance.

Ed and Al were shown up close. They both stopped and looked over their
shoulders at Mrs. Bradley and Selim.

"It's sad." Al said. "Neither Selim nor his mother know what Fuhrer
Bradley really is."

"It's pretty depressing, but we can't let Wrath go. We're going to have to kill
him." Mustang said.

Ed closed his eyes. He hated the idea of destroying another family, but
Mustang was right. He was a Homunculus. They couldn't let any of them go.
All of them had family and friends. Lots more people would be lost and
killed if even one Homunculus was let go.

Ed's face was shown up close. His eyes closed a bit.

Al's face appeared on screen next. He turned in surprise when he heard

his brother's feet.

Ed's legs were shown on screen as he ran. The boys were shown from
behind as Al chased after his brother. "Come on. Let's go. We're headed
north." Ed said. He was shown from the side.

"Noooo!" Ed cried, grabbing his face. "Future me! Why? Why must you
betray me like this?!"

"Because he's mad that you treated him like a dog." Brody said with a grin.

Ed huffed. "Man, he can sure hold a grudge."

Ling snickered. "Ed, you did that like a minute ago and you two are the same
person, so basically…."

Ed blinked. "Ah, damn it! Again! Doesn't matter though! What I said is still
true! He has cruelly betrayed himself!"

"We'll catch that obnoxious little brat and make her tell us everything
she knows about Alkahestry."

"You scare me!" May exclaimed.

"He scares many." Fuery said.

"You just don't want to let that go!" Ed said.

"I think you traumatized him, Chief." Havoc said with a grin.

"Traumatized?" May repeated, staring at Ed with wide eyes.

Ed smacked his forehead. "May, I'm not going to traumatize you by tracking
you down. Havoc is just being an idiot joker."

Havoc huffed. "Offensive, Chief."

Al appeared on screen as he ran at his brother's side.

A train was shown at nighttime with the whistling blowing. An empty car
of the train appeared on screen. The scene slowly moved up to show two
people sitting in it. They were zoomed in on to show Scar and the person
he was traveling with.

"We'll be there soon. Get some sleep." Scar said. He lowered his head.

The scene went dark and reopened on a town in the early morning with
birds chirping.

A water tower appeared on screen. The scene moved down to show train
cars. Outside one of them was a group of MPs with their guns out.

The MPs in front of the train was shown close up. The leader of the
group nodded and reached out to the door handle.

The door was shown from inside as it was pulled open and the MPs
rushed in. One of them was shown up close as he pointed his gun. A
second later he stopped in surprise.

Dramatic music began as the train car was shown to be completely

empty.

"Big shocker there." Hughes muttered sarcastically. "Scar is really tricky. He

is not that easy to catch."

"He's pretty much one step ahead of everyone is what you're saying."
Mustang said.

"Exactly. And if he's not, then he always has an escaped plan of some sort."
Hughes replied. "I should know. I'm the one who has been in charge of the
investigation."

"And he's been giving you the run around, driving you crazy?" Ed suggested
with a grin.

Hughes took a pillow from Mustang and whacked Ed with it. "It's not funny."

"I think it's pretty amusing." Ling said, grinning. "The best investigator can't
even keep track of one person because of how deceptive and smart he is. And
I thought you were supposed to be really smart."

Hughes whacked Ling in the head next.

"What is with you three and pillows?" Ling grumbled, rubbing his head.

"Don't worry. Hughes is just sore that Scar got away from him." Ed reassured
him which got him hit again. "Sheesh! Hughes! I'm just speaking the truth."

Hughes whacked Ed again.

"Okay, we need to take the pillows away from you!" Ed snapped and got hit
again. "HUGHES! Seriously, stop!"

Ling snickered, making Ed glare at him.

"You're such a child." Ed muttered to Hughes. He glared at him when he

raised the pillow.

Mustang took the pillow away before Hughes could hit him.

The office building of the train station appeared on screen.

"I see." Kimblee said. "He managed to escape us again, did he?"

A phone appeared on screen as Kimblee lowered the phone down as he

hung up.

The scene moved to show Kimblee in the office with some MPs and a
train conductor. Kimblee turned around.

"This is an accurate map of the west area, right?" Kimblee asked as he

walked off screen towards the map.

The train conductor turned halfway around in his seat. He was shown
from the side to show him watching Kimblee as he approached the amp.
"Uh, yes sir." He said.
Kimblee was shown from the side as he stopped in front of the map.
"This is the spot where he was last sighted."

A white dot of a city on the map appeared on screen.

"Right here." Kimblee said as the scene moved to the left to show West
City on the map with mountains surrounding the tracks on an area right
before it. "And West City is there." The scene slowly pulled out to show
Kimblee's shadow on the map. "Scar and Marcoh disappeared
somewhere in between the two places."

The scene rapidly zoomed in on the zig-zag road in the mountains.

"Does everyone have investigative skills now?" Ed asked.

"Isn't it more like tracker skills here?" Lan Fan asked.

Ed looked at the screen with a thoughtful frown.

"It is most likely a mix of both." Hughes told them. "You should really come
to the Investigation Department, Ed. You would surely learn a bit more about
it if–"

"How many times do I have to tell you? I am not transferring to your

department, EVER, Hughes!" Ed snapped.

Hughes huffed. "And here I thought you would be eager to leave this
annoying lump behind." He jerked a thumb at a shocked Mustang.

"Did you just call me an annoying lump?" Mustang asked.

Hughes grinned at him.

"You do realize that if Fullmetal ever wanted to transfer to your department, I

would have to approve it, right?" Mustang sneered.

Hughes gasped. "You would reject the request just because you were
annoyed with me?"
"Damn right I would." Mustang retorted. "Besides that, I'm not too fond of
having my subordinates taken from me."

"Someone sure is possessive." Havoc muttered.

Kimblee was shown with the train conductor and an MP in the

background. He closed his eyes. "Trains slow down when they turn, but
how much speed do they lose?" He turned to the train conductor. "Is it
possible the two we're looking for jumped off?"

The train conductor stood up. "It would've been very dangerous, sir, but
yes, it's possible."

"Not something I would fancy doing." Ed said.

"Same here." Al said, shuddering.

"You'll jump onto trains, but you won't jump off?" Jackson asked, raising a
brow in disbelief.

"We're not insane!" Al and Ed shouted.

"I think jumping onto a train classifies as insane." Avery muttered.

"It is very different!" Ed retorted.

"The danger is pretty much the same." Avery said.

"No, I think it is more dangerous to jump off." Al said.

"Are you an expert on it?" Avery retorted.

"Are you?" Al asked.

"Touchy." Avery replied with a grin. First Ed was the one with an attitude.
Now Al was showing a bit of an attitude. It was pretty amusing.

Kimblee's face appeared on screen as he blinked. "You don't say." He

looked back at the map. He put a hand to his chin. "Alright then. After
they jumped off, which way would they go?"

The part of the map around West City appeared on screen. The scene
moved up the map to the north.

"North?" Kimblee asked.

The scene moved down the map to the south.

"Or south?"

Kimblee was shown from the side as he stared at the map.

The north part of the map was show.

Kimblee's face was shown as he readjusted his grip on his chin. He

smirked evilly.

"Where did the idea that we are going north come from?" May asked with a
frown. All he did was look at the map, how did he realize it was north?

Scar and his partner appeared on screen as they ran through a forest.

They were shown from behind as they ran in the forest with the scene
slowly pulling away from them as the dramatic music came to an end.

The scene went dark.

The ending song began.

A train appeared on screen.

Ed and Al were shown from a window to be on the train.

"This is the first time we've ever been so far north." Al said.

"Finally getting to north, are you?" Brody asked with a smirk.

"No!" Ed moaned, pulling at his hair. "Why? Why, future me? How can you
be so cruel to me?"

"Well, it seems we're finally going to meet this punk." Luke said, smirking.
"We can finally teach him a thing or two."

Ed groaned and fell facedown on the ground. "Why me?"

Al patted his brother's shoulder. "There, there, Brother. At least they are your
comrades and not enemies that want to mess with you."

"They do want to mess with me." Ed muttered.

Al thought for a moment. "Well, at least they aren't going to hurt you."

Ed groaned.

"Yeah, it is." Ed said. He was zoomed in on.

"I wonder if we'll see any snow." Al said as his brother turned his head
to him.

"You will." Buccaneer said. "Lots of it. It is around winter time you are
coming up north so there will be plenty of it."

Ed smiled softly and sat up. Snow was one thing that they didn't see much of
back home in Resembool. He hated the cold and didn't want to go north, but
seeing the snow would be nice.

Ed looked away, closing his eyes with a slight smile. "That would be
something." He opened his eyes and looked out the window. "I might
like to see that. Snow is one thing we never got much of back home."

The train tracks were shown with the train in the distance. The train
whistle blew as the scene slowly moved up to the mountains it was
approaching.

The scene went dark.

Izumi clapped her hands and stood up. "Dinner time."

"We're getting nowhere with our future today." Al said amused.

"We can blame it on those pointless episodes about our past." Ed replied as
he stood up. He reached down and pulled Ling up by the back of his shirt and
started dragging him to the kitchen.

"Huh?" Ling asked. "Ed, I can't cook!"

"You're not going to, idiot!" Ed snapped.

"Then why am I being dragged to the kitchen?" Ling cried as the kitchen door
slammed shut behind the boys.

"Is Brother going to commit murder?" Al asked worriedly.

"Did he seem annoyed with Ling?" Mustang asked.

Al shook his head.

"Then he should be fine." Mustang said. "Unless your brother being calm is
when he is at his most dangerous."

"No, I'm pretty sure it is when he is annoyed or mad." Al said.

"Then Ling is completely safe." Mustang replied. "Now, if you don't mind,
Al, I have some notes to crack." He pulled out Ed's research notes from his
pocket and opened the book and got lost in them.

"You still have that?" Havoc asked.

Mustang looked up with a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "I am not going to
lose to that brat! Al?"

Al sighed. "I'll help you, but I don't know how much help I will be. I've never
gotten passed the first page."

"We're alchemical geniuses. If we work together, we will not falter to him!"

Mustang declared.
Al sweat dropped. "Alright then."

*Kitchen*

Ling sat on the counter, an amused smirk on his face as he watched Ed work
in making dinner. Despite thinking Ed was insane, this was pretty amusing to
watch.

"They will all suffer!" Ed shouted insanely, looking a bit like a mad scientist
as he stirred what he was cooking in the pot in front of him. "They must
pay!"

Ling snickered and leaned back on his hands. "If you really want them to
suffer, Ed. Mess with the drinks as well."

Ed looked at him with an evil smirk. "Oh, I shall!"

When he heard the kitchen door opening, Ling glanced at it and grimaced
when he saw the imposing figure of Izumi standing there.

Izumi paused when she entered the kitchen, door swinging shut behind her.
She stared at her former student with a slightly amused smirk. "Ed, what are
you doing?"

Ed slowly turned around, staring wide eyed at Izumi, one eye twitching
slightly. "Eh…"

Ling laughed. "You are just so great with words, Ed!"

Izumi sighed at the two and shook her head. "You're doing something evil,
aren't you?"

"Uh…" Ed shared a look with Ling, who stopped laughing. Both boys looked
at Izumi with nervous grins.

"Maybe." They said.

Izumi chuckled before looking sharply at the boys. "But," She said.
"You and General Armstrong are cleared." Ed said frantically, waving his
hands in front of him.

Izumi smirked. "That's what I like to hear." She turned around and left the
kitchen to leave Ed to work.

Ed slowly turned back to the pot.

"She approves of you being evil?" Ling asked, still staring at the door in
shock.

"Don't question. She might return and kill us still." Ed replied weakly.

"Why me? I'm just sitting here innocently." Ling retorted.

Ed looked at him dryly. "Cause she knows you're involved."

"You…" Ling hissed. "You dragged me in here to throw the blame for this on
me as well!"

Ed smirked. "Look who is finally catching on." He leaned closer to Ling and
grinned evilly. "It's obvious that I am the one doing this, but if you're in here,
they'll blame you as well. And I'm not going down alone, Ling."

"You're a horrible friend."

Ed chuckled and went back to cooking. "Hey, this was your idea. You have to
share some blame."

*Main Room*

"So, when are you going to spar against Chief?" Luke asked amused.

Havoc twitched a bit. Right, he made a rematch with Ed.

"I want to see this." Luke added.

Havoc's eyes narrowed. "I have the feeling you are thinking I'm going to get
my ass handed to me."
Brody smirked. "Well, you did lose to him at twelve. You barely lasted a
minute!"

"I've already said I was going easy on him!" Havoc retorted.

"How easy could you have been going to lose in a minute?" Avery asked.

"Oh, shut up. I'll show you all." Havoc growled, leaning back in his seat and
crossing his arms.

The Briggs soldiers smirked. Oh, they couldn't wait for this spar to happen.

*Cafeteria*

Ed leaned against a wall in the cafeteria, watching as the group started to eat.
To save himself and Ling, he had given Izumi, General Armstrong, Sig, and
at Ling's request, Lan Fan, Fu, and May some food from before Ed began
tampering with it.

An evil smirk spread across his face as he saw some of the soldiers already
starting to freak out at how spicy and hot the food was. He watched as they
grabbed their drinks and gulped it down, only to scream and freak out more
when the drinks didn't help.

"You put hot chili pepper seasoning in the drinks?" Ling asked, watching the
scene.

Ed looked at him like he was an idiot. "You know I did, idiot. You were right
there helping me do it!"

Ling shrugged. "That's not what I meant. You didn't tell your teacher or
General Armstrong about the drinks." When Ed just stared at him, he sighed.
"You gave the same drinks to everyone."

Ed's eyes widened and he paled greatly. "Why didn't you tell them or remind
me, idiot? We're both dead now!"

"Oh, so the soldiers weren't going to kill us for this?" Ling asked. He started
to slowly back out of the kitchen.
"They are not as bad as Teacher and General Armstrong." Ed hissed as he
followed Ling.

"Know any good places to hide?" Ling asked.

*Cafeteria*

Mustang coughed harshly, breathing heavily and glaring at his food and
drink. "What the hell is this?"

"I believe this is something called a demon has lost his mind!" Havoc
shouted, knocking his glass over as he coughed violently.

General Armstrong calmly ate her food. The only thing she noticed wrong
with her meal was her drink, but that probably had something to do with the
fact that Ed personally gave her a plate before anyone else got food. But he
messed with her drink, and that right there could not be let go!

Mustang slammed his hands on the table as he stood up. "I think Fullmetal
has chosen." He growled, looking at Hughes.

"He's made his own side?" Hughes asked, glaring at his food. And it looked
so good too.

"Yes." Mustang snarled. He turned his narrowed eyes to the door that led to
the screen room. "And I have a feeling he isn't alone."

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 36*: Episode 33: The Northern
Wall of Briggs
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N; Stop sending me reviews to ask me to update! I don't finish the

chapter and then not post it. The chapter gets posted when I finish it! So
all your reviews to update are pointless because I can't update an
unfinished chapter and telling me to update already won't get the
chapter done any faster.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 33: The Northern Wall of Briggs

"How's it going?" Ling asked.

Ed looked up with a scowl. "I hate translating."

Ling chuckled. "I can do it if you want."

Ed's eyes narrowed at him. "I'm not trusting you with anything, Ling!"

Laughing, Ling, who was sitting on his bed, leaned his back against the wall.
He glanced at the bedroom door, which he and Ed had locked and barricaded
with the desk, chair, and bookshelf. It was perhaps a bit extreme, especially
considering there was no alchemy here, but then Ed reminded him of
Armstrong. Armstrong may or may not get involved in this, but they weren't
taking any risks.

Ed was lying on his stomach on his bed, staring in annoyance at the XIngese
lyrics of that song. They were almost all translated which meant he was
finally almost done!

Pounding at the door had both boys looking up in shock and a bit of horror.
Ling and Ed shared a look then looked back at the door.

"Who is it?" Ling asked in a sing-song cheery voice.

Ed shot him a strange look, which Ling just shrugged to.

"Ling?"

Ed sighed in relief. He rolled off his bed and made his way over to the door.
"Al, you alone?" He called through it.

Ling frowned and shook his head at Ed, who just gave him another weird
look.

"Yeah, Brother, I'm alone." Al replied.

Ling jumped off the bed and pulled Ed back away from the door. "You can't
trust him." He hissed at Ed.

Ed raised a brow. "He's my little brother who didn't feel the affects of this
prank at all. He's fine, Ling."

"And that's exactly why they will use him against you! Because you trust him
so easily." Ling retorted.

Ed snorted. "Ling, it's Al! He's not going to help them or lie to me."

Staring at him in pity, Ling shook his head sadly. "You poor deluded boy."

"Ling–"
Ling tackled the unsuspecting Ed to the ground and pushed his face into the
carpet. With Ed pinned, Ling turned back to the door. "Sorry, Al! You're
banned. I cannot trust you at the moment after what happened in the
cafeteria."

Ed scowled and struggled to throw Ling off of him. Okay, apparently, he was
going to have to start to remain on guard around Ling at all times since he
could never predict when his friend was going to go insane and pin him to the
freaking ground!

"Banned?" Al asked. "Ling, I assure you. There is no one with me, but the
longer you keep me locked out, the sooner that someone is going to show
up."

"Sorry, Al! I'm not taking the risk!" Ling shouted through the door.

Al sighed. "Brother? Can you please knock some sense into Ling?"

Ed grumbled something, but it wasn't understood since his face was still
pressed into the carpet.

"Sorry, Al. Your brother is indisposed of at the moment." Ling said.

"But he just spoke to me a minute ago." Al protested.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ling replied.

Ed scowled and twisted his automail backwards and whacked Ling in the
chest to get his grip to lessen. When it did, Ed rolled over and breathed in
deeply for fresh air. He glared up at Ling. Ling grinned down at him.

"You're an idiot." Ed informed.

"You're the reason we'll get killed if we ever travel together." Ling retorted.

Ed snorted. "Why the hell would we travel together, Ling?"

Ling shrugged. "Just saying."

Ed threw Ling off of him and stood up. He started to move the furniture away
from the door.

"Ed!" Ling shouted, tackling the boy again. "You're going to be the end of
us!"

Ed hit the ground again with a groan. "You need to stop doing that!" He
whacked Ling upside the head. "I am not going to lock my brother out
because you are paranoid."

Ling shook Ed's shoulders roughly. "You're not paranoid enough, Ed! We
messed with Izumi's and General Armstrong's drinks. That is practically
signing our death warrant! And you want to risk seeing them just to see your
brother?"

Outside the door, Mustang smirked and leaned against the wall next to the
door. "You should just open the door, Fullmetal, Lin. You have to face
punishment at one point or another. Hiding in there is only postponing the
inedible."

Ed and Ling both turned to look at the door with wide, fearful eyes.

"I told you! He's turned! Your brother has betrayed you!" Ling hissed.

"I did not!" Al shouted through the door. "He showed up when you wouldn't
open the door."

Ed and Ling sat up and stared at the door.

Ed looked at Ling. "Want to open it?"

Ling looked at Ed with a frown. "No."

"Two choices, boys. Open the door and face punishment. Or, wait, postpone
the punishment, and face a punishment ten times worse." Izumi growled.

Ed yelped and hid behind Ling, despite the fact that Izumi couldn't see him
through the door. "I feel it." He whispered fearfully. "She is glaring at us
through the door."
Ling sweat dropped.

"You have three minutes to decide." General Armstrong growled.

Both boys groaned and shared a look.

"One damn mistake." Ed groaned.

"What should we–"

Ed shook his head. "You don't want to test Teacher, Ling. We should give up
now. When she says ten times worse, she really means a hundred times worse
and really, really embarrassing."

"It's only embarrassing if we let it be." Ling corrected.

Ed raised a brow.

"But we can face the music now if you want." Ling said with a shrug.

"I don't want to anything. I just don't want to test Teacher anymore." Ed
hissed.

Ling and Ed stared at the door once more, neither moving to move the rest of
the furniture just yet.

"I don't fancy going out this door." Ling said.

"Who would?" Ed said with a troubled sigh. He stood up and started moving
the furniture back with Ling getting up and helping him.

"Can't believe you dragged me into this with you." Ling grumbled when the
furniture was moved away from the door, leaving only the lock on the door to
go.

Ed grinned nervously at Ling. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together? It's

always worse alone."

"Boys." Izumi growled. "You have ten seconds."

Ling and Ed shared a frightened look. Ed hastily unlocked the door and
pulled it open. The moment it was opened, a hand grabbed his shirt and
yanked him out of the room.

Ling stared at the spot that his friend previously stood in. They really wasted
no time.

"ARGH! Colonel!" Ed shouted as Mustang dragged him over to the couches

and tossed him onto one.

Ling held his hands up when Hughes glared at him. "I'll come willingly?"

Izumi grabbed his shirt and flung him through the air. Ling landed on top of
Ed on the couch, making both boys groan in pain. Ed coughed violently,
glaring at Ling. "Why are you always on top?"

Ling grinned a bit painfully and sat up, rubbing his ribs. "That really hurt."

"That's why you don't mess with Teacher." Ed moaned. When he saw
Mustang standing over them, he grinned a bit nervously and sat up. "Why,
hello Colonel. Fancy seeing you–"

Mustang whacked Ed in the back of the head.

"Alright. Shutting up." Ed said, rubbing his head. As if he wasn't in enough

pain from Ling landing on him.

Ling looked over his shoulder to see all the other soldiers glaring at them. He
grinned at them and waved, making some of them scowl.

"Ling!" Mustang snapped, whacking the boy in the head. "Attention!"

Grumbling, Ling rubbed his head. "Great, now I'm being treated like Ed."

Ed glared at him.

"That's what friends of Ed get." Izumi growled.

Ed huffed. "Never going to get lots of friends at this rate."

"Oh, so we don't count?" Hughes asked. "Wait, you just played a cruel prank
so your friendship is on probation."

Ed gaped at him. "It wasn't cruel at all! Just a bit hot!"

"You ruined our food! Our food, Ed!" Hughes growled into the boy's face.
"You don't touch the food! Now none of us can eat."

"To be fair, Ed and I already ate. You know, when we were in the kitchen so
you can't say 'none of us.'" Ling corrected, making Ed slap his face.

Mustang's brow twitched. "Did you now?"

"You're making it worse." Ed hissed at Ling.

"I know." Ling whispered.

"Why would you do that? Are you trying to get us killed?" Ed growled,
glaring at his friend.

"No, I just think their faces are amusing." Ling whispered.

"You are bloody insane!" Ed muttered.

"Says the guy who made the food and messed with it." Ling retorted.

"You two are banned from the kitchen." Mustang shouted over the two
whispering teens.

"What?!" Ed and Ling shouted, refocusing their attention on Mustang.

Seeing their attention was back on him, Mustang smirked. "That's right.
Banned. As in meaning, you are not allowed to set one toe into the kitchen!"

Ed blinked, gaping in shock. "Wh-what? I cook for you ungrateful jerks! You
can't–"

"BANNED, FULLMETAL!"
Ed pouted. "Jerks."

Ling snickered. "It's just the kitchen, Ed."

"You two are never allowed in there again. You want a drink. You have to
ask someone to get it for you. You want a snack, you ask someone." Mustang
growled.

Ling gaped at him. That was just insane! He could understand banned from
cooking, but that too? "Isn't that a bit extreme?"

Mustang narrowed his eyes at him.

"Or, it's not extreme enough." Ling corrected.

"No! It's too far!" Ed growled.

"You messed with the food!" Havoc growled. "How can we ever trust you in
there again?"

Brody leaned on the back of the couch and put his head between the two
boys. "The food fight we can look passed. That was amusing, but you do not
mess with the food, EVER!"

"It was just a joke." Ed muttered.

Walkers slammed a fist on the back of the couch. "Food is not a joke!"

Ed and Ling shared a look. Sheesh, these guys really liked their food.

"So, how about I make you guys a cake to make up for it?" Ed asked
innocently.

"BANNED!" Mustang, Havoc, Brody, Darius, Heinkel, and Luke screamed

at him.

"We'll never trust you in the kitchen again, that's for sure." Avery growled.

Ed crossed his arms and scowled. One little prank and they're not going to
trust him? He looked over his shoulder to see Izumi and General Armstrong
glaring at him so he yelped and looked forward again. Do not look. Do not
look. Do not look.

Izumi leaned on the back of the couch. "After your spar with Havoc later, you
and me are going to have a nice long spar, Ed."

Ed groaned. One tiny mistake with the drinks! ONE MISTAKE!

General Armstrong held out two glasses.

Ed and Ling stared at them.

"This isn't–" Ling started.

"The drinks you gave us." General Armstrong said with a smirk. "You each
get to drink two full glasses of it."

Ed and Ling shared a horrified look.

"Drink up." General Armstrong growled.

"Cruel and unusual punishment." Ed groaned. "Hey! Why is it only me that

has to spar with Teacher? What about Ling?"

"Traitor!" Ling hissed.

"Because the lead conspirator gets the worse punishment." Izumi growled.
"Now drink!"

"This is completely unfair. Can't even take a bloody joke." Ed muttered,

glaring at the glass in his hand. He shared a look with Ling and they threw
the drinks back together, chugging it down in the hopes of getting it down
faster being the spice took over their senses completely.

They finished at the same time, both with tears in their eyes and panting
heavily.

"Hot, hot, hot, hot." Ed shouted, waving a hand in front of his mouth.
"This is horrible." Ling groaned, sliding off the couch in misery.

"Now you know our misery." Mustang growled.

Ed snickered for a moment before another glass was shoved in his face. Ling
got the same treatment next to him. Both boys groaned. Couldn't they at least
get a break?

Al watched his brother and Ling sadly. Poor, poor them…though really, they
had it coming. What were they expecting to happen?

Ed and Ling chugged down the second glass of the vile, spicy drink. When
Ed was done, he threw his glass away and jumped over the back of the couch
to run to his room to rinse his mouth out. Ling finished a second later and
chased after Ed, leaving behind highly amused, sadistic soldiers.

Ed and Ling fought over the sink in the bathroom, constantly pushing the
other out of the way to get a refreshing drink. After fifteen minutes of
fighting, both had received enough water to calm themselves down. They
both collapsed to the ground, panting slightly.

"Okay, that was really cruel." Ling muttered.

Ed slammed a fist in the ground. "This isn't over."

"I agree. Revenge on all of them?" Ling asked.

Ed chuckled madly. "I knew you would see it my way eventually."

Ling smirked. "Only, Ed? Nothing to do with hot food or drinks anymore."

Ed grinned a bit. "Yeah, sorry. I wasn't expecting that punishment."

"Are you boys done?"

Ed and Ling lifted their heads off the ground to look at Izumi.

"You are one cruel lady!" Ling cried at her.

Izumi smirked. "Come on, boys. We're going to try to get one more episode
in before stopping for the night."

The boys groaned and dropped their heads back to the ground.

"They said something about wanting to hear Ed sing. I hear they are making
bets on it." Izumi added.

"I hate you all." Ed groaned.

"Well, you made the promise so it's time to stick to it." Izumi said. She
reached down and grabbed Ed's shirt and pulled the unhelpful boy to his feet
easily. "Ling?"

Ling smirked and stood up. "I'm not going to miss this."

Ed shot him a glare as Izumi dragged him away. With a grin, Ling followed
after the two.

Mustang looked at the boys with a smirk as they returned. "Well, it's about
time you two returned."

"Shut up, you cruel bas–" Ed started, but was cut off by Hughes slamming a
pillow in his face.

Ed huffed and threw the pillow back at Hughes. "Mean."

Hughes raised a brow. "You're still on friendship probation."

Ed gaped at him. "You were serious?"

Hughes raised a brow.

Ed threw his arms in the air in disbelief. "Unbelievable. Let's just get on with
this then."

Ling grinned as Ed sat on the armrest of the couch next Mustang. "This will
be good."
"And you are going to shut up and say nothing when I'm done, Ling." Ed
growled. He looked at all the soldiers. "And don't interrupt me or I'll get
thrown off!"

Ed's automail hand appeared on screen to be reaching towards the sky,

surrounded by flowers with rain pouring down.

The worlds "Fullmetal Alchemist" appeared on screen.

The scene moved to Ed's feet in the grass, which only his flesh foot had a
boot on. The screen slowly moved up to Ed's face, showing his flesh arm
still in a makeshift splint as it did.

Ed took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began singing. "I can't keep
focused, my body's still wavering"

Mustang gaped at Ed with the first line that he sang. No! No! That was not
Fullmetal's voice. That little punk was not supposed to be able sing. Where
the hell did he learn to sing? This wasn't right at all!

A surprised looked passed Ed's face before it was replaced by an angry

look. His automail hand curled into a fist and slammed into a flower on
the ground by him, causing the petals to fly around in the air.

"Trembling like I am, my control is shaky"

May closed her eyes and smiled as she listened to Ed's voice. Despite his
brash and scary nature, his voice was completely different from it. It was soft
and smooth. It was so gentle and just lulled her into listening to him.

Brody smacked his forehead. The kid could sing! The one time he bets
against the kid and the kid can actually do it! This kid had to be messing with
him somehow!

The scene pulled out to show Ed standing up as the screen moved to the
side through a green leg then behind Gluttony.

The scene moved to show Ed's back and Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath,
and Ling who was in dark clothing all staring at Ed.
"Both the sun and my luck have turned the other way,"

Havoc almost snorted at that. If only Ed had good luck. He smirked and
leaned back in his seat, watching the screen as he listened to Ed sing. To be
honest, he already knew about Ed being able to sing. He ran into the boy on a
rainy day once when the boy was upset and he was singing a lullaby to
himself. It had been shocking, but amazing as well.

Izumi smiled and leaned into her husband's arms. Ed had improved greatly.
He sung a few times when she was training him and Al. Al always liked
hearing him sing when he was depressed. Back then, he was still rough, new,
and inexperienced, but it seems that he has improved greatly since then.

Ed's angry eyes appeared on screen. The scene pulled out to show his
angry face.

Ed smirked and rubbed the back of his automail hand against cheek
before running at the group.

"But I whispered "I've gotta do it," to convince myself"

Ed opened his eyes with a smirk directed at Mustang, who just couldn't stop
gaping in shock. Ed looked at Al, who was staring at him and not the screen.
Ed managed a grin at his brother before looking at the screen.

Al continued to watch his brother. He loved to hear him sing, but he didn't do
it much so he reveled in any moment that his brother would sing. He really
was a lot better at singing then he was last year and the year before that and
the year before that. With each year came more practice and he got better and
better. But that didn't matter to Al. He just liked to hear his brother sing.

The music picked up as Ed was shown to be getting slammed by Envy's

hand, which was then followed by quick flashes of Kimblee with his
hands raised and face darkened, Ed's body tumbling and rolling across
the ground, Mustang holding his gloved covered hand, a group of State
Alchemists (Mustang, Kimblee, Basque Grand, Giolio) shown from
behind in the war, and finally a scene full of destroyed land with lava all
around with Kimblee standing ahead of it appeared on screen.

The scene moved up and zoomed in on Kimblee, who lifted his hands a
bit. When his face was zoomed in on, he grinned manically.

"The situation is bad, but I've got no guts if I just run away"

General Armstrong smirked at those lyrics. That was certainly true. It was
only cowards that ran away in fear. And from what she has seen, Edward
Elric was anything but a coward. He wasn't one to run from a fight and
neither were her men. They all faced the hell that came with the job head on.

The scene changed to show a rock. It moved to the side to show Scar
before he was injured, walking towards the screen. His face was zoomed
in on before the scene was moving up.

"Nothing to look forward to, but I gotta have the grit to get past this"

Scar closed his eyes. So those were the lyrics that came with his appearance
there. Weren't they so true? He really had nothing to look forward to in life,
and then he was being told to get past this. Well, it wasn't that easy. It was
something that wasn't so easy to forget. All that horrible alchemy destroying
his land and people. How was he supposed to just look passed all of that?

The screen finished moving up and changed to a dark scene with a fire in
the middle of the screen. It moved up higher to show a distressed
Mustang, looking into the fire and holding his hand. His eye was rapidly
zoomed in on before a bright, burning fire took over the screen.

"Gotta control my impulses and judge the distance to the target"

Mustang looked away from Ed and closed his eyes. Judge the distance huh?
He hated being shown during those lyrics. It just made him think of his job in
the war and using Flame Alchemy. It wasn't all just snapping his fingers and
it going where he wanted. He had to know where to aim and how far away
his target was and how big to make the explosion. And that made it harder in
the war. He knew exactly what he was doing and that each time he snapped,
someone was going to burn under his flames.
The fire was zoomed in on and Mustang appeared on screen, turning
around a bit with the screen turning towards him a bit. As he turned, the
fire around him disappeared to be replaced by an open blue sky.

The scene pulled out to show Hughes with Mustang and both staring up
at Bradley.

The sky became dark as an enlarged picture of Bradley's face appeared

in the sky, staring down at the two.

"What I need is the pride to win"

Riza smiled in amusement. Ed certainly had a lot of pride. She looked at

Mustang with a soft smile and grabbed his hand.

Mustang opened his eyes and looked at her with an amused smirk. It seemed
they were both thinking the same thing about pride and Ed.

Envy appeared, opening his mouth as he dropped his head. Al grabbed

Envy's mouth to keep it open as little brown bodies appeared in his
mouth. The scene pulled out to show Ed sitting by Al's legs and gaping
up at Envy.

"Will I taste sweet victory,"

The transmutation array in the Fifth Lab appeared on screen, but it was
lit up with bright blue alchemical light with scientists watching and
Ishvalans in the array.

A Philosopher's Stone appeared on screen. The scene zoomed out a bit to

show it on a tongue. As the screen zoomed out even more, Kimblee was
shown to be licking his lips as he swallowed the stone and held onto his
hat. Pulling out even more, Kimblee was shown to be surrounded by a
bunch of red, tortured souls.

"Or bitter defeat?"

Dr. Marcoh grimaced there. Kimblee and the stone would be shown with
those lyrics. It was surely a huge defeat for him. Kimblee had the stone that
he created. The stone that still existed and was still in his hands, even after all
of these years. To Dr. Marcoh, that was a huge defeat. The stone he made
was still going to be used to terrorize innocent people.

A blue transmutation array appeared on the screen with a black

background.

A picture of Mustang from the war opened up on a small section of the

screen with the array still in the background. As Mustang's picture slid
shut and vanished, Hughes appeared on screen next and was followed by
Riza as his picture disappeared. Riza looked up at the screen before her
picture vanished to be replaced by a distressed and crying Armstrong.

Armstrong was followed by Marcoh, whose hands were trembling. Envy

appeared next, smirking as he sat in the shadows under a flag. After him
was an angry Scar, ripping the bandages off of his face.

"Yeah, it's all one or the other"

And finally, Father's picture slid open and took over the whole screen.
His face was zoomed in on before it went to his eye. The scene zoomed
out from the eye to show Hohenheim's face. The scene pulled out to show
Hohenheim sitting in front of a fire and looking down at a picture. As the
scene rose to look down on Hohenheim from above, the man looked up.

"Wish I could control the threads of fate"

Lan Fan smiled sadly. Having a bit of control over fate would be nice. Maybe
it would stop some things that happened from happening if they could control
things a bit more. But with the Homunculi working in the shadows, how
could they control anything?

Buccaneer appeared on screen, pulling back his automail. Miles rose

onto screen next to him. The Briggs wall was behind them as Buccaneer
pointed a weapon at the screen and Miles put on his sunglasses.

A tank appeared on screen with General Armstrong in it. She was

zoomed in on before she was moving and swinging her sword forward to
point. An explosion appeared on screen.

"Take this perfect Golden Time tightly in hand"

General Armstrong's face appeared on screen. The scene pulled out to

show Buccaneer, Miles, and the rest of the Briggs soldiers behind her.

The scene zoomed in on her face again before it rapidly pulled out to
show General Armstrong standing on top of the Briggs Wall with her
soldiers all lined up behind her.

"I'll go at this with the best poker face I can muster"

Hughes chuckled. That was the best line for the soldiers of Briggs, especially
with General Armstrong at the front. It was so hard at times to know what she
was thinking at all.

A purple eye appeared on screen with soldiers following it, screaming as

they were pulled back with horses and a grinning black creature with
purples eyes all over it.

The Gate appeared on the screen. As the scene pulled up to look at it

from above, Ed was shown to be sitting in front of it. The scene went
down and turned. It showed Ed's face briefly before passing behind the
Gate, and once it got to the other side, Ed's face was seen again.

The screen split into two as Ed's eyes were shown looking over. Al's eye
appeared on the bottom half of the screen, looking over as well.

"Dragged into a world of illusion"

General Armstrong scowled. What kind of illusion world was that which
dragged her men away? That could not be forgiven at all. She was going to
find out what that black creature was. She didn't take it well when her men
were messed with, especially by something like that! Something that likely
wasn't human!

Ed was screaming as he was pulled back into Envy's mouth. He put his
hands on Envy's teeth to keep the mouth from closing.
Al was shown to be falling through a semi-dark area, dodging attacks
from a shadow as he went. As he got closer to the screen, his face was
zoomed in on.

The scene changed to show Al being held by a group of white hands.

Ed appeared on screen, just floating in the air, staring upwards. A

zoomed in picture of Al's face was seen in the background.

"Slipping out of a boundless pressure game"

Ed appeared on screen, struggling to push Envy's mouth back open.

When it was opened enough, he pulled out and struggled against the
hands trying to pull him back.

"What does it take to leap across the glorious borderline?"

Ling grinned and leaned back on his hands. He really should have said
something about Ed being able to sing earlier. He could have listened to his
friend sing a lot sooner than this if he had. He certainly had a good voice,
though Ling already knew that from when he sang a bit in Xingese earlier.
And the way he translated the lyrics was well done. Some things Ling would
have done differently, but it was still correct. There were just some things he
might have put differently or used different words.

Ed reached his hand forward. As the screen changed white, the angle of
the screen changed.

"How much will it cost me?"

The background changed from white to the raining sky from the
beginning of the song. Ed's face was shown, showing surprise before it
turned to anger. His hand turned into a fist and slammed down again.
His eyes were shown, turning wide and causing his hand, which was
shown to pause at the last moment. His fist opened a bit to show the
perfect flower under it. The flower was zoomed in on.

"What is it I don't want to let go of?" Ed finished softly. He jumped off the
armrest and moved to the floor to sit by a grinning Ling. "You say one thing
and I will hit you."

"But Ed, I liked it." Ling said and was hit by Ed's photo book.

"Okay, you brat." Mustang growled, making Ed and Ling look back at him.
"Where did you learn to sing like that?"

Ed smirked. "Maybe I'm just naturally gifted."

"The hell you are." Mustang growled.

Brody grumbled as he handed money over AGAIN! This kid was going to
drive him bankrupt!

"You bet with him, you lose. You bet against him, you lose. You just can't
win." Luke said, smirking.

"Oh, shut up." Brody grumbled. "Who would have guessed that he could
really do it?"

Riza pocketed the body that was tossed to her, making Ed gape at her.

"Lieutenant, you bet on that?" Ed asked shocked.

Riza smiled at him.

Ed gaped. The Lieutenant bet on him when she already knew he could sing
since he sung for her once. That was definitely cheating!

Riza leaned down and ruffled Ed's hair while subtly handing him half the
money she had won.

Then again. Ed smirked as he pocketed the money. Who really cared?

"So, Hughes," Ed started.

"You're still on probation." Hughes said.

Ed pouted. Darn.

"But I will admit you have a good voice." Hughes said.

"You already punished me and Teacher is going to commit murder later.

What more do you want, Hughes?!" Ed cried.

Hughes smirked at him.

"Know what, probation seems nice." Ed said weakly.

A train appeared on screen, stopped on a curve in the mountains.

"If he was going to jump from the train, this is where he would do it."
Kimblee said.

The train was shown up close with soldiers standing around it.

The scene moved to the left to show more soldiers.

"The engine's speed would decrease here." Kimblee said as soft

mysterious music began. He appeared on screen. "So what we need to
know is which way he headed after reaching this point."

"West." May said.

"South." Lan Fan said.

"East." Ed said.

The girls gave him strange looks.

"Come on! Would you expect him to backtrack completely like that?" Ed
retorted.

"That's a good point, but doesn't that seem a bit extreme?" Ross asked.

"Not if you have the right motivation to escape." Ed replied.

"Like escaping Teacher?" Al teased.

Ed grimaced. "If only it was that easy to lose Teacher."

Izumi smirked, making both of the brothers shiver in fear.

A map of the land appeared on screen.

"Any Scar sightings to report?" Kimblee asked.

"No." A soldier's voice said. "Nothing definite."

The scene changed to show the area from the sky. Kimblee was shown to
be standing around a makeshift table with two soldiers.

"That's odd." Kimblee said. "Up until now, he's been deliberately
conspicuous."

"Which should tell you something." Miles said.

"That you can't trust an obvious trail?" May asked.

"You shouldn't trust anything given to you by an enemy." Al replied.

"But Scar isn't my enemy. I am on his side." May pointed out.

"Eh, well, then you can trust him in what he is doing, but the rest of us can't
because we are still enemies." Al said.

"Then what does that make us since you and Ed are looking for me?" May
asked.

"Um," Al thought for a moment. "That is…well, you're not really an enemy.
You're just traveling with an enemy."

"You're struggling." May said amused.

Al sighed. Well, how was he supposed to answer that?!

"Girls always do love to trick you with difficult questions." Brody said in
sympathy.

Al stared at him for a moment before groaning.

A soldier was shown running over to them.

Kimblee and a soldier were shown with the soldier running over to them.
"I have a report, sir." The soldier said, saluting as he stopped.

The soldier with Kimblee turned to face him.

"There was a small boat that was stolen near the river about two
hundred meters south of here." The soldier said.

"Was it Scar?" The other soldier asked.

The soldier dropped his salute. "There aren't any eye witnesses to
confirm that, sir."

"Which means investigating the matter, even if it does turn out to be

completely irrelevant." Ed muttered.

"Which we cannot know until we investigate." Mustang retorted. "I told you
before, Fullmetal. There is a reason you get the missions you do."

"Whatever. At least I'm not the one that has to do this investigation. It would
be so annoying." Ed said.

The soldier turned around to face the other soldier completely. "Look
into it."

Kimblee was shown from a different angle to show another soldier

approaching.

"Yes sir!"

The new soldier saluted. "Reporting, sir."

The second soldier by Kimblee turned to face him.

"We've talked to an old man who lives near here that claims to have seen
a suspicious pair of men who were heading west." The soldier said.

"Are there really that many coincidences at the same time as Scar and Dr.
Marcoh being there?" Havoc asked.

"It either that or Scar is doing a bit more to throw them off his trail." Falman
said.

"Can never too careful, I guess." Havoc replied. "But personally, if I had the
Crimson Alchemist on my trail, I would not want to linger too long to make a
false trail."

"Hmm, could be our targets." The soldier said. "Take a search party to
investigate."

Kimblee's face appeared on screen.

"Sir!" The soldier said.

Footsteps were heard as the soldier left.

The scene changed to show Kimblee from behind. The second soldier by
him turned his head to look at him. "Is there something wrong?" He
asked as the other soldier turned back around to face Kimblee.

"I'm not sure yet." Kimblee replied. The crate that was being used as a
table was shown from an upward angle to show Kimblee and the second
soldier. "On the map, looks like there's a road near here that leads
north."

The map was shown with a road on it that had a red 'x' on it.

"There," Kimblee said. "What is that?"

"It was an old logging road that passed through the mountains to the
north area." The first soldier said. The scene moved to show the back of
the first soldier's head with Kimblee and the second soldier seen in front
of him. "But there were too many rockslides so they had to close it down.
Why do you ask?"

"Because it is where he will go." Hughes said.

"What makes you say that?" Ed asked.

"Because it isn't used any more, is dangerous, and has rockslides all the time.
For someone on the run who is laying a false trail and then turning
inconspicuous about the trail taking the most unobvious trail would be the
best. Who would suspect him to be insane enough to go on that dangerous
trail? Especially with someone not trained for such danger?" Hughes asked.

"Obviously you." Ed replied with a grin, but Hughes just shrugged, making
Ed smack his forehead. He was being formal and not teasing him or taking
the teasing with a retort. Is this what friendship probation meant?

"You can figure that out, but you still couldn't figure out his trail before he
killed again?" Mustang asked.

"He's a hard person to follow, especially before we learned what he looked

like exactly!" Hughes retorted.

Yep, no teasing was part of the probation. Ed groaned.

Ling looked at him. "You miss the teasing arguments already?"

"Yes."

"And here I would have thought you would be happy to have them done
with." Ling said.

"Never. They're fun!" Ed deflated. "But now Hughes is mad at me."

"There, there." Ling patted Ed's shoulder. "You still have me."

Ed groaned pitifully.
Ling huffed. "Well, that is offensive."

Kimblee looked to the side.

The cliff behind him was shown from the sky. The scene slowly moved to
it as Kimblee turned around. The mountains and trees took over the
screen as the scene continued to move.

The top of a couple of trees and the sky appeared on screen with
chirping birds in the background. A dirt path that was surrounded by
trees was shown next. A group was shown in the distance, walking
towards the screen.

The group was shown up close to be Kimblee with the soldiers

surrounding him as they led him through the forest.

They stopped and Kimblee raised his head.

Shocking music started when a pile of big rocks appeared on screen. The
scene slowly moved down the pile.

"There are several other places further on where rockslides have closed
the road." A soldier said as the group was shown from behind.

The scene moved to the rockslide to show Kimblee and the soldiers from
the front. Kimblee walked closer to the pile of rocks. He was shown up
close. He looked down. The scene moved to one of his feet as he moved it.
The scene moved up from his foot to show a part of the ground with the
small stream in it.

Dramatic music began as Kimblee and a few soldiers were shown from
above. "The water's flow here has been altered."

Scar frowned. With someone like Kimblee tracking him, it was going to be
hard to get him off of his trail. He was just too smart. Even after spending so
much time in prison, his mind was as sharp as ever. If this continued on,
Kimblee was going to find them and they would have wasted all that time
making a false trail. At this point, the false trail was only helping to keep
May traveling safely with Yoki. But what was the point of that? Those two
would be safe whether he was laying a false trail or not. The more he thought
about it, the more he felt that something was off here. Like he was missing
something about this plan.

"He just has to be so observant." May huffed.

"He was chosen for this job for more than just the fact that he knows about
the stone and Homunculi." Mustang said.

"Yes sir." A soldier said.

Kimblee crouched down.

"Does that mean something?" The soldier asked.

Kimblee picked up a rock. He was shown up close at the front as he

looked at the rock in his hand. His mouth appeared on screen as he
grinned viciously.

The soldiers and Kimblee were shown from behind as Kimblee stood up.

"For an alchemist skilled in destruction, clearing even this big an

obstacle would be a simple task." Kimblee said.

"And that makes Scar even scarier." Al said. "The fact that it is so easy for
him."

"And then you have to add in the fact that he is a highly skilled combat
fighter, fast, agile, and highly intelligent." Ed added.

"And you two aren't?" Brody asked.

Ed and Al shared a look.

"Oh, we are." Al said.

"But somehow, Scar is still just better than us." Ed added.

"That is because I have a lot more experience than you two and have no
qualms about killing after what I saw and did in the war." Scar told the
brothers.

"Right!" Ed said. "There's also that. It all makes him a very scary person."

Scar raised a brow. "I am sitting right here."

"Do you deny it?" Ed asked.

Scar shrugged.

Ed nodded. "Exactly."

Ling snickered. "He didn't say anything."

"Which works in my favor." Ed replied.

"Sir?"

Kimblee turned around to face the soldiers. "And it would be equally

simple for him to destroy the face of the mountain to once again block
this road with a rockslide." He held out the rock he was holding to one of
the soldiers from earlier.

The soldier took it. The rock was shown in the soldier's hand with signs
of alchemy on it. "Transmutation marks?"

"The ban of all alchemists trying to hide or trying to hide something!" Ed and
Al shouted.

"Yeah," Mustang rubbed his chin. "Those transmutation marks can be quite
annoying and make things obvious that something has changed. They
certainly get in the way."

Kimblee appeared on screen. He turned his head to the other soldiers.

"Send the soldiers north."

"Well, that sucks. They are now one the trail once more." Avery said.
"The Northern Wall of Briggs"

Ed's legs appeared on screen in a train station as he ran across the

screen with a train whistling in the background.

"Once again, you are in a hurry." Brody said. "Can't you just slow down and
enjoy your trip up north? Rushing around isn't going to get you to find May
any faster."

"It is impossible for him to slow down. He doesn't know what slowing down
is." Havoc said with a grin.

"I can too slow down!" Ed retorted. "I just choose not." He added when he
got many disbelieving looks.

"You're going to miss the beauty of the north if you don't slow down." Avery
pointed out.

"Too cold." Ed mumbled.

Avery threw his arms in the air in disbelief. "Is that all you think of the north?
It is more than just cold temperatures."

Ed snorted. "Right, right. When I see it, I'll believe it."

Avery glared at him and pointed a finger at him. "I'm holding you to it."

The outside of the station was shown. Ed stopped by one of the

employees to give him his ticket before running off again. Al came
through next and gave his ticket to the employee before following his
brother with the employee and a civilian couple watching them.

"We're getting strange looks again." Al huffed.

"You should be used to it by now." Skylak said.

"Oh, it's because of the armor, isn't it?" Al asked.

Walkers chuckled. "I would say it's more because of your crazy, energetic
brother."

Ed growled. "And I feel insulted once more! It's not my fault that they are
staring! It's like they've never seen a couple of kids before!"

"No kids as weird as you two. That is for sure." Breda said amused.

Ed was shown from behind as he ran out of the train station's doorway
that was completely white from the light outside.

"Hey, your coat has fur lining. How did you do that?" Luke asked.

Ed snorted. "It's called alchemy."

"Oh, so now you just mess with you coat whenever?" Luke asked.

Ed stared at him in confusion for a moment. "You do realize that I make my

red coat, right? I don't get it from anywhere."

"You do?" Clarink asked surprised.

"Yeah…" Ed muttered, scratching his head. "It's a pretty unique coat. Where
would you find such a coat like this?"

"Good point."

The scene lit up completely white when Ed ran through it, being covered
by it completely so he was no longer seen.

Ed's excited, childish face appeared on screen. "Look! There's snow!"

"Aww, look how cute he is." Avery teased.

Ed growled.

"Such a cute childish expression." Luke teased. "And it's because of snow."

"And yet," Avery said. He and Luke shared a look.

"You still hate the north!" Luke and Avery screamed at him.

Ed chuckled nervously. "So I take it you guys have been stationed up north
for a while now?"

"Yes." Luke growled. "Been there for years."

"Well, I don't hate the north. Just the cold!" Ed protested.

"And there is also the fact that you deny our skills." Brody pointed out.

Ed twitched. "Well, that is…I didn't mean anything by that. You guys took it
the wrong way."

"That doesn't sound like an apology." Brody said.

Ed's eye twitched violently. "There is nothing to apologize for!"

"Get to Briggs, kid. Get to Briggs." Brody growled.

Mustang smacked his forehead. "Fullmetal, I suggest you don't reply. You
obviously are not helping your case at all."

Ed huffed. "Th–"

Al whacked his brother in the face with a pillow. "Brother, Colonel is right.
Be quiet."

"Al! You hit me with a pillow!" Ed cried.

"Betrayal!" Ling said in a deep voice. [1]

Ed grabbed the pillow Al hit him with and hit Ling with it.

The scene pulled out to show Ed standing at the top of some stairs with
Al running towards him.

"Woah." Al said as he came to a stop behind his brother as fun, gentle

music began.
Hughes grinned. "You sound so amazed, Al."

Al chuckled. "Well, we never really got to see snow much. It's something I've
always wanted to see again after that one big snow storm we had in
Resembool."

Ed laughed. "Yeah, that was certainly fun."

The scene changed to show the city's center from above, snow falling
down from the sky and coating the ground in a light sheet of snow.

"Okay, I'll admit. That town does look nice." Ed said, a soft smile on his face.
"It's look so peaceful."

"We don't get peaceful much." Al agreed.

"That's because you two always bring a storm with you wherever you go!"
Havoc retorted.

"Are you bringing a storm to us?" Clarink asked.

"Most likely." Al and Ed said.

Brody sighed. "It was only a matter of time. The peace in the north had to end
at some point."

"I'd apologize, but, well…." Ed trailed off, grinning at the Briggs soldiers,
who all tossed multiple pillows at him in annoyance.

"Oh come on!" Ed shouted as he was hit with multiple pillows with Ling
getting hit with some as well. "Where do they all keep coming from?! Me and
this pillow fairy are going to have a serious problem!"

"Ed! Look at all these pillows!" Ling said cheerfully, holding up one of the
many pillows surrounding them. "We can make a pillow fort with all these
pillows!"

Ed grabbed one of the pillows and whacked Ling upside the head. "No."
"Humph, you're no fun."

The statue in the center was shown up close.

The scene changed to a car driving off screen. When it was gone, Al and
Ed could be seen carefully walking down the stairs from the train
station. Ed's foot was shown up close as it slipped on the ice. Ed's butt
slammed into the stairs and he bounced down the rest of the steps with a
groan and landed in the snow at the bottom with a pained look.

"Brother!" Al said when he reached the bottom.

Mustang snickered. "Nice one, Fullmetal."

"YET AGAIN, THE FUTURE HAS BETRAYED ME!" Ed yelled. He

grimaced a second later and rubbed his back and butt. "That hurt."

"Wow." Brody said sarcastically. "Not even in the north for five minutes and
you already get hurt."

Ed scowled. "I take it back." He hissed at the pain in his lower back. "I hate
the north still."

Luke snorted. "Just because you fell once."

"It hurts!" Ed muttered.

"Oh, sure, you'll get all these injuries in your fights and you don't complain,
but fall down some stairs and it's the most painful thing out there." Avery
said, rolling his eyes.

"Why don't I throw you down the icy stairs?!" Ed shouted.

Avery scoffed. "I've already fallen down the icy stairs before, Chief. I don't
fancy doing it again."

"Ha! So it's not just me!" Ed said.

"No, but you are just the only one to be so ungraceful about it." Avery replied
dryly.

Ed frowned. "You're a real jerk."

Avery grinned at him.

Ed rolled over onto his knees and put a hand on his butt while Al turned
to him worriedly.

A sign that said "Welcome to North City" appeared on screen.

The scene moved down as Al sighed as he and Ed were shown to be

sitting on a bench.

"Ed, you are so uncoordinated." Al said.

"It wasn't my fault! There was ice!" Ed protested.

"I made it down the stairs safely." Al said dryly.

"We're always fine too." Buccaneer added, motioning to the Briggs soldiers.

"Avery–" Ed started.

"Was distracted with not getting shot." Avery said dryly.

Ed's eyes narrowed at him. "Shot?"

"Oh, yes, it was just a small shootout." Avery said.

"And you fell down the stairs?" Ed asked in disbelief.

"Well, slid down them for cover." Avery corrected.

Ed smacked his forehead.

"Which is why you are ungraceful." Avery said.

"Just shut up." Ed muttered.

Ed looked up, stilling rubbing his lower back. "Oh, shut up. It was just a
little slip. Jeez."

"Accident prone." Mustang said.

"I am not!" Ed growled.

"Oh, do you prefer clumsy?" Mustang asked innocently.

"It was one slip up! It doesn't mean I'm clumsy!" Ed said.

Havoc snorted. "Only one?"

"Yes, just that one!"

"So, what about that time when you were twelve and slipped in a puddle of
water and splashed Colonel with the muddy water?" Breda asked.

Ed scowled. "Maybe I did that on purpose?"

Mustang glared at him. "Did you?"

"Uh…No?" Ed said.

"Phrased like a question." Mustang said blandly.

"I wasn't serious!" Ed said. "I was just saying."

Mustang looked at Ed suspiciously, but let it go.

Al's face was shown from the side. He chuckled and turned to face the
screen. "All this snow is amazing, huh?"

Ed's face appeared on screen as he lifted it up, a smile gracing his

features. "Yeah. You don't get much snow like this back home. That's
for sure." He blinked.

The scene moved to show Ed looking at Al. "Oh yeah. Hey Al."
Al looked at his brother.

"Do you remember that one really heavy snow we had way back when we
were little?" Ed asked.

"Didn't you two mention this earlier?" Ross asked.

"In here, yeah. But it seems future Ed wants to discuss it." Al said. "And I
can't blame him. That was a lot fun."

"So if it snowed in Resembool that means it was cold." Brody said.

"Yep." Al said.

Brody looked at Ed with a raised brow. "What's your problem with the cold
then?"

Ed waved his right arm around.

Dr. Young stared at his arm with a frown. "Did future you change to northern
automail?"

"Uh…" Ed frowned. "Well, considering no one mentioned northern automail

to me and I had no idea of what it was before you guys told me about it,
probably not."

Kei sighed and put a hand to his temple. "You can't be up north then, Ed.
You're going to die."

"Psh, I'll be fine." Ed muttered.

"Oh really?" Kei asked sarcastically. "You really don't know much about cold
and automail, do you?"

Ed blinked. "Well, no, I never looked into it."

"You research everything, yet you've never researched automail?" Kei

growled.
"Automail doesn't interest me!" Ed protested.

"You should have at least studied up on it bit since you have two automail
limbs!" Kei snapped. "It'll be a miracle if you don't die."

"Harsh." Ed muttered. "How bad can it be?"

Al's face was shown. "Maybe." He said.

A picture of Resembool covered in snow with more falling appeared on

screen.

Ed and Al reappeared on screen. Al turned to Ed in excitement, hands

curled into fists in front of him. "Oh yeah! I remember!"

A bunch kids appeared on screen, throwing snow balls at one another.

Ed was nailed in the face with a snowball.

"We had a snow ball fight!" Al said.

Ed laughed.

"Aww, look at all the innocent, sweet little kids pulverizing each other with
snow." Havoc said.

"So, who are those kids? Friends?" Riza asked curiously.

"Some of them are. Friends from school. Others are just kids from around
Resembool." Al replied. "Though, after our transmutation we stopped
associating with them."

"Why?" Breda asked.

Ed shrugged. "It's too hard to explain why Al, who they knew to be a little
kid, was suddenly wearing a suit of armor. They knew he wasn't big or strong
enough to wear it. We try to keep our interactions with most of them to a
minimal. But of course, considering how everyone in Resembool knows
everyone that is a bit hard to do at times."
"You convince everyone else in the country that he is your brother." Fuery
said.

"Yeah, but they never met Al before so that is really easy to do, especially
since they don't question it." Ed replied.

"That's because with that suit of armor and your rude, scary nature, no one
wants to cross you two, even though Al would never do anything about it."
Mustang said.

Ed was shown kneeling in the ground in front of an array drawn in the

snow with the kids around him. He put his hands on the array, lighting it
all up with blue alchemical light.

"And we made a snowman." Ed said.

The snow was shown as it rapidly rose into the air with blue alchemical
light sparking around it. It formed into a giant snowman with snow
buttons shaped like skulls.

"Yeah!" Al said.

"Is there anything you can't transmute?" Mustang asked sarcastically.

"Fire." Ed replied dryly. "I just could never figure out, Colonel."

Mustang stared at Ed for a moment. "You're being sarcastic."

"That I am, but I'm serious about the fire. I never even bothered to study it so,
yeah, can't touch that." Ed said.

North City was shown from above. The scene slowly moved forward to
show more of the city.

"Back then, I never imagined we would come this far north." Al said. "It
seemed impossible."

"Well, who could have expected that two kids were suddenly going to travel
all over the country?" Hughes said.
"No one because the thought of having two children travel across the country,
getting into dangerous situations, was completely inconceivable before Ed
and Al showed up." Ross answered.

"Well, we can only hope their actions don't influence other kids." Mustang
said. He put a hand to his forehead. "Oh, wait! They already have!"

"What'cha talking bout?" Ed asked curiously.

Mustang glared at him. "It's 'what are you talking about,' Fullmetal."

Ed rolled his eyes.

"And what I mean is, do you have any idea of how many kids have tried to
take the State Alchemist Exam after you passed at twelve? I've had so many
arrogant teenagers coming in thinking they could pass it with ease and they
all got turned away at the gate." Mustang growled.

"Oh yeah." Ed scratched his cheek.

"Why were they turned away?" May asked confused.

"Because Colonel pulled some strings to get Chief special permission to take
the test. Those teenagers had nothing. They just thought they could show up
and take it without a sponsor." Havoc explained. "They really had no idea
that Chief is a genius or that he had special circumstances."

Ed blinked for a moment before frowning. He glanced at Izumi than at

Mustang. "I think I got the certification because I saw the Truth."

"What do you mean?" Izumi asked.

"Alchemist who can perform alchemy just by clapping have seen Truth. The
Homunculi know that and I showed it right to Wrath when I performed the
test. I didn't even have to finish the test after the practical exam. I was
dragged in the moment I showed that because the Homunculi were not going
to let me out of their sight after it." Ed explained.

"That may be, but you do deserve your spot as a State Alchemist. You are
highly intelligent and skilled in alchemy. You were the best that year, even
without your knowledge of Truth." Mustang pointed out.

Ed frowned. "Maybe."

A smiling Ed and Al appeared on screen.

"Yeah," Ed said. "But here we are now."

Some buildings of the city were shown. The scene slowly moved to the
side to show more of the city.

The gray clouds were shown from a straight up angle from the ground
with snow falling straight down at it.

Ed and Al appeared on screen, standing in the snow and looking up at

the sky.

Ed and Al were shown up close as Ed turned to his brother and asked,

"So, now what do we do? We still have a little bit of time before our train
to Briggs takes off."

"Northern Command." Brody said.

"Huh?" Ed and Al asked.

Mustang sighed. "I thought you would have learned by now, Fullmetal. When
you are in a new area of the country, you want to go to the Command Center
before anything else! You need to go to Northern Command so they can alert
Fort Briggs that you are coming."

"Oooh." Ed said. He shared a look with Al. Yeah, they were probably going
to miss that completely in the future.

"Three years, Fullmetal. Three years! How can some of this not have seeped
into your brain yet?!" Mustang growled. "You're supposed to be a genius!"

Ed and Al were shown from behind.

"Why don't you grab something to eat?" Al suggested.

Ed sighed. "Eh, I don't know. Not really all that hungry. But I guess we
could look."

"Not hungry?" Ling repeated shocked. "How can you not be hungry? You're
always hungry!"

"Ling, you got it backwards. You're the one who is always hungry. I just eat a
lot when I do eat." Ed retorted.

"But you should still eat." Kei said.

Ed glanced at him with a frown.

"Your body needs more food because you need more energy because of your
two automail limbs." Kei said.

"I know." Ed replied.

"Well, the cold is going to take more out of you so you should eat." Kei
replied.

Ed shrugged. "That sounds annoying."

Ed started running down the road again.

Al gasped and ran after his brother. "Careful! You're gonna fall again!"

"Will not!" Ed said childishly.

"And that is the moment he fell!" Luke said dramatically.

Ed shot him a glare. "The more you Briggs soldiers talk, the more I am
disliking the north."

Luke grinned at him. "You just haven't learned to appreciate it yet, but you
will in due time."
"Shut up!" Ed shouted.

Northern Command appeared on screen. The scene moved down slowly

to show a couple of soldiers standing guard with another soldier
approaching them.

A room full of working soldiers in controlled chaos with phones ringing

in the background appeared on screen.

"There."

"That's three hours–"

"Call North City."

A soldier with a phone set appeared on screen. "That accident last

night–"

Kimblee appeared on screen, sitting in a chair with his arms and legs
crossed. A pair of legs ran in front of the screen, blocking him for a
moment.

"He looks like he is working hard." Myers sneered.

"He's smart and does the analyzing, but it seems that everyone else has to do
the searching and gathering of information first before he does anything."
Hughes said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "He could at least help and do a bit more than that."

"Any new information?" Kimblee asked when he was seen again.

"Unfortunately no." The soldier in front of Kimblee said. "But we're

doing everything we can."

The back of Kimblee's head was shown. The soldier with him was seen in
front of him and another soldier ran over and saluted. "There was a man
fitting Scar's description seen at the station one stop ahead, sir." He said.
"Are you sure about that, soldier?" The soldier with Kimblee said.

"Absolutely, sir. Eye witnesses saw him getting aboard a military train
bound for the Brigg's station."

"How far north did you hide these notes?" Dr. Marcoh asked shocked.

"I hid them where no one could possibly come across them." Scar replied.

"By accident or on purpose?" May asked.

"It would be both, but if someone came across them by accident somehow, it
is doubtful that they would understand what it was they found." Scar
explained.

"And it's not likely that anyone would go searching for the notes since no one
had a clue about them before." Ed added. "So wherever they are, they are
really, really safe."

Kimblee's mouth appeared on screen. "Was anyone with him?"

"A middle-aged man with black hair. Just like the report says." The
soldier said.

Kimblee's mouth turned into a cruel smirk.

The two soldiers appeared on screen. "I'll have the train stopped at
once." The soldier that was originally with Kimblee said.

"Which would be a horrible idea. Who trains these guys?" Ling said.

"The military academy, but it seems that some people just don't learn or are
not used to field work and can't adapt to the situation." Hughes explained
dryly, rubbing his temple.

"Why would it be a bad idea?" Sheska asked confused.

Scar scoffed. "Because if the train stopped before it should, I am not going to
stay on it. I'll know that something is wrong."
"I see. That makes sense. You're going to be careful when on the run."
Sheska said.

"Though, he got spotted by the military when getting on a military train. Was
that a mistake being seen or was it done on purpose?" Ed asked.

"It was most likely a mistake since we are up north now, I do not want
spotted." Scar replied.

Kimblee's crossed arms appeared on screen. He raised one of his palms

to show his tattoo. "That won't be necessary." He said. The scene moved
up to his face. "We don't want him jumping off the train again after all."

"At least someone gets it." Hughes said.

"Oh, so we are rooting for Kimblee to win?" Ed asked.

Hughes frowned. "I am rooting for neither. I am simply looking at both of

their sides."

Ed looked at him with a scowl. "Are you seriously that upset about the
prank?"

Hughes raised a brow.

"Argh, you're so annoying!" Ed growled, pulling at his bangs. Why couldn't

Hughes just let it go? Everyone else did...After the whole being cruel thing
with that horrible drink that is.

Kimblee's fedora appeared on screen. His hand came over to it and

picked it up as dramatic music began. Kimblee was shown as he put the
hat on. He straightened it a bit before dropping his arms.

"Alright." He said. His face was zoomed in on from the side. "From now
on, this job is mine and mine alone."

"The whole solo act!" Havoc said. "Remind you of anyone?"

"Chief/Major Elric." Quite a few voices said.

"Hey! I am not solo! I have Al." Ed protested.

"Not all the time. You sometimes, though it is rare, go on missions alone,
which means even without Al." Breda reminded him.

"Like you said, it is very rare." Ed retorted.

"But still happens."

The scene changed to show Kimblee as he walked towards the screen, the
soldiers watching him.

"I don't want you people getting in my way. Understand me?" Kimblee
said, still approaching the screen. He got so close that his face was the
only thing left to see on the screen.

"Oooh, rude. See, I don't go on missions alone to keep you guys out of my
way." Ed said.

Havoc snorted. He recalled a mission from when Ed was thirteen. He and Ed

went alone and they had argued about whether Havoc would help Ed take
down this dangerous alchemist or not. Ed tried to use his rank to make Havoc
stay back while he handled it, but Havoc had argued with age and experience
and that Ed didn't understand what he was going into. It wasn't getting in the
way that Ed was concerned with. It was getting someone injured or killed that
worried him which is why he focused on being solo. At least solo he didn't
have to worry about getting someone killed. In that sense, Kimblee and Ed
were different in their solo acts.

The scene changed to show a train from a distance, whistle blowing, at

nighttime with snow falling all around.

The inside of a train car appeared on screen to show Scar and his
companion sitting in it. They were shown close. Scar's eyes were shut
before he opened them to look at his comrade.

"Sleep while you can." Scar said. He closed his eyes. "As soon as we hit
the northern cold, you won't be able to sleep, even if you want to."
"That sounds horrible." Ed said.

"And the boy who doesn't have northern automail definitely better not remain
outside or attempt to camp outside for any reason at all. He will definitely die
before anyone else." Kei said.

Ed twitched. "Well, why would I attempt to camp outside anyway?"

"I don't know. Why would you do anything?" Kei asked. "You're too
unpredictable sometimes so I'm just saying."

"Yeah, but I hate the cold. Why would I stay out in it longer than I have to?"
Ed muttered.

The front of the train was shown, rumbling down the tracks.

The car the two were in was shown again from a different angle.

The snow covered tracks appeared on screen.

Scar's face appeared on screen as he opened his eyes.

"So serious." Al said. "And that just makes him scarier."

"Well, at least it is not pure anger and hatred anymore." Ling pointed out.

"Doesn't make it any less scary." Al replied.

"Psh, we've met scarier people. None as skilled as Scar, but they were scary."
Ed said.

Scar and his companion were shown from the side. Scar turned his head.
He was shown up close for a moment before he stood up.

Scar was shown from behind as he faced the back door of the car. He
started to approach the door.

The door handle appeared on screen as Scar grabbed it. He turned the
handle.
The other side of the door was shown as Scar slid it open a bit to show
his face.

The empty area of the train car platform was shown.

Scar reappeared on screen. He closed the door.

Scar was shown from behind. He turned around and started walking
towards the screen to get back to where his companion was.

The bottom of a train appeared on screen, rushing towards it.

The side of Scar's face appeared on screen as he stopped and gasped. He

was shown from behind. He quickly turned back around and ran at the
screen to get back to the door.

"What? Is something wrong?" May asked worriedly, wringing her hands

without thought. She didn't know why, but the more she watched and learned,
the more she came to feel sad for Scar and wanted to help him. Some of his
actions were from pure rage, but others, like when he was helping her find
Xiao-Mei, showed he was a good, kind person. Seeing his side of the war
also helped her come to understand him.

"He's either paranoid or his senses are that good and are telling him that
something is wrong." Mustang said.

"Considering who Scar is, I'm going with the latter." Hughes said.

"And the problem is?" May asked.

Hughes shrugged. "Could be any number of things. But considering that

Kimblee knows where he is and is coming for him, it might have something
to do with him."

"And how would that work? Scar is on a train and Kimblee is in North City."
Lan Fan asked confused.

"I'm not sure, but Kimblee will probably find a way to get to Scar." Hughes
said.
The outside of the door was shown, a bright light on it as Scar opened
the door wide, lighting up his face. He threw an arm over his face to
shield his eyes from the light. His face was shown up close as he cracked
his eyes open. They widened in shock.

The scene changed to show the opened area between the two cars and the
tracks next to the train to show another train had joined them. Loud
whistling from the train entered the scene. The side of the train Scar was
on was shown as the second train rushed onto the screen to line up with
it.

The scene changed to show both trains from the sky.

The side of the second train was shown as Kimblee leaned out it, holding
onto a handle of the train and using his other hand to hold his hat.

"What's with him and that hat?" Ed asked.

"Forget that. Where did he get a train and how did he catch up so quickly?"
Ross asked.

Hughes rubbed his neck. "It's probably another military train and he is having
the conductor drive faster than is particularly safe in the north with the snow
and ice just so he could catch up."

"Yes, cause who cares if they wreck?" Mustang asked sarcastically.

The inside of the train was shown to show the conductor. Kimblee looked
at him.

"I'm jumping over to that train now so match its speed." Kimblee said.

"That sounds dangerous." Ed said.

"You jump onto trains." Izumi told him.

"Yeah, but I never jumped onto a train from another train." Ed replied,
rubbing his eyes as he frowned. "The speeds have to match up and you can't
be scared and freeze right before you jump, otherwise you will mess up. One
mistake and you'll probably end up missing and getting your head cut off
from the train. Or you'll land half on, half off and possibly lose limbs to the
train wheels. And you can't really practice doing that because of all the risks
and how difficult it is."

"Given it a lot of though, have you?" Mustang asked.

"Yeah, well, I think about random things when I am bored and need a break
from alchemy." Ed retorted.

"So you think about dangerous things?" Brody asked, raising a brow.

"My mind trails."

"Roger, sir." The conductor said.

The wheels of the train were shown.

Kimblee's back was shown as he stared at the empty platform of the

other train. After a few seconds he jumped over to it. He was shown
from the side as he landed in a crouch. He bowed his head and raised a
hand.

"He made it." Brody said.

"Too bad." Avery muttered.

Scar frowned and crossed his arms. There was no time for him to escape that
train in time. That meant that he was going to have to fight Kimblee. Not that
he had a problem with that. He had no problem with killing Kimblee since he
was the one who used that wretched stone to kill so many of his people,
including his family and friends, and for destroying Ishval. Though he had no
problem with it, right now might be too risky, considering they were on a
train and that Dr. Marcoh was him. Scar closed his eyes. But was it Dr.
Marcoh? Something really seemed off with this whole plan.

The scene showed both trains as the second train began to slow down.

The back of Kimblee's legs appeared on screen as he started walking to

the train car in front of him.

The inside of the car door was shown before Kimblee opened it.

The dramatic music came to an end as the scene pulled out to show
Kimblee standing in the doorway from a distance with the inside of the
train car seen with its side door opened.

Kimblee's face appeared on screen as he walked into the car. His

perspective of what he was seeing was shown to show the figure of
someone wearing a tan cloak walking towards the back of the car slowly.

"Dr. Marcoh!" Kimblee said.

"Wonderful. Where's Scar? He couldn't have just disappeared without his

comrade." May said with a frown.

"It could have something to do with the side door of the car being opened. It
was closed before this part." Miles explained.

"What could opening the door do?" Avery asked.

"We're about to find out, aren't we?" Ed asked. "Stop interrupting."

"That's rich coming from you." Luke retorted.

"Here's the deal. We can argue about interruptions or you can shut up and we
can see what is going to happen." Ed said.

Luke thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "Fine, you escape this
time."

The person stopped and turned to face Kimblee, face shadowed by

darkness. Kimblee's back appeared on screen as he walked forward.

"I'm here to apprehend you." Kimblee said while the figure looked
around. "You can't run anymore."

The back of the figure's cloaked head was shown with Kimblee seen in
front of him, still approaching.

"Surely you're not alone." Kimblee said. "Where's your friend Scar?"

"Since when are they friends?" Havoc asked.

"Since Kimblee doesn't understand much about what is going on between

Scar and Dr. Marcoh and how they have quite a few issues between them."
Breda replied.

"You would think it was obvious there were issues between them considering
who the two of them are." Havoc muttered.

The person turned around. He was shown from behind as Kimblee's

hand grabbed his shoulder. The scene rapidly pulled out to show both
from behind.

"It's time to give up." Kimblee said.

The man's darkened face was shown with Kimblee behind him.

"Sorry, but you're not going anywhere." Kimblee said as he slowly

pulled the man around. "You're mine now."

"Well, that just sounds disturbing." Hughes said.

Mustang smacked Hughes in the back of the head with a pillow. "I thought
you were done with that!"

Hughes grinned evilly. "Never!"

"Well, I'm telling you to stop. I'm tired of hearing you and your disturbed
mine speak!" Mustang snapped.

"Then I shall never change." Hughes replied happily.

Mustang groaned. Why couldn't Hughes just stop with those comments?

The man's hood fell off.

Yoki's terrified face appeared on screen as he trembled in fear.

Scar nodded with a frown. So that was the missing piece that tied the whole
plan about them being chased across the country together. He was making
sure all of their attention was on him to get May and Dr. Marcoh safe passage
to the north. There was obviously something strange about the plan when
May was shown in the east with someone. The faces of Yoki and Dr. Marcoh
were never shown so they should have known that something was strange
about it.

"Hey, it's Yoki!" May exclaimed.

"Yoki is traveling with Scar." Al said blankly.

"…The more I think about it, the more I realize we really should have
guessed that." Ed muttered.

"I don't think so. I would have never guessed that." Al replied.

"Well, he must really trust May a lot if she is the one traveling with Dr.
Marcoh." Hughes said.

Ed blinked. "Kimblee probably didn't know about May, right? Or Yoki. He

was only informed of Scar and Dr. Marcoh. That was the fault of the
Homunculi and soldiers working on the case no doubt. No wonder he didn't
think to look for a little Xingese girl."

"The perfect escape to keep Dr. Marcoh out of their hands." Mustang said.

"As long as Scar and Yoki can escape Kimblee then it is perfect." Brody said.

"Oh, so we are rooting for Scar?" Ed asked.

"Yes!" May said.

"Well, we know whose side you're on." Al said amused.

Kimblee's face appeared on screen. The darkness of the car making him
look scary and angry. The scene pulled out a bit to show Kimblee staring
at Yoki. "Who are you?"

"The trickster!" Hughes and Ed shouted at the same time.

Mustang smacked his forehead while Hughes glared at Ed. "Why are you two
in sync?"

"Yes, why?" Hughes growled, glaring at Ed.

"Will you let it go?" Ed shouted, waving a fist in the air in annoyance. "You
can't put me on friendship probation just because of a prank!"

Hughes raised a brow.

"Well, you can, but you shouldn't!" Ed corrected. He pointed at Ling. "And
why isn't he on one? He was involved in the prank too!"

"Because, my dear Edo," Ling said, hugging his friend around the neck from
behind, making Ed twitch in annoyance. "Hughes and I are enemies, not
friends."

Ed snorted. "Enemies? And why are you two enemies?"

Ling grinned.

Even though Ed couldn't see it, he could feel the grin and he growled. "Know
what, I don't want to know! Forget I asked."

The opened side door of the car was shown as Scar swung into the car
from the roof. Dramatic action music began as Yoki and Kimblee were
shown as Scar swung between the two, splitting them up so Yoki could
run away from the fight.

"Oh, well, that makes complete sense. Hide on the roof and swing in! He'll
never expect it. In the end, I guess it was Scar pulling the ambush off." Ed
said.

"Ambush." Ling repeated with a frown. "Kimblee went for a frontal attack.
That was a foolish move."
Ed turned his head to him with a scowl. "Yeah, and now we get to see them
fight and see if we were right about Kimblee being out of shape from his
years in prison. Ling, get off of me."

Ling pouted and let Ed go. "Always complaining about my hugs."

"You're an annoyance."

Scar swung his leg around, but Kimblee stepped to the side to avoid
getting hit. Scar swung his other leg around, but Kimblee just moved in
the other direction this time. He swung his leg up again while turning
around while Kimblee jumped back a bit.

Kimblee's feet appeared on screen as they hit the ground. The scene
showed his bowed head as he held his hat on. He raised his head to stare
at Scar.

"I think he is in love with that hat." Havoc muttered.

"Havoc, shut up!" Ed snapped.

Havoc raised a brow.

"Fight!" Ed shouted.

Havoc snorted. "Seriously, Chief?"

"Yes! It's not me fighting finally so I want to watch it without having to deal
with pain!" Ed retorted.

Brody snorted. "How long will it last that you aren't involved in a fight?"

Scar appeared on screen, walking towards it. The scene moved to show
him from behind with Kimblee in front of him.

"The murderous Ishvalan I've heard so much about. So good to see you."
Kimblee said.

The night sky outside was shown. The clouds moved to show the full
moon.

"Look, it's a full moon! I guess that means neither one of them is a
werewolf." Hughes cried.

Brody snickered. "Werewolves?"

"You read too many books, Hughes." Mustang said dryly. "I was expecting a
stupid comment like that from Fullmetal, not you."

Ed shuddered. "No way, Colonel. Not after that encounter we had with those
wolf chimeras."

"Wolf chimeras?" Ling asked.

"Yeah, a mission in the west." Ed muttered. "I hated those wolf chimeras.
They're no joke."

The train car appeared on screen, showing Kimblee and Scar from the
side.

Half of Kimblee's face appeared on screen. He gasped and his eye

twitched very slightly.

Half of Scar's face appeared on screen next. His eye widened very
slightly.

"Seriously? A standoff?" Ed groaned. "Where's the fight?"

"Not everyone rushes in like you." Ling pointed out.

"I don't always rush in!" Ed retorted.

Ling snorted. "You attacked Father without even seeing how he was going to
fight!"

"He wouldn't have done anything if I didn't attack first!" Ed retorted.

"Besides that, those guys frustrate me. I just want to punch them all!"
"That doesn't mean you just rush in!" Ling retorted. "You seem to always just
rush in and be reckless. You need to plan and assess!"

Ed snorted. "And why would I want to do that? It's too much trouble!"

Ling rolled his eyes. "You've never heard the saying, "If you want to shoot
the leader, first aim for his horse," have you?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Ed shouted. "If I want to shoot the damn
leader, I'm going to shoot the leader!"

Ling stared at him blankly. "I thought you were smart."

"You fight the way you want. I'll fight my way!" Ed retorted.

"And that is why you can't beat me in a fight." Ling said.

Ed huffed. "I don't beat you because you tackle me without warning! How
about a fair spar, you jerk?"

Ling raised a brow. "Alright. When?"

Ed frowned. "Um…" He glanced at Havoc then Izumi. "Tomorrow? I have to

beat Havoc's ass later, then get my ass handed to me by Izumi tonight."

Ling snickered.

Ed glared at him. "I'll kill ya tomorrow."

"You can try."

Brody and Avery shared excited looks.

"Be careful on who you bet on this time." Luke whispered to Brody.

Brody scowled. "That kid is screwing with me somehow!"

"Wait…did you just say you're going to beat me?" Havoc snapped.
Ed smirked at him. "Good to know you still have good hearing."

Havoc glared at him. "Oh, just you wait, you brat."

"Oh, I'm waiting. Have been for three years!" Ed retorted.

Havoc scowled. "I didn't ask for a rematch because you are always busy."

"Sounds like an excuse." Ed said in a sing-song voice. "I'm hearing excuses!"

Havoc and quite a few of the other soldiers gaped at him for his tone of his
voice. Did he seriously just do that?

Al snickered. "I think you are influencing Brother, Ling."

Ling grinned.

A faded red Kimblee appeared on screen, clapping his hands. Red

alchemical light sparked around his hands before the scene changed to
show his palm reaching towards the screen.

The bottom part of Scar's furious face appeared on screen. The scene
slowly moved up half his face to show his burning red eye full of
unsuppressed rage.

"He's back to being scary from anger!" Al shouted.

May frowned. "Can't blame him. Kimblee did kill his family after all."

"Well, hopefully he won't let his anger take him over in this fight." Lan Fan
replied. "It is possible that it could cause potential problems."

"Or make him that much more determined to kill him." Al muttered.

The scene went back to Ishval during the war when Scar and his family
were attacked by Kimblee. Red alchemical light spread down the
building, causing explosions as it traveled down with all the Ishvalans
watching in fear. The red alchemical light surrounded the Ishvalans.
Scar was shown up close as he looked at the ground as it broke and rose
violently.

Pure, uncontrolled rage filled Scar. He wanted nothing more than to stand up
right now and kill Kimblee for what he did, but he wasn't here and that just
fueled his anger. Kimblee deserved death for everything that he had done.
And Scar wanted to be the one to show him the justice that he so rightly
deserved. This monster shouldn't be allowed to roam free at all. He should
have been executed a long time ago!

Half of Kimblee's malicious grinning mouth appeared on screen. The

scene slowly moved up to one of his dark blue cruel eyes.

Scar's face reappeared on screen, eyes glowing bright white with pure
rage.

"Well, that's a new one." May said weakly. She supported Scar, but she has
never once before seen him so angry. This was a whole new level of anger.

"Huh, now there is a real difference." Ling said.

"What are you talking about?" Hughes asked.

Ling shrugged. "When Winry found out that Scar killed her parents, she got
real upset and started crying and pointed a gun at Scar, but couldn't shoot.
Scar just found the man who killed his family and he is in pure rage and
ready to kill."

"Well, no duh it's different. They are two completely different people, Ling."
Ed scoffed.

"I'm just saying!" Ling said.

Scar raised his hand. The scene moved with the hand as it rose towards
the ceiling of the train car. The hand was shown.

The outside of the train was shown as it continued barreling down the
tracks. Blue alchemical light sparked all around the train car the two
were in before an explosion rocked the whole car, blowing the walls and
roof off and incasing the car in dark smoke as pieces of the roof flew
through the air.

"That's another problem with being full of rage in a fight. It makes you too
destructive and reckless." Luke said.

Mustang snorted. "Fullmetal should understand that well."

"Well, he tends to be very destructive, even if he isn't mad." Riza said,

glaring at the boy.

Frowning, Ed looked at her. "Something wrong, Lieutenant?"

Riza's eyes narrowed at him. "You gave me spicy food, Ed."

"Ooooh." Ed murmured. He completely forgot about Riza! No wonder she

seemed mad at him! "I'm sorry? I guess I just forgot to give you food that
wasn't spicy…"

"You shouldn't have forgotten." Riza growled.

"I'll make it up to you!" Ed said frantically.

Riza raised a brow.

"Somehow." Ed said weakly. "Don't be mad?"

"We'll see."

Ed groaned.

"Wow," Ling said, patting Ed on the shoulder. "You are good at angering
everyone."

"Leave me alone, Ling." Ed muttered. "Back to the fight!"

The black smoke appeared on screen. From it, Yoki fell out of the smoke,
groaning.

"Anticlimactic. Get out of there, Yoki! You're ruining the fight!" Ed shouted,
shaking a fist in the air.

Ling snorted. "You and your fights."

Ed grinned at him, though his eyes kept trailing back to Riza and Hughes.

Yoki stepped towards the back door of the train car. "I don't want to be
anywhere near these monsters when they're fighting."

"That sounds like Hughes." Armstrong said.

Hughes grinned. "I called you guys freak. And I only hid somewhere safe
until the fighting was over. It was for my own safety."

Mustang scoffed. "Honestly, Hughes. You can survive a war, but you can't
stand to be on the battleground and watching us fight?"

"No. I like living too much."

"And yet…"

"Don't say it." Hughes growled.

Mustang shrugged.

Yoki turned to face the doorway. "I think it's about time for me to get
off this train."

The dramatic music picked up once more when the empty platform was
shown with Yoki staring at it from the car he was in. The back of Yoki's
head appeared on screen as he stared at the empty platform cars. His
face snapped onto screen with a purple background that had blue-white
light snapped in it. "I can't."

Ed snorted. "Course you can't, you worthless idiot! Without someone

experienced like Scar, jumping off that train would be suicide!"

"Don't like him?" Lan Fan asked.

"It's not that." Ed scratched his head. "I'm just still trying to remember this
meeting I had with him when I was twelve and it's annoying me. So until I
remember him, he's an idiot!"

"Brother," Al sighed. "He was always an idiot. Remembering him won't

change that."

Ed snickered. "Ah, I see."

Mustang sighed dramatically. "Ah, so Fullmetal has really influenced his

brother this bad."

"I would refute," Al said, hanging his head dejected. "But you are right."

"And once again, I am offended." Ed grumbled.

The train was shown from the sky as it continued to move down the
tracks. As it moved down the tracks, the still smoking car appeared on
screen.

Scar appeared on screen as he stood up in the dark smoke.

Kimblee appeared on screen, crouching and holding his hat onto his
head.

"Just get rid of the hat already!" Hughes said. "It's obviously taking too much
of your attention."

"Maybe he has the hat because of that. He is saying that Scar does not need
his full attention." Ed suggested.

Hughes shrugged.

Ed groaned and threw his hands into the air. "Come on, Hughes! I can't take
this anymore!"

"You didn't even last half an hour." Mustang pointed out.

"It's Hughes! He's not supposed to be mad because of this!" Ed growled.

Hughes shrugged again.

Ed screamed in annoyance and fell face down on the ground.

Black Hayate trotted over to him and laid down on his back, making Ed
groan. Why him?

Ling snickered, making Ed turn his head on the ground to glare at him.

Kimblee's bowed head was shown up close. He lifted his head to show his
face as he smirked.

Kimblee was shown from behind as he stood up with Scar in front of

him.

"So, you're Solf J. Kimblee, are you?" Scar asked. "Known as the
Crimson Alchemist?" His face appeared on screen. "Tell me, do you
remember my face?"

Kimblee appeared on screen, still holding his hat down because of the
wind made by the speeding train. "Oh, I remember you very well indeed.
You were in the Kanda district of Ishval, isn't that right?" The scene
moved to show the two at a slight distance from the side. "And those
people with you, they were members of your family, yes?"

"Eh? He actually remembers all of that after all of those years?" Havoc said
in surprise.

"He did say not to forget their faces." Mustang pointed out.

"But all of them and he can keep it clear who is who, where he saw them, and
who they were with?" Havoc asked.

Hughes shrugged. "He's had a lot of free time on his hands recently."

"That's true, but how much of that time was actually spent on thinking about
Ishval?" Breda asked.

Scar's frowning, angry face appeared on screen.

Kimblee was shown in front of Scar. "I remember another fellow who
looked just like you, except he had glasses. Of course it's hard to see a
family resemblance when someone is losing tons of blood and screaming
in agony." He said with a chuckle as a picture of Scar's smiling brother
with a bright white background appeared on screen.

"Kimblee is being really, really stupid right now." Luke scoffed. "He is just
digging his own grave at this point."

"Do we really care?" Brody asked.

Luke shrugged. "I'm only saying that a wise person would have shut up and
not mocked a murderous, revenge seeking killer at this point."

"Or maybe he is just that over confident." Falman said.

Scar reappeared on screen, growling softly before he suddenly charged

at Kimblee.

Kimblee was shown, smirking as he moved to the side and behind Scar to
escape, never once letting go of his hat. Scar turned around and swung
his arm at Kimblee, who just jumped and brought his legs up to dodge.
Kimblee threw an arm forward to block Scar's other arm.

The scene pulled out to show both of them as Kimblee landed on the
platform and jumped backwards to avoid a kick from Scar.

"There is that too. He made Scar so furious on purpose because there is a

chance it could mess with his fighting skills." Hughes said.

"It can make them horrible or make them better. It depends on the person,
their rage, and how they handle fighting in rage." Ed said.

"Tch, you would know." Havoc said.

"He knows, yet he still has problem fighting in rage." Mustang scoffed.

"I do not!" Ed snapped.

Mustang raised a brow. "Oh? Then that fight with Greed in Dublith was what
then? You spent most of the fight being mad and brash and almost got
yourself killed because of it."

"Eh…well, it's not like that all the time when I fight in rage." Ed said.

The side of Scar's furious face appeared on screen as he charged after

Kimblee, right hand flying forward with him.

Yoki was shown to be on the empty platform car as an explosion tore

through the already destroyed train car behind him. Black smoke spread
out of the car and rushed toward Yoki to fill the whole screen with it as
Yoki shouted in shock. The smoke rapidly dissipated to show the empty
car platforms once more.

Kimblee appeared on screen as he landed with a frown, holding his hat

once more. He looked up. 'This could be bad.I just got out of prison and
I'm still rusty.'

Scar appeared on screen, walking towards Kimblee.

'But he's been fighting continuously since the war.'

"Well, at least he can recognize that he is at a severe disadvantage here."

Izumi said, frowning. "Such a disadvantage that he will most likely die. He
was foolish to go there alone. He really should have realized this sooner."

Ross frowned. "Not if he didn't realize how good Scar is. He's never dealt
with Scar before so he couldn't judge the situation."

"He still should have realized that he isn't in shape for something like this. He
knew this would end up in a fight." Havoc retorted.

The scene changed to show Scar slightly from the side and behind with
Kimblee shown in front of him at a small distance.

'Physically, I'm at a disadvantage.' Kimblee's hat blew off his head and
turned in the air as it went towards Scar.
"Finally! That stupid hat is gone!" Havoc said. "Think he'll focus on the fight
now?"

"I think he's finally realized that he has to." Rebecca replied. "Still, it
probably won't do much good."

Havoc glanced at her and smiled when he caught her eye.

Kimblee's face appeared on screen. 'And all this man knows how to do is
destroy.'

Scar moved to the side to avoid the hat and when the hat passed, a pipe
was seen in his hand as he got ready to throw it.

The pipe was shown flying through the air.

Kimblee's eye appeared on screen briefly being he was shouting out in

pain, stumbling back with a pipe in his side. He fell back.

The back of the train car behind him was shown as Kimblee's back
slammed into it. His face was shown up closed as his eyes widened and
blood spurted out of his mouth.

"Woah! Damn, you really were pissed off!" Ed shouted with a grimace. He
rolled onto his side to get Black Hayate off his back so he could sit up.

Scar smirked a bit in satisfaction.

"You're a scary person." Al muttered weakly. "I never expected you to use a
move like that, but I guess a person out for revenge will do what is
necessary."

May grimaced a bit and closed her eyes briefly. That was horrible. Her future
self really did not know all of the horrible things that Scar did. She only saw
so much when she was with him and by his side fighting. She wasn't there for
some of the really horrible things like this. Perhaps that was a good thing. It
would just make it harder for her future self to trust him. The reason she
could do it here in this room was because she was seeing the whole story. She
was beginning to understand his pain and was accepting it, along with the
rage he was feeling.

"Think that killed him?" Mustang asked.

"Depends on where the pipe impaled him." Hughes said, pushing his glasses
up. "It will kill him eventually, but he might still be alive at this point."

Ed shivered. "It's still a horrible thing to think about. Getting impaled sounds
horrible."

May nodded, grimacing a bit and hugging Xiao-Mei. That was something
none of them were expecting.

"Of course it is horrible." Brody muttered. "It means getting something stuck
inside of you and if you remove it, it is likely you'll bleed to death! Not to
mention the pain that would inflict."

Scar's feet appeared on screen as he walked towards Kimblee. His face

appeared on screen next as he stopped. "Good to know you remember
my brother."

The scene changed to show Scar standing a few feet away from a
grimacing Kimblee who sat on the train car.

Scar raised his hand. "I'll deal with you just as you dealt with him." He
said as he walked forward.

Kimblee was shown up close, pipe sticking out of his side. "It's quite a
shame." Kimblee said. "That twice now."

Kimblee was shown from behind with Scar standing in front him.

"I've failed to kill the same Ishvalan mongrel when I've had him sights."
Kimblee's malicious grinning face appeared on screen. The scene moved
to his hands as he brought them together to clap. The scene pulled out
slightly to show him putting them on the metal hinge between the two
cars. Bright red alchemical light sparked around, filling up the screen.

Scar frowned when he saw that, body trembling in slight rage and fear. The
last time he dealt with that blasted alchemy, he almost died and his family
was killed! It was some of the worst alchemy out there. He didn't ever want
to see it used again!

Scar's face was shown, slight fear on it as the red alchemical light flashed
in front of it.

The scene pulled out to show the train with red alchemical sparking for
another second before an explosion filled up the screen. Black smoke
whipped around, covering the screen. Through the smoke, Kimblee
appeared on screen, holding up his palm.

The back of the train car was shown to show that it was now the last one
left as the rest of the train was gone.

"Damn it. He just won't die!" Clarink growled.

"He's still impaled. He'll probably die from that." Miles pointed out.

"That's a good point, but then why did he do that to the trains if he is likely to
die anyway?" Fuery asked.

"It's self-preservation." Ed said, petting Black Hayate on the head as he

frowned. "He can stay there and let Scar kill him before he dies from being
impaled or he can escape from Scar and try to save himself before he dies.
The obvious choice, for those who do not want to give up, is to escape
because there is a slightly higher of chance of survival there than if he just
stays."

Scar appeared on screen, arm covering his face. He lowered it and glared
at the screen.

Kimblee's impaled side appeared on screen as dramatic music began

once more. The scene moved up to Kimblee's face. "It's terribly
humiliating to have to leave when we were just getting things started
here." The roof of the train was shown as the train pulled off screen to
show the tracks. "But don't worry." The part of the train that Scar was
on was shown. "We'll settle this next time, Ishvalan!"
Scar scowled. He would be looking forward to it. Kimblee was not going to
escape him again. He was going to die!

"If he doesn't run again because he is losing." Havoc scoffed.

"Well, the score is tied now." Ling said. "Kimblee: one. Scar: one. The third
fight will decide it all!"

"That's your reaction?" Mustang scoffed.

"Yep. Shows they are both strong players!" Ling said before pointing at Ed.
"Unlike him, who still can't win a fight against me."

Ed scoffed. "I begged to differ, idiot prince. Tomorrow."

Ling grinned. "You better not run."

"I don't run." Ed growled.

Scar was shown from behind. He stood up with a growl. His destroyed
train car was shown with him standing on it as it slowed to a stop. His
furious face was shown up close. His part of the train was shown as it
stopped.

"KIMBLEE!" Scar screamed angrily into the night.

"Oooh, such rage." Mustang said, but he couldn't blame Scar. If that was
Envy getting away from him, he would be very, very angry as well. He still
hasn't found Envy yet or knew that he was the one who did it, but when he
did find that bastard, there would be no mercy! Envy was going to suffer for
taking his best friend's life and everything else that he has done. He was his
to kill!

The front of the train was shown.

The train conductors appeared on screen with one of them looking out
the window. "Damn it. I can't see. What do you think that sound was?"
He leaned out the window and looked towards the back of the train.
The train tracks appeared on screen. They moved with the screen,
rounding a bit like they were on a curve.

The train appeared on screen.

The train conductor turned farther around and put a hand to his head.

The train was shown again.

"We lost the rear cars!" The conductor shouted. His hand appeared on
screen as he grabbed the brake.

"Well, what do we do?" His partner asked. "The military told us not to
stop for anything."

The scene moved to the conductor. "We have to. If we let this train
derail, we're gonna be the ones blamed for it."

"That seems so unfair to blame them for something that was obviously
Kimblee's fault." May huffed.

"That's the world. Being blamed for things you can't control." Al muttered.
"It's not a fair place at all."

The train wheels appeared on screen as they sparked because of the

applied brakes.

The train was shown from the sky as it screeched to a stop.

The train was shown up close as the two workers rushed down the side to
get to the end of it.

A puddle of blood appeared on screen with more blood dropping into it

as a light shined on it.

The two workers were shown as they looked up in surprise and horror.

Kimblee's legs appeared on screen. The scene slowly moved up his body
to show the pipe impaling him with all the blood straining his suit before
the scene moved to his bowed head.

"Sir?"

The scene was shown from the sky as the two workers approached
Kimblee.

"S-sir, what happened? Sir?"

"Yeah, he's just been impaled. I don't think he is feeling very chatty right
about now." Alexandre said sarcastically.

"Hey, there's a chance he might talk. You know, if he's not dead or
unconscious yet." Clarink retorted.

"He would have to be one stubborn fellow to be clinging to life at this point."
Avery replied.

"Stubbornness can only take you so far." Luke muttered.

"Hey, that can be pretty far so you can't count it out." Al retorted, glancing at
his brother. His brother lost two limbs in the same night, almost right after
the other. It was amazing he didn't die of blood loss before Al could get him
to Winry and Pinako.

Kimblee and one of the workers were shown up close. Kimblee looked up
with a vicious, pained glare in his eyes as he grabbed the worker by his
coat. "What are you doing? Who said you were allowed to stop?" His
face was shown up close as he breathed heavily. "Keep the train going."
His eyes widened in anger and pain. "We're heading north!"

"Well, he has certainly lost it." Mustang muttered.

"If he ever had it to begin with." Hughes said with a grin. "He certainly is
fighting to live, if only for the chance to get back at Scar."

Scar smirked. "I'll welcome the chance to kill him properly."

"Such an angry fellow there." Havoc muttered.

"Well, you can't really blame him." Breda said.

Havoc nodded. "That is certainly true."

Kimblee was shown from behind as he shoved the worker away while his
colleague stepped back. Kimblee coughed a bit, gagging a bit on his
blood. His hand appeared on screen as he turned it over to show the
blood covering it. "Ah, yes." Kimblee said. His fingers curled a bit.
"Death. It's closing in." Kimblee's face was shown from the side, a
malicious grin on it. "One who spreads death and destruction must
accept their pursuit."

The two horrified workers were shown.

"He will never be far from either." Kimblee said. His impaled side was
shown. "But what could be more beautiful than doing work that puts
your soul at risk?" The screen slowly moved up to his face that was
basked in a cruel expression. "Because that's what it means to be alive."

The train tracks were shown with snow falling slowly from the sky.

"At least on this battlefield!" Kimblee shouted as the scene moved up

from the tracks to the sky.

The scene went dark. The dramatic music ran its course then came to an
end as the scene opened up on a blue sky covered with clouds.

"So, when we get out of here, can we classify Kimblee as certifiably insane?"
Havoc asked.

"And what would our proof be? That we saw the future and we learned that
he is completely and undeniably kooky in it?" Rebecca asked sarcastically.

Hughes snickered. "I think that would get us to be the ones classified as
certifiably insane."

"Isn't what he is saying meant to be taken more philosophical anyway?" Ling

asked confused.
"The insane part of it comes from the fact that he is impaled and that death is
closing in on him. He doesn't have much time left if he doesn't get help yet he
says something like that." Ed said with an eye roll. "Makes one think he
almost doesn't care about dying."

"Well, he did just say that those who spread death and destruction will never
be far from either. Maybe he is trying to say that he knows eventually he will
die?" Lan Fan suggested.

Ed shrugged. "Not really a philosophical person so eh. I only know so much

in that field."

"Thought you studied everything." Brody scoffed.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Doesn't mean I understand it all to a high enough level."

"And he doesn't study everything." Kei pointed out, glaring at Ed.

"I hate automail, damn it!" Ed shouted. "Leave me alone."

The scene moved down to the ground, passing some trees along the way,
to show May and Dr. Marcoh from the sky as they trailed through the
snow.

"I hope Mr. Scar and Mr. Yoki are doing alright." May said.

"Is just escaping Kimblee considerer alright?" Al asked.

"Or is Kimblee escaping Scar's wrath considered bad?" Ed asked.

"Since no one has come after us so far, they must be doing a good job of
drawing the military's attention. I hope they're safe too." Dr. Marcoh
replied.

Dr. Marcoh was shown up close, groaning as he covered his face with his
hand with May behind him looking worried.

Dr. Marcoh groaned and grabbed at his face that felt like it was being pulled
shut in places and stinging like something was hitting his injured face. At
least it wasn't as bad as when Scar attacked him and destroyed his face, but it
was still highly uncomfortable.

"Hey, what's wrong?" May asked.

"Nothing." Dr. Marcoh replied. He was zoomed in on as he removed his

hand from his face to show that it was all scarred. "My skin's still
healing. It stings to have the wind blowing against it. That's all."

May and Dr. Marcoh were shown from behind at a distance.

"I'm sorry." May said. "I wish I could have healed your face completely
so it wouldn't hurt so much."

"No." Dr. Marcoh replied. "This is the face a man like me deserves to
wear. I am content with it."

"You sure are a strange one." Ed muttered. "The guilt of making that stone is
that much?"

Dr. Marcoh smiled sadly. "Nothing will ever make up for taking so many
lives just to make that stone."

"So destroying your face is supposed to be just what you deserve?" Al asked.
"Even though it won't make up for anything?" Without waiting for a
response, Al turned to his brother. "The logic here is strange."

Ed snickered. "It usually is strange. But it makes sense to him, so I say don't
argue with his logic, Al. It's what he wants to believe in."

May and Dr. Marcoh were shown from the front as they stopped at the
top of a hill.

"Stop for a second." Dr. Marcoh said. "Look over there."

Dramatic music began as May gasped. The two were shown from behind
to show the mountains of the north in front of them were birds flying
towards them.
"The Briggs Mountain range." Dr. Marcoh said. "Those peaks mark our
border with Drachma, the large country to the north."

"Well, it's about time someone reached Briggs." Brody said.

"Yeah, but unless they come across the Briggs patrol, we aren't going to meet
them." Avery said, jerking a thumb at Ed and Al. "It's likely we'll meet them
first."

"Oh, fun." Ed said dryly.

Al whacked Ed's arm. "Brother, stop it. You're going to annoy them again
and they are going to take some sort of sick pleasure out of beating you at
survival in the north."

"What?" Ed screeched. "They beat me?!"

"Well, we do have more experience." Luke said.

"And the proper automail." Buccaneer mocked.

Ed pointed a finger at him. "Leave the automail out of this."

Kei snickered. "But we can't. You're going to have a serious problem soon."

Ed scoffed.

May and Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen.

"Judging by those, we should be getting close to the place Scar showed

us." Dr. Marcoh said.

"Wow, you must really want to help Scar. He left you alone with May and I
doubt she would have attacked you if you wanted to leave." Lan Fan said.

Dr. Marcoh gave a weak shrug, rubbing his face gingering. "I am curious
about what he said. As well as the fact that I want to make up for what I have
done. This seems to be the start of how I can do that."
May looked down as she messed with her coat. "Let's see." Her hands
appeared on screen, holding two pieces of paper with directions and a
map on them. She compared them before gasping.

The two were shown from behind at a slight distance.

"It's right over there." May said.

Dr. Marcoh and May started walking once more as May put the papers
back in her coat.

Dr. Marcoh was shown with May following behind him.

The scene moved to show the Briggs Mountains range.

The sign for Rush Valley appeared on screen. Incoherent chatter was
heard in the background.

The scene changed to show the side of a building with some people
around it.

The scene moved to the side to show more shops and more of the town's
people.

"Ah, it looks so normal and peaceful there." Al said.

"As normal as a place for of automail loving freaks can be." Ed scoffed.

"I'm surprised you two even know what normal is." Ross teased.

"We had normal…once….quite a long time ago…" Al muttered.

Garfiel's shop appeared on screen as Winry's voice was heard. "What?

They're not there at the hotel?"

"No." A male voice said as Winry's stomach was shown with a phone in
front of her. The scene moved up to her face. "They left yesterday."

"Do you have any idea of where they might've gone?" Winry asked.
"To die up north!" Kei said.

"We're not going to die!" Ed shouted.

Kei sighed. "Fine, fine. Al won't die since he's not automail and doesn't have
a body. But you will."

"I'll be fine. I'm not going to die some stupid death." Ed retorted.

Buccaneer scoffed. "Wait until you feel the frigid cold."

"Yeah, see. It's the me in the future who is up north, not me, so I won't be
feeling a thing." Ed replied, rolling his eyes.

Dr. Young sighed. He really had no idea. "We'll see."

Ed stared at her in confusion, but just shrugged it off.

"I believe they said they were going north." The man on the phone said.

Winry looked downcast. "Oh, alright. Well, thank you." She put the
phone back on the hook. She sighed in aggravation. "That idiot."

"Look! She's realized your death is inevitable as well!" Luke said.

Ed growled. "Would you guys knock it off already?"

"Do you realize you have been an idiot yet?" Luke asked.

Ed glared at him.

"Then no. Not letting it go until you do." Luke said.

The scene pulled out to show Winry with Garfiel approaching her.
"What's the matter?" He asked, making Winry look at him. "Is
something wrong with the brothers?"

"I'm not sure. Apparently, they're heading north." Winry replied.

"Oh dear!" Garfiel said as he turned around to face the screen, a pinky
on his lip and his other hand holding a coffee cup. "You know what that
means." His face was shown up close, eyes opening with a faint blush on
his cheeks and a sparkle by him.

"Say it and I'll punch you!" Ed snapped.

Kei grinned. "We weren't going to say a thing."

Ed glared at him. "You guys annoy me."

"They're going to die." Garfiel said.

"Cause he said it for us." Luke said.

Ed glared at him.

Luke held up his hands. "Not my fault you were an idiot."

Ed scowled.

Ed appeared on screen. As the scene pulled out to show him and Al

sitting on the back of cart being driving by a man on a horse, he sneezed
violently. He rubbed his arm across his face.

"Are you catching a cold?" Al asked.

"Wow, you just can't win up north can you. A cold can easily turn into
something worse up there." Dr. Young said.

"I don't get sick." Ed growled.

Ed shivered as he said, "Oooh, I'm cold alright. That Briggs for ya."

"It's cold, but I think it is more than that." Kei said.

"I get it already!" Ed said annoyed. "Automail and cold don't go well
together!"
"You know what to say, but I really don't think you understand." Kei said
with mock sadness for Ed.

The driver was shown from the front as the cart stopped and he turned
to look at Ed's and Al's backs. "Alright. This is where I let you go, boys."

The brothers turned to look at him.

The wooden gate leading into the mountains appeared on screen.

The inside of the gate was shown at a distance with Ed and Al standing
in front of it.

"If you follow this mountain road, it will lead you straight to Fort
Briggs." The driver said.

"Kay. Thanks." Ed said.

The brothers were shown from behind with the driver looking at them.

"And you in the armor." The driver said, making Ed turn around to face
him while Al turned halfway around and pointed at himself. "Yes, you.
Is that automail?"

Al shook his head. "No."

The driver's face was shown. "Oh, okay. Well, then you should be
alright." The driver turned away and started leaving.

"Emphasis on the 'you' and 'not you guys.'" Havoc said.

"Oh," Ed snapped. "You're getting involved too? Remember, Havoc, I am

going to kick your ass later in a spar."

Havoc scoffed. "You mean you're going to try."

Ed pointed a finger at Havoc, a slightly mad gleam in his eyes.

Ling flicked Ed in the forehead. "You're going into mad, insane mode again,
Ed."

Ed whacked his hand away. "Not the time for jokes, Ling."

Ling shrugged. "Wasn't joking. You really do have this mad scientist look at
times."

Ed glared at him.

Ling grinned. "Just saying."

Ed walked back to the road to watch him leave as slow, dramatic music
began. "What was that all about?"

"Beats me." Al replied.

The driver raised a hand. "That's military land beyond the fence so stay
on the road if you want to live."

Ed and Al, wearing blank, confused looks, appeared on screen with

question marks around them. "Huh?" They both said.

The two were shown from above as they turned back to look at the
mountains.

The screen moved to show the snowy path in the mountain range.

"You ready?" Ed asked.

Al made a sound of affirmation.

The scene continued to move along to show the mountains in the

distance.

Ed's cold face with wide eyes appeared on screen, bangs blowing hard in
the wind.

The scene pulled out to show him shivering with a heavy snowstorm
blowing around him.
"It would turn into a blizzard." Ed grumbled, wincing a bit when it felt like
something sharp was prodding the skin around his automail ports. He rubbed
his shoulder a bit.

Kei who noticed the move raised a brow, but didn't comment just yet.

"It's probably your fault. You always bring trouble." Al grumbled.

"Hey! How do we know you're not the trouble magnet?" Ed retorted.

Havoc snorted. "Really, Chief? Really?"

Ed huffed. "I had to try."

"No one was going to buy it." Al said dryly.

The scene snapped back farther to show both boys.

Ed screamed in frustration.

A tree was shown with so much snow blowing in front of it that it was
hard to see.

Ed and Al appeared on screen as they walked.

"I know they say the weather here changes quickly, but this seems a little
extreme if you ask me." Ed said.

"What do we do now, Brother?" Al asked. "We can't even see the road."

"That's problematic." Miles said with a sigh. "At this rate, you're going to end
up going off the road."

"Is that bad?" Al asked worriedly.

"You could get lost and won't be found before you die." Brody said with a
shrug.

"Or you can run into the Briggs patrol who will attack you without a
thought." Clarink said.

Ed and Al groaned. Neither scenario sounded good.

The scene changed to show the brothers struggling through the snow
from the sky.

"Relax. We'll be fine." Ed said. "Teacher said she was tossed out here for
a whole month during her training."

"Her highly pointless training." Ed added and was rewarded with a sandal
slamming into the back of his head. Ed went flying face first into his pile of
pillows where he groaned.

"See, Ed? This pile of pillows is good for something." Ling said.

"First, it's pillows. Then it's sandals." Ed muttered annoyed as he sat up,
rubbing the back of his head.

"Pillow hater." Ling grumbled.

Ed rolled his eyes and rubbed his shoulder. Why was it hurting so much right
now? His leg too. He wasn't even in a fight, damn it! There should be no
pain!

"She survived."

"No way!" Al said. "She couldn't have lived in this for an entire month."

Ed and Al were shown from behind.

"Sure she could." Ed replied. "She even killed a bear."

"The bears around here are more than fifteen feet tall." Al replied.
"There's no way she could've killed one of them."

"You doubt your teacher that much?" Izumi asked, raising a brow.

"Uh…" Al said, staring at her. "I didn't mean it by you are weak…Just that
they are really big and strong?"

Izumi raised a brow. "I believe Briggs soldiers are trained to handle the bears
up there."

"Yep." Brody said, smirking. "We are trained to be able to take out one by
ourselves."

"Well, you guys are crazy." Al muttered.

Luke chuckled.

A foot slammed into the ground behind the brothers, overtaking the
screen.

Clarink laughed. "So, I can see you two are in trouble now."

"That a Briggs soldier?" Al asked.

"Yes." Avery replied.

"He's going to attack us?" Ed asked.

"Most likely." Luke said.

Ed and Al groaned.

"Why are we heading to Fort Briggs again?" Ed groaned.

"Because I told you to." Armstrong said.

"Well," Ed shouted. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I believe they can help you. They know the north a lot better than
you." Armstrong replied.

Ed groaned. "Yeah, they can help if they don't murder us first."

"That's why you go to the Command Center of the region you are in first."
Hughes told him.

"Yeah, yeah."

The backs of the boys appeared on screen. They very slowly and stiffly
turned around.

A darkened out shadow of the soldier behind them appeared on screen

making him look very scary.

The scene pulled out to show the soldier towering over the brothers.

Ed and Al appeared on screen, arms flinging into the air as they

screamed, "Bear!"

"Did you call that soldier a bear?" Buccaneer asked amused.

"Well," Ed huffed. "He looks like one."

Ed's hands appeared on screen as he clapped and put his left hand on his
right arm. Blue alchemical light sparked around as the automail turned
into a blade.

Ed and Al were shown from behind with their opponent in front of them,
showing that it was Buccaneer with a bit of difficulty because of all the
snow.

"So, I'm your opponent." Buccaneer said, smirking. "And you called me a
bear."

"As I said, you are making yourself look like one!" Ed protested.

"That was a pretty creepy way to appear." Al agreed.

"It's called sneaking up. Since you two do it so much, I think you two would
understand." Buccaneer retorted.

"We don't make it a habit of scaring our opponents right before attacking
them…" Al looked at his brother. "Well, I don't."
Ed glared at him. "You don't even have to try to scare them!"

Al huffed. "It's not like I asked for this body."

Ed snickered and tossed a pillow at Al. "Don't worry. You'll be back to your
body soon and no one will ever be scared of polite little Al again."

"Thing is, Brother. I'm not the little one." Al teased.

Ed glared at him and propelled another pillow at him. "I'm not small, Al!"

Fast, dramatic music began as Buccaneer raised his automail arm. The
scene showed his automail arm, moving up it to show the "Crocodile
arm" he had. It sparkled once in all its scary glory.

Ed appeared on screen, gasping when he saw it. The scene showed the
three from the side as the brothers jumped backwards to avoid
Buccaneer's arm as he slammed it into the ground, causing snow to go
flying through the air.

Brody sighed. "I just knew you couldn't stay out of fights."

"Hey! You guys are the ones who are attacking me!" Ed growled. "I cannot
be blamed for this!"

Luke snickered. "We just want you to learn that we aren't to be trifled with."

"Oh?" Ed mocked, raising a brow. "Then where are you guys? All I see is
Buccaneer attacking me!"

"We're waiting." Luke said in a mysterious tone.

"Uh, what?" Al asked.

Luke grinned at them.

Ed's face appeared on screen. "That's no bear."

Buccaneer appeared on screen. He moved his automail over his chest

and pointed a gun at the boys which he proceeded to fire. A net shot out
of the gun.

Al appeared on screen, arms crossed in front of him as the net hit him
and sent him flying to the ground and trapping him.

"Oh, wow, thanks for that." Al said annoyed. "I always wanted trapped in a
net."

"It could be worse." Walkers said.

"How so?" Al grumbled.

"He could have shot you with a bullet." Clarink said, grinning widely.
"Though, I doubt it would have done much against a suit of armor that has no
body inside it."

"It would have just ricochet and hit someone else." Al mumbled. "Like
Brother or Buccaneer himself."

Ed appeared on screen, turning to look at his brother. "Alphonse!"

Buccaneer appeared on screen, putting his gun back under his coat.

"Oi, What? Am I not special enough to get shot with a net now?" Ed asked
sarcastically.

"Do you want to be shot with a net? I can tell you, it probably won't feel
really nice." Buccaneer said.

Ed unconsciously rubbed his shoulder again. "Uh, well, if that is code for that
the net will hurt a bit when it hits me, then never mind."

The scene moved to show Ed and Buccaneer from the side with Al in the
background, trapped under the net.

"Hey, wait! Hold on a second. Is that a military uniform you're

wearing?" Ed asked.
Buccaneer growled softly. "Well, it looks like some pretty mediocre stuff,
but you have automail too, huh?"

"Oh? Mediocre because I don't want something stupid and tacky like you
have?" Ed retorted, curling his automail fingers a bit.

Brody snickered. "Like your friend, Captain Buccaneer is also very

enthusiastic about automail."

Ed gasped. "You have Buccaneer and Kei to deal with? You have two crazy
automail lovers to deal with?"

Buccaneer scoffed. "You just can't appreciate how amazing and great
automail is, you little punk."

Ed scoffed. "You're just obsessed!"

"Shh, Ed." Ling said hurriedly, smacking Ed in the face with a pillow. "Don't
anger the big, scary man."

Ed grabbed another pillow and whacked Ling back. "You're the one who is
going to anger him at this rate."

The back of Buccaneer's head appeared on screen with Ed standing in

front of him, ready with his blade.

"Huh? Mediocre? Just cause mines not tacky like yours?" Ed retorted.

"Always with the sharp tongue." Mustang said amused.

"And copying his future self." Havoc teased, making Ed throw a pillow at
him.

"Well, it is him. He really does know himself." Brosh added.

Ed threw a pillow at him as well. "I have a lot of ammo here now! Anyone
else want to say something?"

"I think he has also lost it." Breda added, making Ed throw a pillow at his
face as well.

"Ed! No!" Ling cried, tackling Ed into the pile of pillows. "If you keep
throwing them all, we won't have any more for our pillow fort!"

"There is no pillow fort, idiot prince!" Ed snapped. "And get off of me! And,
you know what else, STOP TACKLING ME!"

Buccaneer moved his automail arm. "Fool! Obviously, you don't know a
good weapon when you see one!" Buccaneer's face appeared on screen
with his automail in front of him. "This right here is Combat automail
model M1913A, the 'Crocodile.'" The scene moved to show Buccaneer
from the front with Ed facing him. He pointed his automail at the boy.

"Psh. Good weapon?" Ed scoffed.

Buccaneer raised his arm. "You want to go, punk?"

Ed rose to his feet. "Y–"

Ling grabbed Ed's wrist and yanked him back down. "You already have three
fights planned, Ed. Stop trying to fight everyone!" He looked at Ed's injured
wrist. "I can't believe you're going to fight with that wrist."

Ed shrugged. "I will not back down!"

Mustang slammed his hands on Ed's shoulder to keep him from standing up.
"You will from fighting with Buccaneer, Fullmetal."

Ed glared at the smirking Buccaneer. "For now." He hissed, knocking

Mustang's hand off his shoulders.

"Now surrender peacefully, you miserable Drachman spy!" Buccaneer

said.

"Stop jumping to conclusions!" Al and Ed shouted.

"Or I'll show you exactly what this baby can do."
"Spy?" Ed shouted in shock. "What are you talking about?"

Buccaneer jumped forward at Ed.

"I'm not a–" Ed started to say as he was shown from the front, but was
cut off when he had to dodge Buccaneer's automail by moving to the
side. He was forced to move in the other direction when Buccaneer
swung at him again. Ed crossed his arms in front of his face when
Buccaneer's automail slammed into them, sending him flying back.
While in the air, Ed flipped over so he could land in a crouch.

"At least you are not an incompetent fighter." Buccaneer said.

"What's it matter?" Ed shouted. "You shouldn't even be attacking me! I'm

innocent, I say!"

"Well, I don't know who you are at the time so I am completely justified
here." Buccaneer retorted.

"Attack first, ask questions later! What if you end up killing someone
innocent because you don't ask questions? Or even a comrade?" Ed retorted.

Brody rolled his eyes. "We wouldn't do that because all soldiers know to go
to the Northern Command Center first before coming to Briggs. Well, all
except you."

Ed groaned. "You guys are so complicated and annoying."

Ed stood up. "Don't you hear what I'm saying, moron?" He was shown
up close from the side. His eyes scrunched shut and he groaned in pain.
He looked at his shoulder out of the corner of his eye and put his hand
there.

Ed groaned as the pain in his shoulder heightened that much more. He

grabbed his shoulder and scrunched his eyes shut. Was this what they meant
about the cold affecting automail? He really should have known better when
taking steel limbs up to the frigid cold north. Why didn't he think about it
more?
"And what have we learned?" Dr. Young asked the groaning Ed.

"The cold hurts lot when you have regular automail on." Ed moaned, rubbing
his shoulder and rubbed his left leg with his automail hand, though moving
his automail at all made it hurt worse.

"And?" Kei prompted.

"I'll never go north without seeing my mechanic first." Ed replied.

"Good boy." Kei said, making Ed glare at him, but the glare was ineffective
with the pain shining in them. "And you're going to take all the information
and advice I give you about your automail and what to do in certain weathers
without complaint?"

Ed groaned.

Kei raised a brow.

"Yeah, fine, whatever." Ed muttered. "I'll listen to the automail mechanics

and not to do anything stupid after this."

Mustang snorted. "I doubt that."

"Nothing stupid with his automail at least." Al said. "Though, that will
probably change after a couple weeks."

Kei threw a pillow and hit Ed in the head.

"Al said it! I won't do it!" Ed protested.

Kei pointed at his eyes with two fingers then pointed them at Ed. "I'm
watching you."

"Weirdo." Ed muttered while Ling snickered.

"You will do well not to anger the Briggs soldiers, Ed." Ling whispered.

"What the hell? It shouldn't be hurting." Ed said. His automail hand was
shown as it shook. "Something's wrong with my automail."

Ed was shown from behind as Buccaneer launched at him and grabbed

his arm in the teeth of his arm and clamped down on it hard. Buccaneer
was shown as he shouted, "Got ya!" He pulled Ed into the air and the
scene pulled out as he slammed Ed into the snowy ground with Al
watching.

More pain flared throughout Ed's body making him groan even more. "Okay,
OW!" He shot a glare at Buccaneer. "And two, seriously?! Are you freaking
kidding me right now? Did you have to do that to my arm?!"

"Psh, your arm is fine." Buccaneer said. "And I always go all out in a fight. I
will not give my enemy a chance so quit your whining."

"I don't want my arm destroyed! Is that too much to ask for?!" Ed shouted. "It
will just set me back!"

"You are already set back by the fact that you don't have the right automail
for the north." Kei pointed out.

Ed grabbed a pillow and launched it at his face.

"Brother!" Al shouted, struggling in the net.

Ed's face appeared on screen, teeth clenched. "You bastard!" Ed was

shown lying on the ground. He lifted his head to glare at Buccaneer who
still had Ed's arm trapped in his automail. "Listen to me for a second!"

"Your resistance is futile." Buccaneer said.

"I just want you to listen to me." Ed groaned.

"Your swearing at him really isn't going to help, Brother." Al pointed out.

"Well, he's angering me!" Ed growled.

"You make it sound like you've never been attacked by a comrade before."
Ling said.
Ed's eyes narrowed. "I haven't." He hissed. "And that's because I am on their
freaking side!"

Buccaneer pulled a string on his arm and a motor started up.

Ed was shown from the front, staring in shock and horror as the arm
started to eat at his arm.

Ed growled. "And that is?"

"Something that will most likely destroy your arm if you don't escape."
Buccaneer said.

Ed twitched. "Damn you. Damn you to hell."

"Be nice, Ed." Hughes said.

"But…but….my arm!" Ed said. "I need that!"

"Well, you shouldn't have gone up there without going to Northern

Command." Hughes scolded.

Ed stared at Hughes for a moment with a frown. He really wasn't teasing him
anymore and being completely serious and stoic when he talked to him. He
didn't like it! It wasn't something that he was used to. "Hughes," Ed whined.
"I don't like probation anymore. Can you stop it already?"

"Wow, you didn't even last the whole episode, Fullmetal." Mustang teased,
making Ed glare at him.

Hughes smirked and motioned Ed to come over to him. Scowling, Ed went

over to Hughes, who leaned down to whisper in his ear. "You want off
probation? I want a cute picture."

Ed blinked. "Huh? Of what?"

Hughes grinned evilly.

Ed twitched. Probation was looking a lot better.

"Of you and Roy being all father and son." Hughes said softly.

Ed growled, face completely red. "I told you before, Hughes. He is not like a
dad to me!"

"I want it or you can be thrown out of my friend circle." Hughes said,
smirking cruelly.

"You are cruel." Ed growled.

"So?" Hughes asked, raising a brow.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Come on, Hughes. We can't take a picture when we
don't have a camera. And you can't be mad at me until we–"

Hughes took his camera out and waved it in front of a gaping Ed.

"D-Do you ever not have it?" Ed asked weakly.

Hughes smirked.

Ed blushed and looked down. "Later?"

"I'll hold you to it." Hughes replied.

When Ed turned back around, Mustang turned a glare to Hughes. "Are you
freaking serious?"

Hughes smirked.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Mustang hissed.

"Doesn't mean I can't get a picture I want out of this." Hughes replied
tauntingly.

Mustang's eyes narrowed. "Fullmetal was right. You're very cruel."

Ed's hand was shown up close as the Crocodile ate it and he cried out.
"No way!" Ed shouted. "This is not–" Ed was shown, hanging in the air
by Buccaneer's arm and kicking his legs out. "Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!
Stop!"

"Your pathetic automail is easy to destroy." Buccaneer said.

Ed's hand was shown trapped in the Crocodile with him looking up at it
with a glare. "No." He growled. "You got it wrong." He clapped his
hands. His face appeared on screen as he yelled, "I'll destroy your arm!"

Ed was shown from behind as he put his hand on Buccaneer's arm, but
nothing happened.

Buccaneer snickered. "You can't destroy it without knowing what it is made

of."

"Someone freaking tell future me about northern automail already!" Ed

shouted, glaring at Buccaneer. "I am going to destroy your arm one day!"

"You guys are on the same side! Stop fighting!" General Armstrong growled.

"Humph." Ed crossed his arms. "You guys are the ones who started it!"

"And you only have yourself to blame." Luke teased.

Ed growled. "Fine! When we get out of here, I will be the perfect little soldier
and take no shortcuts from now on!"

"Awww, don't do that. It will make everything boring." Havoc said.

"Yeah, then we wouldn't be able to tease you." Avery added.

Ed growled. "You guys are never satisfied!"

The scene pulled out to show Buccaneer from behind with Ed still
hanging by his automail arm with the Crocodile still working on
destroying his arm.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" Buccaneer asked.

"It was supposed to destroy your arm to save mine." Ed grumbled.

"So your arm is more important?" Ross asked.

"Hell yes!" Ed shouted. "Because I don't have an automail mechanic up

there!" He pointed at Buccaneer. "He does! Plus, he attacked me. I can't let
that go."

"I didn't think you held grudges like that." Brody snickered.

"Noo!" Ed swung his legs around Buccaneer's arm and wrapped his free
arm around it. "Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!

Brody laughed. "Having fun?"

"No." Ed muttered.

"Well, I don't think doing that is going to save your arm." Luke teased.

"But…but…" Ed looked at his arm. "I need it."

Ed was shown up close as he hugged Buccaneer's arm. "What's going

on? Why didn't my alchemy work? This thing's made of iron, isn't it?"

"I don't think he is going to tell someone who he thinks is the enemy the
answer to that." Hughes teased.

"I had to try! And I do realize we are on the same side!" Ed retorted.

"But he doesn't know that." Hughes teased.

"Did we miss something?" Brody asked.

"I thought Ed was on friendship probation." Avery muttered.

Ed grinned at them like he was a devil. "Hughes forgave me."

"For now." Hughes said so quietly that only Mustang, Ed, and Ling heard
him. "But you better remember your promise or you are getting punished
even worse."

Ed twitched. Damn.

The scene pulled out to show Al's foot slamming into the snow behind
Buccaneer. "Brother!" Al shouted. There was a clanging sound before
Al threw something.

The scene changed to the sky with snow falling down it. Al's spinning
helmet appeared on the screen and Ed's hand flew up onto screen to
catch it.

"What was that about your helmet?" May teased. "You don't like it being
used?"

"Uh…well…I couldn't let Brother lose his arm…again." Al muttered.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "You were doing good until you added the 'again!'"

"You can't deny it!" Al shouted, pointing a finger in Ed's face.

Ed blinked.

Ling snickered. "You really can't, Edo."

Ed smacked Ling with a pillow without even looking at him as he was still
staring at the finger Al was pointing in his face.

The scene changed to show Ed hanging onto Buccaneer's automail with

his legs and raising Al's helmet in the air. "Thanks, Alphonse!" He
slammed the helmet down into the teeth of Buccaneer's arm which
forced the arm to open, freeing Ed and sending him back to the ground.

Buccaneer's arm was shown with the hair of Al's helmet all tangled up in
it, making the saw of the Crocodile unable to function properly.

"Woot! Free!" Ed cheered.

"At the cost of his arm." Ling said.

Ed snorted. "His arm is fine. It's not destroyed."

"Except for the fact that a helmet is now stuck in it." Buccaneer growled,
glaring at Ed and Al.

"You started it!" Ed shouted, pointing a finger at Buccaneer. "If you don't like
it, don't attack me again!"

Al's armor was shown without a helmet as Ed landed in a crouch by him.

"You okay?" Al asked

Ed grabbed his automail arm. "This is bad. I hope I die here or else
Winry's gonna kill me."

The scene changed to show Ed and Al from behind with Buccaneer in

front of them.

"That wasn't too bad, kid." Buccaneer said. "Especially with that
ordinary automail you have."

"Stop ripping on my automail! It does its purpose!" Ed snapped.

"But it's not a weapon like this." Buccaneer said, slamming his automail
down into his left hand.

Ed rolled his eyes. "And that's because I don't need a weapon like that. I have
my alchemy!"

"But it's all over now." Buccaneer said.

A face covered with a mask and snow goggles appeared on screen.

Ed appeared on screen as he stood up with one of the Briggs soldiers

dressed in all white with the snow goggles behind him.

"….Where did he come from?" Ed asked.

"Distraction!" Brody and Luke sang.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Ed growled.

"Nope!" Clarink said. "Captain Buccaneer was sort of a distraction for you
for us to get in position."

"So…he wasn't going to kill us?" Al asked.

"Of course not." Buccaneer said. "Well, if I had to, I would."

Ed groaned.

The scene pulled out rapidly to show more soldiers behind Ed, pointing
guns at him and Al.

"How could I have not spotted you guys at all? Especially when they are so
many of you?" Ed groaned.

"You can't see white in all that white." Ling said, patting Ed on the head in
mock sympathy.

Ed knocked his hand away.

The scene showed the soldiers up close. It slowly moved to side.

The headless Al was shown with his hands raised. "The Briggs Mountain
guard." He said.

"Ah…they're going to figure you out quickly." Hughes said.

Al sighed. "This is why I like keeping my helmet on!"

"We were going to remove it anyway since we think you're the enemy."
Avery pointed out. "You just helped us and made the whole thing go by faster
by taking off your helmet yourself."

"Yippee." Al muttered dryly.

Ed appeared on screen, head turned towards one of the soldiers to look

at his gun with his own hands raised while Buccaneer walked towards
him. "This is getting old. I don't want another gun stuck in my face."

"That seems to be a theme." Myers said with a mocking smirk.

"What? That he angers his comrades enough that they want to point a gun at
him?" Richard mocked.

"I didn't anger anyone!" Ed shouted. "I just happen to have bad luck!"

Avery snorted. "He has a point. He didn't know what Selim looked like so he
threatened the kid and he didn't go to Northern Command so it's not
surprising that guns got pointed at him."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "That…."

"Isn't really helpful." Ling said, grinning.

"Which is a pretty common thing when it is coming from the soldiers towards
Brother." Al added.

"You two aren't helping either!" Ed growled.

The two laughed.

Hughes grinned. "Well, I like Ed's face there. He looks so unconcerned,

despite all the guns pointed at him."

"Stop looking at me!" Ed growled.

Hughes blinked. "Wow, first you're complaining about friendship probation

and now you don't want me looking at you or teasing you. Sheesh, Ed, make
up your mind."

"I just don't want you looking at me!"

"That's quite problematic since you're in every episode." Armstrong pointed

out.

Ed groaned. "Curses."
Buccaneer was shown up close as he came to a stop.

Ed's face was shown as he turned his head to face the screen. He blinked
and when his eyes opened, he was looking out of the corner of them.

The scene changed to show the soldiers and the brothers from behind
with a huge wall in front of them.

"How is it possible that you made it that far in that blizzard?" Havoc asked.

"We should have guessed they were near Fort Briggs since it was Captain
Buccaneer attacking them." Luke muttered. "He is usually at Fort Briggs."

"Well, at least we made it there." Al said.

"Now you just have to survive the introduction phase, though by what we
have seen so far, it doesn't seem to be going well." Mustang said.

Ed twitched. "That's their fault!" He growled, pointing at the Briggs soldiers.

"Survival of the Fittest." Brody, Avery, Luke, and Clarink said dryly.

"No time to talk and ask questions. That's how you get killed!" Liran
growled.

"Brother." Al said.

"A wall?" Ed asked.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Walkers said.

Ed grabbed a pillow to throw at him, but before he could, Ling tackled him.

"Not the pillows, Ed! Not the pillows!" Ling cried.

"Black Hayate!" Ed shouted.

Riza sighed as Black Hayate slammed into Ling's side, knocking the boy off
of Ed.
"Ed, stop abusing Black Hayate's attack response." Riza scolded.

Ed blinked. "But I'm keeping him on his toes."

Riza sighed and shook her head.

The bottom half of General Armstrong's face appeared on screen.

"Buccaneer, who are they?"

"She sounds scary." Ling whispered to Ed.

The group appeared on screen as Buccaneer spun to face her. "I'm

sorry. I didn't see you there, General Armstrong. I apologize for the
disturbance."

Al and Ed looked up at the wall in surprise.

Dramatic music began as Miles and General Armstrong appeared on

screen, overlooking the scene at the bottom of the wall.

"The scary woman!" Ed and Ling shouted.

General Armstrong glared at them.

Ed and Ling shared a look before pointing at Al and May. "They said it!"
They shouted.

"Hey!" Al and May shouted.

"Brother, you traitor!" Al said offended.

Ed grinned innocently.

Ed appeared on screen, staring up at the two. After a moment, he

blinked in surprise. Ed and Al were shown from behind.

"Armstrong?" Al asked.

"That's who Major Armstrong wanted us to meet when we made it

here?" Ed asked.

"You two really shouldn't be whispering right now." Armstrong said.

"Why?" Al asked.

"Because I don't like it." General Armstrong snapped. "Especially from a

couple of people in my custody who I believe to be the enemy."

Ed twitched. "Our apologies then." He muttered sarcastically.

"What was that?" General Armstrong growled.

"Nothing, nothing!" Ed said a bit fearfully.

The scene went back to General Armstrong. It started at her legs and
slowly moved up to her face as Ed said, "Olivia Mira Armstrong. Major
Armstrong's older sister."

"But," Al said as the scene zoomed in on Olivia's face.

Ed and Al appeared on screen with a dark background. Ed was frowning

and his face was scrunched up.

'They look different.' Al said.

'She's not huge.' Ed said.

Olivia and Miles were shown from the side.

"I'll ask again. Who are you?" Olivia demanded.

Ed appeared on screen once more, hands still raised. "I'm the Fullmetal
Alchemist. My name's Edward Elric. Major Armstrong from Central
Command sent us here to meet with the General in charge of this post."

Olivia and Miles were shown from behind with the group below seen at a
downward angle.
"Now can you call off your guard dogs?" Ed asked.

Havoc smacked his forehead. "And you were doing so good."

"He can't help it." Mustang said dryly. "His tongue is just too sharp."

"I'll be sure to get him to reel it in a bit." General Armstrong growled, glaring
at Ed.

Ed twitched a bit. Damn Future Ed! Damn you!

"Search them." Olivia ordered.

"Argh, seriously?" Ed groaned.

Al groaned.

"We told you we were going to." Brody pointed out.

"I really hate the north." Ed muttered.

"Just cause we're going to search you?" Luke asked.

"Well, I hate being searched. It's annoying and you guys have no right." Ed
grumbled.

"Yeah, here's the thing." Avery said dryly. "Our post is right at the border. No
one is coming in unless they've been to Northern Command or they have
been searched."

"And since you didn't go to Northern Command…" Brody trailed off.

"Fine, I get it. I still hate the idea." Ed grumbled.

"But I'm with the military!" Ed said annoyed.

"Sure," Olivia said as the Briggs Mountain patrol moved over to the boys
to check them. Her face appeared on screen. "But how do I verify that?
Anyone can claim to be somebody famous."
"Even up there? In Fort Briggs?" Ling said in disbelief.

"Yeah…I travel a lot and work on making a huge name for myself." Ed
replied dryly. "But honestly, I don't know what General Armstrong has heard
of me, and quite frankly, I don't want to. It sounds like a scary thought."

Ed and Al appeared on screed. While Ed was being pat down, the

soldiers grabbed the top of Al and pulled him down a bit to look inside.

"What? He's hollow!" The soldier said.

"Ah, you noticed." Ed said dryly as he continued to be pat down.

Hughes laughed. "I love your reply, Ed! Well, not the reply, but your tone of
voice. It's just so bored and dry. You should be more caring. Your brother's
secret was just found out!"

"It's nothing new at this point." Ed muttered.

Mustang smirked. "I was expecting you to be more mad about all of that
happened, but you are more calmly annoyed then anything."

"I do have some control." Ed said annoyed. "Now both of you shush!"

Another soldier appeared on screen, kneeling by Ed's suitcase as he went

through it. "What's this?"

The back of Ed's head was shown with Olivia and Miles seen standing on
the banister of the wall. One of the Briggs Mountain patrollers appeared
on screen as he jogged over to the two. "General."

"That's a letter of introduction from Major Alex Louis Armstrong." Ed

said.

The letter appeared on screen with "Sister" and "Alex" scrawled on it.

"Just read that, then you'll know you can trust us." Ed said.

Olivia turned the letter over in her hand to see the Armstrong seal on it.
The scene moved to show Olivia with Miles standing slightly behind her
as she glanced at the letter out of the corner of her eyes. "Heh, it's from
Alex alright." She grabbed the letter in both hands and tore it in half.

Ed appeared on screen as he gasped in shock. "Aren't you even going to

read it?" He asked as she continued to tear it up while she was shown
from behind with Miles and the group on the ground was shown from a
downward angle.

"Such a waste." Ed grumbled.

"That was expected." Miles said.

The Briggs soldiers nodded.

Ed looked at Armstrong.

"I expected it wouldn't be of much use." Armstrong said.

Ed moaned. "Honestly, I am really disliking the north."

"Only because it is not what you are used to." Olivia retorted. "I will not baby
you two up there. There is no place for that in Briggs."

Ed raised his hands. "Fine, fine. It's still annoying to deal with you guys
though."

"A letter of introduction means nothing to me." Olivia said. She was
shown from an upward angle as she continued to tear the letter into little
pieces. "I don't put much stock in anyone else's opinions of a person. I
prefer to judge the people I meet with my own eyes." She lifted her hand
into the air and released the pieces into the wind.

The pieces of the letter were shown as they blew away up the wall
because of the wind.

Ed appeared on screen as he gasped.

Fort Briggs was shown. The scene slowly moved up the wall to the top of
it.

Ling whistled. "That is one impressive wall. It's so big!"

Al and Ed, who had wide eyes, appeared on screen as they stared in
shock at the wall. "Th-That's amazing." Ed said.

The wall was from the side from the sky.

"It's huge. What is this place?" Ed asked.

"Fort Briggs! I thought you knew that." Luke said dryly.

"Knowing it and actually seeing it are two different things." Ed grumbled.

Olivia and Miles were shown from behind once more with the group on
the ground seen at a downward angle again.

"Enter, Fullmetal Alchemist." Olivia said before turning away.

"This is incredible! That's wall is really, really, really tall." Ed said.

Luke laughed. "Aww, you sound like an over excitable kiddie!"

Ed blushed, but managed to glare a bit at Luke. "Shut up. It is a big wall!"

"Aww, but it's cute how excited you get." Hughes teased, poking Ed in the
cheek.

Ed slapped his hand away. "Why did I want off of friendship probation
again?" He growled.

Olivia's face appeared on screen as she looked over her shoulder with a
scary glare and a twitch mark. "Quit gaping like an idiot and start
walking."

"I'd really rather not." Ed said weakly. 'She scares me!'

"Yeah, you don't really get a choice." Kei replied dryly. "Firstly, she won't let
you leave now that you are there. And secondly, automail!"

"Forget the automail!" Ed shouted, absently rubbing his shoulder again. "You
need to learn to let that go already! I told you! I understand now."

"Before I tear your little body apart limb from limb." Olivia said before
the scene pulled out a bit and showed a bear behind her that growled
loudly.

"That is definitely a great fit." Avery said with a chuckle.

"I don't know. I think she is much scarier than a bear." Brody muttered.

Clarink smirked. "I don't think any animal can match General Armstrong
then. She beats them all in scariness."

Ed appeared on screen, grabbing his head in fear as he cried and

screamed while a picture of a rabbit appeared behind him.

"She's like Teacher!" Ed wailed and he and Al hugged each other in fear.

"Shouldn't be too hard to tear your body apart, considering two of your limbs
are automail, little bunny." Brody said thoughtfully.

"Shut up!" Ed shouted, blushing. "Jerks."

"Aww, a cute little animal." Luke teased.

"Shut up!" Ed growled.

Olivia appeared on screen as she rested her sword on her shoulder.

"Be warned. I won't coddle you because you're children." Olivia said.

"Fine with us." Al muttered.

"Definitely fine. That means I won't be getting lied to my face!" Ed said

loudly, glaring at Mustang.
"That was how many episodes ago? Let it go, Fullmetal." Mustang replied.

Ed snorted. "Just making a point."

The scene pulled out to show the wall.

"This is the Mountain Fortress." Olivia said.

The wall was shown from high in the sky.

"Briggs!" Olivia said. "Here, only the strong survive!"

Ed appeared on screen, frowning as he looked at her with slightly

worried eyes. He tilted his head a bit as he grimaced.

The ending song began.

A night sky appeared on screen. The scene slowly moved down to a cabin
in the woods with a light shining out of the doorway.

A piece of wood was shown slamming into the ground and into a box.

The scene pulled out to show Dr. Marcoh holding the wood that he was
using as a shovel and May who was kneeling on the ground.

"There it is!" May said and she dug the rest of the box out.

"The notes?" May asked.

"Yes." Scar replied.

"Huh, well, buried in the ground in a cabin up north where it is always

snowing. No one would be able to find those if they tried." Ed muttered.

"We found them." May retorted.

"And you had a map and were instructed by Scar on what to do." Ed retorted.
"So, yeah, you two don't count."
Soft, mysterious music began as a table with the two pieces of paper on it
appeared on screen.

Dr. Marcoh was shown from behind as May kneeled in front of him and
took the notes out of a bag. She was shown up close as she smiled
brightly as she looked at the book.

The scene pulled out to show the two from the side. May handed the
book to Dr. Marcoh.

"That's it." Dr. Marcoh said. "Scar's brother's research notebook."

"He studied different ways of combining Xingese Alkahestry with

Amestrian alchemy, didn't he?" May replied.

"Really?" Ed asked intrigued.

"Stand down, Fullmetal." Mustang said, cuffing him on the head. "We are
finally almost done."

Ed huffed and rubbed his head. "But that sounds interesting." He muttered.

"Do you think that could be the secret to immortality?" May asked.

"You guys are obsessed with that!" Ed cried.

May grinned sheepishly at him. Her main focus was her clan after all so that
wasn't a surprise.

"I'm not sure, but maybe so." Dr. Marcoh said. The book in his hands
appeared on screen. "Will the information in this book bring us hope or
do its pages contain nothing but despair?"

May appeared on screen.

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen next. "Well, there's only one way to find
out."

The scene went dark.

"It's over?" Ed asked.

"Yes." Izumi replied.

Havoc jumped up and went over to Ed. He pulled the boy up and threw him
over his shoulder.

"Havoc!" Ed screeched.

"Spar time!" Havoc shouted as he carried the boy to the training room.

"Havoc! Put me down so I can kick your ass for carrying me!" Ed screamed.

Ling grinned as he ran after the two. "I have to see this."

"There's nothing to see! He'll be down in a minute!" Ed shouted.

"That will make it fun!" Brody said with a grin.

"No support." Havoc grumbled to himself.

*Training Room*

Havoc dropped Ed in the middle of the sparring ring.

"Not cool." Ed muttered as he stood up and dusted himself off. He looked to

the side to see everyone standing or sitting around the sparring mat. "You
guys are too excited to see Havoc lose."

"What makes you so sure I'm going to lose?" Havoc retorted, glaring at the
boy.

Ed looked at him with a smirk as he stretched his arms above his head. "Well,
I hope you can present some type of challenge. I need a good warm up for my
spar with Teacher."

"Oh, that's it!" Havoc cried, glaring at his opponent. He pointed at Hughes.
"Hughes!"
Hughes gave a two fingered saluted. "I will gladly referee!" He stepped into
the ring and pushed the two three feet apart. "Okay, first one to get pinned to
the ground to the count of three loses. No excessive force. We don't want
anyone getting too hurt."

"We don't?" Ed asked.

Hughes cuffed Ed on the head. "Behave."

Ed held his hands up. "Fine, fine. I won't destroy him."

Havoc glared at Ed, who smirked back at him. He was going to teach this kid
not to underestimate him or the training that the soldiers got!

Mustang crossed his arms as he watched in amusement. Ed was being so

confident and claiming he was going to win, and yet he lost to Mustang the
other day in a spar. He was really going to have to be careful in this spar, if
he learned anything from their spar that was.

"Alright!" Hughes said, raising his hand into the air. He looked at Havoc,
who nodded to him, then over at Ed, who smirked at him. "Begin!" He
jumped backwards out of the ring.

Ed and Havoc stared at each other for a moment before the latter was moving
first. Ed's eyes narrowed in on him to watch as he moved closer to him. When
Havoc was a step away from him, he was throwing a fist, which had Ed
stepping to the side and pushing the arm to the side. Havoc pivoted on his
feet to follow Ed's movement and swung his other fist at the boy's stomach,
which Ed blocked with his automail, resulting in pain flaring in Havoc's
hand. Havoc jumped backwards and shook the pain out of his hand.

Havoc stared at Ed for a moment to see if he would make a move, but after a
minute of Ed just staring at him with that annoying, condescending smirk,
Havoc scowled and lunged at the boy. He swung his leg out, which Ed
blocked with his arm before jumping away from Havoc, who followed after.
As Ed landed on the ground, Havoc quickly dropped down and swiped Ed's
legs out from under him. Ed threw his arm out to catch himself and flipped
himself back and landed back on his feet.
"Come on, Ed!" Ling shouted, waving a fist into the air. "Destroy him!"

Havoc shot Ling an annoyed look. "Stay out of it, Ling!" He looked back at
Ed, who didn't even take his momentarily lapse of concentration to attack
him. "Going to fight or not, Ed?"

Ed smirked at him in reply. "I thought I would give you a chance first before
I demolished you."

"Stop playing with your opponent!" Izumi growled.

Ed glanced at her briefly in fear. The faster this fight was over, the sooner
that she was going to kill him in a spar. He'd really rather not get killed!

Out of the corner of his eyes, Ed saw Havoc charging at him again so he
ducked under the punch that Havoc threw at him. He threw his hand on the
ground behind him then kicked his leg up at Havoc's stomach, but the soldier
caught it before he got hit. Growling, Ed twisted around and threw his other
leg at Havoc's arm while he ripped his caught leg free. He rolled on the
ground to move out of the way.

"Hey kid!" Luke shouted. "It's been a minute already!"

Ed rolled his eyes. Stupid jerks. He breathed out softly before charging at
Havoc.

Havoc watched Ed approach him and dodged to the left when the boy swung
a kick at him. Ed turned his head to follow him with his eyes. He spun on his
foot that was still on the ground and sent a punch at Havoc. Havoc just
managed to dodge the fist, but wasn't ready for the second punch that hit him
in the stomach and sent him stumbling back. He was bent over holding his
stomach as Ed hit him with his automail hand. Before Havoc could recover,
Ed slammed his flesh leg down onto Havoc's back. Havoc slammed into the
mat, groaning.

"The hell? Get up, Havoc!" Mustang growled. "You cannot lose to this
punk!"
Ed shot a smirk at Mustang.

Havoc pushed his hands onto the mat and twisted himself around to kick Ed's
legs out from under him again.

Ed slammed onto his back on the ground. He flipped himself back to his feet
as Havoc climbed to his.

"I thought you were better than this, Brother!" Al shouted. "Knock him out
already!"

Breda and Luke gaped at Al. "Aren't you the good one?" They asked.

Al nonchalantly shrugged in reply. "He's my brother. I have to root for him!"

Ed dodged a punch from Havoc. Before Havoc could pull his fist back, Ed
grabbed his wrist and turned his back to Havoc. With his other hand, he
grabbed Havoc's shirt then kicked his foot back into Havoc's feet to trip him
up and help him flip Havoc over his shoulder. Ed twisted around and
slammed his knee into Havoc's stomach and pinned his wrists to the ground.

Havoc and Ed stared at each other.

"You're heavy." Havoc groaned before twisting his wrists around to break
free of Ed and flipped the two of them to pin Ed to the ground.

Ed grunted.

"One!" Hughes counted.

Ed struggled to pull his legs up.

"Two!" Luke, Breda, Mustang, and Clarink shouted.

"Like hell!" Ed growled and he slammed his feet into Havoc's stomach,
throwing the man off of him. He rolled onto his side and stood up.

Havoc rubbed his stomach as he stood up.

Ed growled and tackled Havoc, using his momentum and automail to knock
the bigger man down. They rolled across the ground until Ed managed to
twist Havoc's arm behind his back and pressed his automail knee into the
man's back to keep him down.

"One!" Hughes shouted, holding up a finger.

Havoc growled and struggled to throw the boy off of him, but that just made
the pain in his arm and shoulder a lot worse.

"Two!" Ling said excitedly, pumping a fist into the air.

"Three!" Al and Hughes shouted together.

"Ed wins!" Hughes shouted.

Ed immediately released Havoc and rolled off of his back. "Take that,
Havoc!"

Havoc scowled as he sat up and rubbed his aching shoulder.

"Obviously you need to work on your hand-to-hand combat." Mustang

growled.

"Obviously I am going to have some serious bruises." Havoc growled,

rubbing his stomach.

"I thought this was a spar about not holding back." Ed retorted with a smirk.
"Don't be a baby."

Havoc glared at him. "Next time, Ed. Next time."

"Oh, is that you asking for a rematch to get your ass handed to you again?"
Ed asked.

Havoc growled and stood up. "And this is me walking away so I can watch
you get beat by your teacher in great happiness."

Rebecca glanced at Havoc with a smile as he exited the sparring ring. Havoc
caught her eyes and smiled back.

Ed raised a brow and looked over his shoulder to see his teacher approaching
the sparring mat with a smirk. Ed shivered in fear and looked away. Why
him?!

"Can we talk about this?" Ed asked weakly.

"Not so cocky now, are we?" Brody shouted.

Ed shot him a glare, which was cut off when his arm was grabbed and he was
flipped painfully onto his back. Ed groaned and looked up at his teacher. "We
didn't start yet."

Izumi raised a brow. "I wait for no one."

Ed groaned. "Right." He said as he picked himself up and moved away from

his teacher, watching her warily.

"This is going to get violent." Al mumbled to Ling.

Ling leaned closer to Al and asked, "Will he survive?"

Al shrugged. "Hopefully."

Ling stared at him for a minute before looking back at the sparring ring to see
Izumi kick Ed across the ring. Ed went flying back, but he managed to flip
himself in the air and land on his feet. He just managed to throw his arms up
in front of himself to block another kick, but it did send him skidding back a
bit.

Ed lowered his arms and glared at Izumi. He charged at her, and when he got
in front of her, she threw a punch at him, but Ed dodged at the last second
and twisted around to get behind her. He threw a kick at her, but she twisted
halfway around and caught his foot. When she went to throw him, Ed jumped
into the air and twisted his caught foot around as he spun sideways in the air
to escape her. He landed in a crouch and threw a hand on the ground in front
of him to balance himself.
A foot suddenly appeared in front of his face and kicked him, sending him
flying back to slam into the ground.

Ross winced. "Oh, that's got to hurt. She has no mercy."

"He fed us spicy food. He deserves it all." Riza growled.

Ross chuckled nervously. "You are vengeful."

"I don't like my food tampered with." Riza growled before turning and
leaving the training room.

Ross looked over at Ed to see him rolling across the ground to escape from
his teacher. She grimaced and followed after Riza. She didn't need to see Ed
get killed right now. As she left, she heard the cheering soldiers rooting for
Izumi and felt sorry for Ed. They really were all out for revenge. Well, except
for Ling, Al, May, Lan Fan, and Fu.

*Kitchen*

Riza drank her hot tea with a smile of content. Tea was really a great way to
calm her down. She should have drank some of this a long time ago. There
really was too much stress filling them all up during this whole experience.

When she heard the door open, Riza looked over her shoulder to see Mustang
coming in.

"Did the spar finish?" Riza asked.

Mustang smirked and leaned on the counter next to Riza. "I'm not sure if you
could call that a spar. It was more of Ed running around and blocking. He
could not land one hit on her. It's no surprise now why he is trained so well
with her as a teacher."

Riza smiled softly. "Where is he?"

"Infirmary, unconscious. Dr. Young is with him." Mustang explained.

Riza grimaced a bit. She turned back to her tea kettle. She poured some of the
hot water into another mug and put a tea bag into it before passing it to
Mustang.

Mustang thanked her and went about putting some sugar in it. "You always
were obsessed with tea."

"It's a great way to calm down." Riza replied as she closed her eyes and took
another long sip. She lowered her mug and gripped it tightly in both her
hands. "It's always been the best way for me to relax since then."

Mustang looked at her sadly. "Since your mom's death?" He asked, recalling
talking to her about her obsession with tea once.

Riza nodded. "Tea was always her favorite drink. Tea time was one of the
few times that she could drag my father away from his research. After she
died, he never came for tea time again, but I continued to drink it. It soothed
me and helped me feel close to my deceased mother. She was all I had since
my father was so focused on his research."

Mustang nodded and took a sip of his tea as he stared at his Lieutenant with
understanding eyes. She didn't want words from him. She just wanted his
presence and his ears for him to listen to her.

*Havoc & Rebecca*

"Hey," Rebecca greeted softly as she entered the cafeteria and found Havoc
sitting at a table with most of the lights off.

Havoc looked up at her with a smile and removed the ice from his shoulder.

"We haven't really talked since we got here." Rebecca said, sitting down by
him at the table. She pulled down the collar of his shirt to see his shoulder
that was slightly bruised from Ed's rough handling. She gingerly ran a hand
over it.

Havoc distracted her from it by kissing her cheek. "I know. I'm sorry,
Rebecca. It's just been hectic, and I never really told anyone that we're
dating."
Rebecca smiled at him. "Well, I am missing my boyfriend's presence, Jean,
so maybe it's about time to tell people."

Havoc smiled. "I don't have a problem telling anyone about my amazingly
beautiful girlfriend." He kissed her lips gently.

Rebecca poked Havoc in the chest to push him away. "That's very sweet,
Jean, but," She looked at him with steely eyes. "When we get out of here, you
stay away from the bitch Lust. You're mine." She grabbed the back of
Havoc's neck and kissed that silly, happy grin off of his face.

When they broke apart, Havoc smirked at her. "Who needs her when I
already have someone as great as you?" He said before they kissed again.

*Infirmary*

Dr. Young stood over Ed, frowning as the boy groaned and cracked his eyes
opened. "Welcome back to the world of consciousness."

Ed groaned. "The sarcasm is not appreciated."

Dr. Young smiled at him and helped Ed sit up.

Ed groaned at the movement and rubbed his bare chest. He looked down at it
to see that his chest was all bruised. Grimacing, Ed looked back up at Dr.
Young.

"Your teacher really has no mercy." Dr. Young said amused. "It's just bruises
though, Ed. You'll be fine. They're not that bad."

"This time. She is usually worse than this." Ed muttered, rubbing his chest.
He looked around and found his shirt at the end of the bed. He grabbed it and
slipped it back on, wincing as it agitated his bruises.

Dr. Young crossed her arms. "I checked your wrist while you were
unconscious. It's a bit agitated so I iced it for you while you were
unconscious."

Ed glanced at the new bandages on his wrist and nodded. "Thanks."

Dr. Young sighed. "You are going to make your wrist worse if you fight Ling
tomorrow."

Ed waved her concerns off. "It's fine. I've fought with worse."

Dr. Young shook her head. "Honestly, you're so reckless."

"Have I been cleared?" Ed asked.

Dr. Young waved the boy away.

Grinning, Ed jumped off the bed, but before he could leave, the door to the
infirmary was thrown open and hit the wall. Ed blinked as he looked at
Hughes, who was dragging Mustang into the infirmary with him.

"Seriously, Hughes? I was in the middle of something!" Mustang snapped.

Hughes looked at him with a grin. "As happy as I am with you that you
finally started flirting with Hawkeye, Ed owes me a picture."

Ed stared at the two, blinking as he tried to process that. Flirting with

Hawkeye? Picture? Ed blinked and his mind focused immediately on the
'flirting with Hawkeye' part. "You two were actually flirting?"

Mustang shot him a glare, but before he could retort, Hughes ran over to Ed
and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Ed, you're awake!" He shouted, not noticing
how Ed was grimacing in pain.

"Hughes!" Dr. Young shouted. "Ed is bruised. No hugging!"

Hughes pouted and released Ed, who hunched over and rubbed his chest.
"Th-thank you." He breathed.

"Why is my infirmary being invaded?" Dr. Young demanded.

Ed raised a brow. "Your infirmary? What? Did you commandeer it already?"

Dr. Young pointed a finger in Ed's face. "A doctor wastes no time in taking
control."
Ed sweat dropped. "What is with you and Briggs soldiers?"

"Hey, enough!" Hughes said quickly, wrapping an arm around Ed's

shoulders. "Picture time, Edo!"

Ed glared at Hughes. "Don't call me that!" He shoved Hughes off of him

before blushing. "D-do I have too?"

"Unless you want kicked out of my friend circle." Hughes said, waving a
camera above Ed's head.

Ed glared at the camera then looked at Mustang, who looked like he wanted
to set Hughes on fire. Ed would have gladly rooted Mustang on with that if
they had their alchemy.

"Fine." Ed grumbled, looking at Mustang with a scowl that looked silly with
his blush.

Dr. Young watched in amusement as Ed shifted on the ground and looked

from one adult to the next.

Mustang raised a brow.

"I hate this." Ed grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

Hughes pushed Ed over to Mustang. "Stop complaining. The faster you do

this, the faster you can be done."

Ed shifted in front of Mustang. "Do you think I can get away with maiming
him?" He whispered to his boss.

Mustang sighed. "No. No maiming your comrades."

Ed pouted. "Fine." He looked back at Hughes. "How do we…"

"It's a simple picture of you two posing like father and son. I don't think this
should be too hard for you two. You have acted like father and son in
missions before." Hughes pointed out.
Dr. Young raised a brow. She leaned against the wall and watched this with a
smirk. This was definitely going to be entertaining.

"That's different! We never had too much contact! We kept it to a minimal!"

Ed half-shouted.

Mustang nodded.

"Well, neither one of you are getting out of here until I have my picture."
Hughes retorted.

Ed groaned and looked at Mustang again. "You are all jerks."

Mustang raised his hands. "Hey, I don't like this any more than you do." He
grabbed Ed's arm and spun the boy around. "I want this done with." He
wrapped his arms around Ed's chest and leaned down to rest his chin on Ed's
head.

Ed blushed completely red. With how close Mustang was, he could hear and
feel the man's heartbeat in his ear.

"Ed, until you smile, I'm not taking the picture." Hughes said.

Ed groaned. "I have to smile now?"

Hughes raised a brow. "The longer you take, the longer Roy is going to hug
you."

"I'm beginning to think it would just be easier to be kicked out of your friend
circle." Ed mumbled.

"Trust me, Fullmetal. That would be a horrible idea. You would be kicked
into the enemy circle and you don't want that." Mustang told him.

"But this is cruel." Ed mumbled.

Mustang sighed. "Careful, Ed. You're going to hurt my feelings at this rate.
I'll begin to think you don't like me."
Dr. Young snickered, making Ed glare at her.

"Ed." Hughes said in sing-song.

Ed sighed and looked back at Hughes and gave a small, sweet smile, though
on the inside he was screaming death threats.

"Smile, Roy." Hughes said.

Mustang smiled with Ed and Hughes snapped the picture. The moment the
flash from the camera died, Ed ripped away from Mustang and jumped onto a
bed, burying his face into a pillow. "EVIL!" He screamed into the pillow.

Hughes snickered and skipped happily out of the infirmary, dragging

Mustang with him.

"That was adorable." Dr. Young said when the door closed behind the two.

Ed turned his head to glare at her.

Dr. Young chuckled. "Weren't you leaving?"

"I think I am just going to suffocate myself here." Ed groaned.

"Your choice, but it's late. You might want to go to bed if you want to be able
to get up tomorrow." Dr. Young said. "Good night, Edward."

Ed watched her leave the infirmary before sighing. He rubbed his aching ribs.
As if he the future wasn't making him suffer enough, now he had to deal with
bruises!

*May & Lan Fan's Room*

"Do you like Scar, May?" Lan Fan asked softly as she sat down besides the
girl on her bed.

May looked up in surprise. Did she? She looked back at Xiao-Mei as she
thought the question over. Scar was a complicated man because of his
difficult past. He could be cruel and very mean, but still. His difficult past
didn't destroy the kind heart he had. She could see that he was still a very
good person deep inside. "Yeah, I think he is a good person."

Lan Fan smiled at the girl. She moved behind the girl and began to undo her
braids to let her hair down.

May looked at her in surprise.

Lan Fan smiled and grabbed a brush to start brushing her hair out.

May smiled and leaned back to relax as Lan Fan gently pulled and combed
her hair. She never got someone to take care of her and brush her hair like
this. She was always taught to be a martial artist and Alkahestrist, as well as a
princess. But being from such a low clan, she didn't have servants to help her
and groom her so it was nice to have a friend willing to do it for her. It was so
kind of her. In here, they weren't enemies fighting for their clans. They were
just two girls taking comfort in each other's presence.

"I agree with you." Lan Fan said softly, knocking May out of her thoughts. "I
do not believe that Scar is bad. He has just had a complicated life because of
the war."

May nodded. "Yes, but I hope he doesn't kill any more. I do not wish to see
that again."

"Even Kimblee?"

"I don't want Scar to kill Kimblee. You saw them during their fight. He
almost lost himself in rage because of Kimblee. I don't think killing him is the
best thing for Scar." May replied softly, looking down.

"You really care about him." Lan Fan said as she put the brush down and ran
her fingers through May's hair to make sure the knots were gone.

"He was one of the first people I meet in the future when I arrive in Amestris,
and I can understand how hard his life is. I know what it is like to have a hard
life." May replied, closing her eyes. Yes, she was a princess, but being from a
lower clan, she did not have an easy life like the higher clan heirs and heiress
did.

"Well, all you have to do is be his friend and help him in any way you can.
Maybe then he'll be able to move passed this. He has been alone for so long.
Just be a friend to him." Lan Fan replied.

May smiled softly. "I'll do what I can. I don't want to see him hurting
anymore."

*Mustang & Hughes*

"Wasn't that a bit cruel?" Mustang asked when he was in his bedroom with
Hughes.

Hughes grinned at him. "You said to mess with Ed by throwing him in

friendship probation for that horribly cruel prank."

Mustang shot his friend an annoyed look before getting ready for bed. "But to
make him take a picture with me to get back in your good graces? That was
not part of the plan."

Hughes grinned evilly as he put his camera down and sat on his bed. He bent
over to remove his boots. "Well, you could have fought a bit more. But you
didn't." He looked up with a sly smirk. "You really care about those boys."

Mustang threw a pillow at Hughes. "I spent four years watching over them.
Of course I would care about them."

"You, Hawkeye, Ed, and Al. You guys would make a great family!" Hughes
teased.

Mustang grabbed another pillow and whacked Hughes upside the head. "Say
it again. I dare you, Hughes!"

Hughes laughed. "Well, you were flirting with her."

"We were talking! Stop confusing the two!" Mustang snapped.

"Roy loves Hawkeye! Roy loves Hawkeye! He wants to hold her and talk
lovingly to her and kiss her and marry her!" Hughes said.

Mustang growled and whacked Hughes even harder. "Would you shut up?
You are such a child!"

*Main Room*

When Ed finally left the infirmary, it was a bit later then he intended to, but
he had fallen asleep briefly. When he woke up, he decided he didn't want to
sleep in there. It was lonely in there. No, that did not mean he took pleasure
in sharing a room with Ling. It meant he missed his brother! Yeah, that was
it.

He wandered out into the main room. He was on his way to his room when he
saw a single light on in the room. When he glanced over to the light, he about
jumped out of his skin when he saw a pair of red eyes suddenly staring at
him. "Eh?" Ed looked at Scar in surprise. Could he be even creepier? Who
just sat in the dark with one light like that?

Scar continued to stare at Ed, not moving a muscle.

"You're not going to kill me, right?" Ed asked hesitantly.

Scar raised a brow. "No, I will not. I do not believe that would be a good idea
right now."

Ed twitched a bit. "Is that so?"

Scar sighed. "Actually, I do not wish to kill you at all."

Raising a brow, Ed turned to face Scar fully. "You don't want to kill me at
all? What changed? You were very eager to kill me recently."

"Seeing the future has taught me a thing or two." Scar replied.

Ed glanced longingly at his bedroom door before looking back at Scar. Curse
his curiosity. He moved closer and sat on one of the couches near Scar. No
way was he sitting too close to the man. He wasn't going to trust him that
easily. "Okay, you have my attention."
Scar smirked. "Not that I was after it."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Fine. You have my curiosity."

"Our future has taught me something about you. You are not like the rest of
the State Alchemists. You are different and much too innocent." Scar replied.

Ed leaned back into the couch and glared at Scar. "What made you attack me
anyway? I hate your revenge. I know it's wrong, but I understand why you
are doing it, but why attack me? You should be able to tell by my age that I
had nothing to do with the war. Not to mention that I joined three years ago.
That should have been a clear clue to you."

"It was not about the war, but about the alchemy. You may believe that your
alchemy is not evil, but even you use your alchemy in battles. Maybe not to
kill, but you still intend to harm with it." Scar retorted.

Ed frowned. "You only see the bad in everything. I know you were hurt, but
you don't have to stare at only the bad. You can look at the good in things."

"What is so good about alchemy?" Scar snarled.

"You saw the bad in the war so you assume that all alchemy is bad. But
alchemy can be used to help. You don't have to accept that, but I know it is
true." Ed replied.

Scar stared at Ed for a moment before looking away. They could keep their
own opinions about it. He didn't really want to go into it at this point. Why
did he even start talking to the kid about this?

"Why are you even awake? Everyone else is asleep." Ed asked.

"Why do you ask when you obviously don't care?" Scar retorted, staring at
the boy with a frown.

Ed shrugged. "Why not? I have my problems with you and hate you for
killing Winry's parents, but I can't put all the blame and hatred on you. It was
the Homunculi that started the war. If it wasn't for them, Winry's parents
would not have been out there, you wouldn't have lost it, and they would be
alive."

"Do you hate me for it?"

Ed sighed and looked at the ceiling. "Honestly, I want to, but seeing all of
this and learning everything, I can't fully hate you. I don't think you are a
horrible person, though you have done some horrible things." He paused and
frowned. This was too complicated for this late in the night. "I do think you
need to stop with all the killing though. It won't fix anything." He jumped off
the couch and stretched his arms above his head. "That's all I have to say on
this. Night, Scar."

Scar watched Edward go to his room with a thoughtful frown. He already

figured out that he was going about all of that was happening the wrong way,
but he still felt so much satisfaction out of killing those State Alchemists. But
really, it was Kimblee he was after. He wanted Kimblee to suffer for all that
he had done. He was the main one that Scar wanted. He was the one that
destroyed his family. That was the final straw for Scar. That was what fully
destroyed him from the war. The whole war started to destroy him, but losing
his family was what shattered him completely.

And that was why he was awake. His mind was working in overdrive. He
couldn't stop thinking about all of this and it was making it hard for him to
sleep.

*The Boy's Room*

Ling rolled over in his sleep, breathing heavily.

"Lan Fan!"

Ling stared in horror at Lan Fan's arm that she just cut out. Blood flowed
freely down her side as she leaned against the wall.

"Are you crazy?" Ling asked horrified, staring at the blood coating his
friend's body. The blood…So much blood.

Lan Fan smiled painfully at him. "I'll do what I have to if it means keeping
you safe, Young Lord."

Ling grimaced and looked away. He didn't want to see all of her blood as it
cascaded down her side and to the ground to splash into a puddle on the
ground. He didn't want to see blood anymore. Just looking at it caused him to
stiffen in fear. Why? Why would she do something so crazy as to cut her arm
off? She could die from this!

Ling's eyes opened and he rolled off of his bed with his blanket. He sat on the
floor with the blanket wrapped around him, breathing picking up a bit. He
looked over at Ed's bed to see his friend passed out on top of the covers until
he rolled over and looked at Ling.

Ling stared at Ed. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I'm a light sleeper, Ling." Ed sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Your breathing
changed and it woke me."

Ling snickered. "You are so weird."

Ed rolled his eyes and got out of bed. He sat on the ground by Ling, staring at
the dark ceiling with a frown. "Okay. What's up, Ling? Why are you awake?"

Ling leaned his head against his bed. "I'm not afraid of it."

Ed blinked. Yep, there was no way he was getting an adequate amount of

sleep tonight. "Afraid of what?"

"Blood."

Ed sighed and looked at his friend. "I know you're not scared of it, Ling."

Ling frowned and looked down at his hands. "I know I'm not, but when I see
it sometimes, I can't help but be reminded of Lan Fan cutting her arm off or
you giving up inside of Gluttony and almost dying. I was useless in both
incidents, and now seeing blood just brings up those horrible scenes."

Ed nodded.
"Blood just reminds me of my uselessness in those incidents. I couldn't help
either of you." Ling said.

"Incidents that haven't come to pass yet." Ed pointed out. "I know they seem
like they have happened already. I feel like that at times too, but they haven't
happened, Ling. You have to remember that. This is the future we are
watching, and there is a chance we can still change it."

Ling clenched his hands shut.

Ed glanced at him before back at the dark ceiling. "You're not afraid of blood,
Ling. It only brings up your real fear, which is losing your friends because of
your uselessness."

Ling looked over at Ed. "My friends?"

"You are so greedy about your friends, Ling. You don't want to lose any of
them, so when you see us in dangerous situations, especially those with lots
of blood, you get scared that you are going to lose us. The blood brings up
that fear. It's not the blood that you are scared of." Ed replied.

Ling looked away with a thoughtful frown. Ed was certainly right. He was
scared of losing his friends. From watching the future, he couldn't help but
think that soon one of his friends was going to die. He didn't want that. He
didn't want to see that. He didn't think that he could stand to lose a friend.

"Don't focus on it." Ed said, pushing Ling's shoulder. "Don't focus on your
fears right now, Ling. Just have some fun."

Ling smiled sadly. "The same goes for you then."

"We have to strike back against Hughes and Mustang." Ed replied.

Ling smirked. "Then we should sleep. We'll need our energy for revenge."

Ed laughed and stood up. "Night, Ling. Now, I don't want bothered again."
He jumped back onto his bed and pressed his face into his pillow to sleep.

"Night, Ed." Ling said softly in the darkness.

A/N: [1] I keep hearing the word 'Betrayal' in my head from Halo. I love
killing my brothers in Halo when we are on the same team because I love
hearing that I betrayed them. Yes, I enjoy betraying my brothers in
video games.

So, it's been speculated that it was Rebecca that Havoc was dating before
he was transferred to Central. I only just learned this a few weeks ago
when I was doing some research and I loved the idea so I am making
them a couple!

Please Review!
*Chapter 37*: Episode 34: Ice Queen
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: I had every attention of getting this chapter up a bit sooner, but I
just couldn't get the episode part of it started. I was enjoying my break
too much. Plus, after putting it off for years, I have finally started Fairy
Tail and I am in love with the show! It is just so distracting! Then I felt
like watching Prince of Tennis again…Look, I've just been into watching
anime and relaxing.

I'm sorry I didn't update sooner. I didn't write for so long that I just got
out of the groove and writing and it took me forever to get back into it.

I realize that this took a long time to get done. I had plans to post this in
January, which obviously didn't happen. It wasn't anime this time. I
recently got back into watching this show, White Collar. I stopped
watching it a few years ago, but I started it again and I fell in love with it
again. And because of that, I've been obsessing over it lately and haven't
wanted to write Truth Revealed. I have a problem when I get obsessed
with a show or anime I love apparently.

Also, I am going to be very busy this semester with tests and planning
events and working at said events. Don't ask about that one. It's for a
class. I know for a fact I won't be updating once a week for the next few
months. I'm not sure how my updates will go at this point. As you can see
it took me months to just get this chapter done!

On the up side though, I no longer feel burned off and half-dead from
working so hard on this chapter like I felt like back in November. In fact,
I feel wonderfully great once again…besides the cold I am suffering
from. I really hate winter right now.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed
Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

"Xingese"

Episode 34: Ice Queen

Ed stared down at Ling, brow raised. "Hey!" He tapped Ling's side with his
foot. "Wake up! Idiot Prince, get up now!" He kicked Ling slightly harder in
his side.

Ling groaned and rolled over. "Why?"

"Why are you sleeping on the floor?" Ed retorted. "That can't be comfy."

"It was until you kicked me." Ling muttered. He pushed himself up to his
knees and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

Ed kneeled down by Ling. "Six thirty."

Ling blinked for a moment to process that before glaring at Ed. "You were
complaining last night that you kept getting bothered in your sleep so
naturally you wake up early?" He had to restrain himself from choking his
friend when he saw him grinning. "And you had to wake me up because?"

Laughing, Ed ruffled Ling's messy hair. "To be nice!"

Ling's eyes narrowed. "Okay, who are you and what happened to the real
Ed?"

Ed frowned. "What?"

"My Edo is not such a happy, cheerful person!" Ling cried, pointing a finger
in Ed's face. "So who are you? I demand you tell me where my real Edo is!"
Ed raised a brow. "You make me want to hurt you when you say things that
way."

Ling laughed and ran his hand through his already messy hair. "But seriously,
what is up?"

"Nothing." Ed said with a grin. "It's just morning and time to get up."

"And yet, you're so chipper, despite the fact that you kept getting woken up
yesterday. You're supposed to sleep in!" Ling muttered.

Ed shrugged again. He stood up and left the room without another word,
leaving Ling to stare after his back in confusion and a bit of annoyance. He
was having such a nice dream too! How dare Ed interrupt it with his
unusualness?

*Cafeteria*

Ed jogged into the cafeteria to see that the Briggs soldiers were already
awake.

Luke glanced at him with a grin. "Awake already, Chief?"

"I could say the same to you." Ed retorted as he came over to the table that
the soldiers were surrounding. "What'cha guys doing?" He pushed passed
Luke to see the Briggs soldiers having an arm wrestling contest. Ed raised a
brow. "You guys get up early in the morning to arm wrestle?"

Clarink looked up from his arm wrestling contest with Brody. "We have to do
something while waiting for you lazy bums to get up." He said with a smirk.

Ed scoffed. "Whatever."

Brody looked at him, smirking. "Want a turn?"

"Yeah, no." Ed drawled. "I'm more into poker."

"Poker?" Buccaneer asked as he came up behind Ed.

Ed looked over his shoulder to smirk at him. He pulled a deck of cards out of
his pocket and held them up. "Want to get your ass kicked at it by a kid?"

Buccaneer smirked at Ed. "Fair warning. I'm a reigning champ in Briggs."

Smirking, Ed dropped into a chair and split the deck of cards into two decks.
He held each deck in each of his hands and tapped the decks onto the table.
"Then it should be interesting." Ed replied before looking at the rest of the
Briggs soldiers. "Anyone else wish to join in?"

The Briggs soldiers held their hands up in surrender. "No way!"

Ed scoffed. "Cowards."

*Screen Room*

"Al!" Ling shouted as he came into the main room and saw Al sitting on one
of the couches reading.

Al looked up, blinking. "What's up, Ling?"

Ling walked over to Al with a slight frown. "What the hell is wrong with
your brother? He woke me up at six thirty like an overexcited puppy looking
for attention."

Al stared at Ling for a moment before sighing. "Oh, Brother. I'm sorry, Ling.
Brother is just…" Al shrugged helplessly. "He just has some days where he is
in this strange, happy mood. It usually starts by waking up early."

Ling blinked. "Al, I can tell you right now. I don't like it. Edo is not supposed
to be this happy and cheerful!" He cried, shaking Al's armor by his arm.
"Make it end!"

Al pulled his arm away. "Brother isn't the only strange one today. What's
up?"

Ling stepped away from Al with a frown. "Sorry, Al. I had a nightmare last
night and your brother woke up and we talked." He looked away for a
moment. "Afterwards I had trouble getting back to sleep so I didn't get a lot
of sleep last night, especially since your brother woke me up so early."

"Again, Ling, I'm sorry. Brother is strange." Al replied sheepishly.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked as he walked into the screen room with Hughes.
"We've always known that he was strange, Al."

Al groaned. "But you've never seen him on one of his happy days."

Hughes raised a brow. "Al, we've seen your brother happy."

Al muttered something to himself before saying loudly, "Not happy like this.
It's like he is an over excitable puppy!"

Mustang raised a brow before sharing a look with Hughes, who was suddenly
grinning widely. Resisting the sudden urge he had to whack his friend,
Mustang sighed and headed to the cafeteria.

Before he could even make it through the door though, Mustang was freezing
in shock at the sight of Buccaneer holding cards up and sweating slightly
with a mischievous, evil Fullmetal smirking across from him, cards held in
front of his face.

Mustang turned around and walked back towards Al. "Your brother is putting
Captain Buccaneer through the wringer in a card game."

Al smacked his helmet. "Oh, Brother." Al sighed. His brother had to be

cheating again. He better hope none of the Briggs soldiers caught him. That
would not end well for him.

*Cafeteria*

"Damn it!" Brody growled, glaring at Ed.

Ed looked up with a grin. "What? Lose again?"

Brody held up an angry, shaking fist. "Whether I bet against you or for you, I
always lose."
Ed leaned his arm back on the back of his chair, smirking at Brody. "So I've
heard."

Brody's dark eyes narrowed dangerously. "You…"

"I can't plan for you to lose your bets." Ed interrupted quickly. "You just suck
at betting."

"I…you…" Buccaneer muttered, staring at the cards in shock.

"How?!" Brody and Luke shouted.

Ed smirked. "I told you. Poker is my game."

Buccaneer slammed his hand on the table. "Rematch, you little punk!"

Ed glared at him. "Who you calling little, you mustachio freak?"

Clarink smacked his forehead. Now he's done it.

"Are you mocking my mustache?" Buccaneer growled.

Ed scoffed. "Yeah, if you can call that thin thing a mustache."

"It's more than you've got." Buccaneer retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Like I would ever want a mustache! Especially if it was
going to be thin and weird like yours!"

"You want to fight, kid?" Buccaneer retorted, raising his automail.

"Hell–" Ed started before a hand was grabbing the back of his shirt and
dragging him away.

"What did I say, Fullmetal?" Mustang scolded, dragging Ed away from the
Briggs soldiers. "No fighting Captain Buccaneer."

Ed glared at Buccaneer as he was dragged away. He pointed a finger at

Buccaneer and mouthed, "Next time."
Mustang paused and looked over his shoulder at his charge. "What did you
just do?"

"Nothing!" Ed said innocently, head tilted back so he could grin upside down
at Mustang.

Mustang's eyes narrowed before he decided to let it go and continued

dragging Ed away to the main room.

Ed looked back at the Briggs soldiers with an evil glint in his eyes. "Just you
wait." He mouthed, much to their amusement. It took all their will power to
not laugh until they were sure that Mustang was far enough away.

*Cafeteria*

Buccaneer stared at the cards with a frown. "He was cheating somehow."

"Just because you lost doesn't mean he was cheating." Miles pointed out. "He
could just be a good poker player."

"No, I know he was cheating. I just don't know how." Buccaneer growled,
glaring at Ed's cards. "But I'm going to figure it out."

"Good luck with that." Brody sneered. "We were standing behind him
watching and none of us noticed a thing. And after the first round where he
won, we were looking."

"So he is that good at the game or he is a pro at cheating." Clarink said

amused.

*Main Room*

Hughes blinked as Mustang returned from the cafeteria, dragging Ed with

him. "It's like he has some kind of radar to know when Ed is doing something
he shouldn't be."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Al and Ling replied dryly.

Mustang deposited Ed on the couch next to Al.

Ed pouted.

"Behave and stay here until breakfast." Mustang said.

"What are you? My dad?" Ed retorted. "You can't tell me what to do, DAD!"

Mustang blinked while Al whacked his helmet with his book and Ling and
Hughes started laughing loudly.

"Well…." Mustang said blankly. "You've clearly lost it."

Ed grinned widely at him. "But you grounded me from the kitchen. And a
Commanding Officer can't ground me. Only a parent can. So you are now
hence referred to as Dad!"

Al stopped hitting himself to look at Ling. "Do you get it now, Ling? This is
Brother on these days. We should just lock him up in another room so he'll
sleep the weirdness off."

Ling laughed. "But look." He pointed at a shell-shocked Mustang that

Hughes was poking in the cheek and getting no reaction at all. "That is pretty
amusing."

Al chuckled. "It is, but Brother will break even more people at this rate."

"Hmm." Ling said thoughtfully. "I don't like cheerful Ed, but I think it might
be worth it to watch this play out."

Al sighed. "You're a horrible person. No wonder you and Brother get along
so well."

"Hey!" Ling said, glaring at Al. "I take offense to that. I am a very great
person, unlike Ed."

"That's offensive!" Ed retorted, frowning at Ling. "I think I am a pleasurable,

wonderful person and no one can say otherwise!"

"You are not a pleasurable boy at all." Olivia said dryly as she walked behind
the couch.
Ed twitched. "Except her. You don't argue with her."

"And me?"

Ed jumped and looked to his left to see Izumi suddenly sitting there. "Or
you." Ed said weakly. He blinked and looked at his former teacher more
seriously. "Who's making breakfast if you are out here?"

"I was just about to go to the kitchen to start breakfast." Izumi replied as she
stood up and clapped her hands lightly before heading to the kitchen.

"Great!" Ed said, grinning widely. "And I'll–"

"Stay out of the kitchen." Hughes growled.

Ed huffed. "You guys are still mad about that?"

Hughes raised a brow.

Ed raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, fine."

"Did you lose a bet?" Mustang asked blankly.

Ed glanced at him then at Ling in amusement. "He is still so out of it. I don't
think he has heard anything after DAD!"

Mustang gaped at Ed.

Hughes sighed. "Ed, stop messing with Roy."

Ed turned around on the couch to grin at Hughes. "But it's sooo fun,
Hughes!"

"Did you get up early today and eat sugar and drink coffee?" Hughes asked.

Ed frowned. "But Hughes, I'm banned from the kitchen. How would I have
gotten it?"

Hughes looked at Ed with narrowed eyes. "You could have snuck in there
while we were sleeping or have had Al–"

"What?" Al interjected. "I would never give Brother sugar or caffeine or

coffee! It's dangerous for everyone's sanity!"

"Yeah, that is why Al is so boring!" Ed exclaimed before launching himself

at Ling. "And why Ling is sooo fun!"

Ling gasped as Ed's arms wrapped him into a tight hug. "This isn't right!"
Ling cried, struggling to get Ed's arms off. "He's not supposed to hug me
willingly! Al! Save me!"

Al blinked and looked away.

"Al!" Ling screamed, reaching helplessly towards the armored boy. "Traitor!"

"What? Did you two switch bodies over night?" Hughes asked blankly.

Ed looked at Hughes with a silly wide grin. "Oh, Hughes, you know that's not
possible. That would be like magic!" As he said magic, he jumped over the
couch to stand in front of Hughes and stared up at him with wide innocent
eyes. "And magic doesn't exist!"

Hughes looked down at Ed, blinking. "Al, there is something seriously wrong
with him."

"He does seem stranger than he usually does on his weird days." Al replied
slowly.

"Oh my god!" Hughes cried, grabbing at his hair with a strong grip. "We
broke him!"

Ed stared at Hughes with a slight frown before he was grinning again and
jumping back over the couch and tackling Ling into a hug, face buried in
Ling's shoulder.

"We didn't do this!" Hughes cried dramatically before grabbing Mustang by

the arm and running away with him to the cafeteria.
When the door slammed shut behind them, Al sighed. "They're gone."

Insane, mad laughter soon followed Al's sentence as Ed rolled off of Ling and
onto his back next to his friend. "That was great!" Ed cried.

Ling turned his head on the ground to grin at his friend. "I didn't know you
could act so happy."

Ed scoffed. "Please, Ling. I've had my fair share of sugar rushes in life. I
know what to do."

"When did you two plan such a prank as this?" Al asked amused.

"Last night after I returned to our room. Ling was waiting up for me to
discuss this. We decided not to do a direct attack this time." Ed replied. He
got up and patted his brother's shoulder. "Nice job with the cover you gave
me. When did you realize we were doing a prank?"

"When you called yourself a pleasurable, wonderful person." Al said dryly.

"Firstly, you like being a demon. You love getting the chance to act evil.
Secondly, you would never, not even on a sugar rush or in a strangely happy
mood, call yourself that. Then there was you hugging Ling. Not once, but
twice!"

Ed and Ling grinned at each other then turned it to Al.

"We were going for insane." They said.

"Well, you've achieved complete insanity." Al replied amused.

An evil grinning Ed rubbed his hands together in front of him. "And it's only
just begun!"

"I really shouldn't leave you two alone in our room anymore if this is what
you are going to plan." Al muttered to himself.

*Two Hours Later*

Ed and Ling sat on the couch, both grinning at Hughes and Mustang.
"They stole our couch again." Hughes grumbled as he sat on the ground in
front of the boys with Mustang.

"Little punks." Mustang grumbled. He glared at Ed. "You better not kick me
in the head again."

"That's for the future to decide." Ed retorted with a wide grin.

The mountains appeared on screen at nighttime as gentle music began.

As the screen moved up the mountains, Fort Briggs could be seen in the
background.

The scene changed to a wall inside Fort Briggs that had a sign above a
door that read "Medical Room."

"Three guesses why we're being shown the medical room." Clarink said
sarcastically, shooting a look at Ed.

Instead of being annoyed, Ed grinned at him brightly. "Don't blame me

because the cold is cruel, cruel bastard!"

"Oh, yes, it's the cold's fault that you are an idiot." Luke retorted, rolling his
eyes.

Ed gasped. "How rude!"

Luke blinked. "What…?"

"His head is still messed up!" Mustang whispered frantically to Hughes.

Hughes sighed and mockingly patted Mustang's head. "There, there. At least
he hasn't called you THAT in a while."

Mustang's brow twitched a bit.

Behind the two, Ed chuckled evilly to himself a bit, making Ling snicker.

"Exposure?" Ed's voice asked before he appeared on screen, sitting in

his boxers and sleeveless black shirt with cloths soaked in hot water
resting on the skin on his ports as he looked to the side at someone.

"Yes, it's what happens when you go to a very cold area with the incorrect
automail." Kei said sarcastically.

Ed's brow twitched a bit. "You are very mean."

Kei stared at him blankly. What the hell was going through his mind for him
to give that kind of answer? Something was wrong with his head!

Al sighed and shook his head. He couldn't believe his brother was continuing
with this.

Brody leaned closer to Luke. "What is with him? His replies are weird!"

Luke shrugged. "Maybe he finally cracked?"

"Hmph, he's not fun cracked." Brody grumbled.

"Yes, that's right." Dr. Young said. [1] She appeared on screen as she
pointed off screen at Ed. "You got lucky. You were close to getting
frostbite."

"Yes, close, very close." Kei said with a nod of his head. "I'm surprised, with
how long you've been up north already, that you haven't gotten it yet."

Ed ignored Kei in favor of rubbing his aching shoulder. At least with him
inside and getting treated with hot towels it was lessening the pain he was
feeling. He wouldn't say it, but Kei was correct. He never had frostbite
before, but the pain he was feeling beforehand was really horrible. He didn't
even want to imagine what actual frostbite felt like.

The scene changed to show Al standing near the wall without his helmet
on with Ed and Dr. Young in front of him as they talked.

"You need to be careful walking around in a snowstorm." Dr. Young

said as she crossed her arms. "The flesh that's touching your automail
will freeze and you need to oil it or it will stiffen."
"How many times has he been told to take care of his automail?" Kei asked
sarcastically.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Not as many times as you seem to think! I do take care of
it…just…"

"Not as often as he should." Al piped up, looking sternly at his brother.

Ed huffed and turned to Ling. "Al is being mean, Ling!"

Ling blinked for a moment before patting Ed on the head. "There, there,
Edo."

Mustang's brow twitched. What the hell was going on?!

"I'm just speaking the truth." Al retorted. "You're just being too sensitive!"

Ling and Ed turned half way around on the couch to whisper to each other.

"I know Al figured it out, but is he actually going along with our prank?"
Ling whispered to Ed.

Ed grinned evilly. "Of course he is! I told you. Al would never betray me."

"But to actually join in?" Ling asked.

"As I keep saying, Al is not as innocent and sweet as you all believe." Ed
replied.

Brody groaned and put his face in his hand.

"What's wrong?" Avery asked.

"You didn't see it?" Brody muttered. "He didn't freak out when Ling called
him Edo!"

Avery looked back at Ed who was conspiring with Ling. "You're right. There
must be something seriously wrong!"
Ed appeared on screen. "So does that Buccaneer guy have a different
kind of automail or something?"

The door to the Medical Room appeared as screen as it slid open to

reveal Buccaneer. "It's no use, Doc." He stepped into the room a bit and
raised his automail to show Al's helmet still trapped in it. "I can't get this
thing unstuck."

"It's not a thing!" Al said insulted. "That is an important piece of my body!"

"Which you can survive without." Buccaneer retorted.

"Yeah, and while I'm at it, I can go give everyone nightmares when they see
an empty suit of armor walking around." Al retorted.

Buccaneer grinned. "You must be real popular on Halloween."

Al resisted the urge to smack himself in the head.

Ed was shown from behind with Buccaneer in front of him as he stared

at him and Al took a step forward. "Hey! My head!" Al said.

"That is such a strange thing to shout." Luke said with a grin.

"Well, how would you like it if you had to walk around headless?!" Al
retorted.

Luke stared at him blankly. "Of course I wouldn't like that. If that happened
to anyone besides you, they would be dead."

"Barry the Chopper and Slicer." Al argued.

"That is a fair point, but they are dead." Miles replied.

"In the future, but in our time period, they're still alive." Ed pointed out.

"Are you planning to fight them this time around?" Havoc asked.

Ed shrugged. "Maybe I'll just go with the flow once we get out of here."
Mustang snorted. "You are Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. You don't
'go with the flow.' You go at your own pace, totally screwing everything up
for everyone else!"

"Wow," Ed said. "Just wow, Colonel. You are very harsh."

Mustang twitched and turned around to glare at Ed. "What kind of response is
that, you little brat?! Where is the comeback?"

Ed raised a brow. "You expect too much, sir."

Mustang twitched violently. "Are you trying to screw with my brain?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Elric!" Mustang growled.

Ed turned to Ling. "I always thought I was Fullmetal to him, but apparently
my name has changed to Elric."

Ling raised a brow. "That is your name."

Ed shook his head. "Ever since I got my State Certification, it has always
been Fullmetal from Colonel. I think there is something wrong with him."

"With me?" Mustang hissed. "It's you that has a problem!"

"He's deluded." Ed muttered to Ling.

"Don't you start speaking in another language." Mustang said, glaring at Ed,
who just grinned back.

A doorway covered with a curtain was shown on one of the walls in the
room as the scene slowly moved to the side to show Al's helmet on the
table with Kei's back to the screen as he worked on getting it unstuck
with Buccaneer sitting in a chair with his coat and shirt off.

"Up here your automail has to be flexible and light weight. It also needs
to be resistant to the cold." Dr. Young said as the angle changed to show
Buccaneer from the front with Kei to the side still working on the arm.
"After some trial and error, we found an alloy that works." The scene
moved down to show Buccaneer's automail on the table. "A combination
of duralumin, carbon fibers, nickel, coppers, and so on."

"I know now." Ed said. "I won't make the same mistake as I did in the fight
with Buccaneer."

"Who says I'm going to fight you again?" Buccaneer retorted.

"Who says you jerks won't attack me again if I head north?" Ed replied.

"We know who you are now!" Clarink retorted. "And what is with this 'if?'"

Ed shrugged. "Things might change this time around so we don't head north.
Who knows what the future will bring after we have seen all of this?" He
glanced briefly at Scar, recalling their conversation from last night. "Things
are already changing with us. We are getting wiser and gaining the
knowledge of what is to happen way in advance, which means our actions
when we leave here are going to be a lot different. In a way, I think seeing
our future will make life when we leave here a lot more complicated."

"It can't be much worse than it already is." Fuery said with a slight grimace. It
would be complicated, but at least knowing some things could help them
prevent other things from happening. He glanced at Havoc then away. Maybe
they could prevent his paralysis, or even…he looked at Hughes….Stop
deaths that should never have happened.

"Besides, at least we have some ideas of things we can avoid." Rebecca

added. "Like Havoc doesn't have to date Lust." As she said this, a dark smile
graced her lips, making Havoc flinch back in his seat and look nervously
across the room at her. Yep, she was a lot angrier about that than he first
thought.

Riza looked at her friend knowingly. It was a secret, but she knew that the
woman that Havoc was involved with in the east was her friend. They were
best friends after all and Rebecca just couldn't keep the fact that she had an
amazing boyfriend a secret from her.
Ed, who had his eyes closed and was frowning, and Dr. Young, who had
her arms crossed and was smiling a bit, appeared on screen.

"Aaah." Ed said in frustration. "And here I assumed it was just iron. It's
no wonder I couldn't do anything with it."

The curtain on the wall behind the two was pushed aside so Buccaneer
could come back into their side of the room with an automail arm
attached. "Hey Doc, be careful." He said, drawing the two's attention to
him. "Are you planning on telling him all our secrets?"

"So I'm guessing you haven't realized we are on the same side yet." Ed
muttered.

"Same side or not, we cannot trust just anyone. You should realize that
yourself. You did meet that bastard Bradley, right? He's supposedly on our
side as well." Buccaneer retorted.

"It has definitely become an issue of who can you trust and who you can't
trust." May said with a frown. "That definitely makes this a lot more
dangerous, especially for Ed and Al since Winry is a hostage. If they try to
talk to anyone about the situation, it could end up badly and get Winry
killed."

"So in short," Hughes turned to look at Ed with a serious expression.

"General Armstrong is going to want to killyou since you won't be giving her
any information, but she won't kill you since she is going to want all of the
information you have and she'll do whatever it takes to get it."

"In short," Ed twitched a bit. "I don't want to go north."

Ling snickered. "Too late."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Whatever. That will only become the situation if General
Armstrong even realizes I have information to give."

"I will realize." Olivia said confidently. "Trust me, kid, I will realize you are
hiding something."
"Why wouldn't I?" Dr. Young asked. "He's a State Alchemist. He has a
right to know, doesn't he?"

Buccaneer was shown up close. He turned his head to look at Ed.

"You're kidding."

"What was that?" Ed said, brow twitching a bit in annoyance. "You've heard
of Fullmetal and that he is a kid. I know you have so why the hell is it so hard
to believe that I am him?!"

"I can see you are enjoying being at Briggs." Brody said sarcastically.

Ed glared at Buccaneer. "Buccaneer really makes my visit there amazingly

fun." He snarled.

Ling elbowed Ed in the side. "That's not being nice."

"They annoy me so." Ed grumbled.

Ling patted Ed on the shoulder sympathetically. "I know they do."

"Enough with the language that no one can understand!" Mustang snapped at
the two.

"I understand it." Lan Fan said.

"Enough with the language that only the people from Xing, and somehow
Elric, know!" Mustang corrected.

Ling looked at Ed with a small grin. "He just insulted you."

"I know." Ed said, sighing sadly. "And I didn't even do anything! Can you
believe how rude these soldiers are? And I have to deal with them on a daily
basis! Woe is me!"

"Stop speaking like that!" Mustang growled.

Ed sighed. "Such a demanding O-ya-ji." [2]

Ling snickered while Mustang glared at Ed.

"I don't know what that means, but I probably don't want to know. Don't say
it again!" Mustang said angrily.

"I think we got completely off topic." Al muttered.

"Right, right. Sorry." Ling and Ed said before glaring at each other. "Are you
copying me?"

"Ling/Ed!" Ed and Ling shouted.

"They're back on that." May said amused.

Ed and Ling glared at each other.

Ed's automail hand appeared on screen, holding his watch up.

The scene pulled out to show Ed's somewhat annoyed face and Dr.
Young, who said blankly, "He has the pocket watch."

"He could have stolen it!" Luke accused.

"What?" Ed shouted in shock. "You're not helping!"

"I'm not trying to help." Luke pointed out cheerfully.

"You trying to get me thrown into prison, aren't you? Do you guys even have
a prison?" Ed asked.

"Of course we have holding cells." Brody said. "You want to see them?"

"No! No, I do not want to see your holding cells!" Ed snapped.

The side of Buccaneer's face appeared on screen as he leaned down to

look at Ed closer. 'You mean this kid is the equivalent of a Major?'

Ed grinned evilly.
"Damn right I am!" Ed said, grinning evilly.

Dr. Young was shown as she picked up a coffee pot. "If you're going to
be in the north for long, you should switch to a different kind of
automail." She poured coffee into the mug she was holding.

"Great. How?" Ed grumbled. "My mechanic is down south and I don't want
to bring her anywhere near the military with the threat hanging over her
head."

"Well, it's that or you die." Scar pointed out. "And that would just upset your
friend even more."

Ed stared at him, resisting the urge to hit Scar for talking about Winry. He
had to remember that it wasn't just Scar's fault that Winry's parents were
killed. He had to remember that. He couldn't push all the blame onto him.
Besides, Scar did have a point in what he said.

"It's a damn complicated situation." Brody said when Ed didn't take his eyes
off Scar.

"Lucky me." Ed muttered.

"Do you have a mechanic?"

Ed was shown fully dressed and pulling on his red coat. "Yeah, but she's
in Rush Valley."

Dr. Young's back was shown with Al seen standing by the wall. She put
down the coffee pot. "And she let you come up north without explaining
all of this to you first?" She asked as she turned around.

Ed appeared on screen, straightening his coat. "Not exactly."

"What do you guys think this is?" Ed asked dryly. "What person with
automail tells their mechanic every single one of their plans? Some people
with automail don't even make visits to their engineer unless there is an
emergency!"
Dr. Young shrugged. "People who have automail and are in the military
usually have a mechanic that is also military so it is common for soldiers to
check with their mechanic or be stationed in an area where there are automail
mechanic. They are always prepared. It's odd for a soldier to have a mechanic
outside of the military so I guess I was not expecting it."

Ed raised a brow, but didn't comment. He didn't realize how strange that was,
but he didn't usually visit military bases on the border….or really any unless
he had to so he has never really seen an automail mechanic in the military so
he didn't really understand.

Dr. Young walked over to Ed with the mug as he continued, "I didn't tell
her I was planning on coming up here." He looked down at the mug that
Dr. Young held out to him and took it.

"I recommend you send for her." Dr. Young said as she appeared on
screen. "Assuming that you liked to stay alive."

"You're a blunt one." Ed muttered. "And besides, it's not that simple for me."

Ed appeared on screen, glaring at the doctor out of the corner of his

eyes. "Fine." He mumbled annoyed as he turned away and took a drink
of his coffee.

The scene pulled out as Dr. Young stepped closer to Ed's shoulder and
held her hand out. "That will be a hundred cenz."

Ed spit the coffee out of his mouth.

"What?" Ed yelled annoyed.

Mustang snickered. "That's the way of the north."

Havoc sighed. "They charge you for everything. You can't live for free."

Ed twitched slightly. "And you all knew it was coming?"

"Those of us who have been to Briggs, yes." Riza said.

Hughes snickered. "Don't worry, Ed. We all fall for it at least once."

Ed glared at the smirking Briggs soldiers. They were too amused at his
suffering. They must be a bunch of sadists! Yes, that was it. Sadists!

A coin flipped through the air before the scene was showing Dr. Young
catching it with Ed behind her looking down at his coffee with a frown.
"Seriously?" He said as happy, fun music began. He was shown up close
with Dr. Young behind him. "It wasn't even that good a cup of coffee."

"This is the north. Get used to it." Dr. Young said.

"There has to be a way out of this." Ed muttered.

"Out of what?" Brody asked.

"Going up there." Ed said, putting a hand to his chin as he thought. "I really
don't want to deal with you guys again when I leave here. I don't think I can
handle any more of your insanity. I think living up in that cold for so long has
warped you all."

"Oi, oi!" Luke shouted. "He's insulting us again!"

Ed looked at him dryly. "You most of all. Unless you were always like how
you are, then I suspect it is something from your childhood. Maybe you were
dropped on your head a bit too much?"

Luke raised a fist, glaring at Ed. "What was that, you little brat?" An angry
twitch appeared on his head. "You want to brawl? All you had to do was
ask!" He tried to lunge at Ed, but his comrades held him back.

Ed smirked evilly and looked at Ling, who just sighed and shook his head in
amusement.

"This isn't over, Elric!" Luke shouted, shaking a fist in the air.

"Is he serious?" Ling asked.

Ed snorted, shaking his head in amusement. "I doubt it. He's so much like
Havoc that I bet he is just joking around."

"So," Buccaneer said, making the screen move to him. "You come up
here with mediocre automail,"

Ed twitched. "What was that, you bastard? My automail is not mediocre! It's
functional for me, unlike that ridiculously huge automail that you seem to
love so much!"

Buccaneer glared at Ed.

"completely ignorant about the north,"

"How the hell is that my fault? I'm from the east and I work in the east
mostly!" Ed growled. "We can blame Armstrong for not informing of
anything!"

"I presume I had assumed, with how smart you are, that you would know
what you were getting yourself into." Armstrong argued.

"Why would you assume that?! I don't know anything about your sister or the
north. I may be a prodigy, but that doesn't mean I know everything!" Ed
defended.

and you try to bypass the command center."

"No one told me to go there!" Ed protested. "And everyone knows I suck at

following military regulations!"

General Armstrong glared at Mustang. "This can only be your fault for not
training him properly. You are too soft, Mustang!"

"I'll train Fullmetal the way I believe a kid State Alchemist should be
trained." Mustang retorted.

Ed's mouth formed an 'O.' "We are now back to 'Fullmetal,' I see." He turned
to Ling. "He just can't make up his mind."

Ling snickered while Mustang shot Ed a glare. "Don't you start now, Elric."
Mustang growled.

"Huh? Now it's Elric?" Ed hummed. "I think someone is indecisive." He shot
a look at Mustang, making his glare harden.

Hughes snickered behind his hand, making Mustang turn his glare to him.

"Oh, come on!" Ed shouted, leaning into the screen. "I hike up here, a
State Alchemist with an official letter of introduction, and this is how I'm
treated?"

"Got to love the north." Clarink teased.

Ed twitched, but forced a grin onto his face. "You guys are just such lovely
people." He said, though what most of the Briggs soldiers saw was a grin that
promised pain and misery to them all.

Ed appeared on screen, looking all furious as he shouted, "What's wrong

with you people? Do you have no sense of priority? That General tried to
tear my arms off!"

The scene moved to the side to show the door as it slid open to reveal
Olivia with Miles behind her.

Ed smacked his forehead. "That would be how it goes. That is how it always
goes."

"At least you didn't insult her, then you wouldn't still be standing." Brody
tried to console him.

"I don't want to hear it from you." Ed said dryly.

Olivia was shown up close. "Hello, little red runt."

Ed, all depressed and with a gloomy purple background all around him,
appeared on screen with tears pouring down his face.

"She is so mean." Ed muttered depressed, legs pulled up to his chest so he

could bury his face in them.
Ling patted Ed's head. "There, there, Edo. I always be your friend."

"That thought depresses me even more." Ed moaned.

Ling twitched and maneuvered his hand around Ed's arms and legs to grab his
shirt so he could pull him up before he started to shake him violently. "What
kind of response is that?!" He dropped Ed and went into his own depressed
mode. "Ed is so mean to me!"

The group stared at the two depressed teens before slowly looking back at the
screen. It was best not to get involved with those two today, considering how
weird both of them were acting. And maybe if they just ignored it, something
would happen. Hopefully something good, like them going back to normal!

"Little red…" Ed muttered quietly as the scene pulled out to show the
back of Olivia's head as she stared at Ed.

"If you have a problem, then now's the time to speak up." Olivia said.

Al screamed in shock, making Olivia and Ed turn their heads to look at

him. Al appeared on screen with Kei as the latter held Al's helmet out to
him. "My hair." He moaned as the helmet was shown up close to show
the white hair on it was cut to be very short.

"Hair?" Avery muttered.

"Sorry, but Ed got your helmet really stuck. Cutting it was all I could do."
Kei said.

"You don't sound apologetic at all." Al muttered sadly.

"You call it hair though?" Clarink asked.

"Shut up!" Al shouted pitifully! "It's all I have!"

"….both Elric brothers are messed up." Walkers muttered.

A mirror was shown with Al's reflection in it as he put his head back on
and straightened it. When he looked up at his reflection, the little bit of
his hair left deflated.

Dr. Young, a grinning Kei, and Buccaneer were shown before the scene
pulled back a bit to show them staring at a slightly depressed Al.

"This is why I don't like other people touching my head." Al muttered.

"Well, you sacrificed it to save Ed and his arm, so you should be proud."
Breda said, though he couldn't keep the grin on his face.

Al glanced at his brother, but when he saw that he and Ling were still both in
their depressed states, he sighed. Those two were idiots.

"It looks awful."

The title, "Ice Queen," appeared on screen.

"Well, it's obvious who that is about." Brody said with a grin.

A chair appeared on screen as Olivia sat down on it. She put her left foot
on her right knee before the scene pulled out to show Miles standing
behind her and Ed and Al standing in front of her. "Well now." She
turned her head to look at a picture on the desk. She reached her hand to
the side to grab the picture and picked it up. "From what I hear, you two
are close to my brother, Alex." She said as she looked at the picture of
Dr. Young with a bunch of other people. Olivia appeared on screen as
she turned her head to face the brothers as the sound of the picture
frame being put down was heard. "Is he doing alright?"

"I feel like this is a trick question." Al muttered.

"Considering how she has been behaving towards him in here, I think it is."
May muttered.

Ed and Al appeared on screen.

"Uh, yeah." Ed said with a smile.

"The big strong guy we know and love." Al said, raising his hands.
"Alex is doing just great." Ed and Al said together with Al clapping his
hands together in the background while Ed just raised his hands.

The scene moved rapidly to a furious looking Olivia with a dark maroon
evil looking background.

"What is with that reaction? If you don't care about your brother, why did you
ask?" Ed muttered in a depressed tone.

"I believe she was hoping for bad news." Lan Fan informed him.

"…That is horrible." Al muttered.

"Surprisingly," Mustang said sarcastically. "Not all siblings are like you and
Elric."

"I'm Elric again." Ed said, sounding even more depressed than he was before.

Mustang twitched. "Okay, Al!" He pointed a finger at Ed. "What the hell is
this? I thought you said this was one of his strange, happy days. How is this
happy? What do you two consider happy?"

Al sweat dropped. His brother was actually doing an amazing job of driving
Mustang insane. He glanced at his brother…He was acting, right?

"Roy," Hughes put a hand on Mustang's shoulder. "Calm down. You're not
acting like yourself."

Mustang stared at his friend for a moment before sighing and lowering his
hand. "Right. Sorry, I just don't know how he is doing it, but he is really
getting to me today."

Hughes chuckled. "Ed is making you lose your composure and it's pretty
amusing."

Mustang glared at his friend. "I blame you…it was cause of you…and that
stupid picture."

Hughes snickered. "Yes, Roy, a picture of you and Ed is warping your mind."
A slight spark entered Mustang's eyes as if it was saying 'I-knew-it!'

"I wasn't being serious." Hughes said. He looked at Ed. "Hey Ed, could you
knock it out before Roy loses all of his sanity?"

"Knock what out? I'm not doing anything." Ed muttered pitifully, scratching
at the couch's cushion.

'What the HELL is this?!' Havoc, Hughes, Luke, Brody, Avery, Walkers, Kei,
and Jackson all thought, staring wide eyed at Ed.

"Al, what is wrong with him?" Jerso asked.

"Hmm, I believe this is what they call being depressed?" Al suggested.

"Though, there is a chance, however small it is, that I am wrong in it being
called depressed."

Havoc snickered in amusement at that before glancing at Ed again.

"And why are you being so nonchalant about this?" Zampano demanded.

"Cold hearted brother!" Ling accused, jumping out of his depressed state.

"This idiocy." Izumi growled. "Enough of it!" She glared at Ed when he

didn't even flinch.

Ling lunged behind Ed to hide from the darkness radiating off of her. "I think
it is best if we continue." He muttered before whispering to Ed. "You are
laying it on too thick. It's hilarious and all, but seriously, don't make everyone
go completely insane!"

A scared Ed and Al appeared on screen.

Ed's and Al's heads were shown from behind. The scene slowly moved
up to show Olivia as she said, "No matter. Never mind him. Tell me why
you would bypass the command center to meet me." She was shown with
her eyes closed and her chin resting on one of her fists.

"Because we don't want tracked?" Al suggested sarcastically.

"Ah, yes, the dangers of having the Homunculi watching your every move…
and yet, we don't know how they are doing that." Breda said.

Al appeared on screen.

"I want to know it all." Olivia said, surprising Al a bit. "Including why
your armor's empty."

"That is too nosy!" Ed exclaimed, jumping right out of his depressed state to
glare at Olivia. "What right do you have?"

Ling resisted the urge to smack his forehead.

The soldiers stared at Ed for a moment.

"Hey Elric," Brody said blankly.

'Why the hell is everyone calling me Elric today?' Ed thought in annoyance.

He stared back at the soldiers with a slight smirk. He pretty much screwed
up. He would admit that to himself, but he would never admit it to anyone
else.

"…ARE YOU SCREWING WITH US, ELRIC?!" Brody, Havoc, Luke,

Jerso, Darius, Avery, and Jackson screamed.

Ed and Ling looked at each other before they started to mockingly clap.

"That was very well in sync, guys." Ling said.

"So, basically," Mustang said darkly, glaring at the two teens with his hands
slightly twitching as if wishing they were covered in his ignition gloves.
"You two were pretending all morning about being happy and depressed? Is
that what I am sensing here?"

"I have no idea of what you mean, Colonel. I think you're losing it." Ed
replied calmly.

"If he's losing it, it's your fault!" Havoc accused.

"Wow, just wow, Havoc. You have so little faith in me." Ed retorted.

"No!" Havoc retorted. "I have so much faith in you that I am sure you could
make the Colonel lose it!"

"Elric."

Ed looked at Mustang and gave him a slightly nervous grin. "Oh, hey there,
Colonel. How are you this fine morning?"

"I'm thinking about having some fried shrimp." Mustang replied pleasantly.

Ed twitched. "You–"

"Think carefully of how you want to respond." Mustang threatened very

casually as if they were discussing the weather.

"That's totally unfair….Oyaji." Ed mumbled.

"And there you go again with that word." Mustang growled. He turned his
sight to Fu. "I give. What does it mean?"

Ed frantically waved his hands behind Mustang to get Fu to keep quiet, but
alas, it was not meant to be.

"It means one's old man or it can be a very informal way and impolite way of
saying dad." Fu explained.

Ed smacked his forehead while Mustang froze in shock…again.

Hughes poked the frozen Mustang's cheek before sighing. "You take your
teasing too far, Ed. You might want to start writing your will because when
he snaps out of this, you won't live for long."

"I take my teasing too far?!" Ed shouted. "Then what about you, Hughes!
Don't say stuff like that!"

The scene moved down a bit to show Ed as Al turned his head down to
look at his brother as soft suspicious music began. Ed turned his head to
look at someone else. The scene moved to show his back to show that he
was looking at Buccaneer and Dr. Young. "Actually, that's something we
don't like to talk about."

"It's not something you can just refuse to tell a higher up if they discover that
Al is empty." Riza said with a sigh.

"It's especially something you can't avoid talking about when you get General
Armstrong's interest." Brody added.

Ed scowled. "So freaking nosy."

Olivia shot a glare at Ed. "What was that?"

"Did I stutter?" Ed retorted.

Ling elbowed Ed in the side. "Shut up, will you?" He hissed. "That woman is
scary."

Ed glared at Ling while rubbing his aching side.

Dr. Young was shown up close. "There's no reason to worry." She said
with a shrug. "The folks around here have plenty they want to hide.
Everybody up north has something that he or she doesn't like to talk
about."

"Then why are you trying to get us to talk about it?" Al asked.

"She's your superior up there." Clarink pointed out.

"If I went around telling every superior I meet our secret, I think that would
cause some serious problems." Ed scoffed.

"Well, yeah, they are some trust issues." Luke said.

"…And you want me to just trust you guys and tell you my story?" Ed asked.

"We are very trustworthy." Luke said.

"I only just met you!" Ed shouted. "I can't trust people I have just met for the
first time!"

"So she being my sister means nothing?" Armstrong asked.

"The first Greed we met did not seem to get along with the other Homunculi
or his father. What does that tell you?" Ed retorted. "Blood doesn't always
mean much."

The back of Olivia's head appeared on screen with Al and Ed in front of

her. Ed turned his head slightly to look at her. "But if this information
reaches certain ears, I could be court-martialed."

"Even I have secrets like that!" Olivia retorted.

"What exactly do you guys do up there?" May muttered.

"The life of a soldier isn't easy. Sometimes we have to do things that aren't
ethical or go against our orders or the rules. We either get caught or we cover
it up with the help of our friends and comrades." Mustang explained before
turning to Ed with a smile.

Ed twitched. "Hey…Colonel. See the shock has worn off." He smiled a bit.
"It was a joke?"

"Phrased like a question!" Mustang accused.

"Yeah….well…"

Mustang's eyes narrowed at the boy. "This is not over, Elric." He said before
turning back around.

"Why is it still Elric?!" Ed asked, but was ignored.

Ed was shown up close as he turned to face her completely, teeth gritted

in anger and annoyance. Al leaned down to his brother to whisper,
"Brother, listen."

"No! Don't whisper!" Brody cried dramatically. "If you whisper in the
presence of General Armstrong, she'll get suspicious of you!"

"You two are so brave to try it." Luke said in mock admiration of the boys.

Ed rolled his eyes. "What's wrong with whispering?" He mumbled.

"You do it when you want to hide something from others but it needs
discussed." Olivia growled. "I don't like my men keeping things from me."

Ed raised a brow. "Everyone is allowed secrets."

"When living and working in the same place for months at a time, those
secrets can come back to haunt you and they can cause problems for others."
Olivia said.

"If it's a secret that can cause problems, I get why you would want to know
beforehand." Al replied.

"But our secret is our problem." Ed muttered. "Don't see how it can hurt
anyone else."

Ling whacked Ed in the head.

"Ling!" Ed shouted, grabbing his head. "What did you do that for?"

"It affects your friends because they do want to see you two get your bodies
back, idiot." Ling muttered angrily.

Ed stared at his friend for a moment. He knew that his friends were hoping
one day to see them back in their original bodies. He just didn't realize that
Ling even felt that strongly about it. "Sorry." He looked back at Olivia. "But
there is one thing. You said 'my men.' The thing is, I'm not assigned up there.
I'm just passing through. I have no plans to stay there for months or anything.
So technically, I'm not one of yours."

"Technically while you are in my base of command, you are one of my men."
Olivia retorted.

Ed stared at her. That was certainly a….possessive way to view it. "….Fine.
Whatever."

Ed moved his eyes to look at Al.

The back of Ed's and Al's heads were shown with Olivia and Miles seen
between the gap of them.

"I really think we have to tell her." Al said.

"But Winry's a hostage." Ed replied. "I don't know. Maybe if we could

do it without mentioning the Fuhrer or Homunculi."

"What are you whispering about?" Olivia suddenly demanded harshly,

scaring the boys. "Start talking now."

Ed was shown from the front, still looking at Al.

"Fine, let's just tell her we're trying to get our bodies back." Al said.

Ed gave a small nod and he and Al looked back at Olivia.

Olivia appeared on screen, gazing coolly back at them.

The outside of Fort Briggs was shown. A soldier walked out of a hallway
and stopped by one of the posted guards there. They saluted each other
and the posted guard left so the other could take his place.

A drawing of Xiao-Mei appeared on screen.

"I see." Olivia said as she lowered the drawing to look at Al and Ed, who
did not look happy at all. "So that's why you're looking for this girl with
the strange cat."

Al and Ed nodded.

"So Xiao-Mei is a cat again?" May asked, frowning. "Why is it so hard for
you guys to realize she is a panda bear!"

"No one expects to see a panda bear that small though. She is the size of a
little kitty cat." Al teased.

"You insult her." May huffed.

Olivia was shown from the front as she put the drawing facedown on the
desk. "I understand."

Ed's face and Al's chest were shown from the side.

"So does that mean–" Ed started.

"I'm not done." Olivia said. Her face appeared on screen. "What I
understand is this. You two are a couple of reckless wretches who cause
trouble with every last thing you do."

"You haven't even heard everything since they left out a lot since they have
dealt with the Homunculi a lot." Hughes pointed out.

"And that is when they are really unbelievably reckless." Mustang said.

"What? We are not that reckless!" Al protested.

"Yeah, so Elric gets swallowed by Gluttony, you willingly walking into

Father's lair? What are those incidents?" Mustang asked.

"….Unfortunate mishaps." Al said.

"Hey, what about Ling? He was the reason we got swallowed in the first
place!" Ed protested.

"Leave me out of this." Ling said.

"Well, it's the truth." Ed argued.

"And it's also true that you made a reckless and daring move to get us out of
Gluttony." Ling retorted.

"…This is true." Ed said blankly.

Ling snickered. Not so much because of Ed's response, but because of how he
said it.

Al appeared on screen before the scene moved down to show Ed.

"I don't want people like you in my fort." Olivia said.

"Well, that is harsh." Lan Fan said.

"I believe that is normal for her." Ed muttered.

Dr. Young appeared on screen, eyes closed and frowning.

"Honestly," Olivia scoffed as the screen moved up to Buccaneer. "How

could the people at Central let these two run around loose?" Her face
reappeared on screen. "Get out of here right now!"

"Oh, the humanity!" Ling said dramatically, latching onto Ed's arm. "She is
going to send you to your frozen grave!"

"That is quite true. It is a lot colder up north at nighttime. Your automail

would freeze a lot quicker than it did during the day." Dr. Young said
thoughtfully.

"Don't say it so calmly! I don't want to die!" Ed said.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. You'll be fine." Kei replied.

Ed raised a brow in confusion. Didn't General Armstrong just say to get out?

The side of Al's and Ed's faces appeared on screen.

Olivia's face reappeared on screen. She closed her eye that could be seen.
"At least that's what I'd like to say, but I'm interested in Alkahestry."

"And that saved you from the icy depths of Briggs." Brody declared
dramatically.

Ed looked at him dryly. "Only that?"

"Well, no, General Armstrong is strong and mean, but not so horrible that she
would send a kid with the wrong kind of automail outside and leave him to
die as he tried to leave. So that technically saved you as well." Avery told
him with a bright smile.

"You guys are enjoying this too much." Ed grumbled.

"Well, I doubt this experience will get you to enjoy the north much, but you
have been mocking us and the north too much so this is what you get!"
Clarink teased.

Dramatic music began as Olivia opened her eye and looked at the
brothers. "You two, you're acquainted with this girl from Xing. You met
her before."

The back of Olivia's head appeared on screen with Al and Ed in front of

her.

"Yeah, we have." Al replied.

Olivia appeared on screen. "She has a skill our country doesn't, right?"

"That is correct!" May said cheerfully.

"By the tone of her voice, May, I don't think that you should be so cheerful at
the moment." Fu informed the girl.

May blinked. Sure, General Armstrong sound a bit harsh and scary at the
moment, but surely, it didn't mean anything bad? She was always harsh and
strict sounding.

The top of Fort Briggs appeared on screen, snow falling through the air.

"You can never know too much." Olivia said. "Especially here in the
north where we're right next to Drachma." The room the group was in
appeared on screen, showing all the occupants from a downward angle.
"If we use it right, Alkahestry could make an excellent weapon."

Mustang frowned at that. He and General Armstrong generally disagreed on

things so it was no surprise that he quite frankly didn't agree with General
Armstrong. Sure, they were in more danger at Fort Briggs by being right next
to Drachma, but it's not like they needed any help. Those soldiers at Briggs
were highly capable in their job of protecting the border. And besides, after
using his alchemy in the Ishvalan Civil War, Mustang didn't want to see
another science used that way. Using one science that way was already hard
enough. Another didn't need corrupted.

May frowned. "I disagree." She said bravely. "While I can fight with my
Alkahestry, it is mainly for medical purpose. It is not meant to be a weapon.
It's meant to heal! Scar's alchemy has some Alkahestry in it and that shows
how dangerous it can be. I would never help in applying Alkahestry as a
weapon. That's not its purpose."

General Armstrong glared briefly at the girl, but even she had to respect the
girl's bravery in defying her the knowledge she wanted.

"You must believe very hard about that." Al said. "I had no idea you felt that
strongly about it."

"Actually, it was just a science to me before I came here." May admitted

softly. "But after seeing everything that we have so far, I don't want
Alkahestry to become something used for destruction and death like alchemy
has."

Al nodded. He was glad that she thought that way. She was still so young, but
by seeing this future, she was growing up so much, mentally at least. And
growing mentally would make her a lot stronger.

"Wait a second." Al said, holding his arms out in front of him. He was
shown from the front. "Alkahestry is specialized for medical purposes.
You can't just–"

Olivia appeared on screen as she said, "Be quiet. You're nothing but
lapdogs living safely within your city walls."

"Well…I don't know about safely." Al muttered.

"To be fair, she doesn't know about the Homunculi." Ed pointed out.

"And how are we supposed to learn about them to help you if you don't tell?"
Brody asked.

Clarink snickered. "General Armstrong will get it out of them somehow."

"And that very idea scares me." Ed mumbled.

"Well, someone has to tell us! And since you are the only two with the
knowledge up north, it has to be you." Avery retorted.

The screen moved to Miles.

"But we are the ones who protect you." Olivia said.

Buccaneer appeared on screen next.

"We few who are brave enough to defend the country's border." The side
of Olivia's face appeared on screen. "My job is far more perilous than
yours. I will make use of any knowledge that I can get my hands on."
The floor was shown with the sheath of Olivia's sword slamming onto it.
She appeared on screen as she stood up. "Leave the task of finding this
Alkahestry girl to me."

May flinched. Okay, being hunted down by her and her Briggs soldiers was
actually a scary thought. They seemed nice enough, but she hasn't really seen
them in action, except for when they attacked Ed and Al. To be hunted down
by them seemed very dangerous. She should probably fear for her life right
now.

"You two will stay here inside the fort." Olivia said as she walked
forward towards the screen.

"Confined to the fort?" Ed muttered. "No way!"

"You will stay there where it is safe for you." Olivia snapped at him. "I am
not going to allow you to go out in the cold and die."
"Aw, how sweet." Hughes mocked, making Ed kick him in the shoulder and
Olivia to glare at him. "Ow! Ed!" Hughes glared at the boy. "You're lucky
she is keeping you safe, Ed. Appreciate it."

"Fine." Ed grumbled.

Ed was shown, head turned to the side so he could watch Olivia's back as
she walked to the door.

"And Major Miles." Olivia said.

"Yes sir?" Miles replied immediately.

"Put them to work." Olivia said.

Ed gaped before Olivia's back was zoomed in on and she turned her face
to look at him.

"You have a problem with work?" General Armstrong growled.

Ed blinked for a moment before shrugging. "Not really. It's just, you guys
don't trust us at all. By putting us to work, you are basically allowing us to
walk around your domain freely."

"Then you're a fool." General Armstrong replied. "My men are trained well.
They'll see you around and they may not know fully what is going on with
you two being there, but everyone you meet will be watching your every
move with suspicion until they decide whether they trust you or not."

"Oh, great." Ed said dryly.

"A man who does not work has no right to eat." Olivia said.

Ed, who looked like he admitted the defeat he got from that statement,
and Al appeared on screen.

"You have a point." Al and Ed said together.

"Though considering Al doesn't eat, he is just working for what?" Fuery

asked.

"To stay with his brother in the fort." Avery said with a grin. "Al doesn't need
to be in the fort to survive and he doesn't need food. He would be fine out
there, but if he wants to stay with his brother, who has to stay in Fort Briggs
to survive, he has to work."

"Understandable, but I still don't like the north." Ed muttered.

"You just really hate us, don't you?" Kei asked.

"I am far from being a fan of any of you."

"Humph, after I went through all that trouble to fix your arm too." Kei
grumbled.

A hall of Fort Briggs appeared on screen with Olivia and Buccaneer

walking down it towards the screen.

"Those two boys haven't had exactly easy lives, General." Buccaneer
said.

The two appeared on screen close up.

"I believe they may have witnessed some carnage in their time, but I can
tell that on the inside, they remain soft and weak." Olivia replied.

Buccaneer appeared on screen.

"And what's more," Olivia said, making Buccaneer turn his head to look
at her. Olivia appeared on screen. "They're still hiding something. Those
two have a secret they aren't telling us."

"Well, at least I'm not alone." May said.

"What do you mean?" Al asked.

"Well, she's hunting me down, but she isn't going to let you two go until you
give her the secret you have about the Homunculi it seems." May replied.
"She has her sights set on all three of us it seems."

"Misery love company. Is that it?" Ed asked amused.

May laughed. "It's better to face a dangerous or scary situation with friends,
then alone. Isn't that right? Your friends will be there to give you comfort and
strength to make it through the ordeal."

"For being so young, you sure are wise about some things." Hughes said with
a smile at the young girl. She was absolutely right. It was harder to face tough
ordeals alone. With someone by your side, it didn't make the situation any
less worse, but it could give you hope, courage, and the strength to make it
through anything.

The outside of Forts Briggs appeared on screen as the music came to an

end.

The scene moved down before it changed to another hallway which Miles
was leading Ed and Al down.

Ed was zoomed in on. Out of the corner of his eyes, he looked at Miles,
who was walking a bit in front of him. "So, uh, exactly what kind of
work will you have us doing?"

The scene moved to the side to show Miles, who didn't reply.

The side of Ed's face appeared on screen.

"I know you have a voice!" Ed shouted, glaring at Miles.

Miles smirked at Ed.

Huffing, Ed looked away. "Why won't he reply?"

"Because, unlike some of the soldiers you deal with on a daily basis,"
General Armstrong shot a pointed look at Mustang and his team, then at
Armstrong and Hughes. "My men are serious and hard working."

Ed shrugged. "Doesn't mean you have to be all silent!"

"That doctor said that people around here have a lot of things to hide
too. So what are you hiding, Major?" Ed asked as the side of Miles's face
appeared on screen.

"As bold as always." Mustang muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Well, if they can force my secrets out of me, they can at least share
something in return!" Ed retorted.

"You invaded their base! I think that right there gives them a reason to get
some information out of you." Havoc said with a grin.

"Trust is a two way street!" Ed argued. "I'm not trusting them if they won't
share anything!"

"Then it is like a game." Miles said.

May blinked in confusing. "What do you mean?"

"A game." Ed repeated dryly before sighing. "Yes, military, government,

politics. In a sense, it is all a game. A game, that is quite often, rigged, so that
no matter what you do, you won't win. It's a game built into the favor of those
with a lot of power. The underdog will have a hard time getting what he
wants."

"But how is this conversation like that?" Al asked. He was with his brother a
lot, but since he wasn't directly in the military, there were things he missed
that his brother saw or had to deal with.

Ed nodded at Miles on the screen. "We're playing each other. They dragged
information out of us, and Miles next move will be the deciding factor of the
game. If he tells us his secret, it means that they think they can trust us, and
vice versa. If he doesn't tell me anything, it means they don't trust us and that
will make us less willing to help them. Whatever you decide in a moment can
help or hinder you."

"And it is one of the hardest games out there." Mustang added with a frown.
"Unless you have training and years of experience, it is actually really hard to
deal with, especially if the person you're dealing with is thinking so many
steps ahead of you." He looked at Ed. "Fullmetal is still just an amateur at the
game. He may have a few years of experience and is smart, but he doesn't
have the training like we do to deal with stuff like this. It is amazing he can
see what Miles meant at all."

Ed scowled at him. "I may not have noticed it at first, but after a year of being
in the military, I started to catch on, Mustang."

"A year?" Buccaneer asked.

"I was twelve!" Ed grumbled.

"And so naïve and sweet." Hughes added with a grin before sobering up. "But
then the military corrupted that innocent little mind."

Ed whacked Hughes hard in the back of the head with a pillow.

Miles continued walking down the hall.

Ed grumbled a bit. "It's no fair for you guys to ask all the questions and
never answer any."

Miles's feet appeared on screen as he came to a stop.

The scene moved up to show the bottom half of Miles's face. "You really
want to know."

Ed smirked a bit to himself as he looked at Miles. Truth be told, he already

knew what the secret was. He may have been out of it the other day when he
was in pain, but he still saw those red eyes of Miles. It just took him a while
to process after he got over all the pain. He had to wonder how everyone
would react when they figured it out….if Miles revealed the secret here that
is. The way that everything would proceed now depended on how Miles
answered.

Miles reached a hand up to his glasses and pulled them off as dramatic
music began. The back of his head appeared on screen before he turned
his head to reveal his red eyes.
"Red eyes?" Havoc shouted in absolute shock.

"But how? All Ishvalans were to be arrested." Mustang said, but he couldn't
keep the slight smirk off of his face. It would be just like General Armstrong
to defy a decree if it meant she would have to give up one of her best man.

"Ishvalan and second-in-command?" Riza asked, raising a slender brow. It

was shocking enough for him to be Ishvalan and still working for their
military, but to even be the second-in-command at Fort Briggs added so
much more surprise to everything.

"How defiant." Ling said, shooting a smirk at General Armstrong, who

calmly stared back at him, though Ling through he saw her smirking a bit.
Chuckling, Ling looked at the other soldiers. "But other than that, you guys
really suck at keeping track of soldiers' personal information."

Ed smirked and leaned his chin on his automail hand. "What? No one is
going to object to this turn of events?" And here he was hoping for more
reactions, but then again, considering everything else they were learning, this
was probably pretty minor to them. Though the shocked looks they wore
were still amusing. Really, none of them saw this coming at all?

"I believe they are too shocked to even think of arguing this one." Miles
replied, while he attempted to ignore some pitying looks he got. He hated
pity. It wasn't what he wanted from his comrades. When the Ishvalan Civil
War happened, all the events surrounding that event was a powerful force
that pushed against him. He wasn't denying that it was hard to deal with, but
he took it all and from it he grew stronger and found very loyal comrades
who would not betray him for his lineage. It forced change on him, but he
would never regret his decision to follow General Armstrong with his
complete trust and loyalty back then. This was who he was now and he didn't
need pity for it.

"Come to think of it." Brody said, looking over at the smirking teen. "Why
aren't you surprised at this news? You're not allowed to act so calm and
unconcerned!"
"Why do you think?" Ed retorted, smirking as he glanced over at Miles. "I
already knew."

"How?" Hughes asked.

Ed sighed and pointed at Miles. "His glasses slid down to show me his eyes
when you guys were pinning me to the ground on the first day."

"And you–" Havoc started, but was rudely cut off by Ling.

"Why were they pinning you–"

"Not important, Ling." Ed interrupted quickly. "But Ling is right." He looked

back at Miles. "It should have been in your file that you're Ishvalan. Why
didn't they find you?"

"Hypothetically, it could have been because my file mysteriously disappeared

and when it reappeared, it said nothing about me being Ishvalan." Miles said,
wearing an amused smirk.

While Ed stared blankly, Mustang sighed. "So what was it? Blackmail? Paid
someone off?" He directed at General Armstrong.

"I don't know what you mean, Mustang." General Armstrong replied calmly.

Mustang smirked. "Sure you don't. All part of the game, isn't it?"

"Assume whatever you want, Mustang, but I did nothing."

A shocked Ed appeared on screen as he said, "Red eyes."

The scene rapidly moved up to Al behind Ed. "An Ishvalan!"

Scar glanced at Miles. He wondered how this would go with Ed after

everything he dealt with from Ishvalans. More than that, he was curious to
see if Miles would give any more insight about him being in the military still.
Why would an Ishvalan stay in the military after everything Amestris did to
their country and people? He should not be working with Amestris still! They
killed their people. How could he still be so loyal to a country that betrayed
his people? For Scar, it was hard to get passed that anger, even as he was
learning the truth. How could Miles do it?

Ed's back appeared on screen at an angle so Miles could be seen in front

of him.

"I-I don't understand." Ed said shocked as the scene slowly moved to the
side to show more of Miles. "We were told all soldiers from Ishval were
purged before the extermination."

The side of Ed's face appeared on screen as Miles said, "It's true that
Ishvalan blood flows in my veins." As he continued to speak, the screen
slowly moved up to show Al. "But my father and grandmother were not
from that region. They were a different race." Miles's face appeared on
screen as he put his index finger to his temple. "My eyes are Ishvalan
though." Ed and Al appeared on screen. "My grandfather's blood runs
strong." Miles reappeared on screen.

"That's quite a bit of information there." Edward said.

"Well, you certainly shared a lot of information about your private life. It
may have been forced out of you two and you left quite a bit out, but it seems
that General Armstrong did manage to convince you in some way that it was
safe to share some information. If you can take the risk there, then I see no
reason why I shouldn't tell you something in return." Miles replied.

Ed grinned. "You might be my favorite soldier from Briggs by far."

"Hey!" Brody and Luke shouted insulted.

"You two are jerks. You get no likes." Ed teased.

Luke huffed. "What did we do?"

"Don't mind him." Al said with amusement lacing his tone. "Brother is just a
very difficult and stubborn person."

Snatching up a pillow, Ed launched it at his brother, only for the pillow to get
stuck on the spike on Al's helmet. Ed and Ling stared at Al for a moment
before they burst out into laughter, while some of the other soldiers fought
hard to keep from grinning.

"Oh, Alphonse." May sighed sadly. "You decimated that poor pillow."

Slightly embarrassed and glad no one could tell, Al pulled the pillow off his
spike, tearing the pillow up more and sending feathers floating down to the
ground. He launched the ruined pillow back at his laughing brother, hitting
him square in the face, causing the rest of the feathers to explode around him.
They floated down and covered Ed in them.

Ed glared at his brother before shaking his head in an attempt to get the
feathers off. "Thanks for that, Al."

"You started it." Al retorted, not able to hide the grin in his voice.

Snickering, Ling plucked some of the feathers out of Ed's hair since shaking
his head didn't do anything to help. Ed swatted Ling's hand away, shot him an
annoyed glare, then started to pluck the feathers out on his own while Ling
grinned at him.

Miles lowered his hand and turned to face the boys completely.
"Amestrian." The scene slowly zoomed in on his face as he spoke, "It
was your people who destroyed the land of my grandfather."

Ed and Al appeared on screen before the scene was pulling out as the
boys acted shocked at Miles's words. Ed was zoomed in on, frowning. He
sighed and looked down for a second before looking back up with a
determined look in his eyes. "Ishvalan, your people destroyed our
countryside. And one of you is responsible for murdering my friend's
parents."

"Brother!" Al chided.

Ed shrugged. "What? I'm not going to lie or take accusations lying down. It's
not like the Ishvalans were the only ones hurt because of that war."

"That is a good way to look at it. Both sides were hurt because of the war.
Just one side shouldn't be pitied. Though Ishvalan suffered the most, that
doesn't mean that Amestris didn't suffer either." Ling said with a thoughtful
frown.

Miles smirked to himself. It seems he wouldn't be getting pity from these

teenagers and that was something to be quite grateful for. Soldiers who were
in Ishval either felt great remorse and pity for Ishvalans, were indifferent, or
missed the war because they took great pleasure in it. With reactions like that,
Miles was glad to be at Briggs. At least none of the soldiers up there gave
him pity. They were all in the same boat by living and working in Briggs.

Scar stared at the two teenagers thoughtfully. In his rage and pain, he never
really thought about Amestris. All he knew was that the soldiers killed his
family and people. The soldiers destroyed his home and his way of life. That
was all he thought. He never really realized that his people weren't the only
ones to suffer. And as he saw from Mustang's point of view of the war, not all
soldiers agreed with the war, but they fought to survive. It was all about
survival, and that war took lives from both sides, which means families and
friends back in Amestris suffered as well and probably hated Ishvalans for
the war, even if the start of the war wasn't their fault. Hatred was on both
sides and both sides blamed the other. They were all humans who suffered,
but he never thought about that. It wasn't that he couldn't, but he didn't want
to. He wanted to blame the Amestrians. It gave him something to direct his
rage towards.

Miles appeared on screen, staring coldly down at Ed as Al's voice said,

"Careful, Brother."

Ed, who was frowning and staring back at Miles, and Al appeared on
screen. The side of Ed's face appeared on screen. The side of Mile's face
appeared on screen next. Al appeared on screen. When Miles started to
laugh, Al titled his head and made a surprised sound.

Miles appeared on screen, eyes shut and smiling as he held a hand up.

"What does laughing mean? Who laughs in a serious conversation?" May

asked, subconsciously sighing in relief. If there was laughing then that meant
that Miles wasn't angry at Ed for his words. That meant that Ed was still safe.
"It means he passed." Miles said.

"Yes, I passed!" Ed cheered before blinking. "Wait, passed what?"

"If you don't know, you shouldn't be so happy about passing." Hughes said
amused, grinning at the boy who just shrugged in reply.

Miles opened his eyes as he stopped laughing and lowered his hand. "I'm
sorry, but that's the first time I've heard anyone give me that kind of an
answer."

Ed appeared on screen. "What? You were testing me?"

"I don't like surprise tests." Ed muttered.

"Well, it's all a part of that 'game' you were talking about." Darius pointed
out.

"Well, I never liked this 'game!'" Ed grumbled.

"Too bad you can't quit the 'game' yet." Mustang said.

Ed sighed and folded his hands behind his head. "I wish the game would just
end." His eyes narrowed in on a feather that was left on his shoulder still. He
plucked it off in annoyance.

"The game will never end as long as the world continues to live." Riza
replied. "In a way, this 'game' is all a part of life."

"Though viewing it as a game," Ling muttered with a frown.

"You should understand it well, prince." Luke pointed out.

"Maybe so, but I have never referred to it as a game." Ling replied.

Miles reappeared on screen. "I know. It was rude." He frowned. "Since

the war Amestrians always view me with a mixture of guilt and pity. To
be honest, I'm getting tired of it. But you're different, aren't you?"
"Yep," Havoc rubbed his forehead. "He is one of those very special, unique
people. You can never guess how he is are going to react to something."

"Except," Fuery said with a grin.

"Ah, yes, unless you call him sh–" Breda started, but was interrupted when a
pillow smacked him in the face. He snatched the pillow up and stared
challenging at Ed. "Elric!"

Ed smirked and leaned back into the couch.

Miles was shown from behind with Ed and Al seen in front of him. The
scene slowly moved up.

"Well, Major," Ed said. "An Ishvalan tried to kidnapped, nearly killed

me, then briefly fought alongside me. After all that," Ed was shown from
behind at an angle so Miles could be seen in front of him. "My feelings
are a bit conflicted."

"You certainly get into a lot of trouble." Buccaneer said. "And that was just
with the Ishvalans!"

"He just attracts trouble." Mustang muttered. "It has to be because he is a

reckless, intelligent kid in the military. Why wouldn't that attract enemies to
him?"

"You think people would have more morals about attacking a kid." Izumi
said.

Ed and Al stared at her blankly.

"You're one to talk!" Al cried.

Izumi smiled scarily at the boys. "What was that? You have a problem with
being trained to fight now?"

The brothers shared a look then frantically started to shake their heads. "No,
no, no! Not at all, Teacher!" Ed said hurriedly.
Ed reappeared on screen. "Besides, I think people should try to ignore
their race and just treat each other as equals."

"Well, you definitely earned Major Miles trust and admiration." Clarink said
with a grin.

"Yeah," Brody rubbed his chin. "Despite his rough nature and impulsiveness,
Chief does have a good way of thinking and a way with words at times."

"Wow." Ed said sarcastically. "A compliment and insult wrapped together in

one. How nice of you!"

"Be happy. Major Miles is now on your side. Now you just have to earn the
trust of the rest of the soldiers." Avery said.

Miles's face appeared on screen, a small smile adorning his face. He put
his glasses back on. The scene pulled out to show all three of them as
Miles stretched his arm out to the side as a signal for them to continue
onward. Taking the signal, the brothers started following Miles down the
hall once more.

The end of the hallway was shown from a downward angle as the three
walked onto screen.

"Major Miles, were you on active duty during the war of

extermination?" Ed asked.

The button to call the elevator appeared on screen with Mile's thumb
pushing it. "Yes, I was." Miles replied. The three were shown from
behind. "I've been under General Armstrong's command since then."

"Wow, you've been there a long time." Al said.

"Must be torture." Ed muttered.

"Give me this pillow." Brody growled, stealing the pillow from Breda that Ed
threw at him. "I'm going to pummel him."

"Have fun with that." Breda said, smirking as he watched Ed stare warily at
Brody.

"You have a problem with me voicing my opinion?" Ed challenged, slowly

inching his hand towards an unsuspecting Ling.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." Brody retorted before launching the pillow at
Ed with a lot of power and strength.

Ed gripped Ling's arm in his hand and yanked him in front of him to take the
blow from the pillow for him. Ling's head was knocked back into Ed's
shoulder by the force of the throw. While Ed smirked at the glaring Brody,
Ling frowned and ripped himself out of Ed's grip before grabbing the pillow
and whacking him in the chest.

"I am not your shield." Ling muttered.

"As my friend, you should be willing to guard me from attacks." Ed retorted

with a grin at him.

Ling scoffed and whacked Ed with the pillow again. "It's a pillow!"

The floor counter for the elevator appeared on screen as the arm moved.

"The war began right after I was posted here." Miles said. "Many of my
relatives, including my grandfather, were killed in the east. I fell outside
the military's purge requirements so I was spared."

"Yeah." Mustang scoffed. "'Fell out.'" He shot a meaningful look at General

Armstrong, who just scoffed.

"No one will believe you."

Mustang smirked.

Miles and Ed, who was looking at Miles with his hands shoved in his
pockets, appeared on screen with Al's legs and lower chest seen on the
screen behind Ed.

"You didn't hold any grudge against the military?" Ed asked, causing
Miles to turn to look at him.

"You ask a lot of questions." Miles said amused.

"I'm just curious." Ed muttered defensively. "Besides, it's not often that I find
a soldier actually willing to answer my questions about their past." He shot a
pointed look at the back of Mustang's head. "It's like pulling teeth to get any
answers."

"They were dark days." Mustang replied. "Why would I be willing to recall
them?"

Ed was shown from the side with the back of his head seen since it was
turned to look at Miles.

"You don't understand how the world works, now do you?" Miles asked.

Ed's face appeared on screen from the side, eyes narrowing a bit. He
looked down. "I know I'm ignorant about some things." He looked back
up. "If I'm offended you, I'm sorry."

Miles appeared on screen, looking back up at the wall. "An ignorant

State Alchemist, you say. Huh, interesting."

"Interesting?" Lan Fan asked. "That is a strange response."

"State Alchemists pride themselves on being the best, the most skilled, and
the smartest. They would never have been able to become State Alchemists if
they weren't. They also know how the military works and understand the
world. For a State Alchemist to admit he is ignorant, it is pretty rare." Luke
explained, grinning while Ed scowled at his future self for betraying his
secret of ignorance.

The elevator floor counter appeared on screen as it dinged.

The group was shown from behind as the doors in front of them slid
open.

The wall of the elevator was shown as it moved down.

"I did resent the military's actions." Miles replied. The scene pulled out
to show Miles from the side. "I also had doubts as to why General
Armstrong would keep me as her staff officer."

Ed and Al were shown.

"The presence of someone with Ishvalan blood could cause discord

among the soldiers stationed here." Miles continued. He was shown
again with the scene slowly zooming in on him. "It would have been
easier for her to get rid of me."

"And for whatever reason, she and everyone else trusted you enough to not
let it slip outside Fort Briggs that you were Ishvalan." Sheska said, feeling a
bit confused. That was a very big secret. If it got out, not only would Miles be
arrested, but there would be a lot of investigations up north about how it
wasn't discovered before and who was keeping it a secret.

"That's what the glasses are for. Without seeing his eyes, we would never
guess it." Avery said with a smirk. "The secrets we have are well-guarded.
New soldiers that come to Briggs or soldiers that aren't trusted enough don't
know the truth."

"Eventually, I just came right out and asked her." Miles said.

"Suicidal." Ling said in a conspirator's whisper, making Ed smirk in

amusement.

"I don't like these two." Luke muttered, glaring at Ed and Ling, making the
boys smirk evilly. "Why can't they behave like Al or May or Lan Fan?!"

"Behaving is boring." Ed explained.

"What? Are you saying I am boring?" Al retorted.

"Perhaps."

Al glared at his brother. "Well, at least I'm not an impulsive, violent idiot."

Ed's brow twitched. "How rude, Alphonse."

Al shrugged. "Well, maybe if you didn't do such reckless things."

"He's got a point there." Hughes muttered.

Ed frowned. "What? Et tu, Hughes? Et tu?!" He cried dramatically, grabbing

at his chest. "Oh, the betrayal!"

Mustang glared at Hughes. "This is your fault." He motioned to the dramatic

boy.

Hughes raised a brow. "I thought Ed was naturally dramatic."

"But it's gotten worse and it can only be your fault!" Mustang retorted.

"That's a lot of faith in me there." Hughes retorted.

The scene changed to Olivia with Miles standing behind her. "This is
Briggs. No matter what happens, this territory must not fall."

The roof of Fort Briggs appeared on screen. The elevator doors were
shown with two soldiers by them as the doors opened.

"Every soldier here must be both strong and flexible." Olivia continued.

Two pairs of feet appeared on screen as they snapped together.

A group of lined up soldiers were shown as they all saluted together.

"You must move as one cohesive unit." Olivia continued before she
appeared on screen, walking towards it with her sword resting on her
shoulder. "Following me, your leader." She was shown from behind as
she walked towards two rows of soldiers. "And all things, at all times."
She turned around and put her sword on the ground, resting her hands
on the hilt. "In short," Miles appeared on screen, staring at her. "We do
not have the luxury of discrimination here."

"Luxury? Never heard discrimination described as that." Jerso commented

with a frown, sharing a look with his friends. Being human chimeras now,
they knew a bit about discrimination. With bodies like theirs, they couldn't go
back to their families or be normal. It was hard to deal with. In their own
way, they were facing discrimination. Describing it as luxury was a horrible
way to phase it. Those who discriminated really understood nothing of the
pain or misery of those they were hurting.

Olivia's hands that were resting on the hilt of her sword appeared on
screen. "The blood of several races flows within you, and with that come
varying strengths and values. You can see this country in ways others
cannot." The scene moved up to her face. "I was born and raised in
Amestris. In order to lead, I need someone with your eyes."

"With his red eyes or with his different view on the world?" Lan Fan asked.

"Obviously the latter." Brody said amused. "But it is because of his Ishvalan
blood that she can make that statement."

"Now shut up and follow me, Miles. Understood?"

"Wow, you are a very charming woman." Ed said amused, making Olivia
glare at him.

"Well, some people like a tough, demanding woman." Ling pointed out.

Al smacked his forehead. Why couldn't Ed and Ling just shut up already?

"You two are signing your death warrants if you keep this up." Walkers told
them, but was unable to keep the smile off his face.

The scene flashed back to the elevator the three were in.

"Her words made sense. I knew she was speaking without deception."
Miles said.

Ed and Al were shown from the front.

"I even went so far as to ask her, 'What if the Ishvalan blood within me
cannot forgive what the military did to my people?'" Miles continued.
"And you want to know what the General said to that?"
Olivia appeared on screen once more from Miles's memory. She pointed
her sword at the screen. "Fine then. Bring it." She said.

"How hardcore." Havoc said, grinning. "Not someone I would ever want to
fight."

"That seems to be a common thing for the women in your military." Fu

pointed out, looking at Riza and Maria, who both just smirked and took the
compliment.

"Being surrounded by so many men, it would be disastrous for us if we were

weak." Maria replied.

The scene pulled out slowly, showing the men lined up behind her. "On
behalf of the military, I will accept your challenge anytime."

Miles reappeared on screen with Ed and Al behind him. "That was it."

Ed frowned and shared a look with his brother. "What a scary lady.
Maybe she said that because she had her troops with her."

Miles's face appeared on screen, very fearful with a dark, gloomy

background. "No, that wasn't it at all."

A devil-like Olivia appeared on screen with her sword pointed at it and a

red and black background that spelled fear. "I'll fight you one on one!"
Her voice said in a voiceover.

"The look in her eye." Miles said as the scene moved down with a ding to
show two very scared brothers trembling.

"So it is common for you guys to be scared of your commander." Ed teased

the Briggs soldiers, though his heart was pounding his chest slightly. That
woman was really someone he didn't want to deal with, just like Teacher.

"Slight fear, but even greater respect." Clarink replied.

Ed smirked. "To have power means to have both respect and fear of your
followers. Some believe that both are needed to have power and to rule.
Others believe that it is despicable to gain respect and rule because of fear."

"Ah, but it is not because of fear that we respect. It is because of the strength
and determination. The fear comes from the fact that we know she is a
powerful leader and is willing to do what most people would not deem ethical
if she thought it was the right thing to do." Liran pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "Was just saying. I think it is interesting." He mumbled as he

looked back at the screen.

The icicles on the ceiling of the pathway of the fort appeared on screen.

The scene slowly moved down and to the side.

"You know what the law is here?" Miles asked as he and the brothers
were shown walking towards the screen.

"Survival of the fittest?" Ed suggested.

"Something you and Al know well." Dr. Marcoh said with a slight smile.

Al shrugged. "Well, our training on that island was not as bad as Teacher had
for her training, but yeah." He shared a look with his brother. "We definitely
understand it. Even more so since Brother joined the military."

Mustang sighed. "Fullmetal can't help it. He is just a natural at making

enemies."

"Yeah, I don't know what it is about me that would make people want to
attack me." Ed muttered with a frown. "I mean, I don't avoid making
enemies, but I don't do enough to make people hate me that much. Hell,
Colonel has done a lot worse than I have and yet he doesn't have enemies like
I do!"

"As I said, you're just a natural at it." Mustang replied.

The group was shown from the side as they continued to walk.

"That's right." Miles breathed out mist because of the cold. "Without
power you die. And if you have it, you might survive." Miles breathed
out again, causing the mist from his breath to appear again. "That fact
always remains the same. Three hundred and sixty-five days a year. It's
a simple life really."

Ed was shown up close. As he breathed softly, the air turned misty for a
second.

"Whether you're a private or general, race, ethnicity, and gender make

no difference." Miles said.

Ed's foot appeared on screen to show it getting caught on a bump in the

tile. He shouted in surprise and was shown stumbling forward, trying to
gain his balance as an icicle slammed into the ground right where he was
standing a moment before and smashed into pieces.

Heinkel whistled in amusement. "So you do have some good luck."

"…I really don't like the north." Ed mumbled in shock.

"Come on, be happy! Survival of the fittest at work." Buccaneer teased.

Hughes snorted. "That may be, but basically, everything seems to be trying to
harm, if not kill, him."

"Which is why his luck is rotten, but at the same time, a little bit of good luck
does shine on him seeing as how he managed to survive it." Armstrong said.

Ed's brow twitched. "We get it! Stop analyzing it!...stupid bloody icicle. It's
all the stupid icicle's fault." He grumbled the last part to himself.

Ling leaned in next to Ed. "That icicle is an inanimate object. You can't really
put any blame on an inanimate object."

"Watch me." Ed snapped back, making Ling grin in amusement. His friend
was so insane.

The back of Ed's head was shown as he turned his head to look at what
happened with wide eyes. The scene then pulled out to show Ed
balancing on one foot and Miles behind him, half turned around to look
at the ground where the icicle hit.

The scene pulled out farther to add Al into the group, staring down at
the ground as well.

"Survival of the fittest in action." Miles said as the broken icicle was
shown on screen. "Your luck was strong so you survived."

"You guys rely on luck?" Ed muttered. "I don't like relying on luck. I like
relying on my skill and strength and intelligence to survive."

"As do we." Miles replied. "But having a bit of luck on our side as well isn't a
bad thing."

"Unless it is bad luck." Avery pointed out.

"Well, yeah, no one wants bad luck on their side." Ling said.

"Unless they're a masochist." Hughes said.

Mustang stared at his friend. "Why must you say things like that?"

"It's the truth. I'm not going to lie." Hughes retorted.

"I'm not telling you to lie. I'm just saying that you don't have to say it. You
can keep your mouth shut!" Mustang retorted.

"And where is the fun in that?" Hughes asked.

"And we're the bad ones?" Ling whispered to Ed, making him snicker.

Hughes and Mustang glared at the two teenagers. "What are you two up to?"
Mustang demanded.

Ed rolled his eyes. "We are not always plotting something! Have a little
faith!"

"Oh, I had faith." Mustang snapped. "Then you screwed with my head and
called me dad and acted all cheerful! Don't think you can just get away with
all that!"

"It was fun." Ling said with a grin.

"Making you two the rotten kids here." Jerso said.

"I think they're still mad about the dinner prank." Ed muttered.

"Probably." Ling whispered back.

Ed stood up, eyes still wide and breathed out misty cold air.

The icicles on the ceiling were shown again as Miles said, "These icicles
all need to be scraped off." The scene moved down to show Miles staring
up at the icicles. He looked down at Ed and Al, who were looking up at
the icicles, and pointed a finger up at them. "That will be your job for
today. When you're finished, one of my men will show you to your
quarters." He lowered his hand.

"Not really a good job for a shrimp." Mustang said.

Ed glared at Mustang, cheeks slightly pink. "Oh, shut up, Colonel. That's
what Al is there for."

"Is that all I'm good for now, Brother?" Al asked amused.

"Help a brother out, Al!" Ed exclaimed.

The icicles were shown again with an ice scraper appearing on screen. It
moved forward and back as Ed grunted in annoyance and happy music
played in the background. A second ice scraper appeared next to Ed's
and easily knocked the icicles away.

"I helped you, Brother." Al said amused.

Ed glared at his brother. "Oh, shut up."

"Wow, first you tell me to help you, and then when I do, you glare at me!
Make up your mind!" Al said.

Ed, who was balanced on one foot again, and Al were shown from the
back a bit of a distance away. The scene moved closer to them as
footsteps were heard.

"Damn, I can't reach." Ed growled.

"Huh? Is that you?" A voice asked.

Ed and Al were shown up close as they looked towards the voice and
gasped in surprise.

The scene rapidly changed to a gaping Falman. "Officer Falman!" Ed

said.

"Falman?!" Al and Ed shouted in surprise.

"Huh, well, it seems you do know at least one friendly face up there." Hughes
said with a smile.

"I thought I was supposed to go to Northern Command." Falman said with a

frown.

"What? Are you not happy to see us?" Ed teased.

"I sure I am just thrilled." Falman replied.

"Well, I'm glad you're there. You know some of the secret we are keeping so
hopefully you'll be of some help in dealing with General Armstrong." Ed
said.

Falman groaned. "Don't drag me into it!"

"The Elric brothers!" Falman replied.

The scene moved to show the group from the side at a downward angle.
"What are you two doing here?"
"Oh, you know, just enjoying the scenery and the cold." Ed said sarcastically.

"You insult all who come up north for vacations with your sarcasm and
hatred." Brody said.

"Who in their right mind travels north for vacation? Why would anyone want
to freeze during their trip?" Ed muttered.

"People who like to tour the cities or ski or snowboard." Luke retorted.

Ed opened his mouth to retort, but closed it after a moment with a thoughtful
look. "Snowboarding?"

"No." Mustang growled. "No snowboarding for you. You're reckless enough
without knowing how to snowboard."

Ed grinned. "Oh, but just imagine how fun it would be."

"No. You are banned from it." Mustang said.

Ed and Ling shared evil smirks.

"Want to go snowboarding sometime?" Ed asked.

"I would love to. We need some lessons though." Ling said.

Ed shrugged. "Easily done."

Mustang glared at Luke. "Why put the thought in his head?"

"Maybe now he will stop hating on the north." Luke said with a grin.

"When he breaks his leg, I'll send you the bill." Mustang muttered.

"Why my leg? Why not my arm or my neck or my head? Why is it my leg?"

Ed asked, though Mustang just glared at him to get him to shut up.

"Us? What about you?" Ed asked. "I thought you were at the Northern
Command Center."
The back of Ed's head was shown with Falman seen in front of him,
rubbing his head. "Yeah, I was for a while, but then Northern Command
bumped me up here."

Falman's shoulder appeared on screen to show a star there that sparkled

as the scene pulled out and Al said, "They promoted you!"

Falman turned his head to look at the star. "Yeah."

Ed and Al were shown.

"Hey, that's great. Congratulations." Ed said.

"Fullmetal being polite?" Jerso said shocked.

"How often do we hear that?" Heinkel said, making Ed glare at the two.

"Yeah, he's usually so rough and rude when speaking." Clarink said
thoughtfully.

"You guys don't even know me so shut up!" Ed snapped.

"Wrong!" Clarink cried, pointing at the screen. "This whole seeing the future
thing says we know you. We are learning so much about you!"

Ed glared at the screen as if it insulted him. Stupid bloody viewing of the

future.

Ed looked confused for a second. "But why are you knocking down
icicles?"

"If they have you doing something like this," Al started when a frowning
Falman was shown. "Then that means."

An evil Ed and Al were shown. "They've taken you off the career track."

"Ah, there it is, Chief's evil side." Havoc said solemnly. "He just can't help
himself."
"And not just him, but Al too." Falman said pitifully. "Those two are so
cruel."

"It's Brother's influence." Al protested.

"Ha!" Ed said harshly in mocking tone. "You can't blame me for you having
an evil side as well. At times, I swear you are more evil than I am."

If he could have, Al would have grinned at his brother. Of that, he really

couldn't deny.

Falman was shown as he turned around and ran away with tears flying
behind him as he screamed.

"Poor Falman." Sheska said, but her lips were twitching a bit as she tried to
keep from smiling.

"It must be some type of punishment." Maria said.

"For getting involved in the conspiracy of this country? Definitely

punishment." Brosh muttered. Just how far were the Homunculi willing to go
to keep them from doing anything?

The Development Sector was shown with some scientists working on

some tanks.

As the scene started to move to the side to show others working on more
tanks, Falman said, "The Development Sector."

"Wow." Ed said. "What's it for?"

Another tank was shown with the workers pulling a tarp over it.

"It was General Armstrong's idea." Falman said as the scene started to
move up. "This department researches the country's latest
technologies." The scene moved up to show the brothers and Falman
standing on a bridge overlooking the Development Sector. "Develops
them into weapons."
The group was shown up close with Ed standing in the front, hand
resting on the railing as he overlooked the work being done.

"For war." May said with a frown. Well, at least it wasn't Alkahestry or
Alchemy that they were researching and using to make weapons.

"Of course. We don't plan to go to war, but anything could happen. It is

always best to be prepared." Buccaneer replied.

Ed turned his head to look at Falman. "Does that include combat

automail?"

"Are there even a lot of people in Fort Briggs with automail?" Lan Fan asked
curiously, subconsciously running a hand over her left arm.

"Not a lot, but still more than you would think." Kei replied. "I spend a good
amount of my time coming up with new designs for the ones that want
combat automail and some time just designing a new type of arm or leg to
give to the men up there."

"Ever perform a surgery up there or is that done somewhere else?" Al asked

curiously, glancing at his brother than away. It was so horrible having to
listen to his brother's surgery. It was something he hoped never to have to
deal with again.

Kei smiled. "Maybe once or twice, but only in extreme emergencies."

Falman turned away. "Yeah, now come on. Follow me." He said as he
started to walk once more with the boys following a second later.

The scene changed to another section of Fort Briggs with a doorway on

the wall that Falman led the brothers out of. The scene rapidly pulled
out to show a huge room filled with pipes that was filled with the loud
sound of fans.

The scene changed to show the turning fans.

"This is the lowest level of Fort Briggs." Falman said as the scene
changed to a close up of one section of the pipes where a couple of
workers were.

Falman and the brothers were shown.

"It's warm down here." Ed said.

"Does the north even know what warmth is?" Ed grumbled. "I figured you all
just had to get used to the cold or you wouldn't survive it. What's that called?"

"Adaptation." Al replied.

"So now we are going from survival of the fittest to adaptation?" Ling asked
amused.

Ed shrugged. "It all goes together. If they don't adapt to the cold, they can't
survive."

"Yes, so," Avery said sarcastically. "ADAPT already, Chief, and stop
complaining. You aren't even there yet. Only future you is."

"Not like it was up above." Ed said.

The wall behind the group, which was covered in pipes, was shown. The
scene moved down to show Al and Ed, who had a hand covering his
forehead as he looked around.

"All the fort's most important functions, it's lifelines, come through
here." Falman said.

"Are you giving them a tour of the fort or something?" Brody muttered. "I
thought Major Miles said that one of his men would show the boys to their
quarters. I didn't hear anything about a tour."

"If it was anyone of my other men, I'm sure they would have been taken
directly to their quarters." Miles said. "Guess I didn't realize they knew
Falman."

"Lucky us then?" Ed said.

"Even if the fort's attacked, this area will remain safe." Falman said.

A worker carrying a pipe on his shoulder came up behind Ed and shoved

through Ed and Al. "Hey kid, move out of the way."

"Bobby!" Luke said with a grin. "Too bad he isn't here. I like Bobby."

"Is there anyone you don't like?" Avery muttered.

"Perhaps you if you are going to be like that." Luke retorted.

"They sound like a couple of teenagers." Mustang muttered. "Must be

Fullmetal's influence."

"Naw, I think it is Ling's." Ed retorted. "You just like to blame me for

everything for some reason."

"And you," Ling said, staring at Ed. "Like to blame me."

Ed shrugged with a grin at his friend.

The scene was shown from a downward angle as Bobby walked away
from the brothers and Falman.

"Not a great place to stand." Bobby added.

"Oh, sorry." Ed replied.

A couple of workers standing by a pipe were shown. "Hey Bobby," The

one who had a hand resting on the pipe said. "It's this pipe." As Bobby
walked onto screen and put his tool box and pipe on the ground, the
worker said, "Over here!"

The pipe was shown up close as Bobby put a hand on it and rested his
ear on it to listen. A strange sound filled the scene. Bobby's legs appeared
on screen. "It's coming." Bobby said as he dropped to his hands and
knees to put his ear to the floor as dramatic, spooky music began. "From
underground."
"Oh, great, the music has begun AGAIN!" Brody grumbled.

"And with music like that, it can't be anything good." Clarink mumbled.

"Wow, not even a day." Hughes said.

"What?" Havoc asked.

"Ed and Al weren't even at Fort Briggs a full day and already something is
happening!" Hughes said.

The Briggs soldiers glared mockingly at the boys.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Nothing has happened yet, except for a bit of strange
music. And considering our future selves don't hear the music…"

"Maybe not, but you guys bring bad luck." Clarink said.

"Oh, so something just so happens to happen the day we arrive there and it's
our fault?" Ed retorted.

Clarink nodded in all his mocking seriousness. "Yes. Do you have another
explanation?"

"Yes." Ed said. "Co-in-ci-dence!"

"That's your explanation?" Avery asked.

"Not everything has to have a complex answer! In fact, I am starting to

believe that all the answers to the problems we face are actually simple. The
reasons we do things are pretty simple. Nothing has to be complex."

"What?" One of the other workers said.

Bobby's face was shown up close. "Sounds like…like someone's digging

through the rock." He said as the screen shook.

The scene pulled out to show the two workers, one of which was
kneeling, and Bobby.
"Maybe it's spies from Drachma." The kneeling worker said as Bobby
lifted his head off the ground as the scene rumbled faster. "They could
be digging a tunnel under the fort."

The scene rapidly showed a scared Bobby and worker as Bobby said,
"It's close!"

A big hand with a cuff on his wrist which had a chain on it appeared on
screen in the dark. The hand grabbed some rock and dirt and pulled it
down. "What a pain." A voice said.

"So," Avery said with a dark frown. "Anyone have any ideas?"

"Get everyone away from the area." Havoc said darkly. "It's dangerous to
stick around that area with an unknown variable there."

"Not that. I wanted to know what was going on." Avery grumbled.

"Well, considering no one here is a psychic, I don't think you are getting an
answer from us." Darius replied.

The person's other hand appeared in front of the rock again and pulled
more down. "It's so annoying." His foot was shown stepping onto the
rumble. "All this digging." His hand reached forward to grab the rock
once more. From his stretching, the man's shoulder was shown where an
Ouroboros tattoo was. "It's killing me." The man was shown from
behind to show his back and his tattoo more clearly.

"A Homunculus?" Olivia said darkly. "Why is there a Homunculus digging

under my fort?"

"Again with the questions that no one has an answer to." Ling said.

While Olivia glared at him, Mustang frowned and looked over at Ed. "What
do you think?"

"About what?" Ed muttered. "The danger we are in if he makes it into the

fort? Or about what he is doing there? All I realize is that I really hope
nothing happens, but I doubt that is likely since the workers have already
discovered the sound. That automatically puts us all in a certain amount of
danger."

His hands took turns pulling rocks down as the screen shook. "But I
guess dying would be a pain too."

"Okay, seven deadly sins. Which one is this?" Jerso asked.

"Well, there is only Pride and Sloth left. And considering his words, he has to
be Sloth." Armstrong said thoughtfully.

"Sloth seems to be strong if he is able to dig with his bare hands." Riza said,
frowning worriedly and thoughtfully as she watched.

"Not surprising. He is a Homunculus. All of those bastards are dangerous."

Ed grumbled.

As the screen continued to rumble, Al and Ed, whose mouth was open a
bit as he stared on, appeared on screen. Ed turned his head to the side in
confusion. His back and Al's arm were shown with the space between
them empty so the workers by the pipe could be seen in the distance. Ed
turned his head to look at them again.

The floor appeared on screen with a crack appearing in it. A crack that
spread across the floor and branched off into smaller cracks before a
part of the pipe on the ground was shown next with the ground under it
cracking and breaking apart before rising up hard and fast enough to
cross the pipe to burst apart.

The scene pulled out to show the workers running away from the
explosion as dust filled the area there with Ed and Al watching on.

Ed's shocked and horrified face appeared on screen.

Brody swore silently and quickly to himself. How the hell could this possibly
get any worse? Oh wait, he knew! If the Drachmans learned of the chaos that
was quickly spreading inside of Fort Briggs. That information had better not
reach those ears. Dealing with a Homunculus was going to be enough of a
hassle for them. They didn't need to add Drachmans to the list.

"So I'm thinking Sloth got in the fort." Avery growled, hands clenching into
fists on his lap. They were going to show that damn Homunculus that this
was not okay. No one messed with Fort Briggs.

"I'm thinking he's going to wish very soon that he was anyway but there."
Buccaneer growled.

"I'm thinking Fort Briggs is really, really off limits." Ling whispered to Ed.

"Well, it's their territory. They take its defense very seriously." Ed muttered.

Fort Briggs was shown from the outside at a downward angle at the side
with mountains seen on either side of it.

Olivia appeared on screen, looking up. "Kimblee, the Crimson

Alchemist?" She asked.

The scene moved to show the back of Olivia's head to show Miles and
Buccaneer standing in front of her where she sat at her desk.

"He was severely wounded on a cargo train headed here. He was checked
into a hospital at the base of the mountain. The full cooperation of the
Briggs branch is requested." Miles explained.

The scene moved again to show the group from a downward angle
behind Buccaneer and Miles.

Olivia put the paper she was holding down on her desk. "Why was
Kimblee headed up north? I thought he was serving time in prison."

"Because the system is corrupted!" Heinkel growled.

"I believe that is true for all governments. No matter how clean you try to
make the system, there will always be someone corrupt in it that will try
something" Mustang said.

"Well, of course, because not everyone is so honorable like you." Hughes

replied.

"Well, in this instance, the corrupt side seems to be winning at the moment."
Ed added. "That is not alright! They're not allowed to win!"

"Then you better do some serious ass kicking." Darius told him.

Ed grinned evilly. "Oh, I plan to."

"Apparently he was released on the Fuhrer's orders." Miles replied.

Olivia was shown up close as she moved her hand to rest her chin on her
palm. "I don't like this." She said.

"Why? Because it screams suspicious?" May asked curiously.

"One of the many reasons." Olivia answered with a frown. Bradley had to
know that releasing someone like Kimblee would make some people
suspicious, but maybe he just wasn't worried about that. In any case, it would
definitely raise warning bells to her.

A sudden alarm going off had Olivia looking up in surprise.

The back of Miles's and Buccaneer's heads were shown as they turned
around when the alarm continued.

The scene moved to show a group of soldiers working at the radios and
communications section in the room with Olivia looking at them. "What
is it?" She demanded.

One of the soldiers was zoomed in on as he turned to look at her. "We've

got an intruder, from under the ground, sir!"

Olivia's shocked face appeared on screen as she rose to her feet. "We
what?"

"Well, it is definitely a strange thing to hear." Karley muttered. "We're

trained to expect the unexpected, but that floor was a few feet deep and made
of cement and below it was the earthly ground that was made of solid rock.
It's hard to imagine anyone getting through that."

"But entirely possible. It's especially easy if you have alchemy." Al said,
looking at his brother as he did.

Ed shrugged. "You got me there, though I've only done it once. It's really
annoying getting in places that way."

"Of course you've done that." Brody muttered.

Mysterious, dangerous music began as the scene changed to the hole in

the ground that still had a cloud of dust pouring out of it. A huge hand
appeared out of the cloud of dust and on the ground as Sloth moved to
pull himself out of the hole. His foot appeared on the ground next as he
pulled himself forward and his other hand came next to help himself get
up.

"That's Sloth?" Damiano said shocked.

Charlie whistled lowly. "Damn, he's a big guy. Definitely not someone you
would want to meet."

"You don't want to meet any Homunculi, no matter their size." Havoc pointed
out.

"And yet, we do not have that luxury." Avery muttered. "Can we please have
that luxury?" He stared at Sloth warily. He was really big, bigger than he
expected.

"And here I thought you guys wanted to meet a Homunculus." Al replied.

"I think they just wanted to prove a point, but now that the chance is here,
they realize they don't want to deal with this. I wonder how strong he is." Ed
murmured to himself.

"We are about to find out, aren't we?" Mustang replied, frowning.

"These are dangerous times we live in." Riza said darkly. "We must find the
strength to survive and fight back or else we shall perish under the weight of
the danger."

The group of workers, Falman, and the Elric brothers were shown to be
watching him as his foot appeared on screen, stepping down.

Bobby and Falman were shown up close before the scene moved to the
side to show Ed and Al.

Sloth's chest appeared on screen with the screen moving up to his face.
The back of his shoulder appeared on screen to show his tattoo which
was zoomed in on.

Ed and Al reappeared on screen. Ed took a step forward in shock as he

said, "A Homunculus!"

Sloth reappeared on screen.

A close up of Ed's face appeared on screen. His brows and the corner of
his mouth twitched a bit as he thought, 'Damn it. Do they know we've
came here to find a way of fighting them?'

"Could they find that out?" Havoc asked.

Ed shrugged. "They are keeping an eye on us somehow since they'll hurt

Winry if we do anything they don't like, but since we don't know how they're
watching us, it makes us more cautious and we don't want to do anything they
don't like, which is another reason we didn't tell General Armstrong anything.
We don't know who we can trust, and even if we trust her enough to tell her,
the Homunculi are watching us somehow so it would get out somehow that
we told."

"But shouldn't they expect you'd be trying to find a way to fight them?"
Sheska asked confused. "Surely they don't believe that you will take
everything without trying to fight back."

"Oh, they expect it, but they are doing their damn best to hinder us in making
plans and fighting back." Mustang growled.

'This isn't good.'

A close up of Sloth's face appeared on screen. It was slowly zoomed in on
before the scene went back to Ed and Al, then went back to Sloth where
the scene continued to zoom in. His head dropped off screen and snoring
was heard a moment later. The scene pulled out to show him sleeping
with a bubble coming out of his nose.

"…He's a Homunculus, right?" Brosh asked blankly.

"To be fair, he is called Sloth for a reason." Avery muttered. "But still, this is
a bit ridiculous!"

"What's ridiculous is that we still don't know why the hell he is in our fort!"
Clarink growled. "And why hasn't anyone made a move to kick him out yet?!
He has no right to be in there!"

"You guys really have a high sense of pride for your base, don't you?" Breda
asked.

"Fort Briggs is known as the 'Perfect Defense.' We'll be damned if we let that
name get destroyed by this monster." Brody growled.

The scene pulled out farther to show the backs of Ed and Al.

The scene changed quickly to show an angry Ed and Al.

"You're sleeping?!" Ed and Al screamed.

"You want to wake the monster up? Aren't you supposed to, oh I don't know,
not try to get on their bad side?" Mustang asked sarcastically.

"How would you feel if an enemy charged in like that and then just fell
asleep?" Ed grumbled.

"It is a bit insulting." Mustang agreed.

The back of Sloth's head filled the screen as he lifted it before his face
was shown. "What's this?" He asked.
Ed reappeared on screen, looking surprised for a second before he was
pointing at himself. "I'm guessing the creepy guy back in Central who
you called Father told you about us."

The scene moved up to Al who held his hands out. "But, you see, we're
just trying to find a way to get our bodies back, that's all."

"Ha! Even you guys believed that this was your fault." Clarink said.

"We are covering the basics since we don't know the reason for this
unexpected, unwanted meeting!" Ed retorted.

Sloth reappeared on screen. "Why should I care about you?"

"So, I'm guessing he's not there for you after all." Hughes said.

"I can't complain about that." Al said with a sigh of relief.

"Really?"

Al shrugged. "It might actually make things easier for us…maybe."

Ed and Al reappeared on screen, staring at him with frowns. The scene

moved to show Ed and Al from behind with Sloth seen in front of them
from the gap between them.

"Go dig a hole. How annoying." Sloth said, turning his head to look in
another direction. He started walking to the side. "Really, what a pain."

The side of Ed's face appeared on screen. "You mean, he doesn't know?"

Al leaned down to his brother and cupped his mouth with one hand.
"No, I don't think he's heard about us from Father or Fuhrer Bradley."

A gun appeared on screen before it was going off and the bullet hit the
ground between Ed's legs, shocking him. Ed jumped up in shock and
horror.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ed shouted annoyed. "You paranoid,
untrusting–"

Ling slapped a hand over Ed's mouth. "Be quiet, Ed, and be happy they didn't
actually shoot you. It was a warning shot."

Ed pulled Ling's hand off with a scowl. "Warning or not, I don't like being
shot at."

"It may have been a bit hasty, but that's what you get in the north. You don't
have the luxury of ask questions first, shoot later. They live in a really
dangerous area so they can't be too trusting." Riza explained calmly.

"Then I have a feeling this is not going to go too well for us." Al told his
brother.

"I realize that." Ed muttered.

The gun fired appeared on screen with a soldier standing in the

background of the soldier holding it. The scene moved up to Buccaneer's
face. "Ah-ha!"

"Why am I not surprised that he is the one who fired it?" Ed moaned.

"You seem to really dislike Fullmetal in the future." Miles said, smirking a
bit.

"It's only because I don't know him yet." Buccaneer replied.

"Oh, so when you learn who I am, you'll stop with the evil guy attitude and
with the whole pointing guns at me thing?" Ed demanded.

Buccaneer smirked. "Perhaps."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps? Only perhaps?!"

"That's all the assurance you need." Buccaneer replied.

"And besides, you don't need him! You have me." Ling replied, grinning
mockingly at Ed, who rolled his eyes.
"And because I have you as a friend, I realize that I need other people
because you drive me crazy." Ed retorted.

"And to think, we only just met a few days ago." Ling muttered.

Ed raised a brow.

"I have been insulted by you more in these few days than I have ever been in
a year." Ling grumbled.

Slowly, an evil grin formed on Ed's face.

"So it turns out that you really are a Drachman spy." Buccaneer said.

Ed and Al were shown from their backs, hands thrown in the air in
annoyance as they yelled at Buccaneer, who was on an upper level
pointing a gun at them, while Falman stood a bit of a way from the
brothers, watching in confusion.

"No, we're not!" Ed and Al shouted as they lowered their arms.

"I saw you talking to the intruder like you knew who he was." Buccaneer
accused.

"Assumptions, assumptions." Mustang muttered. "You are really good at

getting yourselves in a bad predicament."

"That's the problem with this hectic life." Ed grumbled. "And while we are
arguing with each other, it seems we have completely forgotten about Sloth!"

"Well, he hasn't really done anything yet." Hughes pointed out.

"Will he? He seems like an idiot." Zampano said, frowning.

"He may be an idiot, but he is also a Homunculus, so it is likely he'll be

strong. Strength plus being an idiot is not a good combination. It tends to lead
to destruction." Lan Fan replied.

"It will be fine." Scar said, drawing many eyes to him. "I chose the north to
hide my brother's notes for a reason. I know how great the defense is up
there. Along with that defense is a great intelligence and strategy. With the
Elric brothers there as well, I'm sure they can handle a Homunculus."

Mustang stared at Scar for a moment. It wasn't that what he said was wrong.
It was the fact that Scar, of all people, said it! What the hell was going on
here anymore?

A glaring Ed and Al appeared on screen.

"No, we weren't!" Ed screamed in annoyance as Sloth started to walk on

the other side of the brothers.

"Your lies won't fool me!" Buccaneer shouted as Sloth was shown from
behind as he stopped in front of a pipe.

"In the way." Sloth said as he picked the pipe up.

"We're not lying!" Ed said angrily.

"Uh, Ed, I really think you should stop arguing at this point." Fuery said.

"How the hell can you guys have the perfect defense?" Izumi snapped at the
Briggs soldiers. "Instead of keeping an eye on the guy you know for sure is
an enemy, you're arguing with someone you know is in the military and
should have at least a fragment of your trust!"

"Maybe he just wants an excuse to shoot Ed." Walkers suggested.

Ed looked at him with a frown. "You sound too cheerful saying that."

Walkers just shrugged his shoulder.

"I think he's just jealous that Ed is a higher rank than him and that is why he
dislikes him so much." Ling suggested.

"I am not that petty." Buccaneer retorted, glaring at Ling.

"Yeah, he's had something against Brother since they met each other outside
Fort Briggs, and that was before it was discovered Brother was a major." Al
piped up.

"Shut up!" Izumi growled. "How do you idiots keep getting back to that when
Sloth is attacking?"

"Uh, sorry, it's just that he's taking such a long time." Al muttered.

"We never even met that guy." Ed shouted as Sloth moved the pipe to the
side to get in a position to throw it, then launched it to the side.

Al appeared on screen, looking up, then turning around quickly. The

scene pulled out to show Al, turned around, still looking up, while Ed
continued looking up at Buccaneer before both boys were shouting and
jumping to the side to avoid the pipe that slammed down into the ground
right where they were standing a moment before. The pipe fell over,
throwing a dust cloud into the air.

"Ah, geez, that was close." Ed muttered, sweat pouring down his forehead.
Just once second later and he'd probably be dead.

Aran whistled. "But, damn, if that's not impressive. He really is strong."

"It is definitely an impressive show of strength." Armstrong said, rubbing his

chin. "But he is using it to destroy the fort and attack the military."

"Actually, I think he is just trying to dig that hole. The fact that he is
attacking probably isn't processing to him." Ling pointed out.

"It's still considered an attack on my fort." Olivia growled dangerously. No

one was allowed to attack her fort or her men and get away with it! Her future
self better make sure Sloth got what was coming to him.

Dramatic music began once more as Sloth was shown. He turned his
body slightly before he was shown from behind. The scene moved up to
show a few workers standing a few feet away, watching him. "What is
this place?" Sloth asked slowly, making the workers back up in fear.

Sloth was shown again. He took a step forward. "This place big." As his
took another step forward, his chest filled the screen.

The scene changed to show the workers from a downward angle as Sloth
approached them.

"Can I stop digging now that I'm here?" Sloth asked as he continued
forward, making the workers scatter in different directions.

A group of soldiers with Buccaneer were shown to be on one of the upper

levels.

"Fire!" Buccaneer called, throwing a hand forward to point at Sloth as

he did. Two of the soldiers with him immediately went to work and
started unloading their guns at Sloth.

Sloth was shown again with the bullets deflecting off of him.

"Seriously? Even Lust got hurt by my bullets." Riza said with a frown. "Why
aren't the bullets doing anything to him? Aren't their bodies the same as
humans?"

Ed shrugged. "It could be like Greed's shield, except you know, a permanent
feature of Sloth's body."

"How do you beat someone like that?" Avery said horrified.

"Scar said you guys were smart. Find a way and astound us all." Al replied.

Avery glared at him. "Oh? So you and Ed won't help?"

"We'll help, but I thought you guys wanted to prove something." Al said.

"You mean we'll do what we can." Ed corrected with a frown. "It is still
dangerous for us to do much, even if Sloth doesn't know who we are."

"So what? We basically have to rely on normal soldiers?" Zampano asked.

"See? There you go again, doubting us!" Brody growled.

"It's not so much doubting as it is realization that Sloth is highly dangerous,
especially with such thick, hard skin so your guns don't work." Darius
replied.

Buccaneer and Aran appeared on screen. "The guns aren't affecting him
at all."

A lift appeared on screen. A second later, Sloth walked onto screen and
onto the lift.

Sloth's hand was shown up close. "Where am I?" He asked as his hand
knocked into one of the levers and knocked the lift on. The gears of the
control appeared on screen to show them starting to move. The edge of
the lift appeared on screen to show it rising out of the ground before the
scene pulled out to show Sloth standing in the middle of the lift as it rose.
He turned around slightly at the movement.

Buccaneer and his men were shown looking over the railing at the lift
that held Sloth.

"This is bad." Buccaneer said. "That thing's going up to Development."

He waved an arm to the side. "Get him! Go!"

At his order, the two soldiers with him started running off screen.

Ed and Al reappeared on screen. They both looked around as the

soldiers behind them, except Falman, started moving.

"You're not helping!" Olivia growled.

"I told you! There's not much we can do with Winry as a hostage!" Ed
growled.

"But you'll still find a way to help. You two can't stand to just sit back and do
nothing." Armstrong added in.

"We would regret it if we did, especially if someone died and we could have
stopped it by stepping in." Al agreed softly.
Ed spun around and ran off. "Let's see if we can help." He said to Al.

"There! See! I am doing what I can!" Ed said.

Al turned and followed after his brother.

"Check the hole! There might be others coming!" A soldier shouted.

The lift was shown from an upward angle. The floor it was heading to
came in sight.

A blaring red alarm appeared on screen with it going off repeatedly.

The scene changed to show the Development Sector from a downward

angle so the floor and a bridge in the sector could be seen with soldiers
and workers all around, getting ready to fight.

Boxes and containers appeared on screen as they were pushed together

to form a barrier.

"That's all the boxes we have." A worker said as another crate was
dropped into place.

The barrier was shown with a bunch of workers behind it with some of
them holding some of their equipment to use as weapons.

"Are the workers prepared for such things?" May asked worriedly. This was a
very dangerous situation they were in. They were going to get killed if they
didn't have some type of training.

"Anyone who enters Fort Briggs has some type of military training, even
those who are just scientists or mechanics. They are prepared to fight back,
even if they are not fully trained soldiers. No one who is unprepared enters
the fort. We will protect our comrades, but in return, they should be able to
fight and protect their comrades. We do not baby anyone up north." Olivia
explained.

"But that's for facing human enemies, not a Homunculus." Rufus said.
"Well, we never imagined before this that Homunculi even existed. We had
no way to prepare for something like this." Aran retorted.

"Now that we know, hopefully we can find a way to prepare for it." Hughes
muttered. He hoped they would find a way. He didn't want to die when they
left here. He wanted to be there for his friends and family, and he wanted to
find a way to help everyone and to stop the Homunculi.

The doors to the lift were shown as they slid opened and the lift finished
reaching the floor with Sloth on it.

A few of the workers were shown with one of them gulping down his
fear.

The edge of the lift appeared on screen to show it reaching the top and
coming to a stop. When it came to a complete stop, the feet that were on
the lift stepped forward.

The scene changed to show the back of the workers behind the barrier
with Sloth's giant form looming over them. He took another step
forward before the scene went back to two workers.

"Woah." One of the workers said.

Sloth's face reappeared on screen as the doors to the lift slid shut behind
him. Sloth turned to the side. "It's warm here."

The workers were shown again as they raised their weapons. They all
started to move forward when Olivia shouted, "Don't move!"

Olivia appeared on screen, holding a rocket launcher up with the help of

the railing. The scene moved down to show the front of it as the rocket
shot out of it, filling the screen with smoke.

Sloth was shown before he was rapidly zoomed in on as the rocket flew
at him. Fire wrapped around the screen before the scene went back to
the shocked workers whose faces were lit up from the fire.

"You guys have a lot of dangerous weapons on hands, don't you?" Skylak
asked.

"The Development Sector is filled with them. It's where we build

everything." Kei replied with a small smile. "It's a bad place for an enemy to
wander into with us there."

Myers raised a brow. "You work there?"

"I don't just do automail." Kei replied. "I am a chief engineer in the
Development Sector."

"Oh, jeez, you help make these weapons, don't you?" Ed groaned.

"Yep!"

"And he sounds so cheerful and excited about it." Ed muttered to himself.

Sloth was shown with his body completely wrapped up in flames. Smoke
spilled out from the flames, wrapping around the fire a bit.

Olivia appeared on screen with one hand resting on her hip while her
other hand held the rocket launcher on her shoulder. She looked over
her shoulder at one of the soldiers standing behind her. "Put it out."

"Sir!" The soldier said as he straightened up. As he ran off, Olivia's face
and part of her rocket launcher filled the screen.

The ground floor was shown at a downward angle with a big portion of
the screen filled up by the dark smoke from the explosion. As the smoke
began to dissipate, Sloth was seen standing there, completely fine.

"Seriously? Even that did nothing?! What does it take to injure him?!" Dr.
Marcoh asked horrified.

"There is some type of trick to fighting them." Ed muttered. "Just like how I
beat Greed's shield. We just have to find the trick to injuring Sloth."

"And hopefully we find that trick before someone gets killed." Miles added.
Sloth was shown up close at his side. He started walking forward out of
the smoke.

Olivia's face appeared on screen with her eyes narrowed and a frown in
place. "I know that I hit it."

A staircase was shown with Buccaneer rounding the stairs to get to the
next set of stairs with Brody following him. "It's no use!" Buccaneer
shouted, running up the stairs.

Buccaneer was shown from behind as he raced up the rest of the stairs
where he came to a stop to yell up at Olivia and her two soldiers on the
second floor. "Firearms won't work against him!"

"What?" Olivia shouted. She turned her head to look at Miles who was
standing behind her at her right. "Withdraw all non-combatants
immediately." She turned and began walking away, throwing her rocket
launcher behind her as she did, making the other soldier there lung
forward to catch it. "Shut off the alarm." Olivia was shown from the
front as she walked down the stairs with her hands grasping each other
behind her back "It won't help anything if the Drachmans figure out
that we're in trouble."

As she reached the end of the stairs, the scene changed sides to show her
from behind. On the ground floor were a couple of tanks with soldiers
and workers around them. A soldier sitting in one of the tanks waved to
her. "General!" Liran shouted. "We have tanks!"

"Have the trials been completed?" Olivia asked.

Liran was zoomed in on, a slight smirk on his face. "We don't need to
worry about trials. These are the Development's team pride and joy."

Liran was shown from behind to show Olivia coming to a stop by the
tank with her sword in hand. "Remove the fusers from the shells."

"Yes sir." Liran said before Olivia jumped up onto the tank.
The tank's wheels appeared on screen as they scraped against the ground
as the tank changed directions.

"Oh joy. You guys are really pulling out all the stops." Richard said.

"We have to try everything we can." Avery argued. "We can't just sit back
and let Sloth destroy Fort Briggs. That would be the ultimate failure!"

The tank was shown from behind with Olivia sitting in the gunner seat.
The scene moved up a bit to show more of the room and Sloth who was
walking directly towards the tank.

The cockpit appeared on screen with a soldier sitting there.

"Ready to go." Avery said.

"You and Liran are playing with tanks." Brody muttered.

Avery smirked at him.

"Do you think they will work against Sloth?" Breda asked.

"As Ed proved in his first fight with Greed, we won't know until we try. We
have to try every possibility until we find a way to kill Sloth." Avery replied.

"The first round's locked and loaded." Avery said.

"Fire!" Olivia shouted as she appeared on screen, swinging her sword

down to point at Sloth. The scene pulled out a bit to show the tank before
the bullet was launched out.

Sloth was shown from behind. His body flew backwards a bit with his
head slamming back from the bullet hitting him. Sloth stumbled back.

"Yeah!" Avery said as he appeared on screen, clenching a fist. "Dead

on!"

"What an excitable person you are." Havoc said.

"He just likes his tanks." Brody muttered.

The side of Olivia's face appeared on screen as she watched on in a calm

and calculating manner.

Sloth's body reappeared on screen with his head still snapped back
because of the bullet. Red alchemical light flashed around his head and
chest. He was zoomed in on as he groaned and he readjusted his head to
show part of his cheek and mouth missing. The muscles moved around to
reconnect themselves as it healed.

"Well, you injured him." Karin said weakly.

"Too bad it didn't do much of anything to stop him." Dr. Marcoh said with a
frown.

"Injuring him does get the stone used up a bit, but the fastest way to get that
stone used up is by death." Mustang added, frowning thoughtfully as he
stared at Sloth on the screen.

"Killing Lust was one thing, but it's seems to be a miracle to just injure
Sloth." Avery said.

"But you did prove that it could be done." May pointed out. "With that
knowledge, you should feel a bit of hope since you now know you aren't in a
completely hopeless situation."

His cheek was zoomed in on to show new skin forming with the muscle as
it healed as suspenseful music began. "Pain is a pain." Sloth said as his
foot was shown on screen as it stepped forward. Sloth's upper body and
head was shown as he walked forward. "Pain is annoying."

"Complain, complain, complain! Is that all he does?" Ling grumbled.

"You're the one complaining now." Ed pointed out.

"Well, he is getting on my nerves!" Ling muttered. "All he does is complain

while being able to heal from any injury or death because of that stone and
still all he does is complain."
"You can't blame him. He is Sloth! It's in his nature to be lazy and not want to
deal with things." Ed said.

Ling stared at him blankly. "You are defending a Homunculus."

"….I'm defending the nature of his name." Ed retorted.

"I believe there was a story about the seven deadly sins and spiritual growth
with it to overcome those deadly sins. It was a poem called Purgatorio. (A/N:
Dante Alighieri's poem) In it, the slothful were told to engage in ceaseless
activity. It was said that it would cleanse them of being slothful." Riza said
thoughtfully. "Since it seems Sloth has been digging a hole, it seems he too
has been engaging in ceaseless activity."

"I never heard of that poem." Ed said. "Where did you hear about it?"

Riza smiled at him, though it was a bit strained. "It was part of my studies
when I was a child. You may not be religious or believe in spiritual things,
but you should give the poem a try, Ed."

Ed shrugged.

Olivia was shown again, hands resting on the edges of her seat as she
glared at Sloth. She looked down at the tank. "Don't just sit there. Load
the next round!"

The scene changed to show Sloth's foot on screen with the tanks facing
him in the distance. He walked forward, dragging his chains across the
ground.

Olivia's face appeared on screen as she shouted, "Fire!"

The tank was shown again as another bullet shout out of it.

Sloth was shown from the side as the bullet slammed into his stomach,
sending him skidding back a bit. The scene changed to show him from a
downward angle as he pulled the bullet out of his stomach with a small
spark of red alchemical light flashing for just a second.
"It didn't do anything?" Brody asked incredulously. "The first one at least
ripped his face apart a bit!"

"Because it didn't hit him dead on. The bullet just scraped at his face as it
went flying past. This bullet hit him dead in the stomach and just stopped on
his tough skin." Ed explained.

"Your alchemy would be much appreciated at this point." Clarink muttered.

Ed raised a brow.

"Can't you do to Sloth what you did to Greed's shield?" Clarink clarified.

Ed shrugged. "I probably could do a variation of it though it would be pretty

different, but I would have to fight him a bit before I did anything drastic. I
don't know how he fights so I'd rather not just charge in. Plus, again, I can't
do much since Winry is a hostage!"

"You know, that is really getting annoying! We really have to find a way to
protect your friend so the Homunculi can't use her against you." Aran said.

"Trust me, we would be all for that." Al replied.

Sloth threw the bullet away. It went flying through the air before a
couple of soldiers were shown to be watching from the second floor. The
bullet smashed into the railing by them, making them jump back in
surprise.

The tank cannons appeared on screen, firing one after another, filling
the screen with smoke.

Sloth was shown as the bullets slammed into him one after another. As
the bullets bounced off of him, red alchemical light sparked around him
to heal any damage the bullets may have caused.

"Ouch." Sloth said.

"He is pissing me off." Avery ground, fist shaking. "How can he just say
'ouch' after getting hit so many times?!"
"It is beginning to look hopeless. We need to come up with something more
creative and destructive." Clarink said.

Sloth's face was shown close up as more bullets hit him. A bullet bounced
off of him and onto screen before it fell away and red alchemical light
flashed. "Right back to work."

Sloth was shown from an upward angle at the back. A bullet slammed
into his shoulder but he ignored it as he walked forward and said, "Dig a
hole." A few more bullets hit him.

"How many bullets are you going to waste before you realize it's not doing
anything?" Lan Fan asked.

"You can't blame them. They have no idea that they are facing off against a
Homunculus yet." Mustang pointed out.

"Yet?" Lan Fan asked, raising a brow.

Mustang motioned to Ed, then to Al. "Trust me, they will find a way to get
the message across to them. Hopefully in a way that doesn't put Winry in
jeopardy. But they have this honor and loyalty thing where they will try to
find a way to help."

"To be honest, if we didn't try to help just because Winry was in danger and
Winry found out, she'll probably beat us to death with her wrench." Al
muttered.

A fond smiled formed on Ed's lips at that. Yeah, Winry would be worried
about her safety, but she was also very caring and kind. Even if her safety
was at risk, she would still want to help others. She would never forgive them
if they just sat back and did nothing at all just to protect her. She would
expect him and Al to at least find a way to be able to help, even if it was just
a little bit.

A brunch of equipment was shown with Sloth standing behind it. He

raised a fist and punched all the equipment away.
A couple of soldiers and a worker were appeared on screen to show them
running away from the equipment that was flying through the air. The
equipment cabinet flew onto screen, looking ready to land on them.

Ed's chest and hands appeared on screen as he brought his hands

together to clap. He ran forward with a metallic ring filling the screen.
He landed on one knee as the soldiers and worker ran passed him and
put his hands on the ground. Blue alchemical light flashed across the
ground. The ground rose up to form a hand that blocked the equipment
cabinet and bounced it back to land on the ground.

Brody let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Thank you, Chief."

Ed waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I can at least do that much."

Ed appeared on screen, breathing in relief while the soldier and worker

behind him looked up in relief and surprise. Al and Falman walked onto
screen behind Ed.

The group was shown from the side as Ed stood up. The scene pulled
back to show Olivia watching Ed. It changed directions to show her face
and Buccaneer standing on the other side of the tank, also watching.

"Congrats, you just earned a few trust points in their books." Luke said.

"Not really the important thing right now." Ed pointed out with a frown.
Trust was unimportant right now. Getting Sloth out of there was what really
mattered. If they didn't get rid of him soon, someone was either going to get
injured or killed.

"Trust me, it will be important to you later if we get through this." Luke
replied.

"Don't be negative!" Havoc shouted. "Being negative lets bad thoughts form,
and if bad thoughts form, we'll start freaking out about this attack!"

"You are freaking out." Darius pointed out.

"And for good reason." Havoc growled, subconsciously putting a hand to his
leg. He felt the pain firsthand to what a Homunculus could do, and his future
self was suffering from paralysis because of it. It wasn't something he wanted
to see again or even, ever experience for real. He hoped that his paralysis
could be stopped. To be unable to move for the rest of his life…was too
much. It would end his career and he just wasn't ready for that.

Ed's heavy breathing was heard as the ground was shown. Ed then ran
onto screen over to Olivia, stopping by her tank, with Al behind him. "It
won't work!" Ed said. "Try whatever you want to, but he won't die!"

"That's blunt." Dr. Young said.

"Not really the time to beat around the bushes. There isn't a lot of time at the
moment." Al pointed out.

Olivia appeared on screen, rising up with her sword in hand. "He

won't?" She asked.

The scene changed to show Olivia looking down at the brothers with
Buccaneer standing on the ground looking at them.

"Just what are you saying? How does a kid like you know something like
that, huh?" Buccaneer demanded.

"What does that remind me of?" Ling asked. "Oh, I know!" He punched his
fist into the palm of his other hand. "Adults undermining what kids have to
say because they think kids can't know anything or even anything that kids
say is unimportant."

"Ah, I know that feeling." Ed grumbled. "I made sure that everyone realized
not to underestimate my knowledge within five months of being in the
military."

"You got undermined in the beginning?" May asked surprised. "But it's
obvious you must be smart if you managed to become a State Alchemist at
such a young age!"

"They knew I knew my stuff when it came to alchemy, but with everything
else, they undermined me." Ed explained. "And sure, there was some stuff I
didn't know and needed to learn, but they did take it a bit far at times." He
glanced at the screen with a frown. "But I don't think I'm being undermined
here. I think it is more like an interrogation."

Ed appeared on screen. He gritted his teeth and looked down. "Be-

because we…"

A part of the tank was shown as Olivia's sword sheath slammed onto it
causing a metal echoing sound.

The scene moved up to show Olivia standing on the tank, glaring down
at Ed. "Drop the act!"

"What act?" Ed demanded shocked. "I really can't answer! There is no act!"

"Maybe it's because you stuttered. Fullmetal doesn't stutter!" Hughes said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "But I really am in a difficult position. It's not really an
act."

"You will answer all of my questions clearly and completely."

"Yeah, that won't be happening." Ed muttered.

"Wow, you find a way to earn a bit of trust, then you completely shut down
to protect Winry. General Armstrong is not going to be happy." Avery said
with a low whistle. "I would hate to be in your position."

"She's going to kill us if we don't answer?" Al asked.

"Uh…no, but she definitely won't let it go until she gets the answers she
wants." Brody said.

Ed groaned. "Why did we go there again?"

"It was Armstrong who said to." Al said, which made his brother glare at
Armstrong.
"Now, really, my sister may be a bit harsh, but she is completely
trustworthy." Armstrong defended. He frowned for a second. "Though, it
might be in your best interest to not anger her any more than you already
have."

Ed stared at him blankly. That may be the best idea, but it really wasn't
possible at all!

The scene snapped closer to her. "First off, how do you know about that
thing?"

"Pretty sure I can't answer that." Ed muttered.

"Are you a Drachman spy?" Olivia asked.

"Why does it always come back to that with you people?" Ed grumbled.

"Maybe because we are right on their border?" Luke suggested sarcastically.

"BUT I AM AMESTRIAN!" Ed shouted in frustration. "Not to mention a

State Alchemist and a teenager! This is getting old!"

Ed appeared on screen. "I'm not!"

Sloth was shown with Olivia's sheath pointed at him. "Is that thing a
spy?"

Sloth pushed a pipe down and looked around.

"I really doubt it." Ed answered.

"You know for a fact that Sloth isn't a spy so you should say no! What you
just said could be interpreted as just your opinion alone, which could be
wrong." Brody said.

"But I know it's not wrong." Ed retorted.

"But General Armstrong won't know that." Brody argued.

"Then she will just have to trust my word!" Ed growled.

"She has very little trust for you at the moment." Mustang pointed out.

"Well, it's not easy getting trust from people." Ed protested. "Especially when
I can't share information. Withholding information is never a good thing
when trying to earn someone's trust."

"Does that thing know you?" Olivia asked.

"Eh, no." Ed said. "Apparently not."

"What is that thing?" Olivia demanded.

Sloth lifted a tank and looked under it.

Ed's face was shown from the side, teeth still gritted and brows twitching
in frustration. "I can't answer."

"Who does that thing work for?" Olivia demanded.

"Damn, she is asking all the right questions that I can't answer!" Ed
grumbled, hands clenching into fists on his lap. His mind was working in
overdrive right now trying to think of ways to answer these questions, but he
could come up with nothing. All he could think of was to answer the way his
future self was. It wasn't much, but he hoped it would do something. He knew
answers like this would work with Mustang, but he wasn't sure about General
Armstrong or her soldiers. If she understood his answers than hopefully she
would see the hidden meaning in them.

"I can't answer that!" Ed shouted.

The side of Olivia's face appeared on screen. "Why can't you answer
me?"

"If he can't answer the other questions, what makes you think he can answer
that?" Sheska asked confused.

"When being forced to withhold information that you really need to share, but
have a possible way of doing it, you have to rely on the person demanding
answers to ask the correct questions. If they can ask the correct questions
then the way that the person answers can give clues. In a way, it requires a bit
of trust. It may not seem like it, but General Armstrong is giving Fullmetal
that bit of trust. She is hoping to find a clue in his words alone." Miles
explained. He glanced at Al then at Ed. "That's why she's asking Fullmetal
and not Al. Fullmetal learned a bit about this from his few years in the
military, or at least, that is what General Armstrong is hoping for."

Ed's face appeared on screen being shown from a slight downward

angle. He moved his face down a bit, brows twitching again.

"You look really frustrated right now." Heinkel said.

"Who wouldn't be?" Ed snapped, rubbing his eyes. Of course he was

frustrated. This was a stressful position he was placed into. He wanted to
help. He wanted help, but it just wasn't easy to get it when the enemy was
watching his every move and it wasn't known how they were doing it.

"I can't answer." Ed said.

Olivia appeared on screen. After staring down at Ed for a few seconds,

the scene changed to show her from the side. "This is my last question.
Are you on our side or are you in league with that thing?"

The scene moved down to Ed and Al.

"I'm not with him. I don't want to see anyone here get hurt." Ed replied.

The side of Olivia's face appeared on screen again. She looked at the
screen. "Then tell me what that thing's made of."

Sloth was shown, walking around through the destruction that he

caused.

"His body structure and composition elements are probably the same as
a human's." Ed answered.

"The same as a human's, huh." Olivia repeated. She looked down.

"Buccaneer."

Ed, Al, and Buccaneer were shown.

"Bring me some tank fuel now. We're going to douse it." Olivia ordered.

"And what is that going to do? Lighting him on fire isn't working." Fuery said
confused.

"That's the problem with you Eastern soldiers." Clarink said with a smirk as
his mind suddenly went into overdrive about what the fuel could possibly be
for. There were so many options. "You think fuel is only used to cause fire."

"So then what is the plan, o-smart one?" Jerso asked sarcastically.

"I'm not going to tell you all the answers. You should figure it out yourself."
Clarink replied. "Think about it."

"Sir." Buccaneer said.

"I told you! It won't work, General." Ed said. "Set him on fire, but he
still won't die!"

Olivia appeared on screen. "I understand. I learned from our last attack
that we can't kill it."

"Wow, that almost sounded like she was speaking respectful to Brother." Al
said.

"When he gets her complete trust, General Armstrong will be a bit more
respectful to him." Miles explained.

Buccaneer nodded. "For now, she has figured out his position most likely and
will understand the difficult spot he is in, though that doesn't mean she will
give up on getting answers."

"The best that we can hope for is to stop or delay it." She continued
before looking to the side at Sloth. "So we'll have to hit it with something
even stronger than fire."
Sloth was shown from a distance. He picked up a pipe and looked under
it.

Olivia's face appeared on screen. It was zoomed in on slowly as she said,

"Now you get to see the Briggs way, kid."

Ed trembled a bit at that. This woman must have a devious mind. "Uh, can I
get a choice here and not have to see it?"

"No." Olivia said with a smirk.

"This should be good." Brody said with a grin. "You really don't want to miss
this, Ed."

The scene went dark and the ending song began.

"Darn, we don't get to see it?" Luke said.

"You guys are too calm about all of this." Al muttered.

"Maybe they are just that confident that they can handle this now that they
have a plan." Mustang replied.

"What plan? All we know is that they are going to douse Sloth with fuel!"
Ling muttered.

"If we continue then we can figure out what their plan is." Scar pointed out.

"I guess we should. The faster we do, the faster we can learn if they get rid of
Sloth." Ling said.

"Again with the ifs!" Havoc shouted. "That is a negative way of thinking."

Ling held his hands up. "Sorry, sorry. I'm sure they'll get rid of Sloth." He
turned to Ed and muttered, "Or I can at least hope they do without any
deaths."

"To be honest, he is dangerous, but he doesn't seem to be much of a threat,

not like Envy or Lust who had brains. Sloth is more like just wandering
around, unaware of the destruction he is causing. That might give us an
edge." Ed whispered back.

Ling shrugged. "We can hope."

A/N: [1] For simplicity, I am going to name some of the unknown Briggs
soldiers, including the Doctor, with the names I have given to Briggs
soldiers in the room. Should be fun…fun…Okay, honestly, that is going
to be difficult and I might get the names mixed up a bit, but we are all
just going to have to deal with it. They were given names in the story so
they have to be given names in the show.

[2] I chose Japanese as the language that Xingese represents. One,

because I know a few words in it. Two, the opening songs are in Japanese
and Ed translated the one so he has to know the language so it is Xingese.

Please Review!
*Chapter 38*: Episode 35: The Shape of
This Country
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: So I started planning Ripples of Foretold Events, which is the FMA

2003 version of Truth Revealed. I am so excited to start it! I have so
many ideas, but sadly, I can't do anything with it until Truth Revealed is
done. Well, I can. I just can't post it.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 35: The Shape of This Country

The opening song began.

As the opening ended, new music began as the title "The Shape of This
Country" appeared on screen.

Olivia's face appeared on screen as a disturbance was heard in the

background.

"Now you get to see the Briggs's way, kid." Olivia said.

"Oh, the joys of being at Fort Briggs." Ed muttered.

Ed appeared on screen, eyes wide. "Uh, The Briggs's way?" He asked.

Buccaneer moved onto screen behind Ed and dropped his hand onto
Ed's head, scaring the teenager. "That's right."

"I don't like that look on Buccaneer's face." Ed murmured.

"It does look really devious." Avery said thoughtfully. "You should probably
be very scared right about now, Chief."

"I bet he is taking great pleasure out of this." Ed grumbled.

"Who?" Hughes asked confused.

Ed pointed a finger at Buccaneer. "Him! Or Future him!" Noticing the smirk

on Buccaneer's face, Ed scowled. "Or both of them!" He looked back at the
screen. "Yep, it's definitely both of them! It's cause future him has a problem
with me still so he is taking too much pleasure in this and in the middle of a
battle even!"

Ling patted Ed's arm in mock sympathy. "Be happy that they have no plans to
kill you."

Jerso snickered. "I'm sensing a 'yet' in there, Ling."

Ling grinned mischievously, making Ed scowl at him and whack his hand
away.

Ed looked over at the Briggs soldiers. "You guys planning to kill me?"

"Well, there are no plans at the present moment." Aran said jokingly.

Buccaneer's and Ed's faces were zoomed in on as Buccaneer forced Ed to

turn his face towards him. Ed gritted his teeth while Buccaneer said,
"Come, alchemist. Give me a hand."

"…Uh, I think having the Briggs soldiers against me is scary." Ed muttered.

Al snickered. It wasn't often that Ed said something was scary, but then
again, even Al had to admit that Buccaneer was a bit scary there. His brother
really had to get on Buccaneer's good side in the future somehow.

Buccaneer chuckled. Oh, it was so much fun messing with Ed in this future.

Buccaneer, Al, and Ed were shown from behind. Buccaneer wrapped an

arm around Ed's torso and picked the boy up. Ed shouted in shock.

"I don't like being carried." Ed grumbled.

"You are really complaining a lot right now." Havoc pointed out, looking at
the screen. "I am impressed by his strength though. With your automail, you
are quite heavy so for Buccaneer to be able to hold you with one arm is rather
impressive."

Ed glared at him. "That is so not the important thing right now."

Brody raised a brow. "And your issues about hating to be carried is? I think
the important thing is to get Sloth out of the fort!"

"While that is important, I want put down!" Ed shouted.

Buccaneer snickered. "I see your priorities are in the right spot."

Ed glared at him. "Well, there was no reason for you to pick me up!"

Al reached towards the two. "Brother!"

Buccaneer turned to face Al. "You too, tin man!"

"Seriously? Can't you just use our names?" Al grumbled. "Or you could call
me something different. Why does Brother get Alchemist while I get tin
man?"

"That's what you're complaining about?" Aran asked. "Your brother is

practically being held captured by his allies and you're complaining about
names?"

Al shrugged. "I am giving Buccaneer the benefit of the doubt."

Al flinched back in surprise.

Ed was shown close up as he looked up at Buccaneer. "Hey, hold on! We

can't just…" He stopped when a gun was placed against his forehead.

"….I am sorry for giving him the benefit of the doubt, Brother." Al said.

"I am going to start to really, really hate guns if this continues." Ed said,
rubbing his forehead. He couldn't feel the gun, but he couldn't help but rub
the spot. His subconscious was telling him the gun was there even when it
wasn't.

Mustang sighed. "I know he can be a pain, but I would really appreciate it if
you didn't kill my subordinate when he visits Fort Briggs, General
Armstrong."

"When?" Ed scoffed. "After seeing all this, I am never going there! Nuh-uh."
He shook his head. "Never. That place is horrible."

Olivia smirked. "I can't make any promises, Mustang."

Ed scowled. "Are you people deaf? I just said I am never going there!" He
glared at Buccaneer. "Never!"

Buccaneer chuckled. "You are being too sensitive about this."

"You shot at me and now you're pointing a gun at me again." Ed grumbled. "I
am finding it very hard to trust you."

"Just doing my job." Buccaneer replied.

"I didn't realize soldiers had the job of pointing guns at comrades." Ed
retorted.

"Only in my position do you have that right." Buccaneer replied.

The scene changed to show Buccaneer staring down at Ed with an evil

smirk. "You were forced to help us under duress."
"Well, it seems they got your message." Riza said, glancing at Ed. "You
should be happy about that. It means you can help without worry. The Briggs
soldiers are helping you con the Homunculus."

"I'm not sure if the Homunculi will see it that way, but if they question it, I
can try to plead my case with that argument." Ed replied sarcastically.

"Still, you should be glad they realized what was wrong and were willing to
help you find a way to help." Izumi said.

"It certainly didn't take them long to find a way." Al muttered.

"Probably chose the first method they could think of." Ling said. "And of
course this was the way because they are already so untrusting of you guys. It
seems like a full proof plan."

"Fine, fine, but once more," Ed glared at Buccaneer. "You didn't need to pick
me up! You could have just pointed a gun at me!"

"Maybe I like annoying you." Buccaneer suggested with a smirk.

"How does that excuse work for you?" Buccaneer asked. He took a step
forward while Ed turned his face forward, looking annoyed. Buccaneer
was shown from behind, Ed still under his arm, as he stopped to look at
Falman. "Who's this?"

Ed raised a thumb and turned his face to look at Buccaneer with an evil
grin. "He's an old friend of ours."

"Don't drag me into it!" Falman shouted in distress.

Clarink snickered. "I think Ed likes to screw with his friends."

"Why, Ed? Just why?" Falman moaned.

Ed shrugged. "Why not? If I'm being dragged along, you have to come with
too. Besides Al, you're really the only person I trust there since I don't know
anyone else."
Havoc shook his head. "Truthfully, he wants you to join in on his mess.
That's the real reason."

"Thanks a lot, Chief." Falman said.

Grinning, Ed gave him a thumbs up. "No problem, buddy!"

Ling snickered. "You're going to lose your buddies at this rate."

"Ah, then he'll help too." Buccaneer said.

Falman's mouth dropped open in shock.

A gas tank was shown with fuel being poured into it while a hand turned
a knob on it.

"Hurry. Don't spill any." Buccaneer said.

The stairs were shown with Ed and Al, both carrying gas tanks, walking
up them with Buccaneer, who was carrying a tank on his shoulder and
pointing a gun at the boys, behind them while Miles watched from
besides the stairs.

"Ah, look, Miles is back." May said, fighting a bit of amusement as she
watched Ed and Al work under false duress.

"And he is just standing there." Ed said with a sigh. "Why doesn't he have to
help?!"

"You seem to have things handled. You don't need my help." Miles replied.

Lan Fan looked at Ed with a smirk. "Having a gun pointed at you is having
things handled?"

Ed shrugged. "In my life? It seems so."

"Buccaneer, head for Gate 8!" Miles ordered.

"Sir!" Buccaneer replied.

Olivia was shown as she jumped back into the tank. She looked over at
Sloth.

Sloth appeared on screen with the tanks behind him.

"Let's move!" Olivia ordered. "Drive it into the elevator!"

"You guys are moving really, really fast. There wasn't even time to discuss a
plan, and yet, everyone seems to know what is going on." Sig said.

Avery smirked. "It's not that we all know the plan. It's more like because we
trust each other. We don't need to say the plan out loud. We know there is
one now and that our leader and her second and third in command are all
working on it together. With all three of them in on it, we have to trust their
commands and follow without question."

Luke nodded. "It's something we learned from being in Briggs for so long."

The tanks were shown as they quickly moved forward. Sloth was shown
from the front as a tank turned onto the screen and moved directly
towards him. The scene changed to show Sloth from behind as the tank
slammed into him. Sloth grabbed the bottom of the tank before the scene
changed to shown the tank and Sloth from a downward angle. The tank
moved across the screen, pushing Sloth with it.

"That is one way to make a Homunculus go where you want." Charlie said,
blinking.

"You people up north definitely have a unique way of doing things." Myers
added.

"Like you guys in the east don't?" Avery retorted with a smirk.

Myers shrugged. "I guess we all fight to the advantage we have thanks to our
environment…" His eyes narrowed in thought. Fight using their
environment? And according to the Briggs soldiers fuel wasn't just used to
cause fire. If they fight using their environment while using fuel, could they
possibly be planning to freeze Sloth? Could they really do that?
Sloth's feet appeared on screen, scraping against the ground. The upper
half of his body was shown as he struggled with the tank. "What…" His
hand was shown as it gripped the tank. "..a pain…"

Sloth was shown from behind as Olivia looked at him from the tank. He
lifted the front end of it up off the ground before the scene showed the
tank from the side as Olivia grunted.

"Move it!" Olivia shouted.

The tank was shown from a downward angle. It was in front of the
elevator with Sloth still fighting against it. Two more tanks drove onto
screen behind the tank Olivia was in.

"Push us!" Olivia ordered as the tanks slammed into the back of Olivia's
tank and started driving forward, pushing Olivia's tank forward. The
tank was shown up close as Sloth was forced back towards the elevator.
"Good, it's working." Olivia was shown up close. "Rotate, turn right."

Liran was shown as Olivia's foot kicked him in the back of the head at
her order.

Liran hissed and grabbed the back of his head. That damn pain factor really
did hurt! Well, it could be worse. He could be getting all cut up like Ed did in
all of his fights. "Why was I kicked?" He muttered.

"Because you were in the way and not moving fast enough for her." Brody
said with a grin.

"I don't think kicking me in the head is going to help." Liran grumbled,
rubbing his sore head.

"Yes…sir." Liran grunted out.

The tank's cannon was shown as it turned and slammed into Sloth,
sending the Homunculus flying back until his back hit the back wall of
the elevator. Sloth was shown from behind as he fell facedown.

"Do it, Miles." Olivia shouted before she was shown up close. "Close it!"
Miles appeared on screen, holding the controller for the elevator doors.
"Sir!" He replied before the controller was shown. He pushed the button
that said 'close,' then the button for Gate 8.

Sloth was shown from behind, raising one of his hands a bit as the doors
closed. He was shown from the front, reaching towards the doors and
groaning a bit as the doors finished closing, cutting him off from sight.

The three tanks were shown. One of the soldiers in a gunner seat in a
tank behind Olivia said, "Yes, it's gone."

"Well, not completely. Just off that floor." Havoc said.

"It's a good start to getting him the hell out of there since it is impossible to
kill him." Avery replied.

"Not impossible. You just haven't found a way to get passed his hard skin
with your weapons." Ed said.

"Because a certain someone and his brother won't help with their alchemy,
which is what we really need!" Luke retorted.

Ed shrugged. "What can you do when you're being threatened?"

Gate 8 was shown from outside. There was a ding of an elevator as it

came to a stop.

The back of Sloth appeared on screen as the elevator doors opened in

front of him to reveal a hallway that led to a gate that had the number 8
on the doors. The top of the doorway was shown from an upward angle
with a red light above it as Sloth stepped out of the elevator.

As the doors slid shut behind him, Sloth looked around and asked,
"Where am I?" He was then shown from the side. On the other side of
Sloth was another doorway which Buccaneer came running out of it.
Sloth's face appeared briefly on screen before Buccaneer was shown
latching onto Sloth's arm. He shouted as he flipped Sloth and threw him
onto his back on the hard ground.
"That it quite the impressive show of strength." Armstrong said as he
sparkled.

"What is with all the people with monster strength?" Ed asked blankly.

Buccaneer's face was shown from the side as he shouted, "Alright! Do it

now!"

Ed and Falman were shown from behind, sitting on the pipes in the
ceiling with gas tanks in their hands while Sloth was on the ground
directly below them. Sloth was shown up close as they poured the fuel all
over him.

"So, seriously, what is the fuel for?" Ed asked.

"…you don't know?" Brody asked, fighting a grin that was trying to spread
on his face.

"That's why I asked." Ed replied, rolling his eyes.

"Finally!" Havoc and Luke shouted, throwing their arms up into the air in
triumph.

"What?" Ed asked.

"Finally something you couldn't figure out!" Clarink explained.

Ed glared at them. "Annoyances! The fuel?!"

"Think in terms of the environment." Miles told him.

"Your environment is snowy and cold. I don't like it." Ed grumbled.

Mustang resisted the urge to smack something…either his forehead or Ed.

All Ed was focused on was how much he hated the cold weather up there. It
was messing with his brain.

Al's arm, which held a gas tank, appeared on screen as he splashed more
fuel onto Sloth from behind.

"Huh?" Sloth said as he turned his head to look over his shoulder.

Buccaneer appeared on screen, grinning in triumph. "Nice."

The hallway was shown from a downward angle. It slowly moved to the
side as Falman and Ed ran out of the doorway that Buccaneer came out
of moments ago.

"You came out the doorway? I'm surprised you didn't just jump down from
the pipes." Hughes told Ed.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You know, I don't always do stunts, Hughes."

"Really? It sure seems like you do." Zampano said.

"In favor of getting on with this, I'm going to ignore that." Ed replied testily.

"Okay, what next?" Al asked.

The scene changed to show the group from the front. It slowly pulled
back to show Sloth in front of them.

"Yeah, how were you planning to get this big guy through the gate
exactly?" Ed asked.

Sloth sniffed his arm. "Stink."

The red light above the elevator doors was shown as it dinged again.

The doors were shown from the inside as they slid open. Buccaneer, who
was standing right in front of them, turned to them and smirked as
dramatic music began.

"Oh no. He's smirking." Al said worriedly, placing his hand on his forehead.
His brother was right about one thing. The Briggs soldiers were crazy. "This
won't be good."
"You're right about that. Not good, but great!" Luke said with a massive grin.

"You know, I always thought you Elrics would like Briggs and the soldiers
there more." Mustang said thoughtfully.

"Why would you think that?" Ed and Al shouted.

"They're clearly insane from living on the border for so long!" Ed added.

"And you're not crazy?" Ling asked with a grin.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Clearly I am for even considering the fact that we're
friends."

Ling raised a brow. "In favor of getting on with this, I'm going to ignore
that."

Ed blinked. "Are you mocking me?" He asked slowly. His eyes narrowed.
"No, just no." He jumped off the couch and pushed his way between Hughes
and Mustang and sat there. "Ling is mean." He told Hughes, ignoring
Mustang, who was glaring at him for shoving him.

Hughes nodded in understanding and slung an arm over Ed's shoulder. "Don't
worry. You don't need him. You've got me!"

Mustang rolled his eyes while Ling pouted. "Can't take a joke." Ling
muttered to himself.

"You two are a pair made him heaven with your antics." Mustang snapped at
Hughes and Ed.

"Someone's testy." Hughes said in a sing-song. "Oh, wait, that's cause of Ed

calling you 'Dad.'"

Ed's eyes widened and he looked over at Mustang. He completely forgot

about that. He should have stayed on the couch with Ling! He looked over his
shoulder to see if he could make it back, but Lan Fan was already sitting in
his seat. Damn ninja girl moved before he even realized it!
"I…seem to have gotten myself into a predicament." Ed muttered to himself.

Mustang smiled at Ed, but to Ed, it just looked evil.

Buccaneer backed up to the side with a salute while Ed and Al stood on

the other side of the hallway with wide eyes that turned to shock and fear
as the tank cannon appeared on screen.

The elevator doors were shown opening a bit more to show the tank
inside it.

"You drove a tank into the elevator?" Lan Fan asked shocked.

May stared at the screen with wide eyes. "You guys do some really crazy
stuff up there."

"I don't see why you guys think it is crazy." Avery huffed.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, it's creative thinking to solve a problem!"

The scene slowly moved up to show Olivia. She was shown from the side
as she shouted, "Move it, you little runt!"

Ed twitched a bit, but kept his mouth shut. He really didn't want to anger that
woman.

The tank's wheels were shown as it drove forward.

Ed and Al were shown, still shouting in surprise, as they pushed

themselves back into the wall as the tank drove into the hallway.

Sloth looked up.

The tank cannon was shown as it fired a bullet.

Sloth was shown from the side as the bullet slammed into his stomach,
which sent him flying back.

The outside of the gate doors was shown as Sloth slammed through them
and into the railing. His back arched from the force of the hit before he
was leaning forward and the bullet fell out of his stomach.

The back of his legs were shown on screen. Between his legs, the group in
the hallway could be seen at a distance as the bullet hit the ground with a
THUD.

"Hey!" Olivia shouted before she was shown leaning into the tank to talk
to Liran. "One more."

"We're out of ammo." Liran shouted in reply.

"That's what you get for wasting all your ammo pointlessly earlier." Ed
muttered. "You don't have it when you could actually use it."

"That only occurred because we did not know what we were up against."
Buccaneer retorted.

Ed scoffed. "You should have stopped when you realized it wasn't working."

Mustang cuffed him on the head. "Shut up, Fullmetal. There is no point in
arguing about that now."

Ed rubbed his head while he glared at Mustang. "I was just saying." He
grumbled.

Falman appeared on screen, reaching to his holster to pull out his gun.
"Well, in that case." He pointed it at the screen. He fired a few bullets
before icicles were shown. One bullet hit one icicle and the other hit the
one next to it, knocking them down.

Sloth was shown from behind as the icicles fell. His head was shown as
the icicles slammed into it. "Pain." He moaned. "Ow."

"Ooh, nice, Falman! I knew it was the right call to get you dragged into this
mess." Ed said.

Falman smiled a bit at Ed's compliment before he grimaced.

"Great out of the box thinking. You'll fit in real nice at Briggs." Aran said
with a grin.

"Thank you?" Falman replied.

Havoc clapped him on the shoulder. "It's a compliment. You best just take it."

Ed and Al were shown to be running across the screen. They both

jumped at the same time and sent a kick into Sloth's chest, sending him
flying over the railing.

The wall was shown at an upward angle to show Sloth falling from it.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Wait….The plan….You're freezing him?" Ed shouted,

eyes wide as he stared at the Briggs soldiers. "You…You cruel bastards!"

Luke rolled his eyes, fighting hard not to smirk. "If I didn't know how bad
your aversion to cold was, I would have thought you were upset about what
we did to Sloth."

Ed shivered. "Freezing like that, a Homunculus popsicle. Sickening."

"Hey," Brody shrugged. "He'll live through it. Now a human popsicle like
this–"

"No!" Ed waved his hand. "I don't need to hear it. I got the idea, you sick
bastards." He looked at Mustang. "Why would I like these guys again?"

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Please, Fullmetal, I know you've done a lot worse."

Ed shrugged, but couldn't stop the grin from forming on his lips. "I'm just
saying. Some of you guys in the military are very crazy with your out of the
box creative thinking."

The ground was shown as Sloth slammed into it.

Ed and Al appeared on screen. Ed raised a clenched fist. "Nice."

"Yes! He is finally out!" Clarink said with a smirk.

"And somehow, without a single death or injury." Izumi said.

"Because my men are efficient, of course there weren't any injuries." Olivia
said.

"Or it could have been because you were dealing with an idiot Homunculus."
Ling suggested.

Miles shrugged. "It could be any number of reasons or more than one
reason."

"That fuel is specially blended for the cold." Buccaneer's voice said,
making Ed look over his shoulder at him.

The scene changed to show Ed and Al from behind at a distance as they

turned to face Buccaneer, who was walking towards them.

"It will vaporize almost instantly, and as it evaporates, it will sap his
body heat." Buccaneer said.

"Cause you guys are cruel, cruel bas–" Ed started, but Mustang wrapped an
arm around his neck and slapped his hand over his mouth.

"The north is not a place for softies." Mustang said. "If you're soft when you
go up there, you either don't make it or you become a tough person who does
what needs to be done."

Ed struggled to pull Mustang's hand off his mouth, but Mustang refused to let
go, which ended up with Ed leaning into Mustang's side, silently fighting
against Mustang's hand.

Sloth was shown from behind at a distance as he sat up.

"This blizzard will help too. It will freeze him." As Buccaneer said that,
Sloth was shown from the front close up with ice already forming on
him. "Right down to his brain."

Sloth's hand was shown. Ice covered it and the skin under it darkened.
"It's…so…cold." His face was shown next with the ice still spreading.
"Body won't…move."

"Good!" Luke shouted. "Will this use up that damn stone of his and slowly
kill him for good?" He looked over at Ed, but seeing as Ed was still
struggling against Mustang, he snickered and looked at the younger brother.

"In theory it should." Al replied. "The stone will probably help keep him
alive, but it won't last forever. So in theory it should kill him, but it will
probably take a very, very long time."

"So this is more like a short term solution?" May asked worriedly.

"It's long term. He won't thaw out for a long time so we won't have any more
trouble from him, but do you suggest we find a way to kill him?" Olivia
asked.

Al's eyes narrowed. He wouldn't answer that. Even if Sloth was a

Homunculus, he couldn't kill him!

"It might be a good idea. Otherwise, the possibility of him not getting killed
or him taking years to die could arise, and we can't let a Homunculus just sit
frozen in the north to slowly die. It could become hazardous for us if
someone else learned about him." Izumi replied for Al since she knew the
boy couldn't answer such a question.

"That is a good point. We don't want the Drachmans learning anything."

Miles said.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"OW!" Mustang shouted before he was waving his hand out. "You bit me."

Ed grinned at Mustang before looking at Miles. "It's really all about the
Drachmans to you guys, isn't it?"

"They are the main threat they deal with so that shouldn't be a surprise when
they are all they think about." Mustang said as he rubbed the palm of his
hand. "You had your rabies shot, right?"
Ed glared at Mustang. "I'm not an animal." He hissed.

"Sure seems like it at times." Mustang muttered.

Ed looked over his shoulder to glare at Ling, who just grinned. Him and
Mustang both asked the same thing about rabies. They had to be conspiring
against him!

Sloth's back was shown from a distance once more.

"What…a…pain." Sloth said before soft, almost sad, music began. He

was shown close up as he fell over, completely iced over.

The Fort was shown again.

Ed, Al, Buccaneer, and Olivia appeared on screen, looking over the
railing down at Sloth.

"You can sleep there until spring, monster." Olivia said. She looked up at
Buccaneer. "Alright, Buccaneer, now take these two away."

Buccaneer turned to Olivia and said, "Sir."

Behind him Ed and Al screamed in shock.

"…Why?" Ed moaned, burying his face in his hands. "What did I do to

deserve this?"

"Ah, I forgot that you didn't answer her questions." Brody said.

Ed raised his face out of his hands and glared at him. "That doesn't mean
you're allowed to arrest me!" Ed shouted. "…Or Al." He added as an
afterthought as he glanced at his brother.

"Brother!" Al huffed mockingly. "And here I thought I was more important to

you than just an afterthought."

Ed shrugged.
Hughes shook his head in amusement. "Arrested by your own comrades."

"That means…" Luke glanced at Avery and Clarink with a smirk.

"You get to see our holding cells!" Avery and Clarink shouted with glee.

Ed smacked his forehead. "Why do you guys sound so excited about this?!"

"Our holding cells are great." Clarink teased.

"I'm sure we'll have a blast in them." Al said sarcastically.

"Hey, it's better than being caught by the enemy." Hughes told him.

Ed glanced at the Olivia then back at Hughes. "You sure?"

Hughes looked at her, then Ed. He grinned and wrapped an arm around Ed to
pull him into his side. "Yeah, yeah. She won't kill her own comrade."

"Besides, you did earn a bit of her trust by doing what you did in that fight
with Sloth so that will give you a few points to keep you safe from her full
wrath." Armstrong pointed out, knowing full well what his sister's wrath
could be like. Her full wrath was not something anyone wanted to deal with.

Ed's legs appeared on screen as the boy was dragged backwards. "Hey,
hey, hold on a second." Ed said. "We helped you!"

The scene changed to show Buccaneer dragging Ed and Falman, who

both had their hands tied together, while another soldier led Al away by
a rope that tied his hands together as well.

"Why am I getting arrested to?" Falman moaned.

"That is probably Ed's fault for saying they knew you." Havoc said.

Ed raised his hands in a calming manner. "I could not possibly know this was
going to happen when I did that."

"Why are you doing this?" Ed asked.

"You were forced to." Olivia replied as she appeared on screen, watching
the group walk off screen. "That was just the excuse you needed to fight,
right?" She was shown up close, eyes narrowed.

"If that is the reason you fought, then maybe it is a good thing they are
arresting you. It will help keep that cover." Hughes said.

Ed raised a hand and shook it. "They tied my hands though!"

Hughes patted his head. "That what being a prisoner entails."

"I don't like it." Ed muttered.

"You're not supposed to like it. It's called being arrested for a reason." Aran
retorted.

"Besides which, I'm not letting you go anywhere until you explain exactly
what that thing was and what it wanted." Olivia said.

"But I don't know what it wants." Ed moaned.

"Then you best get an idea, shouldn't you?" Heinkel said.

"You make it sound easy." Ed grumbled.

"Just use the information you have and come up with an idea, and you'll be
fine." Breda said.

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one that General Armstrong has her
sights set on." Ed retorted.

Breda nodded with a smirk. "This is true."

The scene went dark and when it lit up again, it was to show the
mountains up north in the day time. The scene slowly moved up to show
Fort Briggs in the distance.

"I guess that disastrous first day in Briggs is finally over." Al said.
"So, will it get worse or better from this point on?" Ling asked.

"The saying goes that it will get worse before it gets better, but who knows?
Maybe it will be the opposite way this time." Havoc said with a wide grin.
"There will be a shimmer of light to say it is getting better, then BAM!
Everything takes a turn for the worst!"

"That is dark, very dark." Charlie said. "I don't think we want that to happen."

Ed's face appeared on screen as a yawn escaped him. In the middle of his
yawn, he shivered and the scene pulled up to show him rolling over on
his bed, sleeping under a blanket and his coat. "It's so cold." He said as
he moved his hands under the blanket, causing a clinking sound. He
opened his eyes. His hands were shown as he moved them onto screen to
show them locked in cuffs.

"….I'm definitely not escaping that prison." Ed mumbled.

"Were you planning an escape already?" Olivia asked dangerously. "Those

cuffs are customary of prisoners and you are wearing them to keep the cover
of that we don't trust you at all. I could have forgone them because I trust you
a bit in the future, but…"

Ed waved his hands frantically. "I wasn't planning an escape. I was just
saying that with cuffs like those on, I could never possibly escape. That was
all I meant, I swear!"

"Restraints." Ed said.

"Good morning." Al said.

The scene changed to show the holding cell the boys were in from the
outside as Ed rolled onto his side to face his brother, who was sitting on
the other bed with his own restraints on and a book in his hands.

"…Where is Falman?" Al asked.

"Not there it seems." Falman said.

"Why not? You were arrested with us!" Al protested.

"Maybe he was released early on good behavior." Darius suggested.

"Hmph, if that's the case, I should be released too." Al grumbled.

"Nice chains." Al said as Ed rolled over onto his stomach and pushed
himself up with his hands.

"Yeah, they're just lovely." Ed replied dryly.

"Come, Chief. They are a wonderful fashion accessory." Luke said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Oh, they are just grand. They really restrain my mobility!
I can't stand that."

Hughes snickered. "Don't be like that, Ed. They really bring out your eyes."

Ed snorted.

"Seriously, Hughes?" Mustang asked.

Hughes grinned. "You disagree?"

"I think you're an idiot." Mustang muttered.

"Hey, you two sleep well?" Kei asked as he walked onto screen, turning
his back to it so he could face the boys in the cell.

The scene changed views to show the inside of the cell and Kei's front.

"I guess." Ed said as he sat up. He raised his hands. "Considering."

Kei chuckled and held out the cup he was holding to Ed.

Ed was shown from the front with the cup held out to him, making him
blink.

Kei appeared on screen, smiling around his cigarette. "I heard you
helped defend the fort from that monster."

Ed was shown from behind as he took the coffee. "Thank you." He said
before he took a sip of the coffee.

Havoc smacked his forehead and shook his head. Ed was just never going to
learn.

Kei held a hand out. "That's a hundred cenz."

Hughes put a hand to his forehead. "In your case, Ed, you just don't learn.
You are always going to fall for that."

"I can't believe you are making me pay while I am a prisoner!" Ed shouted.

"The way of the north!" Kei said with a smirk. "Besides, you aren't really a
prisoner. If you were, I wouldn't even be giving you that."

Brody shook his head. "But you really need to learn that nothing is free up
there."

"Yeah, yeah, I think I got it now, you cheapskates." Ed grumbled.

Ed spit his coffee out in shock. "You're charging me for this?!"

"So, find anything else out?" Al asked.

"Al, don't interrupt when I am yelling at him about the coffee!" Ed said.

Al sighed. "Brother, it's a hundred cenz. You can afford that."

"It's the principal of the matter." Ed grumbled.

"We sent a party down to investigate the hole. They should be back
anytime now." Kei replied.

"Sharing information with the prisoners?" Clarink asked, raising a brow.

"You should know better, Kei!"
"You guys are enjoying this way too much now that the location of the future
is the north." Lan Fan said.

"Why shouldn't we be?" Avery asked, grinning. "We get to see what we are
going to do in the future. It was interesting watching Colonel Mustang and
his team, but now we get to see ourselves!"

"And it took so long to get here so let us enjoy it while we can!" Aran said.

"Speaking of which," Hughes glanced at Jerso, Heinkel, Zampano, and

Darius. "We still haven't met you guys in the future. What are you up to?"

Zampano shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea of where we will be when we

appear. This is pretty far ahead." He glanced at the others with a frown.
Really, what would they be doing? Especially with bodies like theirs, what
could the military possibly want to use them for?

Ed appeared on screen once more, staring up at Kei.

"Wow, you look really young and innocent there." Ross said.

"I am young! Hello? Only fifteen here!" Ed replied.

"That's not what I meant. You always seem older than you are because of all
the problems you have weighing you down. Right now, you look like you
should at your age." Ross explained.

"Yeah, only problem with that is that I am behind bars!" Ed retorted.

"It's not that bad, Ed. I was behind bars earlier." Ling pointed out.

"And you got involved in a jailbreak because of it!" Ed snapped.

Ling grinned. "Good time, good times."

Ed rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but snicker a bit.

"Also, Major Miles is at the hospital." Kei said.

Ed blinked and raised his head a bit higher. "Is he hurt?"

Kei appeared on screen. "Hardly. He's there visiting a soldier who was
wounded fighting Scar."

Ed's face was shown from the side. "Scar's in the north now?" He asked
softly before footsteps were heard.

"Oh, here there are." A soldier said, making Ed blink.

The screen showed the hallway to show four soldiers stopping by the
holding cell that the brothers were in.

"They're awake." A soldier said.

"Even arrested, you're still popular." Skylar said amused.

Walkers rolled his eyes. "Must be his great personality."

"I feel like that is an insult." Ed mumbled.

Brody hummed to himself. "Johan!" He exclaimed.

"That seems completely random." Damiano said.

"No, no. Johan is the soldier who just spoke." Brody said.

"It's still random." Damiano muttered.

"I am simply thrilled you can recognize my voice." Johan muttered.

Brody grinned at him.

"Thanks for yesterday."

Ed appeared on screen, staring up at the soldiers.

"Yeah, you saved our buddies lives." One of the other soldiers said.
"I know that voice." Aran said with a grin. "That is Mikal!"

Ed smiled. "I'm impressed." He looked at one soldier than at another.

"You guys stick together. You really seem to care."

The screen changed to show the scene from inside the cell.

"Well, here at Briggs we have to look out for each other."

"You saved our pals back there so that makes you our pal as well."
Johan said.

Ed raised his cuffed hands. "Well, you want to let your pal out of here
then."

All four soldiers and Kei put their hands behind their backs, closed their
eyes, and said, "No, we're not allowed to do that. Sorry."

"Argh, it was worth a shot." Ed muttered, though he couldn't help but

mockingly glare at Mikal, Johan, Forman, Zolan, and Kei. "Orders?"

"We must follow them, otherwise we would probably end up in your

position." Zolan said.

"Yeah, we can't all just disobey orders like you." Mikal said, grinning at the
boy.

"I don't disobey all my orders." Ed retorted.

"Honestly, I think they are mocking you a bit." Ling said, smirking at Ed
when his friend turned to look at him.

"Oh, I believe that. A Major, someone of higher rank than them, locked in
their holding cells because he refuses to share information. Why wouldn't that
be amusing?" Mustang asked.

"Because it should be a serious issue?" Riza suggested as she pet Black

Hayate's head since he was sitting in her lap.
Breda grinned. "Maybe if it was anyone else besides Chief."

Ed's cuffed hands appeared on screen, raised to block his face. He

lowered his hands to show his grim smiling face. "It was worth a try, I
guess."

The roof of a hospital appeared on screen.

"Apparently they didn't find any sign of Scar's body at the site." Miles
said before he appeared on screen to show him sitting by Kimblee's bed
with a stack of papers in his hand.

"Seriously? Kimblee really survived that injury?" Fuery asked shocked. "It
looked so serious and he had to survive with it until the train arrived at the
city."

"He must have a strong will." Falman said with a slight shudder. He could not
imagine having an injury like that. It looked so horrible and quite painful. It
was amazing that Kimblee was able to stay conscious for as long as he did
with it.

Scar glared at Kimblee. He was impaled and bleeding so much. He should

have died from that. Scar's hands clenched into fists. Kimblee was the one he
wanted dead most of all. His future self was so close to killing him, but he
still somehow managed to survive! There was no way he could let this go. He
might be able to understand Mustang and the others position in the war and
not get revenge against them, but there was no way he could let Kimblee go,
not after what he did to his family.

"He could always be holed up somewhere nearby though." Miles said.

"That's true." Kimblee said.

Miles was shown up close as he flipped a page of the papers he was

holding.

'Interesting. First a search for a strange black and white cat.'

"Panda bear!" May shouted. "Why can you guys never get it?"
"I was informed it was a cat. No one said anything about a panda bear." Miles
said.

May glared at Ed and Al. "Then it's their fault for telling everyone it was a
cat."

Al held his hands up. "Well, to be fair, it is easier to say cat then to explain
the whole panda bear with a disease concept to them."

"Since I like you, I'll let you off with that excuse." May replied before
shooting a look at Ed.

Ed shrugged. "I don't really care."

May glared at him.

Al sighed. His brother said that to annoy her on purpose.

'Then a search for Scar.' Miles feet were shown. "Alright." He said as he
rose to his feet. The scene changed to show the two from a downward
angle with Miles standing over Kimblee. "You can leave Scar to us and
focus on getting better."

As Miles turned and started to walk away, Kimblee said, "Hold on a

sec."

Miles stopped and looked over his shoulder at him.

Kimblee's face was shown up close. "I want you and your people to stay
out of this."

"Who the hell does he think he is?" Olivia growled. "The north is my
territory. He has no right to be giving orders like that."

"I thought Fort Briggs was her territory. Now she is laying claim to all of the
north?" Lan Fan asked, raising a brow.

"Basically, we guard the border and all the land around the border so if Scar
is there, he is also our responsibility to deal with." Miles replied.

Lan Fan stared at him thoughtfully. "How do you feel about going after
someone of your race?"

"Ishvalan or not, he is still an enemy of the State. It's no different than

Amestrians hunting down other Amestrians. It is part of the job." Miles
replied.

"The Ishvalan is mine to hunt down." Kimblee said.

Miles walked back towards Kimblee.

Kimblee's head was shown with Miles's back taking up part of the
screen.

"I hate to tell you this, but the soldiers of Briggs won't let a serial killer
roam around free." Miles said. His hand reached up before his face was
shown with Miles holding his glasses. "Here in the north, the law is the
survival of the fittest." He removed his glasses and opened his red eyes.

Kimblee's face was shown. He grunted in surprise as Miles leaned down

close to his face and slow, suspenseful music began.

"You get careless and you get dead. Understand?" Miles asked.

"Was that a threat?" May asked, eyes wide in shock. "To your comrade?"

"He is the psychopath who killed his own comrades." Miles replied.

Scar raised a brow. "And I am the evil one? Aren't you supposed to protect
your comrades?"

"Someone who murders his own comrades is not someone I want on my side
because of trust issues. Considering what he has done, he can't even be
considered to on our side anymore." Johan said with a grimace. "He should
still be in prison for what he did. It was high treason and should not have
been forgiven."
"You tell me what to do again and you'll never leave this hospital." Miles
said.

May shivered. "Scary."

"I am beginning to think that all soldiers from Briggs have that side to them."
Lan Fan said with a frown. "Especially when their comrades or territory are
threatened."

The scene pulled back to show Kimblee's bed with Miles leaning over it.
After another second Miles rose.

"This case is ours now. The Briggs branch will take care of everything."
Miles's eyes were shown close up as he covered them with his glasses
once more. "You behave yourself."

The hallway of the hospital appeared on screen. Miles closed the door to
Kimblee's room and began walking away.

Kimblee appeared on screen. He chuckled. "Another Ishvalan. That's

interesting."

A knock was heard before the sound of a door opening was heard.

General Raven was shown walking into the room with a smile and a
hand raised in greeting. "Hello Kimblee."

"Why the hell is Raven up there?" Mustang growled, still angry about what
happened the last time they saw Raven on screen. How could someone once
so great be so manipulation and uncaring about his own people now? Was his
own life really that more important to him?

"Because, simply point, nothing can ever be simple and easy." Jerso growled.

"So we know that the higher ups in Central are planning something with the
Homunculi so Raven can't be trusted, but do you really think he'll start
anything?" Ling asked. "By starting something, it might reveal something."

Hughes shrugged. "Doesn't mean they shouldn't be prepared for the worst."
"Well, it's not like we know anything about Raven. We only know that
something is wrong since Kimblee was released." Miles said.

"But Fullmetal and Al do know about the higher ups. That alone could cause
problems with Raven." Mustang replied with a frown.

"There is always some type of situation when Chief is around." Havoc said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "That is just bad timing."

"Believe what you want." Breda replied.

"Think it is possible that Raven will leave after his visit with Kimblee and we
won't have to deal with him?" Al asked.

"It would definitely make things simpler. We need time to prepare." Miles
replied.

"And how are you recovering?" Raven asked as he walked over to the
bed.

The scene was shown from a downward angle.

"Well, hello General Raven." Kimblee said before Raven appeared on

screen. "You got here quickly."

"I heard the news and came as fast as I could." Raven replied. "I was
worried about you."

Kimblee's smirking face appeared on screen. "These are what you're

really worried about." He pulled his hand out from under the covers to
show the two Philosopher's Stones in his hand. "Isn't that right?"

"It's amazing he didn't drop them when he was impaled." Liam said, looking
over at Scar as he did.

"Something as valuable as that? You wouldn't want to leave it just lying

around." Al said.
Scar raised a brow, frowning. "You find that despicable thing valuable?"

Al scoffed. "After finding out its core ingredient? Hardly. I just mean that
leaving a Philosopher's Stone lying on the ground in the middle of nowhere
where anyone could pick it up is very, very dangerous."

"But they are also dangerous in the hands of Kimblee." General Armstrong
pointed out.

"Both situations are bad." Al said. "Nothing we can really do about it

though."

Raven's face appeared on screen with the smile melting away and his
eyes opening.

The scene was shown from a downward angle again.

"Very good. Now we have work to do." Raven said.

Kimblee was shown up close. He lowered his hand. "I'm not exactly in
great shape at the moment." His eyes moved to the side.

Behind Raven a man stood in the doorway with his head bowed so his
hat covered the top half of his face.

"No problem. I brought a doctor who knows alchemy." Raven said. His
face was shown. "And we have the stones as well."

Part of the doctor's face was shown.

"You'll be fine in no time." Raven said.

The doctor raised his face showing off a grin to show off a golden tooth
in his mouth.

"Is that a gold tooth?" Ed asked in disbelief and disgust. Something about this
doctor rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it had something to do with the
fact that he knew about the stone. Whatever the reason for his disgust, he just
knew this doctor wasn't someone to be trusted.
"Do you have a point in that question somewhere?" Ling asked.

"Just that I think this guy is creepy." Ed replied with a shrug.

"What gave it away? The creepy, predator grin?" Ling asked sarcastically.

"How did you ever guess?" Ed asked mockingly.

Zampano glared at the screen. He knew that doctor. In fact, so did Darius,
Heinkel, and Jerso. That damn doctor was there when they were being
experimented on. In fact, if his memory from that time wasn't faulty, he even
helped a bit in changing them. He had no care about them or the pain that
they were put in. All any of them cared about was the experiment succeeding.
And because of that, there were times when it failed and some of their
comrades being experimented on as well died. There was no way he could
forgive any of those scientists or this gold-toothed doctor for what they did to
them.

Zampano looked at Jerso and saw the dark frown on his face. So he wasn't
the only one flashing back to their dark days in the lab.

"I wish I could smack that grin right off his face." Darius whispered.

"Hear, hear." Heinkel growled.

The scene changed to a forest. It slowly moved up to show a cabin.

An aggravated sigh was heard before May and Dr. Marcoh, who was
holding a book open, appeared on screen inside the cabin.

"Alkahestry seems to be pretty complicated." Dr. Marcoh said.

Armstrong frowned. "If it is Dr. Marcoh saying that, it must be truly

difficult." He glanced over at May. "It is impressive you mastered it at such a
young age."

May blushed. "Thank you, sir."

The pages of the book appeared on screen.

"This Dragon's Pulse business is especially confusing." Dr. Marcoh said.

Ed looked over his shoulder at Ling. "That reminds me. You still haven't
started to teach me how to read the Dragon Pulse."

Ling chuckled. "Sorry, I forgot."

Ed glared at him.

Ling held up his hands. "When we take a break, I'll start teaching you."

"You better." Ed grumbled.

Mustang raised a brow. "You're going to learn that?"

"I am tired of the Homunculi managing to sneak up on me!" Ed growled.

"Okay, sheesh, calm down, Fullmetal. It was just a question." Mustang

replied.

May and Xiao-Mei were shown.

"It's about the chi of the land." May said.

Dr. Marcoh's scarred face appeared on screen. "What do you mean by

the chi?"

An array appeared on screen before five kunai were slamming into the
points of the star in the array.

"…It's like you have an unlimited supply of those." Fuery said.

"Seriously, how do you never run out of them? You never have time to pick
up any when you use them in a fight because you usually have to escape from
what we've seen." Brody said.

May just smiled brightly in reply.

"You're not going to answer, are you?"

May grinned.

"I didn't think."

The scene slowly pulled out to show May by the array. As the scene
pulled farther back, five kunai stabbed into the ground by Xiao-Mei
could be seen.

"I'll try to explain." May said, glancing at Dr. Marcoh. "Basically it's an
energy that exists in all things in this world, like rivers of power flowing
through it. Those rivers are far reaching. They touch everybody and
everything." May's face was shown up close. "All you have to do is
understand how that power flows from where it enters and where it
leaves."

Ling looked at Ed. "There, your first lesson."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Idiot. Though that was a good introduction." He smiled at
May. "Maybe I should have you teach me, instead of his idiot." He jerked his
head at Ling.

"With that kind of attitude, maybe I won't teach you." Ling huffed.

"Psh, I have May and Lan Fan and Fu." Ed retorted with a grin. "They all
know how to read it."

"Lan Fan and Old Man Fu would never betray me by teaching you!" Ling
argued.

"You abuse their loyalty." Ed replied with a smirk. "But I still have May." He
glanced at her. "Right?"

May grinned. "Sure, Edward. If Ling turns out to be useless, I'll teach you."

"Hey!" Ling growled.

"Will you teach me too?" Al asked her.

May's eyes lit up brightly. "Sure, Al. I'll teach you."

"It's a challenge!" Ling said, smirking. "I'll teach Ed. You teach Al. We'll see
who is the better teacher here!"

"…Idiot." Ed said, smacking his forehead.

The scene pulled out to show May placing her hands in the array in front
of her, causing it to glow with blue alchemical light.

A blue alchemical light that drew a star formed in the kunai by Xiao-
Mei.

The scene showed a posing Xiao-Mei statue as it formed.

"And then you can use it to affect just about anything." May said.

Dr. Marcoh turned his head back to May, making her look over at him.
"Just about anything?" He asked. "So the body too?"

May's smiling face appeared on screen. "Yes!"

The scene moved up and off the screen to be replaced by May standing
behind Dr. Marcoh with her small hands on his back.

"It could be your back." May said before she pushed two of her fingers
roughly into his back, making Dr. Marcoh scream in pain and fall over.
His leg stayed on screen, twitching.

"My leg!" Dr. Marcoh shouted.

Dr. Marcoh shouted in pain and hunched over with one hand going to his
back to rub the hurting spot and the other to his leg. "That hurt, May." He
moaned.

May grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. It's just easier to learn by feeling?"

"Now you're making excuses." Mikal said with a grin.

Dr. Marcoh was shown sitting up with May behind him again.
"Or else, your head!" May said cheerfully as she slammed two fingers
into the back of Dr. Marcoh's head, making him scream out again and
his eyes to pop out of his head.

Dr. Marcoh shouted and grabbed his face. Why? Why him?

May chuckled. "Sorry, Dr. Marcoh."

Dr. Marcoh looked up at her. "Just don't ever stand behind me."

May grinned sheepishly at him. "I'll do my best. I'll even keep my hands to
myself." She glanced at Ed. "Do you want to feel it? It might help you
understand the flow of power better."

Ed held up his hands. "I'm good."

"But I thought you wanted to learn it?" May asked. "This really will help
you."

"And I thought you just promised to keep your hands to yourself?" Ed

shouted.

"From Dr. Marcoh." May corrected.

Ling shrugged behind Ed and stabbed two of his fingers in Ed's neck.

"SHIT!" Ed shouted, hunching over at the pain pulsating through his neck
that moved up to his head as well. He grabbed his neck in his metal hand
before turning his head to glare at Ling out of the corner of his eyes.

Ling grinned innocently.

"You're a real jerk." Ed hissed.

"Oh, guess I don't need to now." May said. "Unless you want to feel it again
to get a better feel for it?"

"I think you just want to hurt me!" Ed shouted, glaring at her now.
Mustang glanced at him, raising a brow. "Does that really hurt that much?"

Ed scowled. "Why don't we do it to you as well so you can find out?!"

"Don't let them." Dr. Marcoh moaned, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "It's
really not pleasant."

Mustang rolled his eyes and plopped a hand down on Ed's head. "Don't take
everything so offensively."

Ed glared at him.

The screen showed Xiao-Mei on the statue of herself, biting its head
while behind her Dr. Marcoh fell over, grabbing his face with May
behind him.

May sighed. "Must you do that, Xiao-Mei?"

Xiao-Mei just looked up at her as if she was smiling.

"Of course you must." May said. "But that statue isn't an enemy."

"Why did my eyeballs hurt when you pressed my neck?" Dr. Marcoh
asked.

May rubbed his back. "Dr. Marcoh, you should take better care of
yourself. All the power in your body is starting to stagnant."

May nodded to herself. That would explain why Dr. Marcoh reacted
differently to it then Ed did. While both felt the pain, only Dr. Marcoh felt it
in places where she didn't hit. The power in his body wasn't moving properly
or at all. It could have to do with old age or him not taking proper care of
himself or maybe it was a combination of both. Ed was younger and trained
often which kept his body in shape and healthy so the power in his body
should be flowing a lot smoother than it did in Dr. Marcoh's.

Dr. Marcoh's face was shown from the side from where it was still on the
ground. He turned his face to the side to face the screen, keeping one
hand covering half of his face. "So, that's it, is it? The theory behind
your remote transmutation."

A fire appeared on screen as gentle, suspenseful music started up.

"Then alchemists don't use the Dragon's Pulse?" May asked.

The scene changed to show Dr. Marcoh and May from the side on
different sides of the fire.

"They do not." Dr. Marcoh answered. "They use energy from the
movement of the Earth's crust. A great deal of energy is created, then
released during earthquakes and volcanic eruptions."

May's face appeared on screen. Xiao-Mei sat on her shoulder.

"That's what fuels our alchemy in this country."

"I don't know. That doesn't seem right." May replied.

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen, blinking.

May's face appeared on screen. She put a hand to her chin as she
frowned. "I felt that something was out of place ever since I got here."
May blinked and lowered her hand before looking back up at Dr.
Marcoh.

"And that means what?" Al asked. "You were using your ability to read the
Dragon's Pulse and found something to be wrong?"

"That's what it sounds like. Like there is something wrong with the alchemy,
but no one realizes it because they can't read the Dragon's Pulse." May said
with a frown. She glanced at Ling.

Ling shrugged. "I believe in one of the earlier episodes we said something
felt wrong with the country, but that was it. Since Lan Fan, Fu, and I aren't
Alkahestrics, we wouldn't be of much help when discussing it in terms of
alchemy since our perceptions will be different."

"Well, without actually being able to read it like my future self, I can't give
you anything other than theories." May told Al. "Let's just listen to my future
self. She'll have a better idea."

"That sounds so weird when it is yourself you are discussing." Mick said.

May nodded. "I know. It feels like I am talking about someone completely
different."

"I noticed it especially when we were under Central." The scene slowly
pulled out as May put a hand to the ground. "I can tell that there is
energy flowing under my feet," The scene faded away to be replaced by
the snow and forest outside. It slowly moved over the scene as May said,
"But it doesn't feel like it comes from the lands movement." The
mountains were shown as the scene continued to move until it showed
Fort Briggs. The pipes in Fort Briggs were shown next. The scene moved
down to the hole in the ground that Sloth created to get to the tunnel. "It
feels like…a crowd of people squirming around."

"Does that feel weird?" Al asked curiously.

"Judging by my future self's actions in the past episodes, it must feel really
weird. It's not something I would want to sense." May replied. "Especially
since it is likely from the stone what I am feeling. Those aren't people. It's
their souls. That has got to have some effect on what I am reading."

A crane that was moving some pipes appeared on screen.

"It's huge." A soldier said.

"It's Clarink!" Ed said. "I've heard your voice enough times to know that is
you!"

"That makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside." Clarink said sarcastically.

Ed rolled his eyes as he continued to rub the back of his neck. "Ling, do me a
favor." He turned his head to glare at Ling. "Never touch me again."

"And here I thought you could handle a little pain." Ling replied with a grin.
"Don't you grin while I am in pain over here!" Ed growled.

The lowest level of Fort Briggs appeared on screen showing some

soldiers, including Olivia and Buccaneer, around the hole that Sloth
created with horses behind them.

The crane carrying the pipes lowered onto the screen.

"A platoon could fit through the hole." Clarink continued. "It curves
gently then continues on for a long way."

Two of the soldiers were shown from behind with General Armstrong in
front of them with Buccaneer standing a bit behind her.

"But there were no signs of anyone in it."

Olivia was shown close up. She looked at Buccaneer out of the corner of
her eye. "Lower some horses."

"Yes sir." Buccaneer replied.

Olivia turned her heads towards him. "And I want to see the Elric
brothers."

"Argh, it's starting?" Ed asked.

"Yep!" Avery said cheerfully. "Have fun!"

"I really want to hit you." Ed muttered.

Luke shrugged. "She was going to make you give her answers at some point.
Best to get it out of the way now so you can figure out a plan."

A couple of horses were shown on screen. One of the horses snorted

softly before the railroad tracks in the tunnel appeared on screen with a
horse hoof stepping onto it.

The group riding the horses was shown from behind. Ed and Al were
riding horses next to each other. Each of them had rope tied around
their waists.

"Awesome. This is a serious tunnel." Ed said.

Olivia and Ed were shown from the side.

"I still can't believe that an intruder was able to get this far through our
defenses." Olivia said.

"Sounds like someone's pride is hurt." Mustang said with a teasing grin.

Olivia glared at him. "Do not start with me, Mustang."

"The ultimate defense was breached by a stupid Homunculus. Now that is

just insulting." Mustang continued.

Ed stared at Olivia warily. Her glare was so dark and angry, it felt like it was
piercing his soul. "Colonel, shut up now." He hissed.

"We were breached, but we also got rid of him." Olivia argued harshly. "And
at least we are not getting played with like you are, Mustang."

"And that's because our situations are different." Mustang growled, eyes
narrowed. He was trying not to think about the fact that his men were being
held hostage by those damn Homunculi.

Ed turned to Hughes. "They really don't like each other, do they?"

Hughes shrugged. "They have different opinions about how things should be
handled. But forget about them." He looked down at Ed's lap. "You've been
holding that book all morning. What's so great about it?"

Ed looked down at his lap to see his black photo book there. He had
completely forgotten that he was even holding it! "Just something private."
He mumbled, staring up at Hughes with defiant eyes that just dared the man
to try to take it from him.

Hughes held up his hands. "Wasn't going to touch it, Ed."

"You better not." Ed grumbled.

Ed looked over at her. "So has anyone else ever made it into the fort
before?" He asked, making her look at him.

"No, not in all the time I've had command here." Olivia said as she
looked forward once more. Her face was shown up close from the side.
"But once, nearly twenty years ago, there was a strange incident where
the mountain guard was attacked in the middle of winter."

Everyone looked over at Izumi, who just grinned at them.

"You know, once I figured out how to survive up there, that survival exercise
was quite fun." Izumi said.

Ed scoffed. "Only because you enjoyed going against your military and
attacking the soldiers."

Izumi smirked. "Ah, fun times. Who doesn't like going against the norm?
Besides, it was a good lesson for them not to get all cocky and believe they
are the best."

Ed and Al appeared on screen with Buccaneer riding another horse

behind them.

"Apparently, a mysterious woman stole food and supplies for a full

month." Olivia said.

Ed and Al flinched violently and looked at each other.

"Well, we know who she is now." Olivia said, glancing at Izumi. "You have
no plans to return north, do you? I don't want to have my men waste time
dealing with you again. I need them patrolling for enemies who wish real
harm upon them and the country."

"Don't worry." Izumi said with a soft laugh. "I have no reason to come up
there and beat them up again. It was just for my training."

"Your quite pointless training since you didn't even get a master out of it." Ed
muttered.

Izumi threw a sandal at Ed, but the boy ducked behind Hughes, resulting in
Hughes getting smacked in the forehead with it.

"Ed! I am not your shield!" Hughes complained, rubbing his sore head as he
did.

"It was good survival training. The experience and knowledge I got from it
was invaluable, even if I didn't get a master." Izumi growled.

A scary looking Izumi with an evil grin in place appeared on screen with
hellish fire surrounding her. "I survived for a whole month in the Briggs
mountains!" Izumi's voiceover said.

The scene moved down to Ed and Al, who were sweat dropping. 'It was
Teacher.' The boys thought.

"I'm sure future me would love to hear that your teacher attacked my men."
Olivia said.

Al and Ed shared a look before frantically shaking their heads.

"I don't think we need to give you any more reason to be suspicious of us." Al
replied weakly.

"Yeah, we're good keeping that to ourselves." Ed added.

The dark tunnel was shown with one small light in the distance lighting
up a small area.

Olivia appeared on screen. "This should be far enough."

The scene showed Al, Ed, and Olivia from the side as Olivia looked over
at the brothers.

"You, dismount." Olivia said, making Ed glance at her.

Ed blinked. "The tunnel? We're using the tunnel as our interrogation place?"
"Of course. There is no possible way for anyone to eavesdrop on us in there."
Olivia replied. "I took your clues, understood them, and then found a way
around them so you can talk to me. This way I get my information and you
can be assured that your friend is safe. It's a win for everyone."

"Hmm?" Ed said.

The end of Olivia's sword hitting the ground between her feet appeared
on screen.

"Now then," Olivia said before the scene changed to show Ed standing in
front of a sitting down Olivia while Buccaneer stood behind him with
Falman and Al, who both still had a rope tied around their waists.

"I don't think we are going to run. We are in a tunnel." Falman muttered.

"You can never be too careful." Buccaneer said.

Falman sighed. "But still, why do I have to be dragged into this? Ed!"

Ed blinked. "What? You don't want to help save the country?"

Havoc rolled his eyes. "I think he wants you to stop getting him into your
messes which include before arrested and having your superiors suspicious of
you."

Ed sighed and waved a hand at him in a bored manner. "If that's the case then
you should stop being on my side."

"Betray you?" Havoc asked in mock shock. "We could never do that, Chief!"

Ed's brow twitched. "Then deal with getting into trouble when you're with
me!"

Havoc shared a grin with Falman.

"Sure, sure."

"We're safely away from any prying eyes." Olivia was shown up close.
"You can tell me everything without fearing discovering. And I mean
everything."

Ed and Al appeared on screen, both gasping.

Olivia's face appeared on screen closer than before. "Don't hold

anything back. Yesterday I asked you about that monster. Remember
what you said?"

Ed's face was shown from the side.

"I can't answer." Olivia's voice said, making Ed's brow furrow. The side
Olivia's face appeared on screen next. "You refused me, and that even as
a hint, is a dangerous thing to do."

Ed grimaced. "Oh, I know it's very dangerous. But what can I say? I learned
it from working with Colonel. Besides, it was very important and I needed
you to understand."

Olivia looked over at Mustang. "You're teaching him a dangerous game."

Mustang shrugged. "I'm teaching him to survive in the military, even when
his hands are tied. Figuratively of course."

Ed grinned. "Yeah, I already knew how to handle my hands literally tied up."

Mustang rolled his eyes. "What do you do? Transmute the bindings?"

"Of course! Unless my hands are tied apart, then I find a way to carve an
array somewhere to escape, and if that isn't possible….I figure something
out." Ed said.

"What do you do that gets you in these situations?" Avery asked.

Ed shrugged. "Oh, you know, just some missions I get sent on end up badly
and I have to turn destructive to get it handled."

"No, you don't!" Mustang growled. "That's just what you choose to do!"
"I try the non-violent way sometimes. It rarely turns out good though." Ed
retorted.

"Probably aren't doing it properly then." Mustang mumbled.

"I told you to answer my questions fully and completely. At great peril to
yourself, you neglected to do so." Olivia said.

The group was shown from behind.

"I think there's something you're trying to hide and you'd risk your lives
to protect it." Olivia said before her face was shown close up.
"Something or maybe someone."

"Well, it's definitely not something. I would not keep the secret of this
country from comrades who I thought could be of great help to solving the
problem." Ed said.

"If the threat of harming Winry wasn't hanging over your head, would you
have told us about Sloth the first time General Armstrong questioned you?"
Miles asked curiously.

Al and Ed shared a look.

"That is a hard question to answer." Al replied slowly.

"I think we would have given you a bit more information, but not tell you
everything. One, because we don't know everything. Two, it would take too
long to explain it to you in the middle of a fight. And three, we wouldn't fully
trust you so we wouldn't tell you everything anyway." Ed explained with a
frown.

"You would have gotten confined to Fort Briggs either way then." Brody said
amused. "There's no way General Armstrong would let you go without
getting all the information she could from you two."

"Lucky us." Ed grumbled.

Ed and Al appeared on screen.

Olivia's eye appeared on screen, staring darkly at Ed. "This time, don't
lie to me." She said in a low, commanding voice.

"I never lied to you! I just couldn't tell you." Ed protested.

"Yeah, you just kept the truth from her, which is sometimes just as bad as
lying." Lan Fan said.

Ed's face was shown from the side.

"I want the truth." Olivia said.

Ed looked down for a moment before staring back up at her. His face
appeared on screen. "We need your help, General."

"What?!" Mustang and Havoc shouted, leaning forward.

"You…you just asked for help?!" Havoc said shocked.

"It is definitely a horrible situation when even Edward is asking for help."
Armstrong said gravely.

Ed rolled his eyes. Idiots. "I'm not going to mess around when the situation is
this dangerous and when my friends are being held hostage by a group of
homicidal psychopaths."

"Friends? But it's only Winry." Fuery said confused.

Ed sighed. "For me, but for Colonel, his team was taken away. I'm worried
about you guys too."

Fuery blushed. "Oh, right. But you don't have to worry. We can handle
ourselves, Ed."

"Yeah," Breda slung an arm around Fuery's shoulders. "Don't worry yourself
about us, Chief. We're soldiers. We'll take whatever they dish out and
conquer it! Just you watch."

Ed rolled his eyes, but smiled a bit at them.

A lantern was shown to be sitting on the tracks as slow, suspenseful
music began.

Olivia's hands which were resting on the hilt of her sword appeared on
screen. She tapped one of her fingers against the back of her other hand.
"The Philosopher's Stone, Homunculi." Her back was shown with
Buccaneer, Falman, and the brothers seen standing in front of her.
"Fuhrer King Bradley, a mysterious man called Father, corruption in
the senior staff."

"There are hostages involved as well." Buccaneer said.

Avery whistled. "You really told her every single problem you learned."

"As I said, I would not keep the secret from comrades who I believe can
help." Ed replied, frowning as he looked down at the ground. There was no
way he could keep this secret to himself. He couldn't handle all of this by
himself. They were going to need all the help they could get if they were to
stop the Homunculi, Father, and the higher-ups while at the same time
protecting the hostages.

Olivia appeared on screen. "Your childhood friend, the automail

engineer, and all Mustang's men. We've done some joint training with
eastern command over the years."

"Have you?" Ed asked surprised. "I never knew that."

"It's because the training is done in the north and we only do it once a year at
random times for safety reasons." Riza replied.

"Safety reasons?" May asked confused.

"If we have the training at the same time every year our enemies could learn
of it and attack one of our bases which will have fewer men at it since they
are at a training exercise." Riza explained.

"But it's always in the north? Isn't that dangerous too?" Al asked.

"We've never had a problem with it." Havoc said. "Except," He smirked
mockingly. "We always lose. We can't handle the weather up there like the
northern soldiers can."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Better hope you never get deployed up there. But
seriously, why did I never know?"

"There was no need for you to." Mustang said.

"And what if I returned to Eastern Command to report to you and you weren't
there?!" Ed retorted.

"I made sure you weren't scheduled to return during the times of the training
exercises." Mustang replied.

Ed stared at him with a frown. "Of course you did." He said blandly before
turning back to the screen.

"So I know Officers Hawkeye and Havoc." She put a hand to her chin.
"And I'd hate it if we lost either of them."

"Technically, they already lost Havoc." Avery said.

Havoc hid a flinch at the reminder of his paralysis. He really didn't want to be
reminded of the fact that in the future he lost his ability to walk and run and
to be a soldier. It was all stolen from him by Lust. Not to mention everything
else that has happened in this dark future. So many injuries and deaths were
coming. It was something he would be prepared to face when it was time to,
but he hoped that things could be changed. He was sure that many of them
were hoping that some of the things that happened could be changed. This
was a hard reality to face, watching their country be used in a conspiracy and
watching comrades get killed and injured beyond repair facing off against
these enemies. They were soldiers. They knew there was a possibility they
would be killed or injured severely, but it was just so hard to watch it happen.

Mustang looked down at Ed. "You did mention Havoc's predicament to her,
right?"

Ed shrugged. "How would I know? Future me's explanation wasn't heard. But
from the sounds of it….maybe not? Cause you know, I don't think
mentioning something like that is really my place."

Havoc smiled a bit weakly. Even if he wasn't paralyzed yet, the frustration
and pain of knowing that he would be in the future was there. And he knew it
wasn't something he would want people sharing so easily. He was glad that
Ed could respect that boundary. Having other people spread the fact that he
was paralyzed would feel too much like a gossip train and betrayal by his
friends.

Falman and Buccaneer were shown from the side.

"I would like to help them." Olivia said.

"And, uh, what about Colonel Mustang?" Falman said a bit nervously as
a bubble with Mustang's face appeared on the screen that Falman
pointed at.

The bubble floated along the screen, which changed to show Olivia.

"Yeah, I couldn't care less about him." Olivia said, hitting the bubble
with a hand to destroy it.

Mustang rolled his eyes, while Ed snorted.

"Sheesh, she really doesn't like you." Ed said with a grin. "Any particular
reason why?"

"There are many reasons why." Olivia said, glaring at Mustang. "All you
need to know is that he is competition."

"That seems to be a pretty bad reason." Ed muttered.

"Not really." Ling said, while May nodded in agreement with him. "We see it
a lot in Xing, Ed. My half-brothers and half-sisters picking each other off as
we fight to get the throne."

"Would your father really choose one of your siblings that killed another
sibling?" Al asked doubtfully.
May and Ling shared a dark look.

"Let's just say, it can be really dangerous over there. Most of the time
assassins are hired and done in a way that it can't lead back to them, but
everyone knows it was one of the other heirs or heiress who did the hiring."
May said. "If you're from a lower clan like I am, you don't face that problem
as much or at all so it is a bit safer."

"Some of them will do just about anything to get the power they feel they
deserve." Ling added darkly.

Olivia was shown from behind with the rest of the group seen in front of
her. "I'd just as soon see him fall from power. That would eliminate
another rival."

Al chuckled nervously. "Harsh."

"But at least she didn't wish death on him." May pointed out.

"I wouldn't wish death upon someone just because I want him out of the race
for Fuhrer." Olivia replied. "Especially someone as skilled as him." The last
part was admitted reluctantly.

"Let me see if I understand this." Ed said, looking from Mustang to Olivia.

"You guys aren't each other's biggest fans, but you do have grudging respect
for one another?"

Mustang grunted. "She is more deserving of respect than most of the generals
who just sit safely in Central, who we now know are planning to use this
country to get what they want."

"Whatever the hell they are planning." Ed grunted. "We still don't know what
that is!"

Ed, Al, and Falman fell into disbelieving states.

Olivia stood up. "Never mind him." She was shown from the front. "The
question is what do we do next?" She pointed a thumb over her
shoulder. "This tunnel here, I would like to know what you alchemists
make of it."

Ed, Al, and Falman appeared on screen. The brothers shared a look
before Al was shown close up as he looked in the opposite direction at the
dark tunnel.

The tracks were shown as Ed dropped to his knees and put one hand on
the ground and the other on the tracks as he looked down the tunnel.
The dark tunnel ahead of him was shown before it faded out to be
replaced by a map of Amestris.

"First of all, the tunnel probably didn't originate in Drachma." Ed said.

"The first obvious point here." Jerso said.

"Hey, to be fair, we had no knowledge of anything so it's obvious Drachma

would be our first concern." Mick said.

The scene changed to show Ed sitting crossed leg in front of a crate with
the map on it while Falman, Al, and Buccaneer stood off to the side.

"This is just my guess, but I say chances are we'll found it's dug in the
shape an enormous circle." Ed said.

Hughes nodded. "Then this is the circle for the array. Our theory was
definitely correct."

"And it seems that they had a plan to dig it, using Sloth." Mustang said with a
dark frown. He put a hand to his chin as he thought. All of those conflicts,
those wars, were just stepping stones for the bigger prize. All those conflicts
created by the monsters that worked in the shadows of this country to get
bloodshed to make their blood crests. They were the ones to cause the
conflicts, but Lust was right about one thing.

Humans never learned.

Sure, with the Fuhrer being a Homunculus, it was never going to be possible
to talk things out instead of going to war. But still, the real conflicts began
because the people in those cities couldn't talk things over peacefully before
news of it got back to Central. The moment something happened they didn't
like, it turned to violence. He couldn't fault them for it though. For most of
the people in those cities, it would be their first time dealing with violence
and an uproar. They would have heard about the conflicts in other cities, but
until they faced it themselves, they would never understand the horror of it or
how it was the wrong way to handle it. In that way, Lust was right. Humans
just couldn't learn that violence wasn't the right way fast enough. Violence, it
seemed, was the first response. Attacking, defending. It just all came
naturally when the adrenaline was running through the veins.

"Amestris really is a bloody country." Mustang said sadly. "We fell right into
the trap from the very beginning. They used human nature against us."

"Why?" Buccaneer asked.

Ed was shown from behind, still looking down the tunnel. He turned his
head and looked up at Buccaneer. "It has to do with alchemy. In our
field, a circle is the symbol used to control power." He looked down at
the map and pressed his pencil into his chin. "I need to look at this more
closely." He stared the map before blinking and gasping.

The map was shown as Ed circled Ishval.

"Lieutenant Falman," Ed said. The back of Ed's head was shown as he

lifted it to look at Falman, who turned to look at him. "Can you list the
major events in Amestris that were accompanied by bloodshed?"

"By bloodshed?" Falman asked.

Hughes gave a grim smile. "You're doing the same thing we did earlier."

"It was a good idea, and the best way to figure out the shape of this…
country." Ed muttered with a frown. "Name of the bloody episode!"

Ed was shown from the front with Al, Buccaneer, and Falman on one
side of him and Olivia standing on the other side. Falman approached
him and kneeled.
"What are you getting at?" Falman asked.

The circle Ed drew around Ishval was shown.

"What made you think of bloodshed being part of this anyway?" Darius
asked.

Ed shrugged. "It has to do with the process of making a stone." He glanced at

Hughes. "I most likely told you that as well which is how you figured it out
so easily in the future and discovered the truth before anyone. I would have
never thought of it because I didn't know about the tunnel and really have no
knowledge of the conflicts that involve bloodshed."

Hughes nodded. "Not surprising. A lot of those conflicts happened before you
were born or just a child and when you had nothing to do with the military
yet. And most soldiers know about the conflicts since we study them and how
the battles went in the military academy. Though not every soldier can
remember every single battle and the year it happened. You're lucky Falman
is with you to help you there."

"Study them? Was that to help learn tactics or something?" Ed asked.

Hughes nodded and said, "Among other things."

Falman appeared on screen, gasping. "First there's July 1588." The map
was shown as Falman pointed at something. "In Riviere."

Falman was shown from behind with Ed seen in front of him.

"Okay, Riviere." Ed said as he circled it. "Next."

"October 1661, the Cameron uprising." Falman pointed at it on the map

as Ed circled it. "February 1799, the Soapman incident, there in Fisk."
Falman moved his finger along the map. "March 1811, The Wellsley
incident."

Olivia was shown as she watched.

"October 1835, The First Southern Border War in what is now known as
South City."

Buccaneer and Al were shown.

"Then in 1911, there was the Second Southern Border War in Fortsett."

"What about Pendleton in the west?" Ed asked.

The map was shown again as Ed pointed at a city on it.

"There's been fighting with Creta." Falman said as Ed circled it. "A lot
of soldiers have died." He appeared on screen. "And then, later in 1914,
there was the Liore insurrection There were many causalities."

"Which Fullmetal and Al didn't know about." Mustang said with a sigh.

Ed glared at him. "Yes, because a certain someone kept it from me."

"For good reasons." Mustang snapped at him.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You better hope my future self doesn't find you with that
still weighing on his mind."

"Does it really matter that much?" Heinkel asked.

Ed shot him a dark scowl. "Liore was my mission. If something happened to

Liore and screwed everything up then I would want to know."

"The mission was taken out of your hands after you reported it." Mustang
argued.

Ed's furious eyes snapped back to him. "It doesn't matter. I went there, I met
the people, I did what I could for them! I would want to know if something
was happening." He snapped.

"I can't believe you guys are arguing about this again." Hughes muttered.

Ed shot him a glare before looking back at Mustang. "Why are all those lives
being taken? Is war really the only way you bastards know how to handle a
situation like this?" He hissed.

Hughes put a hand on Ed's arm. "Ed, calm down." He said calmly. He knew
Ed didn't mean that. Ed didn't blame them for the wars that were happening,
but he was frustrated. Hughes could understand that, but if Ed went on,
Mustang and the others wouldn't be so forgiving.

Ed yanked his arm away from Hughes, never taking his smoldering glare off
of Mustang.

Mustang frowned at Ed, for his words and the glare. He had thought Ed had
let this go, but apparently the anger he felt over Liore was still in his heart. "I
agree with you that it is not the way to handle it, but orders are orders, and
once you are in a warzone, your survival instincts take over. You fight to
survive, and if you don't, you will die. That's all there is to it." He replied.

"Ed," Hughes said again, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulder and
pulling him back to lean against his chest before he could reply. "Relax."

Ed clenched his fists tightly for a second before releasing them. He slowly
breathed out through his nose and looked away from Mustang. Arguing about
this now was pointless and stupid. He already knew about this riot. There was
no point in getting upset about it again, but it was just so hard. He hated what
happened in Liore, but really, it didn't matter. The Homunculi would find a
way to create a blood crest in Liore no matter what happened when he had
been there. Thanks to the Homunculi, bloodshed was Liore's destiny. Getting
mad at Mustang would solve nothing.

"You thinking clearly again?" Hughes asked after a few minutes of silence.

Ed gave a very brief nod.

"Good," Hughes said cheerfully. He wrapped his other arm around Ed's torso
and rested his chin on the teen's head, making Ed grumble in annoyance.

Al's head was shown from behind with Ed seen on one side of it and
Falman on the other side. Ed looked up in shock.
"What?" Ed asked.

"An insurrection?" Al asked surprised. "But why?"

"I don't understand. I exposed the fake priest in Liore and I reported it
to Eastern Command immediately." Ed said.

Falman looked at Al. "Yes, you did. But the Central forces came in and
ran out the troops from the east." He looked at Ed.

"What?" Ed growled, body tensing. "It's all about the damn bastards from
Central! It didn't even register when we heard it earlier, but it is because of
the damn Generals! They ordered that slaughter for their damn plan!"

Hughes tightened his hold on Ed. "Relax. Nothing can be done about it right
now."

Al looked at his brother worriedly. He was just as frustrated about what

happened in Liore as his brother was. It was hard to hear that the reason for
bloodshed that they tried hard to keep from happening was because of greedy
higher-ups in Central. They really cared about no one from their country if
they were that eager to send in their soldiers with the order to kill innocent
civilians. Liore was important to the brothers and it felt like their
responsibility that this happened. They couldn't let this go so easily.

"I know." Ed said roughly. He let out a deep breathe. "It's just frustrating."

Mustang glanced at him. Upon noticing the dark look in his eyes, Mustang
ruffled his hair, messing it all up, which resulted in the teenager scowling and
knocking his hand away with some difficulty since Hughes still had his arms
around him. But the move had done the trick. That dark look was replaced
with just the normal annoyance he shot at Mustang.

"When we get out of here, we'll figure out a way to try to stop the Central
forces from getting to Liore." Mustang promised.

"After that happened, Liore just fell to pieces." Falman said.

Ed bowed his head with his hand grabbing at his hair. "Oh no. Damn."
He muttered, closing his eyes.

"No time for that." Olivia interjected. She was shown standing behind
Ed, who turned his head to look at her. "Back to work, Fullmetal."

Miles glanced at her. "You weren't just in a hurry to get the information, were
you?"

Olivia glanced at him.

"You wanted to distract him from focusing on Liore." Miles said.

"I didn't have time for him to fall to pieces about an old mission that went
wrong after he finished it." Olivia replied harshly.

Ed's angry face appeared on screen. "Alright, fine." He said as he turned

back around. The map was shown as he circled Liore. He was shown
from the front as he started to draw on the map. "And now."

The scene pulled out to show Falman from behind with everyone else in
front of him.

"We just connect the dots." Ed said as Buccaneer, Al, and Olivia moved
in closer to watch.

Olivia's face appeared on screen, a bit of surprise covering it.

Dramatic music filled the scene as Falman appeared on screen. "How is

that possible?"

"Simple, that bastard Father!" Luke growled.

"Don't forget. The higher-ups helped with creating the blood crests by
ordering the killing of civilians." Brody snarled.

"With all that corruption, there really was no way to avoid this." Miles said
with a frown.

"I have a question. If the Homunculi couldn't get violence started someplace,
do you think they would have done the killing themselves?" Sheska asked.

Many of the soldiers tensed at this and glanced at Sheska. They hadn't even
thought of the possibility of the Homunculi doing their own dirty work. They
seemed so intent on the military doing all the dirty work.

Ed stiffened and looked down. If that was true, then what would that mean
for Liore? So what if Mustang found a way to stop the uprising in Liore and
keep people from getting killed if it meant the Homunculi might just go in
and do it themselves if they had to? He's seen those monsters fight. Against
normal civilians with no fighting experience, just one of them could easily
cause mass murder. There was no way to win.

"If they were desperate and out of time, I think they would." Al said.

"Out of time? I don't think there is a time restraint. They've been working on
this for a very long time." Ling pointed out.

Al shrugged.

Scar glared at the screen. So, even if the Ishvalan war didn't begin, his people
would have still been slaughtered? He hated it, but it just made sense that the
Homunculi would have done whatever it took to cause bloodshed. His home
was just located in the wrong spot. It was just pure bad luck that it was in a
spot that the Homunculi declared needed to be a blood crest. But still, none of
the Homunculi were ever seen. They worked from the shadows and didn't do
the killing themselves for a reason…

"The Homunculi doing the killing would be a last resort." Scar said with a
frown, eyes narrowed in thought. When a lot of people looked at him, he
clarified. "If the Homunculi do the killing, then anyone who managed to
escape would have learned of them. They may not understand what they were
or how they did what they did, but they would have seen something that the
Homunculi didn't want known, which is why they work from the shadows."

"They would probably hunt down and kill anyone who did learn of them."
Mustang said darkly. "Unless, they were useful to them." He glanced at Ed,
then at Al.
"In that sense, you can say Ed and Al are lucky." Riza said. "But it is only
because they did Human Transmutation and then had the bad luck to meet
Lust and Envy in the Fifth Lab during their search for information about the
stone. If none of that ever happened…"

"I don't know." Ed said with a frown. "Father knows Hohenheim. He seemed
interested in him and us when he learned we were his sons."

"Do you think that would interest him enough to keep you alive if you
weren't of use to him?" Riza asked.

Ed shrugged. "Don't know. I don't understand how his mind works. I was just
saying, but he just seems to be a confusing person."

The map was shown with the array drawn on it.

"It looks like the transmutation circle from the fifth laboratory." Falman
said.

"What? You told your whole team before they were transferred?" Ed asked
with a frown, glancing at Mustang.

"Of course I did. They needed to know everything that was going on. It's not
safe to leave anyone who is involved in this in the dark." Mustang replied.
"Probably the last few details I gave them before they were transferred
away."

Ed shrugged. "Can't complain I guess. At least this way, I know who knows
and I can trust them when I need help."

Buccaneer appeared on screen. "Is that so? The Philosopher's Stone

array that draws power from human lives."

Ed and Al were shown next, staring down at the map.

"If they make a Philosopher's Stone with something this huge, how many
will have to die?" Buccaneer asked before the map appeared on screen
again.
"Too many. Way too many." Hughes said darkly, hugging Ed more tightly
from behind. "Too many people have already died for this plan. We can't let
them sacrifice any more lives."

"To be fair, no lives have been sacrificed." Ed replied, shifting around as he

tried to get Hughes's arms to loosen their hold. "The Homunculi are the ones
who planned this, but it was our military and the civilians of this country
taking the lives, not the Homunculi. They started it, but we finished it."

"There is no 'we' about it." Mustang growled. "You haven't done anything to
help create bloodshed."

Ed shrugged and looked back at the screen. He may not have caused
bloodshed, but he was the one to inform the military of Liore. He brought
attention to it and that helped create more problems for Liore.

"Once I asked Envy if the Homunculi were planning to use this country
to create a Philosopher's Stone." Dr. Marcoh said. He appeared on
screen with May's back towards the screen. "But he just laughed at my
question. Then he said no. That was not it, but close."

"I forgot about that. It's not just a stone that they are after. It is something
much bigger." Dr. Marcoh said with a frown.

"It always is." Mustang looked over at Ed. "Didn't you say the plan might be
to surpass God?"

"I said that." Ed admitted softly. "But Colonel, that was just a guess,
hypothesis, because of what I saw on that stone array from Xerxes. We don't
know if what we think about Xerxes is true or that Father is really arrogant
enough to think he can surpass God."

"It could be true. Why else would they have Gluttony eat that stone array if
not to hide some of the evidence?" Miles asked.

Ed shrugged. "Who knows? Personally, I don't really want to understand too

in depth how these monsters think."
A flashback of Dr. Marcoh handing Ed a note in a train station appeared
on screen.

"Earlier I had spoken to Edward Elric. I told him that maybe he would
be able to find the truth hidden within the truth." Dr. Marcoh said.

May appeared on screen.

"Three truths. First, that the ingredients for a Philosopher's Stone are
lives human." Dr. Marcoh said, making May look down sadly.

"Found that one out!" Ed said.

"I should hope so. That was the truth I put right in front of you." Dr. Marcoh
said.

"Well, you could doubt me finding it out if I couldn't decode your notes." Ed
pointed out.

Dr. Marcoh chuckled. "A teenager who became a State Alchemist at twelve. I
think I trust you to be able to decode my notes if you can accomplish that.
You just did it faster than I expected."

Ed gave him a small grin.

A smirking Lust appeared on screen. She was followed by Gluttony, who

had his finger in his mouth. After him was a bored looking Envy, then
Father, whose face was half-shadowed with glowing red eyes. Father
drank a glass of a red liquid that was a stone.

"Second, that there's a group of beings seeking to create an enormous

stone." Dr. Marcoh said.

"Found that out too, though it did take longer to learn." Ed said.

"That's not surprising. It would require a lot of investigating to discover that

one. Though your visit to the Fifth Lab did help you along a bit." Dr. Marcoh
replied.
"Wait…that was one of the truths you wanted him to find out?" Mustang
asked, staring coldly at Dr. Marcoh. "But you told him this before you were
captured?"

Dr. Marcoh sighed. "I'm ashamed to admit that I had this idea of what they
were planning for years, but I had no solid proof of anything. If I tried to tell
anyone, I would have surely been laughed at or thought of as being insane."

"That doesn't mean you don't try. What if none of this was discovered by any
of us? We would have been sitting ducks waiting for this day to come and not
even know it!" Mustang growled.

"No time to prepare. No time to gather allies. No time to get weapons."

General Armstrong growled. "We would have been annihilated."

Dr. Marcoh looked down in shame. They definitely would have. And it all
would have came to be if Armstrong hadn't seen him at that train station that
day and brought Ed to visit him. If it wasn't for that, he doubt that any of this
would have been discovered early enough that plans could be put into motion
to save this country. And it was all because he was such a coward and ran
away. Well, no more. He had to find a way to help in any way he could. Ed
was right the other day when he said he shouldn't run away. There had to be
something he could do to help.

"And third," The map with the array that Ed drew reappeared on
screen. It was followed by the array in the Fifth Lab. "That they plan to
use the entire country as a transmutation circle to make it." The screen
slowly moved up the array to show Ed standing in front of it.

"And we just discovered the final truth." Al said. "And yet, there is still
information we are missing."

"Even all the truths in the world can't explain why anyone would want to do
something as insane as this." Riza said softly. "There are reasons as to why,
but even those could make no sense if they are insane enough."

Dr. Marcoh reappeared on screen. "But even all that doesn't explain
everything. Ultimately, what is their motive?" A downcast May was
shown. "What is it they're really trying to do? I know you're seeking the
secrets of immortality."

May and Xiao-Mei looked up in surprise.

May was shown from behind with Dr. Marcoh sitting in front of her.

"But you can't let your search lead you to the Philosopher's Stone." Dr.
Marcoh looked back down at the notebook. "By combining the
information I have with your knowledge of Alkahestry," He closed the
notebook and looked back up at May. "We'll figure out these notes
somehow. I'm sure of it."

"And we can hope that those notes have something that can help us." Dr.
Marcoh said.

"Or they could have nothing at all." Ed muttered.

Hughes flicked his forehead. "Don't be so dark, Ed. We can hope there is
something there."

Ed rubbed his forehead. "I'm just being realistic. There is always that chance
that nothing in those notes can help."

"You're being a pessimist." Havoc retorted.

"Is there a difference?" Mustang asked sarcastically.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Course there is." He muttered.

"Right." May replied determined.

Ed reappeared on screen, playing with his pencil while his automail hand
rested on his chin as he leaned over the map as he thought. After a
moment his eyes widened.

"You figured out a lot already and you're still working on it?" Darius asked.

Ed glanced at General Armstrong. "I think I'm being pressured. Besides,

maybe I'll figure a bit more out."

"With just a map and dates of the conflicts?" May asked.

"I'll work with what I have." Ed said with a shrug. "We can't all have notes to
decipher."

"No, you just have a map and some years to decipher. Not really a lot to work
with, which just makes it harder." Kei said.

Riviere was shown on the map with the year '1558' written above it. Ed
tapped it with his pencil. "The first of the conflicts happened in 1558."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Luke said sarcastically.

Ed shot him an annoyed glare.

Ed was shown from the side with Buccaneer and Al standing at his right
side while Falman was still kneeling in front him and Olivia stood behind
him.

"Right." Olivia said. "It was just after the founding of Amestris."

Falman put a hand to his chin. "They attacked Riviere. That was the
neighboring country at the time, and then the military…" He paused
and picked up the map. "Wait." He was shown from the front, looking at
the map close up. "That's it."

The group was shown from the side.

"It was the military. They were involved in all of it." Falman said.

The rest of the group gasped in surprise.

"Course it was. That's where the Homunculi have the power and with the
Fuhrer as one of them," Ed scowled.

Ed and Olivia appeared on screen.

"Each incident was a coup d'état or insurrection. Like in Liore. Forces
from Central would be sent in and they would make everything worse."
Falman said.

"Is it the soldiers stationed in Central or is it just how the higher-ups are
manipulating them?" Aran asked.

"No, it's how they are being manipulated." Ross said as she shared a look
with Brosh. They were stationed in Central and they had friends there that
were in the military. There was no way that they were traitors. "I doubt that
they would want too many people knowing their plans anyway. Only the
higher-ups know."

Ed blinked and frowned. "It's been going on that long?"

"Created just to be destroyed later on by the very same person who created
it." Armstrong said darkly.

"We kept growing. Our country started out as a small nation, but we
expanded as we took over more and more neighboring countries." Olivia
said.

The scene was shown from a downward angle as Falman put the map
down.

"That was all to create this circle." Olivia said.

Ed was shown close up. "So that means, not only are they planning to
use this country to do whatever it is they're doing, but they actually
created it in the first place for that single purpose."

"Now that is a horrifying truth." Avery growled. "Our job is to protect this
country and unknowingly help create blood crests just to let it be destroyed
by this insane man."

Mustang closed his hand into a tight fist. It was like their sole purpose for
living was to just die as ingredients for this plan! That was something he
could not accept. They were humans. Their purpose in life was not to be used
like this. It was to live, to survive in this world that included loving, arguing,
hating and being hated, making friends, and just everything that they faced in
their lives. They were meant to feel hate, anger, sadness, pain, but also love,
happiness, kindness, and just have time of pure fun full of innocent laughter.
The life of a human was complex and they were not perfect, but that was life.
A life that was perfect would not really be a life worth living. The purpose of
being born was to live life to the fullest, not to be a material for some insane
plan. There was no way he could let Father get away with this plan and steal
so many lives that still needed to be lived.

The side of Olivia's face appeared on screen. "My country."

The group was shown from the side.

Al turned his head. "Do you think General Hughes…?"

Hughes smirked a bit. "You boys are smart to realize that I knew."

"At least we know why you were killed now. That's one part of your murder
mystery solved." Ed said quietly. "Now there is just finding the person who
did it." He glanced at Mustang at this. There was a small part of him hoping
that it wasn't discovered that Envy was the killer. If that wasn't discovered,
then Mustang's thirst for revenge might never end, but if he did find out it
was Envy, then he would go for his revenge, and that wasn't something any
of them wanted to face.

Ed looked up. "Yeah, before he was killed, he must've seen the

transmutation circle." He was shown up close. "He was serving in the
court martial office. He had all the information about the military
incidents." Al was shown. "He would have known that something wasn't
right." Ed reappeared on screen. "That must be why he…" He stopped
in horror.

"What's wrong?" Hughes asked worriedly.

Ed shrugged. "Wouldn't know. You know my mind, a million things can be

running through it at a time."
Mustang snorted. "That is annoying. You can be in the middle of a
conversation and just freeze all of a sudden because you thought of
something."

Hughes raised a brow.

"He's done it during his reports." Mustang explained.

Isaac appeared on screen with his giant block of ice behind him glowing
blue and a bit red at the bottom.

"And who is that?" Ling asked.

"Isaac McDougal, the Freezing Alchemist. He attacked Central a few weeks

ago." Ed explained. "Don't worry about it. It's not important."

"I think someone attacking Central is pretty important, Fullmetal." Mustang

replied.

Ed waved him off. "Not when it's in the past."

"You've sworn your life to the State as a dog of the military, but," Ed
was shown, hair blowing in the wind from the transmutation. "Do you
really know the ones you serve or what their true plans are?"

Envy in his true form appeared on screen. "You get a speck of power
and you have the arrogance to assume you're the ones in control of it."
He said as Father was shown.

Isaac's face reappeared on screen. "Don't be a fool!"

"Argh, Chief, just stay focused on one memory." Luke groaned. "How can
you go back and forth like this?!"

"It's not that hard to follow." Ed muttered. "Just be glad it's only two
memories."

"You've played with more than two memories at a time before?" Luke asked
horrified. "What is wrong with you?"
"I am working through this to figure things out." Ed grumbled.

"He'll lead us all to ruin. I'm only doing what needs to be done!" Isaac
shouted.

Ed reappeared on screen with a look of horror on his face.

A furious Olivia appeared on screen, gripping her sword in her hands. "I
do not like this."

"No one would." Ed muttered, but without much force in his words. Those
memories…was it that there was more than just Father creating alchemy?
Sure, alchemy had to come from somewhere. It was their guess that Father
created it for his own purpose, which could have been to give this country's
military a lot more power to keep it safe until his plans were completed. But
what if there was more to it than just creating this science. The control he had
over it just shouldn't have been possible. There should have been no logical
way for him to turn it off like that unless he was…the real source of
alchemy? Or his lair was? It just didn't make any sense. But then again,
nothing was at this point and there was nothing else it could be.

Mustang looked over at Ed at his words, but anything he wanted to say was
forgotten when he saw that horrified look on his face. "What's wrong?"

Ed looked over at him, but didn't reply. He just shook his head. "It's nothing,
just thinking."

"Just thinking doesn't make one horrified of something like that." Mustang
retorted. "What were you thinking about?"

"Just theories." Ed muttered, hand resting on his mouth to keep it covered.

"It's nothing. Forget it. I'm probably just thinking up some crazy things."

Mustang frowned, not convinced, but chose to let it go for Ed's sake. If he
didn't want to talk, he didn't have to.

She pointed her sword at the map.

"As far as I can tell, there's only one place left." Olivia's furious face
appeared on screen. "If you're right about your theory, the next place
they're going to hit is right here in Briggs."

"And no doubt, your enemy will be Drachma." Breda said darkly. "You will
finally get those Drachman enemies you've been looking for since Chief
arrived."

"Those bastards would dare try to start something with Drachma?" Buccaneer
growled. "There is nothing acceptable about that."

"Creating the blood crest is a cause for concern, but the biggest one right now
is, can you guys handle Drachma?" Ling asked.

Buccaneer scoffed. "We are the perfect defense. We won't let them into the
country."

"With that concern out of the way, the bigger concern can be looked at then."
Ling said. "After the Briggs's blood crest, they will all be complete, won't
they? And if they are complete, it will be happening soon, won't it?"

"It seems so." Armstrong replied. "There won't be much time left when the
blood crests and circle have been completed."

"Those bastards in Central. What kind of dirty plans do they have for
my fort?" Olivia growled.

The sound of hooves entered the scene.

"General!" A soldier shouted, making Olivia turn her face towards him.

A soldier on a horse was shown. "You're needed back at the fort.

Lieutenant General Raven from Central is here to see you." The soldier
said.

Buccaneer, Olivia, and Ed, who stood up, appeared on screen.

"Oh, great, he's there already." Al groaned.

"Well, at least we got General Armstrong on our side before he showed up."
Ed replied. He looked over at Hughes. "Are you going to let go of me ever?"

"Hmm," Hughes looked thoughtful for a moment before grinning. "Nope, this
is comfy so just deal with it." He dropped his chin back down onto Ed's head
again, making Ed grumble under his breathe.

Ed gasped.

Olivia gave an aggravated sigh. "It looks like our time's already up."

Ed looked at her. "Excuse me, General Armstrong."

Olivia looked at him.

"I'd like to ask a favor of you." Ed replied.

Olivia's face appeared on screen, showing slight surprise.

Ed's face appeared on screen. "Do you think you could con some
information out of General Raven?"

A smirk worked its way onto Olivia's face. She was definitely coming to like
this boy and his devious mind. Despite the unorthodox way it was done, the
teenager was trained well by Mustang and his team and his intelligence and
devious mind made him that much more a valuable asset.

"That shouldn't be any problem at all." Olivia said. "I myself would like some
more information."

A pair of feet appeared on screen. The scene slowly moved up the body
until it reached General Raven's face as footsteps were heard.

"General Raven, sir." Miles said before he was shown behind Raven.
"I'm terribly sorry to have to ask you to wait."

Raven turned to face him. "No, please, don't worry about it." Miles's
face was shown from the side. "It's my fault for dropping in like this."

Mustang smirked. "Now we can finally play one of the higher-ups, instead of
getting played."

"There is no we." Olivia retorted with a smirk. "It is me and my men doing
the con with Fullmetal and Alphonse."

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure, General."

"General Armstrong should return at any moment now." Miles said.

"This way, please."

"Oh," Raven said, making the scene change directions to show Raven
with Kimblee standing behind him. "And as you can see, I brought a
guest with me."

"Kimblee?" Miles growled. "He shouldn't even be able to stand yet."

"He did have that alchemist doctor who could use a Philosopher's Stone."
May pointed out. "That will probably work just as well as my Alkahestry in
healing."

"Just what we need. The enemy having a skilled alchemist doctor helping
getting the enemy back on his feet faster." Buccaneer growled.

"If it's not too much trouble, then perhaps you would be so kind as to
show him around the fort." Raven said.

Olivia growled. "I do not want either of those men in my fort. If they have to
be though, never let them be unsupervised."

"I don't think you let anyone who's not stationed in the fort be unsupervised."
Ed muttered.

"And for good reason." Olivia replied.

"Yeah, yeah, no trust for anyone." Ed replied.

"There is that, but it is also dangerous." Miles told him. "You don't know the
fort like we do so you would probably run into some trouble if we left you
alone."
"You put me in jail." Ed said dryly.

"If you weren't a prisoner and we let you run around, you would probably
meet trouble." Buccaneer clarified.

"There's no probably about it." Mustang said.

Ed shot him an annoyed glare. "Yes, thank you, Colonel." He said

sarcastically.

Kimblee grabbed his hat. "I'd appreciate it." His face was shown up
close as he took his hat off to show a cruel smirk on his face. "Thanks,
Major Miles."

Miles face appeared on screen as he frowned.

The scene changed to show Buccaneer's chest on one side of the screen
with him carrying some wire while Ed, Al, and Falman followed behind
him.

Ed and Al were shown from the side.

"Winry's apple pie." Al said, making Ed look up from the ground. "That
was the first thing I wanted to do when I got my body back. But now,
even that much may be out of reach forever."

"You'll have all the apple pie you could ever want." Ed said.

"Oh, now you're being an optimist." Havoc said.

"Our plans don't change just because a nutcase wants to use our country for a
crazy plan. We have to continue on while working to stop him." Ed replied.
"I'm not going to forget my original goal." He looked over at Mustang. "I'm
sure yours and General Armstrong's plans haven't changed one bit because of
this. You both still plan to become Fuhrer."

Mustang smirked. "And the Fuhrer being a Homunculus will give us the
chance to open up that seat."
"…That's dark." Al muttered.

"Could be considered evil." Ed agreed. He looked from Mustang to General

Armstrong to see a smirk now on her face as she continued to stare at the
screen. Yep, these guys seemed to be a bit evil.

Ed was shown from his other side, staring up at Al with a smile. "We're
going to get our bodies back, and the monsters who've been messing with
our country for all this time are going to pay!"

Al was shown to be staring down at his brother.

"Just you wait."

"Hmm." Al replied.

A tea cup appeared on screen.

"I apologize for the chaos, sir." Olivia's voice said.

The vents were shown with a microphone resting on it that had a red
blinking light on it. Through the vent gate Olivia and Raven could be
seen sitting at a table.

"We were attacked yesterday." Olivia continued.

"By who?" Raven asked.

Olivia was shown from behind with Raven in front of her.

"I think it's most appropriate to call it a monster." Olivia answered.

"But fortunately we were able to fend it off."

"A monster." Raven repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, he's good." Mustang growled. "Very good at lying and keeping his tone
neutral. He has to know what she is talking about."

"Well, he wouldn't be a formidable opponent if he was that easily seen

through." Olivia replied.

"When you know he is playing you though, it leaves you at an advantage."

Brody said.

"And he's lost his advantage and he doesn't even know it." Ling said with a
smirk. He looked over at Ed. "Great idea you had for conning him."

"Well, I am told I have a wonderfully devious mind for these kinds of

things." Ed replied a bit sarcastically.

Olivia's face appeared on screen. "We killed it, but it didn't die, sir."

Raven appeared on screen, chuckling. "Is that so?" His tea cup appeared
on screen as he picked it up.

Ed growled. "His ignorant act annoys me so much right now. I want to punch
him."

"Get in line, kid." Olivia replied.

Olivia was shown from behind again as Raven took a sip of his tea.

"I suspected that it originated in Drachma, but the Elric brothers,"

Olivia said and at the mention of the Elrics Raven stopped drinking and
became more alert. "Didn't I mention? The Fullmetal Alchemist and his
brother are here." She picked up her own tea cup.

"Mentions of a monster that won't die, no reaction. Mention of the Elric

brothers, full attention." Ling said with a grin. "You sure are popular."

"Lucky me. It was always my goal to get on the radar of all the higher-ups in
Central." Ed replied sarcastically.

Olivia appeared on screen. "I found it disturbing. They seemed to know

about this monster."

Raven appeared on screen, taking another sip from his tea cup.
"Oh, look at him now. Not so jolly and calm now." Hughes said with a smirk.
"That look in his eyes. There's a bit of worry hidden in there."

"He should be more than worried. He just doesn't know how worried and
scared he truly should be yet." Mustang added.

"I suggested this con, but you guys are enjoying it a bit too much." Ed
muttered.

"He betrayed us. If he is going to betray us and his country then I have no
problem conning him for information." Mustang growled, eyes darkened with
controlled anger. Those higher-ups in Central had no right to be where they
were now. They were traitors to their own country. This was high treason and
he was going to make sure they all paid for this betrayal. If these bastards
valued their own lives more than their country then they should have never
joined the military.

"But they wouldn't talk." Olivia said.

The scene was shown from the vent gate again as soft, suspenseful music
began.

"Obviously if we have a State Alchemist doubling as a spy for Drachma,

that's a serious problem. I've locked them up." Olivia said.

Ed's head dropped in despair. "So, it's back to the holding cell." He sighed
and looked up. "Whatever, it's fine if it's for the plan and you guys are really
on my side now?" He glanced at the Briggs soldiers.

Avery waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah, don't worry, Chief. We've got your
back."

Luke gave him a grin. "We'll protect you from the evil General. No worries."

"I'm not worried about Raven!" Ed snapped.

"Then is it Kimblee?" Aran asked.

Ed scowled. "I just want to know that you guys have my back and aren't
going to suddenly betray me. I'm not worried about Raven…or Kimblee…
Okay, that's not true. Kimblee has two stones so he worries me a bit."

"Yes, so it might be a wise idea to avoid him and if you can't, don't do
anything stupid." Mustang said.

Ed shrugged. "You know how trouble loves me though."

The scene moved down the wire that was connected to the microphone.

"Perhaps you'd like to speak with them." Olivia said.

"Certainly," Raven said as the scene moved down the rest of the wire to
show Ed, Al, Buccaneer, and Falman gathered around a speaker and
lantern. "They won't tell you anything?"

The speaker was shown.

"Correct. They said they came here to research living transmutation or

something." Olivia replied.

"To be fair, that is true." Ed said.

Olivia reappeared on screen with a very small smile on her face. "What
could be more suspicious? I distrusted then instantly."

"That is also true." Al said.

"Well, there is a bit of truth in every con." Riza said. "It makes it harder to
find the lies when the lies are surrounded by truths."

Olivia blinked and looked down sadly before putting down her cup. She
was shown from the side at an upward angle. "I had thought about
torturing them to get the information."

"Shit, was that true? Or was that a lie?" Ed asked surprised.

Olivia smirked. "You don't need to know."

"No, I really think I need to know." Ed replied, eye twitching a bit. Briggs
was a very dangerous place.

Olivia was shown from the front. She rested her chin on her hands. "But
I am a woman after all. The thought of hurting those boys."

Buccaneer appeared on screen.

"Let's just say I couldn't stand it."

"Lie." All the Briggs soldiers chorused.

Ed drew a hand over his face. "I know that one is a lie. After spending the last
few days in here with her, I could figure that much out."

"But it's a good way to play this." Hughes said with a grin. "Playing the weak
woman who has a soft spot for kids."

"I wouldn't say weak." Mustang replied. "There is no way they would let her
be in charge of Fort Briggs if they thought she was weak."

Hughes shrugged. "Then she is playing a motherly instinct to watch over the
kids in her fort even while being suspicious of them."

"Everything you say is wrong." Ed muttered. "I don't think that is how she is
playing it at all. There's not a motherly bone in her body. No way could she
play it."

Olivia raised a slender brow. "You doubt my acting skills, Fullmetal?"

"Don't try to argue this. You and I both know Hughes is being an idiot and
your goal is not to act like you have a motherly instinct here." Ed retorted.
"But your acting is superb, I will give you that."

Hughes huffed in offense and released his hold on Ed.

The moment Ed felt Hughes's arms loosening, he took the chance and ripped
himself free. "Finally!" He cheered and shifted away from Hughes to sit a bit
closer to Mustang because he at least knew Mustang wouldn't touch him. "If
all it took was an insult, I would have insulted him a long time ago." He
muttered to Mustang, who just smirked at him.

Buccaneer smirked, showing all his teeth as he did. "Now that's rich."

The scene pulled out to show Ed, Al, and Falman staring in slight horror
and disbelief.

"She would've tortured you in a second and not thought twice about it."
Buccaneer said.

"Must come from living on the border for so long. That cold nature." Lan Fan
said. "What made the decision to not torture them then?"

"If I had to make a guess, it would have been his wording. He said he couldn't
answer and that gave me the idea that someone close to him was in danger."
Olivia replied. "If he really cared that much about her to defy a direct order to
answer me then no amount of torture would get him to give me information
when it would put her in danger. If I wanted the answers, I would have to do
it in a way that would keep her safe because can't doesn't mean won't. Can't
means your hands are tied. Won't means you simply do not wish to give any
information."

"Word play." Ed said with a smirk. "It's how we give clues to each other. You
have to look under the words said to find the second meaning."

Raven's laugh echoed over the speaker.

Raven appeared on screen.

"But General Armstrong, aren't you known as the Northern Wall of

Briggs?" Raven asked. "Walls aren't as soft as that."

"He has a good point. That could ruin the con." Heinkel said.

Olivia chuckled before her face appeared on screen. "You know General
Raven, at my age most women are expected to have had a child or two at
least. Unfortunately I'm well passed that now."
"The implication is there." Hughes said slyly.

Ed shot him an annoyed glare. "Would you shut up?"

"He has a point. That would really sell the con and explain why the Northern
Wall of Briggs is being soft towards a couple of teenagers." Kei said with a
grin.

Ed rolled his eyes and looked at Al, who just shrugged his shoulder. These
guys were obviously idiots.

Ed and Al reappeared on screen, staring expectantly at the speaker.

"Come now. Surely men are lining up to have children with you." Raven
said.

"Hardly, sir." Olivia replied. The side of her face appeared close up on
screen. "I'd hate to say, but like everybody else, I'm growing older."

Ed and Al reappeared on screen.

"And my body is too."

Ed and Al leaned in closer at those words, eyes narrowed.

Raven appeared on screen with Olivia's head blocking his face as the
scene slowly moved to the side.

"That Drachman monster though. It had an outstanding body." Olivia's

lips appeared on screen as she said, "An immortal body."

The side of Raven's face was shown close up.

"Like something from a dream." Olivia said.

Raven's eyes narrowed. His hand was shown as he put the tea cup down.
He rose to his feet. "What if I told you that very soon it wouldn't be a
dream anymore?"
Ed and Al appeared on screen, gasping as they shared a look.

Olivia was shown from behind as Raven walked around the table to get
closer to her.

Olivia appeared on screen as Raven's hand rested on her shoulder.

Raven leaned down closer to her.

"Tell me, General," Raven's mouth appeared on screen as an evil grin

took it over. "Would you be interested in a legion of immortal soldiers?"
Olivia's and Raven's face were shown before the scene went back to Ed
and Al.

'He took the bait.' Ed and Al thought.

Olivia's face appeared on screen once more, eye looking down to the side.

The ending song began.

The screen went dark.

"And where the hell would those immortal soldiers be coming from?"
Forman growled.

"I really don't think we want to know." Rilen muttered.

"Whether we want to know or not, we should figure it out so we can stop it

from happening." Jerso snarled.

"Just another thing to add to the list of things we have to do to save the
country." Ed mumbled under his breath. "It's like a freaking never ending
list."

"It just means we have our work cut out for us." Mustang replied as he was
probably the only one who heard Ed with how quiet he was. "Think you can
handle it, pipsqueak?"

Ed shot him a glare. "Pipsqueak?" He lunged at Mustang, tackling him to the

ground. "I'm not a pipsqueak, jerk!"
Everyone else just stared at Ed who was sitting on Mustang's chest, glaring
down at him.

"What did we miss?" Al asked shocked at the sudden activity.

"Roy probably just annoyed Ed again. He has a habit of doing that." Hughes
said cheerfully.

Mustang glared at up Ed. "Off, Fullmetal."

Ed stubbornly crossed his arms and continued glaring down at Mustang.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Okay, be that way." He pushed himself up quickly,
which made Ed tumble back off of Mustang and into Hughes's lap.

Hughes blinked and looked down at Ed. "Hey Ed. Fancy seeing you back
here so soon. Did you miss me hugging you?"

Ed glared up at him and rolled off of his lap. "Shut up, Hughes. I obviously
chose a horrible place to sit."

"But Ed," Hughes grabbed him in another hug from behind. "I like sitting by
you."

"You make me want to hit you." Ed growled.

Hughes rolled his eyes, but couldn't help a fond smile. At least Ed was calm,
relaxed, and with less stress in his body if he could fool around like this.
Though he wasn't sure if it would last long. He could hope it would though.
Even if it didn't last, then he could hopefully get the teen to calm down or his
brother could or Ling could or Mustang could. Unless they were all stressed
out as well, then there would be a huge problem and no one would be able to
relax. Yeah, that just sounded plain horrible.

A/N: Lucky for you all, I was having fun with this chapter when I started
it last week, and since I am on spring break this week, I managed to get
it done faster than the last one.

Please Review!
*Chapter 39*: Episode 36: Family Portrait
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Okay, listen. I know Olivia's name is Olivier. I started spelling it as

Olivia and I have no idea as of why. I just thought that was how it spelled
when I looked it up for whatever reason, even though I know it's not. But
since that's how I started, I am just going to keep it that way.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 36: Family Portrait

"Hughes, let go of me." Ed growled.

"Don't feel like." Hughes replied, grinning into Ed's hair.

Ed scowled. "Why must you be annoying?" He looked over at Mustang.

"Colonel."

"What did I tell you the other day? Your friendship issues are not my
problem, Fullmetal." Mustang replied.

"But he won't stop hanging on me! I thought he was supposed to be an adult."

Ed grumbled.

Mustang sighed. Ed sounded annoyed, but Mustang heard underneath that:

Ed was whining.

"Hughes, get off of Fullmetal." Mustang ordered.

Hughes raised a brow, but when Mustang just gave him a look, he
relinquished his hold on Ed, who immediately scrambled to sit on the other
side of Mustang. Hughes watched him sit there and peak around Mustang to
stare at him, which caused Hughes to grin. He looked like a little kid hiding
behind his dad. Of course he wouldn't say this out loud, for once, because he
wasn't in the market to get punched.

A night sky appeared on screen with soft music playing in the

background. The scene slowly moved down to show Hohenheim from
behind standing on a mountain.

"It's Dad." Al said. "I wonder what he is doing in the middle of nowhere."

Ed rolled his eyes. Quite frankly, he didn't care at all what that stupid man
was doing. All he cared about was finding the man and punching his lights
out. After that, he wanted to be done with him!

"Donatus." Hohenheim said before his tie was shown. He reached up and
pulled the tie loose. "Poswell. Linemile."

"What?" Avery asked confused. "What is he saying?"

"I think those are names." Rufus replied.

"Very strange names." Myers muttered. "I've never heard anyone named
something like those names."

"Johnny."

"Johnny!" Avery and Walkers cheered.

"Oh, look! A normal name!" Luke cheered.

Ed started at them blankly. "You guys are idiots, you know that?"
"We are not!" Luke retorted.

"You're cheering about Hohenheim saying a normal name." Ed replied dryly.

He looked over at Mustang. "Tell me how these guys made it so far being
soldiers?"

Mustang looked over Ed's head with a smirk slowly forming on his face. He
leaned away from Ed, confusing the teen for a moment, before he was
suddenly assaulted by multiple pillows from behind. He was hit by so many
at once that he fell forward and into Mustang's chest, making Mustang threw
his hands to the ground behind him to keep himself mostly upright.

"How immature." Ed muttered into Mustang's chest before he heard the

familiar sound of camera going off. He slowly lifted his head of Mustang's
chest to glare over his shoulder at Hughes. "I'll destroy it and then you!" He
snarled. He tried to lunge at Hughes, but Mustang grabbed him around the
waist and pulled him back.

"I want to do that to, Fullmetal, but not now. You have to wait until he is
least expecting it." Mustang grunted as he struggled with the angry teenager.

Hughes gasped. "Roy! Traitor!"

Mustang shot him a glare. "No pictures of me." He twisted around with Ed in
his arms and dropped the teenager back to the ground next to him.

"Not even ten seconds into the episode yet." Olivia growled.

Ed gave her a nervous grin and settled down after giving Hughes one last
glare. "Next time." He mouthed at the man.

Hohenheim's feet were shown along with his briefcase.

"Colin. Tony."

Aran opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when Ed and
Olivia glared at him.

"My god," Brody glanced from Ed to Olivia. "It's like they teamed up on us!"
"Willard." Hohenheim's chest was shown as he opened his shirt.
"Ripley." He held his hands up. "Mechthild."

"It's another weird name!" Avery cried.

Growling, Ed grabbed a pillow that was thrown at him and threw it hard
enough to slam into Avery's face. "Quiet."

Mustang raised a brow. "Violent." He pulled Ed back by his shirt. "Anything

you want to tell us, Fullmetal?"

"I want to get through this." Ed grumbled. "And that can't be done when
people keep talking about names!"

"Meiyou." Hohenheim's face was shown from the side with his eyes
scrunched shut. "Forgive me." He opened his eyes and looked up at the
night sky. "But I have to use you." His chest was shown as he slammed
his fingers into it and buried them inside his chest.

"Uh…What? Did he just dig his fingers into his own body?" Jerso asked
shocked.

"Who the hell does something like that?" Havoc asked horrified.

Brody rubbed his own chest. "That seems like it would be really painful." He
looked at Ed then at Al. "What is with your dad?"

Ed scowled. "How would we know? Or did you miss that bit of information
that said he abandoned us when we were kids?!"

Brody flinched a bit at Ed's harsh tone.

Mustang dropped a hand onto Ed's head. He knew that Ed felt a lot of
negative emotions towards his dad for what he did, but even he didn't expect
such a rough tone from the boy. "Calm down, Fullmetal. "

Ed breathed harshly out through his nose before swatting Mustang's hand
away. He knew he was being harsh about this. Ever since Hohenheim
appeared on screen, he was being a bit mean, but he just couldn't stand to
look at him. It was hard to deal with him after he left ten years ago. He left
them to fend for themselves after their mother died. He should have been
there! He should have been there to stop him and Al from making such a
horrible mistake. If he had only been there, he wouldn't be stuck as a dog of
the military with two automail limbs right now and Al wouldn't be trapped in
that metal prison! Why couldn't he have just been there for them when they
needed him most of all? He was a rotten no-good father who wasn't there
when his kid needed someone to tell them it was wrong!

The scene changed to show Hohenheim as a darkened figure from a

slight distance. He pulled his hands out of his chest and blood sprouted
out of it.

The ground was shown as it splashed onto the ground.

Each splash of blood on the ground swirled into the air before being
absorbed into the ground.

"Well, uh, that was different." Hughes said, blinking.

Al blinked, not really sure of what to make of that. "Brother…what did Dad
just do?"

"How would I know?" Ed grumbled. "But it looked like his blood was
absorbed into the ground."

"But what was with those names?" Al muttered, mostly to himself since he
didn't want to aggravate his brother anymore by discussing this. He didn't
need his brother to say it out loud for him to know that he was upset and
annoyed with seeing their dad on screen. He obviously didn't want to see
their dad while Al was more than happy to see him and wonder what he was
doing. This had to be something important since they were seeing it, but he
just couldn't figure it out.

Hohenheim was shown to be staring down at the ground with red spots
on his chest from where he dug his fingers into his body.

The title "Family Portrait" appeared on screen.

"Family Portrait?" Hughes repeated with a smirk. "Sounds like a picture!" He
put his hand into his pocket and before anyone could so much as groan, he
ripped out a bunch of pictures.

"Put them away." Mustang hissed, glaring at Hughes before the man could
shove a picture in his face.

"But you haven't seen my beautiful wife or adorable daughter yet!" Hughes
whined.

"I've seen enough pictures of them that I could draw a very detailed portrait
of them both right now." Mustang retorted. "We don't have time to play with
your pictures."

Pouting, Hughes put the pictures away after giving them a glance. He missed
his wife and daughter so much. He knows it's only be a few days since they
arrived here, but he chose a desk job in Central so he wouldn't have to be
away from his family for this long unless an emergency absolutely demanded
his attention in another city.

A garden appeared on screen showing a house in the distance at

nighttime with the words '13 years ago' at the bottom of the screen.

Ed and Al, as toddlers, appeared on screen as they slept.

Hughes fell out of his depressed state as a huge grin spread across his face.
"How adorable! You two were such cute kids!"

Ed buried his face in his hands.

"Aww," Karin cooed. "He's right. You two are so adorable."

Al shifted in embarrassment. He could hide his embarrassment easier than his

brother so not many could tell he got all flustered over comments like that.

Izumi smiled softly at the two boys on the screen before glancing at Al then
at Ed. Being their teacher she got them to see them as young kids and they
were just as cute then as they were as toddlers. They were such sweet,
innocent boys, despite Ed's rough nature even back then.
Hohenheim appeared on screen, staring sadly at his hand.

"You can hug them you know." Trisha said.

The scene changed to show Trisha's back as she stood in the doorway to
stare at Hohenheim's back from where he sat crossed leg by his sons'
bed.

Ed took his face out of his hands. "Mom?"

Mustang shifted in surprise when he heard Ed's soft voice next to him. He
glanced at Ed and was shocked to see such a sad, longing expression on his
face. He then looked at Al to see him also staring longingly at the screen.
These boys…In a sense, this was cruel to them to show them their parents
that they both surely missed so much right now.

Ed swallowed thickly and looked over at his brother to catch his eye. They
shared a look before both looked away and back at their mother's back on
screen. This might be the last time they got to see their mother ever. They
didn't want to miss seeing her one last time.

"They are your sons." Trisha said.

Hohenheim bowed his head. "I don't want the monster to spread."

The scene changed to show Hohenheim from the front, along with Trisha
was still standing behind him.

Havoc blinked. "Monster? What is he talking about?"

When silence followed, he glanced at Ed and Al and was surprised to see

both of them staring so intently at the screen, or more precisely, their
mother's face.

Havoc smiled sadly. The last time the brothers saw their mother they would
have just been around five years old. They were so young when they lost her.
This was probably their last chance to commit her face and her gentle voice
to memory forever. They didn't want to lose this chance to see her if it would
be their last time.

"Ed?" Riza asked softly. "Al?"

Ed blinked and looked away from the screen. "What is it?"

"Do you have any idea of what your dad meant when he said he didn't want
the monster to spread?" Riza asked.

"Oh, sorry. No." Ed replied before looking back at the screen.

Riza stared sadly at Ed. He had sounded so subdued and distracted there.
Seeing his mother again has really thrown him off. She looked over at Al
who hadn't even heard her. It threw both of them completely off.

"Please. If it could spread that way, don't you think I would've caught it
a long time ago?" Trisha asked.

"Whatever it is he is talking about, it seems he told Trisha." Brody said.

"That's not surprising. It is hard to keep things from your spouse." Hughes
replied as he thought about his own wife. He didn't tell her everything
because it would be dangerous and against the rules, but what he could tell
her, he told her. He didn't like there being secrets among them.

"Oh," Brody glanced at Ed. "You don't mind if we call her Trisha, do you?
Should we refer to her as Mrs. Elric instead?"

"I don't really care. Whatever you're most comfortable with." Ed replied,
keeping his eyes trained on the screen.

Brody frowned. "I know you miss your mom, Chief, but I don't think it is
healthy for your or Al to be like this."

"I don't care." Ed replied, frowning. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?
He just wanted to watch his mother. He missed her so much. He knew that he
should be over it. She died almost ten years ago, but she was his mother. He
was just a child when she died. His memories of her were hazy. There were
barely any clear memories of that time left. It was getting harder to remember
her as time went on. He didn't want to lose those memories. There were all he
had left of her!

Al clenched his fists and looked down for a moment. They thought he wasn't
listening, but he heard everything that everyone was saying. He just chose to
ignore it all because he wanted to focus on watching his mother and father.
His memories of them were even less than what his brother had. He was
younger. He spent less time with them. All he wanted to do was focus on his
parents that he hasn't seen in so long. He wanted to be with them in his real
body and just feel their warmth as he hugged them. Was that too much to ask
for? To have his parents by his side, smiling at him and watching him grow
up with all the warmth and comfort that a parent could give?

Hohenheim pushed himself to his feet as sad, gentle music began.

The tree swing appeared on screen.

"Since I got this body, I've seen a lot of death." Hohenheim said.

"Body?" Mustang repeated with a frown and narrowed eyes. What could he
possibly mean by that? Was there something wrong with his body? Or did he
mean since he was born that he's been seeing a lot of death?

"Your dad says a lot of weird, confusing stuff." May told Al.

Al gave a small nod. "I am realizing that."

May looked surprised that Al finally replied to something before she smiled a
bit at him. "So you have no idea?"

Al shook his head. "We were only kids when he left. He would have told us
nothing."

"Too bad. We could really use some answers right about now." Jerso said.

"But I've always tried to think about it as part of the flow of the larger
world." Hohenheim said. "That made it easier somehow."

A patch of flowers appeared on screen.

"And each time I encountered something new and wondrous it seemed
right that I'd accepted this body and kept on living."

The scene slowly pulled out to show the flowers from inside a window.
The scene kept pulling back farther to show Hohenheim staring out the
window.

"For a long time that was enough."

Hohenheim's face was shown from the other side of the window with
Trisha in the background with her eyes closed as she listened.

Riza closed her eyes and smiled sadly. "Each life is full of difficulties. It
wouldn't be called living if we didn't face challenges along the way. It seems
that your father has faced many hardships in his life before you were born,
Ed, Al, but he found a way through those hardships and found love as well. A
love that created two amazing sons as well."

Ed scrunched his eyes shut and bowed his head. Damn it! He got that. It
sounded like his dad had some trouble in his past, but that still didn't give him
the right to leave. If through all those hardships he found love with their
mom, what possessed him to leave her? If he and Al were so precious to him
that he would sit on their floor and watch them sleep, then why did he leave
them?

He loved them. Al knew that was a fact. Even if his brother didn't want to
admit it, he knew their dad loved them. There was a reason he left. Al always
believed that. Their dad didn't leave because he wanted to. Al was sure he
wanted to stay with them, but a force pulled him away. Their mother loved
him with all her heart, even after he left and she always believed he would be
back to complete their little family again. But then she died and he never
returned which resulted in the brothers making a horrible mistake. Their
family was torn completely apart, and their dad had no way of knowing since
he never came back. But Al knew. He knew it from the moment that his
brother met their dad in front of their mother's grave. He still loved them and
their mother. He moaned for her. He moaned for their loss house which
contained all his memories of her and his two sons.
From the moment Hohenheim met Ed in the graveyard to the moment he
gave Ed that push to dig up their transmutation to the moment he left
Resembool a second time with a picture of their family in his pocket. Al
noticed what Ed refused to see. It was all about their family.

"But then I met you and together we created two sons." Hohenheim said.

Trisha opened her eyes and looked up.

The sleeping Ed and Al appeared on screen.

The scene slowly zoomed in on them as Hohenheim said, "Now it's

different, I don't get any older. My sons age and grow before my eyes."
Hohenheim reappeared on screen, staring at his hand. "And suddenly,
I'm terrified." He was shown from behind as he closed his hand into a
fist. "I'm realizing that I really am a monster."

"Seriously, what is he talking about?!" Avery asked. "Why would anyone

consider themselves a monster?"

Al stared sadly at his dad's back. His dad thought of himself as a monster? He
and Ed never realized he ever felt that way. They never noticed that their
father was hurting like this. Like any kids, they were ignorant of any pain or
troubles that were facing their parents.

Trisha appeared on screen.

The house was shown during the day as birds flew through the sky.

"Dear? Dear, come here a minute." Trisha's voice said.

A door appeared on screen as it was opened by Hohenheim who was

sighing.

Hughes snickered. "He looks like he is walking to his grave. Trisha must
have some amazing control over him."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm sure she does. The same way Gracia has control over
you and the same way Lieutenant Riza has control over Colonel."
Hughes gasped and lunged over Mustang to get to Ed. "You're making jokes
again!" He cried happily as he hugged Ed tightly.

"Damn it, Hughes!" Mustang growled, glaring at his friend who was kneeling
on his legs so he could hug Ed. "Get off of me!"

"And me!" Ed snarled, trying to push Hughes off of him.

Laughing, Hughes let go of Ed and clambered off of Mustang.

Huffing in annoyance, Ed straightened his shirt and sat back down. Mustang
stared at Hughes's grinning face for a moment before his eye began twitching.

"No, I am not dealing with that again." Mustang grabbed Ed's arm and stood
up. He yanked the boy over to where Mustang was sitting so Mustang could
sit in his spot, effectively putting Ed between Hughes and him again.

Ed looked at Hughes with wide eyes then turned a glare to Mustang.

"Colonel!"

"No." Mustang snapped.

"But–"

"No."

"You're mean!"

"I don't care."

"What is it?" Hohenheim asked as he closed the door behind him. He

looked into the room and gave a surprised sound.

A photographer standing behind his camera appeared on screen. He

lifted his hat in greeting. "Hello sir. Good afternoon."

Hohenheim appeared on screen, blinking.

Al chuckled. "Mom didn't even tell him about it being picture day."
"That's because it is a trap!" Luke declared with a grin. "If you tell him
beforehand, he'll escape!"

"Unless he is Hughes." Al replied amused before he could stop himself.

"Al is back to normal too!" Hughes cheered.

Al held up a hand. "Don't hug me like you did to Brother." He said quickly.

"You'd probably get impaled on his spikes if you did try to lunge at him to
hug him." Ed muttered with a smirk.

"Oh, ha ha, Brother." Al retorted. "You are such a comedian."

"Fine." Hughes wrapped an arm around Ed's neck. "I'll hug Ed for you and
you can feel it through your "Elric Brothers' Telepathy.""

"It doesn't work like that!" Ed shouted, struggling to get Hughes off of him…
AGAIN.

"It doesn't even exist!" Al shouted at the same time.

Unable to help it, the soldiers and people from Xing burst out laughing.

"Off!" Ed cried, shoving Hughes off of him and crawling backwards until he
hit Mustang's side. He turned his head to glare at him. "This is your fault."

"As I said, I am not dealing with Hughes lunging over me again to get to
you." Mustang replied, shooting the teenager a smirk.

"He's like an overexcited child." Ed grumbled.

"A photographer." Hohenheim said as Trisha walked onto screen.

"Yes, let's fix you up." Trisha said as she grabbed Hohenheim's collar
and straightened it. The scene changed angles to show Trisha's face as
she buttoned the collar. "You know we don't have a single family
picture."
Hohenheim's surprised face appeared on screen.

"You seriously didn't have one family picture before this?" Jerso asked
surprised.

"It seems so." Al replied. "Then again, what do I know? I was one at this
point. I don't remember any of this."

Ed grimaced. He didn't remember either. In fact, one of the few clearest

memories he had left of this time was of watching his father walk out the
front door and never once turning back as he walked away. Another clear
memory he had was of watching his mom close her eyes to never reopen
them again. It was getting harder and harder to remember the happy times
from back then.

"That's pretty short noticed." Hohenheim said.

"That's the trap!" Havoc said with a grin.

He looked down at the ground. Al was crawling between Trisha and

Hohenheim while Ed stood by his dad, holding his dad's pants in one
hand and gripping his own shirt in his other hand.

"Say anything and I'll hit you." Ed growled when he saw Hughes open his
mouth.

Lan Fan smiled. "But Ed, you two are so adorable."

Ed groaned. "Al, tell me. Why is it always us that have to deal with seeing
our childhood?"

"Because apparently we're supposed to be teased." Al muttered.

Al stopped crawling and he and Ed looked up at their dad.

Hohenheim and Trisha were shown from the boys' angle as Trisha
straightened Hohenheim's tie.

Ed appeared on screen as his mother's hands grabbed him under his

arms and picked him up.

Trisha stood up and held Ed out to Hohenheim. "Here, you hold Ed,
alright?"

"Eh…" Hohenheim said. His hands took over holding Ed for Trisha.
"Um, sure."

"He sounds so unsure about holding his own son." Brody said with a grin.

Mustang snickered. "You should have seen Hughes when his daughter was
first born. He was scared to death to hold her because he was afraid he would
drop her or hurt her or make her cry. He was freaking out so much."

Al laughed. "Seriously? I would have never guessed, Hughes."

Ed stared at his father holding him with a scowl. Why did that man have to
hold him? That man was never there when he actually needed him. And now
he had to watch him hold him like that in such an unsure manner. What was
he so unsure about? Why couldn't he just be happy holding his son?

Then again, Ed himself wasn't happy to see Hohenheim holding him. It just
brought back memories and desires he didn't want from when he was a child.
As a child, he desperately craved for his dad to be back. Before and after their
mother died. He yelled and said he didn't want his dad back after their mom
passed away, but there was this part of him that desired his return, just a
small part. He wanted Hohenheim back at one point, but that point was long
past and now he wanted nothing to do with the man who abandoned them all.

Trisha bent down and picked Al up and held him to her chest. "Okay,"
She said as she looked towards the photographer. "We're ready. You can
go ahead."

Hohenheim was shown with the back of Ed's head on the screen.

"This isn't good." Hohenheim said.

Ed appeared on screen, staring up at his dad. After a moment, he closed

his eyes and a big, childish grin and laugh came from him.
"Aww, someone looks so happy to see his dad." Havoc teased.

Ed rolled his eyes. Of course he was happy back then. That was when
everything was still alright and their family was whole. He was just a little
kid, unaware of the fact that their family was not going to be whole for much
longer.

"Oh, Eddie," Hughes moaned, draping his arms over Ed's shoulders again.
"Why can't you smile so cute and innocent like that now?"

Ed's brow twitched. "There you go again. Touching me and saying stupid
things again!"

Al laughed. "That is just who he is, Brother."

"I think he woke up with some added strangeness." Ed grumbled. "He's worse
than usual."

The side of Hohenheim's face appeared on screen, showing slight

surprise at the smile.

The photographer appeared on screen. "Okay, look right here." He said,

as he pointed at the lens of the camera as gentle sad music began. "And
hold still please."

The family was shown from the lens' perspective.

Trisha closed her eyes. "What you don't see, dear, is that someday I'm
going to be a wrinkled old monster myself."

"I get it. Your father was upset so this is her way to comfort him. She is so
sweet." Aran said with a grin.

Ed gave a small, sad smile. "Yeah, she was wonderful."

Aran flinched at that. He didn't even realize his mistake of talking about her
as if she was still alive.
She opened her eyes. "So today."

Ed was shown up close, smiling as he looked down and gently swung his
arms.

"I can't get over just how cute you were back then." Hughes cooed to get Ed
out of his sad state. He kept going back and forth from being sad to happy
and teasing. In fact, he glanced at Al. They both were, but that wasn't
surprising. This was extremely hard for the brothers.

Ed smacked his forehead, face completely red. Stupid soldiers.

"He has a point, Brother." Al teased. "You were such an adorable baby."

"Yeah, well, the same could be said for you." Ed retorted. "You were just
such a cutie back there. You would follow me everywhere and cry when I
wasn't with you."

"I did not!" Al said embarrassed.

Ed grinned evilly. "You did."

"Didn't!"

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Ed, Al, enough." Izumi said. She smirked when the boys looked at her. "Did
Al really follow you around when you were babies?"

Ed grinned. "Yeah!"

"Teacher!" Al groaned.

Izumi laughed. "Oh, Al, it's not that uncommon for younger siblings to
follow their oldest siblings around like that." [1]
Al laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"We're going to take this picture."

Ed's smile turned into a grin.

"And I'll be able to remember us all together, smiling."

Al was shown.

"Aww, Ed was right. You are so adorable." Karin said with a bright smile.

Al groaned in embarrassment, but still managed a small, "Thanks."

"No matter what, we'll always a family."

Al turned his head.

"So even if you're scared, don't try distancing yourself from us." Trisha
appeared on screen as she turned her head to face Hohenheim.

Ed snorted. He did more than distanced himself from them. He completely

left them behind.

"And one other thing too, stop calling yourself a monster. It's not true."
Trisha said.

The bottom half of Hohenheim's face appeared on screen.

The photographer appeared on screen, raising a hand. "Say cheese

everyone."

The family was shown again, though the top half Hohenheim's face
wasn't seen. Ed swung his legs while Trisha repositioned Al in her arms.

Trisha's face was shown from the side. "He's taking it. Smile dear."

The camera light was shown as it flashed brightly.

The picture appeared on screen, slowly being zoomed in on.

Al risked a glance at his brother. They have both looked at this picture
before. There was always one thing off with it that neither of the brothers had
ever understood. Their father had been crying in the picture. They never
understood it before, but now they did. Their mother was comforting their
father that day and saying that no matter what, she was always going to love
him for who he was. She wanted him to stay close by in person and in her
heart because she just loved him so much.

Hohenheim's face was shown close up to have tears pouring down it.

"He was crying in the picture?" Hughes said softly. He looked over at Ed,
who was refusing to look at the screen and his dad's crying face. Lowering
his voice, Hughes said, "Ed, I honestly believe that your dad really did love
you and Al and your mom. He had to have had a reason for leaving."

Ed kept his head bowed. "I don't want to hear it, Hughes."

Hughes sighed and hugged the boy from behind and rested his chin on the
teen's head. He wasn't sure if there was anything that could possibly make Ed
accept his father again.

Mustang glanced at Hughes, but the man just shook his head.

The scene went dark and when it lit up again, it was to show
Hohenheim's study from a window to show him working at his desk. His
desk which was covered in notes and books was shown. A group of glass
beakers and vials were shown next.

'My plan was to take this body, and in doing so to extend my life.'
Hohenheim's face was shown, lit up by a light. 'But things are different
now.'

"Extend his life?" Hughes repeated with a thoughtful frown. How could he
possibly extend his life? Normally it would be to live life, not extend it. If he
wanted to extend his life it would mean living longer than he should. And
apparently he had something to do with his body. Or that was what it sounded
like. There was something strange going on here.

Hohenheim was shown from behind, still working at his desk as a light
spread across the floor.

Hohenheim was shown from the front so the door to the study could be
seen cracked open to show Ed peaking in.

'I want to be with Trisha and the boys.'

The scene slowly zoomed in on Ed who just stared at his dad's back.

'To grow old and die with them.'

The paper that Hohenheim was working on was shown. There was an
array drawn on it with notes all around it.

"Isn't that the Philosopher's Stone array?" Avery asked.

Ed's eyes narrowed in on the array. "It is." Father did mention that he knew
Hohenheim when they met him. Could he have told Hohenheim about his
plan? Was their dad involved in it? Or did he find it out on his own?

"How does he know about it? And knowing about it thirteen years ago?"
Olivia growled. "Is your father involved with Father?"

"You know, saying it like that is pretty confu–" Al trailed off when Olivia
glared at him. He sighed. "I really doubt he is involved with Father."

"But you can't know that for sure." Miles replied with a frown.

"Well, no." Al replied annoyed. He didn't want people suspecting his dad. His
dad wasn't a bad person! Yeah, he didn't know his dad for long before he left,
but his mother loved him with all her heart and she always believed in. And
Al trusted and believed in her. Their father, her husband, was not a bad
person. He was not with Father! "But I know him better than you do, and I do
not believe he would be working with Father or the Homunculi."

"But your belief is biased by him being your father." Olivia replied coldly.
Al glared at her.

"Al," Ed said. When his brother looked at him, Ed just shook his head. "I'm
sure we'll learn who is right and who is wrong about Hohenheim when the
time comes. For now, let's try not to argue."

Al huffed. "Fine, Brother."

Breda looked from Al to Ed. "That sure was a role reversal."

Hohenheim's face was shown from the side as he lifted it up. 'That
bastard.'

The tree swing appeared on screen with a ladder against the tree.

Ed glanced at his brother. Seeing him still upset over what the Briggs soldiers
said, which Ed couldn't really blame them for their suspicious since they were
all getting stressed and tensed, Ed sighed. This couldn't go on. He gave a
smile. "Hey, Al, remember that swing?"

Al stared at his brother. "Huh?"

"If I recall correctly, there was a time when I was on the swing and you
wanted a turn, but I wouldn't give you one so you shoved me off it and I went
flying into a mud puddle." Ed said thoughtfully with a grin.

Al laughed loudly. "And you got so annoyed, you pulled me into the mud
puddle with you and we started mud wrestling."

"Then Mom saw us and wouldn't let us into the house so she sprayed us with
the hose." Ed said.

"Yeah, then we were too wet and would get water all over the place so she
made us stay outside for another hour to dry off instead of just giving us
towels." Al replied amused.

Luke laughed. "Oh, god, she sounded like an amazing woman, Chief, Al."

Ed smiled. "The best."

"She was an amazing mom and wife." Al agreed softly.

The scene moved up the tree to show Hohenheim straddling a branch as

he tightened the ropes of the swing. He leaned down a bit to pull on the
rope to make sure it was secure.

The scene pulled out as Hohenheim tapped the rope. "There, that ought
to do it." He ran the back of his hand across his forehead, but the
movement unbalanced him and he started to tilt to the side. In an effort
to fix himself, he hurried to throw some weight on his other side and
ended up flying off the branch, knocking the ladder down with him.
There was a loud THUD as he hit the ground.

Fuery winced. "That's got to hurt."

"He seems to be a bit clumsy." Falman said with a chuckle.

Hohenheim was shown to be lying on the ground, withering in pain,

while his wife stood to the side, staring at him. "What were you doing?"
Trisha asked.

Hohenheim pushed himself into a sitting position. He grabbed his glasses

that fell onto his chest and rubbed the back of his head. "Fixing the
swing." He said through the pain.

Trisha chuckled a bit and walked over to him. "When did you get so
handy?"

Hohenheim was shown from the side with Trisha stopping a few steps
away from him.

"I haven't been able to do much for the boys, but I can at least do this."
Hohenheim said.

'How could you do much for us when you just up and left?' Ed thought
angrily, clenching his hands into fists on his lap. 'You can't do anything when
you aren't there!'

Trisha was shown, surprise shining on her face.

Hohenheim was shown, lifting his face to the sky as soft, suspenseful
music started. "Trisha, I'm going away."

Ed closed his eyes in anger. He told her before he was doing it. He gave her a
warning. Despite everything, at least he told her. He didn't just up and
disappear without telling her anything. That would have made the entire
situation worse.

"This is no longer funny or enjoyable." Hughes said, letting his arms drop off
of Ed, for which the teenager was grateful for. He didn't want anyone
touching him at the moment. He just wanted to be left alone while he
watched this.

Trisha was shown.

"Wait here for me." Hohenheim said.

Al lifted his head at that. "He was going to come back." He looked over at his
brother. "He didn't abandon us, Brother. He left, but he was going to come
back to us."

Ed glared at him. "Yeah, he came back. Ten years later! It shouldn't have
taken him ten years to come back! By that point, our family was destroyed."
He snarled.

Al glared at him. "We're not destroyed…we just got a little torn apart with
mom dead and dad gone and the failed human transmutation."

Ed's expression softened before it hardened again. "Whatever. It's not like his
reappearance would do much good now. We don't need him." He replied
stubbornly.

The air turned cold as Al's glare hardened on his brother. "You're wrong. We
did need him! We…I still need him. Maybe if he had been there for us, this
would have never have happened. Things could have been different."

"But it did happen and because he was a lousy, no-good father who couldn't
have been there when we needed him most." Ed retorted angrily.
"And this just got awkward and uncomfortable." Ling muttered, staring from
Ed to Al with a worried frown.

Al stood up angrily, glaring down at his brother. "We don't know his reasons
for leaving. How can you just judge him without knowing the full story?"

"How can you forgive him so easily for abandoning us and leaving us to fend
for ourselves after mom died? He should have been there to help us through
that, but he wasn't because he decided it was best to leave!" Ed retorted
angrily, rising to his feet as well.

"Because something was wrong!" Al shouted angrily. "He realized that and
left to figure it out."

"When did he ever say that he left because something was wrong?" Ed
retorted.

"Okay!" Izumi shouted, climbing to her feet before this could turn into a fist
fight. She shoved a hand against Al's chest and shot a glare at Ed. "Back off,
both of you."

Ed didn't move, choosing to glare at Al instead, who did the same thing.

Mustang sighed and stood up. He wrapped an arm around Ed's chest and
dragged him back while Izumi pushed Al back. "We don't want another fight
breaking out in here." He said, shooting a look at Scar, who just raised a
brow. He lost his cool once and it wasn't going to be let go obviously.

"Come now, Elric Brothers. You shouldn't be fighting like this." Armstrong
scolded. "Family shouldn't fight."

Al and Ed shot him an annoyed glare for interfering before turning their
glares back to each other.

Havoc sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "One thing that never fails to
get those two arguing. Their father."

"Sit." Izumi growled at Al.

Al glared at his brother until Ed was pulled back down to the ground by
Mustang. When Ed was down, Al sat down himself.

"So," Ling said uncomfortably. "Shall we go on?"

No one dared to speak up.

Trisha looked down sadly before raising her head again. "Okay."

Hohenheim's back was shown as his wife helped him into his jacket.

Hohenheim was shown from the front as he straightened his jacket as

Trisha stepped back and just stared at him. "Don't tell the children. I
don't want them to know about my body."

Mustang's eyes narrowed at that. He kept mentioning his body. It was all
about his body and him believing he was a monster. And it seems he told his
wife about his body, and it was a secret she took with her to the grave.
Perhaps that could be considered a mistake. It might have been best for the
boys to learn, but then again, Trisha died when Ed was five and Al was four.
That was much too young for Trisha to be telling the boys any secrets so it
was no surprise she kept it to herself, especially since Hohenheim asked her
to keep quiet. But maybe if the boys were older and she was able to tell them,
maybe that would have been for the best.

"Right." Trisha said. "Sure you don't want me to wake them?"

Hohenheim looked over his shoulder at her briefly before the door to the
room was shown. It opened and Hohenheim walked out of the room. "I
can't bear to look at their faces."

Trisha followed him out of the room, carrying his suitcase. "Silly man.
It's okay for you to cry."

The two were shown from behind as they approached the front door.

Hohenheim turned around to face his wife. She handed him his suitcase
when a small gasp of surprise came from him. Trisha turned around.
The two were shown from behind as they stared down the hallway to see
Ed and Al standing there.

Trisha and Hohenheim appeared on screen.

"Oh, you two boys are up early." Trisha said. "What are you doing out
of bed?" She walked towards her sons as a yawn was heard.

Ed and Al were shown as Ed finished yawning and their mom

approached them.

"Al said he had to go potty." Ed replied, eyes still closed.

Trisha crouched down in front of her sons. "And of course his big
brother took care of him." She ruffled Ed's hair. "Thanks a lot little
man."

"Didn't we see this scene earlier?" Luke asked.

"We did?" Ling asked surprised.

"It was before you got here." Ed muttered, staring angrily at the ground in
front him. "And from my perspective. This seems to be from…his."

Ling nodded his head, staring at the back of Ed's head with a frown.

Hohenheim was shown to be staring at the scene, eyes looking cold as he

watched. He blinked and the scene changed to show Ed staring at him.
Trisha moved to the side to stare at him as well, while revealing Al to
stare at him as well.

Hohenheim reappeared on screen, eyes trembling as he stared at them.

The scene showed Ed's face then slowly moved to the left so Al's face
could join him on screen.

Hohenheim scrunched his eyes shut and turned his head away. His
closed eyes were shown up close. He opened them up and looked over at
his family one last time. His family was shown to be staring at him before
Hohenheim turned towards the screen and opened the door which he
then walked out of. As he walked through it, the screen lit up brought
white to blind the viewers before a fire took over the screen.

Hohenheim was shown to be staring into the fire. His hand appeared on
screen, holding the picture of his family.

The scene changed to show Hohenheim and the fire from a downward
angle. He lowered the picture and looked up at the sky.

The scene showed Hohenheim from behind at an upward angle before

slowly moving up to the night sky.

"Just a little while longer." Hohenheim said.

The opening song began.

"Sheesh, that was a long beginning." Rufus said.

"Not to mention the episode title was in the wrong place again!" Brody added
with a strained grin.

"Okay…anyone want lunch? I kind of want lunch." Havoc said quickly.

"Are you kidding? It's still too early for lunch for one. And for two, we only
just began this episode." Walkers said.

"I know, but," Havoc looked at Ed, then at Al, both of which were still not
talking to each other.

Izumi sighed. "I'll handle this."

Ed's shoulders tensed and he looked up when Izumi was suddenly standing in
front of him, glaring down at him. He scrambled back until his back hit the
couch. "T-Teach–Ugh!"

Izumi dragged Ed away by the back of his shirt before going over to Al and
grabbing his arm before the boy could protest.

"Wait! Teacher! I don't want to talk to that jerk!" Al protested as Izumi

dragged the brothers away.

"Jerk?" Ed growled, twisting around in Izumi's hold to glare at his brother.

"Yes, jerk. Surely you must know what it means. You're the definition of it."
Al snapped.

"Oh, why? Just because I disagree with you about Hohenheim? At least I
don't need someone to hold my hand to get through life." Ed snapped.

"Shut up." Izumi growled as she kicked the door open to the training room
and threw Ed in before tossing Al in after him. She stomped in after them and
slammed the door shut behind her.

Mustang groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"So, uh, that's bad, right?" May asked nervously.

"When they start insulting each other, it means it's a bad fight." Fuery said
worriedly, glancing at the training room. "But I didn't think a fight about their
dad would be this bad."

Hughes sighed. "It's not just their dad. It's everything. They are both getting
stressed with everything that has been going on, but have been managing to
hide and deal with it. This argument just pushed them over the edge."

*Training*Room*

Ed groaned as he hit the sparring mat. He rolled out of the way just in time so
Al didn't land on him. He climbed to his knees and looked up at Izumi as she
marched over to the two kneeling brothers.

"Are you two idiots?" Izumi growled.

Ed flinched and looked away.

Al shifted uncomfortably and looked down at the ground.

Izumi sighed. "I know you are both stressed. With everything that has
happened, I'm not surprised you're frustrated and you need a release for that
frustration, but fighting with each other is not going to help. It will only make
things worse."

"We know." Ed muttered.

"Oh, you know?" Izumi snapped. "Then why were you doing it?"

Ed shrugged. "Difference of opinions, stress. It all got messed together and

before anyone knew it…"

"It was a full-blown argument." Izumi finished with a frown. "You are
fifteen, Ed. Al, you're fourteen. I would have expected you two to be able to
handle these situations better than this by now. Well, at least you, Al." She
glanced at the younger Elric.

"I know. I'm sorry, Teacher." Al replied ashamed.

Ed flinched and ducked his head farther. Why was it always him that got it
thrown in his face that he had a temper and tended to yell? "You don't have to
keep rubbing it in that I have a temper!" He snapped.

Izumi looked over at him, surprised to see him glaring at her.

"I get it already! Yelling and fighting is not the way to handle a situation, but
that is all I do as my first reaction because of my temper." Ed growled,
slamming a fist into the ground. "You can all stop shoving it in my face
now."

Izumi kneeled down in front of the brothers and smiled sadly at Ed. "I'm
sorry, Ed. I didn't think it would bother you that much."

"Yeah, well," Ed glanced to the side away from Izumi and Al. "When you
have people throwing that fact and insults at you for days in a row, it gets to
you." He mumbled.

"I don't think they really mean anything by it, Brother. They're just teasing."
Al said softly.
Ed snorted. "Teasing or not, I can take it if it's once or twice. But after a
while, it gets to you and it hurts."

Al shifted uncomfortably. "Then…my insults…"

"It always hurts when you insult me, Al." Ed replied quietly. "Always." He
glanced at his brother once then looked away. "And I guess it is the same for
you. I'm sorry, Al. For insulting you. I know how much you want Hohenheim
to be around and to feel the warmth of parent. I shouldn't have used that
against you."

Izumi nodded in satisfaction and stood up and quietly left the brothers alone,
who didn't even notice her departure.

Al bowed his head. "I'm sorry as well, Brother. For calling you names and
yelling at you just because we have a difference of opinion about Dad. And
calling you heartless and saying it was all your fault."

Ed blinked and looked over at his brother. "What? You never said any of
that."

"Oh," Al laughed nervously. "Well, I thought it all." He looked down in

shame. "Sorry, Brother."

Sighing, Ed shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We're both at fault for the
argument and making everyone uncomfortable. Though that
uncomfortableness got them all to shut up and stop talking so much." He
added with a smirk.

Al shook his head. "Really, Brother?"

Ed shrugged. "Anything to get them to stop talking so much."

Al chuckled.

Ed's brows furrowed. "Hey Al…" He looked around. "Where did Teacher
go?"

Al blinked and looked around. "I don't see her."

"Think she's gone?" Ed asked hopefully. "I thought she was going to kill us
for fighting."

Al laughed sheepishly. "So did I. Remember what happened when we were

fighting over the last cookie when training under her?"

Ed shuddered. "I don't want to remember that, Al. She beat us up so badly."

"But she did split the cookie in half and give us each a half." Al pointed out.

"It was a good cookie." Ed said with a grin. The grin slipped away a few
seconds later and he looked down. "This is hard, Al. The more we see, the
darker things get, the harder it is to handle. And we're only seeing it right
now. After this, we have to go back out there and experience it all for the
second time. But that time, everything is real and nothing can be changed. If
we don't stop Hughes from getting killed, he is dead for good. If we can't stop
Lust, Havoc will be paralyzed. Ling could become Greed again. And that's
only the beginning. Who knows what else might happen if we mess up the
second chance that we are being given."

"Brother," Al murmured. "You shouldn't focus on that, not right now anyway.
And besides, we're not alone. Everyone else is seeing the same things as us.
We have to trust in them to help us fix things."

"I know." Ed replied, rubbing a hand across his eyes. "It's just…I'm scared."
He glanced over at his brother with a strained smile. "I don't want them to die
or get hurt. I'm scared we're going to screw something up and make it worse."

Al nodded. "It's hard. Just sitting here and wondering how things are going to
work when we go back. It would be so much easier to just go back and deal
with it firsthand. Wondering leads us to coming up with horrible scenarios
that most likely won't happen. I know the feeling…" He looked over at his
brother and pulled him into a hug, surprising the elder Elric for a second
before he was returning the hug. "I get that stress and tension is rising, but I
don't want to fight, Brother. With you or anyone."

Ed snorted. "I know. But the stress builds up and we are saying something we
don't mean or it comes out the wrong way and a fight starts."
"Including those insults that are hurting you?" Al asked.

Ed sighed and pulled away from his brother. "Yeah, those. I can handle them
on a good day, but too many days here and all the stress is…" He sighed
again. "I just need a way to get rid of the stress and it will all be good."

"Aren't you supposed to spar with Ling later?" Al asked.

"That's it!" Ed cheered. "I just get rid of it then!"

Al sweat dropped. Poor Ling…then again, Ling probably had stressed he

wanted to get rid of too. Maybe it would be good for them. "So, uh, we're
good?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Ed asked, forgetting his excitement for his stress
relieving fight later.

*Screen*Room*

Ed jumped over the couch and landed between Mustang and Hughes on the
floor.

"Woah, watch it, Ed! You almost hit me in the head." Lan Fan snapped.

Ed shot her a grin. "Sorry."

"All good?" Hughes asked as he watched Al sit back down by May, but a bit
closer to Hughes then before. It was probably so he could also be a bit closer
to his brother.

"Course we are." Ed replied as he leaned his back against the couch. He

glanced at his black book which he dropped when Izumi dragged him away
earlier. He picked it up and held onto it. He really didn't want Hughes to see
the inside of this. There would be no end of the craziness from him then.

"We've wasted enough time." Olivia said. "Are we ready to start again?"

"It would seem so." Havoc said.

Fort Briggs appeared on screen at a distance.

A group of horses and soldiers in the tunnel under Briggs appeared on

screen.

"Oh, thank god. We'll back to normal time." Luke said.

"This is the future. How is this normal time?" Al asked.

"Well, I just meant, it's no longer your past!" Luke replied quickly. "I don't
think any of us could take that anymore!"

Al looked over at his brother. "We were that bad?"

Ed shrugged. "Seems so."

"Well?"

The soldiers gathered around a radio were shown.

The soldier holding the phone turned to the soldier who spoke. "It's no
good." He said.

"Johnathan!" Avery and Aran said with grins.

"I guess it is my team in the tunnel." Lester said.

Johnathan smirked. "That should have been obvious when we heard your
voice moments ago."

Lester rolled his eyes at him.

"There's still nothing coming through." Johnathan replied.

Lester turned around and put a hand to his chin. "That's just great. So
we're cut off from all contact."

"Your orders, sir? What should we do now?"

The dark tunnel was shown as the screen slowly pulled back from it.

"There has to be an exit somewhere to dump out the rubble." Lester

said.

The soldiers were shown.

"We'll keep going a little farther." Lester said. He looked at the soldier
behind him. "Smith, go back and report."

Smith saluted. "Sir."

A horse saddle was shown from the side as a foot worked its way into the
stirrup.

The horse was shown to be neighing and whining as Lester pulled its
reins and looked up.

"What is it?"

Suspenseful music started as the scene slowly moved to the dark tunnel
ahead of them.

Miles frowned. "Is there something in the tunnel with them?"

"What could possibly be in there with them? Sloth was the one digging the
tunnel and he is no longer in there since he is in a frozen grave at the
moment." Ling said with a frown.

"Well, there has to be something. Our horses at Briggs are well trained. They
wouldn't be acting like this unless something was wrong." Mick replied with
a worried frown.

"You can train horses like that?" Al surprised.

"Sure," Liran said with a shrug. "It's like how we train military dogs."

Lester pulled his gun out and said, "Fan out."

The scene changed to show the soldiers as they moved their horses to fan
out. They were shown close up as they kept a watchful eye on the tunnel
as they waited with their guns out. The next set of soldiers was shown
doing the same thing.

Luke shared a look with Avery. Both were really tense right now. In fact, all
the Briggs soldiers were. They had friends in that group in the tunnel, and if
something was in the tunnel with them, it could spell dangerous. If something
was there, it should appear already. The suspense was just making them more
worried. They needed to know that their friends and comrades were going to
be fine.

It was hard watching everything before, but when it was actual soldiers that
they knew and were friends with, this just made it harder to deal with. Was
this how it felt for Mustang when he had to watch his best friend get killed?
This undeniable fear battling with their fast heartbeats as the suspense and
adrenaline made them stiffen and want to get up and just punch something or
walk around excessively just until they felt a semblance of normality.

The tunnel was shown again. A dark shadow was shown moving down
the tunnel and towards the soldiers.

Lester was shown again, showing surprise, before the walls of the tunnel
were shown as the shadow stretched over it. The other side of the tunnel
was shown as the shadow wrapped around it before the roof of the
tunnel appeared on screen with the shadow swarming over it.

"What the hell is that?" Aran asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Probably nothing good." Hughes said darkly.

"Is it ever anything good when it is something that involves Homunculi?"

Ling muttered. "Going into a tunnel dug by a Homunculus was a horribly,
dangerous idea."

"It was a risk, but it was one we needed to take. We have to investigate."
Miles replied, though even he didn't look happy at this point. It was a
dangerous risk their future selves chose by sending men to investigate that
tunnel, but as soldiers, they had a duty to take those risks and investigate,
especially if there was the potential that it could harm the country and its
citizens. That didn't mean they had to like it though when it put their
comrades in danger.

Following the shadow, multiple eyes and an evil grin spread over the
shadow.

"That shadow, my men," Olivia growled. "It is just like from the opening."

Ed sat up straight, eyes narrowed in worry. "Which tells us this is highly

dangerous if the opening song is anything for us to go by."

"And it does give us a few hints." Ling said darkly. He shared a dark look
with Ed. Whatever this was, it wasn't something that the Briggs soldiers
could probably deal with. They needed to escape now!

Olivia's eyes narrowed in on the screen. They could handle Sloth just fine
after they got information from Ed about his body, but this was a shadow in a
confined space. They had no idea of what it was or what it could do, and that
fact alone made this harder to deal with. Without any information, it was hard
to fight an unknown enemy. Her men were tough but even they alone can't
take on these unknown enemies and make it out alive and unscratched.

Lester reappeared on screen as he pointed his gun at the freaky shadow

when the shadow slammed into him, causing blood to spurt all around
him and him to grunt in pain.

Lester screamed and hunched over, pain flaring over every inch of his body.
It felt like his whole body was being sliced up and torn into pieces. But the
worst spot was his chest. He's never been impaled by anything before, but it
certainly felt like he was being impaled now. It felt like something slammed
through his body and stayed there to twist around in his body to bring him
more pain. It hurt so much. He just wanted to curl into a ball and let the pain
take over. This was….dying?

The scene changed to some other soldiers, who also got the sharp
shadows stabbing through their body. Another group of soldiers were
shown, encountering the same fate as their comrades. Grunts of pain and
agony were heard all around.

"Lester," Johnathan moaned from beside his captain and friend. His hand
clawed at the couch as he fought to stay somewhat lucid through the pain.
But it just hurt so much. This wasn't just minor pain like pin and needles. It
was like someone shoved a knife in his body and twisted it around before
yanking it out and shoving it back in a new spot to start the process all over
again. The pain…it was so much. Is this what it was like for Major Elric and
the others when they were getting into all those fights earlier in their future?

Rilen screamed out in pain. He hunched over, hands grabbing at his shirt to
claw at his chest where all the pain was migrating from. The pain spread from
his chest all the well up to his head where it clouded all his senses. Is this
what it felt like to die? It felt like his insides were being all torn up and
shredded to pieces.

"Damn it, Rilen!" Aran shouted, grabbing his friend's shoulders and pinning
him back to the couch to stop his friend's withering as much as he could.

Nearby Luke was doing the same thing with Collin while trying to talk to his
friend to calm down his screaming and moaning. Brody and Miles were
helping Greyson and Levi.

Ed stared over at the Briggs soldiers. So many were withering and moaning
in pain with their comrades keeping them pinned and trying to talk to them. It
was so hard to watch. Is this what it was like when someone was taking care
of him or when he was taking care of someone else? It was unbelievably
difficult to watch all that pain filter across someone's face and for that
clouded, dazed look to enter the soldiers' eyes because the pain was becoming
too much. Their deaths had to be extremely painful.

Soldiers appeared on screen, screaming in pain, as the scene slowly

moved up to show more and more soldiers with the black shadow all
around, killing them.

Olivia slammed a hand into the arm rest. "Damn it!" They never had a chance
against a monster like that. "What kind of monster is that?"
"No, that bastard!" Avery snarled, glaring at the screen as he held Lyle down.
This couldn't be. Not Johnathan and Lyle and Danely and Greyson. They
were all killed by that freaky shadow! He was making them suffer so much
while he did it too! That stupid grin on the bastard's face…it was like he was
enjoying the suffering he was putting his friends through.

May watched the soldiers try to calm their injured comrades down with a
worried frown. She has barely felt any pain. The only thing she felt was the
concussion she got earlier in the future, and that was nothing compared to the
pain everyone else was going through. She wished…She wished she had her
Alkahestry. There were no injuries here, but maybe her Alkahestry could help
them with their pain. She didn't know if it could or not, but she just wished
she could try. If it was possible, then maybe she could help them through this
suffering. If only their alchemy and Alkahestry wasn't blocked!

Riza bowed her head in respect of those lost here. She knew some of those
soldiers from the training they did with the north. They were great soldiers.
Losing them like this was a hard lost. These were deaths that none of them
deserved. So many people were dying because of the Homunculi and their
deranged plan.

Smith appeared on screen, looking over his shoulder in fear as his

comrades were killed. The scene slowly zoomed in on him before it was
changing directions to show him turning his horse around to run in the
opposite direction of that monster. As the horse ran off screen, the tunnel
walls were shown as the shadow spread farther and farther, covering the
walls as it chased after Smith.

Smith appeared on screen, riding low. His horse was shown from behind
as the shadow covered the tunnel all around him before the eyes and evil
grin appeared on it.

Smith was shown from a downward angle as he stared up at the freaky

shadow, grunts of fear coming from him followed by screams.

The scene went dark, the last sound being heard being the sound of flesh
being impaled.
"Damn it," Clarink snarled, bowing his head while Smith grimaced and
looked down in shock and horror. "How many more people are these bastards
going to kill?"

"As many people as it will take so there are no interferences with their plan."
Al muttered angrily. What was that freaky shadow that did this? What just
happened was scary and caused anger to spread among everyone. It was scary
because so many people died by an unknown enemy, and the unknown was
always scary. They needed to figure out what this monster was to replace that
fear with the nerve to defeat this monster that took so many lives in almost an
instant.

The screen opened up on Edward's face.

"Uh, Colonel, don't get mad, but I think we should stop for a little while." Ed
said.

Mustang didn't even look at Ed as he nodded. "We should give them some
time to recuperate from that shock of pain they all got." He said as he stared
at the Briggs soldiers that were trying to rein in their senses. "Twenty minutes
and we'll resume."

Ed hopped up and grabbed Ling's arm as he jumped over the back of the
couch, dragging the prince with him.

"Woah, Ed!" Ling shouted as he was dragged away. "What's up?" He looked
over his shoulder at the screen where it was frozen on Ed's face. "Besides all
the death we just saw."

Ed swallowed. "It's getting harder and harder."

Ling pulled his arm free and nodded. "I know. At least their deaths were
quick, not painless, but quick. I'm sure that monster could have dragged their
deaths out for even longer if he wanted to."

Ed grimaced and pushed open the kitchen door.

"Woah, Ed! Banned! Remember?" Ling said quickly, though he still followed
Ed.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Listen, Ling, it's amazing I followed that order as long as
I did, which I only did because I wanted a break from all the cooking." He
glanced out the door to the screen room once more before ducking back
inside the kitchen.

"So after everything that has happened, you choose the kitchen as a place to
go?" Ling asked as he raised a brow. "Any particular reason why?"

"Any reason why not to?" Ed retorted as he went over to the fridge and
started pulling stuff out.

"You mean besides the whole being banned thing?" Ling asked sarcastically.
"And what are you doing with all the fruit?"

Ed grinned.

"Okay, don't answer. Any reason why you dragged me here with you?" Ling
asked.

"It would be lonely if I came alone, and I decided if I'm going to break
orders, we should break them together!" Ed said.

Ling sighed. It was amazing Ed didn't get into more trouble with the higher
ups in the military with everything he did.

*Screen*Room*

Greyson breathed in deeply and let it out slowly as the pain slowly left some.
"That is definitely extreme. It's amazing that Major Elric has been able to
manage the pain factor so well if that is what it feels like."

Brody clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Greyson grimaced and looked at the ceiling. He was just killed. There was no
way he was okay if that was meant to be his future. He knew the chance of
dying was there. All soldiers knew that, but still, that didn't mean it was easy
to accept that death was that close in the future. It was hard to accept dying,
but it was even harder to accept it when the future was known and that future
was death. It just made him want to change it so much. To stop it from
happening, for him and his comrades.

"Yeah, I didn't think so." Brody said darkly. He looked at the other soldiers
who were just killed. They were all pale and struggling to get themselves
under control after what they happened. No one was alright after that. They
were the Perfect Defense, but even they could do nothing to stop a monster
like that.

"So many good men lost." Mustang said as he glanced over at Hughes.

Hughes frowned. "This just solidifies the fact that this is a war between
humans and Homunculi."

Mustang growled. "It became a war the moment they killed you."

Hughes sighed. His death…That was the beginning of all of this. The catalyst
to bring Mustang and his rage forward. But the real war started when the
conspiracy of this country was revealed.

"Did you notice that Ed went into the kitchen?" Hughes asked instead as a
distraction.

His question worked because Mustang's eyes suddenly turned from dark and
sad to anger and he whipped around to stare at the door that led to the
kitchen. "He did what?"

"Yep, dragged Ling in there with him." Hughes said.

"He never listens!" Mustang growled as he stood up and went to the kitchen.
"What do I have to do to get that brat to understand? A punishment is a
punishment. An order is an order! How hard is it to understand that the
kitchen is banned for him?!"

Al sweat dropped. His brother seemed to unknowingly help to get things a bit
back to a normal state by breaking rules since he saw the Briggs soldiers
smirking a bit in amusement, despite the pain they were still feeling at what
happened.

*Kitchen*

"Fullmetal!" Mustang shouted as he slammed the door to the kitchen open.

Ling shouted in shock. "It's Ed's fault! I'm an innocent victim!"

Ed shot his friend a betrayed look before looking back at Mustang with a
smirk. "Hey Colonel, nice of you to stop by." He held up a cup. "Want to try
some of this? It's a smoothie." He shook the cup a bit when Mustang just
glared at him. "Come on, I need another opinion on the taste."

Mustang's glare dropped away until he was staring blankly at the teenagers.
"You're making smoothies?"

"Fruit smoothies." Ed clarified.

Mustang almost smacked his forehead, but restrained himself just in time.
Fruit smoothies! Of all the things he could be doing in the kitchen, he was
making fruit smoothies! What was wrong with this boy's head?

"So you want to try it?" Ed asked again, shaking the cup again.

"After the last time?" Mustang retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "And here I thought you were brave, but you're really just
a coward after one spicy meal."

"What is with the smoothies, Fullmetal?" Mustang demanded.

"I wanted a smoothie. You have a problem with that?" Ed retorted.

Mustang started blankly at his subordinate. "Alright then…I hope you made
enough for the class, Fullmetal."

Ed glared at him. "What's the point? You won't even accept a glass to try it
cause I made it and the last time I made something it was a bit spicy. The
others are probably going to react the same way."
Mustang raised a brow. "A bit spicy?"

Ed scoffed. "Yes, a bit."

"Says the brat who ran to his bedroom to wash his mouth out after drinking
two glasses of that spicy concoction you made." Mustang retorted.

"Drowning two spicy drinks allows me that right." Ed grumbled. "Do you
want the smoothie or not?"

"I am not understanding the smoothie thing, Fullmetal!" Mustang snapped.

"What's not to get?!" Ed asked incredulously. "It's fruits and yogurt and juice!
It doesn't get much simpler than that, Colonel!" He stalked over to the
counter in annoyance.

Mustang leaned across the island to whisper to Ling. "I thought smoothies
had milk in them."

Ling shrugged. "I guess it depends on what type of smoothie you're making."
He shook his cup. "The one he made me has milk in it. But you know Ed. He
hates milk so his is a different type with juice in it. Though I don't know why
he mentioned yogurt. He didn't put any yogurt in the smoothie he was trying
to give you." He motioned to the cup Ed left on the counter. "You should try
it though. These are really good. I never had a smoothie before."

Mustang stared blankly at him. "What is wrong with you two?"

"Are you still dissing the smoothies?" Ed grumbled as he came back with
more fruits. He shoved the cup in Mustang's hand. "Get out now, you
smoothie hater."

Mustang blinked.

Apparently he wasn't moving fast enough because Ed came around the island
and started shoving his small hands in Mustang's back to push him away.

Mustang blinked again when he found himself in the screen room with a
smoothie in hand. He glanced at it then at the kitchen door. Ed and Ling were
weird today. That was all there was to it.

Taking a sip of his smoothie from the straw, Mustang did have to admit that
Ling was right. It did taste good….and not spicy at all. Shrugging, Mustang
made his way back over to his seat.

"You went into the kitchen to scold Ed and instead came back with a drink."
Hughes asked, raising a brow.

"I have no idea what is going on in there." Mustang said as he sat next to
Hughes. "But apparently it has something to do with fruit smoothies." At
Hughes's incredulous look, Mustang shrugged. "They're weird."

"Are they messing with us again?" Havoc asked, smirking a bit in

amusement.

"I don't know, but it is a good smoothie." Mustang said.

Hughes chuckled. "It seems Ed got you all distracted with smoothies to get
you out of the kitchen."

"I think it worked too." Mustang muttered, taking another sip of his
smoothies.

"Where did he even learn to make smoothies?" Breda asked before looking
over at Al.

Al hummed. "I think it started when he got a free smoothie a year ago for
helping to save the kid of a guy who owned a smoothie stand in that city we
went to in the west. He really liked it so he badgered the guy to help him
learn how to make them."

Brody snickered. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I don't know, but Brother promised to make me all the smoothies I
want when I get my body back. They must be really good." Al replied.

Avery chuckled. "Your brother is crazy."

"I don't know. I really like smoothies." Rebecca said with a grin. "Maybe I'll
get Ed to make me one." She stood up and disappeared into the kitchen. A
moment later Havoc followed after her, making Riza smile. He just wanted to
be with her it seemed.

*Kitchen*

"Hey Ed!" Rebecca said cheerfully as she walked over to the teenagers.

Ed glanced up at her. "Yo, Lieutenant Catalina. What's up? Are we starting

again?"

"Oh," Rebecca glanced at the door. "We're probably supposed to, but I want a
smoothie first."

Ed snorted. "Seriously?"

Rebecca grinned. "Of course. I really want one, Ed!"

"And make me one while you're at it." Havoc said, slipping up beside
Rebecca at the island.

"See what you start, Ed." Ling said amused.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to get rid of Mustang. And it worked, didn't
it?"

Ling just shook his head.

While the two teens were distracted, Havoc slipped a hand around Rebecca's
waist that the teens couldn't see because of the island. Rebecca smiled at
Havoc before looking back at Ed.

"So, smoothie?" Rebecca asked.

"Unbelievable." Ed muttered, going over to the other counter with Ling

following him. "Screw with the Colonel and it ends up becoming a smoothie
fest."
Ling snickered. "You only have yourself to blame."

"Oh, shut up." Ed snapped as he grabbed a container of yogurt. "It's this

place's fault for having the ingredients for a smoothie."

"I think it's your fault for wanting one." Ling muttered.

Ed rolled his eyes and went back to the island. "How is everyone out there?
Are there somewhat back to normal?"

Havoc hummed. "Well, considering a lot of soldiers just died, that's pretty
hard, Chief, but they are trying their best to be normal. It's hard. None of the
Briggs soldiers died in our future until now. They need some time, but I think
they are making plans to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Ed nodded. "Like Mustang is planning with Hughes's death and your

paralysis."

"He's not the only one." Rebecca said.

When Ed looked up, Havoc leaned across the counter and tapped his
forehead. "We know you have your own plans to stop things from happening,
but Ed, you can rely on us to help you as well."

Ed rubbed his forehead where Havoc poked him in annoyance.

*Screen*Room*

Ed dropped down in his spot between Mustang and Hughes, holding his own
smoothie. Behind him, Ling sat on the couch, also with a smoothie. Rebecca
and Havoc took their respective seats, once again, with smoothies.

Mustang raised a brow. "I told you to bring enough smoothies for the class,
Fullmetal. You never follow orders!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Making that many smoothies would take too long." He
took a sip of his smoothie, staring challenging at Mustang. "And I think
General Armstrong would prefer us getting on with it, instead of wasting time
making smoothies."
Breda glanced at Havoc. "Does that taste good?"

Havoc grinned. "It actually does."

"I think–" Breda started, turning to Ed, who just huffed.

"No." Ed growled. "Jerks who mock smoothies don't get smoothies."

"Unbelievable." Brody said, shaking his head.

"So why did Roy get one then?" Hughes asked.

Ed turned to him with a grin, but didn't answer.

"Would you be interested in a legion of immortal soldiers?" Raven's

voice said over the speaker.

The group was shown as Ed said, "He took the bait."

Raven appeared on screen, leaning into Olivia's face. "Never dying or

getting old." Their hands were shown with Raven's resting on top of
Olivia's. He rubbed her hand. "You want it to, don't you?"

Olivia growled. Not only was that man too close to her, but he was touching
her as well. There was only so much of her personal space being encroached
on that she could handle.

The scene moved up to show Olivia's furious face. "What I want is to kill
you!"

"Scary!" May and Al cried, hugging each other.

"Yeah," Luke chuckled. "There's something called personal boundary issues."

"I don't think General Raven understands those." Hughes said with a grin.

Raven's face was shown as he looked up. "Hmm?"

He was shown from behind so Olivia's grimacing face could be seen. It

changed to a smile as she said gently, "Oh, it's just such an incredible
question. I don't know what to say."

Ed made a strangling sound. "She sounds so innocent and sweet! The fact
that it is coming from someone as strong as General Armstrong makes it
scary!"

"Is that an insult or compliment?" Brosh asked.

"That…is a hard one to decipher." Ross said.

"Ed?" Hughes asked.

Ed took a sip of his smoothie while just staring at Hughes. "Stop trying to
figure everything out." He said around his straw.

Mustang twitched. "It's not right though!" He muttered. General Armstrong

was not supposed to be that nice! Even if it was just an act! "If she can act
that nice….it must be the end!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Hughes," He said around his straw. "Colonel is going
insane."

Hughes pat his head. "I'm sure part of it is your fault, Ed. It was only a matter
of time before Roy completely lost it."

Ed snickered while Mustang glared at both of them.

Raven was shown as he lifted up Olivia's hand. "Well, are you interested
or not? There are only two answers."

Olivia's face was shown from the side. She lifted her other hand and
pushed Raven's away as slow, very quiet, suspenseful music started. "It
is intriguing. Can you tell me, General?" Raven was shown. "On the day
when this dream comes true, will my men share in this gift as well? Or is
it only for me?"

"I can tell you when the time comes." Raven said as he stood up.
Olivia appeared on screen, one hand resting on her chin as she watched
Raven.

"And the answer is obvious that they will die." Hughes said darkly. "So it is
neither option."

"And of course he won't tell her that." Mustang said angrily. "He'd much
rather have a chosen few then to keep everyone in the country safe."

"Ever noticed that it is only Generals they are asking?" Al asked.

Ed snorted. "Of course, only ask those with power if they want it. Why ask a
bunch of lower rank officers? They probably only ask Generals because with
them having so much power it is like they are secluded from all those lower
ranking officers." He took another long, loud sip of his smoothie.

Mustang's brow twitched in annoyance. "What is with you and smoothies?"

He glared at Ed's cup.

Ed smirked at him with his straw still in his mouth.

Al snickered silently to himself. Something as normal as liking smoothies

was enough to drive Mustang crazy when it was his brother.

'Does that mean they are no guarantees until then?' Olivia thought.

Raven sat back down, smiling.

'If I buy into this, I'll be forced to facilitate whatever dirty plans he has for
Briggs.' Olivia thought. She was shown again. 'And if I refuse, I'll just be
swapped out for some other pawn.' She lowered her hand from her chin.
'Probably demoted.'

"Like General Grumman?" May asked.

"Yes, he was forced East to take care of it and never allowed back to Central
after his refusal." Mustang said with a frown. "That really is a horrible trick
they play. Offer them this chance. They can accept and move up in the
military, but if they refuse, demote them and make sure they can never move
up again."

"And that chance to refuse is also why they don't tell you that everyone is
going to die. Well, that is if they know about the Philosopher's Stone array,
and I'm guessing they do." Ling said with a frown.

Hughes nodded. "They don't want to take the chance that the new higher ups
they bring to Central might betray them so they keep certain information
quiet. The fact that Raven knows this much shows just how deep he is in this
plan."

The scene changed to show the two from a downward angle.

'So, do I accept his offer or not?' Olivia thought.

The doors quickly appeared on screen as rapid pounding could be heard

on it.

"Oh, sheesh, that scared me. It was too sudden." Sheska said, grabbing her
chest where her heart was.

"It definitely killed the suspense." Aran muttered.

Raven was shown from behind as Olivia turned her head towards the
door.

"Excuse me." Olivia said as she stood up.

A soldier was shown from behind, standing at the door, as he pounded

on it. It was opened by Olivia a second later.

"Yes, what is it?" Olivia asked.

The soldier saluted. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but the underground
tunnel advance team…"

The back Raven's head appeared on screen with the doorway seen in
front of him. The soldier in the doorway froze and lowered his hand.
"What's this about an underground tunnel?" Raven asked.

"Don't act like you don't know." Havoc sneered angrily. "I want in that line to
punch him."

Ed scoffed. "You'd get in a lot of trouble for punching him, Havoc."

"And you wouldn't?" Havoc retorted.

Ed shrugged. "Difference is, I don't care, Havoc. It would affect your career,
while I'm not in the military to advance my career."

"Though punching a general could set you behind a lot, Fullmetal." Mustang
pointed out, but Ed just shrugged.

"Speak, soldier." Olivia said.

"Yes sir."

The speaker was shown.

"Something's happened to the advance team." The soldier's voice said

over the speaker.

"Very well." Olivia replied. "I'll be right there."

"I'm coming too." Raven said.

The group surrounding the speaker was shown as Al, Falman, and
Buccaneer stood up.

"Right, let's move." Buccaneer said as the three started to move while Ed
stayed kneeling on the ground.

"Kind of delayed in moving there, Chief." Brody said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You see, Buccaneer, this is why I'm the Major and you're
the Captain."
Buccaneer glared at Ed. "What was that, brat?"

Ed smirked at him.

"You're only a major because you became a State Alchemist and

automatically got that rank." Buccaneer sneered. "While I worked up to my
rank."

"Still, I realize what you haven't." Ed retorted.

"And that is?" Miles interjected.

Ed shrugged. "We can't just walk out of that room. General Armstrong said
we were prisoners."

Buccaneer smirked. "You want us to restrain you. I thought you hated

restraints."

"I do, with a passion." Ed said with a frown. "But I also don't screw up my
operations just because of something I don't like."

"Still," Mustang nudged Ed in the side as he spoke quietly to the boy. "Must
you mock the soldiers about their lower ranks to you?"

Ed grinned at him. "Only a bit of teasing, Colonel. Relax. Who really cares?"

Hughes sighed. "I think a lot of people care about a kid having a higher rank
than them." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "At least in the beginning.
By now most of them have learned to just accept and deal with it."

Ed looked around quickly. "Hold on a sec." He said quietly.

Buccaneer, Al, and Falman were shown stopping in front of the door to
the room. They turned to face Ed.

A bag appeared on screen with Ed's hand on it. There was a flash of blue
alchemical light as the bag turned into rope which twirled up as Ed
pulled his hand away.
Ed was shown crouching on the ground as he turned to face them,
holding some of the rope in one hand. "It has to look convincing."

Ed's chest which was tried up with rope appeared on screen.

Ed scowled and opened and closed his flesh hand a few times. "Okay, who
the hell did the tying?" He grumbled.

"What's wrong?" Falman asked.

Ed moved his wrist back and forth. "You people tie too tightly! I should not
be able to feel that here!"

Buccaneer laughed. "You seriously feel the tightness of the rope on your
limbs here?"

"It was you, wasn't it? You tied me up!" Ed accused.

Buccaneer shrugged. "That's what you asked for."

Ed glared at him and rolled his flesh shoulder. "This shouldn't be possible."
He grumbled.

"Oh, just shake it off, Fullmetal. It's only the tightness you're feeling from
being tied up. It's not like it is actual pain." Mustang replied. "And you said
to make it look convincing. Well, they can't go easy on tying you up and still
make it look convincing."

"Fine." Ed mumbled. "But for the record, I still don't like it."

"Duly noted." Buccaneer said dryly.

The scene pulled out to show Al and Ed tied up with Buccaneer holding
the ends of the rope with Falman following him at his side.

Ed's feet appeared on screen and in the distance, Miles and Kimblee
could be seen approaching them.

The two groups were shown from a downward angle as they met in the
hallway.

"Buccaneer, what are you doing?" Miles asked.

"Prisoner transfer, sir. I'm moving the Elric brothers from the east cells
to the west." Buccaneer replied. "May I ask who this is?"

Miles and Kimblee were shown.

"This is Mr. Solf J. Kimblee. He's General Raven's honored guest."

Miles answered.

Ed appeared on screen, blinking. 'Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist."

"How do you know that?" Brody asked.

"You forgot already? Lieutenant Riza told me about the war and she
mentioned Kimblee then." Ed replied.

Kimblee's face appeared on screen. He lifted his hat. "Wait, did you say
the Elric brothers? You mean the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"Oh, sounds like he wants to meet me or is curious about me." Ed mumbled.

"But considering the circumstances of how we met, I wonder what his first
expression is."

"Do your really care? He is a psychotic murderer." Brody said.

Ed shrugged. "Not really. Though considering who he is, I'm not comfortable
being a prisoner with him walking around free."

"I am with him." Miles pointed out.

Ed grimaced. "But he is still free."

"I'm not just showing him around. I am acting as his guard. If something
happens while you're restrained, I'm there to guard you from him." Miles
explained.
"What this, Fullmetal? Not going to argue that you don't need protected?"
Aran asked, smirking a bit.

"Considering how my future self is restrained, I will fully admit that if

something happens, I will need…help." Ed said.

"Protected." Brody corrected.

Ed growled at that word. He hated the idea of ever needing protected. He

prided himself on being able to take care of himself.

Kimblee and Miles were shown from behind with Buccaneer and his
group seen in front of him.

"I see, now I understand your nickname." Kimblee said as he looked at

Al.

While Ed just stared in blank annoyance, Al turned to look down at him

while Falman, Miles, and Buccaneer all just pointed at Ed.

Kimblee turned to look at Ed.

Ed growled. "Seriously, this is getting very old." He shot a glare at Falman,

Buccaneer, and Miles. "And you guys acting so nonchalant about it!
Especially you two." He shot at Buccaneer and Miles.

Buccaneer smirked. "To be honest, our future selves probably thought it was
Al as well at first."

Ed's eye twitched.

"So we can understand the mistake after just knowing you a couple of days."
Miles said.

"That mistake has been made for three years now, Fullmetal. You really
should be used to it." Mustang told him with a smirk.

Ed angrily sipped at his smoothie while shooting a nasty look at Mustang.

These guys…He knew he should be used to it, but it was just annoying when
everyone made the mistake! Why was it so hard to believe it was him that
was Fullmetal?

"Oh, it's this one." Kimblee said.

The scene zoomed in on a very angry Ed. "If one more person makes that
mistake…"

"Somebody sounds angry." Ling said a sing-song voice.

"You," Ed spun around and whacked his friend in the stomach.

Ling groaned and grabbed his stomach. "Not cool, Ed."

"Yeah, here's the thing, Ling." Ed replied sarcastically. "I don't care."

Kimblee appeared on screen, lifting his hat off his head. "Nice to meet
you. I've heard much about the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Ed was shown, staring at Kimblee with a bored, annoyed look. "Hello."

He replied without much feeling.

The lowest floor of Briggs appeared on screen, showing the hole in the
ground from a downward angle at a distance. It was zoomed in on a bit
before the scene changed to a group of soldiers.

"General," Henschel greeted with a salute.

"What happened?" Olivia asked as she and Raven walked onto screen.

Henschel lowered his salute. "We lost all contact with the advance team
that was sent down to search the tunnel. Shortly after, Smith's horse
returned."

"Considering what occurred in the tunnel, it's amazing the horse was able to
survive." May said softly.

"That is what probably caused the real worry. Just losing contact with the
soldiers wouldn't be enough to cause this much concern." Brody said with a
frown.

Olivia was shown and behind her was a stretcher with something
wrapped up in gauze on it.

"It came back with what we assume was his arm." Henschel said.

Smith grimaced and rubbed his arm. The thought of losing an arm was
horrible, but it was still a better thought than dying. If his horse managed to
survive and get to the exit, what did that mean for him? Was it possible he
survived or was he really killed?

"Just his arm." Olivia repeated, looking at the stretcher out of the corner
of her eyes. She turned back to Henschel. "Where's the rest?"

Olivia was shown from behind with Henschel in front of her. "It's still
missing, sir." He looked down and to the side. "And his horse can't lead
us back." The horse was shown down in the hole with a few soldiers
around as it struggled against the reins that were tied to a pole. "It's too
terrified to be of any use."

Footsteps appeared at the edge of the hole before Olivia was shown
looking down it with Henschel behind her.

"Henschel, get a rescue party." Olivia ordered.

"Not that it will do much good now." Darius said darkly.

"Even if no one survived, they could at least gather their remains." Riza said
with a frown. "Though I highly doubt it will be a pleasant sight."

"Something like that would be never be pleasant to see." Al said, glancing

over at his brother. Just seeing his brother that day in their house with two
limbs missing and blood everywhere was horrifying. But this….this involved
so many soldiers cut up and disemboweled. It would be too gruesome to see.
How could anyone do something this ghastly?

"I'm afraid you can't do that, General Armstrong." Raven said, making
Olivia and Henschel look over at him.
"What was that?" Olivia asked dangerously. "He dares to give me orders in
my fortress?"

Mustang frowned. "That is a pretty stupid move. He should know better than
to encroach on someone else's territory."

"And that means?" Lan Fan asked.

"The commanders in charge of a certain area of Amestris are territorial."

Mustang explained. "They don't like others coming into their area and trying
to take control."

Ed snorted. "That's an understatement." He smirked at Mustang. "It's always

amusing to watch you squirm when Generals come to inspect Eastern
Command and try to tell you how to do your job."

"I thought General Grumman was in control of the east." May said confused.

"Oh, he is, but he relies heavily on Colonel there. Well, he did until Colonel
was transferred to Central in the future." Ed replied thoughtfully. "Old man
Grumman is cool though and let Colonel have a bit more control than he
technically should have in the east."

"You're enjoying this too much." Mustang muttered.

Ed smirked at him. "It's just so amusing though."

"I'm surprised you even know that much." Breda replied.

"When you spread time talking to General Grumman, you tend to learn a few
things." Ed said with a shrug.

"What? When do you talk to him?" Mustang demanded.

"You don't need to know." Ed retorted.

Raven was shown from behind as he picked up Smith's wrapped up arm.

"That tunnel is too dangerous." His back was shown up close as he
turned around. "What have you done with the immortal monster you
were telling me about earlier?"

Olivia and Henschel were shown as footsteps were heard. Raven

appeared on screen a few seconds later, stopping in front of Olivia.

Olivia and Raven were shown from the side. Raven leaned down into
Olivia's face, still holding Smith's arm. "Put him back and seal the
tunnel's entrance, General."

"What?" Brody asked furiously. "He can't be serious! The chance is small,
but there is still a chance that someone managed to survive that massacre!
And he just wants us to abandon that possibility?"

"His agenda seems to be more important than our missing comrades." Cyril
sneered angrily. "Those damn higher ups in Central really care for no one but
themselves."

Henschel appeared on screen. "But there are still–"

"I am speaking to the General." Raven interrupted.

"Bastard." Henschel growled.

Raven was shown as he stood up straight, face darkened. "See I know

northern law. Obey strength and obey the power."

Olivia was shown.

"But don't obey it blindly." Olivia growled angrily. "Even those with power
can make mistakes."

"Did she just say to not follow her like a lost puppy?" May asked.

"Lost puppy?" Al muttered.

"Anyone who follows orders blindly would be just like a mindless puppet,
and at that point, it might just be easier to create soulless dolls to be soldiers."
Ed muttered.
"But wouldn't it be like disobeying orders if you didn't follow blindly?" May
asked confused.

"Not really." Lan Fan said with a frown. "It's like Ed said. Following orders
blindly would be like you were a puppet. You shouldn't question orders too
much, but if they seem wrong or could have horrible consequences that could
put someone in danger, it is sometimes best to question them." She glanced at
Ling as she said this. She knew it was hard to obey every single order he gave
her and there were times she doubted the orders she was given. She may
question her orders sometimes, but that was because she was just so loyal to
him. It was her job to keep him safe and if his orders did something to
jeopardize his safety, she would probably find herself disobeying them.

"Or you know, just disobey them." Ed muttered.

Mustang glared at Ed. "Like you do?"

Ed scoffed. "It usually turns out fine."

"Usually." Mustang scoffed.

Ed rolled his eyes and looked at the Briggs soldiers. "What about you guys?
Have you ever questioned the orders you were given?"

"There've been times when General Armstrong first took control of Fort
Briggs, but since then we've learned. She is one of the best commanders out
there. We have no need to question her orders. They are usually the best
orders that could be given." Grant replied.

"Huh, I see." Ed replied. "Out of pure curiosity, was there any scorn given to
her because of her being a female?"

"…."

Ed raised a brow.

"She proved real quick not to doubt her because of her being a woman. And
that is all you really need to know, Fullmetal." Liran said quickly.
"Sounds like it would be a good story though." Ed grumbled.

"Isn't that the way it works?" Raven asked as Olivia's face was slowly
zoomed in on.

A cell door appeared on screen as it closed.

Ed and Al were shown to be sitting on their beds in the cell with

someone's feet seen by the cell door.

"I am General Raven from Central." Raven said.

"Argh, what is that jerk doing in our cell?" Ed groaned.

"Locked in a cell with him." Al moaned. "What did we do to deserve this?"

The scene slowly moved up to show Raven as footsteps of another soldier

walked past the cell.

"I've heard a great deal about you from his excellency." Raven
continued.

Ed gave a very small bow of his head. "Hello."

"It appears you've been good boys and kept your mouths shut." Raven
continued as Ed turned his head away and looked down.

Ed scoffed. "Idiot. He didn't even consider the fact that I got General
Armstrong on my side before he got there."

"They believe the threat of a hostage is enough to keep you from working in
the shadows yourself." Hughes said with a smirk.

"The only thing a threat does is make me want to be more inconspicuous

about what I do." Ed growled. "I wasn't going to lose the chance to get help
when General Armstrong was so…eh…demanding for information."

Armstrong smiled. "I'm glad." When Ed glanced at him, he explained. "You

really didn't have to head to Fort Briggs in your search for May. I believe my
sister and her men could help and I believe my future self was also hoping
you and your brother would find a way to request the help of the Briggs
soldiers against the Homunculi."

Ed raised a brow. "Really?"

"I know my sister, Edward. She would not allow you in her fort unless she
knew your story and she would notice the holes in it if you kept things out of
it. And then she would not let you leave until she had all the information."
Armstrong explained.

Ed stared blankly at him.

"You totally played us to get her help." Al muttered. "I didn't think he was
that manipulative, Brother."

"I know." Ed muttered.

"You guys have to remember. He is a soldier as well." Hughes pointed out.

"All soldiers learn as they climb the ladder that you have to be a bit deceiving
and manipulative when the time calls for it. And since we're being watched
and we don't know when, he did it in the best way he could without telling
you to ask for help." Riza added.

Olivia stared at her brother. She would never say it, but that was a good plan
on his part. He sent the Elrics right to her and he used the knowledge of what
she was like to know that the brothers would be safe with her. And being part
of the Armstrong family, she, like the rest of her family, had much honor and
loyalty to the country so he knew she would be determined to help. She hated
it, but she would have to give that idiot a couple points here.

"That was the agreement." Ed replied.

"You don't seem happy." Raven said.

"Who the hell would be happy with their friend being held hostage?" Ed
asked angrily.
"Oh no," Ed leaned back and swung his legs up to the bed to sit cross
legged on it and gripped his ankles with his hands while he kept his eyes
shut. "I'm absolutely thrilled. Who wouldn't love to have their friends
taken hostage?" He rocked back and forth as he said this.

"For the love of….can you just hold still?" Mustang annoyed. "Why do you
always have to move around?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "It bothers you that much?"

"I have to deal with it during our meetings and it is annoying." Mustang
muttered.

"I'm a teenager! I have a lot of energy! And being restrained and locked in a
cell? It means I can't expend my energy so of course I am going to move
around. Deal with it!" Ed retorted.

"One minute he is acting like a soldier in the middle of an operation and the
next he is being an overactive teenager." Aran said amused.

Ed threw a hand in the air in disbelief. "Thank you, Lieutenant Aran."

Al looked up. "Um, do you think you could release us from this cell
soon?" He looked down. "The deal was, if we didn't mess with you, you
would let us continue our journey."

Raven was shown from the side. He smiled and raised his hands.
"There's no need to worry. I'll let you out of here soon."

Ed's face was shown close up from the side to show that his eyes were
still closed. He opened his eyes and looked sharply out of the corner of
his eye at Raven. "That tunnel. Is it part of whatever you're planning
too?" His eye narrowed. "If they found out."

"So serious and dark." Hughes said with a smirk.

"You let your sentence linger, but was that close to a threat?" Miles asked.

"As close as I am willing to make with Winry as a hostage." Ed replied.

The cell was shown from a downward angle.

"Again, you don't need to worry." Raven said.

"Who's worrying?" Ed said with a scoff. "Why would I even worry about
your plans being discovered? As long as I don't tell anyone, it's not my
problem if it is discovered."

Raven put his hands behind his back. "I've already spoken with the
General. She's going to put the Homunculus back underground." This
caused Ed and Al to turn to Raven. "And seal up the tunnel's opening."

Ed threw his feet back to the ground as the boys gasped.

Raven's face was shown up close, covered in dark shadows to make him
look evil. "General Armstrong's on our side now, Fullmetal."

Ed threw his head back onto the couch and laughed. "Damn, you did great,
General Armstrong! He really believes that!"

"It makes me wonder though. What do you think would have happened if we
didn't tell General Armstrong everything first?" Al asked.

"If she still got the information from Raven and thought you knew something
about it, she really would not have even given you a choice after that. She
would have dragged the answers out of you so she could figure out just what
was going on." Buccaneer said.

Ed and Al chuckled nervously. They were so lucky they talked to her first
then.

Ed and Al were shown.

Ed frowned while Al gasped.

Dramatic music began as the lowest floor was shown again. The hole was
surrounded by a makeshift building with some soldiers around.

Henschel was shown with Olivia standing beside him with her hands
resting on the hilt of her sword.

"General, aren't we going to go in and search for the missing team?"

Henschel asked.

"Quiet, Henschel." Olivia ordered.

Henschel raised his hands. "We can't just abandon them down there.
They still may need our help."

"Somebody is questioning orders." Ling said in a sing-song voice. "I thought

you said you didn't question your orders anymore."

"When it is our comrades in danger, well, we do what we have to so we can

get to them." Henschel replied.

"I said be quiet!" Olivia said harshly. She was shown as she looked at
Henschel. "Be quiet and obey."

Henschel was shown, looking down with a frown.

The scene changed to show Miles and Kimblee from behind as they
overlooked what was happening on the lowest floor from a bridge.

"Obey the one who holds the power." Kimblee said as the two were
shown from the front. Kimblee leaned his arms on the railing as he
watched. "They call her the impregnable Northern Wall of Briggs, but
even she yields to authority. Well, that certainly is the wisest approach."

Miles's face was shown from the side as an elevator was heard.

The elevator was shown with Sloth lying facedown on it with soldiers on
either side of him.

The scene was shown from a downward angle as a vehicle move forward
to hook to the cart that Sloth was lying on.

Miles and Kimblee were shown again.

"Oh, so that's the monster." Kimblee said.

"He is enjoying this way too much." Luke said annoyed.

"That is all a part of his nature." Mustang replied. "Sadistic and sophisticated.
It's an annoying combination."

"Just goes to show. You can't always judge a person by appearance." Rebecca
said with a frown.

Sloth's face was shown. He groaned as he started to push himself up.

Some of the soldiers were shown from behind as they watched Sloth
stand with Raven by his side.

Sloth was shown close up with Raven standing by him.

"Well, good morning, Sloth. Did you have a good rest?" Raven asked.

Sloth turned to look at him. "Who are you? I'm still sleepy."

"You'd best wake up. There's still a lot of work to be done here." Raven
replied. "Pride explained it to you, now didn't he?"

"Pride, we heard him talking to Wrath earlier. But other than that, we don't
really know anything about him, do we?" Heinkel asked.

"That would be correct. He is really quite good at keeping himself hidden."

Al replied.

"We have to see him at some point if we are to get rid of him." Grant said.

Sloth was shown, groaning a bit. "I guess."

One of the cart wheels appeared on screen. A second later Sloth's foot
appeared on screen.

The soldiers were shown from behind with Sloth's form towering over
them.
"What a pain." Sloth said as he started walking forward. "Oh well. I
have no choice."

Olivia was shown with Buccaneer at her side as Sloth passed in front of
them.

The scene was shown from a downward angle as Sloth approached the
makeshift building to get to the hole in the ground.

"Such a pain. But I forget, why is it a pain again?" Sloth asked.

"Is he an idiot?" Myers asked.

"Seems more like he is just very slow and lazy so his thoughts move with that
idea." Rufus said.

"That's what he gets for being Sloth." Damiano said.

The scene was shown from the hole. Sloth was shown from an upward
angle to be at the edge of the hole. "Too much of a pain to remember."
Sloth said. He jumped and was shown to be landing in a crouch in the
hole.

The rock was shown again as Sloth started to dig once more.

"We're just going to let him complete the circle?" Sheska asked.

"We don't really have much of a choice. Even if we didn't, the Homunculi
would have found a way to get it completed." Al replied. "Or find a way to
get Sloth unfrozen themselves."

Raven was seen in the distance to be looking down the hole to watch
Sloth work.

"Not to worry." Raven said. "He's a chimera doing some work for the
Central forces."

"A chimera that speaks?" Olivia scoffed. "Even if Fullmetal didn't inform us
of the Homunculi, my men would not believe such a lie when we know
chimeras can't speak."

"Well, they could since they don't know much about alchemy." Ed replied.

"We may be stuck by the border, but we do get information up there. We

heard about the talking chimera incident." Brody told him.

Ed raised a brow. "How?"

"We do have other friends in the military." Aran said.

The soldiers were shown from behind as Raven turned to face them.
"He's helping to make this country even greater than it already is."

Olivia was shown, arms crossed and a glare in place, with Buccaneer and
Henschel standing behind her.

The scene slowly moved to the side to show the soldiers.

"Of course it's still a top secret operation." Raven was shown again. He
smile and raised his hands. "So close this hole and guard our secret. I'm
counting on you, soldiers."

"The more he smiles that smile, the more I want to hit him." Ed growled.

"Because someone with evil intentions is manipulating with his lies?" Olivia
growled.

"Damn right!" Ed replied.

Hughes stared at Mustang over Ed's hear. "Are they bonding over their hatred
of Raven?" He mouthed.

"I think so." Mustang mouthed back.

Hughes shook his head. Unbelievable.

"Its people like you who make this country what it is." Raven said as
Olivia was shown close up with Buccaneer and Henschel behind her.
"What? A safe place to live for its people?" Grant asked angrily.

"I can't believe we are really abandoning our comrades by sealing up that
hole." Henschel said angrily. "That makes us no better than Raven."

The snow and trees appeared on screen with a setting sun in the
background.

The scene moved to the side to show a cabin.

The cabin roof was shown. The screen moved down to show Dr. Marcoh
and May.

Dr. Marcoh was shown close up as he read the notes. "Hmm."

The two were shown from the side as May looked up from the notes she
was studying.

"All the important parts are written in ancient Ishvalan." Dr. Marcoh
said.

"And Scar is the only person who would be of any help." Mustang said with a
sigh.

Hughes coughed. "You're forgetting Ed. He speaks it."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Hughes, I only know a very small portion of the language
and I don't know how to read it. I would be of no help whatsoever! That
language is so ancient it is next to impossible to learn."

"You learned Xerxian." Brody pointed out.

"That's because of Hohenheim's books." Ed replied. "I don't really have

anything on Ancient Ishvalan so I am at a lost there."

"You think you would try harder since you like studying languages." Grant
said.

Ed shrugged. "Can't do much when Amestris doesn't really have anything on

Ishval. Which makes Scar our only option."

"I believe I am helping Dr. Marcoh and May, not you." Scar said.

"In this future. But what you are doing should still help the country, if the
notes prove to be useful that is." Ed replied.

"My brother died for his research, Fullmetal. It was something important and
I will not believe that my brother died for research that didn't have a
purpose." Scar replied angrily.

Ed held his hands up. "I get it, Scar. I honestly do. You don't want your
brother's death to be in vain. You want to give his death for his research a
purpose."

Scar gave a very brief nod before looking back at the screen. His brother.
Yes, he was so concerned about those notes and getting them out of Ishval.
There had to be something important in them that he would waste time during
a war to research it. If he was going to go and die for those notes, then Scar
was going to make sure they found whatever his brother wanted them to
know. It would be the last thing his brother did. It would leave his mark on
this world if he helped with this. Scar didn't much care for Amestris or its
military, but this was to honor his brother so he would do what he could to
help with those notes.

"There's no way I can read it." Dr. Marcoh said as he lowered the notes.

May closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Does that mean we give up?"

Dr. Marcoh put a hand to his chin. "If Scar were here, he might be able
to read it."

"Oh, right, there is a chance you don't know Ancient Ishvalan…or, well, we
know you can speak it, but there is a chance you can't read it like Chief can't."
Havoc said.

"I know how to read the language." Scar replied. "I am a warrior monk of
Ishval. Some of our religious texts were in our ancient language. To read it, I
did have to learn the language and be able to fluently read it."

"He was an Ishvalan monk, so he might know their ancient writing."

May sighed and stood up, putting a hand on Xiao-Mei to keep her from
falling off her shoulder.

The window of the cabin they were in was shown from the outside as
May approached it.

"Where is he? Could something bad have happened to him?" May asked.

The scene pulled out until it was seen that the scene was being seen
through binoculars.

"We found her."

The scene changed angles to show two Briggs Mountain guards lying in
the snow, watching the cabin.

"Oh yeah, May is being hunted down by Briggs." Al said.

"Don't say it so casually!" May cried. She glanced over at General

Armstrong. At least it wasn't her doing the actually hunting. It was just her
men, which May could handle easier. But General Armstrong was a scary
woman that she didn't particularly want to meet in battle, which would
probably be what it would turn into if she was trying to take her into custody.

"May," Ed scratched the back of his head with a frown. "In the future when
you are running across the country with a known criminal and you are hiding,
stay away from the windows."

"Noted, Edward." May replied. "Though, you realize, the Briggs soldiers are
only looking for me because of you and Alphonse."

"Heh heh. Sorry, May." Al said.

"The girl with the black and white cat."

"Panda! She is a–" May sighed. "Oh, forget it."

"Finally realize that the future can't hear you?" Al teased.

May huffed and punched Al's arm. "Oh, quiet you."

The two soldiers were shown from the side.

"Right," The soldier on the right said as he climbed to his knees. He

pulled out his gun. "Let's go." His partner climbed to his feet as he ran
off screen.

Before the second solder could move, there was a chopping sound and
the soldier fell over, unconscious.

"What happened?" Olivia growled.

The first soldier appeared on screen as he stopped and looked over his
shoulder. He had no time to react when a gloved hand appeared on
screen and chopped him in the neck. He grunted as he fell into the snow,
unconscious.

Two people could be seen behind him. The scene moved up to show Scar
and Yoki with Scar still having his hand raised.

"Of course it was you." Olivia said.

Scar smirked. "I had to arrive at some point."

"And at least he didn't kill your men." Ed added. "He could have easily done
that."

Hughes raised a brow and leaned back against the couch. Ed was right about
that. He could have easily killed those soldiers. In fact, that was usually his
first reaction. The fact that he didn't could mean that he was starting to
change. With everything that future Scar had been going through, that wasn't
too hard to believe.

The door to the cabin was shown as it was opened to show Dr. Marcoh
and May sitting by the fire. They both smiled at the appearance of the
person in the doorway.

May and Dr. Marcoh were shown from behind as Scar and Yoki walked
into the cabin. Each of them was carrying some stuff they took from the
unconscious soldiers.

"Mr. Scar! Mr. Yoki!" May said.

Scar lowered his hood. "Did you find the research notes?"

May was shown as she reached across the crates to grab the notes.
"Yeah, they're right here."

The two unconscious soldiers were shown with their outer gear missing.

"They better not freeze to death." Buccaneer growled, glaring at Scar.

"We need to relocate." Scar said as the scene slowly moved up. "The
Briggs soldiers know where we are." The cabin was shown at a distance.
"Move!"

Wet cement appeared on screen as it sloshed down to fill the hole. The
scene moved to show soldiers, including Olivia and Raven, watching as
Bobby and some workers spread the wet cement around.

The workers were shown spreading around the wet cement with Raven
and Olivia seen in the background.

"You see, General. We are the chosen ones and we will receive immortal,
near-godly, bodies. We'll rule the entire world." Raven said.

"Oh, so they get a little power and they think they are really that important
that they can do anything they want?" Darius asked angrily. Is that why his
friends and him were experimented on? Was it because they didn't have the
same power as those higher ups that they were forced to be experimented on
and turned into chimeras?

"I never realized just how greedy Raven truly is." Mustang said with a frown.
"The entire world is really extreme, and I doubt any other countries are just
going to take that sitting down."

"I think that is the point of the whole 'legion of immortal soldiers' thing."
Hughes replied.

Olivia's face was shown from the side as she closed her eyes and Raven
continued on by her side. "The name was Smith, wasn't it?" He asked.
"There was nothing we could've done to save them."

Olivia opened her eyes. "Those who aren't chosen, will they be sacrificed
for those who are?"

The scene changed angles to show Raven closer to the screen.

"Yes, the survival of the fittest." Raven said.

"There is nothing about 'survival of the fittest' there." Ed said angrily. "It's all
the damn higher ups choosing who is worthy and who isn't! That is not
survival of the fittest. That is just a bunch of bastards deciding that everyone
should die, except those they find to be exceptionally well-fitting for their
immortality! Bunch of whack jobs who think they are so great!"

"The weak will become the foundation of the country, and the strong will
take their rightful place on top." Raven said.

"Idiot. The weak may start at the bottom, but when thrown into a dangerous
situation or threatened, the weak can show amazing strength and courage.
Some of the strongest people may start as some of the weakest." Olivia said.

"When they reach the top, some of those higher ups forget their roots and
where they came from. All they care about is what they have now. They
forget their past which made them who they are and become someone that
they once hated." Scar growled.

Ed stared at him blankly. "What does that say for you? You became a
murderer after the war. Surely that isn't who you were."

Scar stared at him. "I can understand the higher ups of your military losing
themselves because I have experienced it. I have lost myself in my rage and
pain at times, and in those times, I have done some things that my past self
from before the war would have been disgusted with."

Ed leaned in closer to Hughes to whisper, "Is he talking about his State

Alchemist serial killing spree or something else?"

"As much as I think he is starting to realize what he was doing was wrong,
there might be something more to it." Hughes whispered back. "Or, you
know, I could be completely wrong and it really is about how he is realizing
he lost himself and started doing something horrible."

Olivia turned her head a bit towards him. "Is that what happened in
Ishval?"

Raven's smiling face was shown from the side. "Indeed. They were part
of the plan. They were weak and deserved to perish for the good of their
betters."

Olivia was shown, glaring at Raven out of the corner of her eye.

A burning rage filled up Scar's eyes. How dare Raven say such a thing? Just
because his people were different and had different beliefs that made them
weak to Amestris? No, there was just no way that was true. His people
deserved the chance to live and survive in this world just as much as anyone
else. No one had the right to take that away from them!

"There's murderous intent coming from over there." Ed muttered, staring over
at where Scar was sitting.

"Anyone would get mad if something like that was said." Mustang said
angrily. Did they really kill all those innocent people for something like this?
They killed innocents for a reason that was because they were weak! He
already hated that war, but this would just make it harder to accept, especially
if he was told this during the war.

Miles clenched a hand into a tight fist. Those Ishvalans were his people. He
may not fully be Ishvalan, but he was still part Ishvalan and he could not
believe that Raven would dare say they were killed because they were weak!
His people were not weak. They were humans that deserved the chance to
live. Children and women…people who weren't even fighting back. They had
every right to just want to live in peace, not to be killed because they were
thought of as weak. A chance wasn't even given to them!

Miles appeared on screen, leaning his back against a wall.

The scene moved to the side as Kimblee's voice said, "Is that right?"
Kimblee was shown to be standing by the phones, talking on one of them.
"No, I'll take care of it….Okay." The phone was shown as Kimblee hung
it up.

A smiling Kimblee appeared on screen as he met up with Miles.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Kimblee said as he walked passed him.

Miles pushed off the wall and followed Kimblee.

The two were shown from a distance as they walked down a hallway.

"You seem to be making rather frequent phone calls." Miles said.

"Which can only mean he is planning something." Al said worriedly.

"We know he is planning something. There is just nothing we can do about it

yet." Miles said with a frown.

"Can you tell me where General Raven is?" Kimblee asked. "I need to
speak with him."

Miles's feet appeared on screen as he came to a stop.

Kimblee was shown from behind as he also stopped. He looked over at

Miles.

Miles appeared on screen. "You were seriously injured and near death,
and then the same day, you show up here totally recovered. What sort of
magic can do that?"
"You insult alchemy by calling it magic." Ed grumbled.

Kimblee was shown from the side as he looked away, eyes closed in an
unconcerned manner. "That information is none of your business."

Miles was shown again. "Another thing, you were imprisoned for killing
officers. Why would they release you?"

Kimblee's face appeared on screen. He opened his eyes and looked at

Miles out of the corner of them. "Do I have to say it again? It's none of
your business."

The workers spreading the wet cement around appeared on screen with
Olivia and Raven still watching.

"When did all of this begin?" Olivia asked.

Olivia and Raven appeared on screen.

"From what I hear, when the country was first founded." Raven said.
"And now my generation shall preside over its completion."

"Which just solidifies the idea that the country was created for this sole
purpose." Miles said.

Raven turned to Olivia and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm grateful
for your assistance. You're a true servant to your country."

"More so than you are, that's for sure." Armstrong said angrily.

Olivia's face was shown from the other side that was covered by her hair
as Raven rubbed her shoulder. "I'll speak with my superiors about
preparing a seat for you."

Olivia smirked. "There's no need."

Raven appeared on screen, making a surprised sound. "What's that?"

Olivia's sword was shown at her side as she pushed it parts of the way
out of its sheath.

The sword appeared on screen with blood splashing around it. A scream
followed not even a second later as dramatic, suspenseful music started.
The scene moved down to show Raven screaming with a sword thrust
inside his arm.

"This does not bode well." Al said in shock.

"Are you insane? You can't just attack a superior like that!" Zampano said.

"She just did. She could only take so much of Raven before finally
snapping." Riza said. And she couldn't really blame Olivia. Knowing who
Raven was and that he was just manipulating them made it harder to deal
with him.

Bobby, Henschel, and a worker were shown, staring in surprise at what

happened.

Raven was shown from behind, groaning in pain at the sword in his arm
while Olivia stood there, holding her sword in place, unconcerned.
"Which arm did Smith lose in the tunnel?" Olivia asked. "The left or
right."

Smith smirked a bit. There was his commander showing her loyalty to her
men in her own way.

Raven was shown. "Wait! What are you…"

Raven was shown from behind again with Olivia at his side.

"Growing old is truly terrifying, isn't it?" Olivia said as the scene slowly
pulled back farther and farther to show the soldiers and workers around
the two just watching. "You would know, General. Before you became so
afraid of your own mortality, I'm sure long ago, you had an earnest love
for your country."

"That is how it begins until they lose sight when they gain power." Mustang
said.
"Well, I sincerely hope you don't lose sight of who you are." Ed muttered.

Hughes grimaced and looked over at his friend. There was a single important
test that would show if Mustang would lose himself. If he met Envy and
found out he was the one to murder Hughes, what would Mustang do? If his
friend could make it through that, then he was sure that Mustang would be
fine when he moved up the ranks. If he didn't….Hughes didn't even want to
think about it.

Olivia's face was shown from the side with Raven in the background,
pain and fear on his face.

"You…You can't." Raven said as his hand twitched repeatedly. "You

were going to be one of the chosen ones. You would have been one of us."

"I don't need a new seat from you." Olivia's face was shown from the
other side and opened her eyes to glare at Raven. "You're going to lose
the one your moldy ass has clung to for too long." She ripped the sword
out of his arm. "Right about now!"

Raven stumbled back, anger shining on his face. His uninjured arm
dived into his coat.

Olivia appeared on screen, charging at him with her sword ready to

swing down. "You old traitor!" She screamed as she brought it swinging
down.

The scene was shown from an upward angle as a slicing sound was heard
and Raven, who now had a gun in his hand, was shown to be falling back
with blood spurting out of his body.

"…She killed her own comrade." Ed said blankly in shock before turning
furious eyes to Hughes. "HUGHES! You said she wouldn't do something like
that!"

"Do what? I said nothing about her killing Raven." Hughes replied.

"You said she wouldn't kill a comrade!" Ed clarified with a frown.

Hughes shrugged with a frown. "Since he is a traitor to the country, we'll let
it go. Traitors aren't comrades."

Ed's brow twitched. "She thought I was a spy for Drachman. Spy for another
country and traitor are basically the same thing!"

"Yes, but she wouldn't automatically kill you just for suspecting something.
She's a good soldier and would wait until she got answers to decide what to
do." Hughes said as he pat Ed's head. "You are completely safe up there, Ed."

"You guys seriously have no problem with what she just did?" May asked.

"He was a traitor. It was either death or prison for him when this was over."
Mustang said with a shrug. "It was a bit quick and not really the best way to
handle the situation, but no one is really going to be upset over his death."

Olivia scoffed. "Not the way to handle it? And what would you have done in
my position? He needed out of the way and quickly."

Raven's face was shown up close as he screamed out in pain with blood
still gushing around.

Olivia and her soldiers were shown from an upward angle before
Raven's body fell onto screen, blocking them from view. He slammed
into the wet cement, causing it to splash up and cover the screen.

Henschel, Bobby, and the other worker appeared on screen, showing

determination. The two workers were holding up their tools to spread
the cement.

Raven was shown as his body sunk into the cement. "But immortality…
was right before…our eyes."

"Is he still trying to sell that?" Rebecca scoffed. "That idiot. He should just
die with what little dignity he has left."

"Being so scared of death, I don't think that is possible for him." Havoc said.
"Someone who is that afraid could never run a country." Riza said. "All he
can do is sit in his office, scared to fight, while the soldiers face death. Those
soldiers who go out there to fight are the ones with real strength. Having the
power of a General is only strength because of that authority, but it is not the
real strength a country needs. The real strength is the bravery and courage of
its soldiers who go out and fight and die for it, not sitting in an office just
giving out orders."

Olivia was shown, holding up her bloody sword in front of her face.
"General, you are among the weak who will become the foundation for
this country." She ran a gloved hand over the sword to clean up the
blood. "Literally." She slid her sword back in its sheath.

Raven's face was shown as it sunk farther into the cement. "I was going
to…to be im–" His face sunk farther in with the cement covering it and
filling his mouth, cutting him off as he vanished from site completely.

May grimaced. That was a very gruesome where to die. He may be injured,
but he was still alive when he fell into the cement. He basically drowned in
cement. The cement entered his body and filled his lungs, suffocating him.
That was horrifyingly gruesome.

Olivia's white gloves that were covered in blood were dropped into the
cement.

Buccaneer and Olivia, who was rubbing her hands, appeared on screen.

"Now that that's done, get in touch with Major Miles." Olivia said.

"Sir." Buccaneer replied.

As Buccaneer pulled out a new pair of white gloves, Olivia looked at her
men. "The rest of you, we have work to do."

Buccaneer held the gloves out to Olivia. "General."

"What is with the gloves seriously? It's like Lieutenant Riza keeping hold of
Colonel Mustang's gloves so he has a pair at hand if something happens to
the ones he is wearing." Ed muttered. He stared at Buccaneer. "Seriously
though? You carry around extra gloves for her?"

"Always be prepared." Buccaneer replied.

"I still think it's weird." Ed whispered to Hughes, who just laughed.

"What? Al doesn't carry stuff for you?" Hughes teased.

"No, he has no need to." Ed retorted.

"I would if I had pockets to store stuff in." Al muttered. His brother definitely
needed him to carry stuff for him. If only he had pockets to do that. If his
brother would just carry spar stuff he needed himself, this wouldn't be an
issue!

Olivia turned to him and took the gloves before walking away.

Buccaneer saluted as she walked away.

The scene was shown from a downward angle to show the soldiers
saluting as Olivia walked passed them.

"I want that concrete nice and level." Olivia ordered before the workers
were moving to get back to their job.

"Well," Ed mumbled. "It's definitely a good way to hide a body."

"If they can't find him, they can't charge her for his death and no one up there
will betray her which is why she felt so calm doing it in front of them." Riza
said softly.

Ed frowned. He didn't care about Raven's death, even if he didn't like killing,
but still. It was pretty dark. At least, he felt this was dark.

"Right." They said.

Olivia's face appeared on screen. The screen moved with her as she
continued to walk towards it.
"You're not a fan of me, are you, Major?" Kimblee's voice asked as
Olivia's hands rose onto screen to show her straightening a glove.

"What? Nooo, whatever gave him that idea?" Ed asked sarcastically.

"Maybe the threats in the hospital?" Ling suggested.

"That is usually a good giveaway." Ed replied dryly.

Miles and Kimblee, who was leaning against a wall, appeared on screen.

"Is it because I was a State Alchemist? One of the ones who served in the
Ishvalan War of Extermination?" Kimblee asked. "What information
can I give you to make you happier? Do you want to know about the
war? About how your countrymen died in it?"

"Shut your mouth, Kimblee." Miles replied.

"If he is annoying you so much, then why did you start talking to him?" Karin
asked.

"I believe the point of this was to stall Kimblee so we could keep Raven and
him separate while General Armstrong dealt with Raven." Miles explained.

"…You have to wonder when they set that up." Al muttered.

Kimblee was shown up closer, smirking cruelly. "What? You don't want
me to tell you?"

Miles was shown from the side, an angry tick mark on his face. "I said to
shut up."

"Wow, he actually got mad." Ed said in shock.

"Why is that so surprising?" Lan Fan asked.

Ed shrugged. "He just seemed very calm and collected, even when he was
making threats. Didn't think I would see him lose his cool like that."
"Kimblee was basically mocking him with how he killed his people. I'm not
surprised he got so mad." Ling replied.

A door was shown at the end of the hallway. It opened and a soldier
came through it.

"Major, may I have a moment with you?" The soldier asked.

The soldier was shown from behind as it stepped back into the adjacent
hallway. Miles came through the door and shut it behind him.

"I have a message for you from the General." The soldier said.

Miles was shown up close.

The soldier leaned in closer to Miles and cupped a hand around his
mouth. "She says operation complete. No need to buy more time." The
soldier stepped back.

"That's good. I think that Major Miles would have killed Kimblee if he had to
spend any more time stalling." Ed said.

"I wouldn't have killed him." Miles replied though there was a bit of a bite in
his tone. "Killing him there would cause a bit of a problem."

Ed raised a brow. "Fine. Punch him them?"

"I have more self-control than that." Miles said.

"And if he pushed you just a bit farther?" Al asked.

Miles chose not to reply.

Miles pushed his glasses up. "Roger that." The door was shown from the
other side. Miles could be seen in the window on it. "I'm just glad I'm
not stuck talking to that guy anymore."

Kimblee was shown from the other side of the window.

"I don't know how much longer I could've lasted." Miles said.

"You admit it!" Al and Ed cried dramatically.

Miles stared at them. "I didn't say that I would do anything to harm him."

"It was implied." Ed said.

"I think you two just want to see Major Miles hit someone." Breda said
amused.

Ed scoffed. "Do not."

Kimblee was shown close up as a door opening was heard.

"Kimblee," Miles's voice said, making Kimblee turn his head. Miles was
shown from a distance as he closed the door. "Apparently nobody can
find General Raven." He started walking towards Kimblee. "You have
any idea of where he might've gone off to?"

Kimblee was shown as he stood up straight and lowered his arms as

Miles reached his side.

"Are you guys so loyal to General Armstrong that you will not tell anyone
what happened to Raven?" May asked.

Ed scoffed. "Why would they? They know that Raven is a traitor."

"Even if we didn't, we believe enough in our commander to know that she

wouldn't kill a comrade without a reason." Buccaneer replied.

"That's Briggs for you." Havoc said.

Ed stared at Mustang. "So, you've never let me come with you on your
training with the north, why again?"

"Besides the fact that you aren't trained as a soldier and have no reason to be
up there for the training? Yeah, I wasn't taking a twelve year old up there to
meet them." Mustang replied. "Or a thirteen year old. Or a fourteen year old."
"What did you think we were going to do to him?" Brody asked amused.

"What could we possibly do?" Luke asked with an evil grin.

Mustang shot them a glare. "I think you would make him worse than he
already is. He causes me enough headaches. I don't need anymore trouble by
him meeting you guys and being influenced."

Ed snorted. "Seriously? Influence me?"

"You were an impressionable youngster, Ed." Hughes said, patting Ed's head.

Ed rolled his eyes and swat Hughes's hand away.

"Though it definitely would have been interesting if you met them years
ago." Hughes continued.

Mustang glared at him. "And this is why he is under my command and not
yours or anyone else's."

Hughes smirked at him. "Protective." He mouthed over Ed's head so Ed

wouldn't see.

Mustang rolled his eyes. He was not protective of the brat. It was in his best
interest that Ed didn't meet Briggs when he was younger. Stupid Hughes
didn't understand anything.

"The General's missing?" Kimblee asked.

Miles put a hand to his hip and his other hand to his head. "Seems like
it." He turned a bit towards Kimblee. "This is a fort, but that doesn't
mean it's safe enough for an outsider to be wandering around." He was
shown close up.

"Which is why we aren't allowed to get around alone." Ed said.

"Now you're getting it." Grant said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Right, right. Anything could happen in the fort. Good
thing I'm locked up in a cell then." He crossed his arms and grumbled, "I hate
the cell."

"If anything happens to the General," Miles said.

"I for one would welcome it." Kimblee said, making Miles look up in
surprise. He was shown, smirking. "If anything bad should happen to
General Raven, then I have permission to act in whatever where I see fit.
That decision came down from the Fuhrer himself."

"Damn, I really don't like the sound of that." Breda said.

"That risk most likely wasn't calculated into the operation." Miles said with a
frown.

"It depends on who is worse. Raven or Kimblee?" Al pointed out.

"He hasn't done anything yet, but I am thinking Kimblee is worse." Ling said.

"That is not hard to believe since Kimblee is psychotic." Mustang growled.

Miles's face was shown from the side as he took a step forward.

Kimblee was shown from behind as he put his hands in his pockets.
"Now, perhaps you could provide me with a car to drive me down the
mountain." He said as he turned around. He started walking away. After
a few steps, he stopped. "You should act quickly." He turned halfway
around to face Miles. "It's in your best interest, I promise."

"And how is that?" Brody muttered.

"Maybe it will take him away for good." Luke said hopefully.

"If only." Cyril said.

"Right now, orders from me are tantamount to orders from the Fuhrer."
Kimblee said.

Miles's face appeared on screen.

Olivia was shown from a downward angle to be walking behind some
pipes with Henschel following her.

"Please wait, General Armstrong." Henschel said.

Olivia was shown close up as she rounded a corner.

"We have to search for Smith and the others before we seal it." Henschel
said as he followed her before he froze in surprise.

The scene moved to show Olivia and Buccaneer, who was kneeling by a
trapdoor.

"Fullmetal saw this coming." Olivia said.

"Yes!" Brody and Luke cheered.

"You're awesome, Fullmetal." Avery agreed with a grin.

Ed rolled his eyes. "What was it Buccaneer said earlier? Always be

prepared?"

"And Fullmetal, despite his reckless and rash nature, is able to think ahead
and guess what an enemy is going to do." Mustang said.

Ed stared at him annoyed. "You just love to insult and compliment me at the
same time, don't you? It can't just be one or the other!"

Mustang smirked at him. "You make it so easy. How can I not?"

"So he made us this secret passage into the tunnel." Olivia said as
Buccaneer grabbed the door handle and opened it.

Henschel appeared on screen, smiling.

"The longer you stay up north, the more the Briggs soldiers come to like
you." Walkers said with a grin.

"As loyal as he is, how could we not come to respect and trust him?"
Henschel asked.

"Even if he does keep insulting the north." Luke said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I just don't like the cold."

Ed and Al appeared on screen. Al was holding a newspaper open.

"She killed him?" Ed asked shocked.

"General Raven?" Al asked.

"Wow, that information spread fast. How is it that Kimblee didn't hear it?" Al
muttered.

"Because we are really careful about spreading information." Karley replied.

"We don't make any stupid mistakes when we know an enemy is there."

Kei appeared on screen on the other side of the bars.

"Ah, it's you again." Ed said.

Kei threw a pillow at him. "Is that the thanks I get for keeping you informed,
you punk?"

Ed huffed and tossed the pillow aside. "Come to think of it, why is it always
him keeping us informed?"

"Because I like you." Kei said with a grin.

"Plus it is easier to send someone who is not a soldier to speak to you." Miles
informed him.

"Yep, and that was all I was ordered to tell ya." Kei said before he
turned and started to walk away.

He was seen walking away as Ed approached the cell door. "Hey, wait a
minute." Ed called. "When are you guys going to let us out of this damn
place?"
"That is seriously a good question. There is no longer a point of being locked
in there." Ed grumbled.

"Just be patient, Fullmetal." Miles said.

Ed's brow twitched. "Locked in a small cell for twenty four hours a day?
Who the hell can handle that?"

"You're not supposed to like it. It's called prison for a reason, and considering
you had a mission in a prison before, you should be used to it." Hughes said.
"And besides, you keep getting out of the cell to go to secret meetings so it's
not like you've been locked in there for as long as you think."

Kei's back was shown. "Who knows? Take it up with the General." He
said before walking out the door and leaving.

Ed glared at Kei. "You are so not helpful."

"Um, who was it that fixed your automail? Yeah, that's right. It was me." Kei
retorted.

Ed's brow twitched. "You…jerk."

Kei smirked at him. "That's what I thought."

Ed reappeared on screen, holding the cell bars in his hands as he stared

angrily at the door. "Damn it." He snarled slowly.

"Getting angry won't do any good, Ed." Al said. "We should just rest for
now."

Ed sighed and bowed his head. "I can't just sit around while all this is
going on." He shook his head. "I need to do something."

The sound of the door opening entered the scene.

Ed looked up.

The door was shown as it opened to show Kimblee coming in.

Ed threw a hand in the air in disbelief. "Oh, great, now Kimblee is joining the
party. First Raven, then the unhelpful Kei, and now him!"

Kei glared at Ed. "Don't lump me in with them!"

Ed huffed. "Fine, sorry. I'm just aggravated."

"That seems to be a common theme in here." Mustang said with a frown.

"Who wouldn't be?" Hughes muttered. They have been seeing a lot of dark
things, the most recent having to do with watching the Briggs soldiers get
slaughtered. Being stressed and aggravated was completely allowed.

Kimblee closed the door behind him as he was shown up close. He took
his hat off. "Hi, afternoon boys. I was hoping that I might have a word
with the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"He's busy. Good-bye." Ed muttered.

"You're locked in a cell. I'm pretty sure Kimblee, from his vast experience of
being a prisoner, knows that you aren't busy." Darius said.

Ed appeared on screen, wearing an expression of bored, annoyance as he

groaned.

Ed was shown from behind as Kimblee walked over to the cell and
looked down at him. "Oh, don't tell me that you have some reason to
dislike me too." He said. "You should be grateful. I brought a visitor
with me to see you."

"Oh, I am just simply thrilled at that idea." Ed said. "Another person to annoy
me."

Ed and Al were shown to be staring at Kimblee as the door was heard

opening again.

"A visitor?" Ed repeated as footsteps were heard.

Dramatic music began as the person walked around Kimblee and

stopped in front of the cell. The scene changed angles to show a smiling
Winry standing besides Kimblee.

Ed shot up straight, eyes narrowed to slits. "That son of a bitch!" He

screamed.

Mustang and Hughes each slammed a hand down on one of Ed's shoulders to
keep the boy from doing anything stupid.

"I'm going to kill him!" Ed snarled.

"I can't believe he brought Winry up there." Al said angrily. "It's like he is
trying to make a point! And we're supposed to be grateful?" His hands
clenched into fists. It was hard enough to have Winry used against them, but
now Kimblee was throwing her in their faces to say that he was in control!

"Calm down, Ed." Riza said soothingly to the irate boy.

"How can I calm down?" Ed snarled, shoving Hughes's and Mustang's hands
off of him. "She's right there in the line of fire now!"

"I know it's frustrating and scary, Fullmetal, but you really have to relax."
Mustang growled. He twisted around and pinned the boy's shoulder to the
couch.

Ed glared at Mustang, but didn't make a move to push him away. He let out a
frustrated breath and looked over at Al with worry. Al gave a very brief,
small nod of his head in return.

Al and Ed appeared on screen, both gasping. A look of absolute horror

appeared on Ed's face.

Winry appeared on screen, tilting her head to the side a bit as she smiled
at them.

Ed and Al appeared on screen as Ed screamed, "Winry!"

"Why did you come here?" Al screamed.

"Well, at least you can get the proper automail now." Ling said.

Ed and Al shot him glares.

Ling held up his hands. "Hey, it's the only bright side in this, but at least there
is one."

Winry was shown from the side. "Why? Why do you think?" She asked
angrily. She moved her arm in annoyance. "You have to adjust your
automail for the north, don't you?" She pointed a finger at them. "And
just what are you doing in that cell?"

"Argh, she's in lecture mode while we are freaking out with worry." Al
groaned.

"It's not her fault. She doesn't know just how much danger she is in." Riza
said softly.

"We didn't ask you to come here!" Ed said.

Winry was shown close up with Kimblee standing by her side with his
eyes closed and a smirk in place. "What's with you? I was worried about
you, idiot." She said.

"I understand you're scared and worried for her, but you really don't have to
be that rude." Hughes scolded.

Ed shot him a glare. "Shut up, Hughes." He hissed.

Hughes looked over at him with a raised brow, but just shook his head. His
love for that girl just made his anger at her sudden appearance that much
worse.

"Someone from the military contacted me."

Ed appeared on screen, frowning. 'Military?'

"So I came."
Winry was shown again as Kimblee moved behind her and put his hands
on her shoulders.

"Don't be so hard on her you two." Kimblee said as the scene pulled out.
"The Fuhrer was concerned about you. He wanted to make sure you
were taken care of."

Al and Ed, who was gripping the cell bars tightly and glaring angrily,
appeared on screen.

The ending song began.

"Al," Ed growled.

"Remind you to get northern automail first if we ever head north. Got it,
Brother." Al said angrily.

"Also remind me to punch that smug smirk off Kimblee's face!" Ed snarled,
pushing Mustang's hands off of him.

Mustang stared at him for a moment before cautiously sitting back.

A road in Central appeared on screen. Some cars drove down it as

Mustang's voice said, Kimblee?"

A woman sitting in the back seat of a car holding a paper appeared on

screen. "Yes, I heard about it from a friend of mine who's working as a
nurse at the base of the mountain." Madeline said as the scene slowly
pulled back to show Mustang resting his arms on the steering wheel and
his head on them. "She said he was admitted with serious injuries, but
after General Raven came to visit, he recovered right away."

"Is this one of your informants?" Ed asked stiffly.

"Yeah," Mustang replied, glancing at him.

Ed stared at him. "Any reason you're keeping track of Kimblee?"

"Have to know what the enemy is up to." Mustang said. "And keeping track
of Kimblee is easier than the Homunculi."

Mustang shifted his arms a bit. "Raven and Kimblee."

Madeline was shown from an upward angle with her eyes shut. "That's
all the information I have for now." An envelope appeared on screen as
it was held out to her. She looked up.

Mustang was shown as he held it out. "Thanks a lot. Tell me if you hear
anything else."

Madeline was shown from behind on the sidewalk. She turned around
and waved. "It was really nice seeing you." Her legs were shown as she
walked off screen to show Mustang standing by his car with the door
open as he waved to her.

Mustang was shown up close, wearing a frown, as he lowered his hand.

"Nice? That's not much to go on." A woman's voice said.

Mustang was shown from a downward angle to show a short woman

standing by him with a cart of flowers.

"A bouquet of flowers might help you next time." The woman said.

Olivia smirked when she saw that woman. She knew her from her family.
She was a reliable and trustworthy informant of theirs to pass information on
when the situation was as tight as it was now. It looked like they were pulling
out all the stops for this.

Mustang closed his eyes and turned his head away. "Eh, I'm better off
without her, but thanks anyway."

The woman looked down. "When one woman leaves you, another may
find you." She reached towards one of the flowers.

Mustang was shown from behind as he closed his car door.

"I have a message for you from Olivia Mira Armstrong." The woman
said as Mustang turned to look at her. The woman appeared on screen as
she turned to face it with a smirk and flower in hand. "Colonel Roy
Mustang, right?"

"And this is why we have informants." Mustang said with a smirk as he

looked over at Olivia.

"She got a message to you really fast." May said.

"There is no time to waste. We have to prepare for anything at a moment's

notice." Mustang replied.

Mustang appeared on screen. He stared for a second before he smirked.

"I'll take every flower you have in that cart."

"….That's a lot of flowers." Lan Fan muttered. "What are you going to do
with that many flowers?"

Hughes smirked. "He'll give them to his crush!"

Mustang glared at him.

"You should just admit it already." Hughes teased.

"Shut up, Hughes."

The scene went dark.

"Well, that was certainly a lot to take in." Riza said. She looked down at Ed
then over at Al. Each of them was tense with fear and worry. "Perhaps it's
best to have lunch."

"A third break?" Rebecca asked.

Riza nodded her head at Ed then at Al.

Rebecca subtly glanced at him before clapping her hands "Ah, I'm totally
with you on that, Riza. We should have lunch! I'll even help by making this
amazing stew that my mom was famous for. You'll love it, Ed!"
Ed raised a brow at her. "Sure?"

Ling whacked Ed in the head with a pillow. "Hey, you owe me a spar, Ed.
Don't think you can run from it because of what has happened."

Ed shot him an annoyed look. He took the pillow and whacked Ling back.
"Jerk."

Ling smirked at him and jumped over the back of the couch. "You coming or
what?"

Sighing, Ed stood up. Maybe a spar would do him good. It could get some of
the frustration out of his shoulders.

Luke watched them go with a grin. "I think I'm going to watch this."

"It will be something to do while we wait." Grant said as he rose to his feet.

Dr. Young watched the soldiers follow the two teenagers with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Al asked.

"I guess I have to go as well. A doctor should be there when they hurt each
other." Dr. Young said.

Al snickered. "Automatically assume they're going to get hurt?"

"With Ling and Ed fighting each other it should be common knowledge that
is going to happen." Lan Fan said as she appeared by Al's shoulder. They
watched Dr. Young head to the training room before Lan Fan put a hand to
his shoulder. "How are you?"

Al sighed. "Could be better, could be worse. It's just so frustrating to watch

this happen. I'm worried that something is going to happen to Winry or she is
going to be killed. I wish there was something I could do."

"Just be strong for now." Lan Fan said comfortingly. "It's hard, but it is you
and Ed in the future. Trust yourselves in the future to keep her safe."
*Training*Room*

Ed stretched his arms, staring at Ling, who stood across from him. "All out
from the straight?"

Ling smirked as he stretched his arms above his head. "Of course. Let's not
waste time."

Ed looked over at Hughes. "You refereeing again?"

Hughes grinned. "Of course." He raised a hand and looked at each boy.
"Whoever gets pinned for the count of three loses. Begin!" He swung his
hand down.

Neither teenager wasted a moment. The moment that Hughes's hand came
down, they were on the move, charging at each other. Ed swung a punch at
Ling, but his fist was caught. Ed ripped his arm free and raised his automail
arm to block a punch from Ling. There was a loud clanging sound before
Ling was jumping backward, waving his hand out.

Ling whistled. "Punching that arm really hurts, Ed."

Ed rolled his eyes and smirked at him. He made a come here motion with his
right hand. Smirking, Ling charged at Ed. When he was right in front of him,
he jumped and flipped over Ed. Ed spun around in time to get a fist in the
face. He stumbled back a step and swung a leg up, making Ling jump
backwards to avoid getting hit. Ed took a moment to rub his cheek.

Buccaneer whistled as he watched the two. "They are certainly skilled

fighters."

"Who do you think is better though?" Brody asked, crossing his arms as he
stared at the two.

"It's really hard to say." Mustang said as he stared at the two teenagers. They
were really jumping around a lot. "They both have a lot of experience and
skill."

Rubbing his hand across his chin, Ed smirked and charged at Ling. He
slammed a knee into Ling's stomach, causing him to keel over. Ed twisted his
body around to swing his metal arm into Ling's face, which sent him flying to
the side. Ling recovered quickly and threw a hand to the ground and flipped
himself over to land back on his feet.

Ducking under a punch, Ed swung out a leg to knock Ling's legs out from
under him, but Ling jumped over it. Ed crossed his arms over his head to
block a kick from Ling. He threw his arm out, sending Ling flying back
through the air. Ling flipped over and landed in a crouch.

Ling pushed off of the ground and lunged at Ed, tackling the older teenager to
the ground. The two rolled across the ground, each struggling to dominate the
fight.

Growling, Ed shoved an elbow into Ling's stomach, winding the prince. His
legs wrapped around Ling's waist as they rolled over so Ling was on bottom.
He straddled the prince and brought a fist down to hit Ling in the face, but
Ling managed to catch his wrist with the fist an inch from his face. Ling
grabbed Ed's shirt in his other hand and flipped him over his head.

Ed's back slammed into the mat causing all the air to leave his lungs. Ling
rolled over and climbed to his knees. Ed slammed a hand onto the mat and
twisted his body around, swinging his leg at Ling. His foot only skimmed
Ling's chest as he managed to move back. His hand came up and grabbed
Ed's ankle, yanking him with him.

A shocked shout came from Ed. He kicked Ling in the stomach again to get
him to release his ankle. When he was free, Ed slammed his hands onto the
mat and flipped himself over. He landed in a crouch and blocked a punch
from Ling with his flesh ar. A hiss escaped him at the pain in his arm, but he
ignored it and rose to his feet. He swung a punch at Ling, but Ling blocked it
and Ed took the chance to swing his leg up to kick Ling's arm. Ling knocked
his leg away and swung a punch at Ed. Ed ducked under the punch and
slammed into Ling's stomach, sending them both flying to the ground.

"They really want to win." Luke said with a grin as he watched the two
teenagers throwing punch after punch at each other as they rolled across the
ground.
*20 mins later*

Ed and Ling lay on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Just stay down." Ed muttered annoyed.

"I am down." Ling retorted. "The same as you."

Hughes stared at Ed then at Ling. "You guys want to end at a draw?"

"NO!" Ling and Ed shouted, but neither made a move to get up.

Hughes raised a brow. "Yeah, it's a draw. You guys want to try again to win,
it will have to be later. This fight is over." He glared at the soldiers. "Fights
over. Get out!"

Dr. Young walked over to the two boys and sighed. "Should I check your
injuries?"

"Eh? It's probably just bruises." Ed replied.

"Okay, let me restate. Both of you the infirmary now!" Dr. Young ordered.
"As a doctor, my word is above your twos."

Grumbling the two teenagers stood up and made their way out of the training
room, shoving each other every so often.

*Mustang & Hughes*

"So, Hughes," Mustang said, staring at his friend. "I've been noticing
something for a while now." He smirked at Hughes. "Any particular reason
you keep latching onto Fullmetal?"

Hughes grinned at him. "It's fun to tease him."

Mustang raised a brow. "And the real reason?"

The grin slipped off of Hughes's face. "I can't be the only one missing my
family while we're trapped here."
Mustang stared at Hughes for a moment before sighing. He glanced over to
where Ed was talking excitedly with Ling and Al while absently scratching a
new bandage on his face. Whatever Ed said had the two teens roaring with
laughter. "You're hugging Fullmetal as a means of comfort since you miss
your wife and daughter?"

"Well, he is just so cuddly." Hughes said with a grin.

Mustang just shook his head in reply. "Unbelievable."

*Ed, Ling, & Al*

"So you feel better, Brother?" Al asked.

"Hardly," Ed scoffed. "I didn't beat Ling."

"Well, I didn't win either. How do you think I feel?" Ling retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "How about that you are amazingly happy that you didn't
lose quickly like Havoc did the other day?" He smirked. "I mean, you should
be happy that I didn't just win easily." He scratched the annoying bandage on
his cheek that Dr. Young put there.

Ling and Al shared a look before laughing.

"Oh, you're that sure that you can beat me?" Ling retorted with a smirk.

Ed scoffed and waved his injured wrist. "My wrist is hurt. I think you got a
handicap, Ling. If I was in top condition, I would so win!"

"See? Now that is a challenge, Ed! Now I have to fight you in top condition
to prove you wrong!" Ling replied.

*Cafeteria*

"Mmm, this is so good." Ed said as he spooned more of his stew into his
mouth.

Rebecca grinned. "I'm glad you like it."

"Your mom really is good at cooking." Ed replied.

"I love being here watching our future." Luke said as he ate his stew with a
dreamy look.

By Ed's side, Al stared at him. "Why?"

"The food in Briggs sucks! It's not just the coffee. It's the food too." Kei
moaned before brightening up. "But the food here is so good. I wish there
were people who cooked this good at Briggs." He glanced at Ed with a grin.
"Hey, want to come work in Briggs?"

Ed scoffed. "I'm not a chef. Just deal with the horrible food."

"But after eating all this good food, how can we go back to the food at
Briggs?" Brody moaned.

"You're going to have to deal with it." Ed retorted.

"You owe me!" Brody hissed.

Ed raised a brow. "So how many bets have I caused you to lose by now?"

Brody glared at him.

"The fact that you suck at betting doesn't mean I owe you." Ed taunted. "It
just means you should give up while you're ahead."

Al sighed. "Brother, must you taunt him?"

"Yes, Al, I must."

*Miles & Scar*

Miles leaned against the back of the couch and looked over at Scar, who was
leaning back in his seat. "Do you get it yet?" Miles asked.

Scar looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

"Are you willing to let your thirst for revenge by killing State Alchemist go
and go after the real enemy here?" Miles said.

Scar's eyes narrowed. He was ready to let Ed go because the boy wasn't
involved in the war. Edward had done nothing wrong, but letting go of his
revenge completely was hard to do. But the hatred and anger he felt for the
State Alchemists was no longer there. It had slowly ebbed away from them to
move towards the Homunculi and Kimblee.

"Revenge isn't the answer to solve the pain and hurt that the war made you
feel." Miles continued. "It won't bring your family back. All you're doing is
causing yourself to feel more pain. The more time you spend going after this
revenge of yours, the more you focus on the past and what happened."

"I realize that. A day hasn't gone by yet where I haven't flashed back to the
war or the time I spent with my family and people before the war." Scar
replied. And all it did was cause him to suffer that much more. Remembering
all the happy times with his family then remembering they were gone forever
just filled his heart with so much sorrow and hatred.

"That pain is never going to heal, but you can move past it by not focusing so
much on the past and moving on in your life." Miles said as he pushed off the
couch. He nodded to Scar before moving to speak to some of his comrades
from Briggs.

*Havoc & Rebecca*

Havoc wrapped his arms around Rebecca's waist from behind when they
were alone in his room. "You never told me you could cook so well."

Rebecca smiled and turned around in his arms to smile at him. "I wanted to
make you a special dinner so I was getting some cooking lessons from my
mom to improve." She frowned. "But it seems you're being transferred in the
future so I never got to make you dinner."

"You improved your cooking for me?" Havoc asked surprised.

Rebecca smiled and kissed his cheek. "Don't act so surprised. Any girl would
be lucky to have someone like you."

Havoc grinned like a fool and pulled her against his body and captured her
lips with his own. They kissed each other deeply, losing themselves in the
sensation of the kiss. Havoc brushed his hand through Rebecca's hair and got
it wrapped around his fingers.

"I don't see why I have to do this." Ed grumbled to himself as he walked into
the room that the two were in. "Hey Ha–" He stopped and stared at Rebecca
and Havoc, still lost in their kiss, with wide eyes. "….Eh….well, this is
unexpected." He scratched his head and blushed as he looked around
awkwardly. "Eh, YO, HAVOC!"

Havoc and Rebecca jumped in surprise at the shout and broke apart. They
turned to stare at Ed, faces completely flushed and breathing heavily.

"Damn it, Chief! Don't you know how to knock?" Havoc grabbed a pillow off
of his bed and threw it at Ed, who ducked under it.

"I did! It's not my fault you were too busy locking lips to hear it!" Ed
retorted.

Havoc grabbed another pillow and walked over to Ed where he proceeded to

repeatedly whack the boy with the pillow. Ed shouted in protest and jumped
onto the closest bed. He grabbed a pillow and started whacking Havoc with
it.

Rebecca sighed as the two beat each other up with a pillow.

"I was having a moment with my girlfriend, Chief!" Havoc whacked Ed in

the stomach.

Ed smirked and slammed his pillow into Havoc's head. "Girlfriend? Since
when are you two dating?"

Havoc hissed. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

Ed smirked. "But Havoc, I already saw you kissing. I think I figured it out!"
He ducked under Havoc's pillow and whacked him in the stomach. Havoc
growled and brought his pillow down onto Ed's back, knocking the boy down
to the ground.

"What was so important that you had to come in here to interrupt my time
with my girlfriend?" Havoc demanded.

"The future." Ed said harshly.

Havoc grimaced as he remembered the last thing they saw. He dropped a

hand to Ed's hair. "It will all work out."

Ed stared at him.

"Chief, I was paralyzed in this future. Do you think I want that?" Havoc
asked. "It's hard to imagine that being my future, but we are going to do what
we have to so it doesn't happen. Not just for our comrades, but for your friend
too. We're going to protect her."

Ed gave a small, grateful smile as he dropped his pillow. He glanced at

Rebecca before slipping out of the room.

Smiling, Rebecca picked up the pillows and put them back and straightened
the bed covers on the bed Ed jumped onto. "You are good at handling him."

Havoc rolled his eyes and sat on his bed. "We've been dealing with him for
three years. It was hard dealing with a rebellious teenager like him in the
beginner, but we've figured it out."

Rebecca wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned down to give him a
peck on the lips. "You'll be a great father someday, Jean."

A/N: [1] I'm pretty sure it's not uncommon. My second oldest bro told
me he followed our eldest bro like that too. He would even follow him to
his friend's house. Then again, that might just be my brothers.

Obviously, I didn't name every single Briggs soldiers being helped in the
room because there would be too many.

Don't question the smoothie thing. I wanted a freaking smoothie when I

wrote that part. To be precise, a strawberry banana smoothie. Those are
sooo good.

The more I wrote this episode, the more I realized. I really, really hate
Raven. I despise that man! I did not feel an ounce of sympathy when he
was killed. He deserved what was coming to him, the jerk. Just seeing all
his fake smiles and cheerfulness when there is just evil and manipulation
beneath it all annoys me so much. I wanted to punch my screen
whenever he appeared.

Also, I noticed something when I was reading an earlier chapter. Ed

called Darius, Heinkel, Jerso, and Zampano "the chimeras." This was a
mistake on my part that took me months to catch. No one knows they are
chimeras so he shouldn't have said that. My fault. It is hard to write the
characters not knowing anything when I do know everything that is
going to happen.

Please Review!
*Chapter 40*: Episode 37: The First
Homunculus
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter is not as good as my others. I've had a very
long couple of weeks and some bad stuff has happened. I mean, all of
March has been horrible, but last week has been one of the worst.
Because of that, I've been a bit out of it as I wrote this. I did the best I
could though. I hope it's not as bad as I think.

Oh, and this is the last update until after April 11th. I have a quiz and
two tests next week. Along with that, I have a group paper due April 9th,
which I have to edit and build a power point for and that same week, I
have my team's event in my lab which we are still preparing for and will
be running around and getting set up in two and half days that week.
Yes, all that time to set up, then after using it for an hour, we will tear all
the decorations down. All that hard work gone after an hour of use…but
tearing down is my favorite time because it is the easiest and it means it
is FINALLY OVER!

I am convinced it is a conspiracy. All my professors planning everything

for that week. A conspiracy! But anyway, quite frankly, I am going to be
living hell for a while and probably won't be writing much. So, after
April 11th will be the next update sometime. I'm not sure when since I
will have a lot of other things to do and I will have to prepare for my
brother's wedding which is at the beginning of May then I have my finals
right after that….Yeah, actually, don't expect an update too soon in the
future. I will try my best to get another one up this month, but there are
no promises.

I wish had a time machine to go to a time when next week is finally

over….or this semester. Yes, this semester. I wish it was summer break
so badly. But I don't so until then, I'll be writing Truth Revealed and
Your Last Day a lot. Writing these chapters actually calms my nerves
and relaxes me after all the stress of classes.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 37: The First Homunculus

"Where are they, Fullmetal?" Mustang growled.

Ed shrugged.

"One job, Fullmetal! You had one job to do and that was to get Havoc and
Catalina!" Mustang said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I don't see how it is my fault that Havoc was–"

"Was what?" Havoc growled as he approached his seat. He shot a look at Ed,
who just grinned in reply.

Hughes raised a brow and leaned closer to Ed. "Okay, what happened?"

Ed snickered. "I shan't tell!"

"Come on, you can't not tell." Hughes said.

Grinning widely, Ed shook his head. "Maybe later."

"Chief," Havoc growled.

"Or never." Ed said. "It depends on how I feel."

Havoc and Hughes had a staring contest across the room before they both
looked at the smirking Ed. It was hard to tell which direction Ed would go in
this matter.

Riza smirked and shook her head. When she saw Rebecca slip into her seat
beside her, she had an idea of what Ed saw. Ed was enjoying messing with
Havoc and Hughes about what he saw. Well, that just meant she wasn't alone
in this secret anymore.

The opening song began.

Four soldiers were shown from behind as they walked through Briggs
with dramatic music playing. Their faces were shown from the side to
reveal them being Jerso, Zampano, Heinkel, and Darius.

"Hey, look who is finally appearing in our future!" Luke said.

Breda's eyes narrowed. "But that is Briggs. You guys aren't stationed there.
What are you doing there?"

Darius raised a brow. "How would we know? This is the future! Last place
we were before we came here was in Central."

The scene pulled up to show Miles and a worker watching the four from
a bridge above them.

"So what's the story with these guys?" Kyle, the worker, asked as he
looked at Miles.

Miles was shown from the side with the worker seen in the background.
"They showed up under the pretext of escorting Miss Rockbell, but I'm
not buying that."

The four soldiers were shown up close as they walked off screen to show
a worker saluting them as they passed.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Don't act so suspicious of us, kid. She arrived there safe and unharmed."
Heinkel growled.

"That's not the problem!" Ed snapped. "Kimblee was the one in control of
that, I'm sure of it, and you guys were the ones escorting her. I just think it is
a bit suspicious."

"I never realized how suspicious and untrusting you were, Fullmetal."
Mustang said, staring down at the boy.

Ed rolled his eyes. "And you aren't?"

"Oh, I know I am. I just didn't realize you were the same way." Mustang
replied.

"It's probably your fault he got this way with all those missions you send him
on." Al said amused.

Mustang nodded. "Yes, you are probably right. I taught Fullmetal just how
cruel this world can be and made him into a smart brat, instead of a naïve
one."

"Shut up," Ed grumbled, going back to staring at the screen. Just what was
going on? Why did those four arrive in Briggs with Winry? Considering that
their future selves didn't know them, they probably wouldn't be trusted. And
arriving with Winry on Kimblee's order just made them just that more
untrustworthy.

"They only answer to Kimblee." Miles said.

"What? Seriously?" Al asked horrified. People who worked for Kimblee were
the ones who brought Winry to Briggs?! Sure, she arrived unharmed, but still,
they are the ones who brought her there when she was a hostage! They
brought her right into the line of fire!

"You're with Kimblee?" Ed asked in shock. "That guy is a murdering

psychopath! Why the hell would you side with him?!"

Olivia looked at them with a frown. "Why are you guys here if you're on his
side?"
Heinkel frowned. "It was never stated that we were on his side, only that he
was the one we take orders from."

"Couldn't it be like with Scar?" May interrupted quickly before the tense air
in here got any thicker. "I mean, he is changing his opinion and working on
finding out the truth. Why can't they change sides to help us?"

"Or they are enemies who V.H thinks can change just by seeing the future."
Ed muttered, glaring at the four chimeras.

"Anything is possible." May agreed with a sigh. That seemed the best she
was going to get right now.

Kyle and Miles were shown again. Kyle pulled his hat down and walked
away while Miles thought, 'He's got some kind of plan for us here. But
what?'

The title "The First Homunculus" appeared on screen.

"First?" Miles repeated with a frown. "Does that mean we learn who the first
created Homunculus is?"

"If that's the case, then hopefully we'll learn something interesting." Havoc
said.

"Or dangerous." Ed muttered.

"Most likely both." Hughes said.

"Great." Ed said dryly. "What a wonderful time we live in."

"Don't complain, Fullmetal. It is your fault that all of this is being brought to
light now." Mustang said.

"My fault?" Ed asked incredulously.

"Yes, your fault." Mustang retorted. "If you never went to the Fifth Lab, you
never would have met the Homunculi and none of this would have started.
Ed's eyes narrowed. "I'll give you that. But I do believe this would have
gotten started somehow even if I didn't go there."

A table with tools appeared on screen.

Winry's hand reached onto screen to grab one of her tools. "You
should've told me you were heading to the north."

Ed's head appeared on screen as he turned it on the pillow to look to the

side. "I didn't have a chance. We were in a hurry, okay?" He replied as
the sounds of Winry working on his automail were heard in the
background.

The scene changed to show Ed lying on a bed with just a blanket

covering his lower body, looking in the opposite direction, while Winry
sat by the bed, working on his arm. "Yeah, and when are you guys ever
not in a hurry?"

Buccaneer grumbled as he watched Winry work on Ed's arm. Why did a punk
like that get such a cute mechanic while he was stuck with a guy like Kei? It
just wasn't fair! Why couldn't there be a beautiful mechanic at Briggs that he
could talk automail with?

She turned to the table and grabbed a bolt. "Anyway, what did you do to
get locked up?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Being suspicious and knowing too much." Ed said
sarcastically.

"That seems to only get you locked up, Brother. I can't see anyone else in the
military being locked up for that." Al teased.

"And what does that say for you? You are in that cell with me!" Ed retorted.

Al sighed dramatically. "This is my life because I have a brother like you."

"You are there right by side when the trouble starts so I don't wanna hear it!"
Ed replied sharply with an insane grin.
"It's only a misunderstanding." Kimblee's voice said.

"Argh, why the hell is he in there?" Ed moaned. "Can't he just leave me in

peace?"

Hughes pat his shoulder. "You're a prisoner at the moment. Prisoners don't
get left alone unless they are cuffed, and even then, not very often."

Ed glared at him. "It's Kimblee! It can be anyone but him and his goons."

"We're goons now?" Jerso asked.

Ed glared at him and his friends. "Until you prove yourselves trustworthy,
yes!"

Darius shrugged. "Can't blame him for thinking like that. We would be
thinking the same thing if the situations were reversed."

Zampano sighed. "I get it. I just want to understand what we are doing in the
future. I don't want the country destroyed." The country being destroyed and
the people killed would mean his family would die. He may not be able to see
them anymore because of his body, but he still loved them. He didn't want
that fate for them.

The back of Winry's head was shown as she turned to look at Kimblee,
who had Darius and Heinkel standing behind him on either side of the
door.

Kimblee was holding a cup of coffee in one hand and his hat in his other
hand. As he smiled, he waved his hand holding his hat as he said, "Just a
lack of communication."

Ed scowled. "He better have been charged for that coffee."

Dr. Young laughed. "Really, Ed?"

"If I'm being made to pay while locked up, he better have to pay too!" Ed
exclaimed. "That jerk should get nothing for free."
"I'll have them released within no time at all."

Winry appeared on screen, smiling. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Kimblee."

Ed groaned and covered his face with a hand.

"We really got to teach her not to trust so easily." Al muttered.

"You can't blame her. She doesn't know the story and Kimblee knows how to
act sophisticated and charming. To a girl who is naïve, she will easily trust
him." Riza pointed out.

"What? Psychotic one minute? Sophisticated and charming the next?" Ed

scoffed. "There's a damn psych test to past to become a State Alchemist. How
the hell did he pass his?"

"Because he is smart and knew how to answer the questions to pass. Plus,
you just said it. He knows how to be charming. It wouldn't be hard for him to
lie his way through it." Mustang replied.

"Something wrong with the examiners." Ed grumbled.

Winry's eyes moved to Ed as she frowned. "These two are lucky to have
you watching out for them." She looked back at Kimblee with a smile.

"No, nope. I'm pretty sure we are not." Ed said, shaking his head. "Not at all."

Kimblee appeared on screen, smiling. "It's nothing."

Winry's tool appeared on screen. Ed's finger grabbed it and pulled it.
Winry was shown as she looked down in surprise. Ed's hand moved onto
screen and he made a come here motion with his finger. Frowning,
Winry leaned down.

Ed's head was shown with Winry's real close to him. "Listen, I wouldn't
trust Kimblee if I were you."

Winry's brows furrowed. "What? Why not?"

"Please don't question the teen who has been in the military for three years
and knows these soldiers better than you." Ed pleaded.

"She can't hear you." Havoc said.

"I know! I just wish she would just trust me on this without question." Ed
grumbled.

Winry's eyes moved to the corner of her eyes to look at Kimblee. Her
face was shown from the front while Ed's was shown from the side. "He
seems nice." She said. She looked up in thought.

The scene changed to show a road with headlights shining on it. Gentle
music began as the car was shown from the side.

"Miss Rockbell." Kimblee said as the inside of the car was shown to show
Kimblee and Winry sitting in the back seat. "Is it true that your parents
lost their lives while giving medical attention during the war?"

The soldier driving the car looked out of the corner of his eye at Winry
when he heard the question while Winry gasped softly. The soldier
looked back at the road as Winry looked away from Kimblee and down
at her lap.

"That's right." Winry answered.

"Where the hell did Kimblee even learn that?" Brody asked with a frown.
"It's not common knowledge that she is their daughter."

"He may have learned it from Wrath. Winry was with him for a while after
she heard Ed shouting at Scar about their deaths. Maybe she mentioned it to
him and he passed it on to Kimblee for some type of leverage since Winry is
a hostage." Armstrong said with a thoughtful frown.

"Use anything to their advantage. Is that it?" Ed muttered. "And what use is
this to them?"

Hughes shrugged. "It depends on how Kimblee plays this, but since this is a
flashback and Winry thinks he's kind, he must have acted kind and sweet to
her about this."

"To earn her trust?" Al asked.

"Possibly. He doesn't realize that Hawkeye told Ed about him though so he

doesn't realize the lack of trust Ed has for him so he's going to make sure
Winry doesn't trust Kimblee." Hughes said.

"Thought so." Kimblee said. His face was shown from the side as he
looked down with Winry in the background doing the same. "I was part
of the squadron that recovered their bodies."

Winry looked at him. "What?"

"Only because you were on your way there to slaughter them." Hughes said
angrily.

Ed grimaced while Al glared at him.

"Did you have to say 'slaughter?'" Al asked angrily.

Hughes held his hands up. "Sorry, kill. He was heading there to kill them."

Kimblee looked at her. "We'd been dispatched to help them," He looked

away. "But it was too late by the time we got there. I'm sorry."

"Help? That's the cover story?" Ed asked angrily. "Come to help just to kill
them?"

"It was a cover story to guard them, but dispose of them as soon as possible."
Hughes explained.

Ed frowned. "Why do you even know all this?"

Hughes sighed and ruffled Ed's hair. The longer they stayed in here, the more
suspicious and untrusting Ed was becoming of all of them. "I am in
investigations for a reason, Ed. I find out things people don't want me to
know."
"Though that information was probably hard to dig up." Mustang said.

"Very hard to get." Hughes added. And it's not like he could do anything with
it. There was no proof and it was a general's order that Kimblee almost killed
them. It would have been hard to get it to stick because it was a general who
ordered it and because they were in the middle of a war when it happened.
The general had the excuse as to why they had to die anyway: they were
saving Ishvalans. And in a war like that, some might consider that pure
treason and they had to be executed. It was just a pure difficult situation to
begin with. With all the morals in it, if Kimblee was the one to kill them
before Scar did, it would have been hard to decide whether to charge him
with murder or not.

Winry looked back down. "Thank you for trying."

The road was shown as the car drove down it.

"They stayed true to their duty." Kimblee said before the side of Winry's
face was shown with Kimblee's in the background. "And they helped the
needy right up to the end. I respect their bravery."

"Now, seriously, is that a lie or is he really serious?" Fuery asked with a

frown.

"It's hard to tell with someone like Kimblee, but I believe that it is true. He
may be a sociopath, but he still has this sophisticated, philosopher sense of
mind. Just like a soldier is meant to kill, a doctor is meant to save lives. He
probably respects that, despite the warnings and danger all around them, they
stuck true to their way of life." Riza said softly. "They were courageous to the
very end." She looked at Al and Ed sadly. "I hate to say it boys, but whether
by Scar's hand or Kimblee's hand, they were never going to make it out of
that war alive."

"So, basically you're saying that death was their destiny?" Al asked thickly.

Ed scoffed. "I don't believe in destiny." He looked over at Al sadly. There

was no way it was Al's destiny to be trapped in a suit of armor. Or that it was
their destiny to have a hard childhood. "We make our own destiny with all
the choices that life gives us. We pick and choose among those choices and it
leads us down the path that we live, but there is no set destiny. Humans are
unpredictable. With each new day, we make new choices and our destiny
shifts every day. Nothing is set in stone."

"Can't argue with that." Hughes said. Ed was right. It was by the choices they
made that the path they ran down curved or turned. They all had chances to
escape and run from the challenges they faced in the future, but they all chose
not to. It was those choices that put them in the danger that led to death and
lifetime injuries. And no matter how much it hurt them to know that was their
future, it would have been worse for all of them if they saw their future and it
was them running away from the danger, instead of fighting for the country
they loved.

Kimblee closed his eyes. "I wish that I could've had the chance to meet
them." He opened his eyes and looked at Winry with a smile. The scene
changed angles to show Kimblee's face close to the screen with Winry's
in the background. "They were holding a photo of a precious little girl
when we found them, and I knew right away that it was their daughter."

Winry turned her face to him again. She was shown close up.

"The thought of you kept them strong during the worst of the war."
Kimblee said.

Winry smiled.

"I hate the guy, but he really knows how to make a girl happy." Mustang said.
"He gave her the last memories of her parents which were them dying with
her in their hearts."

"Knowing that her parents got strength from the memory of her will give her
a bit of strength that she needs." Hughes agreed softly.

Kimblee was shown, smiling at her. "Your parents were true heroes.
And it's an honor to meet you."

The scene faded out to show Winry staring down at Ed as the music
ended.

"No wonder she thinks she can trust him." Ed muttered, scratching the back
of his head with a scowl. "He's a good talker, knows just what to say, doesn't
he?"

"Well, I'm sure he was sincere with some of what he was saying." Riza
replied. "He doesn't always lie. He is quite good at telling the truth, even if it
is harsh and cold."

"What was it you guys said earlier? Every good con has a bit of truth in it?"
Al asked thoughtfully. "He is telling her some truth, but hiding the fact that
he is a sociopath and was planning to kill her parents. That is just sick."

"Do you have any idea of what that psychopath did in Ishval?" Ed froze
and his eyes were rapidly shown.

Ed was shown sitting at a table with Riza as she cleaned her gun before a
group of Ishvalans that were slaughtered appeared on screen.

Riza's face, covered by a hood, appeared on screen.

Mustang's back was shown with Kimblee in front of him, talking to him.

Riza was shown again, mouth moving as she spoke.

"Argh, stop flashing around! Focus on one thing!" Luke muttered.

Ed rolled his eyes. "All these memories are connected! Stop complaining so
much."

Ed's face was shown up close from the side with Winry's in the
background, really close to his. 'But what do I know? I only got
Lieutenant Hawkeye's experiences to go by.'

"And that would make it a pretty bias view." Havoc said. "You really need to
learn all sides of the story."

"Still, she wasn't wrong about Kimblee at all." Mustang growled. "He really
is a sociopath that enjoyed that war way too much."

A look of horror appeared on Ed's face. 'And she thinks...' A blush

covered Ed's cheeks. 'She thinks I…'

"Just say it! She thinks you love Winry!" Hughes, Havoc, and Luke shouted.

Ed's cheeks turned red. "Shut up! You idiots know nothing!"

Hughes snickered and wrapped an arm around Ed's neck to pull the boy into
his chest. He ruffled his hair with his other hand. "Oh, look who is still so
embarrassed that his love for Winry is known."

"There is no love!" Ed shouted.

"Oh, Brother, will you ever stop denying the love you have for her?" Al
teased.

Ed shot him a betrayed look.

"Betrayal!" Ling shouted.

Ed scowled and moved his glare to Ling. "You're all jerks!"

Ling grinned at him. "Hey, I didn't tease you about it."

Ed rolled his eyes. Right, right. Their deal. No teasing each other for their
love of Winry and Lan Fan. He should have made that deal say no teasing of
anything.

A cartoon drawing of Riza appeared on screen as fun, happy music

began.

"Overactive imagination." Walkers said with a grin.

"Speaking of Winry, you're in love with her." Riza tilted her head to the
side and a little pink heart popped out by her head. "Aren't you?"

Mustang laughed. "Sheesh, Fullmetal. You have a very crazy mind.

Lieutenant Hawkeye is not like that all."

"Now Roy, be fair. He is very embarrassed at the moment so he is thinking

crazy things." Hughes said mockingly.

Ed elbowed Hughes in the side and escaped his hold, glaring at the man.
"You're a jerk!"

Mustang smirked. "Now you know what I have to go through, Fullmetal."

Hughes huffed. "Well, if you would just get hitched already and Ed would
admit his love…"

Mustang growled. "Would you let that go?"

"Doesn't feel so good, does it?" Ed grumbled.

Mustang shoved Ed back into Hughes's arms, making the boy shout in
annoyance.

The side of Ed's face appeared real close to the screen again with
Winry's face still leaning down close to him.

"She really isn't helping at all." Ed groaned.

"Somebody's heart must be beating really hard at the moment." Grant teased.

"Somebody must be fighting his hormones so he doesn't lean up and kiss a

certain someone else." Havoc teased, shooting a look at Ed, who glared at
him. He really should let everyone know about Havoc and Rebecca.

"And a few certain somebodies are going to get hit if they don't shut up!" Ed
growled as he glared at them all.

The scene changed angles to show Winry from behind with Ed lying on
the bed with his chest lifted up a bit as he stared at her in shock and
embarrassment.

"Somebody has a crush." Hughes said in a sing-song while Ed decided

enough was enough and slammed his elbow into Hughes's side again. When
Hughes gasped and hunched forward, Ed escaped and glared at Mustang.

"Don't do that again." Ed growled at him.

Mustang snickered while Hughes wheezed behind Ed and rubbed his side.

Hughes shot a glare at Mustang for laughing.

"Sitting by Fullmetal is dangerous." Brody said with a smirk.

The scene changed to a different angle as Ed's body trembled a bit. Ed's
body jumped off the bed as he screamed in embarrassment, making
Winry lean back. The scene changed angles to show Ed hit the roof then
fall back to the floor, then bounce back and roll through the air before
he hit the ground again and rolled off screen before hitting the bed while
Winry just watched his path.

The group roared with laughter while Ed groaned and buried his completely
red face in his hands. This was all Riza's fault! Why the hell did she have to
say that he loved Winry?! Where would she even get such an idea? There
was just no way he was in love with that automail freak! And now he couldn't
even laugh at this because he was so embarrassed. Future him betrayed him!

Aran clapped his hands. "Oh, that is just fabulous, Chief! I have never seen
embarrassment like that. Great job!" He said with a huge grin in place.

"Now really, Fullmetal, how do you pull off a stunt like that?" Mustang
teased.

"With just the right amount of embarrassment and DE-NI-Al!" Buccaneer

said with a smirk.

Ed mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?" Hughes asked, lips twitching into a smile. Did Ed really say
that?

Ed growled and lifted his head. "I said, you can all go burn in the frozen icy
hell prison that I will personally create for all of you JERKS!" He growled as
he rubbed his aching head. That stupid move really hurt his body with all the
slamming into floors and roofs! He did not need this right now.

Havoc laughed. "Sheesh, Chief. You sure deny that you're in love a lot. There
is nothing wrong with it you know."

"He's right. Being in love is an amazing feeling." Hughes said with a grin.
"Just make a move already and kiss her! She loves you back anyway! She'll
really love it if you give her a surprise kiss."

Ed's brow twitched. Jerk. Hughes or Havoc. Which one should he torture?
Should he tell Hughes about Havoc? Or should he scare Havoc into thinking
he would tell? Just who should he screw with? Oooh, maybe he'll mock
Hughes with the knowledge he has AND scare Havoc into thinking he would
blurt it out! That would teach both of those jerks!

Darius and Heinkel were shown with Kimblee standing in front of them,
calmly taking a sip of his coffee.

Al snickered. "Well, at least they have enough self-control to ignore that little
stunt."

Ed glared at him. "LITTLE–" He started loudly, but was overrun by Darius.

"We are probably dying on the inside though." Darius said with a smirk.

"We were just trained so well." Heinkel added.

Ed snarled. "Well, where is that self-control here?"

"It went flying out the window the minute we got to know you." Darius
replied.

"Seriously," Ed said exasperated. "Everyone is a jerk."

Ed appeared on screen, lying on the bed again with his head turned in
the opposite direction of Winry who was working on his arm again.
'Don't freak out.'
"It's kind of too late for that." Avery said with a smirk. "Or did you miss the
whole stunt?"

Ed glared at him, face still a bit pink. "I will punch you."

"And you don't want that." Hughes said, still rubbing his side. "It hurts."

"Which is why you never want to fight the little punk." Havoc replied with a
smirk.

"Little?" Ed growled, narrowing his eyes at Havoc. He looked over at Hughes

with a smirk.

Hughes looked down at him warily.

"Hey Hughes." Ed said innocently. "I think I know something you would find
really interesting." He shot an evil smirk at Havoc.

Havoc's eyes widened. "Don't you dare, Elric!"

Hughes looked from the scared Havoc to Ed, who had evil intentions clearly
shining in his eyes. "Oooh, do tell." He said.

Ling laughed. "You sound like someone who loves to gossip."

"Things from Ed are usually interesting." Hughes retorted. "So, Ed?"

Havoc growled and grabbed a pillow. He walked over to Ed and smacked

him with it. "Not a word from you about anything."

Ed huffed and glared at him. "That's not a good way to ask someone not to
share something."

"Oh, you know," Havoc looked at the pillow. "You're right. It's not." He
whacked Ed again anyway.

Standing up, Ed growled and took the pillow from Havoc and smacked him
with it before looking at Hughes. "Havoc is–"
Havoc lunged forward to wrap an arm around Ed's neck and threw a hand
over the teen's mouth. "He knows nothing." He dragged Ed away from
Hughes. "Nothing. Don't listen to the crazy boy."

Ling blinked. "Is that classified as kidnapping?"

"It's fine. We still know where Ed is." Mustang said indifferently as Ed

started struggling against Havoc's hold on the other side of the room.

'Traitors!' Ed shouted in his head.

'Just think about something else.' Ed thought. 'Try to think about

something else!'

Cyril whistled with a grin. "Sheesh, he is really freaked out about that."

The scene pulled out to show Winry from behind with Ed lying on the
bed. A brunch of colorful letters appeared on screen, rolling across the
screen.

"Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, carbon, nitrogen," Ed said.

"Uh, Ed?" Winry asked confused.

"Yeah, seriously, Ed? Of all the things you could think about, you start
naming the elements?" Breda asked.

"Why would you even need to distract yourself if you don't love her?" Luke
teased.

Ed glared at them as he tried to pull Havoc's hand off his mouth. He refused
to speak to these jerks about this matter anymore…..not that he could speak
at the moment because of Havoc's hand!

Ed's face was shown, eyes completely white and as he continued to say
the elements, the letters came out of his mouth. "Oxygen, sulfur,
aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt,
nickel."
Winry was shown as she sighed. "Why did I have to fall in love such a
weirdo?"

"And there is the final proof! She finally said love!" Hughes declared. He
turned to grin at Ed, who finally had enough and elbowed Havoc in the
stomach. "You hear that, Ed?! It's love!"

Ed quickly moved away from Havoc and sat down between Hughes and
Mustang again, though he inched closer to Mustang since Hughes's grin was
freaking him out. "Winry calls me weird, but I think you are the truly weird
one." He muttered.

"Yeah," Havoc wheezed, hunched over and holding his stomach. "You were
right, Hughes. That hurts." He shot a glare at Ed. "Did you have to use your
metal arm?"

"Yes." Ed replied indifferently.

Ed's face was shown again, back to normal. "Huh? Uh, did you say
something?"

Winry looked surprised for a second before she turned to the side. "No,
Ed," Ed's arm was shown as Winry connected her tool with the bolt. "I
didn't say anything." She said as she turned the tool hard.

Ed was shown lying on the bed as he shot up and screamed. He put a

hand to his shoulder as Winry turned to the table.

"Crap!" Ed shouted, leaning forward and grabbing his arm. "Why? Why
couldn't she give a guy some warning?!"

"Cause she was embarrassed that you almost heard her admit her feelings."
Jerso said with a grin.

"Ah, young love." Brody said, grinning widely.

Ed rolled his eyes, rubbing his shoulder with a scowl.

"What the hell, Winry?" Ed asked through clenched teeth. As she turned
back to him, Ed shouted angrily, "I told you to warn me before you
connect the nerves, alright?"

The table filled with tools was shown.

"Yeah, yeah." Winry replied bored. "Now let's do your leg."

"What the hell kind of love is that?" Ed shouted.

Hughes laughed. "It reminds me of a couple of elementary school kids where

a boy or girl picks on the person they like."

Ed glared at him. "You said something stupid again!"

"I guess since they never realized their love for each other, Winry and Ed
entered that phase pretty late." Mustang teased.

Ed whipped his head around to glare at him. "Watch it, Colonel. You are
starting to say stupid things like Hughes!"

Mustang grimaced. "He's a bad influence."

Fort Briggs was shown from outside as a soldier walked out of a hallway.
He saluted another soldier before the scene changed to Ed's feet which
were partially covered with his pants. He tapped his automail foot on the
ground a couple times before he put it down and the scene rapidly moved
up to his chest and face. He held his automail elbow in his left hand as he
opened and closed the hand while Winry worked on putting her tools
away in the background.

"It's so light." Ed said.

"Yeah, it's amazing what changing the type of metal used can do." Kei said.

Ed opened and closed his hand a few times. Too bad he couldn't get that
changed now. It would be nice to have light automail, but he's dealt with
what he has for four years now. He could deal with the weight a while longer.

"Is it really so heavy that you can notice the difference that much?" Lan Fan
asked.

"Considering he has been carrying the same heavy automail for four years, it
really wouldn't be hard for him to notice a difference." Kei replied. His brows
furrowed. "I noticed when I worked on it earlier, Ed. Your arm really is
heavy. I'm surprised you were able to deal with such weight when you were
eleven."

Ed grimaced.

"He really couldn't, not at first." Al said. "It took him a few weeks to just be
able to lift it and then another month to be able to hold it up without
trembling."

"Yeah," Ed grimaced. "That was horrible. I thought I was going to keel over
from the weight alone."

Ed raised his automail arm towards the ceiling. "It's not going to be any
weaker than my last arm, will it?"

"Not really." Winry replied.

Ed lowered his arm and raised his hands into fists in a fighting stance.

"It's slightly weaker, but I doubt you'll notice."

Ed threw a few punches with his new arm.

"It's pretty heavily reinforced."

Ed turned towards the screen and punched his fist once more before he
was looking up at the sound of fabric moving.

Buccaneer was shown coming out of the next room. He looked down at
Ed. His face was shown up close. "Alright, what are you doing out of
your cell?"

"What does it matter? I'm not even supposed to be in there!" Ed grumbled.

"Your release has not been granted yet." Buccaneer retorted.

"I hate Kimblee so much, but if he gets me out of that damn cell like he says
he will," Ed mumbled. He shot an annoyed look at the Briggs soldiers. "At
least he moves faster than you guys! And I am supposed to be trusting you
guys and not him!"

The scene changed angles to show Ed turned to the side, hands resting on
his hips, with his head turned to Buccaneer to stare at him while Winry
turned halfway around to stare at him too.

"I don't know." Ed replied as he lifted his automail hand. "Maybe some
people respect the fact that I'm a State Alchemist." He lowered his hand.

"Hmph, finally upgrading for the cold, huh?" Buccaneer asked.

"Are you upgrading too?" Ed asked.

"Do you two still have a problem with each other or not?" Havoc asked. "It's
so hard to tell when it involves Ed, but add Captain Buccaneer in, and it is
even harder!"

"I think after everything that happened, we are good." Ed replied. He glanced
at Buccaneer. "Right?"

Buccaneer frowned. "Are we? Because to me, it seems you broke out of your
cell."

Ed glared at him. "How the hell would I have done that with my hands
restrained?!"

"I'm sure you could find a way." Buccaneer replied.

"Seriously, how?!" Ed repeated.

Winry gasped in the background before the scene was rapidly showing
Buccaneer as he raised his new automail arm which had sharp pointed
finger tips.
"There's nothing left for me to upgrade to!" Buccaneer said. Sparks ran
up the finger tips and flashed at the top as one big sparkle before
disappearing.

An excited Winry appeared on screen with a blue background that was

filled with pink sparkles. "Ahh, it's the M1910 light-weight combat
automail!" She disappeared to show her in a white dress in her
excitement.

The scene changed to show the hand with Winry looking at it.

"Woah, what kind of reinforcement is that on the claws?" Winry asked.

"There not diamond tipped, are they?"

Buccaneer appeared on screen, a slight blush on his face. "Yeah, she's

fully modified." He said with a grin.

"….did you just call your automail 'she?'" Ed asked blankly.

"Just because you're not a fanatic of automail, doesn't mean everyone who
has automail is like you." Kei said with a grin. "Buccaneer is a huge automail
freak like your friend."

Buccaneer scoffed. "So are you, Kei, so I don't want to hear it."

"Who cares about that? She?!" Ed repeated incredulously. "That is taking it to

the extreme! The very high extreme! So high, it's at the top of the mountain
peak and touching the sky!"

"It's a specially crafted model." Buccaneer said.

Winry was shown as she put her hands to her face and gave a small,
excited squeal.

The scene pulled back to show a sparkling Buccaneer and Ed's back as
he watched the two. Winry turned around to face him while pointing at
Buccaneer. "Edward, you want me to upgrade you to one of these?"

"NO!" Ed shouted.
Kei snickered. "How does she never get bored with you as a customer?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Cause I pay her way too much."

"Brother," Al scolded. "It is partially your fault for always asking for a rush
order or completely destroying your automail or having her come to you. You
do ask a lot of her."

"Fair enough." Ed grunted.

Al looked over at Kei. "She also doesn't get bored because she is constantly
designing new automail for him, changing something here and there because
she knows he'll come back for repairs so she usually has something new for
him to try that will hopefully protect his arm better."

Kei smirked. "Her latest designs are always for him. Sounds like he is a
guinea pig for that."

Ed scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Ed whipped his head to the side angrily as he said, "Not my style."

The sparkles around Buccaneer disappeared before he was shown up

close. "Who's the girl? She's too cute to be hanging around you."

"Now that is just offensive since she does love Ed so much." Hughes said
with a teasing grin.

The scene showed Buccaneer from behind with Winry, who was half
turned around to look at him, and Ed, who was staring blankly at him, in
the background.

"She's my mechanic." Ed said.

Winry turned around to face Buccaneer fully. She gave him a bow before
she was shown up close, closing her eyes and smiling sweetly at him.

Buccaneer was shown again, staring at her, as Kei came into the room
from the same doorway as Buccaneer. Kei looked up at Buccaneer as an
angry look crossed his face. His eyes turned to gold sparkles as he
growled. The scene changed to show Buccaneer, arm thrust at Ed,
hitting him, with a bear in the background behind him. Blood spluttered
around, filling the screen one splash at a time until it was covered.

"Argh, damn it! Seriously!?" Ed shouted, leaning over and burying his face in
his hands. "Why?! Argh, that seriously hurt! And with your automail!" He
took his face halfway out of his hands to glare at Buccaneer. "You're a sucky
comrade!"

Buccaneer glared at him stubbornly. Why did a brat like him who had no
great appreciation for automail get a beautiful automail mechanic who loved
it while he got Kei? Where was the fairness in that?!

Kei snickered. "He's just jealous, Ed. He wants a beautiful female mechanic
like you have."

Ed's brow twitched. "That is no reason to hit me! Jeez." He rubbed his hand
over his face. "You already hit me for that earlier."

"That was here. My future self deserved the chance to hit you too."
Buccaneer grumbled.

"Un-freaking-believable." Ed growled as he rubbed his aching head. He knew

getting hit with automail hurt, but this was just too much. Stupid Buccaneer.

The scene changed to show Buccaneer's back as he approached the doors

that Darius and Heinkel were by. As Buccaneer rolled his shoulder,
Kimblee stepped out of his way.

Ed appeared on the corner of the screen, blood on his head. "What'd you
do that for?" He shouted.

Buccaneer slammed the door open. "Cause life isn't fair!"

"Well, that is just a great reason to go around hitting people. I'll remember
that the next time I see someone who annoys me and I'll hit them!" Ed said.
He stopped and looked at one person to the next in the room. "Who the hell
wants hit first?" He looked at Mustang.

Mustang glared at Ed. "No hitting your comrades, Fullmetal."

"Buccaneer hit me! Can I at least return the favor?" Ed asked.

"No."

"That isn't fair!"

"As Buccaneer just said, LIFE ISN'T FAIR!" Hughes shouted with a grin. He
latched onto Ed. "And besides, when do you ever ask permission to hit
someone? You've been hitting people a lot in here. With fists, feet, and
pillows!"

Ed glared at the pillows. "I think V.H. sent the pillows. He is screwing with
us by providing us pillows to pummel each other with!"

"Did you miss everything I just said?" Hughes asked.

Ed took a pillow that a grinning Ling held out to him. Twisting around in
Hughes's arm, he whacked the man with the pillow to escape from his arms.

Huffing, Hughes backed down. "Though I have to agree with you about those
pillows and V.H."

Buccaneer stepped out of the room, grabbing the door behind him. The
door frame was shown up close as Buccaneer slammed the door shut.

A smiling Winry and Ed, who was rubbing his arm across his mouth,
appeared on screen.

"That was messed up." Ed said.

Winry closed her eyes as she said excitedly, "Real live northern
automail."

Ed looked at her with an annoyed expression.

"That's the first I've seen." Winry said.

"Oh yeah?" Kei's voice said, making the two teenagers look over at him.
He was shown, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the other room.
"You wanna come check out my work shed then?"

Winry appeared in front of him with little hearts floating around her.
"Please, please, I'd loved to."

Ed appeared on screen. "Hey!" He said harshly.

The scene pulled out to show him staring at Winry, who looked back
over at him.

"What's wrong?" Winry asked.

Ed faltered for a minute before saying, "Nothing. Try to keep on your

toes and don't go off exploring, not on your own."

"Oh?" Luke teased.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You guys said it yourself. Fort Briggs is a dangerous
place. I don't want her wandering off alone, especially with Kimblee there."
He glared over at the chimeras as if he was also adding them to that list, but
he didn't say it out loud.

Darius sighed when he saw the glare, but didn't say anything. Their future
selves weren't exactly helping their case right now.

"Sounds more like someone is worried." Luke said.

"And who wouldn't be in my situation?" Ed retorted. "Especially when she

doesn't know just how much danger she is in!"

"Don't worry so much. It will work out fine." Buccaneer said.

Ed raised a brow.

Buccaneer smirked. "Have you forgotten? You have all of Briggs at your
back. We'll keep her safe."

Ed gave a small smile of relief while Al gave a sigh of relief. That was right.
The Briggs soldiers trusted him now and were going to help him. They
wouldn't purposefully put Winry in danger. They would keep her as safe as
they could. He and Al weren't going at this alone anymore.

The side of Ed's face appeared on screen with Kimblee seen in the
background, taking another sip of his coffee.

"It's not safe here so be careful." Ed said. "Alright?"

Winry was shown with Kei watching in the background. Smiling, Winry
said, "Okay. I will be." She turned to Kei and headed into the work
shed.

As Ed was shown watching her leave, she said, "Alright, let's see what
you've got."

"Well, this model is kind of rare." Kei's voice said quietly in the
background as Ed turned to look at Kimblee with a frown as footsteps
were heard.

"Are you serious? You've got a Crocodile?" Winry asked.

Ed's bare feet were shown with Kimblee's feet approaching him as soft,
suspenseful music began. The scene moved up to show the two alchemists
from an upward angle.

"I don't like this." Ling said with a frown. "Kimblee has been quiet this whole
time, probably not wanting to say anything in front of Winry."

"But with her distracted now, it begins?" Lan Fan asked.

Ling nodded. "I think so."

"And what is that which is beginning?" Al asked worriedly.

Ling shook his head. "I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about all of
this."

May nodded, swallowing thickly. "I got it too." Ever since she saw what
Kimblee did in the war, just seeing him put her on edge. He was smart,
powerful, and dangerous. Not a great combination.

"I see she's got her parents enthusiasm." Kimblee said, looking to the
side at the work shed.

The inside of the work shed was shown from the doorway. Winry and
Kei were on either side of a table with the Crocodile on it between them.

"Well, I've done a little body work on this one to enhance the model's
durability in the cold." Kei said as Kimblee walked onto screen to block
them.

"Well then," Kimblee said as the screen moved up to his face. "Your
little upgrade's all taken care of and out of the way."

Ed's frowning face appeared on screen.

"So why don't we find a place to sit down?" Kimblee asked.

Mustang stiffened. "How about you don't? I really don't like this."

Ed barely heard him with how loud his heart was thumping in his chest. This
really did not seem like it was going to be fun.

"It makes sense that Kimblee would want something from Ed. They wouldn't
just bring Winry up there to remind them of her position. With her there, the
situation is even more dangerous for all of them." Hughes said worriedly.

"With Kimblee now pulling the strings, we all knew it was going to get a lot
more dangerous." Riza said softly, hands clenched into tight fists on her lap.
What could Kimblee possibly want to talk to Ed about though? This all had
to be part of his plan, but still, there really wasn't anything Ed could do at this
moment.

Kimblee was shown, staring down at Ed with a smirk. "I'm eager to

discuss our business."

Ed was shown again. His eyes narrowed a bit.

"Business? What business?" Brody growled.

"He's gunning for you for some reason." Miles said with a frown.

"Oh joy," Ed muttered. "I simply can't wait to see what he could possibly
want from me. And where the hell is Al?"

"You were only released from your cell to get your automail upgraded. Since
your release hasn't been granted, Al might still be in the cell." Miles
explained.

Ed frowned.

"I think it's a strategy, Ed." Izumi told him. "You two are strong together, but
separated, well, you don't want to make any risky moves at the moment. You
don't know what could happen to the other if you do something, and with
Winry there, it makes it even harder for you to act."

"Kimblee is strategic so he has this all planned very well to keep your hands
tied." Mustang said, glancing down at Ed. "Figuratively of course."

The top of Al's head appeared on screen. "Excuse me." Al said.

The scene pulled back to show him standing in front of the cell doors
with Jerso and Zampano standing on the other side.

"Can you tell me why you're keeping me in this cell?" Al asked.

"Because that's where Mr. Kimblee wants you." Zampano said.

Jerso's face appeared on screen. "We were given specific instructions

and orders only to release the Fullmetal Alchemist." The collar of his
shirt was shown to show a silver clip.

Al was shown again.

"Look like you were right." Havoc said with a frown.

"So basically I can't do anything with Al locked up and Winry there." Ed

scowled. "My hands have been tied, then chained up. Just great."

"You just sit tight and behave…" Jerso's voice faded to the background.

'Good strategy, Kimblee.' Al thought. 'He's playing it safe by keeping us

separated, and by dragging Winry up here.' He turned around and walked
back to his bed to sit down. 'He just wants to remind us that they've got
some collateral.' He was shown up close as he turned his head. 'I never
realized just how nervous we make them.'

"They probably do expect you to make some move, but by reminding you of
Winry's position, they hope to scare you enough that you won't even try
anything in secret." Breda said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "As worried and scared for her as I am, them shoving that
in my face just irritates me and makes me want to beat them all even more. I
refuse to sit back and just be a puppet for them to manipulate."

"Which is why you two make them so nervous. They know you're not just
going to take this sitting down." Mustang said.

"I'm sure the same is for you, sir." Al said.

Mustang smirked. He would show those Homunculi that humans were not as
weak as they believed.

Al's restrained hands were shown. 'I've got to be patient. Just wait for my
chance.'

The scene changed to show Olivia walking onto screen. She stopped and
looked down at Henschel, who was halfway in the trapdoor that Ed
made. Henschel looked up at her. "The advanced team took three days
provisions." He said.

The scene moved to show the group of soldiers around the trapdoor from
a distance.
"It's been an entire week since we last heard from them." Henschel said.

"A week?" Ed said incredulously. He shot a glare at Hughes, then at the

Briggs soldiers. "I've been locked in a holding cell for a week?!"

Al coughed.

"Fine! We've been locked in a holding cell for a week?!" Ed asked.

"With Raven and Kimblee there, we have to maintain our suspicious act."
Buccaneer said while Ed just scowled.

"That's cutting it close." Olivia said.

"I'm also concerned about the team's sanity." Henschel continued.

Brody grimaced. "We didn't even consider that. Anyone who did manage to
survive would be trapped in total darkness. Unable to see, not enough food or
going days without food. That would be horrible."

"The food really wouldn't be an issue. But hunger and living in the darkness
for days is really not a good combination." Luke said with a frown.

Olivia's face was shown up close.

"An entire week in total darkness." Henschel said.

"Briggs men don't get scared of the dark." Olivia said.

"They do when a freaky shadow attacks them and then they are left in the
dark for days without food if they manage to survive the attack." Ed
muttered.

"Hey, you and Al almost starved during your training, right? What was it
like?" Luke asked with a bit of apprehensiveness. What would his comrades
possibly have to face if they weren't killed?

Al blinked and looked over at his brother. To be honest, after all of these
years in this body, he couldn't remember what anything felt like. The feeling
of holding his brother's hand. The feeling of the sun blaring down on his skin.
The feeling of his stomach being empty or how weak he felt during that first
week of training. He couldn't remember any of the good or the bad.

"It's horrible." Ed grimaced and stared up at the ceiling as he thought back to

that week. "You start by just feeling very hungry and the longer you go
without food, the weaker you get. Your limbs get so heavy and it gets harder
to think. Even though you're starving, you can't get up to get food even if it is
available because you don't have the energy. Eventually, you get so hungry
that you can't even feel it anymore. Your stomach is so empty that the feeling
just disappears, but you still struggle to move at all because you have no
strength left."

"You remembered that in amazing detail." Rebecca said shocked.

"It's hard to forget a feeling like that when you are close to death." Ed replied.

"Really?" Rebecca asked, glancing at Al.

Al shifted uncomfortably.

Ed stared at him with a sad frown. "You can't remember anything?"

"Sorry, Brother. I know what happened; I just can't remember how it felt or
the sensation." Al muttered.

"Don't worry about it, Al. It's not your fault you can't remember all those
sensations." Ed murmured. He looked at his brother with a fake, strained grin.
"You can have a lot of fun relearning them all when you get your body
back!"

Hughes grimaced and put a hand to Ed's shoulder to squeeze it reassuringly

since he saw how fake the grin was. It wasn't hard to see that the grin was
fake though. He looked at Al with a smile. "It will be a great experience, Al.
You'll get to re-experience everything that we all take for granted."

Al nodded. "Yeah, it will be great to feel everything." 'But when will it come
to be?' He would never say it, but he was hurting every night. Every night it
hurt to be alone. It was so quiet and empty, but he couldn't say it. His brother
was doing the best he could. He was researching and following leads
constantly. Ed would get him back. He just had to be patient. Being stuck in
this body for years, he has learned a great deal of patience. But he wasn't sure
how much longer he could handle all this loneliness and pain.

Buccaneer was shown as he climbed into the hole. He stopped as the

soldiers started to close the trapdoor and he held it up a bit as he looked
up at Olivia. "General, there's no telling what could happen to us while
we're down here."

Olivia's face was shown from the side with Grant seen in the
background.

"If we're not back within twenty-four hours, seal up this hole with
concrete." Buccaneer said.

"What? Why?" Karin asked surprised.

"Because something happened to the advance team. We have no idea of what

it was, but it had to be something dangerous. We don't want to risk something
happening to the fort so we can't leave that hole open for much longer."
Buccaneer explained.

"But then what would be the plan after you seal the hole? Slowly die in that
hole, shoot each other to end the suffering quickly, or try to find another way
out of the hole?" May asked.

"Or we could be killed by that freaky shadow." Henschel growled.

"So many options, but none of them sound particularly pleasant." Mikal said.

"We would figure something out." Buccaneer replied.

Grant turned to look at Olivia as she said, "Very well then. I'll do so."

Buccaneer was shown in the hole. He smirked before pulling the door the
rest of the way shut. A crate appeared on top of the trapdoor, pinning it
shut.

"I want all of you to listen very closely." Olivia said as she was shown
with her arms crossed while Liran, Grant, and a third soldier stared at
her. "I am the only one responsible for the incident involving General
Raven."

"To protect everyone else, right?" Lan Fan asked.

"If it comes out, then only one person should have to suffer the
consequences." Olivia answered.

Lan Fan smirked when she saw the Briggs soldiers wearing frowns. They
wouldn't argue, but they weren't particularly happy about throwing their
commander under the bus like that.

The three soldiers were shown.

"You weren't there." Olivia said. "You didn't see anything. You didn't
hear anything." She was shown again. "If Raven's fate is discovered, I
order you to solely place the blame on me."

"Wow, hard order." Ed muttered. He turned a glare to Mustang. "Seriously,

what is with you commanders? You always order your team not to die when
we do a mission. She orders them to betray her to protect themselves! What
happens when you get those positions?"

"We get the positions because of our skills, intelligence, and the support we
have from our men. If we betray that trust they put in us, we have no right to
be where we are." Mustang replied.

"And that includes giving the difficult to follow orders?" Ed said.

Mustang smirked. "Even those. It might anger them, but those are the orders
they are given to follow."

Liran and Larne were shown with the latter nodding his head while
Liran fidgeted with his glasses. "Yes General." They both said.
The dark tunnel appeared on screen.

A wall of the tunnel was shown with it sliding out of place to reveal a
light.

The scene changed to show a soldier running out of the wall with his gun
out. He kneeled down and pointed his gun down the tunnel. He was
shown from a distance as the rest of the group walked out of the wall
behind him with lanterns.

"That's how you made the path?" Rufus said incredulously.

"I've told you before I've dug a tunnel with my alchemy before." Ed pointed
out.

"But in the wall with a sliding door?" Myers asked.

Ed shrugged. "We had to hide it from the enemy."

"But a sliding door made in the rock and made so it isn't noticeable!
Seriously, how?" Rufus demanded.

Ed smirked at them. He didn't see why this was so hard to understand for
them, but it sure was amusing.

The dark tunnel was shown again as the scene slowly pulled back to
show the soldier kneeling on the ground, pointing his gun down the
tunnel. Andean's face appeared on screen, shown from the side.

Buccaneer was shown from the side as he clenched his automail hand
into a fist. "Let's go." He ordered.

The soldier kneeling on the ground stood up as Buccaneer walked off

screen. Henschel and Andean walked onto screen before walking off it as
well with Karley bringing up the rear.

The group was shown from a distance as they walked down the tunnel.

The scene faded out to be replaced by Central Command.

"Is that so?" Mustang's voice asked. "Sounds like things are getting out
of hand up north."

"Out of hand and thrown through a closed window, shattering it into a million
pieces is more like it." Ling said with a frown.

"Well, things do usually get destroyed when something big is happening."

Mustang said.

"Nothing really got destroyed besides the floor and that was already fixed."
Ed pointed out. He glanced at the Briggs soldiers. "That is if you aren't
counting all those deaths of the Briggs soldiers."

Mustang shrugged. "It's only a matter of time before something is destroyed,

Fullmetal."

"And when that happens, we can hope there won't be any major injuries."
Hughes said.

"I think you guys just want something destroyed." Ed retorted.

"No, we don't. It just usually happens." Mustang replied.

A couple appeared on screen, walking passed it with Mustang in the

background speaking to the Armstrong's informant.

"Indeed. They could use an offensive lead by now." The informant

replied as the couple walked off screen.

"And that is code for 'Eastern help.'" Riza said.

"Really?" May asked. "How do you know?"

Ed leaned back against the couch. "Briggs is known as the 'Perfect Defense'
while the east is the 'Perfect Offense.' Together they would most likely be
the…hmm, perfect military unit, I guess." He looked over at Mustang.

Mustang smirked. "That's what they say, but it hasn't been proven."
Havoc smirked. "But it seems that General Armstrong wants to form an
alliance though so it might be getting proven."

"That would be an interesting time if it happens." Brody said with a smirk.

The old lady's hand appeared on screen as she wrapped a bouquet in

paper. "The Fort Brigg's strong suit is defense." The scene changed to
show the old lady and Mustang. "But you need more than defense if you
plan on being the one to make the first strike." She put the bouquet to
the side.

Mustang's face was shown up close.

"With the offensive expertise of your eastern forces, Madam Olivia

believes they have a chance." The informant said.

"I'm honored that she would choose me as her partner in arms."

Mustang said.

Olivia scoffed. As if she would want Mustang's help. She could care less
about him. All she really needed from him was his army. Mustang could go
get lost for all she cared.

"Oh no." The informant said, surprising Mustang. "Madam Olivia needs
the strength of your army, not you."

"Which she only gets with approval from General Grumman and Colonel."
Ed said with a grin. "So, technically, she needs him."

Olivia glared at him. "I need that Flame idiot for nothing."

Ed smirked. "Sheesh, you really, really dislike him if you are denying the fact
that you two are going to work together that much."

"Fullmetal, I highly suggest you shut up before she hurts you. Like you say,
she really dislikes me since I'm competition." Mustang said, smirking down
at the boy, who was now staring warily at Olivia, who was glaring darkly at
him.
"My point still stands." Ed mumbled under his breath.

"She said you might as well just get lost." The informant said.

Ed laughed.

Mustang glared at him. "Weren't you just defending me?"

"No, I was making a point." Ed said, smirking at him. "She realizes your
uselessness and doesn't want it in the way."

Mustang flicked the teen on the forehead. "Remember you said that when you
need me to save your ass."

"Ha!" Ed said mockingly. "As if I would ever need you to save me."

"Uh-huh," Mustang said. His face was shown from the side to show his
eyes closed and a smirk in place. He opened his eyes. "I have to ask. It's
kind of risky telling me this. What's stopping me from warning Fuhrer
Bradley?"

"Besides you hating the guy and him having your team held as hostages
because you don't want to work with him?" Al asked.

"Nothing really besides that, unless you count the fact that Ed and Al are with
the Briggs soldiers and they know they are allied with Roy. Betraying
General Armstrong now might put them in danger up there. From either the
Briggs soldiers who are feeling the burn of betrayal or Kimblee, who will be
alerted the moment Bradley hears this news and alerts Kimblee that Ed and
Al spoke up General Armstrong about what is going on." Hughes said.

Ed's mind whirled around everything Hughes said for a moment. "Ah…
Colonel, for the love of everything, don't betray us now. It would put Winry
in danger."

"I was never going to. It was just a question." Mustang replied. He looked
over at the Briggs soldiers. "Would you do anything to them if I betrayed
you?"
"Of course not." Miles replied. "Because it would mean you betrayed them as
well. Plus, we don't take hostages, especially one that is a comrade of ours,
even if we don't trust him right away."

"Not that it matters. I know you well enough, Mustang, to know that you
would not betray us." Olivia said.

"Hmm, there's that grudging respect again." Ed mumbled.

"Well, you are." The informant's back was shown. "She assured me you
weren't that kind of man." She turned around with a smile and another
bouquet. "Well then, that will be 35,000 cens please." She held her hand
out.

"You'll spend 35,000 cens on flowers BUT be a cheapskate about me

borrowing 520 cens?!" Ed asked incredulously. He glared at Mustang. "It's
because it's me, isn't it? You just have a problem lending me money! Don't
deny it!"

Mustang stared at him. "Is it really that important, Fullmetal? I'm paying for
flowers and information!"

Ed scowled. "That doesn't mean much to me! You are still paying a lot and
whining to me about 520 cens!"

Hughes sighed mockingly. "Oh, Ed, it's because he is just a rotten father
figure to you. He is–"

Ed slammed a fist into Hughes's stomach without bothering to turn to look at

him. "He is not my father figure. Don't say stupid things, Hughes." He said as
he glared at Mustang.

"Stop glaring at me. I can't believe you are complaining this much about
Future You owing Future Me money!" Mustang snapped. "You have clearly
lost your mind, Fullmetal."

"I won't forget this." Ed hissed.

Mustang rolled his eyes. Insane brat.

Mustang's face was shown from the side as he closed his eyes. His hand
appeared on screen, holding the bills out to her. "I appreciate it." He
said as the informant's hand appeared on screen to take the money.

Mustang was shown from the side, head turned to watch the informant
leave with her cart while he held a bouquet of flowers.

"Hey, wait." Mustang called, getting the informant to stop. "Who are
you?"

The informant turned part of the ways around and untied her bandana
that her hair was wrapped in. "Oh, just someone who's served the
Armstrong family." She was shown up close as she turned around fully
and pulled the bandanna down to reveal her blond hair with a part of
her hair curled at the top that had sparkles around it. "For
generations."

"Uh…so wait, does she serve you or is she part of your family?" Al asked
confused.

"Why can't it be both?" Armstrong asked.

"Oh, so she is family and helps you as an informant?" Al asked.

"I never said that. I was just making the suggestion that it could be both."
Armstrong replied.

Al stared at him. "I feel like this is a trick."

Ed looked from Mustang to Armstrong. "So basically, your adoptive mother

is an informant for you?" He asked Mustang.

"Yes." Mustang said.

Ed looked at Armstrong and then Major Armstrong. "And this woman, whose
relation to you I do not know yet, is an informant for you."

"That would be correct." Major Armstrong replied.

"Okay," Ed nodded. "Seriously, what is with you guys using your families
like this as informants?"

"Family can be the most trusted comrades out there." Mustang replied.

Mustang was shown staring at her for a moment before smiling a bit.

The scene faded out to have Central Command appear over the screen
again.

"Well, Hughes," Mustang said as people appeared on screening, walking

across it to reveal Mustang. "It's safe to say that our closest allies may
invariably turn out to be the same people that we fought side by side
with out on the battlefield."

"Those are usually the comrades you can trust especially well. They are the
ones whose backs you watched and in turn they watched your back. You
protected each other in the war. Why wouldn't they trust and help you after
all that?" Hughes asked.

His face was shown up close as his expression turned completely serious.
"But," The scene pulled out to show him surrounded by bouquet of
flowers with two women gossiping nearby. Mustang deflated and asked,
"What do I do with these flowers?"

"Look at him." One of the women said.

"What a freak." The other women said.

"Oh no, he's looking at us." The first woman said.

Ed laughed. "Sheesh, you're freaking them out just by standing there."

Mustang shoved Ed's head down. "As always, you really annoy me,
Fullmetal."

Ed shoved his hand off of his head.

The dark tunnel appeared on screen with two bright lights in the
distance. The lights got bigger before the scene changed to show a horse
with its head cut off and a leg without a body with blood all around.

"That is really sick. Who could do something like this?" May asked with a
dark look.

"We're fighting monsters. It's not that hard to believe they would do
something like this." Havoc muttered angrily, hands clenched into tight fists.
This was just horrible. What they imagined this would be like wasn't even
close to this.

The retrieval team was shown from the side as they surveyed the mess of
limbs and blood.

"It's a massacre." One of the soldiers said.

Andean was shown kneeling on the ground as he picked up something

with Karley behind him, holding up a lantern.

"It's exactly the same as Smith's arm." Andean said, causing Henschel to
turn around to look at him. "Even this metal was sliced clean through."

Buccaneer was shown with the group seen behind him. "Keep on the
lookout. It might be close."

A loud sound came from the tunnel, putting the team on alert. The
tunnel was shown again with a light shining on part of it from a lantern.

The soldiers in the room tensed. It couldn't happen again. That shadow
couldn't appear again and kill more of their comrades. They already lost so
many valuable comrades to that shadow. There would be no mercy against it
for that alone, but if it took more of their friends, they would be serious pain
in that thing's future!

The four soldiers behind Buccaneer appeared on screen, pointing their

guns down the tunnel.

Henschel raised his lantern and started walking forward.

Buccaneer was shown from the side with Henschel joining him. He
raised his lantern higher.

The tunnel was shown. The top half a soldier's body was seen with the
other half missing. [1] As whimpering was heard, the light spread farther
so two soldiers could be seen at the edge of the darkness, flinching away
from the light.

"No way…Two people managed to survive that massacre?" Havoc asked

shocked.

"Living in darkness, no food, and surrounded by their dead comrades with the
stench of blood in the air every day. That would be really hard to deal with."
Ed said thickly. "Darkness alone wouldn't cause insanity if, like General
Armstrong assist, Briggs soldiers aren't afraid of the dark. But all of that
certainly could. Starvation does strange things to the mind and can cause
hallucinations so that could make it even worse."

"Living is an amazing thing, but in a way, surviving something like that with
being trapped in the tunnel might be crueler than death." Miles said.

"Especially if a retrieval team wasn't sent in." Ling added. "They would
slowly lose their insanity while slowly dying.

"They're still alive!"

The two whimpering soldiers were shown from behind with the retrieval
team in front of them, shining lights at them.

Julian moaned in pain and held his arm in his hand to his chest. That really
did hurt a lot. But not as much as it really should with his hand missing.
Maybe it was the fact that it has probably been a couple days in the future
since they were attacked. The pain had probably numbed somewhat for him
in the future.

Raylan groaned as he grabbed his head. There was suddenly an aching pound
smashing against his skull. But he wouldn't complain about something as
small as this since that was all he was feeling. Compared to the pain his
friends went through, this little pain was not anything to be upset about.
Though his sanity on the other hand….

The two soldiers were shown from the front, trying to shield their faces
from the light as the retrieval team was heard racing towards them.

"It's amazing that they survived. It didn't look like that monster missed
anyone." Lan Fan said.

"It didn't seem like it was possible for that shadow to miss anyone." Fu said
with a frown. "That could mean that the monster that attacked them isn't
perfect so he missed some of his targets or it's a testament of the soldiers'
skills that managed to survive."

"Or a bit of both." Lan Fan added.

The scene was shown from the side as the group reached the two
soldiers.

"Are you alright?" Henschel asked. He kneeled down in front of them.

"Speak to me." The two injured soldiers were shown. "Look here."

They looked at Henschel.

"Lieutenant Henschel?" Raylan asked.

Julian whimpered a bit more and shifted his hands around, but kept
them covering his face. Henschel turned his head so his face could be
seen on screen.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Henschel said as he turned back to them

and held a bottle out.

Raylan lowered his hands and stared at them.

"Is there anyone else?" Henschel asked.

Buccaneer was shown with Andean and the last soldier of their group
behind him.
"What happened?" Henschel asked.

"Well, don't overload them with questions." Riza said with a frown. "You
said it earlier you were worried about their sanity. Well, if something is
wrong, they might still be in shock and won't be able to answer so many
things at once."

"The others were…They were all…"

A dark shadow appeared on screen with an eye opening up on it.

"Ripped apart!" Rayan shouted.

"It's still there?!" Myers said horrified.

"If it is still there, why didn't it finish the job and just kill those two soldiers
before the retrieval team arrived?" Grants asked with a frown.

Golden eyes narrowed in thought. That was a good question. If this had to do
with Homunculi, then those soldiers should have been killed instantly. Those
monsters were not merciless. Well, Greed was sort of, kind of, merciful, in a
way. He didn't just go around killing everyone. He did have those rules about
not fighting women or lying. But the others were not like that. They killed
without care. Ed frowned at the eye on screen. That shadow…

"Who the hell really cares about that?" Brody snapped in frustration. "You've
seen that thing kill before! It's going to kill them all!"

Luke tensed and stared at the screen with a scowl. They couldn't lose anyone
else. "That tunnel is really a–"

A shadow. It was like a shadow with the way it crept along in the…

"Light!" Ed shouted, interrupting Luke and gaining many odd looks.

Luke shot him an annoyed look. "What is so great about the light that you–"

"It's the light. It's that thing's weakness. Well, not light itself, but the absence
of light." Ed explained.
Luke looked at him with a glare for interrupting him again while some people
just stared at him in confusion. What the heck was going on in Ed's brain
now?

Hughes's eyes widened. He looked at Ed with an excited gleam in his eyes

that was shadowed a bit by worry for the Briggs soldiers in the tunnel. "I get
it. That monster is like a shadow. Without light, it can't move so it can't get
you."

Al nodded. "I see. So if we get rid of the light, then everyone will be safe in
the tunnel, which is why those soldiers weren't killed. That shadow destroyed
the lights so it wasn't able to finish the job."

"And what are the chances that the soldiers in the future will actually turn the
lights off? They do not know anything about the shadow attacking them."
Scar said.

Al grimaced. "Well, if they don't, I doubt they'll be coming back." He said

softly.

Julian's hand and injured arm appeared on screen with Henschel's hand
to grab it. He was shown, staring desperately up at Henschel. "Listen, we
have to get out of here. It's coming back!"

The dark shadow with the eye on it appeared on screen again. The eye
narrowed and move to the corner of its eye.

"What is?"

One of the lanterns appeared on screen, tumbling across the ground as it

was knocked away by someone.

"Please!" Julian and Raylan were shown from behind with the group in
front of them. "You've got to get rid of the lights."

Raylan turned to look at the screen.

"It is damn lucky for you guys that there were survivors." Walkers said.
"Without them, that shadow would have surely killed you all."
"But with them, there is a chance that the lights will go off and save you all."
Kieran said.

"If, you know, the soldiers actually oblige them and their crazy talk." Lan Fan
said with a frown. "Because that is what this sounds like. Crazy talk by
traumatized soldiers. The retrieval team has no idea of what actually happen
so this will be more worrisome to them, then something about a shadow."

Julian was shown, hunched over and grabbing his head. "The shadow!"
He cried.

"Hey, you're alright now." Henschel said.

The shadow was shown. The eye that was seen moved across the screen
with the shadow. As it move, more and more eyes were seen as Julian
shouted, "It's coming!"

The group was seen at a distance with the shadow moving along the roof
of the tunnel with a wide, evil grin on it with its eyes.

"Come on. Pull yourself together." Henschel ordered.

"Just turn off the lights!" Luke and Havoc said.

"Stop wasting time chatting." Brody growled. He knew it wasn't their fault in
the future. They had no idea of what was going on, but still. This whole thing
was nerve racking. That freaky shadow was there watching them, and one
move by him, and they would all be dead in an instance.

A wall of the tunnel was shown. Because of the light shining on,
Buccaneer's shadow could be seen on the wall. Shadowy hands slithered
onto screen and surrounded Buccaneer's shadow.

"The shadow."

"Oh, crap, crap." Skylak said with a frown. "It's coming." In just a second, if
something amazing didn't happen, they were all going to die! And this time,
he was sure the shadow wouldn't make a mistake of missing someone. There
wouldn't be a single survivor this time.

"No duh." Rufus grumbled as he stared at the screen with contemplating eyes.
Just how many of their comrades were they going to lose in this future
because of the Homunculi and their deranged plan?

The tracks were shown with the shadowy hands crawling along them.
One of the hands had an eye on it.

"It's coming!"

The shadow froze and looked in the opposite direction.

"What the? Why did it stop?" Grant asked confused, though he wasn't
particularly upset. The shadow seemed like it was distracted by something
else. If that was the case, then so be it. It just might save them if the
distraction was important enough.

"I really don't think we should care why it stopped. Just as long as it did. It
will give Buccaneer and the others extra time to get those stupid lights OFF
already." Ed said, shooting a look at Buccaneer and Henschel.

"You can't fault us for our future selves not understanding clearly about what
they are talking about." Buccaneer retorted.

"But you guys can fault me for my future self?" Ed grumbled.

"That is not the important issue right now." Mustang snapped.

Ed shrugged. He knew the issue was hoping that the soldiers escaped this
alive, but just focusing solely on that was so hard. The worry and fear would
eat at him alive if he didn't try to distract his mind with pointless things.

The soldier whimpered as the shadow retracted and slithered back off
the screen from where it came from.

"It's leaving?!" Fuery said with a sigh of relief.

"Yes! That means a little extra time for these guys to get out of the tunnel
already." Ed said.

"You are just not going to let it go that our future selves don't realize the
danger they're in, are you?" Andean asked.

Ed huffed. "No, I am not cause if you don't realize it, you're going to get
killed! Well, you were, until the freaky shadow got distracted and left. It
seems you guys have some luck."

"He's just worried." Hughes said with a frown, patting Ed on the head,
annoying him. They were all worried. The shadow was disappearing, but if
the lights didn't go off, it could reappear quickly and kill them. They were
only temporarily safe from that shadow.

The scene changed to show the walls of the tunnel and the group. The
shadow hands slithered off the walls while the retrieval team helped the
injured soldiers to their feet.

"Can you walk?"

"How could you not notice those shadow hands on the walls anyway?" May
asked with a frown.

"Not very attentive, are you?" Lan Fan said.

"Well, they are distracted by their injured, traumatized comrades." Fuery

said.

"It's just like what happened with Colonel and Havoc. They got distracted in
their fight with Lust and bad things happened." Ed muttered.

"This is different." Buccaneer said. "We have no idea of what our enemy is
so we're not looking for shadows. We are keeping our eyes opened for a
person, not a shadow."

"That is understandable." Al said. "All the enemies we have faced so far have
a body. We've never seen one that was a shadow."

"Let's go!" The group turned around and started to walk away before
the shadow was shown in the darkness still moving backwards. "Try to
help them walk as much as you can."

The shadow slithered off screen and the light from the lanterns faded out
leaving the screen completely dark until it opened up on the Bradley's
estate.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late." Riza's voice said.

"Oooh, back in Central. We don't get to see it much now that everything is
happening up north. But now, we've been in Central twice already this
episode!" Havoc said with a grin.

"That must mean that things are now moving forward all over." Ling said.

Havoc frowned. "Oh, then that just spells a lot more danger."

"Or information gathering." Jackson said.

Riza appeared on screen, inside the Bradley's estate, holding an envelope

to her chest. "But I have some urgent documents the Fuhrer needs to
read right away."

"Ever deliver documents to Colonel like that?" Ed asked curiously.

Riza sighed. "More times than I can count, but it's all part of the job."

"Only difference is this time, it is more dangerous for you to be going to his
house since he is an enemy, well as I am not." Mustang said.

"I am safe as long as our plans to rebel still are not found out." Riza replied
calmly. "As long as our plans do not reach their ears, I will be safe working
for him."

Riza was shown from behind to show Mrs. Bradley approaching her.

"Oh my dear." Mrs. Bradley said softly as she approached Riza. "I'm
sorry, but my husband isn't home right now."
Riza held the envelope out to her. "It'd be wonderful if he could look
these over by tomorrow."

Mrs. Bradley took the envelope from her. "That is urgent."

Riza appeared on screen, smiling.

"But don't you worry. I'll make sure he does." Mrs. Bradley said as the
scene slowly zoomed in on Riza's face.

"Well, thank you." Riza said before a shadow hand started crawling
across the screen behind her. "I appreciate it–" His eyes were shown up
close, widening a bit.

"Oh, yeah, you're real safe there." Mustang said angrily, glaring at the screen.
What the hell was that shadow doing there? And why was it near his
Lieutenant?

"Wasn't that shadow just in the tunnel up north?" Olivia growled. How could
it be in Central so quickly and behind Riza? What was going on? "How could
it have gotten to Central already? It's not possible for it to get there that fast."

Riza half turned around. Her eyes widened in fear and she whipped
around faster before the scene was showing her and Mrs. Bradley from a
downward angle with Selim standing there as well.

Selim was shown up close, staring innocently up at her.

"Well, that was really strange." Ed said with a frown. "But your reaction was
to that freaky shadow was really great. It's like you sensed the danger or
something in the air." He glanced over at the Briggs soldiers. "Unlike some
people."

"Oh, let it go." Andean snapped at him, making Ed smirk.

"Still, where did the shadow go?" Riza asked with a worried frown. "It
shouldn't be able to disappear that quickly."

"It's creepy and strange how it went from a freaky shadow to Selim." Hughes
said with a frown. There was something really weird about this whole
situation. The shadow was in the tunnel up north, then it went to Central
where a shadow hand appeared behind Riza, but when she turns around, it is
gone just as quickly as it appeared and Selim is standing there. There had to
be something missing from this equation.

"Selim, shouldn't you be in bed?" Mrs. Bradley asked.

Selim blinked and turned his head to face Mrs. Bradley.

Riza and Mrs. Bradley were shown from an upward angle as they stared
down at the kid.

"I was, but then I heard the door." Selim said before he was shown. "I
thought it might be Father coming home."

Riza and Mrs. Bradley appeared on screen again.

"This is your father's assistant, Lieutenant Hawkeye." Mrs. Bradley said

as Riza smiled.

The group was shown from the side at a slight distance with a butler
standing a good distance behind Selim.

"It's very nice to meet you, Lieutenant Hawkeye." Selim said as Riza
turned to face him fully.

"It's nice to meet you." Riza said.

"You must be working hard to be up so late." Selim said.

"Considering she used to work for a lazy Colonel, being up so late is routine
for her." Ed said loudly, earning a smack in the back of the head from
Mustang.

"I was not so lazy that she stayed up late to work." Mustang snapped.

Ed rubbed his head while glaring at Mustang. "Oh yeah? Then what about
those late nights I returned from a mission and found the both of you alone in
the office?"

A sly smirk spread across Hughes's face. "Alone in the office so late at
night?" He said suggestively.

Ed blushed a bit at what Hughes was insinuating about Hawkeye and

Mustang. That was a horrible mental image. Oh jeez, what if they ever did do
something there late at night and he walked in on it since he was returning
late?! Ahhh, just the thought of it alone was enough to scar him!

Mustang glared at Hughes. "You see what you do?!" He asked angrily as he
motioned to the blushing and twitching Ed. "You broke Fullmetal!" He
smacked Ed in the back of the head. "Fullmetal, get whatever thoughts you
have in your head, out of your head now!"

Havoc looked across the room at Rebecca with a grin, making the woman
shake her head. Her boyfriend was way too amused at Ed's expense. No
wonder the teenager waged wars against Havoc sometimes when he returned
from missions. She heard the stories of Ed and Mustang arguing a lot, but
there were also stories about Ed waging wars on Havoc as well. It was no
wonder why now.

Hughes raised a brow. "My fault? What were you doing having Ed come
meet you at the office so late for anyway?"

"He knows I am there late some nights when he returns. He would much
rather come meet me in the night then have to get up early the next morning
for a meeting." Mustang said with a shrug. "As long as he gets the report to
me in a timely manner, I don't care if it is night or day."

"Yes," Hughes said dryly. "And now you've traumatized Ed!"

"I did?" Mustang retorted incredulously. "It's your fault for saying suggestive
things that are quite frankly none of your business!"

"But you never denied it." Havoc said with a smirk.

Mustang shot him a glare for getting involved.

"He's right. You and Lieutenant Hawkeye didn't try to deny it." Breda added
slyly.

Al looked worriedly over at his brother, who was now twitchy a bit more
violently. Though, he himself was having trouble as well with all
these…"suggestions."

"I don't get it." May said with a confused frown.

Al coughed. "Uh, don't worry about it, May. It's nothing important."

Riza glared at the team. "There is nothing going on, men. Now I suggest you
all be quiet."

The men in Mustang's unit traded grins with each other.

Ling snickered. This was amusing, but…He looked down at Ed. "Ed is still
out of it."

After giving his men one more look, Mustang looked back over at Hughes.
"Why do you have to put such thoughts into his head?"

"If you would just ask her out already, I wouldn't have to." Hughes said with
an evil grin.

"I'll handle this." Izumi said with a sigh as she stood. She looked over at Al,
who started waving his hands frantically.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Al said quickly. "Don't come near me!" He was so close
to begging to keep her away from him, but managed to restrain himself.

Izumi raised an amused brow as Al quickly got out of her way before she
turned to Ed. She pulled him up by his shirt and smacked him across the face
once….twice….three times before she dropped the now dazed teen back to
the ground.

Ed wobbled in his seat, grabbing his red cheeks. "What the…"

"You back, Chief?" Luke asked with a smirk.

Ed looked over at him. "Was I hit?"

Clarink snickered. "You really were completely out of it."

"Why was I…." Ed stopped, eyes going wide as he turned to Hughes.

"Wait…"

"Don't go back there, Brother!" Al interjected. "Just stay right here. We have
a future to watch."

Ed rubbed the back of his head which was also aching. His cheeks and head.
What happened?

"Not really. I just had to bring your father some documents." Riza
replied. "But I should be going now. Sorry I woke you." She bowed to
Selim. "Good night, Selim."

The butler approached Selim's side. "Yes, come, Selim." He said as the
two were shown from the front with Mrs. Bradley's and Riza's back seen
on the other side of the screen. "You need your proper rest. Otherwise
you might oversleep."

"I know." Selim replied. He looked back at Riza and Mrs. Bradley and
bowed along with the butler before turning around to walk away.

Riza appeared on screen with Mrs. Bradley behind her. She smiled. "He
seems like a really sharp kid."

Mrs. Bradley put a hand to her cheek and chuckle as Riza turned to look
at her. "He certainly is. He's the pride of my life. I know it's impolite to
brag about my son, but that shouldn't apply since he's adopted."

"Selim's adopted?" Hughes asked in surprise. "That's not in any of the

records."

Ed rolled his eyes as he continued to rub his cheek. Teacher really hit too
hard. "There are just some things that people like to keep private. And
considering that his father is the Fuhrer, it wouldn't be hard to keep that
quiet."
"But why would they want to?" Havoc said with a frown. "It could be good
publicity to tell the public they adopted a kid."

"Sounds like publicity stunts that politicians use." Ling said with a frown. It
was something he saw quite a bit of in Xing. Each princess and prince
worked on gaining a good public image to gain support from them as one of
the ways to help get chosen to be the next ruler.

Mrs. Bradley's head was shown from behind with Riza's face seen in
front of her. "I really shouldn't act so surprised though. He is related to
my husband, so he must have some of his genes." She said as suspenseful,
suspicious music started.

"What?" Ed shouted, shooting up straight and immediately forgetting the pain

in his cheek. "Okay, that is a cause for concern. There's no way for Bradley to
have anyone related to him."

"Technically, the Homunculi and Father are all related, Brother." Al pointed
out.

Ed and Al stared at each other in shock and horror.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Olivia demanded.

"If you're thinking Selim might be a Homunculus?" Ed asked calmly. "Then

yes, we are on the same wavelength. That is the only possible way for Selim
to be related to Bradley at all."

"But a kid?" Brody said in disbelief.

Mustang shook his head with a frown. "No, if Selim is really a Homunculus,
he was created by Father and since Homunculi don't age, he could have been
made centuries ago. He is no kid."

"Still, at this point, it is only speculation that he is a Homunculus. Mrs.

Bradley could be wrong about Selim being related to the Fuhrer." Armstrong
pointed out. "We do not know anything for sure."
"And the chances are of him being a Homunculus?" Ed muttered mostly to
himself. He found those chances to be rather high if Riza's reaction to him
and the fact that he was supposedly related to Bradley were anything to go
by. But he just didn't want that to be true, despite all the evidence pointing
towards it. He seemed so sweet and innocent. How could he really be a cruel
Homunculus? But what else could it be? This wasn't making any sense!

"He's…he's not related to you?" Riza asked.

Mrs. Bradley appeared on screen, smiling. "Oh no."

Riza's face appeared on screen with her expression morphing into one of
horror.

The scene changed to show the night sky with clouds floating in it.

Riza was shown from a downward angle from behind as she walked
down the path to leave the Bradley's estate as dangerous, suspenseful
music began.

Riza's face was shown from an upward angle. 'This just doesn't add up.
The Colonel told me that King Bradley was raised as a test subject. He
doesn't have any family.' The screen changed to show Riza's face from a
different angle. 'He didn't even know his parents.'

"Someone is starting to piece it together in the future." May said. "But what
is with the music? It makes this a whole lot worse."

"The future likes to freak us out." Grant muttered.

"Or something dangerous is going to be revealed." Al muttered to May.

May grimaced. "Everything will be fine." She murmured. Everything had to

be fine. She really liked Lieutenant Hawkeye. She was an amazingly strong,
smart woman. She relied on her guns and not something like Alkahestry or
martial arts. She was someone that she could highly respect so she didn't
want to see her get hurt.

"But I got that strange feeling from Selim." Riza thought.

"So there was something more there." Mustang said. "We saw you recognize
some type of danger, but we couldn't tell that there was something about
Selim you felt. We just thought you were surprised to see him there, not that
he was the something dangerous you sensed."

"I believe if our theory is to be correct, then there is something highly

dangerous about him." Riza replied with a frown.

"Could he be–?"

"So, you put it all together?" A metallic voice asked.

Riza stopped walking. She was shown from the side and behind her,
Selim with glowing red eyes could be seen standing in an adjacent
hallway, watching her.

"Well, well, would you look at that?" Olivia growled. The enemy really was
hiding in plain sight, just watching them so closely. It was really hard to
know who to trust if even a kid could not be trusted and was an enemy. If he
could be an enemy, then who else was one?

"Any doubts now?" Ed asked loudly, staring at the screen with a frown.
Selim wouldn't do something, would he? Riza was a hostage. He couldn't kill
her…unless, he decided keeping his identity a secret was better, than she was
dead here. Please, don't let that be true. He didn't want to see that.

Mustang clenched his hands into fists. "Selim." He growled through clenched
teeth. That little brat better not do anything to his lieutenant. He would not
lose another friend, not like this!

"No doubts over here." Brody said darkly. "I just can't believe that it was all a
lie. First Bradley, now Selim." He shook his head. Just how far did this whole
conspiracy go?

"Yeah, all a lie." Ed muttered.

"Selim said he wanted to be an alchemist like Brother to help his father, but
he can't even practice alchemy. He had this whole innocent façade played
very well." Al said bitterly.

"He was so sweet and innocent, but it was just an act and this is just another
betrayal!" Aran growled.

"What I want to know is how something like this happened?" Walkers

growled. "It's one thing to have a Fuhrer as a Homunculus, but a kid? The
supposed son of the Fuhrer? Homunculi don't age unless they are a human
based Homunculus like Bradley. But isn't Bradley the only one like that? So
how the hell could Selim live as Bradley's son and not age at all? And why
would no one be suspicious of it?"

"Just another thing to be covered up." Lester said bitterly. One betrayal after
another. One thing to be covered up after another. Their country was all about
dark, dangerous secrets.

Ling shook his head. He could not believe just how much this country was
hiding. Even the sight of little innocent kids couldn't be trusted now because
they just might be hiding a dangerous secret in the shadows. Who could be
trusted? Who couldn't be trusted? The more they saw of this future, the
harder it was getting to trust even the most innocent looking people in
Amestris. There was so much evil lurking in this country.

Selim's feet appeared on screen. "All thanks to my stepmother." The

scene slowly moved up Selim's body. "She just doesn't know how to shut
up."

"His voice is so strange right now." Havoc said with a frown. "Creepy and
metallic like."

"I think that is his real voice. The voice of the Homunculus that he is."
Hughes replied. "He is no longer hiding who he is." He turned his head to
look at Riza behind him on the couch. "This could really dangerous for you."

Riza nodded, clenching her hands tightly on her lap. It may be dangerous, but
she could handle this. She knew she could. There was no way she would let
herself die here. Her Colonel wanted her to live through this and help him to
becoming Fuhrer. She had a job to do! And dying was not allowed until it
was completed.

Riza was shown from the front at a slight distance, unmoving. "But
you…your baleful presence also gave you away. I recognized it
somehow."

The night sky was shown. The moon was seen, partially covered by
clouds.

"But I'm just now realizing why." Riza said as the clouds moved across
the sky.

"You probably met it with another Homunculus. Since we haven't met any
yet, we don't know what you mean exactly, but it is probably that." Lan Fan
stated.

Ling nodded. "The presence of those monsters is probably a hard one to

forget if the descriptions our future selves give are anything to go by."

Riza reappeared on screen. "It's the same bloodlust I felt when Gluttony
tried to attack me from behind."

"You really have amazing senses, Lieutenant." Al said impressed.

Riza gave a small, weak smile at him. "Thank you, Al. I did train really hard
to keep myself always alert of any danger."

Al nodded. "Excellent training for when facing off against dangerous enemies
like this." He said with a bitter tone. He had liked Selim. He seemed like a
great kid. The fact that he was just acting and was really on Father's side was
a hard blow to take. Then there was Mrs. Bradley. Her family was made up
of two Homunculi, monsters that wanted to destroy this country, and she
didn't even know. They couldn't be left alone after all of this so they were
basically going to tear her from her family…if that family could even be
considered a real family. He doubted that Bradley and Selim even loved her.
How could she get dragged into this?

Selim appeared on screen.

"So Selim Bradley," Riza's face was shown up close. "What exactly is
your true identity?"

Selim's face appeared on screen. "You've got some nerve to ask me a

question like that, considering the circumstance."

"He is definitely right about that." Darin said worriedly. "This could go
horribly wrong if you make the wrong move."

"With the chance given to me, I cannot just not ask anything. I have to see if I
can get some information that might be of use." Riza replied. Though, she
would recognize how dangerous this was. She could get out of this with her
life and no information or she could get killed. Or she could leave with her
life and a few answers. It depended on Selim. She really had no option here
except to wait for Selim to make a move before she could move.

Half of Riza's face appeared on screen with the path seen behind her. A
bead of sweat trailed down her face.

"Such bravery." Selim said as the shadowy hands stretched out on the
ground from him and towards her.

"The shadow." Lyle said horrified. "He controls a shadow like that? With
powers like that which he used to kill us?"

"Of course. Should have seen it before. Each Homunculus has a special
power. His being this shadow must be his. We should have guessed the
shadow that killed those soldiers to be a Homunculus earlier." Ed growled.
"He protects the circle from inside it with his shadow. He'll make sure no one
gets in it and figures anything out."

"If it's the shadow that does it, that would explain how it got from the north to
Central so quickly." Miles said with a frown. "A shadow can move quickly as
it proved in the tunnel when it first attacked." With speed like that, how could
any of them compete against it?

Riza's back was shown from a distance. The shadowy hands crept slowly
onto screen, weaving around the moonlight shining on the ground and
shadows to get to her.

"You've also shown good judgment by keeping your gun holstered."

Selim said. "Such a move would only get you killed."

Mustang snarled. "It's like he's toying with her right now!"

"Toying with her, not letting her know if she is going to live or die from this
encounter." Ling said with a dark frown.

"As long as I keep a calm head, I'm sure I will be fine." Riza said calmly.
That was right. She would be fine if she kept calm. She was a hostage. Selim
would not kill her here. They still needed her, unless they thought her
position as a hostage was replaceable. But she was sure. If they killed her,
Mustang would really lose it. And if she had to guess, she thinks the
Homunculi would realize that much as well.

The pillars were shown. The scene moved down to the ground as the
shadowy hands crawled over them while another couple hands wrapped
around the pillar then followed the other hands.

"I'm guessing you're a Homunculus like Gluttony." Riza said. One of her
eyes appeared on screen. "No, you've got some kind of pressure coming
from you that he didn't have."

"He is probably…no, he is a lot more dangerous than Gluttony." Ling said.

"Gluttony is dangerous and all, especially with that portal in his stomach, but
Selim seems to be one of the strongest of the Homunculi."

"Or he might actually be the strongest one." Ed pointed out. "It's him or
Wrath. Since we haven't seen much fighting by them, it is hard to tell."

"I don't know. I think Envy could be high on that list of the most dangerous
Homunculi." Ling said with a frown.

"I'll agree with that solely for the fact that he is sadistic from what we have
seen of our his murdering streak and because of our fight with him inside of
Gluttony." Ed replied.
The bottom half of Selim's face appeared on screen with a black hand
slithering up it as he smiled.

The path was shown as the shadow hands moved slowly across it. "I'm
offended that you would even put Gluttony and me in the same league."

Riza's feet were shown with the hands approaching them.

Selim reappeared on screen with a black hand trailed up his chest, neck,
and face.

"You ask my name." Selim said as the scene slowly pulled out. "It's
Pride."

"Pride?" Ed murmured, scowling at the screen. And there was the final clue
of the matter. With a name like that, he was definitely one of Father's
Homunculi. "Of course he is Pride, the only one left of the Homunculi.
Should have seriously realized that earlier."

Mustang growled, hands clenched into fists. They were literally surrounded
by Homunculi in Central. It was supposed to be one of the safest places from
enemies, but it wasn't. Central was in fact one of the most dangerous places
for them with how many enemies were around. "Pride, huh? It's ironic that
Mrs. Bradley called him the pride of her life then because he really is Pride."

Scar glared at the screen. So even the kid of Bradley was a Homunculus.
Another secret to add to this country of horrors. Just how much many more
dark secrets and lies was this country built on? What this country needed was
the top foundation of it completely destroyed and ripped out so the country
could be cleansed of the darkness it was built out of. And if he had to, he
would help with that because that foundation is what killed his people. It
wouldn't bring his people or land back, but destroying the foundation would
be a start to make sure nothing like what happened to Ishval and so many
other lands happened again.

"And I was the first Homunculus." Selim said. The scene snapped out
farther to show a huge black shadow behind him with big creepy grins
and eyes covering it.
"Ha! Father made Pride first to get rid of it, but the irony is that he is still so
arrogant to think he can surpass God." Ed said with a frown and narrowed
eyes. "Just goes to show, pride can never be lost."

"Of the seven deadly sins, pride is considered to be the worst sin for how
unforgivable it is. It is said that pride is the origin of all the other sins. With
pride, everything else follows. Everyone has it and everyone will always have
it. Pride is something that can never be lost." Riza added.

Olivia glared hatefully at the screen. "That shadow." She snarled. "Just seeing
it makes me want to run my sword through him!" It was him! Seeing the
shadow with the eyes and grins like that finalized it. He really was the one
who killed her men and that was completely unforgivable!

"You'd probably get killed before you could reach him." Ed muttered, making
Olivia glare at him. He just raised his hands in reply. He really couldn't blame
her for all the frustration and anger…couldn't blame any of them. A lot of the
Briggs soldiers were now glaring angrily at the screen at the sight of that
shadow. It was a really hard blow to take. They just learned that their
comrades were killed by Pride just for discovering the tunnel.

"Killed quickly or not, he has to go down." Buccaneer said angrily. "There is

no way we can just let him go, not after what he did to our men."

"Of course we can't let him go, but it is going to be a difficult fight with that
dangerous shadow of his." Ed replied with a frown. "Something like guns
isn't going to be of much help."

"They don't help with much of anything against this enemy." Miles said with
a dark frown. How could they possibly get rid of Pride if they couldn't attack
him? It was too dangerous for anyone to fight a monster like that. But they
had to take him out. Pride was one of the ones he really wanted to be killed.
After what happened to his comrades, he wanted Pride beaten. Briggs
soldiers didn't take well to their own being slaughtered mercilessly. They
would make sure this whole plan failed. They were always going to get
involved to stop Amestris from being destroyed, but when they killed their
comrades, well, that just made it that much more personal.
"They work in killing them depending on which one you are facing, but it
would take a lot of bullets to take them out completely." Riza replied, eyes
narrowed at the screen. She noticed that with Lust. She could kill her, but it
would take a lot of ammunition to get rid of her completely. Bullets didn't
take much from the Philosopher's Stone when healing from wound inflicted
by them.

Riza was shown from a downward angle with Pride still seen standing in
the adjacent hallway behind her with his shadow hands approaching
Riza.

Riza's face was shown from the side. Her eye could be seen a bit,
trembling a little bit. "You said you were the first Homunculus,
correct?"

"Of course. Because with pride being the worst sin, the one to start all other
sins, why wouldn't that be the first one that Father disposed of?" Hughes
growled.

"He got rid of his pride, but he is still very arrogant." Ling said. "That is
something not so easily lost. Pride if the beginning source of it, but it is
something that can never be completely lost in anyone, even those like Father
who gets rid of it because it is also arrogance. Anyone who thinks they can
surpass God has some arrogance left in them."

"What do you mean by that?" Riza asked.

Selim appeared on screen. The wall by his head could be seen to show an
eye there. "Just what I told you."

Riza's face was shown from the side. Her expression shifted to a bit of
fear and surprise before her feet were shown to show the black hands
wrapping around her feet and crawling up her legs.

Mustang growled. That monster dared to touch his Lieutenant? If he hurt

her…

Ed winced as Mustang's hand dug into his shoulder. Why couldn't the idiot
grab his arm? At least then he wouldn't have to feel all the anger and worry
coming from his Colonel by the tightness of his grip.

Riza stiffened in her seat as she felt the tightness in her legs. It felt like they
were being squeezed tightly by something. Is this what Ed meant when he
felt the ropes he was tied up in earlier? It really was uncomfortable.

"He better not do anything." Mustang snarled.

Ed hissed as Mustang's fingers dug into his shoulder. "Okay, you're worried.
We're all worried right now, but can I have my shoulder back before you rip
it off? I don't need any more of my shoulder missing on that side, Colonel."

Mustang shot him a glare. "This is not the time for jokes, Fullmetal."

"I'm not joking." Ed muttered, trying to roll his shoulder to knock Mustang's
hand, but of course, Mustang's hand refused to go anywhere.

"Are you actually trying to get information out of me?" Pride asked.

The scene moved up from her feet to her body to show the hands
wrapping around her hands.

Riza opened and closed her hands a few times as the pressure entered her
hands as well.

"Because she is brave. A brave soldier does not waste an opportunity given to
her, no matter the danger of the situation." Olivia said though she was
frowning a bit. She really liked Hawkeye. She was an amazing soldier. It
would be such a shame to lose a soldier like her, especially after so many
great soldiers, her men, were already taken from them.

"But it's not worth it if she dies here. The information will do them no good
in the future if she dies getting it and can't share it." Al murmured.

"But any chance she is given is worth it so she has it if she survives." Miles
pointed out. "It's brave to just try, and that is all anyone could ask in this kind
of situation."
Ed looked over at Riza. "Are you alright? That must feel strange."

Riza sighed and rubbed her hand. "The pressure does feel weird, but it doesn't
really hurt." She smiled at Ed. "I'm fine."

Ed nodded as he turned away, mumbling to himself, "For now anyway."

Mustang glanced at him, ready to say something that froze on his tongue
when he saw the worry in Ed's eyes. He wasn't the only one concerned about
Hawkeye's safety here. Ed was too, and he was sure the others were as well.

Mustang decided not to say anything and turned his eyes back to the screen,
but kept his hand gripping Ed's shoulder tightly. He just needed some type of
support right now and that support was Ed at the moment. He was who was
around when he needed to grab something when he saw his lieutenant in
danger. He looked calm, but he was anything but calm on the inside. There
was this frustration and fear bubbling up inside of him that left him wanting
to just snap his fingers while his gloves were on. And his target would be
Pride! He didn't care if he did look like a kid. On the inside, that kid was a
monster. A worst monster than Mustang was. And for touching his lieutenant,
Mustang wanted to be the one to take him out.

"You're a courageous one, aren't you?" Pride asked as Riza's neck

appeared on screen to show the shadow wrapping around there too.
"Have you considered switching sides and joining us?" The scene moved
up to her face to show the shadowy hand stopped on her cheek.

"Why would I?" Riza asked. "I'd just be a pawn to you."

Pride appeared on screen. "So that's a no. That's too bad." He smirked.
"Oh well."

Riza's hand appeared on screen. Her fist released and her arm was
pulled out a bit. Riza neck appeared on screen with sweat dripping from
her chin as the hands tightened all over her body while she trembled.

Riza gasped a bit at the sudden increased pressure all over her body. It felt
like she was being squeezed to death. Despite the pain in her arm and hand,
she brought it up to her neck where the worse of it was. It felt so hard to
breath, like the air was being blocked all around her. But she was fine. This
was nothing. It was just like dealing with Gluttony choking her earlier. She
could survive this.

"Lieutenant!" Mustang said, looking at her quickly, almost ready to fly to his
feet to get to her.

Riza cracked her eyes opened that she didn't even realize she had closed. "I
am fine…sir…This is….just like…Gluttony." She said with a bit of
difficulty. Talking took so much effort. With it being so hard to breathe, any
talking just made her lungs burn since there was less air getting in.

An unconvinced Mustang shook his head and stood up. Understanding what
he wanted, Lan Fan immediately moved from her spot by Ling and jumped
down to sit between Al and Hughes. Taking her spot by his lieutenant,
Mustang took one of her hands into his and held it tightly to tell her he was
there for her. She wasn't alone in her pain. "Just focus on breathing. It's not
really happening. You can breathe just fine." He told her softly.

Ed rubbed his aching shoulder now that Mustang's hand was finally gone. If
his grip was anything to go by, he was probably the most scared of all of
them, even Riza.

Hughes looked over at Mustang and Riza with a slight smile. Despite the
situation, he could still smile at the idea of those two being so close. This
wasn't just subordinate and commanding officer. He could tell the feelings
between them was much more than that.

Riza's cheek was shown as the hand on it sliced a cut onto it. Blood
started to seep out of the cut before Pride's eyes appeared on screen.

Riza hissed a bit and took her free hand to rub her cheek. That strung a bit,
but it was such a tiny cut that it wasn't even important.

Mustang, on the other hand, growled. First he chokes his lieutenant, and now
he cuts her? There was going to be no mercy shown to any of them! How
many of his friends were they going to injure! First, Envy killed Hughes.
Next, Greed injured Fullmetal. Gluttony tried to kill his Lieutenant. Then
Lust paralyzed Havoc and almost killed Riza and Al. Gluttony had the nerve
to eat Ling and Ed. And now this! This had to end. He would not allow this
go on anymore.

Riza's face appeared on screen. She looked out of the corner of her eye as
blood trailed down her cheek. "Are you trying to humor me with your
empty threats?"

"She's right about that." Ed muttered. "She is still a hostage. I don't think
Pride will kill her. If he wanted her dead, she would be dead by now."

"I will only believe that when she is away from him." Mustang growled.

"That is completely understandable." Hughes said as he watched Ed lean

against Mustang's legs with a surprised look. Before when Lan Fan sat on the
couch, she had sat on her legs so Ed could lean on the couch. But Mustang
didn't do that so Ed just leaned on them. He couldn't believe that Ed would
voluntarily do that when it was Mustang! Unless this was another a
trick….Hughes stared long and hard at Ed, but Ed didn't so much as blink and
do anything weird. He just sat there, staring at the screen.

Ed looked at him with a raised brow after a moment. "Problem?"

Hughes looked from Ed leaning on Roy's legs to Roy who was still holding
Riza's hand and blinked. He looked back at Ed and blinked again. He could
not be the only one who saw it.

Al snickered as he watched Hughes go back and forth from Ed to Mustang to

Riza. "Brother, he is thinking you three look like a family." He said.

"Thank you, Al!" Hughes said loudly. "I'm not the only one who saw it then!"

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked exasperated.

"Well, you do look like you could be their son right now." Havoc said slyly.

Ed growled and held up a hand. A distracted Mustang handed him a pillow

which Ed took. He stood up and went over to Havoc and proceeded to
pummel Havoc with it, while the lieutenant protected his head with his arms.

While Ed pummeled Havoc, Mustang stared at Riza. It was very slight and if
Mustang wasn't holding her hand, he probably would have missed it, but he
could feel it. She was trembling in fear and pain at the moment. He rubbed
his thumb over her hand soothingly to let her know he was still there for her.

Riza noticed it, but barely gave her boss a glance. Her heart was pounding so
rapidly in her chest right now. She knew that Pride wouldn't kill her. They
still needed her as a hostage, but despite knowing that, this position she was
in still scared her. There was always still that doubt in her mind that told her
he just might decide to kill her despite her being a hostage. That coupled with
being tied up by his shadows scared her. She would admit it. She was scared
at this very moment that she would die. Being a soldier she could face death
and would accept it as her fate one day, but dying still scared her. She didn't
want to die.

"Geez, Chief!" Havoc shouted as he shielded his head. "Why am I the one
getting hit?"

Ed stopped for a moment and looked at Hughes. He may not have said it, but
it was his thoughts that started everything.

A pillow flew through the air at an amazing speed and hit Hughes in the face,
knocking his glasses askew in the process. Hughes blinked and fixed his
glasses while Ed jumped back over to his seat. He grabbed the pillow and
hugged it to his chest as he leaned back against Mustang's legs again.

"So you go right back to leaning against his legs after all that." Hughes
muttered as he pushed his glasses up.

Ed whacked him with the pillow before going back to hugging it.

"It's just wasteful to kill your hostage." Riza said.

Pride chuckled and the hand on Riza's face pulled back.

The scene was shown from a downward angle as all the shadowy hands
began to retract.

"How perceptive you are." Pride said. He appeared on screen with his
huge shadow filled with eyes and evil grins behind him. The scene slowly
pulled back from him as he faded into the darkness with it all until the
screen was completely black. "Just remember, Lieutenant."

The pathway was shown again. The screen moved quickly along it,
showing a few shadowy hands in the shadows as it went.

"No matter where you are," Pride said before the path was shown along
with Riza's back. "I will be watching you." The scene zoomed in on her
back. "From the shadows."

Riza turned around quickly with slight fear on her face and the path was
shown with no one there.

"He's finally gone." Fuery breathed in relief.

Ed frowned. "There's nothing to be relieved about."

Riza breathed in deeply as the pain in her body slowly became less and less
with each second. "Ed's right." She said. "With him watching my every move
from the shadows, it will be difficult to get that information about him out
and to act on Colonel's orders when it is time."

"That takes a whole new meaning of being afraid of your own shadow."
Avery said with a shudder. That would be extremely difficult to deal with. He
would always be watching her every move. That meant that one mistake, one
move they didn't like, and bad things were going to start happening again.

Mustang loosened his hold on Riza's hand, but in turn, she tightened her hand
on his. He looked over at her and gave her a small reassuring look. It would
be alright is what it said. Pride may be watching her, but he was still in
Central with her. He would be there to help her when she needed it, and in
return, she had his back. They would be fine.

Riza's face appeared on screen, eyes still trembling a bit as she stared at
the empty hall in fear. Her breathing could be heard to be a bit shaky.

Al stared in shock. Riza was so scared right now. She has always been
fearless. This was a new, unexpected side, but it was not one that he found a
fault with. That was a scary encounter with Pride, and there was nothing her
future self could do against him. She was scared and rightly so. Anyone
would be scared after an encounter like that

Riza's shadow at her feet was shown. The scene slowly moved to the side
to show a bit more of it before the scene changed to show Fort Briggs on
screen.

"Oh, back north." Brody muttered. "What more could possibly happen in this
episode?"

"Well, Al is locked in jail, Scar is on the move with May and Dr. Marcoh,
and Ed was taken by Kimblee to talk in private." Breda listed off. "Take your
pick of which one will appear next."

"This is getting a lot darker and dangerous." Mikal said with a frown. "But I
think the worst thing to see right now would be Ed."

Ed raised a brow. "And why is that?"

"Because you're talking to a psychopath!" Forman growled. "We just saw one
psychopath named Pride speak to Lieutenant Hawkeye and that was
dangerous enough. I don't think we need to see another one."

"We have to at some point. Best to get all the psychopaths' conversations out
of the way now." Ed muttered.

"I believe we deserve a break from them. I'd rather not hear more threats or
about hostages at the moment or see more of my friends get killed." Luke
said.

"And how do you think we feel?" Ed retorted as he hugged his pillow tighter
to his chest. "I'd rather just say screw it and walk out of here. This is getting
really hard, but it is good information so we just have to deal with it."
"He makes a good point." Ling said with a frown. "With all the stress
building up in here from everything we're seeing, it does make it a lot harder
to watch all of this."

"So what do you suggest?" Olivia asked. She didn't show it, but even this was
getting a bit much. She wasn't scared, but stressed and frustrated. So many of
her men were killed. Good soldiers were being used as hostages. And the
truth of the country was much darker than a lot of them realized. That
coupled with all the betrayals in the military was becoming stressful and
difficult even for her. No one could be immune from such stress after
everything that has happened, especially with the pain factor. That just added
to the stress of those dealing with it and their friends who had to watch their
friends suffer without being able to do much to help.

"As much as I would like to get finished watching all of this quickly, I
believe we need to slow down how much we are watching." Mustang said
with a frown. "It is becoming way too much for all of us." He glanced at the
teenagers. This was especially hard on them. There were young and though
they all had their fair share of trouble in their young lives, they haven't
experienced as much as the soldiers did.

"Take a break after two or three episodes now? Instead of just breaking for
lunch and dinner?" Miles suggested.

"That would be a good place to start for now." Hughes said. "We'll see how it
works out. It should hopefully give us some breathing room."

"You've got a job for me?" Ed's voice asked.

Ed and Kimblee appeared on screen, sitting on opposite sides of a table.

The room they were in was shown from a downward angle.

"A job from Kimblee?" Rilen said with a frown. "I don't like the sound of
that."

Ed frowned. Rilen was right. Seeing what Kimblee did in the war did make
the idea of him giving him a job seem dangerous and scary, but it couldn't be
anything bad. He was working for the Homunculi so he knew that Ed had to
stay alive since he was a sacrifice.

"That's correct." Kimblee said. "You are a State Alchemist after all."

Ed was shown close up, arms crossed and a frown in place.

"And it's a few jobs actually." Kimblee said as he was shown with Ed's
back seen on the other side of the screen. He held up three fingers with a
smile. "Three." He lowered two of his fingers. "All from the Fuhrer."

"Oh, I am simply thrilled." Ed muttered.

"Ed, sarcasm is so not appreciated right now." Hughes said with a frown.

Ed raised a brow as he looked at him. "It's an outlet of my frustration."

Hughes shot him a look. "Yes, well it's not helping me with my frustration or
worry." He snapped.

Ed's brows rose higher.

Al also stared in surprise. Hughes must be getting really stressed if he was

snapping like that. Not that Al could really blame him. He was also scared
and worried about what Kimblee wanted from his brother. He knew the job
of a State Alchemist was dangerous, but that was under normal circumstance.
The circumstances of their future were not normal right now so that did not
help his worry at all.

Ed's face appeared on screen. Behind him the door could be seen and
through the window on the door, a guard on the other side of it was seen.

"First off, he wants you to hunt down Scar." Kimblee said as Darius was
shown on the other side of the door. The scene pulled out to show Winry
sitting down in the room with a drink as she waited with Heinkel
standing behind her. "You just find him and I'll take care of the rest."

Scar smirked. "You do seem to be coming after me a lot more than I come
after you."
"You're the one who started this game when you attacked me." Ed muttered.
"And I never came after you."

"When you attracted all that attention to get me to come attack you, I take
that as you coming after me." Scar replied.

"That is one way to look at it." Al said. "But it could also be seen as you
coming after him. So at this point, you attacked him twice. But the second
time could be considered him coming after you so that is considered once for
Brother. The third encounter is when we worked together. And now the
fourth encounter is Brother coming after you." He looked from Ed to Scar.
"You guys have some record."

"The biggest record that any State Alchemist has with Scar." Mustang said,
shaking his head. "You're supposed to avoid him, Fullmetal."

"Yeah, well, I've never been good at following orders." Ed replied with a
smirk.

"Secondly, he wants you to locate Dr. Marcoh who has very likely fled
with Scar." Kimblee continued as his back appeared on screen as he held
up two fingers while Ed stared at him.

"Well, this is a first." Dr. Marcoh said with a slight smile. "I don't recall ever
having a kid hunt me down."

Ed gave him a sly grin. "At least you know I won't hurt you."

Dr. Marcoh chuckled before turning serious. "But that does leave job three.
The first two aren't that bad since I won't attack you and you've dealt with
Scar before quite a bit so you have experience with that."

Ed's grin dropped as he grimaced.

"He probably saved the worst for last. That's usually how it is." Falman said
with a frown. Start with the least horrible and then suddenly slam the worst
job onto them. That was how it worked.

Ed gasped and leaned forward a bit. "Why is Dr. Marcoh with Scar?"
Kimblee lowered his hand. "The only thing you need to worry about is
finding them." He raised his hand again, this time holding up three
fingers. "And last but not least," Ed was shown up close. "He wants you
to carve a crest of blood here."

Ed stiffened in his seat.

"They want Fullmetal to start a battle?" Olivia growled. It was thing to

purposefully start a conflict, but to get a kid involved. If the battle began
because of a different reason, she would not have a problem with it. Fullmetal
was a State Alchemist. He should be prepared for such things, but to start a
conflict to get a blood crest that would help with the destruction of the
country and to get Fullmetal involved, that was something not so easily
accepted. He had no reason to dirty his hands with a conflict that started
around lies for the Homunculi's plan.

"He wants me to help with the Homunculi plans by carving a crest of blood?"
Ed asked blankly in shock. That was something he definitely couldn't do. He
could not get involved in mass murder. He wasn't a killer to begin with. Mass
murder was much worse than that and it wasn't something he ever could do,
especially with his alchemy. Alchemy wasn't meant to be used for that!

Dr. Marcoh sighed. "It is always the worst saved for last."

Mustang's hand clenched into a fist. There was no way Ed could create a crest
of blood. He promised Ed when he joined the military that he wouldn't have
to go to war. He protected Ed from having to kill. Kimblee could not take the
last of Ed's innocence from him by making him kill. If this was what Kimblee
would do when he met Ed, then he would make sure that psychopath never
got near Ed. He wouldn't let him turn Ed into a murderer like him.

"The crest was going to be created somehow, but I don't think any of us ever
expected something like this to happen." Buccaneer said with a frown as he
glanced at Ed, who was still frozen in shock.

Ed raised his head and blinked. "A crest of blood." He repeated.

Kimblee appeared on screen still holding three fingers up with a cruel
smirk in place. "Just like what I did in Ishval. It's very simple. We kill
everyone and soak the land with their blood."

"It's simple in words, but to actually do it is hard." Mustang growled.

"I thought it started hard, but the more you did it, the easier it got." Ed replied
blankly.

"It is easier to pull the trigger, but the action will always be hard to do. It will
weigh heavy in your heart when you realize the people you are killing do not
deserve such deaths." Riza explained.

Ed grimaced and looked down at his hands. To actually take a life…he didn't
think it would be something he could ever do.

The table was shown as Ed slammed a hand onto it as he flew to his feet.
The scene moved up to his face. "I would never take part in–" He started
loudly before he stopped.

Kimblee was shown, holding one finger to his lips to silence Ed.

Kimblee was shown from behind as Ed looked over his shoulder at the
door behind him. He was shown up close, gritting his teeth. He turned
his head back towards Kimblee.

Ed was shown from the front as he fell back into his seat, arms crossed
stubbornly as he looked to the side. Kimblee's back took up another part
of the screen.

"Did you really join the military without being prepared to kill
someone?" Kimblee asked.

"Did you?" Cyril asked.

Ed huffed. "When I joined I was twelve." He shot a look at the soldiers. "Tell
me, what twelve year old is prepared to take life?"

Zolan frowned. "He has a fair point there. No child is prepared to take life.
We really shouldn't expect it from a twelve year old when he first joins the
ranks."

"Besides," Ed said. "I'm prepared not to kill to get my goals reached. The real
issue here though is that he is asking me to create pointless mass murder to
help complete a transmutation circle that will destroy the country." He shot a
look at Hughes. "You say nothing is pointless. Well, this mass murder spree
the country is on is pointless!"

"To us anyway. To the Homunculi, it all has a purpose." Hughes replied.

"A horrible purpose." Rebecca muttered.

"Who do they want killed for this anyway?" Al asked. "I mean, we thought
the Drachmans, but they aren't near Fort Briggs at the moment so they can't
be killed to create the blood crest."

"I'd rather not think about it." Ed muttered with a frown. Was he seriously
going to have to kill in the future for this? He didn't want to. There was no
way he could do it. There had to be some way out of this. "Seeing as the
Homunculi are going to make sure the blood crest is created, we will see how
they plan to do it anyway."

Ed turned his head to look at him. "I was determined not to kill."

Miles smiled a bit. He also had that determination in the beginning, but that
was long ago. He learned a long time ago that killing was a necessity at
times. Joining the military was so he could protect the country, and to do that,
killing was something that he had to. But it didn't mean he wasn't envious of
Ed's conviction to not kill. It was amazing that he was able to be in the
military for three years and not kill once.

Kimblee was shown from an upward angle with a hand on his chin.
"Well, how original of you." He sighed and interlocked his fingers in
front of him. "I suppose you could take just as much from that decision."

Ed appeared on screen. "Listen, Kimblee, do you have any idea what

they're doing." He uncrossed his arms. "What you're helping them to
achieve. They're gonna–"

"I'm curious to see how the world will change." Kimblee interrupted.

"What?" Ed asked.

Kimblee appeared on screen, hands interlocked in front of his face as

suspenseful music started. "Both sides clashing. Will against will. Life vs
life. Humans or the Homunculi. Which one will triumph?"

Ed was shown, eyes trembling in shock as he stared at Kimblee.

"Which side does the world prefer?"

Ed frowned and stared calmly at Kimblee.

"The Homunculi like to see themselves as the next step in the evolution of
humanity." Kimblee said. "But that's for history to decide. I just plan on
helping it make up its mind."

"He's just helping to see what will become of everything at the end of this?"
Rebecca growled, eyes narrowed angrily. What kind of person betrayed
everything for a reason like that?

"He basically betrayed all humans because of his psychotic, curious nature."
Buccaneer said.

"Seriously, who does something like that? He is a human as well." Ling

asked with a frown.

"Well, the Homunculi seem to value his skill. They like having humans work
for them who know who they are. It is probably easier for them to have
someone like him to call on when they need to." Al said.

"But it is like I said when Pride asked me earlier, you would just be a pawn
working for them. But I doubt Kimblee really cares. With his psychotic
nature, he is just curious with what will happen. He has no loyalty to us or his
country." Riza replied with a frown.
"Have you forgotten that you're a human? How can you take sides with
them?" Ed asked.

Kimblee was shown as he raised his hands. "Because they've given me

complete freedom to use my alchemy however I want."

"Yes, because that is just a great reason to betray your country." Grant said
sarcastically.

"It is for a sociopath." Rufus muttered.

"You're insane, Kimblee." Ed replied as Kimblee lowered his hands.

Kimblee put a hand to his chest. "My standards do tend to differ from
society's."

Ed's face appeared on screen.

"However, if I survive this battle, then the world will have chosen my
sanity over yours. I stake my being." Kimblee said as a surprised look
passed over Ed's face. Kimblee's mouth appeared on screen and the
scene slowly moved up his face as he spoke, "The very core of my own
existence. This is what I am willing to bet on the outcome of this battle."

"Oh, betting your life. Like no one else is doing that by getting involved in
this war." Mustang said sarcastically.

"You ruin his philosophical sense of speaking." Hughes replied dryly.

Mustang smirked. "Good. I hate the guy anyway. I'll gladly destroy his stupid
philosophical way of life."

"Sounds like the pettiness of a teenager against a rival." Greyson muttered

with a slight smirk.

Ed's face appeared on screen, eyes slightly narrowed as he glared at

Kimblee. "Kimblee, you don't make any sense."

Kimblee was shown from an upward angle as he sat back in his chair.
"That's surprising." He reached his hand into his suit jacket pocket. "I'd
always kind of assumed that self-centeredness was a universal trait of all
alchemists." He said as he pulled his hand out of his pocket.

"Humans are naturally selfish and care about themselves, but that doesn't
mean that they won't fight for others when they have to. Some grow to
become greatly selfless because they know how hard the world can be. That
goes for all humans, not just alchemists." Armstrong said with a frown.

"It also depends on friends and family and just how deep that bond goes."
Avery added. "Someone like Kimblee who has no connections like that
would have no problem being as self-centered as he is."

The table was shown with Kimblee's hand on it as he put what he was
holding down.

"Well then," Kimblee said as the scene moved up his arm and to his face.
"Let's see if I can find something that you do selfishly crave."

Ed was shown from an upward angle as he stared down at Kimblee's

hand, blinking once before his eyes widened.

Kimblee's face appeared close up on screen as he smirked. "Something

you and your brother want more than anything."

Ed's eyes widened in horror. The one thing that Kimblee had two of that he
and Al spent years searching for to fix everything. The one thing that they
could no longer use for themselves. "He's trying to bribe me to help with a
stone?!"

"It is a stone, but I don't think it's a bribe." Hughes said darkly. "It's
something he'll give you so you'll help willingly, but that stone is shrouded
with the truth which is that if you don't help willingly, he can use Winry
against you."

Ed cracked his knuckles with a scowl. "I am realizing that. It makes me want
to hit him so badly."
"Your future self better not do that. It will cause a lot of problems you don't
need right now." Mustang warned.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I have enough self-control and realization of the danger
I'm in that I wouldn't do that. Not yet anyway. At some point I will hit the
traitor."

"And when that time comes, I'll be cheering you on. Just don't do anything
stupid now." Mustang replied.

His hand on the table appeared on screen. "And if you do what we ask,"
He moved his hand back to reveal the blood-red stone. "I'll give it to
you."

Ed's face was shown up close as his eyes widened in horror. 'A
Philosopher's Stone.'

The scene changed to show the stone close up with Ed staring down at it.
A glint of light moved across the stone.

Ed frowned and looked back at Kimblee for a second before his eyes
became shadowed as he bowed his head and moved his hands closer
together. "I need to consult with Al and Winry."

Aran's brows furrowed together. "I get why Al. You want to tell him what is
going on before anything goes down, but why Winry too?"

Ed and Al shared a look.

"If she is getting involved as a hostage, then that means she needs to know
what is going on. We can't let her stay in the dark anymore and stay too
trusting of all the soldiers." Al explained. "It's too dangerous."

"But from the sounds of it, you are planning to get involved in this." Fuery
said with a frown. "I thought you didn't want the stone anymore."

Ed shrugged. "I don't, but if I do anything, it will be because this is the best
option for me to work with."
Mustang nodded. "It gives you a chance to make a plan by acting like you are
going along with it. I guess you do know how to work strategically."

"Which is quite surprising." Ling teased.

Ed shot him a glare. "Do not start, idiot-prince."

Ling huffed. "How many times do–"

"Don't care." Ed interrupted. "I've told you this enough times already. I will
call you an idiot all I want."

Ed was shown from behind with Kimblee in front of him. Kimblee

leaned his face in his hand. "Why tell Winry?" He asked.

"Is everyone going to ask that?" Ed muttered annoyed.

"She has no idea she's involved." Ed's face was shown from the side,
covered by his bangs so it couldn't be seen. "Despite what you're asking
of me, I refuse to hide the truth from her."

"Then why didn't you tell her sooner?" Sheska asked.

Ed shrugged. "Because she wasn't in the line of fire before. She was in Rush
Valley. I didn't want to tell her unless I really had to, and if I did, I would do
it in person, not over the phone."

"No doubt. You can't share sensitive information like that over the phone,
especially when the Homunculi could be anywhere watching you or her."
Riza said.

Kimblee was shown. "Alright then, but you're not telling her without me
there. I don't want you telling her too much."

"As long as I can talk to her. I knew restrictions were coming when I said I
wanted to talk to her." Ed said with a frown.

"He wouldn't be doing his job properly as an enemy if he didn't keep a close
eye on you." Darius said.
Ed glared at him. "Isn't that what he has you for?"

Darius scowled. "Just because we brought Winry north and only answer to
Kimblee doesn't mean much. We are here. There has to be a reason we are
here."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Ed grumbled.

Ed's face, still hidden by his bangs, was shown from the side once more.

A creaking sound of a cell door opening filled the scene followed by the
sound of the door slamming shut.

Ed's face faded away to be replaced by Kimblee leaning against a wall

with one of his men standing by with his back to the screen. The scene
moved to the side to show Ed's back as he faced Al and Winry inside the
cell.

Ed's face appeared on screen with Kimblee seen on the other side of the
screen, watching him out of the corner of his eyes. Ed looked at Kimblee
out of the corner of his eyes before looking back down.

"Just get on with it!" Brody said.

"Winry," Ed said. He turned his head slightly to look at her. "You were
only brought to Briggs as a hostage."

"I didn't mean that quickly." Brody muttered. "You can't even ease into it?"

"She can handle it. I know her. She might be a bit scared, but she is strong
and can handle it." Ed said with a shrug. "Besides, easing into it would take
too much time. Kimblee would probably feel like I'm stalling. Best for all to
just get on with it."

Ed's back was shown with Winry seen on one side of him and Al seen on
the other.

Al gasped while Winry just continued to stare at her friend. "A what?"
Winry asked. She looked at Al. "What does he mean, Al?" She looked
back at Ed. "Are you joking?"

"You don't joke about that kind of thing!" Ed exclaimed with a frown.

"You can't blame her for asking that. She is in shock." Lan Fan defended.
"Anyone would be shocked to hear something like that when she is still able
to wander around freely."

"I know, I know." Ed said as he ran a hand through his bangs. He knew that,
but he was just so frustrated and worried. He didn't want Winry to have to be
in this position. He wished there was some way to get her to safety.

The cell was shown from a different angle to show Ed from the front
with Winry and Al looking at him.

"Listen, I've been ordered by the Fuhrer to fulfill my duties as a human

weapon." Ed said before Al's face was shown close up. "In other words,"
Al looked away as Ed continued. "They're ordering me to help them
commit mass murder."

"For someone who isn't a killer that was just ordered to do just that, you are
pretty calm." Luke observed.

"I don't think freaking out will help me come up with a plan to get out of
this." Ed replied dryly.

"No, but it is something that we would have expected of you at one point."
Breda said.

Ed couldn't refute that. It was true. He really would have reacted horribly to
that when he was younger. Would have started yelling and ranting, and
probably would have ran out of the room to sulk and probably run away.
There would have been no way he could do it.

"That just shows how much Ed has grown up from everything that has
happened." Hughes said with a smile as he ruffled Ed's hair.

Ed scowled and whacked his hand away. He pulled his hair tie out and went
about fixing his hair. Seriously, what was with people and touching his hair?
Al turned his head as a gasp was heard and Winry was shown from
behind, standing up now as she stared at Ed.

"Why don't you just refuse?" Winry asked.

Ed's face appeared on screen as he blinked. When he opened his eyes, he

was looking down and to the side away from her.

The scene changed to show Winry and Ed as Winry turned to look at Al.

"I see." Winry said. "That's why." She collapsed back onto the bed. She
was shown from behind with Al in front of her. "No, I'm sorry. They're
using me to hold you down."

Ed appeared on screen, looking down at her. He raised a hand as the

scene pulled out to show Winry holding her hands interlocked in front of
her as she looked down. She rested her eyes on her hands. "I won't cry."
She said. "I won't."

Ed lowered his hand.

Winry's hands appeared on screen as her fingers tightened their hold on

her hands. "I'm just upset at myself for being so naïve."

"She realized her naivety? At least this experience is teaching her to be more
careful and less trusting." Rufus said. "That will help her in her life."

"I think being as naïve as she was is natural. Every child is naïve in the
beginning, but it is harder for kids who grew up in the country to learn to be
careful since not much happens out there in the country. They are pretty safe
there so they grow up trusting easily." Havoc said. Having grown up in the
country himself, he could understand the naivety that Winry had and the
naivety that Ed and Al first showed when they first began their journey three
years ago. Sure, they all had horrible lives, but until they left the country and
came to the city, they didn't realize just how naïve they were. It was a pretty
natural thing of the kids coming from the country, especially a country town
like Resembool.
The scene was shown from the back of the cell.

"I'm sorry." Winry said. "All you were trying to do is get your original
bodies back again."

Ed and Al were shown up close.

"About that," Ed said. "They actually offered me a Philosopher's Stone

as payment."

Al shifted as he looked at his brother, who looked at him. "Huh, a stone?

But–"

"That's right." Ed interrupted. "Kimblee has one."

"You interrupted Al? Why?" May asked with a frown.

Ed's brows furrowed in thought. "Many reasons actually. I don't want him to
say it in front of Winry and Kimblee. I don't want him to alert Kimblee to the
fact that we don't want the stone anymore since it could ruin my plan."

"Wait, what is your plan exactly?" Grant asked.

"Uh, how should I know what it exactly is? I have some ideas of what my
plan could be in the future, but nothing concrete yet." Ed replied.

"We can't, Brother!" Al said. "The ingredients for a stone–"

Ed was shown up close as he looked more sharply at Al. "I know, Al."

Havoc whistled. "Damn, Chief. Interrupting him twice in less than a minute?
You are really showing it now."

Ed raised a brow. "Showing what?"

"The skills and experience you gained from being a soldier these past few
years. I can see you being a good commander one day with your intelligence
and skill. Since your meeting with Kimblee began, you have been showing
that you can be a good leader. You showed more emotion then a great
commander in that situation would, but that's just cause you don't have the
proper training." Hughes explained. "But you know just what to do in the
tough situations. With a bit more experience and training, I think you could
do real well at being a commander."

Ed scoffed. Like he would want to go that direction in his life. "Learning to

interrupt someone arguing with you like that is something I picked up with a
certain Colonel and something I have a lot of practice with by arguing with
Winry a lot."

Mustang smirked. "You may have picked that up, but I don't know about the
whole being a leader thing. Maybe if you killed that reckless streak of yours."

Ed shot him a glare. "You always have to say something, don't you?"

"When it involves you? Yes, can't let you forget all the faults you have."
Mustang retorted with a teasing grin.

Ed scoffed. "Then maybe I should spend all my time reminding you of

yours!"

"What faults?" Mustang said with a smirk.

"Useless in the rain." Ed replied with his own smirk.

Mustang glared at him. "Says the brat who can't do much in the north since
he isn't smart enough to change his automail."

"That was future me!" Ed snapped. "And how was I supposed to know? At
least I never almost destroyed Eastern HQ because I was frustrated with
paperwork!"

"You did what?" Hawkeye asked dangerously.

Mustang glared at Ed. "You were supposed to never mention that again."

Ed grinned evilly at him. "Yeah, Lieutenant, he did it two years ago on your
day off."
Mustang looked at her nervously then shot Ed a glare. "That was your fault. I
got two huge stacks of paperwork because of you destroying that road,
apartment complex–"

"It was scheduled to be demolished anyway! What did they care if I brought
it crashing to the ground early? No one was in it!" Ed protested.

"How exactly did a thirteen year old bring an apartment complex crashing
down?" Ling asked amused.

Ed scoffed. "It was unstable before I even brought it down so it was simple.
That city was just looking for any excuse to get money from the military."

"It may have to do with the fact that you caused a four mile car traffic jam
when you brought the building crashing down and they wanted to make us
reimburse for that wasted time and the destroyed road." Mustang growled.

"Were you aiming for the paperwork or Fullmetal?" Buccaneer asked.

"Maybe it was both." Mustang replied.

"They were too sensitive about the whole thing." Ed grumbled.

Al was shown. The scene slowly pulled out from his face as he stared at
his brother.

The scene changed to show Ed as he stared back with dramatic music

beginning.

Al's face appeared on screen.

"Is this one of those silent conversations that annoys everyone because no
one understands what is being said?" Falman asked.

Ed raised a brow while Al chuckled a bit.

"Our silent conversations annoy you?" Al asked.

"A lot. You leave everyone else wondering what the heck is going on."
Myers grumbled. "Don't you feel like that when Chief and Ling start picking
in Xingese?"

Al blinked and looked at Ed and Ling, who were both now grinning
mischievously, then back at Myers. "Fair point."

Al's eyes narrowed before he was shown from the side with Ed still
watching him in the background. He looked away from his brother and
said, "Go ahead and do what you want."

"Uh, he doesn't sound happy." Rilen said.

"So either their silent conversation didn't work or there's a plan in motion
suddenly?" Karin asked with a thoughtful look.

Mikal looked over at Ed and Al. "So? I'm pretty sure only you two would
have the answer to that question."

"Uh, well," Al said, glancing at his brother. "That is hard to answer. Our
silent conversations don't always work out because there are times when I
don't have all the information my brother has or vice-versa."

"What do you do when it doesn't work?" Karley asked curiously.

"Never alert anyone outside the two of us that it doesn't work out." Ed said
with a smirk. "Then play it off and when we're alone, talk it out with each
other."

"How often does that happen?" Mustang asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ed retorted.

Ed closed his eyes. "I will." He opened his eyes and turned to the cell
door.

Darius came over to the door and unlocked and opened it for him.

"Anyone else just imagine what it would be like to have Edward as an enemy
and not a comrade?" Hughes asked.
Ed shot him a look. "Did you seriously just imagine that?"

"To be honest, that thought crossed my mind as well." Forman said with a
grin. "It really isn't a fun thought though."

Ed looked over Hughes's head at his brother. "Why is it me that is being

imagined as an enemy?"

"Because of the scene, Brother. If I didn't know you and trust you so much,
right now, seeing what your future self just did would confuse and anger me.
It would probably feel like a betrayal because you sounded prepared to do
what you had to in order to get that stone." Al replied. "Good thing I know
you so well."

Ed grinned a bit. "Yeah, or else you would probably be yelling at me right

now as I leave."

"You would probably do really well at acting like the villain." Havoc mused.

"Though I don't think we would want him to seriously be an enemy." Riza

said with a frown.

"Of course not." Havoc scoffed. "That would be really dangerous for us all."

"I think he's complimenting your skills there, Brother." Al said.

"And no insult in sight. How nice for once." Ed replied dryly.

"I have a question though." Fuery said with a frown. "You only mentioned
one of your jobs to Al and Winry. You didn't say anything about Scar or Dr.
Marcoh."

"That's where the trust Al has in me comes in. I'm trusting him to realize that
I'm not going to start committing pointless mass murder." Ed replied.

The ground was shown with Ed's feet walking onto screen.

Kimblee was shown as he looked at Ed.

"It's settled." Ed said.

"Nothing's settled! There was no decision making, only you telling Al and
Winry how things were going to go! And even then, you didn't tell them all
your jobs." Charlie said with a frown.

"There was never any decisions to be made. They just needed to be told of
what was going on before I went and did it." Ed replied.

"Well, you worded it earlier that you wanted to consult with them. That
usually means to seek advice and see what they think about all this."
Alexandre retorted.

Ed shrugged. "Do you care, Al?"

Al sighed. "No, I know you mean well when you start acting like this."

"This has happened before?" Walkers asked surprised.

"Well, not this situation, but this…soldier demeanor has." Al replied

carefully. "It's rare, but it has appeared before." He shot a look at Mustang. "I
swear he picked it up from watching you."

Hughes laughed. "That usually what happens, Al. Kids learn from watching
adults." He shot a look at Ed. "And as much as you like to deny it, you were
still an impressionable kid when you joined so you learned the traits of a
soldier just by being around us so much."

"Yes, yes, and you like to point that out too much." Ed retorted.

Kimblee was shown from behind as Ed stopped in front of him, hands

shoved in his pockets while Darius held the cell door open behind him.

"I'm in, alright?" Ed said. He walked a few steps closer to Kimblee,

keeping his eyes trained on him. "But finding Scar is the first thing I
want to do."

"Oh yeah?" Kimblee asked. "Why's that?"

"Because it's a plan." Mustang said with a smirk of realization. "You're
planning to go after Scar first to set everything in motion and get out of
having to commit mass murder."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, if things work out that way. There isn't much I
can do but set things in motion. Since I don't know how Kimblee will react,
I'll have to change the plan or my actions every minute. I can't actually do
anything with a set plan so I am probably hoping going after Scar will cause
something to start."

"Reacting to each change is something every soldier has to do since you can't
predict what your enemy will do." Olivia said. "It's good to know you
understand that much."

Ed smirked. "This is where my unpredictable nature will come in handy.

Even I couldn't tell you at this point what my every action is going to be."

Ed looked over his shoulder at the cell. He looked back at Kimblee as

Winry walked out of the cell.

"Scar is the one who murdered Winry's parents. They deserve

vengeance." Ed said as he and Kimblee walked off screen together.

Clarink nodded. "That is a good excuse why to go after him first."

"Are you really after vengeance though?" Scar asked.

Ed shrugged. "I think a part of me wants it, but it's not really my goal at the
moment. I just need to get to you and May before I am forced to do
something horrible."

Scar nodded. At least Edward was trying to work around being forced to
commit mass murder instead of blindly following orders and doing
something horrible that was not needed.

The screen moved to the side to show Darius's back as Winry walked to
his other side. She was shown close up, looking in Ed's direction, as
Darius closed and locked the cell door.
"Why am I still in the cell?" Al moaned. "Brother gets out."

"That's because Kimblee is trying to manipulate me into working with him."

Ed mumbled. "Not sure which is worse. Being in the cell or working with
Kimblee. At least by being with Kimblee, I can work on a plan to fight back.
Can't do anything locked in a cell."

"Then how about get me out so I can help?" Al asked.

"I'm sure future me is working on it. He doesn't want you left in a cell either."
Ed replied.

"I see." Kimblee said. "Fine with me."

Ed and Kimblee were shown from behind as they approached the door.

"Also, I need Al with me." Ed said.

"Ha! See! Told you future me was working on it." Ed exclaimed, pointing at
the screen.

"When I am released from the cell, I will believe it." Al replied.

"You guys seem to really hate that cell." Ling said amused.

Al shot him a look. "Of course we hate it. Like Ed said, can't do anything
from a cell."

"You can still come up with plans. You just can't implement them." Ling
replied.

"Thus proving the point that you can't do anything from a cell." Al retorted.

"Making plans to implement once you're free is not wasted time." Ling
argued.

"He doesn't have a body so he's immune to Scar's bodily destruction."

Ed said as he, Kimblee, and Darius were shown from a distance with
Winry watching them walk away.
"I can still destroy his armor." Scar said.

Ed scowled. He didn't need that reminder. He almost lost his little brother
because of that. "I realize that, Scar, but Kimblee doesn't know that and I'm
not going to tell him since it will hinder getting Al out of that cell."

"You're taking advantage of all the facts you have that Kimblee doesn't know
and telling half-truths, aren't you?" Hughes said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "What's your point, Hughes?"

Hughes looked over his shoulder at Mustang. "Just how did you train him?"

Mustang shrugged. "You said it yourself. He learns from watching and

listening."

Ed scoffed. "Right, right. I learned a lot from all you guys and learned how to
do it myself. Growing up around you guys, it's not surprising I understand
what to do when faced against soldiers who put me in tough spots."

"Well, that is helpful." Kimblee said as the two alchemist stopped in

front of the door.

Jerso opened the door for them.

"I feel like we are his servants." Jerso grumbled. "How hard is it to open a
door himself?"

"Maybe it makes him feel bigger and more powerful to have someone else do
it for him." Brody suggested.

"Well, he did practically say he was self-centered." Skylak replied. "With that
self-centeredness of his, I'm sure he feels he is powerful and working with the
Homunculi the way he is, he has been given that authority that gives his word
a lot of power."

Winry turned her head to look at the cell. "You're okay with this, Al?"
She asked.
The scene changed angles to show Winry from behind with Al seen in
front of her, standing by the cell door as he stared down at the end of the
hallway.

The sound of a door closing was heard before Al said, "The

Philosopher's Stone." He looked at Winry. "They can only be made by
sacrificing human lives."

"You guys are just going to tell her everything, aren't you?" Rebecca asked
with a smile. It was nice to see the boys sharing all this information with her.
Sure, it was dark information, but hearing them tell her showed just how
much they trusted Winry.

"We were never going to keep it all from her forever." Al shrugged. "We just
needed to understand it all more and learn whatever we could before we told
her, especially when we were still in shock and lost about what to do next."

The scene snapped out with a bang as Winry appeared on screen, staring
in shock. Her eyes trembled a bit before she was looking quickly back at
the door Ed left through. The side of her face was slowly zoomed in on
before Al's voice said, "Don't worry." Winry was shown from the other
side so Al could be seen leaning down closer to her.

"Brother would never actually use one. We don't need it. We think we
might be able to use Xingese Alkahestry to get our bodies back." Al said
as he faded away to show Ed and Kimblee walking down a hall with
Darius following them.

The group walked passed a saluting soldier.

"There's a girl that's been working with Scar." Al said.

The scene faded away to go back to Al and Winry.

"We think that she can teach it to us." Al continued.

"So then is he going after Scar to find this girl?" Winry asked.

Al nodded. "I think so."

Winry turned her head and looked down. "I see." Her face was shown
close to show a small smile on her face. Her expression turned to a
determined one. "Then I guess I had better hurry up and come up with a
believable excuse."

"An excuse for what?" Al said confused.

"She's going to do something again." Ed muttered. "I don't know what it is.
She can be so unpredictable at times."

"Like you." Havoc muttered.

"But I know she is planning something!" Ed growled.

"I don't think that is surprising. You said she is a strong girl. A strong,
determined girl told she is a hostage is not just going to sit back and be a
victim." Riza replied. "And she is brave enough to do this because she has so
much trust in you and Al to keep her safe in whatever she is planning."

"We'll do what we can, but I hope she gives us an idea of what she is
planning." Al said.

Al was shown to be staring at her. "Huh?"

Winry appeared on screen, staring in determination at it.

Fort Briggs was shown. The scene moved up to show the cloudy sky
before it changed to show the road in front of Fort Briggs with cars and
a few soldiers around.

"Oooh, soldiers and more than one car. Does that mean what I think it
means?" Ed asked.

"That you aren't going alone with Kimblee, his men, and Al? Yes, Fullmetal,
I believe it is." Mustang replied. "Major Miles made it clear in an earlier
episode that the Briggs soldiers would handle Scar."

"Getting involved in a manhunt." Ed said with a thoughtful frown. "That's a

new one for me. Never really been in one of those."

"It will be good experience for you then." Miles said.

"Seriously, guys. Have no plans to stay in the military after I get Al his body
back. Don't need all this experience." Ed replied.

One of the cars was shown close up. Through the windshield, the driver
could be seen with Ed sitting in the back with his eyes closed and arms
crossed. The car shook as Al climbed in, surprising the soldier in the
front while Ed sat calmly. He looked back at Al as he sat down and
closed the door.

The scene changed to show Miles, who was holding a map, with Kimblee
looking down on it while Darius stood off to the side.

"This is the general vicinity in which Scar was last spotted." Miles said.

"Then that's our first stop." Kimblee said.

"Hey," Winry shouted, grabbing the three soldiers' attention. She ran
across the screen with the soldiers watching her. "Make room for one
more."

Ed blinked. "What the hell is she doing?"

"I think she is planning to go with us." Al replied.

Ed and Al shared a look then looked back at the screen.

"Why?!" Ed shouted. "Just why?"

Ed was shown as the car door opened. Winry threw her tool box on his
lap, surprising him, before she climbed in. Ed was shown being squeezed
between her and Al.

"Seriously," Ed breathed, hunching over. Jeez, being squeezed between a suit

of armor and Winry actually hurt a bit. Well, it was more like it was harder to
breath and his body felt like it was being squished and that wasn't fun at all.
The scene pulled back to show the driver watching in surprise.

"Come on, Al. Scoot over some." Winry said.

Ed's squished form was shown up close. "What are you doing, Winry?"
He asked before the scene moved up to his hands which were in the air,
squirming around a bit.

"I'm sorry, Winry." Kimblee said as he was shown to be standing by the

door, looking down at Winry. "But you need to wait here at the fort."

Winry was shown close up as she looked down.

"We're not going for a picnic."

Winry closed her eyes. "And neither am I." Her tool box was shown with
her hands resting on it. "I just performed a complicated upgrade on his
automail," Her face was shown as she turned it to Kimblee, "that I never
done before." The inside of the car was shown.

Kimblee and Miles were shown as they watched her.

"What if there's a malfunction?" Winry asked before Ed was shown. "It

would tarnish the Rockbell name if I'm not there to fix it."

"Wow, even she is using things she knows better than Kimblee to manipulate
him." Hughes looked over at Ed. "You two are made for each other."

Ed grabbed his book and whacked Hughes hard in the arm with it. "You are
going to shut up, Hughes."

Hughes frowned and rubbed his arm. That really hurt. "Thank you, Ed. Just
what I wanted. To feel more pain."

"Your fault for saying stupid things." Ed grumbled.

Mustang looked at Hughes with a smirk. "You've been getting hit a lot this
episode."
Hughes shot him a look. "I never thought Ed was truly this violent."

"Your first mistake." Mustang replied.

Ed looked surprised for a moment before he closed his eyes and sighed as
gentle music started up. "Do you even realize how obsessed with your
job you are?"

Kimblee was shown with Miles in the background.

"You're a workaholic." Ed said.

"And proud of it to." Winry replied.

Kimblee put a hand to his hat as he sighed.

"I think you two annoyed him." Mustang said with an amused smirk.

"Doesn't that annoy you to?" Havoc asked with a raised brow.

"Only when done to me. If he manages to annoy Kimblee, I'm all for it."
Mustang replied. "Keep doing that, Fullmetal."

"You must really hate him." Ed said dryly.

"I have a strong dislike since our views differ." Mustang replied. "Never said
anything about hate."

"You hate him. Don't deny it." Ed retorted.

"This has been my family's business for four generations." Winry said.

"Very well then. You can join us." Kimblee said before he was shown
from behind. "I guess I can allow you to."

"Oh yeah, totally." Ed replied. "Four generations of gearheads."

Kimblee walked away.

"There's nothing wrong with that." Winry snapped before they growled
at each other.

They stopped and Ed looked out the door.

"What? Stop the moment he leaves? Was it staged or not?" Luke asked.

Al shrugged. "I think Brother realized what Winry was doing and started
arguing with her to annoy Kimblee enough that he would agree quickly just
so he could leave. At least, that's what I'm thinking."

"I believe Fullmetal could do something like that with ease." Mustang said.

"You just always have to open your mouth." Ed replied, rolling his eyes.

The scene changed to show the road from a downward angle as the cars
drove off. The scene pulled up to show Olivia standing on top of her fort
watching them leave. She was shown from an upward angle.

The cars were shown up close as they drove down the road.

Ed appeared on screen with Winry seen on his other side. "This could
turn out really badly for us."

"Yeah." Winry replied. She was shown up close as she lifted her head.
'But still, I can't just sit around waiting anymore.'

"How nice." Hughes said with a smile. He nudged Ed's side. "Aren't you
lucky to have a girl who is so strong and brave love you so much that she
would be willing to walk with you into battle to be at your side so she doesn't
have to wait anymore."

"She's not serious?" Ed said shocked, looking at Hughes. "Is she serious
about wanting to come so she doesn't have to sit around in safety and wait for
us? She's serious, isn't she?!"

Mustang hit Ed on top of the head with a pillow. "Relax, Fullmetal."

"Relax? She is willingly walking into a manhunt because she doesn't want to
wait anymore!" Ed shouted. "She could get hurt!"

"That's where the trust in you and Al comes in." Izumi told him.

Ed rubbed his eyes. "Do you have any idea of how hard it is to protect
someone with no fighting experience while fighting? It is really hard!"

"She could throw that wrench of hers. She has great aim." Aran said.

"This is not a joking matter." Ed growled, glaring at him.

Aran held his hands up. "Alright, alright. Sorry."

The ending song began.

The scene went dark.

"Well, that certainly was a lot to take in." Ling said.

"It always is now." Al muttered. "With Kimblee breathing down our necks,
Homunculi literally lurking in the shadows, a conspiracy that will destroy this
country. How much worse could it get?"

"It's when you ask those kind of questions that things get a lot worse." Miles
told him.

"So what is? Something bad going to happen in Central? Our manhunt to find
Scar ending badly? Or something else? A death maybe? Just what is going to
happen?" Ed said with a frown.

"Well, there is only one way to find that answer out." Ling replied. "But I
would like you to stop asking such dark questions. Makes the already tense
mood even worse."

"Well, let's make it even worse by moving on already." Izumi said.

A/N: [1] Wow, I never realized just how gruesome that scene in the
tunnel was. I never realized that body there was just half a body with
blood around it. This anime is really a lot darker than I ever thought. I
knew it was dark, but not so dark that it would show something as
gruesome as that.

Considering the Briggs soldiers are already dead, I didn't make them go
through the pain a second time. I'm not that cruel.

Ah, Kimblee. Got to say, he is one of my favorite antagonists. He's still

an antagonist though and I recognize the fact that Mustang does not like
him. At least, that's the feeling I get from their interaction in the war.

Please Review!
*Chapter 41*: Episode 38: Conflict at
Baschool
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Sorry about the long wait guys, I have been watching Psych a lot
recently and after that I got into NCIS: LA again. Now that I understand
NCIS: LA a bit more, I can really like it a lot more than I did after my
initial viewing of it. And because of that, I have been really distracted.
Honestly, I am jumping from one show to the next and it is really getting
in the way of my writing.

Anyway, yes, long waits are a pain. I get that. I do want to give you a
guys a way to keep updated with how my chapters are going and all that
good stuff without me having to use A/Ns and so you guys don't always
have to PM me or leave reviews just to check on it and I want to do it in
a way that I can talk to you guys as well. All of you, or those of you who
care to talk and stuff, which is why I can't use PMs. It's impractical with
how many of you there are.

I have had some ideas of how to do it, but I'm not sure if I like them. But
other than that, I'm not sure how to do it or even if you guys want me to
do it. So here it is, do you want me to keep you updated? And if so, give
me an idea of how you want me to do it because I am quite frankly lost.
But I really do want to talk to you guys a bit more. It might help give me
ideas for this story and some me conversation I could put in the story.
But it is entirely up to you guys.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"
Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 38: Conflict at Baschool

Riza appeared on screen, eyes dull as she looked down with a cut on her
cheek. The door of her apartment was shown from the inside with the
place completely dark. The door opened to show Hawkeye.

Her hallway was shown to show two glowing eyes in the darkness with a
dramatic bang. Riza was shown as she gasped in fear. The scene pulled
out and Black Hayate walked onto screen towards her out of the
darkness.

"Scared of your own dog? You really are jumping at shadows after that
encounter." Benjamin said with a frown.

"After an encounter like that with a dangerous shadow, anyone would be

jumpy. He could be watching her right now, jumping at every shadow she
sees with glee." Cyril said with a scowl.

"He's not Envy." Hughes replied. "I don't think there would be glee, just
satisfaction that he got to her."

"For now." Riza retorted, brushing her hand over Black Hayate's head to
comfort herself and him. "The encounter with Pride was still recent at this
point. Once I calm down, I'll be able to handle this situation better."

Riza sighed as her hand dropped from the doorknob and her head
lowered.

Black Hayate appeared on screen as a light was switched on. The sound
of a door closing was heard next.

The scene changed angles to show Riza sliding down a wall near Black
Hayate. She interlocked her fingers and rested her forehead on them.
She was shown up close from the side, brows twitching as soft, gentle
music started.
'No matter where you are,' Pride appeared on screen with his creepy
shadow behind him with evil grins and eyes spread all over it. 'I will be
watching you.' The scene went dark. 'From the shadows.'

Riza's wrists appeared on screen to show rope burn there from the
shadows.

Mustang growled. Pride was holding her that tight? How dare he hurt his
lieutenant? Cutting her, scaring her, and now he injured her wrists?

Riza rubbed her aching wrists. Even she didn't realize that Pride was holding
her tight enough to leave marks. She knew it hurt, but she didn't think it was
that bad. Pride really was dangerous. He could have killed her with so much
ease right there, but he had such great control to just leave a few fading
marks on her skin. Though mentally….mentally, he scared her a lot.
According to him, he'll be watching her all the time now and that was
worrisome.

The screen moved up to Riza's face to show her downcast eyes.

A phone ringing had her head snapping up with her eyes widening a bit.

The scene showed Riza from the other side with Black Hayate standing
in front of her.

Her table was shown with the phone resting on it before Riza walked
onto screen. Her face was shown as she blinked and when she opened her
eyes, there were shining with a bit more strength than before.

Riza was shown from behind as she picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello there, Madam." Mustang's voice said in an exaggerated voice.

"It's the stupid colonel." Ed said dryly.

Mustang whacked his head with a pillow, but Ed didn't really react to it.
Instead, Ed chose to look over at Mustang with a frown.
"It's strange, isn't it?" Ed asked.

Mustang's brows furrowed. "What's strange?"

"In the last episode we saw you talking to the informant that told you about
the north while we saw Lieutenant Riza in danger and talking to the enemy.
Then after that, you call with a cheerful voice, unknowing that she is scared
after a horrible experience. Isn't it strange to see what is happening to
everyone else and how it's connected while in the future you have no idea
you just snapped her out of her scared trance just by calling?" Ed asked.

"I'm not sure strange is the right word for it." Hughes replied with a frown.
"We focus on our lives and how nothing bad is happening at the moment and
when we call someone, we have no possible way of knowing that something
is wrong and that something just happened to them, despite being in the same
city. Anything could be happening on the other end of that line. To actual see
it, that is when it is very hard."

"This is your neighborhood florist." Mustang's voice continued.

"Florist?" Ed snickered.

"That's what happens when you buy so many flowers in bulk when you don't
need them." Ling said with a grin.

"So, what are you going to do with all those flowers?" Ed asked Mustang. "It
seems a bit creepy to have all of those flowers and to just hand them out to
random girls."

Mustang glared at him. "Maybe I'll store them in your dorm then."

"You stay away from my dorm with those flowers!" Ed growled.

"What? Have a problem with flowers?" Izumi asked with a smirk.

"I just don't want my dorm smelling like flowers. And besides, by the time I
would get back there, they would be all dead. I don't want dead flowers in my
room." Ed muttered.
Riza's face appeared on screen. She closed her eyes. "What are you
talking about, Colonel?" She asked a bit annoyed.

"Eh, sorry." Mustang replied, voice back to normal. He appeared on

screen, phone held up to his ear with his other arm resting on top of the
phone box. "I kind of got drunk and somehow bought a cart full of
flowers."

"Liar!" Ling and Ed shouted.

"Well I can't say over the phone, 'oh, hey, I just bought a cart full of flowers
while gathering information from an informant about what is going on in the
north.'" Mustang retorted. "That would be a huge mistake."

"Hmph, you're not that fun a drunk anyway." Ed grumbled.

Hughes sighed dramatically. "I know, right, Ed? He is usually so gloomy

when completely drunk."

"So depressing." Ed agreed with a nod. "It makes you want to just knock him
out so you don't have to deal with him."

Mustang's brow twitched in annoyance.

"How have you dealt with him drunk anyway?" Ling asked confused. "You're
kind of too young to be drinking."

"Oh, you know, those rare occasions." Ed muttered. Yeah, those rare
occasions of walking into Mustang's office at night to find him drunk and
moping around. It just makes him want to hit Mustang when he is like that.
He can wake up with a hangover and a bruised face! Of course that is never
how it worked out, but he wished it would work out like that once. But he
just can't punch Mustang when he is down like that.

"Uh, no, I do not, Ed." Ling replied. "How would I know? I haven't been in
the country…actually, I'm not even in Amestris yet in our time."

Ed shrugged. "Whatever, Ling. Whatever."

Riza's face appeared on screen shown close up from the side as she
rested her fingers gently on her forehead, looking down once more.

"You want to do me a favor and take some off my hands?" Mustang

asked.

Hughes grinned evilly. "Aww, Roy wants to give his favorite girl some
flowers!"

Riza and Mustang both growled and grabbed a pillow each. They both
smacked Hughes with them, while the others just stared in shock. Did Riza
Hawkeye, the most serious woman ever, just do that?

"Seriously!" Hughes said, straightening his glasses. "You too, Hawkeye?"

"People do strange things when stressed." Lan Fan said with a small smile.
Riza was stressed and still in a bit of pain so it wasn't that shocking to her that
she did something that wasn't her. That happened sometimes when people
were out of it.

Riza closed her eyes.

Mustang's face appeared close up screen as he turned his head, eyes

narrowed. "What's wrong?"

"Wow, you must know her really well if you can tell something is wrong
without her saying a word." Avery said.

"That silence at that moment was actually really uncharacteristic of her."

Mustang replied. "It wouldn't be hard for me to realize something wasn't
right."

Riza appeared on screen, looking up in surprise as she lowered her hand.

Her feet appeared on screen with her shadow seen under the table.

"Did something happen?" Mustang asked.

"No sir." Riza replied. "It's nothing."

Mustang reappeared on screen, frowning. "Are you sure?"

The bottom half of Riza's face appeared on screen. "Yes sir.

Everything's fine."

The room was shown from a downward angle.

"And sorry to let you down, but I don't even own a flower vase." Riza
said. "Thanks for thinking of me though."

Black Hayate walked onto screen.

"Have a good night." Riza said. "Okay, bye." She hung up the phone
before she was shown up close. She opened her eyes and turned to look
down at her dog.

The hallway was shown to show the two at the end of it as Riza kneeled
down and hugged her dog.

They were shown up close to show Riza with her eyes shut, a small smile
in place as she pet Black Hayate.

"It's amazing how uncanny his time is." Riza said before the scene went
back to Mustang, showing him from an upward angle as he stared down
at the phone in his hand.

"You don't believe her." Al said softly.

"In the situation we're in, it's easy to realize when lies are being told to each
other. Something's wrong, you act out of character, and it is easy for your
close comrades to tell. After so much time together, being partners and
having each other's back, we know each other well enough like that."
Mustang replied. "I wouldn't push over the phone like this because it can be
dangerous. I won't push at all for answers, but I'll know something is wrong
and I'll hope that Hawkeye finds a way to talk to me."

"Especially since it is about Selim and we all need to learn that the little brat
is a traitor as well." Brody growled.
The opening song began.

The sky appeared on screen.

Suspenseful music started as the scene moved down to show a town.

"We got a report on someone matching Scar's description." Miles voice

said as the scene continued to move down.

The scene changed to show a part of the town with it moving to the side
to show more of it.

"We believe he was heading here." Miles said.

"And where is here?" Ed asked with a frown.

"From what I've seen of it, I believe it is the abandoned mining town in the
north called Baschool." Miles explained.

"Baschool, huh." Ed murmured. "I guess things are really picking up now."
He glanced at Scar then back at the screen. Picking up real quickly. If they
were going after Scar here, he doubted it would be all sunshine and laughs. It
was going to get real dangerous real fast soon.

"An abandoned mining town?" Kimblee asked.

Soldiers appeared on screen, standing around as they waited.

"That's right." Miles replied. He was shown talking to Kimblee, who had
Jerso and Zampano standing behind him. "Baschool's pretty much a
ghost town since the mines were closed."

"The perfect place to hide." May said.

"That is certainly correct. It may be an abandoned town, but it is pretty huge.

It would take days to search all the buildings there to find you if you are
really there." Miles informed Scar and May. "And we still might miss you
because you could double back to places we've already searched."
"Though that might get them seen if they tried that." Al replied.

"It's an extreme game of hide of seek." Ling said with a smirk. "You and Ed
have to find them before Ed has to do something horrible and May doesn't
want found because General Armstrong wants her while Scar doesn't want
found since he'd probably end up dead or in custody, along with Dr. Marcoh."

"Extreme." Ed muttered. "And highly dangerous." He looked over at Scar.

Scar was really one of the toughest opponents he has faced. He was fast,
skilled in fighting, and smart. Not really someone he wanted to fight alone. If
he could just get a bit faster, maybe he would have a better chance against
Scar. Part of his problem with his fights with Scar was his speed. He was
slow compared to Scar so that enabled Scar to catch up to him a lot faster
than he liked.

"Plenty of buildings to hide in." Miles said.

"This could be tricky." Kimblee said.

"We'll need to split into search parties." Miles replied. He was shown up
close as he turned around. "All squads are to contact us here
immediately if you spot Scar."

Ed was shown from behind with Al by his side as he watched Miles speak
in the distance.

"Yes sir!" The soldiers replied.

Ed turned his head to face the screen with a scowl.

A couple of soldiers were shown. The scene moved up to show their faces
to show them being Darius and Heinkel.

"Oh, great, should have known Kimblee wouldn't have let us wander around
alone." Ed grumbled. "Couple of pests again."

"At least they're not body guards." Al muttered.

"More like prison guards." Ed said with a scowl. "Which is basically what
body guards are."

Ross's brow twitched. "Excuse me, Edward, but I believe we are there to keep
you safe."

"Never been a fan of any type of guard over me." Ed retorted. "Prison guard,
body guard. Not much difference to me."

"Except prison guards probably won't care if you get hurt." Brosh said.

"Depending on the "prison" guard and the reason he is there." Darius retorted.
He looked at Ed with a frown. "We would probably care…a bit if you got
hurt."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Point is, the whole guard thing is getting
annoying."

The two were shown from behind to show Ed and Al, who were sitting in
the snow in front of them.

"We've got orders to keep the two of you company." Heinkel said.

Ed closed his eyes and turned his head back around. "Yeah, yeah."

"That same disrespectful attitude we just heard in here!" Darius growled.

"I told you I don't like guards! Especially guards who are getting in the way
of my plan!" Ed snarled.

"And what plan is that?" Avery asked.

"I don't know yet. Told you, at this point, I can't predict what will happen
with my future self and his plans. It's probably going to end up being a lot of
impromptu stuff that might be considered 'reckless' by some." Ed replied.

Ed's face was shown up close as Al leaned in closer to his brother. Ed

opened his eyes and leaned a bit towards his brother to give him his ear.

"You think they're Kimblee's men?" Al asked.

"No doubt about it." Ed replied.

"Conflict at Baschool"

"Conflict? Of course it's a conflict." Luke said dryly. "I mean with Scar,
Kimblee and his men, and our side there, how can there not be a conflict?"

"So now a battle is going to occur." Ed frowned and looked over at his
brother than at Scar then at Darius and his friends. But now it was a question
of a battle with who? Scar or Kimblee's men?

"Is it likely we'll fight you?" Heinkel asked Ed.

Ed shrugged. "We can say we're still technically all on the military side, but
we can also say you're on Kimblee's side. There is no possible way of telling
how this "Conflict at Baschool" is going to go."

Ed and Al appeared on the screen from a distance with a bunch of

soldiers behind them that were walking towards the screen with the
soldiers.

Ed was shown up close, looking out of the corner of his eyes at Heinkel,
who was behind him. 'Now let's see' He thought.

Al was shown up close next with Darius behind him. 'What's it going to
take to ditch these guys?' He thought.

"You're both horrible!" Ross said.

Ed raised a brow.

"I get wanting to lose them since they are your enemy right now, but you are
still horrible. It's like when you ditched us." Ross continued, motioning to
Brosh and her.

Al shrugged. "We have things we need to do." He glanced at his brother.

"Though I doubt we'll be all sneaky about losing our guards this time."

Ed grinned. "Of course. Being sneaky to get away from Ross and Brosh was
needed because if we didn't, they would know where we were heading right
away. But this time, we need to lose them quickly and obviously because
they won't be able to find us in Baschool afterwards."

"Being in such a big town is advantageous to two sides of this manhunt then."
Buccaneer said with a grin.

"But in a manhunt usually there are only two sides, not three." Havoc said as
he glanced at the chimeras in the room.

"Though I'm pretty sure we don't know there are three sides yet." Heinkel
said.

"I'm sure you'll learn soon enough." Cyril retorted.

Ed's feet appeared on screen, stepping in the snow. His foot stop before
he and Al appeared on screen, pointing at something as they shouted.

"…Must you shout?" Luke asked, lips twitching as he fought to not grin.

"It's the best way to get attention when you want it." Ed said.

"There was someone right over there!" Al and Ed said.

"I bet you two are liars." May said with a slight grin.

"But of course." Al replied. "Trying to escape, not find you guys yet." He
looked at his brother.

Ed shrugged. "Probably. That would be the most logical first course of action
at least."

A solider slid onto screen in front of them. "There was?"

Ed and Al were shown from behind as they ran up some stairs.

"He went this way." Al shouted over his shoulder.

A soldier slid onto screen and shouted after them, "Hey! Hold on!"
"Not likely." Ed said with a grin. "No time to stop."

"What exactly do you plan to do after losing them?" Miles asked. "As I said,
that town is huge. You probably won't get anything done alone."

Ed shrugged. "Who knows?"

Heinkel and Darius were shown running towards the screen, going after
the brothers.

A hallway of the building appeared on screen. Ed ran onto screen, back

towards it with Al following after him. They turned left at the end of the
hallway.

"Wait for us!" Heinkel shouted as he ran onto screen next with Darius
following after him.

The adjacent hallway appeared on screen as Heinkel and Darius turned

the corner and headed down with the other soldiers following them, only
to stop in the hallway.

A wall was shown. The scene pulled out from the wall to show the
soldiers staring at it.

"What the–?"

Ed's hand appeared on screen, resting on the ground as the last few
sparks of alchemy flashed around his hand with a newly created wall in
front of his hand.

"Where are they?" A muffled voice shouted.

"Well, that is certainly the best way to lose them." Havoc said dryly.

Ed, who was smirking, shared a look with Al before looking at Darius. "Don't
tell me you guys won't think of alchemy as a reason why we disappeared?"

Darius shrugged. "You're a State Alchemist. I believe it will be an obvious

point that you did something, but it's not like we'll be able to do anything
about that at this point since the wall is already up."

Ed grinned. "Then we won this round."

"It's a game now?" Mustang said with a frown.

"A very dangerous game." Al corrected.

Mustang shook his head with a sigh. These two.

"They turned down this hall!"

Ed and Al were shown from a downward angle, kneeling in front of the

wall.

"Damn it. They're trying to lose us." Another muffled voice said.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious." Ling said amused.

The brothers stood up and ran off down the hallway.

The roofs of the buildings in Baschool appeared on screen.

An alley between two buildings appeared on screen, shown from an

upward angle so Ed and Al could be seen jumping from building to
building.

"And that's that." Ed said.

"It really was too easy for them to lose trained soldiers." Olivia said, shooting
a look at Darius and Heinkel then at her men.

Luke shuddered a bit at the look she sent them. "Well, Chief has a lot of
experience at doing this whole escape artist thing. And he cheats with his
alchemy!"

"It's not cheating!" Ed protested. "It's called using what I have at my disposal
to my advantage."
"Well, you have too many advantages." Brody grumbled.

Ed scoffed. "I have martial arts and alchemy. Hardly a lot."

"You do have your skill in languages and intelligence as well." Clarink

retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to apologize for my skills. Besides, I don't
use my skill in languages for anything. I just study those to have something
else to focus on when I am stressed and don't want to think about alchemy or
anything military related."

The two were shown from the side as they ran across a rooftop.

"I'm pretty sure we lost them." Ed said.

The scene changed to show Ed and Al from a downward angle as they

walked down a hallway.

"But you know what," Ed continued.

Ed appeared on screen, face showing annoyance with Al standing in the

background, facing the opposite direction.

"This place is," Ed said weakly before a sudden angry look passed over
his face. "TOO DAMN BIG!" The scene pulled out quickly to show him
and Al standing on a rooftop from a distance.

Buccaneer smirked. "Which is why everyone is searching in teams." He

shook his head. "I can't believe you two ran off without a plan. The only plan
you had was to escape and now you've got nothing."

Ed scowled. "It was best to escape from Darius and Heinkel when we had the
opportunity. I'll take being unpredictable at this point if it means I don't have
to be with them."

"If I didn't know you were so suspicious of us, I would find that offensive."
Darius said.
"It would always be offensive, no matter what the situation." Ed retorted.

The sound of the wind blowing was heard.

A depressed Al appeared on screen inside a building with Ed seen in the

background, staring out a window.

"It's going to take weeks to search every one of these buildings." Al said.

An annoyed Ed appeared on screen. "It would make things a hell of a lot

easier if Scar and that girl just came to us."

Rebecca laughed. "Please, nothing is ever that simple in life."

"Yeah cause life likes to be mean and never make life simple for anyone."
Havoc said with a chuckle.

"That doesn't mean I can't wish for something to happen." Ed replied with a
sigh.

"But if you can't find her, then how could she possibly find you?" Lan Fan
asked. "No one would be able to find anyone in that town unless it was pure
coincidence you all met."

"Now that would just be great luck!" Al exclaimed. "Can that happen?"

"ALPHONSE!"

A surprised looked passed Ed's face.

"No way!" Ed shouted.

"It happened!" Al said in disbelief.

"….How?" Forman said in disbelief. "How can you two get that lucky?!"

"I can't believe that. They usually have bad luck." Breda said in disbelief.

"Hey!" Al and Ed shouted.

"We have our times where our luck isn't that bad." Al protested.

"Yeah, rare, but it is there." Ed said.

Al shot him a look. "That is not helping."

Ed shrugged with a grin. He really wasn't trying to help. This situation was
just too unbelievable.

The hallway was shown with footsteps heard running down it.

"Alphonse!" May shouted again before the brothers were shown in the
room, both staring at the doorway.

"It can't be." Al said.

"No way." Ed said.

May's feet appeared on screen before she was jumping. "I can't believe
it's you!" She was shown from behind as she flew into Al, hugging him.

Ed was shown, staring with an annoyed expression as he watched his

brother fall over from the hug.

"You seriously fell over?" Ed teased. He snorted. "A heavy strong suit of
armor got knocked by a little girl."

"Aren't you the one who can't dodge a wrench?" Al retorted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Winry would just get mad and even more frustrated if I
did dodge. Besides, she appears out of nowhere when she throws that thing!
How am I supposed to dodge when I don't know she is there when she throws
it?"

"How about trying to be more alert to your surroundings?" Walkers

suggested sarcastically. "If you don't know when she is there, your instincts
suck. And here I always thought you had good instincts."

"You know what, this is not about me." Ed said, motioning to Al. "It's about
Al's lack of balance."

"I have great balance." Al retorted. "May is just stronger than she looks and
her sudden jumping into me shocked future me."

"Excuses, excuses."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "She did come to us." He said blankly.

May pulled herself over Al's chest to look at his face as happy music
started. "What in the world are you doing here, Alphonse?"

Al appeared on screen. "May! I didn't think we'd ever find you!"

May was shown again, blinking. "You came this whole way just so you
could find me?" She asked with a blush.

Ed smacked his forehead.

"Don't answer that. She'll take it the wrong way." Ling said with a grin.

May blushed. How was it her fault? She had a crush! Of course she would
take his words the wrong way.

"Well, at least Al has a girl of his own now." Ed teased, causing May to blush
even harder and Al to shoot him a glare.

"Do not start, Ed." Al snapped. "Or I can tell everyone about what happened
during your rehabilitation with Winry!"

"Oh, don't you dare go there, Alphonse!" Ed growled.

Al and Ed stared challengingly at each other.

"But it sounds interesting." Hughes said with a huge grin. "What happened,
Al?"

Al stared at his brother for a moment more before looking at Hughes. "Sorry,
I cannot say. If I do, I lose the leverage I have over Ed with it."
"See?" Ed cried, turning to face Ling in distraught. "See the evil little brother
I have?"

Ling nodded. "I never doubted you for a second about him, Ed."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Are you mocking me? Cause it sounds like you're
mocking me."

Ling chuckled. "Would I do that?"

"…Yes."

Ling shrugged. "Then I might be."

Ed glared at him. "Moving on then." He grumbled.

"Yeah, I really needed to see you." Al said.

Ed smacked his forehead again.

"Okay…I can see where the misunderstanding comes in." Al said.

"Oh, do you?" Ed asked sarcastically. He sighed and shook his head. "As
long as it's you and not me."

A colorful background full of hearts appeared on screen. The scene

moved up to show May who had an arrow heart through her chest as she
squealed in excitement. Her blushing face was shown up close. "Ah, my
sweet Alphonse."

The scene went white before it reopened up on Al. "I need you to tell me
all you can about Alkahestry." Al said.

The scene pulled back to show May holding her cheek with Xiao-Mei on
her head and little hearts everywhere. "He followed me for hundreds of
miles." May said.

"I don't think she is listening." Grants said with a grin.

"Is this what it's like when little girls have crushes?" Ed asked. He smirked
and nudged Hughes's side. "What are you going to do when Elicia gets like
that?"

Hughes's eyes glinted evilly. If he had a gun, it would be pointed at Ed right

now. "My sweet little girl will never be like that."

Ed rolled his eyes. "One day, Hughes, one day."

Hughes glared at him. "She'll fall in love with a bad boy like you, and like
with May, I hope she realizes you are not worth it right away and moves on
to crushing on someone sweet like Al."

Ed gaped at him. "Bad boy?" He asked incredulously. "Did you vote in that
poll to nominate me the bad boy of the military as well?!"

Hughes shrugged, but smirked at Ed.

"No, that's not the point." Ed said, shaking his head. "So you want her to
crush on someone sweet like Al, who is actually not sweet and is evil, and not
someone like me, who you now consider to be a bad boy?"

"Have you seen the way you dressed?" Hughes asked.

"That doesn't mean I'm a bad boy!" Ed retorted.

"So the attitude, the reckless streak, the always getting into fights, what's that
then?" Hughes asked.

Ed opened his mouth, then closed it as he thought. He opened his mouth, but
just closed it again and shook his head while Hughes smirked in satisfaction.

"Uh, May." Al said.

"He's said he needs me." May said.

"He's not the only one." Ed said and the scene moved to the side as Al
and May looked to see Ed standing by Al's side now with a scary smile
and eyes shaped like sparkling diamonds.
Ed turned into a demon with sharp teeth. As May and Xiao-Mei
screamed, Ed chuckled evilly and said, "I need to see you too, little girl!"

"Taking it kind of far with the whole demon thing, aren't you?" Ed asked
dryly.

Havoc laughed. "I don't think she is taking it far enough."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's too far." Ed retorted.

"Oh, it's just her imagination." Izumi said with a wave of her hand. "Children
tend to have wild imaginations like that." She shot a smirk at Ed and Al. "I
know you two had some crazy imaginations when you were younger."

Ed's eye twitched. "It wasn't my imagination!"

Al nodded. "Yeah. We were not hallucinating!" He stubbornly shook his

head. "Not at all!"

Izumi sighed. "You were starving and alone on an island. You were
hallucinating!"

"Were not." Ed grumbled.

"What?" Mustang asked.

Ed waved his hand. "Not important."

"Maybe not, but it sounds amusing." Aran said with a grin.

Ed and Al glared at him. "None of your business!"

Al appeared on screen.

"Tell us everything you know. You're not leaving until we got what we
want." Ed said.

The scene pulled out to show Ed standing by May, who was moaning and
shaking her head.
"Oh no. Both brothers have fallen desperately in love with me." May
said while Ed trembled in annoyance and anger.

"Back on that, are you?" Ed said annoyed. This whole crush thing May had
going was really getting annoying and in the way. "Can you concentrate,
May?"

May chuckled. "Sorry, Ed. Just excited, you know?"

Ed sighed. "And future me and Al are in a hurry."

May nodded. "I can understand. You're in a hurry to get what information
you can before you have to head back to Briggs and make a blood crest. Any
idea of how to get out of that? Just because you found me doesn't mean you
can get out of it."

Ed scratched the back of his head. "No idea."

"I'm sorry, Edward, but you're just not my type." May said.

"Don't play games with us." Ed growled.

Knocking was heard suddenly.

"Let me out, Al!" Winry's voice shouted.

"Winry?" Ed said confused, blinking. "I thought she would be at the

command point for this manhunt."

"Guess future us did something to sneak her away." Al said.

"Understandable. She would be safer with you guys then staying at command
point." Kei said. "But did she just say to let her out? As in, she's hiding inside
of Al?"

Ed nodded. "Sounds like it. Why?"

"Well," Kei said with a frown. "You guys were running and jumping all over
Baschool. It'll be amazing if she's not a bit banged up from that."
"As painful as that sounds, a little pain is better than being forced to stay
behind as a hostage." Riza replied.

Al's shoulder was shown.

Al grabbed the strap for his chest and undid it. "Oh, sorry, sorry."

May appeared on screen, taking a step back as she stared in shock and
horror.

A gloved hand appeared on screen. The scene moved to show Winry

kneeling on the ground in front of Al, one arm resting on his leg. "I kept
bumping my head." She said.

"And that is not surprising at all." Izumi said, shooting a look at Al. "You
think you would be more careful with a friend hiding inside of you."

Al chuckled nervously. "I think it was safer to give her a few bumps and
move faster then be slow and careful."

The scene moved up to show May and Xiao-Mei staring at Winry angrily
with tears in the corner of their eyes. "Excuse me!" May said rudely.
"Who is this woman, Al?"

Winry and Al looked up at her.

Brody loved. "She sounds like a jealous wife."

Grant shook his head. "You Elrics sure know how to get the crazy girls to
love you."

"What?" Ed and Al shouted incredulously.

May glared at Grant. "I am not crazy!"

"You're crazy in love." Ling said.

"Can't say anything about Winry. She is a crazy, violent automail freak." Ed
said.
Al sighed. "I don't know how she fell in love with you when you insult her
like that."

Ed shot him an annoyed look, but he didn't really say anything. The idea of
Winry loving him…it made his heart pound so hard against his chest. The
thought was overwhelming and amazing. Could she really truly love him?

May turned to the screen. She covered her face and cried into her hands.
"How could you do this to me? Am I not enough for you, Alphonse?"

Al frantically waved his hands. "No, it's not like that. She's just a
friend."

Hughes laughed. "So why are you trying to defend yourself?"

Al laughed sheepishly. "Uh…it's just a first reaction since she is crying."

Ed smirked. "Al is horrible with crying girls when they are crying over
something he did."

"They have been other girls?" May demanded, glaring at Al.

"It's not like that!" Al protested. "Not like that at all!" He shot a glare at his
snickering brother.

A dismayed Al was shown up close. 'Wait. Why am I explaining this like I

was cheating on her or something?'

Ed snickered. "Any idea of how amused my future self probably is, Al?"

Al glared at him. "You are so not helping!"

"Not trying to. This is too good to pass up." Ed said.

May glared at Al. "I can't believe you! You are supposed to explain properly,
Alphonse!"

"We're not even dating!" Al exclaimed. "And there was no cheating anyway!"
May's lips twitched a bit.

Al stared at her blankly. "You're messing with me, aren't you?"

May chuckled. "I don't know what you mean, Alphonse."

"First Brother, then Ling, now you. Brother I get, but what is with you people
from Xing." Al moaned.

"Trekking across the desert has made them all a bit insane." Mikal said with a
grin.

"I am offended." Fu said.

"I think you might be the only one who is still sane after that journey." Liran
said.

Lan Fan raised a brow. "I am not?"

"Well, future you did cut your arm off, even if it was for a good reason." Ed
said.

Lan Fan reached across Hughes and punched Ed in the arm.

Ed winced and rubbed his arm. "Ow." He muttered.

The doorway of the room was shown to show the room so all the
teenagers inside it could be seen.

"Hey May." Dr. Marcoh's voice said. "You shouldn't go running off like
that." He walked onto screen so only his cloaked back could be seen.

Dr. Marcoh's shocked face appeared on screen as he gasped. "The Elric

brothers are here?"

"Yes, it is lovely to see you again, doctor." Ed replied.

"But what happened to your face?" Al asked.

"And you do not sound really happy to see us." Ed continued.

Dr. Marcoh chuckled. "I'm sure it's just the shock right now, Edward. That,
and considering I'm on the run, running into a State Alchemist, even one as
unorthodox as you, is not really at the top of my to do list right now."

Ed grinned. "Right, right. I wouldn't want to run into me either if that was the
case."

"Would you really turn him in?" Rilen asked.

Ed shrugged. "It really depends. In this case, turning him over to Kimblee is
not part of my plan, even if I don't know what is going on with Dr. Marcoh in
the future. But I have gone after rogue State Alchemists before and have had
them arrested. Even if Dr. Marcoh is with Scar, he helped me by giving me
his notes, so I won't turn him over to Kimblee without a damn good reason.
And even then, it's not likely. I don't like Kimblee. Between him and the man
who helped me with my research, I would have to choice Dr. Marcoh."

Al and Ed appeared on screen, staring at the doctor.

"Huh?" Al asked.

"Who's that?" Ed asked.

Dr. Marcoh sighed. "See, now you insult me." He chuckled. "I realize it's the
face."

"Sorry, just aren't used to seeing you all injured and we only met you once."
Al apologized.

Dr. Marcoh waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I understand. You would
recognize me if it wasn't for the face the same well I recognized you."

"It's kind of hard to forget a teenager with gold eyes and a suit of armor."
Havoc said dryly.

"That is true." Dr. Marcoh said amused.

"A teen with gold eyes?" Ed asked dryly. "That's how you describe me?"

"Have you seen another teen with gold eyes?" Havoc retorted.

"Well, no…well, technically, Al has gold eyes, but with no body, you can't
know that." Ed muttered. "But gold eyes seriously?"

"They are really unique." Riza said. "I don't see why you are complaining
about that description. Your gold eyes are so distinct and full of fire that they
are the first thing that most people notice about you."

Ed grumbled to himself. It wasn't that he didn't like his eyes, but they just
reminded him of his dad. His dad had gold eyes as well. And when he wasn't
thinking of his dad, he was thinking of his brother when he saw his eyes,
which were the same color as Al's. It hurt. He wouldn't be able to see his little
brother's eyes so full of life and laughter until he got his body back.

The room was shown from a downward angle to show the teens watching
as Dr. Marcoh walked into the room, pushing down his hood. "Right, my
face." Dr. Marcoh said. "I'm Dr. Marcoh."

"What? Dr. Marcoh?" Al asked surprised.

"But you look…what happened?" Ed asked.

The doorway of the room was shown again to show the group inside the
room.

"Why don't you tell me what you're doing here first?" Dr. Marcoh asked
as Yoki walked onto screen.

"Huh?" Yoki said before he quickly appeared on screen, screaming in

shock. "The Elric brothers are here?"

"Seriously, how many people are going to shout that?" Ed asked a bit
annoyed. "Yes, we're in the north. Why is that so surprising?"

"Because you have a venomous hatred of the north." Levi replied dryly.
"Future me does not make his hatred of the north and its cold obvious." Ed
retorted.

"Maybe it's because none of them were expecting to see you two." Mustang
said while rolling his eyes.

"But do they have to shout about it?" Ed grumbled. "Do people shout in
shock when they see you somewhere they don't expect to see you?"

"No," Mustang replied bored.

"It's just us then?" Ed said, shooting a look at his brother as he did.

"So it would seem." Al replied, a bit of amusement lacing his tone.

"It happens because you travel around so much no one knows where to
expect you to end up." Havoc said with a grin. "You could be in the east one
day and the next day we'll hear news of you being seen in the south. It's only
natural to be surprised by your sudden appearance."

Al and Ed, who was wearing an annoyed and uncaring expression,

appeared on screen.

"Huh?" Al said.

"And who are you?" Ed asked.

"Oh, just a soldier whose life you ruined." Walkers said.

"Sheesh, I knew you said you forgot about it, but not even remembering his
face." Falman said, shaking his head.

"I ruin people's lives on a daily basis. You can't expect me to keep track of all
of them." Ed retorted.

Mustang sighed and shook his head. "No, but they will always remember
you, and then be insulted when you don't remember them or how you ruined
them."
"People are too sensitive about that kind of stuff. They really need to learn to
let it go." Ed replied.

The scene was shown from a downward angle to show Yoki now in the
room, staring at Ed. "Don't act like you don't know me!" Yoki said as he
took a step forward and put a hand to his chest. "How could you have
forgotten Yoki, the great proprietor of Youswell!"

Ed put a hand to the back of his head. "Rather easily." He lowered his
hand and pointed at Yoki. "Are you sure we actually met?"

Havoc laughed. "Oh, Chief, the more you talk, the more you offend him."

Ed snickered. "Not my fault he is so forgettable."

Mustang shook his head in amusement. "You remember complex alchemical

equations so easily, but when it comes to remembering people, you are
horrible."

"It's only with the unimportant people that I forget them." Ed retorted. "I
remember other people. I still know who Rose is!"

"Considering we just saw your adventure in Liore the other day, I should
hope so." Brody teased.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I remembered her before we came here."

Yoki flinched back in shock. His face was shown up close. "How cruel.
And after you destroyed my life."

Ed's face appeared on screen, brows rising a bit. "Huh?"

The year 1914 appeared on screen like an old film. The words
"Youswell" appeared on screen next.

A faded out scene of Youswell appeared on screen as soft music began.

"The glorious mining town of Youswell. I brought prosperity to the town

as both governor and foreman of the coal mine." Yoki said.
"He's delusion." Havoc said dryly. He looked over at Ed. "Weren't your exact
words to me that "he was another power-hungry soldier who ruled like a
dictator.""

Ed raised a brow. "Noooo, my exact words were–"

"We don't need to hear your exact words again." Fuery interrupted quickly.
"The paraphrased version is just fine."

"What's wrong with his exact words?" Sheska asked confused.

"They were a lot more colorful." Breda explained. "And never need
repeated."

Yoki was shown from the side, walking through the coal mines with a
soldier in front of him and another one behind him as the workers
worked around him.

"The people loved me." Yoki continued as one of the workers stopped to
glare at Yoki out of the corner of his eyes.

"Pretty sure the correct word there would be despised." Rebecca scoffed.

"Well, some people just can't admit their faults." Zolan muttered.

"Unless he is telling the truth and Fullmetal lied about what happened in
Youswell." Mustang commented.

Ed shot him an annoyed glare.

"I'm joking, Fullmetal. I know you didn't lie about that. You were horrible at
lying back then." Mustang replied. He smirked. "You've gotten better, but
you still can't keep quiet about the Human Transmutation when someone
accuses you of it to your face. You never deny it."

"If they know, they know. There is no point in trying to deny it at that point."
Ed replied.

"For I was more devoted to their happiness than anything."

One of the workers was forced onto his knees, arms twisted behind his
back by the soldiers.

Yoki was shown, looking down on the man as he spoke.

The scene changed to show the group as a little boy ran over to them and
stood between Yoki and the man.

"It's Kyle." Ed said.

"Seriously? You remember a kid's name, but not Yoki's?" Breda asked.

Ed shrugged. "Well, the man being forced on his knees is Halling, Kyle's
dad."

"Do you just not like Yoki? Is that why you blocked him out?" Fuery asked.

Ed snickered. "No, I just remember them because of something they told me

when I was there. It just had a nice ring to me, even if I never get to have it."

"What was it?" Hughes asked curiously.

Ed hummed to himself. "It was that their village was their home and coffin.
They live there. They die there." He smiled. "That was back when I was
twelve and wasn't used to traveling a lot. Now that three years have passed, I
love traveling, but I still wouldn't mind something like that one day."

Yoki punched the kid aside.

"Now, really, that is child abuse." Hughes growled angrily.

Ed's feet appeared on screen.

"But alas, we were cursed by the arrival of the greatest criminal of all
times." Yoki said as the scene moved up to show an evil grinning Ed.
"The State Alchemist, Edward Elric." Ed held up his watch and the
scene zoomed in on it.

"Wow, I'm a criminal now." Ed said dryly. "He sure knows how to swing a
story his way."

"It doesn't bother you?" Avery asked.

Ed snorted. "Have you ever heard this version of the story? Over Yoki's
version and the version the people of Youswell tell, which do you think has
more say? I'm thinking it's the one that gave me my Hero of the People
reputation."

Yoki and his men were shown, staring in shock.

Ed, still grinning evilly, was shown pointing to a stack of glistening gold
behind him.

"Is that gold?" Mustang asked dangerously. "You transmuted gold?!"

"Ah, did I leave that part out of the report?" Ed asked flippantly.

"Fullmetal!"

"Relax, Colonel." Ed replied dryly. "It was all part of my plan, and I did end
up transmuting it back to coal. It was gold for like half an hour and none of it
was used."

"That makes it so much better." Havoc said sarcastically.

"Maybe I just like breaking the laws." Ed retorted.

Havoc raised a brow.

"Well, not really, but that's not the point."

Yoki, who had stars in his eyes, and his men were shown.

Ed was shown from behind with his gold behind him and Yoki and his
men in front of him.

Yoki nodded excitedly and held out the deed to the town to Ed. The deed
was shown up close before Yoki was shown hugging the gold.
The scene pulled out to show an evil Ed.

"Little did I know, it was an ingenious deception." Yoki said.

The inn of Youswell appeared on screen as music started playing. Yoki

ran into the inn. The doors were shown as Yoki slammed them open and
started speaking. His hands were shown with coal in them as the scene
moved up to his shocked face.

"That is what greedy soldiers get." Olivia said with a smirk.

"What? Deceived by a kid? Or stripped of their rank because of how stupid

they are that they would hand over their command of a town to a kid?" Johan
asked with a smirk.

"All of it." Olivia replied.

The counter of the inn/restaurant was shown. Ed was staring over at

Yoki with a chicken wing in his mouth while Halling sat behind him,
looking at the deed with a smile.

Yoki appeared on screen, shouting in shock.

Ed and Halling, both grinning evilly, were shown with Yoki jumping in
rage behind them.

"These heartless creatures of avarice schemed to overthrow me."

Yoki's face was shown up close.

The strong scary looking coal workers were shown.

There were shown to be beating up Yoki.

"Thus, the mine was stolen from me." Yoki said.

Ed scoffed. "I may not remember Yoki, but I do remember that was a fair
deal!"
"No way you remember the deal and not who the deal was with." Walkers
said suspiciously.

Ling stared at Ed for a moment before shaking his head. "Unbelievable. You
do know who he is, don't you?" He asked with a smirk. "You're just
pretending you don't to annoy him."

A smirk slowly crossed his face. "He is a completely annoying egotistical

jerk. If I want to annoy him by pretending to not know him, I am going to do
just that."

"I love it!" Ling shouted with a huge grin. "I can't believe I never thought of
doing something like that before."

Hughes shook his head. "You two are unbelievable."

The doors to the inn were shown from the outside as one of the workers
kicked them open as Yoki was thrown out and he landed on his face in
the dirt.

"Ever worse, I was banished by the ungrateful town people." Yoki

shouted.

Wanted posters for him were shown on a wall.

Yoki was shown, staring in shock at the posters.

"The military even fell for their wretched lies." Yoki said.

"Wow, he seriously cannot accept responsibility for his wrongdoings." Al

said, shaking his head.

"He is either a coward so he refused to accept he didn't anything wrong or he

is really this delusional and believes he was wronged." Izumi scoffed.

"After what we have just seen, I can believe it going either way." Sheska said
with a frown. "What's worse is that he trying to blame everything that
happened to him on a kid. Granted, it was Ed's intervention that caused this,
but still."
Ed grinned a bit evilly at that.

"It wouldn't have happened if not for his greedy nature." Sheska finished.

"You have to admit though, the ludicrously of his version of the story makes
this quite entertaining though." May said.

Ed shrugged. "He actually has the facts quite straight. He is just twisting them
a bit to make me look bad and him the hero that was wronged. Other than
that, it is all pretty true about what happened."

"So we can go with that he is delusional." Lan Fan said amused.

Yoki was shown, in ragged clothes and carrying a heavy bag on his
shoulders, as he jogged. Different scenes of different jobs he worked
appeared behind him. First was of a job at a restaurant. That was
followed by a job as a clown. This was followed by being a swordsman.

"I set out to renew my life in every trade imaginable." Yoki said.

The scene ripped into pieces and was replaced by a depressed Yoki with
a spotlight shining on him.

"But I failed at each one."

A leaf blew across the screen.

A spinning roulette appeared on screen as it spun with a small white ball.

As the game began to slow down, Yoki was shown, sitting at the table,
staring in apprehensive with a bunch of rich people standing behind him,
watching with smug looks.

"I then tried to invest my savings." Yoki said.

"In a casino?" Zolan said in disbelief. "That's the perfect way to lose it all
quickly."

"Well, Yoki isn't exactly the smartest person out there." Ed replied. "He did
get deceived by me really easily. But that probably also had to do with his
greed and all the gold I had with me."

"How did you transmute that gold anyway?" Lan Fan asked curiously.

Ed shrugged. "Yoki tried to bribe me with a bag of gold coins. I just used
those coins to help transmute the coal. So all that fake gold he saw was his
fault for trying to bribe me. I'm not like the others soldiers who went them for
inspections. I'm not so easily swayed."

"I don't think it is possible to sway you at all." Ling replied. "You were
offered a Philosopher's Stone by Kimblee, and yet you are still working
against him right now."

"That's not surprising. Something made from human souls has no value to me
anymore." Ed retorted.

The doors of the casino were shown as Yoki was kicked out of them in
nothing but his boxers. He landed face first on the ground.

A depressed Yoki in his boxers was shown with a spotlight shining on

him. Some leaves blew across the screen.

"Only to yet again be swindled." Yoki said.

The gate of a mansion was shown with Yoki jumping down from it.

"Oh, don't tell me this idiot is going to try to rob a house?" Ed asked
incredulously.

"It would seem that way by the setting that we have been presented with."
Buccaneer said with a smirk.

Ed shook his head. "This is just getting ridiculous. I think that it would be
best for him to be put in jail. It would at the very least keep him safe from
himself. Not necessarily from the other inmates, but at least from himself."

"That would probably leave him dead." Ling pointed out.

"Well, it's amazing he survived this long!" Ed retorted.

The scene slowly moved up to show the lawn of the mansion and a
fountain.

"Left with no other options," Yoki said before he was shown to be inside
the mansion, wearing a scarf on his head.

"Why is he using a scarf as part of a disguise? Is that a pink scarf? Why is he

using a pink scarf?!" Ed asked incredulously. "He could be using a mask or
something!"

"He's trying to rob a house. I think the point we're after here is that he fails."
Ling said, shaking his head. "I'm just amazed he actually made it into the
house."

"Quite frankly, I don't care what he does. I just want him to get this over
with. I really don't care about his failed life after he swindled the people of
Youswell for years." Ed replied dryly.

"You don't care, and yet you'll mock his disguise?" Brody asked amused.

Ed shrugged. "I have to get entertainment somewhere. His story is getting

quite boring."

Yoki looked around the dark hallway. "I called upon a wealthy family to
request a charitable loan." He stopped and looked up in fear.

Yoki was shown from behind with two big towering figures over him.
The scene moved up to show their faces.

"Ah, sisters!" Armstrong said in surprise.

"Sisters?" Al repeated. He looked at his brother, who was looking from

Armstrong, to the screen, then to Olivia. Ed quite agreed with Al's surprise
there. The two sisters on the screen made a lot more sense than Olivia did.

"If our sisters are there, that means he broke into our house?" Olivia asked
dangerously, glaring at the screen.

Ed snickered at that.
"Where is the care, Edward Elric?" Armstrong demanded when Ed started
laughing. "He just admitted to breaking into my family's house and you do
not even care!"

Ed shrugged. "Should I? I believe Yoki will end up being the one terrorized
after this stupid move. Who the hell breaks into the Armstrong mansion?
That is just a horrible idea."

The hallway was shown with Yoki running down it, stumbling a bit as he
did. "Ahhh!"

A pair of doors was shown that Yoki threw open. The scene pulled out to
show a piano with a girl playing at it that Yoki stared at.

The girl was shown from behind as she turned halfway around and
blinked.

"That your sister too?" Al asked blankly. That innocent looking girl was an
Armstrong? Just what the heck was going on with this family?

"Yes, she is our youngest sister, Catherine." Armstrong explained.

"The logic here is missing." Ed muttered.

Catherine gasped and put a hand to her chin as the background turned
pink with bubbles and sparkles.

Yoki was shown, blushing and rubbing his head.

The background went back to normal as Yoki looked up in shock. His

face was shown up close as he shouted before Catherine was shown,
holding the piano in the air with one hand.

"There is no logic to that at all!" Ed said, staring in shock. "What the hell
kind of strength do you people have?"

Catherine slammed the piano into Yoki. Music notes appeared on the
screen as she did.
Olivia smirked as she watched her little sister put that creep in his place. He
had no right to be in that mansion and he had no right to look at her little
sister the way he was before. Good job to her little sister.

The mansion was shown from outside as Yoki went flying through the
roof.

"Huh, that would explain some things." Ed said in surprise, rubbing the back
of his head. That would explain so many things now.

"Explain what?" Mustang asked confused.

"I asked Edward to fix the roof of the mansion a couple years ago when this
first happened." Armstrong explained. "He was in the city and I thought it
would just be faster and easier if he did it. I had no idea it was Yoki in the
house that Catherine sent flying through the roof either."

"Yoki seems to like bothering Brother with his antics if Ed has to continue fix
them." Al said amused.

The night sky was shown with a spark shining in it where Yoki went
flying.

A wall was shown with only one of the Yoki wanted posters on it since
the others were ripped off. Leaves blew across the screen as the wind
blew. The scene moved to the side to show Yoki lying facedown on the
ground.

A couple of Ishvalans were shown from an upward angle as they looked

down on him.

"None of it would have happened if it weren't for the Elric brothers."

Yoki said.

Yoki's hand appeared on screen, curling into a fist.

"And that's when I swore to myself nothing, nothing would stop me from
taking my revenge upon the ones who had done this to me." Yoki said as
the scene moved up to his face that was covered in tears.
"Blah, blah, blah. Is he seriously not done whining about his life yet?" Ed
asked.

Yoki appeared on screen, standing on top of a cliff with the shadowed

out figures of Dr. Marcoh, Scar, and May around him.

"And it will be a vengeance far worse than death." Yoki cried.

Lightning flashed behind the group.

Scar shook his head in disbelief. If this was what Yoki was like, it is amazing
that future him didn't throw Yoki off of a cliff already. Then again, he did
have more restraint than that. He just didn't show it often since he was going
after State Alchemists.

"He's delusional." May said blankly. "I would never help him get vengeance
against Ed or Al. It wouldn't be right after Al saved me and I can't go after
my sweet Al's brother. He would hate me!"

"Geez, thanks May." Ed muttered.

May grinned. "Oh, you know I like you, Ed. Just not as much as Al. Well, I
do. I can't say anything about future me. She and you got started off really
rough."

"Right, right. You don't need to tell me. I am pretty sure future you hates
me." Ed pointed out.

"Well, it's not like you two really know each other." May said with a shrug.

The scene went white and was replaced by a crying Yoki facing opposite
of the group with Dr. Marcoh behind him, staring at the teenagers.

May was heard to be crying. The scene moved slowly to the side to show
May kneeling on the ground, back towards Winry, who was keeling
behind her. "It's not right. I'll never let a thieving hussy like you take
him from me." She shouted.
"Winry is the farthest thing from a hussy." Ed growled.

"I didn't mean it! Just the jealously talking." May defended quickly.

"Yeah, jealously that someone other than you got to ride inside of Al's
armor." Ling teased.

May shot him a glare. So what if she was jealous? How was she supposed to
feel when Al was letting other woman ride in his armor? It wasn't fair!
Immoral!

"Did you just call me a hussy?" Winry asked.

The scene continued to move to the side to show Al kneeling by Winry

and Ed was sitting crossed leg in front of them, just watching.

"I already told you. She's just a childhood friend." Al replied.

Ed raised a hand a bit. "You should think about something else. Like
Alkahestry."

"You guys didn't listen at all to his story, did you?" Myers asked with a
smirk.

"If I had the choice, I wouldn't have listened this time either." Ed replied. "I
have more important things to do with my time then listen to that idiot
whine."

Yoki's face appeared on screen, tears in the corner of his eyes. "You
better listen to me, damn it!"

Ed was shown close up. He turned his head towards Yoki, not bothering
to open his eyes. "Yeah, how sad. Life is hard." He sighed. "Trust me, I
know just how you feel." He turned back around and was shown from
the front with his eyes opened to show boredom in them while Yoki was
shown crying behind him.

"Are you patronizing me?" Yoki shouted.

Ed gasped dramatically. "Look who is finally catching on!"

"Are you ever going to stop mocking and agitating him?" Mustang asked
with a sigh.

"No." Ed replied dryly.

Mustang rubbed his temples. "I now know why you make enemies so easily
then."

"What? Because I mock them? And here I thought it was because of my

amazing skill of ruining their plans and getting them arrested or just making
their lives worthless."

"I'm sure that is a factor in it as well. But compared to your mocking, it is a

small factor." Mustang replied dryly.

A blue sky with clouds filling it appeared on screen.

The side Kimblee's face appeared on screen as he turned to look at the

screen. "So you're telling me that you lost the girl?"

The scene was shown from a downward angle as Kimblee turned to face
the Briggs soldiers fully.

"You're not the most competent solider, are you?" Kimblee asked as
Miles walked onto screen.

"All of my men are completely competent." Olivia growled.

"Most likely they are." Al said, glancing at his brother. "Want to bet that we
conspired with that soldier?"

Ed grinned. "Oh, considering they are Briggs soldiers, I have no doubt in

mind that we did, Al."

"I'm sorry, sir." The soldier said before he was shown from behind, head
turned towards the screen with his tongue stuck out rudely as Miles
walked over to Kimblee.
Ed laughed. "I love you guys up Briggs now. Mocking Kimblee behind his
back right in front of him. That is great!"

"If he is doing that, then he most definitely did help you." Miles said, shaking
his head. Some of the men up at Briggs, honestly.

"I'll lead a search team." Miles said before looking over at the soldier. "I
need two men from Charles's squad."

"Yes sir." The man said, saluting.

Miles turned and started walking away with the soldier following him.

Miles was shown from behind with two soldiers before Kimblee's voice
was stopping him.

"Don't forget, Major." Kimblee said.

"I know Scar is our main objective. You'll be the first to know if we
locate him." Miles said before turning away and walking off again as
suspenseful music began.

Kimblee was shown from a slight distance, watching them leave. He was
shown up close, eyes narrowed, looking dangerous.

"Well, that's a new expression. Haven't seen him look that dangerous before."
Ed said. "He's always had that smiling act up before."

"I think that will probably throw you off if you don't get your head in the
game, Ed." Hughes warned him. "You know he is dangerous. You and future
you both know that, but that smiling act he had before will probably throw
you off if you're not careful and he shows his more dangerous side to you."

A building was shown.

A couple crates of food were shown with Scar kneeling in front of them,
holding a can in his hand.

'Nothing here either.' Scar thought. 'Nothing edible that is.' He looked
over his shoulder.

The doorway of the rom he was in was shown to show Jerso and
Zampano walking through it.

Jerso was shown up close. "You must be Scar."

The scene moved to the side to show Zampano. "We'll need you to come
with us. Mr. Kimblee is waiting for you."

Grants snorted. "Yeah, I'm so sure he is going to come willingly with soldiers
after he's killed so many."

"So I'm sensing there is a fight coming on." Julian said.

"Doesn't take a psychic to figure that one out." Luke mumbled.

"Your sarcasm is noted and not appreciated." Julian retorted.

Luke just shrugged in reply.

The room was shown from a downward angle to show Scar standing
now, facing the two as they walked towards him.

"With your bad luck, I would have thought you would have found him first."
Hughes told Ed, nudging his side.

Ed snorted. "Considering I was looking for him since May is with him, I
wouldn't find him first. That is how my luck works. When I want to find the
serial killer, I can't."

"I'm impressed with your tracking skills." Scar replied.

"I'm annoyed with them." Ed muttered. "How did they find him so easily?"

"What does it matter? I thought you were looking for May, not Scar?" Riza
asked.

"She was supposed to be with Scar so I was tracking Scar! May threw me all
off by appearing out of nowhere without Scar by her side!" Ed protested.

"But it did make things a whole lot easier for you." May said.

Ed looked at Ling. "Will this reading the Dragon's pulse thing help with
tracking people down?"

"It's like you don't listen when I speak, Ed." Ling said with a sigh. "Yes, it
does."

"Then when I get that figured it out, I'll just use that to track you down,
May!" Ed retorted.

"If you need to when we get out of here." May muttered.

"But do you honestly think that the two of you are going to be enough to
take me against my will?" Scar asked.

"He is right. This is a foolish move for a couple of regular soldiers." Mustang
said with a frown.

"They do know what they are up against, right?" Al asked.

"It would have been explained in the briefing before you guys left for
Baschool. I doubt Kimblee, despite how cruel he is, would send his men in
blindly since he wants Scar. Though I doubt he'll care if there are some
causalities on the path to getting Scar." Riza explained.

The bottom half of Zampano's face and Jerso's face were shown from
the side.

"We'll see, but we do have a slight advantage." Zampano said. His hand
came up to remove his glasses.

"And that advantage would be?" Havoc asked, staring at Zampano with a
frown.

"It would be a secret." Jerso replied, frowning as he looked at the screen.

Considering that they were watching the future and everyone in the room had
something to do with it, it was only a matter of time before this secret was
revealed.

"Won't be for long if what Zampano just said is anything to go by." Havoc
muttered.

Jerso and Zampano were shown from behind as they both tossed their
coats aside. They spread their feet and their bodies tensed up. Their
backs exploded into a rapid expansion before Jerso's face was shown,
eyes glowing white.

"Uh…what the hell?" Ed asked blankly. "What is this?!"

Jerso grunted as his body grew and his skin turned yellow. His head got
bigger as did his body, which resulted in his shirt tearing off of his body.

Zampano was shown. His body turned gray as his face was contorted
into one of an animal with sharp teeth as his own shirt tore off of his
body because of the rapid growing he went through.

Scar's face appeared on screen, eyes narrowing very slightly.

Jerso was shown with his arms spread out wide as the muscles in one
arm expanded rapidly down it before the same happened in the other
arm. He brought his arms closer together before his stomach expanded.

Zampano was shown from behind, hunched over as spikes pushed out of
his back. He grunted as he expanded them.

"What is that?" Scar said with a frown. Just how many abominations were in
this country? This was like nothing he has ever seen before. And during his
search for State Alchemists to kill, he has seen a lot.

Ed's mind worked frantically as he looked from the two…creatures, for lack
of better word, on the screen, then looked at the two in the room. How did
they go from humans to whatever this was on the screen? Well, they were
still humans. It was just a strange type of human. Just like those chimeras that
worked for Greed. Now that he thought about it, their transmutation actually
did remind him a bit of those chimeras…

"Human chimeras." Ed said, staring at the four chimeras in shock. "You guys
are human chimeras?" He looked at Darius and Heinkel. "I'm guessing that
means you two are ones as well."

Darius grunted. "You would be right in that guess."

Al stared at the four chimeras, a bit sad for them. Having no body was
extremely difficult. All he wanted was the chance to have his body back and
be a normal human. These guys were human chimeras. They had the option
of transforming into a chimera. They had that option to transform at will, but
maybe that option wasn't what they wanted. It changed them. They've been
changed into something that shouldn't even be possible. Just like he was. It
was something that was hard to deal with, especially in the beginning.

"It would take a very skilled alchemist to do something like that." Mustang
said with a frown. "I don't know anyone with such skill to do something like
this."

Heinkel growled softly. "It was the military that did this to us. Why else
would we be working as soldiers?"

"Illegal experiments and lab five." Dr. Marcoh said with a sigh. "I didn't work
on anything but the Philosopher's stone in the fifth lab, but I had a feeling that
there was more going on there. It's a highly dangerous lab."

"That's right. There is more to the lab then what you see on the floor that
Fullmetal was in. There are some levels underground where such experiments
happen." Zampano replied with a scowl. His time in that lab was not a time
he wanted to remember. It was something he wanted to forget, but nothing
that he would ever be able to forget with a body like this.

Mustang frowned darkly. Just how much was going on in this military that
they didn't know about? A full cleansing. That was what the military and
government needed! When this was over, everyone was going to be under
scrutiny until all the corruption was gone! He would make sure of it.
Scar was shown from behind with the two chimeras standing in front of
him.

"Let's just see how this plays out." Zampano said.

Scar's face appeared on screen. He raised a hand. "Chimeras, huh?" His

hand tensed up. The scene zoomed in a bit on him. "Let's go!"

"Revving for a fight!" Ed said with a grin. "That so should not be amusing
considering the situation."

"Then why is it?" Brody asked.

"I don't know. It's just…Scar!" Ed said.

Scar raised a brow. "Yes?"

"I don't want your attention. It's just your fault that I found this situation
amusing when it really, really shouldn't be." Ed replied.

"He's struggling for an answer to a simple question." Darius snickered.

Ed shot him a glare. "Go back to your moping."

Al shot him a look. "Brother, honestly." Why did his brother have to be so
insensitive to other people's feeling? They probably didn't even want to be
thinking about their situation so Ed's weird amusement in this type of
situation might actually help. He didn't have to be rude about them finding
amusement in it.

The scene changed to show the teenagers, Dr. Marcoh, and Yoki. Dr.
Marcoh and Winry were sitting on crates while Al and May sat on a
pipe. Ed stood with arms crossed by Al while Yoki stood on the other
side of the circle.

"I've learned a lot since we met." Ed said. He and Al were shown up

close. "Like what it takes to create a Philosopher's stone."

Dr. Marcoh was shown.

The scene changed to shown Dr. Marcoh from behind with the rest of the
group shown watching the doctor.

"I know there's something wrong with this country." Ed continued.

"And there's something rotten with its alchemy. We decided to look into
the possibilities of Xingese Alkahestry." He uncrossed his arms and
pointed a thumb towards May, who looked over at him. "And we figured
that she could help."

"I can help." May said. "Though I am not sure how much help Alkahestry
will be to you."

"Won't know until we study it." Al replied.

"Well, I never researched about using Alkahestry for this so it should be

interesting." May told him with a smile.

"Finding May and asking for her help is one thing, but you still have the
military at your back and Winry is still a hostage. You are still trapped."
Olivia told the brothers.

Ed grimaced. "We have to figure something out. Again, anything could

happen in the future right now. There is the knowledge of what we need to
do, but there is no plan of how to do it. At this point, it is offense, defense,
retreat depending on the moves of all our opponents and allies."

"It's a highly complex and dangerous situation you've gotten yourself in."
Ling said.

"And the situation you went and got yourself into isn't?" Ed retorted.

Ling shrugged. "Point taken."

"You're on the right path." Dr. Marcoh said. He was shown from the
front as he took the notes out. "But you aren't the first person to put all
of these pieces together."

"You're going to show them the notes?" May asked surprised.

Dr. Marcoh chuckled. "I don't think I could refuse them information after the
first time we met. Besides, I do know how smart they are and since they
already know so much, their insight into this would be a lot of help."

"Though considering much of it is in ancient Ishvalan, until it is translated,

we can't help much. Though it is nice to know you have notes and research
into this matter." Al said.

"This book is the collection of his research and theories." Dr. Marcoh
said.

The teenagers were shown from behind, gasping as they looked at Dr.
Marcoh.

"It's written in code, but we believe this book contains all of the answers
that we need." Dr. Marcoh said, looking down at the book.

"If we can decipher what's in there, then Al and I can…" Ed said.

"Perhaps." Dr. Marcoh replied. "I believe so. But there'll be impossible
to translate without the assistance of Scar."

Ed appeared on screen, slight anger shining in his eyes. "What do we

need him for?"

"There's that temper again." Hughes said with a sigh.

"Would you like to work with a serial killer that has tried to kill you multiple
times and is the person responsible for the deaths of your best friend's
parents?" Ed snapped.

Hughes ran a hand over the lower half of his face. "That is a fair point, Ed.
But I just believe that you let your feelings control you more than you should
in some situations."

Ed glared at him.

"I want to say you really hold a grudge, but considering he tried to kill you
multiple times and he did kill Winry's parents, I guess that isn't something
easily forgiven." Luke said.

"It's not forgivable at all." Ed growled to himself. After what he has seen, he
could work with Scar. Hell, he might even be able to trust the man to have his
back at some points if he agrees to work with them. But forgiving him? That
was something he would probably never be able to do.

The group was shown from the doorway as an explosion was heard. They
all made surprise sounds as May jumped to her feet.

"What do you think that was?" May asked.

A broken window was shown to show a building in the distance with

smoke coming out of it as dramatic, suspenseful music began playing.

Dr. Marcoh walked onto screen, staring out the window. "That's the
building Scar was in." He turned to face the screen. "You think it's the
military?"

The scene changed angles to show Dr. Marcoh, May, and Winry with
their backs to the screen as they stared at Ed and Al.

"Look, all you just need to stay put and hide out in here." Ed said. He
turned around to face the doorway. "Al and I will find out what's going
on."

Ed was shown from the front as he walked off screen with the rest of the
group watching the brothers leave.

"Sheesh, so demanding." May grumbled.

Dr. Marcoh shook his head. "I see what the others saw earlier. You do have
this commander streak in you."

"Not really a commander streak." Ed said.

"Really? Because as far as I know Chief, when something happens, a

commander throws out an order and either goes to see what happened or
sends another soldier to discreetly investigate." Havoc retorted. "And, you
didn't answer Dr. Marcoh's question. You didn't waste any time with doing
that, just like what a commander does, unless answering the question is
absolutely necessary."

Ed opened his mouth to tell Havoc to shut up, but never got the chance before
Luke was butting in with an annoying smirk.

"Oh, yes, and Chief, in the future at least, probably does have a guess that it
has something to do with the military since there are so many soldiers around
looking for Scar." Luke said. "He's just keeping that to himself because he
doesn't want to alert Scar's group of what exactly is going on there."

"Would you tell the group of your enemy that you are hunting one of their
members?" Ed retorted. "I sure wouldn't."

"I think your biggest threat with this group would be May if you said that."
Riza said. She shot a look at Dr. Marcoh. "No offense to you. You are a great
alchemist, but I'm not sure you could keep up with Ed and Al with how much
they move around in their fights."

Dr. Marcoh nodded. "They really do not keep still. They are very competent
fighters. I will admit to the fact that I probably would not be able to fight
them. Not that I would even if Edward told me that he was there hunting
Scar. It is his job to do that, though he is letting his personal feelings get
involved."

"Leave my feelings out of this!" Ed growled.

"Stop being emotional about it then." Mustang told him.

Winry was shown with the screen slowly zooming in on her. "So Scar's
here." Her eyes narrowed a bit.

The scene changed to show another room with blue alchemical light
sparking in the air before an explosion rocked the screed, sending dust
and rock flying into the air.

Jerso was shown from behind, moving back as Scar ran through the dust
that was spreading out. Scar lunged at Jerso, blue alchemical light
flashing around his hand, but Jerso dodge and Scar's hand went passed
his head. Scar swung a leg at Jerso, but Jerso flipped away.

Scar appeared on screen, frowning as he moved quickly. 'He's fast for his
size.'

"And skilled." Al said. "I see what Zampano meant about you guys having an
advantage now."

Darius shook his head. "You haven't seen anything yet."

"Got that right. All we've seen is dodging. Where's the offense?" Ed
muttered. "That will show just how much of an advantage they have."

Zampano was shown on all fours. The spikes in his back shot out of it
and at the screen.

Scar was shown, backflipping to dodge the spikes which slammed into
the ground. He then jumped to the side.

"Well," Skylak said. "Those spikes are a lot more dangerous that I first
thought if you can shoot them like that."

Buccaneer smirked a bit. Those spikes were definitely a useful weapon. He

could fire a lot at once and they seemed to be really sharp if they could pierce
the cement floor like that. He was a big fan of combat automail because he
liked having a weapon as part of his body. It was useful, though he doubted
he would be happy about having a chimera body just for a weapon like that.
But still, it was a useful weapon.

Scar was shown from behind at an upward angle. The scene moved up to
show Jerso in the air. He was shown up close as he opened his mouth and
a lot of spit shot out of his mouth. Scar was shown, dodging as the spit hit
the ground and pillars around him.

"Spit? Seriously?" Al asked. "That's your power?"

Jerso rolled his eyes. "No one asked you, kid."

"All I'm saying is that your partner gets spikes, and you get spit?" Al asked.

"Again, no one asked for your opinion." Jerso growled.

Ed snickered. "Maybe he's jealous."

Jerso grabbed a pillow and threw it hard at Ed's head.

When the pillow slammed into his head, Ed tumbled over onto his side from
the force. "Seriously," Ed muttered into the carpet. "Who throws a pillow that
hard?" He pushed himself up and rubbed his head, glaring at Jerso. "So
sensitive."

Scar jumped forward and landed in a crouch, shown from a distance so

Zampano and Jerso, who landed, could be seen as well.

"Tired yet?" Jerso asked.

"You see, we know you've got to touch us to use your alchemy."

Zampano said. "So we'll just keep a nice comfortable distance while we
attack you."

Scar was shown up close, frowning as he glared at them.

Scar frowned to himself. That did make for a difficult situation. With their
speed and being able to attack like that from a distance, it was hard. He could
destroy something from a distance, but he doubted it would do much against
these two. He would have to find a way to get close to them to take them out.

"I think Scar is planning to kill them." Hughes said softly when he saw the
look in Scar's eyes.

His words caught Ed's attention and he looked over at the Scar in the room.
He did look like he was busy formulating a plan. Well, that was strange. He
wasn't fighting them right now. Then again, he could be doing what Ed does.
Trying to figure out what his future self was going to do in this situation.
They were the same person so he should have an idea of how his future self is
trying to solve how to win this fight.
The two chimeras were shown from behind with Scar seen in front of
them, getting ready to face off against them. He ran off to the side before
Jerso was shown. He took in a big gulp of air before bullets of spit shot
out of his mouth at Scar. The scene moved down to Zampano to show the
spikes shooting out of his back.

Scar was shown from behind as he ran under the attacks being launched
at him. His arm was shown as a spike tore through his sleeve and sliced
up his arm, resulting in a pained shouted from the Ishvalan.

A pained gasp escaped Scar before he could stop it. The sudden burning pain
in his arm hurt a lot, but it wasn't as bad as the injuries he got in the war.
Nothing could compare with all the pain from that war, mental and physical
pain.

Scar stumbled to a stop. He turned to face the chimeras before his hand
was shown slamming into the ground, but before he could do anything, a
glob of spit hit his hand and trapped it there.

"What? Is your spit like glue or something?" Al asked.

"It is a sticky spit." Jerso corrected.

"Well, I guess with Zampano's spikes and Jerso's glue-spit, they make a great
combo." May said.

"Spit though? What animal did they use on you?" Ed asked with a frown.

Jerso frowned.

"Brother," Al said with a tired sigh. "I'm getting the feeling they don't like
their new bodies so you could be a bit more sensitive about it."

Ed shrugged. "Right, right. I am just curious about the animals those sick
freaks used on them."

Darius smirked a bit. Sick freak was right. That stupid gold tooth doctor-
slash-alchemist had a sick mind when it came to his experiments. He didn't
care who he had to harm to do his experiments. And now because of that,
they were stuck like this. He hated it, but he could also learn to live with
it….maybe, he wasn't actually sure yet.

"It was a toad they used on me." Jerso said.

"My animal was a boar." Zampano said.

Ed raised a brow. "Whoever the sick alchemist is that did this has one freaky
mind. Who chooses those animals seriously?"

Scar was shown from behind, crouched on the ground with his hand
trapped.

"We studied your file carefully enough to know that you destroy the
ground when things start to look bad." Jerso said.

"Run away to fight another day. Scar knows that well." Izumi said, shooting a
look at Ed. "I'm convinced you don't know that yet."

"Is this because I gave up and was going to let Scar kill me in our first fight?
Cause if it is, you really need to let that go. It is in the past." Ed retorted.

Scar's face was shown up close, teeth gritted.

"We're gonna beat you to a pulp before turning you over." Jerso said.

"That is against the law." Ed muttered. "Unnecessary force, wasn't it?" He

looked over Hughes for confirmation.

Hughes nodded. "It has more to do with guns. Don't shoot the culprit unless
he has a weapon, is attacking you, or endangering civilians. You are
supposed to subdue the culprit as fast and as cleanly as possible. Though it
has more to do with guns, it is for all types of combat when going after a
criminal. Never kill the criminal unless no other option is given. But the main
point here is no excessive force, which is what they plan on doing." He shot
Jerso and Zampano a look. "Seriously? Did you two learn nothing at the
military academy? I know he is highly dangerous and it will be really
dangerous to take him in lucid, but it is still the law."
"Actually, it would probably be impossible to take Scar in completely
unharmed. He could easily escape." Zampano argued.

"There is a certain point where you have to draw a line." Hughes argued.

Ed scoffed. "Please, Hughes, they work for Kimblee. There is no line for
them."

"Back on that, are you?" Heinkel asked.

"I was never off it." Ed snapped, eyes narrowed at them. "Don't mistake my
calm attitude for trusting you. You have not proven yourself of deserving
trust."

Scar frowned.

The scene changed to show the group from behind as Ed walked a bit
onto screen, showing his back to it.

"Well, look at this." Ed said.

Jerso and Zampano looked over their shoulders at him.

"Well, it seems Fullmetal is joining the fight." Mustang said. "Try not to get
yourself killed."

"I never try to get killed." Ed retorted. He shot a glare at Mustang when he
saw him opening his mouth. "And DO NOT bring up that incident with Scar
in Central. In the past. It is forgotten!"

"You're the one so focused on it." Walkers argued.

Ed growled. He couldn't really argue that. "Moving on."

The scene changed to show Ed's hands shoved in his coat with Al
standing behind him. As the teenager spoke, the scene slowly moved up,
"I guess we got here just in the nick of time huh." His face was shown,
eyes narrowed with a slightly dark look in them.
"Damn it! Seriously?! He calmly walks into a room where a fight is going on
and it's still a cool entrance!" Havoc grumbled. "It's one thing to have a
dramatic entrance into a fight that is cool, but now this?!"

Ed smirked at him. "I'm just that cool, Havoc. You can't beat this."

"And you are so modest too." Havoc said, rolling his eyes.

Ed shrugged. "You started it with your grumbling."

The two chimeras were shown up close with Scar seen between their
heads.

"Didn't they just run off somewhere?" Zampano asked.

"Yes, from Heinkel and Darius. How could you two possible know that?" Al
asked.

"I'm sure we are keeping in contact with each other." Zampano replied.

"Didn't look like you had any equipment on you to stay in contact." Fuery
said with a frown.

"This is the future. Stop trying to figure out every little detail." Jerso retorted.

Al face was shown from the side. "His voice."

The screen pulled back to show Ed.

Al looked down at him. "Brother, I think these are Kimblee's goons. The
ones he brought from Central."

"They are?" Ed asked before the scene changed angles to show Jerso and
Zampano from behind again with Scar seen in front of them, still
crouched on the ground. "Yeah, I think you're right."

"We already got this under control." Zampano said. "You just sit tight
while we take care of Scar."
The music came to a sudden end as Zampano's face was shown up close
with Al's fist slamming into it.

"What the hell?!" Zampano shouting, grabbing his cheek in pain. "What did
you do that for? I know you don't trust us, but we are still all on the same
mission of catching Scar!" He winced and rubbed his cheek. "That pain factor
is horrible."

"Please, it's just a little punch." Ed muttered.

Zampano rolled his eyes. "I meant, I didn't realize how annoying it was until
now."

"Oh, so all the withering in pain that everyone's been doing didn't make that
obvious?" Ed grumbled.

The scene pulled out to show Zampano going flying as Al, whose fist was
still extended, and Ed, who had a leg extended in a kick, shouted, "AAH!
Talking monsters!"

Luke put a hand to his forehead, finding it very hard not to burst out
laughing. "Teenagers…." He snickered. "Why can't you just be normal?"

"Normal is boing." Al and Ed said.

"That didn't mean you had to punch me!" Zampano said.

"And you totally ruined the seriousness of this." Brody said, grinning widely.

Ed blinked and raised a brow. "How are we supposed to react when we see
talking monsters?"

"Again with the monsters thing? We're not monsters!" Jerso snapped.

"Could have fooled me." May muttered.

"These brats are so harsh." Jerso grumbled to his friends.

"Your fault for working with Kimblee." Rufus said.

"So it's a crime to follow orders from the higher ups when we don't know
what is going on? We don't have your information." Darius argued.

Rufus shrugged. "I don't have any of the insider information either. Right
now, I'm just a soldier in the east waiting for instructions."

Jerso was shown, staring blankly in shock, as Zampano rose onto screen,
holding his aching red cheek with blood trailing down his chin.

"What's wrong with the two of you? We're all on the same side."
Zampano said.

A giant Al appeared on screen, eyes made of sparkles, and with a fist in

the air as Zampano went flying back again. "I never teamed up with any
freaky looking monsters!"

"Again! Seriously?!" Zampano cried, grabbing his chin to rub it. "Will you
stop hitting me?"

"I am just protecting myself." Al said.

"I'm not going to attack you! I have no reason to." Zampano snapped.

"Well, you do now since they are attacking you." Heinkel pointed out.

Jerso was shown from behind with Zampano lying on the ground, blood
pouring around his mouth as Ed and Al danced in place in front of them.

"Help us! They're pretending to be our friends so they can eat us." Ed
said.

The group in the room howled with laughter while Jerso stared blankly and
Zampano moaned in pain.

"This really isn't the time to fool around." Mustang said, fighting very hard to
keep a straight face, but seeing Ed and Al dance around and Ed's exaggerated
voice made it just so hard to not laugh.

"Who's fooling around?" Ed asked, keeping a straight face. "This is a

completely serious matter. There are two monsters there trying to trick us!"

This sent the group into another laughing fit while Jerso's brow just twitched
in annoyance. Maybe they should fight the brats in the future.

"The chubby one has an enormous mouth. He could eat you in a single
bite!" Al exclaimed.

"You two are so annoying!" Jerso shouted over the laughter.

"You obnoxious brats!" Jerso said angrily as his face was shown. "Settle
down!" Bullets of spits shot out of his mouth.

Ed raised a brow. "Oooh, look who is attacking now?"

"I guess you pushed him far enough." Riza said with a sigh. "What now,
boys?"

Ed smirked. "Isn't it obvious? Fight!"

Ed was shown, dodging around the spit as he charged at Jerso. "Woah,"

He said before he moved closer to the screen and dramatic music began
once more.

Jerso and Ed were shown, each moving opposite directions before Ed

swung a fist at Jerso, which Jerso blocked with his forearm. Ed swung
his other fist at him, but Jerso blocked that one with his other arm.
Jerso's arms crossed at the wrists and Ed slammed a fist into them
before bringing his leg up and kicking Jerso in the stomach, sending him
flying back. As Jerso went flying back and slammed into a crouch on the
ground, Ed landed lightly back on the ground by Al.

Jerso was shown up close with his arms covered in bruises.

Jerso shook his arms out with a scowl. That kid's fists really hurt.

Kei smirked. "You are definitely moving a lot faster than what we have seen
before. The suddenly light weight automail after years of carrying heavy
automail has certainly made you really fast."
"Maybe now he'll be able to keep up." Scar said.

"With you?" Ed snapped. "Seriously, where do you get your speed?"

Scar just stared at him, not bothering to reply.

"Stupid silence." Ed mumbled.

'Woah, this kid is even faster than Scar.' Jerso thought.

"Seriously?" Ed asked, eyes lighting up. He pumped a fist into the air. "Yes!"

"That is not really surprising." Dr. Young said. "The amount of speed you
gained just from changing your automail is really amazing." She glanced at
Ed's arm and leg. The ones he had now must be a lot heavier than she first
thought.

Ed was shown, already in another fighting stance. The scene zoomed in

on his face as an evil, excited grin made its way onto his face.

Jerso was shown from behind as Al looked at his brother warily when he
felt the evil aura suddenly around him.

"Uh, Brother?" Al asked as Ed chuckled.

"You're enjoying your new found speed way too much." Aran said, shaking
his head.

"You can never enjoy something too much." Ed replied.

"What are you laughing at?" Jerso demanded. He was shown from the
front again as he shot more spit bullets at the brothers.

Ed was shown, jumping from one side of the screen to the next as he
dodged the spit bullets, still chuckling evilly. His face appeared real close
up screen to show the evil, demon grin there.

"Are you sure you aren't part-demon?" May asked.

"Brother just has an evil streak. He is in no way part demon." Al told her with
sigh.

"That you know of!" May retorted. "He could have kept it a secret from you
all these years!"

Al sighed again. "Brother, are you a demon?"

Ed shot him a dry look.

Jerso was shown with his head snapping to the side as Ed slammed a fist
into it.

Jerso screamed in pain and grabbed his cheek. "What kind of comrades are
you?!" He shouted.

"Have we not made it very clear?" Ed asked, raising a brow at him. "You
work for Kimblee, therefore, we are not comrades."

Jerso went flying off screen, leaving Ed alone on screen with his fist
raised. The scene changed angles to show Ed from an upward angle as
Jerso slammed into the ground.

Ed looked from him and threw a few quick punches in the air, chuckling.
"It's so light! It's incredible." He swung a kick in the air. "It's amazing!
It's like they're not even there." He moved towards the screen quickly
with a smile and a thumbs up. "This cold weather automail is
magnificent!"

"Could you be more distracted right now?" Izumi asked. "I doubt those two
will stay down long and you still have Scar to deal with."

"It'll be fine." Ed said, still grinning. "I really, really want to invest in that
cold weather automail now. That speed would be so helpful during my
fights."

Ed, who was still jumping around excitedly, and Al, who was just staring
at his brother, appeared on screen as Jerso rose to his feet.
"You're gonna regret messing with me, kid!" Jerso said.

Ed landed in a crouch on the ground and looked up at Jerso as Al turned

to face him.

"Huh, so my punches are lighter too?" Ed asked as he stood up.

"Well, that is inconvenient. Lose strength of my punches for speed." Ed

scratched the back of his head. "Can't we meet somewhere in the middle?"

"You'll just have to find a way to make your punches stronger." Kei told him.
"That's part of the reason why Captain Buccaneer likes combat automail with
his cold weather automail. It helps pack a punch."

Ed grunted. "No thanks. I'll figure something out on my own."

Ed was shown up close, grunting as spit hit his arm.

Jerso was shown. He laughed. "Let's see how fast you move covered in
my spit."

"Which is just gross." May said, wrinkling her nose.

The scene pulled out to show a shocked Ed with spit on his arm. "Your
special power is saliva?"

Jerso was shown up close as he took a breath in and let lose another
assault of spit.

Ed was shown, running through the attack and dodging. "Well, if that's
the case." He reached the screen and clapped his hands, causing a
metallic ring to enter the scene.

"I can't believe you can still move like that with my saliva on you." Jerso
said.

"Which is still disturbing." Ed muttered. "And after having my heavy

automail for four years, something like saliva is not going to slow me down."
Ed slid under Jerso's legs to get behind him. Jerso start to turn to look at
him before Ed was shown up close, blue alchemical light flashing around
him as he touched the saliva on his arm.

"Let's break it down and revert it to water!" Ed shouted as he was

shown from behind and was throwing the water onto Jerso's back.

"And what is that going to do?" Sheska asked confused.

"Do you realize that we are in the frigid cold north? Water freezes quickly up
there." Ed explained.

"Which will in turn help burn his back. Though it won't do much else." Lan
Fan said in confusion. "How will that help?"

Scar frowned thoughtfully. From watching this kid alone, it helped him come
up with new ideas. He wasn't an alchemist so he didn't get ideas like Edward
did, but the ones he did get and showed them were ingenious.

Scar's hand that was trapped on the ground was shown. The scene
moved up to Scar's face.

Jerso was shown, screaming, "It's freezing!" His hands tried to reach the
frozen water on his back.

Jerso shouted in pain and hunched forward. That water was really burning his
back. It was so cold that it felt like his skin was being pierced and ripped off.
"You are a horrible comrade!"

"There you go again, throwing that word around." Ed retorted. "Until further
notice, we are enemies and thus, I will injure you!"

"Then I'll return the favor." Jerso snapped.

"You have to catch me first."

Al appeared on screen with Ed popping up behind him with an evil

sparkle in his eyes.
"And now," Ed said.

The scene was shown from a distance as Ed kicked Al. Al shouted in

shock as he went flying into Jerso's back, knocking them both to the
ground.

Jerso screamed in pain as the cold metal burned into his skin. It felt like his
back was on a fire. It may have been a fire started by the cold, but it still
burned a lot. It was like being in negative twenty degree weather with the
wind blowing and hitting his face so it felt like needles were piercing his
body. [1] As if the stupid throbbing in his arms from the punches wasn't
enough, now he had to deal with this intense burning and pulling at his skin.
It felt like his skin was going to be torn right off his back.

"Brother! I am not a tool for you to throw around." Al whined.

"I am trying to get Jerso to stay down since my punches are weak at the
moment!" Ed retorted. "I will use whatever means necessary!"

"But why me? There are other things you could have used!" Al said.

Ed shrugged. "You were just standing there doing nothing. I decided to put
you to work."

Al gave him an annoyed glare.

Al stood up with Jerso stuck to his chest. "What do you think you're
doing, Brother?" Al asked as Jerso cried in pain.

"My skin is peeling!" Jerso shouted.

Ed appeared on screen, smirking and with his arms crossed in an 'x.' "I
think from now on I'm going to call that one the 'wet-tongue-on-a-
freezing-flagpole-attack." He said before spikes appeared right in front
of his face and he was dodging to the side.

The scene changed angles to show Ed from behind with Zampano up and
on his knees in front of Ed while to the side Jerso was still stuck to Al,
who was struggling to get him off.
"For the last time, quit attacking us. We're supposed to be on the same
damn side!" Zampano said.

An angry Ed pointed at Zampano. "You shut your snot, pig! I've never
seen you before in my whole life! And you must be the enemy if I don't
know you!" Ed appeared on screen, opening and closing his hands in
front of him with a purple background and light shining on it to distort
the color. "I bet you can't even prove to me that you're on our side."

Zampano was shown. "Fine, I'll transform back to prove it to you."

"And you already know who I am." Zampano said with a frown. "Which
means."

"He totally tricked you." Jerso sighed.

"Yeah, I do that." Ed said with a smirk. "Can't believe you fell for it so
easily."

"Well, you did just attack them without mercy and your acting is really
good." Clarink pointed out. "And he doesn't realize just how little you trust
them in the future. There are so many factors as to why he fell for it so
easily."

Zampano grunted as he rose high up and the spikes in his back

retracted. A moment later Ed appeared on screen in the air and he
brought his leg down onto Zampano's head.

"Thanks for the opportunity, sucker." Ed said.

Zampano screamed in pain. It felt like his head was being pushed into his
body. "Are you trying to break my neck? Or smash my skull in?"

Ed shrugged. "I'm trying to take you down. There is no time to be nice."

Zampano rubbed the back of his neck with a scowl. There was no going easy
in a fight, but still. They trusted Ed in the future, maybe not a lot, but more
than Ed and Al trusted them apparently. Ed was playing on that fact to trick
them. He was a little annoying trickster.

Jerso appeared on screen with Al behind him. "Zampano!"

Zampano was shown lying unconscious on the ground. In the

background, Ed stood on one foot with his arms crossed in an 'x' in front
of him.

"It's kind of stupid to drop your defense during combat." Ed said.

The scene moved to the left to show Jerso struggling to get off of Al.
"Damn it! Let me go!"

"Alright big guy." Al said as he wrapped his arms around Jerso's neck
and head. With a swift turn of Jerso's neck, he was out. "Why don't you
take a little nap?"

"Ow," Jerso rubbed his neck. Well, it wasn't the worst pain he felt this whole
fight. "You two are cruel."

Jerso sagged down to the ground with the help of Al.

Scar's hand appeared on screen with a metallic ringing sound as blue

alchemical light flashed around. The scene moved up to briefly show his
face before it went to Al and Ed. The brothers were shown from behind
as Scar rose to his feet.

"Great," Ed muttered. "I gave you that idea of how to escape, didn't I?"

Scar nodded. "You did, but I would have eventually gotten to the idea myself,
just maybe not as fast as you did." It was true. Since he wasn't an alchemist,
he didn't have the same ideas that an alchemist like Ed got. He only
deconstructed and came up with ideas, but with more and more incidents he
has been getting into, the more he learns and comes up with new ideas.

"Fine, how about this one. Did you wait until my fight with the chimeras was
over to escape or did it take you that long to figure out how to escape?" Ed
asked.
"I think it was a bit of both." Scar replied.

Ed raised a brow.

"You are faster than me right now. If I escaped before this, it would have
become a three way fight and Jerso and Zampano are faster than me. I didn't
want to fight you all at such speed." Scar replied.

"I get it. Wait until one side takes out another so you only have to fight one
side." Hughes said. "It is a really smart move."

Ed turned to face Scar, putting a hand to his hip. "He just had to go and
free himself." Ed said as he put his other hand on his other hip. "Do you
really think you're going to get away?"

"Give up, Scar." Al said. "It's time to pay for what you've done."

Scar's face was shown up close from the side. He raised his hand. "I will
kill you if you try to stop me."

"Oh, if I try to stop you? What the hell happened to just wanting to kill me?"
Ed asked.

"I am trying to avoid killing if possible. Killing leaves a body trail." Scar
replied.

"Right…" Ed said, brow twitching. Was that really his only reason?

Scar knew his future self's threat wasn't idle. If those two got in his way, he
would kill them, but he really would rather he didn't have to kill the brothers.
With everything that was going on, he wanted his killing spree to stop. Stop
until he could figure out the whole truth and then what his next move would
be.

Scar's hand tensed.

One of Ed's narrowed eyes appeared on screen. "Hmm," Ed said.

Dramatic music started up as the scene was suddenly pulled back to

show Ed and Al from behind as they faced off with Scar.

Ed and Al started walking in different directions as they approached

Scar. After a few steps, Ed charged at Scar. He was shown up close with
a fist raised.

Scar was shown. The screen slowly zoomed in on him. 'He's a heedless
fool to charge me without thinking.' Scar thought. He raised his hand.
"You offer your arm to me, then I'll take it!"

The scene was shown from a downward angle as Scar's hand slammed
into Ed's fist, taking a hold of it and throwing dust up around them.

The hands were shown up close, shaking a bit as blue light sparked
around them.

Ed grinned. "He made the same mistake I did."

Kei shook his head, frowning. "I can't believe you all think it is safe to come
north with normal automail."

"Seriously? Who bothers to think about that?" Ed asked. "Automail

mechanics. That's who. And I'm not a mechanic!"

"No, but you bear automail so you should have realized that different types of
weather affect your automail differently." Dr. Young pointed out.

"Okay, fine," Ed said annoyed. "I knew the cold would brother it, but I didn't
realize it would be as bad as it was. I'm not an expert on this."

The scene slowly moved to the side to show Ed. "I hate to tell you, but
my arm isn't steel anymore."

Scar's eyes appeared on screen, widening in shock.

The scene changed angles to show Ed from behind as he grabbed Scar's

wrist and pulled himself forward to kick the back of Scar's knee. A
pained cry came from Scar as he slipped and started to fall down. He
threw a hand down to the ground to catch himself.
Scar hissed and stretched his leg out in front of him. That hurt, but it didn't
hurt as much as it did the last time that kid kicked him.

Scar rose to his feet with a grunt before he was shown close up, gritting
his teeth.

The scene changed angles to show Scar from behind with Ed and Al
standing in front of him, both getting ready to clap their hands.

"Don't make this difficult." Ed said before he and Al clapped their

hands.

Scar dropped down to a crouch and slammed his hand on the ground,
causing blue sparks to fill the screen. Scar's hand appeared on screen to
show the ground being torn apart into rubble.

Ed and Al were shown from behind as blue light continued to light up

the screen and the ground under the brothers was demolished, sending
the brothers flying back as they shouted in surprise.

Scar jumped into the air, surrounded by rocks before Ed and Al were
shown to be sitting on the ground, staring up at Scar.

"Don't hurt them!" Winry shouted.

"Are you kidding me?!" Ed cried, pulling at his hair. "Why the hell does she
always do this? Is she trying to get hurt?"

"I would say something, but I honestly have no idea of what she is thinking,
but I can say this. She came there for a reason." Havoc said.

"We told her to stay behind. Why can't she just listen?" Al moaned. "How do
we get her to understand that Scar is highly dangerous?"

Riza sighed. "I know you're concerned, but she has her own thing that she has
to resolve. And part of the way to resolve it, at least I believe this is what is
going through her mind, is to see Scar."

"This is about her parents again." Ed muttered as he rubbed his eyes in

frustration. "She never did get over that. She just doesn't focus on it because
of how much it hurts her."

Ed's eyes appeared on screen, widening in shock and horror.

The scene changed angles to show Scar lunging at the brothers and in the
background was Winry standing in the doorway, hands resting on its
frame.

Winry's face was shown up close to show her frowning with a dark look
in her eyes as slow, suspenseful music played.

Scar's eyes were shown up close on screen as he turned them to see her.

Scar's back appeared on screen as Ed and Al jumped at him, both with

fists raised.

Ed got to him first and flipped in the air and slammed a foot into Scar's
chest, sending him flying back into a broken wall.

Scar grunted at the pain that suddenly ripped up his back. That was obviously
coming. He really let himself get distracted by that girl suddenly appearing.
That was a foolish mistake on his part. One of the rules in a fight was to
never get distracted.

"Maybe you should thank Winry for suddenly appearing. It did give you a
slight advantage since it distracted Scar just then." Grants said.

"No," Ed scowled. "It's still too dangerous for her to be there."

"It's dangerous for her to be anywhere at the moment since she is a hostage."
Sig pointed out.

"What she needs is to find a way to get away from the Homunculi's eyes.
That will at least keep her safe from any sudden attack from them if you do
something they don't like." Izumi said with a thoughtful frown.

"So not focused on that. Focused on the immediate threat." Ed jerked his
hand on the screen.
Scar's arm was shown up close, resting on the wall before Al's hands hit
the wall around his arm and blue alchemical light flashed. The portion of
the wall surrounding his arm morphed into veins all up his arm to keep
it trapped.

Scar grunted as he was shown from a slight distance with the brothers'
backs to the screen as they faced the Ishvalan.

"I think that immediate threat is temporary no longer a threat." Breda said.

"Depends on how long he stays trapped." Rebecca said.

"Just as long as no one gets distracted, they will hopefully be fine." Havoc
said.

"Like you did in your fight with Lust?" Ed asked.

Havoc's brow twitched. He really didn't need that reminder. "Yeah, don't
bring that up, Ed."

Ed shrugged. "I think we'll be fine…hopefully."

Ed turned to look at Winry angrily. "What are you doing here, you
idiot?"

Winry was shown up close. She started to take a step forward when a
hand landed on her shoulder to stop her.

"Oh great, another soldier!" Ed said annoyed. "It better not be another one of
Kimblee's men. I don't need any more fights going on with Winry there."

"You're only angry because you care about her so much." Hughes teased.

Ed shot him a glare. "Lessons. That's what you can do, Hughes."

Hughes raised a brow. "Lessons on what?"

"You are going to freaking give Winry safety lessons and teach her to stay off
the battlefield because she sure as hell doesn't listen to me or Al." Ed
growled.

"She's just worried about you and like Lieutenant Riza said, she wants to see
Scar." Lan Fan objected.

"Her being on the field gives us a higher chance of getting injured while we
protect her. I know she is worried and needs to face Scar for her own reasons,
but she makes it harder for us when she shows up like this." Ed grumbled.

"She stays behind while you fight, but that is a really hard thing to do. She
has to be really strong to do that." Ling said.

Ed turned to look at him with a frown.

Ling shrugged. "It's just that the unknown is one of the scariest aspects out
there, Ed. The unknown leaves you sitting and wondering how something is
going to turn out. And when that happens, you start imaging the worst
possible outcome and getting scared and even more worried. That is what
makes the unknown one of the hardest things to deal with and she has to deal
with it a lot with you brothers."

Al grimaced and looked back at the screen. He understood the fear that
Winry had with sitting and waiting for news. His brother has disappeared on
him before for some secret military business. He knew his brother could take
care of himself, but sitting around and waiting with no news from Ed was
hard. It made him think up horrible things that happened and if his brother
made a mistake and got hurt because he wasn't there to help. It was a tough
situation so he could understand how that would be really difficult for Winry
to deal with all the time. Maybe they really should think about calling Winry
and Granny Pinako more often, just to assure them that they were alive.

The scene changed angles to show Winry and Major Miles from behind
with the Elric brothers and Scar in front of them.

"Oh, well, I'm not fighting Miles." Ed said.

"I would hope not." Miles said amused.

Ed looked at him curiously. "Do you know hand-to-hand combat?"

Miles smirked. "You do realize that all Briggs soldiers are trained to take
down a bear right?"

Ed's brow twitched. He shot a look at Buccaneer, who smirked at him. "That
would explain some things." He looked back at Miles. "Well, you would
present a problem with just martial arts, but I have my alchemy to help me."

"And I have a gun." Miles said.

"Well, I have new found amazing speed." Ed retorted with a slight grin.

Miles shook his head. "You would present a problem for me as well it
seems."

"That's close enough." Miles said as another soldier walked onto screen
behind him.

"You brought her here, Major?" Ed asked.

"How did you even find her?" May asked. "She was with us in that building."

"Well, if she wondered outside or we were checking that building, we would

have found her." Miles replied.

Miles appeared on screen.

Jerso and Zampano, both lying unconscious on the ground, appeared on

screen with two of Miles's soldiers standing over them.

"What are these creatures?" One of them asked.

The two soldiers were shown from behind as Miles approached them.

"I guess they're the result of some ungodly experiment by our

superiors." Miles said. "Tie them both to that column."

One of the soldiers turned around and saluted. "Right away, sir."
Miles turned to the side and started to walk off screen. "And as for you
Scar."

Scar was shown, sitting on the ground with his arm still trapped to the
wall.

"Huh, weird, I thought the palm of his hand was facing the wall. Now, it's
not." Havoc said confused.

"Well, he definitely can't escape now then." Breda said.

"I regret having to treat one of my own people so harshly," Miles said as
a gun appeared on screen, being pointed at Scar.

Scar tensed up as he watched the scene. Was Miles going to shoot him here?
Despite everything that has happened in his past, Scar wasn't ready to give up
and just die here. There was still a lot he had to do, like figure out his
brother's notes so he could understand better what was going on. He needed
to end all the corruption in this country. Not for the people of Amestris, but
for his own people. They were in just as much danger as everyone else. He
had to do what he could. He wasn't ready to face death.

"The laws confuse me." Ed muttered. "You can't lawfully shoot him like this,
can you?"

"You can't, but Briggs soldiers are rougher and are trained to handle
situations differently." Hughes said.

Ed raised a brow.

"It still doesn't make it right, but…look, it's complicated!" Hughes said.
"Don't try to think about it too much."

Ling snickered before turning serious. "Isn't it also because he is a serial

killer? Aren't the rules different then?"

"That they are. Depending on the situation, lethal action can be authorized
and you can either bring the criminal in alive or dead." Hughes said. "I'm
guessing that is the situation with Scar at this time." He shot a look at Miles.
"But you really should not be shooting him now. Ed and Al don't like killing,
but I think they could handle seeing it after all these years, but Winry cannot.
You shouldn't be doing this with a civilian in the room."

"Technically there are two civilians in the room." Ed said as he pointed at Al.
"He may be my partner through all of this, but he is still a civilian."

"Oh, well if we want to get technical, there are three kids in that room who
should not have to watch this." Hughes retorted.

"Touchy." Ed replied with an amused smirk, though really, he did agree with
Hughes on that part. He didn't want to watch someone get killed, especially
by one of his comrades he really trusted. Wow, future him has only known
him a few days, but already Ed knew that future Ed trusted him a lot.

"But I can't just let you walk away." Miles said. "Not after what you've
done."

"Your own people." Scar said.

Miles was shown with Ed standing behind him, staring up at the major.

"You two can leave." Miles said. "We've got it from here."

"Well, it seems you don't want them to watch either." Armstrong said.

"I'm not surprised. I do not want a couple of kids to see something so

gruesome." Miles said.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Ed muttered. "The only thing making this one
worse than the rest is that death will be involved.

"Still, he should have said you three since Winry is there as well though." Al
said.

Ed looked out of the corner of his eyes in surprise before he, Al, and
Miles were looking to the side as footsteps were heard. The scene was
shown from a downward angle to show Miles taking a step back as Ed
and Al ran towards Winry, who was walking towards Scar.
"Winry!" Al said as he put a hand to her shoulder.

"Stop Winry. Stay back." Ed said with his hand on her other shoulder.

Winry's bowed head was shown, eyes shadowed by her bangs. "Let me
go. It's alright."

Ed scoffed. "It's the farther thing from alright. She is being an idiot and
walking right towards a serial killer."

"Who is restrained at the moment. I don't think he'll be able to do anything to

harm her." Mustang pointed out.

"Not that I would anyway." Scar said. "She is not a target of mine. I do not go
after people not in the military unless they get in my way." He looked at Al as
he said that, who just shrugged.

"You were attacking my brother." Al replied.

Winry was shown from a downward angle with the brothers behind her,
holding onto her shoulders.

"It couldn't be any less alright." Ed said angrily as Mile's feet appeared
on screen behind them.

"Miss, you need to stay back." Miles said.

"You really should have thought twice about bringing Winry with you to find
us." Al said angrily.

"I most likely would have if anyone had informed me of her history with
Scar." Miles retorted.

Ed groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "That is most likely on us."

"No, it is definitely on you." Rebecca corrected, making Ed shoot her an

irritated look.

"Just let me." Winry said. "Please understand."

Winry's face was shown from the side to show her sad eyes as Ed stood
in the background, staring at her.

"You have to let me talk to him."

"Technically, I don't have to anything." Ed said.

"No, but she will probably never forgive you if you pull her away now." Lan
Fan pointed out. "This will probably be her only chance to get some form of
closure."

"I need to, Ed." Winry said.

Ed frowned as Winry walked towards Scar once more.

Scar's head was shown from behind with Winry standing over him while
Ed watched on with downcast eyes beside his little brother.

Scar's face was shown, eyes narrowing as he stared at Winry.

The ground was shown from the side at a distance.

"Why?" Winry asked as the scene continued to pull farther and farther
away from the group. "Why did you kill my mother and father?"

"There's nothing I can say that won't sound like an excuse." Scar replied
as the scene pulled out of the room to show it from the doorway to show
May and Dr. Marcoh watching. "And nothing can change the fact that I
am responsible for their deaths."

"At least he is not making any false excuses for what he did." Richards said.

"That's one thing about Scar. He never tried to hide the fact that he was a
murderer." Charlie added.

Winry's face appeared on screen, eyes trembling.

Scar's face took over the screen next. His trapped hand was shown as he
clenched it into a fist before his face was shown again.
The scene changed to show Baschool from the sky.

An explosion ripped through one of the buildings, sending dark smoke

into the air.

"Oh great, what is going on now?" May said with a frown. "It's just one thing
after another."

"It is called the "Conflict at Baschool" for a reason." Avery replied.

"What happened?" A soldier shouted as Kimblee was shown from

behind, watching the smoke in the sky.

"That's where Major Miles was." Another soldier said before Kimblee's
face appeared on screen.

"Well, isn't that just freaking great?" Ed growled. "It's a never ending row of
problems!"

"Well, this is what happens when a three way battle is going on. A lot of
unexpected crap happens and you struggle to remain in control." Izumi said.

The scene went dark.

Sparks appeared on screen as someone tried to light something.

Buccaneer appeared on screen as a lighter lit it up.

"Well, look who it is. Didn't think we would be seeing you for a while."
Havoc said with a smirk.

"Perhaps that is because I can't go join the fun in Baschool." Buccaneer said.

"Fun? What fun? All I've seen is a lot of crazy running around and three way
battles. Seems more hectic then fun." Luke muttered.

"Some people just thrive in such situations." Skylak mumbled.

The scene showed him from a downward angle to show him with his
team in the tunnel, standing under the exit, carrying items wrapped in
gauze on their backs. Buccaneer looked down at his watch. "This isn't
good. Looks like we've gone over the twenty-four hour time frame." He
said.

The ladder was shown as one of the soldiers lifted the lighter higher to
look up towards the top.

The group was shown again.

"And you know our ice queen, patience and compassion aren't really her
strong suits." Buccaneer said.

"We did the best we could." The soldier holding the lighter said. "We
didn't know we'd have to grope our way back around in the dark."

"Because of the frightened, injured soldiers? Well, those soldiers saved your
lives." Rebecca retorted.

"Well, sorry, we are still not sure of what is actually going on." Andean
snapped.

"What we need are two certain alchemists around." Karley said, shooting a
look at Ed and Al. "You two have a better understanding of what is going on
so you might actually be able to make sense of what Julian and Raylan are
mumbling about."

"Maybe, maybe not." Al replied. "A shadow that can kill you? That is even a
bit much for us to comprehend, even after all the other crazy things we have
seen. It is a hard thing to understand."

Andean appeared on screen, looking over his shoulder at the injured

Julian and Rayan. "Maybe if these guys hadn't made us douse the lights
so their monster wouldn't see it, we would've made it."

The scene changed to show a hand knocking on the trapdoor.

"Definitely would have been fine with an alchemist. At least then, we would
be able to get out no matter what." Buccaneer said.
"That would be taking the easy way out." Ed replied dryly.

"If it means being trapped in a tunnel until we die, I'll gladly take the easy
way." Andean retorted.

A frowning Buccaneer was shown at the top of the ladder.

The trapdoor was shown for a few seconds before Buccaneer was shown,
bowing his head as he sighed softly.

Suddenly, a creaking sound was heard and light hit Buccaneer's face,
making the soldier look up in surprise.

Two of the soldiers in the retrieval team were shown, looking up with
smiles.

"Welcome back, sir," Liran said as the trapdoor was shown with him
looking in the hole at them.

"Somebody didn't follow orders." Luke said in an annoying sing-song voice."

Liran shrugged. "Too much like betrayal if we lock them in there."

The scene changed to show the soldiers standing around or sitting down
and resting in the hallway where the trapdoor was.

"They made it back!"

"Take these men to sick bay."

"I'm sorry."

"There's no reason to be."

Buccaneer turned away from the scene to look at Liran. "I thought you
were ordered to seal up this hole after twenty-four hours."

Liran appeared on screen. "Uh, yes sir, but as you can see," He held up a
broken watch and pointed at it. "It hasn't been twenty-four hours yet."

The two soldiers in front of him leaned over to look at the watch.

The watch was shown close up to show the hands not moving and the
second's hand ticking in place.

"That watch is obviously broken." Avery said with a grin starting to form.

"Leave no man behind." Walkers said with a smirk.

Of course that's how it was.

Olivia leaned back in her seat with a smirk. Like she would leave her men
trapped in that tunnel if they did make it back. They were her men. She
wouldn't abandon them to die trapped in a tunnel after only twenty-four
hours.

Mustang shook his head with a smirk. General Armstrong. She was an ice
queen, but that didn't mean she wasn't loyal to her men. She didn't abandon
her comrades. She did care for her men. She just would never let that fact be
known.

Liran was shown from behind as he put the watch away with Buccaneer
and Henschel staring at him in slight disbelief. "It's a nice watch, isn't
it?" He turned around to face the screen. "General Armstrong gave it to
me whenever you guys left." He walked away as Buccaneer and
Henschel stood up straight and looked at each other.

The white landscape of the north was shown.

The scene moved down to show General Armstrong sitting on the edge of
Fort Briggs's roof with her sword.

"General!" Buccaneer's voice called.

Olivia looked over her shoulder to see Buccaneer standing there with a
salute. She turned her face back towards the screen, eyes shut. "Did you
find the advance party?"
Buccaneer lowered his salute. "There were only two survivors."

Olivia's face was shown up close as she opened her eye. "Is that so?" She
asked as footsteps were heard.

Buccaneer was shown from behind as he approached Olivia. "May I ask

what you are doing?"

"I'm looking at the mountains." Olivia replied before the mountains

were shown. The scene slowly moved to the side to show more
mountains.

"I like the winters up here." Olivia said. She and Buccaneer were shown
from the side. "Everything's black and white. I appreciate the pure
simplicity of it."

"Appreciate that since nothing else is simply." Ed said dryly.

"It hasn't been simple since you brothers showed up in front of my fort."
Olivia retorted.

"It would have been simple if Sloth didn't break through the floor." Ed
retorted. He paused and frowned. "Well, not really simple with Raven
showing up cause that was going to happen whether Sloth broke through the
floor or not. But it would have been simpler if it was just him we had to deal
with out of all of this. So, technically, it was Sloth who made this whole thing
a lot more complicated."

"Really? Because I think he actually made it easier for you." Kei said with a
grin. "If he never showed up, you would never have told General Armstrong
what was going on and what you knew so you would never get out of Fort
Briggs."

After a moment, Ed looked back at the screen with a scowl. "Screw it. The
whole thing is way too complicated to try to figure out."

"That's not true, sir." Buccaneer said.

Olivia looked at Buccaneer, who turned his face towards the sky. Olivia
followed his lead and looked at the sky as well.

The blue sky was shown with a bird flying through it.

"You can see blue if you look up." Buccaneer said. "There's nothing
that's entirely black and white." He appeared on screen, grinning widely.
"And thanks for showing your soldiers a little mercy. It means a lot, sir."

Olivia's bowed head appeared on screen. Her eye softened a bit as she
gave a small smile. "That's nice, but I don't know what you're talking
about."

"It is really all about denial with soldiers, isn't it?" Al asked amused.

"Why would they admit to anything and ruin their reputation?" Ed retorted.
"Soldiers really don't want to appear soft. It would mean that they could be
taken advantage of, and that is something that soldiers really can't have
happen."

The mountains were shown in the distance with cars driving down the
road, slowly approaching the screen.

The cars were shown up close. The scene moved to the side slowly to
show them.

The roof of Fort Briggs appeared on screen to show Olivia and

Buccaneer watching as the cars approached.

Olivia's face appeared on screen with Buccaneer standing behind her.

"It appears we have guests." Buccaneer said.

The snow appeared on screen with a foot being shown next, smashing the
snow down.

The cars were shown from behind with soldiers standing by them,
shutting the car doors as they got out with three soldiers saluting in the
distance.
"This doesn't look good." Mustang said with a frown.

"Does it ever look good anymore? Any guests that come to Fort Briggs now
just bring more and more trouble." Havoc said.

"Hey!" Ed and Al protested.

Luke scoffed. "Come on, you seriously can't say you didn't bring trouble."

"I would go as far as to say they even started the trouble in Briggs. If they
never showed up with their information, none of this would be happening."
Clarink added.

Ed opened his mouth, then closed it and shared a look with Al. He shrugged.
"You're probably right on that one." He mumbled.

Buccaneer and Olivia were shown close up with salutes to the soldiers.
The scene moved to the side to show another soldier saluting.

They were shown from behind as one of the men that just arrived
approached the three with a brief salute.

"Long time no see, General Armstrong. Sorry to drop in like this." The
man said. He was shown up close. "But it's somewhat urgent. Central
Command has a few questions that they would very much liked to have
answered."

Dramatic music suddenly started as Olivia was shown. The wind started
to blow before Fort Briggs was shown from a distance. The scene moved
up the fort to show the sky before some soldiers in Baschool appeared on
screen.

"Fall back!" One of the soldiers shouted.

Another soldier waved an arm in the air to motion falling back.

"Everyone back!"

Kimblee appeared on screen. He looked up in surprise.

Kimblee was shown from behind with the building in front of them.
There was a brief sight of blue alchemical light flashing along part of the
building before another explosion rocked the building, sending a lot
more dark smoke to fill the air, causing some soldiers to run from the
building.

The smoke was shown up close as coughing was heard.

Ed ran out of the smoke, mouth covered by his arm.

Kimblee was shown with a couple soldiers behind him as Ed fell onto the
screen.

"Damn it." Ed cursed, glaring out of the side of his eyes at where he just
came from.

"What's going on in there, Fullmetal?" Kimblee asked.

Ed looked over at him with a frown. "You bastard." He was shown up

close as he turned his glare to Kimblee. "This is all your fault, Kimblee!
You were supposed to be watching Winry!"

Kimblee was shown up close, blinking in surprise with a couple of

soldiers behind him, staring in shock. One of the soldiers looked up at
the roof then back at Kimblee.

"Mr. Kimblee, look up there on the roof."

The building was shown again. The scene slowly moved up the side of the
building to the roof to show Scar standing there with Winry under his
arm.

"I'm going to kill you!" Ed snarled as he rose to his feet, eyes locked onto
Scar.

Mustang quickly rose to his feet and wrapped his arms around Ed's chest to
keep him from lunging at Scar. They did not need to have another fight in
here. They have already had too many if the holes in the wall and the broken
coffee table were anything to go by.
"Weird, kidnapping is not really Scar's MO." Hughes said as Mustang held
Ed back from going through with his promise to kill Scar.

"How could he have possibly escaped with how he was trapped?" Buccaneer
asked with a dark frown.

"Who the hell cares about that?" Al asked angrily, shooting a dark look at
Scar.

Izumi slammed a foot into Al's back to keep him from doing anything. "I
know you are mad and frustrated and wanting to kill, but doing that now will
not save Winry in the future."

"I'm more surprised that Ed ran outside instead of finding a way to chase Scar
to get to the roof to get Winry back." Brody said.

"Getting myself killed trying to get to Scar will not save Winry." Ed growled.
He tried twisting around in Mustang's arms to get free, but it didn't work. It
would be so much easier to just hurt Mustang to get free, but he didn't want to
do that. One, he would get in trouble for attacking his commanding officer.
Two, Mustang was…..a friend of sorts. He didn't want to attack a friend….or
a friend of sorts. "Especially when he keeps creating those explosions. I'd
probably end up dead or severely injured before I could get anywhere near
them, and then I wouldn't be able to save Winry at all."

"So let's learn how you save her. Instead of wasting time attacking Scar, let's
see what happens." Mustang growled.

Ed shot one last glare at Scar before nodding his head. Mustang let him go
and Ed dropped stiffly back down next to Hughes.
Al grumbled to himself and sat back up. How could this have happened?
They had Scar trapped! He couldn't use his alchemy with the way they had
him trapped. How did he escaped and how did he get Winry? None of this
was making sense.

Winry was shown up close, unconscious. The scene moved up to show

Scar glaring down at the soldiers.
The ending song began.

The scene went dark.

Ed and Al glared darkly at Scar.

"Hughes is right about one thing. You don't kidnap, so what the hell are you
playing at?" Al growled.

"I do not know what is going on. Like you, at this point, I have no idea of
what the plans for my future self are." Scar replied.

"It does feel strange though. The conversation Winry had with him feels very
abrupt, like something was missing from it. They started talking, then
suddenly there is an explosion." Mikal said with a frown.

"Yeah, I don't care about that. I care about the fact that my friend is now a
hostage to someone else." Ed said angrily. "And I want to see how we get her
out of this, so we are not discussing this. We are moving on."

A/N: I seem to have a problem of telling which chimera is talking when I

can't see their mouths moving. It's especially hard for me when they are
in their chimera bodies since their voices are distorted. So if I said Jerso
spoke when it was Zampano who actually said something, forgive me.

[1] It really does burn. I faced weather like this in the winter this year. It
burns a lot and it hurts. It makes me despise winter a lot more than I
used to. It is EVIL!

And let's make this very, very clear. I have been writing this story for
over a year. Yes, I know now that I had Mustang tell Hughes not to
mention Kimblee's plans with Winry's parents. BUT, I wrote that how
many months ago? This story is too long and has been going on for too
long for me to remember every freaking detail and conversation I have
put in the story. And I don't have the time or patience to go through
every single chapter to check for one conversation to see what I put down
for that part of the story. So YES! I am going to make mistakes. I don't
have the luxury of sitting down for days on end and reading the story
nonstop like some of my new readers do.

Please Review!
*Chapter 42*: Episode 39: Daydream
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 39: Daydream

Music started to play as the scene opened up to a gray colored scene that
was covered in sand. Two hands from two different boys appeared on
screen and drew a circle together.

"Another new opening?" Luke asked excitedly. "Well, it's about time."

Ed shot him a glare. "Who cares about the opening?"

"Glaring at me will not save Winry. Besides, this hasn't happened yet. If you
don't want Scar to kidnap her, which quite honestly I don't understand why he
did so in the first place, make sure to keep her away or do a better job of
protecting her." Luke retorted. "But getting frustrated right now won't help
anything. It will just raise your stress level."

With the scene still gray, Al as a kid was shown as he reached towards
something as light grey alchemical light flashed around him.

The scene changed to show Ed as a kid reaching towards his brother

with the light grey alchemical light flashing around.
The scene pulled up rapidly to show a transmutation circle drawing itself
from the inside out and turning the color of sand. It blew away to be
replaced by the words "Fullmetal Alchemist." The words pulled back as
they turned white and the background turned to black. A transmutation
circle glowing red appeared behind it as Ed was shown at the bottom of
the screen to be running while Al was on the top of the screen, upside
down and running as well.

The words disappeared from the screen as Ed and Al stopped running

and met in the center of the screen.

Boulders appeared on screen with Ed's legs as he stood on one of them.

The scene moved up to his face to show him shielding his eyes with one of
his hands against the sun as the wind blew.

"Owari naki tabi no tochū"

Ed turned his back to the screen to look in the distance. His face was
shown up close as the wind blew against his face. He turned his head to
the side. A white outline of Ed took over the screen as it changed to a
desert to show Al walking through it.

"tachidomarisō na toki"

"What's it saying?" Walkers asked curiously, looking over at Ed and then the
people from Xing.

"I'd translate for you, but guessing from what I've learned of Ed and Al so far
and these lyrics right now, I think this song is about them right now, so…"
Ling shot a look at Ed. "Maybe you should translate."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I think you're just lazy. 'Along our endless journey,
whenever it looked like we might stop, releasing a deep sigh.' What part of
that makes you think it should be about us?"

"The fact that you two have been on a journey for three years now." Mustang
pointed out.
"Or, you know, the more obvious one. You two are the only ones shown so
far in this opening song." Havoc pointed out.

Ed just scoffed.

Al was shown up close. Sand blew across the screen, hiding Al from view.

When the sand disappeared, the scene showed Ed and Al with their
backs to one another with long blue shadows in front of them and the
Gate shown up close in the background in red. The scene spun as they
were zoomed in on. The area between the two were shown up close to
show an 'eye' opening up there.

"Fukai tameiki kobosu bokura wa"

Ed and Al were shown running onto screen from opposite directions.

They ran right through each other causing Ed to suddenly glow red
while Al glowed blue.

"Did you guys just run through each other?" Avery asked, raising a brow.

"Pretty sure unless one of you is a ghost, that shouldn't be possible." Aran
said.

"I can't believe you guys are trying to make sense of these openings that are
just openings. None of that stuff actually happens." Al muttered.

"Would be really interesting if it did though." Skylak said.

"Life is interesting enough as it is. We don't need anything else joining into
the chaos that is life." Hughes said with a grin. He swung an arm around Ed's
shoulders. "Right, Ed?"

Ed shot him a look. "I think, considering my life so far, that is an unfair
judgment. I am pretty sure that no one else has a life quite like mine."

"Yeah, you and Al do seem to get mixed up into a lot of things that most
people never see." Hughes mused.
Ed was shown up close, looking around while Al's back was shown in the
background as he too looked around.

Ed turned halfway around before Al was shown closer to the screen.

Xiao-Mei jumped onto screen and landed on Al's shoulder.

"Tsukamikakete wa mata hanareteitta"

"'We'd begin to take hold of each other, but then come apart again. But now,
there is nothing more to fear.'" Ed said.

"What?" Havoc asked confused.

Ed shot him an irritated look. "I'm translating. Stick with the program. Or, I
could just stop altogether. I honestly wouldn't mind at this point."

"No, no, you just threw me. I didn't expect you to continue doing it so
willingly on your own. Continue." Havoc said.

Ed rolled his eyes.

May was shown grabbing Al's hand as the colors went back to normal.

Ed was shown as he looked out of the corner of his eyes in surprise since
Winry was standing there, resting a wrench on her shoulder. Ed quickly
turned around to face her.

The scene was shown from the sky to show Granny Pinako with Winry
while nearby Al was with Scar and Dr. Marcoh as well.

Mustang appeared on screen, then Lan Fan, then Armstrong. Following

them was more and more trusted friends before the whole screen was
filled.

"Demo ima wa mō nanimo osoreru koto wa nai"

"So, what is that saying?" Aran asked curiously.

"'The powerful ties that join our hearts will never be broken.'" Ed and Ling
said at the same time, making Ed glare at Ling.

"You said I was translating. Stay out." Ed growled.

Ling shrugged. "But isn't that awesome? Seems you and Al have made a lot
of trusted allies."

"Considering how far this is all going, I would hope that we all have a lot of
trusted allies." Armstrong said. "We are going to need them in the coming
days."

Al's body appeared on screen with the Gate behind him. His mouth
moved as he said something in a fast tone before a Philosopher's Stone
appeared on screen. It burst into pieces to show Pride behind it as the
pieces disintegrated and Pride's shadow took over the whole screen
before Ed was falling onto screen and dodging around the shadows and
blocking it with his automail.

"Did you just block Pride's shadow with your automail?" Lester asked in
surprise.

"And that is shocking why?" Ed asked annoyed.

"You saw what he did to us in the tunnel. He destroyed everything." Lester

said. "There is no way your automail could survive that."

Ed raised a challenging brow, but just shrugged. "It's just the opening. I'm not
necessarily even going to fight Pride."

Ed flipped backwards into the sky with Pride's shadow still coming at
him from all angles before the smirking Pride was shown.

Al appeared on screen standing on a boulder. He jumped backwards and

off of the boulder onto another as Pride's shadows came at him. The
shadows destroyed the boulder he jumped to so he jumped back into the
air and clapped his hands as he flipped. He landed on the ground and
slammed his hands down onto it, causing the ground to shift into a
mountain around Pride's shadow, pulling it apart.

"Kokoro wo tsunagu tsuyoi kizuna wa"

Bradley was shown up close as he swung his sword. The scene was shown
from an upward angle as the person he was fighting jumped backwards.

Bradley's sword was shown swung over the person's bent backwards
body. As the sword was retracted, Greed rose up and swung a hand at
him, causing a flash of light to fill the screen.

"Why the hell is Greed fighting Bradley? Aren't they supposed to be on the
same side?" Darius asked.

"Who can even understand anything with the Homunculi anymore?" Heinkel
grumbled.

"Well, it did seem like the relationship Greed had with the other Homunculi
was a bit…strained." Al said.

"But that was a different Greed." May pointed out with a frown. "This is the
new Greed. So, shouldn't it be like starting anew?"

Al shrugged. "Wouldn't know. The idea of Homunculus is a very complex

part of alchemy. We studied it a bit, but unless we actually do experiments
with it, we don't understand all the complexities of it so figuring out how the
two Greeds are different and the same is next to impossible."

"Though considering that the first Greed came from Father, then Father took
him back into his body, then used that greed to make the second Greed, it
stands to reason that there will be some similarities. We just don't know what,
and quite frankly, it doesn't help solve the question of why Greed is attacking
Wrath." Ed added. "So, let it go!"

Envy, in his true monster form, was shown. He was shown up close,
screaming out. Lan Fan flipped down his body, tearing it apart of bit
with her weapons before Fu appeared beside her, racing down Envy's
body with her.
A kick of water spray across the screen and when it split, May was
shown with her leg still up from kicking before the scene changed to
show Olivia with her arms crossed and eyes closed. She opened her eyes
as she looked up.

"Keshite hodoke wa shinai sa"

Sloth was shown as he climbed his way out of the snow.

Miles appeared on screen with tanks on the hill behind him as he threw
an arm out in front of him as he shouted out an order. The tanks fired
bullets at Sloth one after the other.

The towering Sloth appeared on screen as Kimblee dropped down in

front of him, holding onto his hat. Kimblee was shown from behind to
show the bullets in the sky approaching them.

Kimblee was shown from the front as he held his hands out in front of
him with red alchemical light sparking around him.

The bombs in the sky were shown as they exploded, filling the sky with
dark smoke.

"Sagashitsuzukete tadoritsuita"

"Oh, look, Kimblee is helping Sloth. Big shocker there." Forman scoffed.

"At least he blew the bombs up and not you guys." May said.

Hohenheim appeared on screen. He looked up at the night sky before his

feet were shown from behind. The scene pulled away from him to show
him staring at Central, which was in the distance.

"Kono basho de periodo ni"

"'Here in this place where we have arrived after searching for so long, we'll
place a period.'" Ed said. "Well, that bit doesn't make much sense to me."

"It probably means something like the closing of chapter and the next part of
your life or journey is about to begin." Riza told him.

"Still weird."

Ed's automail hand and Al's hand appeared on screen. The scene
changed angles quickly to show them with their backs to each other and
standing in the center of a transmutation array.

"What kind of array is that?" Lan Fan asked.

"Something new and unique that has never been heard of." Izumi said with a
frown. "I have never seen anything like it."

"Nothing we have seen so far has been pointless, so I think this array has
some significant importance." Mustang said.

The scene pulled away from the brothers.

The scene changed to show the Gate as it started to open.

"Kanashimi ikari chikara ni kaete"

The Gate began to disintegrate. As it disappeared, the scene turned white

and a pocket watch fell onto screen. The pocket watch turned into a
black outline with the words "Fullmetal Alchemist" appearing over
them with a shadowed Ed and Al standing at the bottom of the screen.

"Unmei wa sugu soba ni"

"'Turning our sorrow and anger to strength, our destiny is right beside us.'"
Ed said.

"So basically saying that through all the pain and grief that the Homunculi
will cause us, we should use that to make ourselves stronger to stop them."
May said.

A predator's grin made its way onto Ed's face. "Well, it is definitely better
than just sitting back and taking everything they throw at us. I'd rather anger
them as much as possible before destroying their plan altogether."
"And that is not surprising at all." May said, shaking her head.

"It should be easy to. Brother is really good at the whole annoying people
thing." Al said teasingly, making Ed grin. It was easy to annoy people,
though he wouldn't deny the fact that he got annoyed easily in return.

The sky which was filled with dark gray clouds appeared on screen as
the wind blew.

"That doesn't look good." Miles said with a frown.

"Why is that?" Al asked confused.

"Looks like there is going to be a blizzard." Miles said. "After being up there
for so long, it is easy to tell when a bad one is coming."

Ed scowled. "As if there weren't enough problems right now. Now a stupid
blizzard is going to get in the way."

Slow, dramatic music started to play as an unconscious Winry was

shown before the scene moved up to show Scar glaring down at the
soldiers.

"Anyone else notice that Scar's arm is bandaged?" Ling asked with a frown.
There was just no way that Scar could have escaped, captured Winry, and
bandaged his arm in that short amount of time. They definitely had to be
missing something.

"Yeah, lucky him. He won't bleed out." Ed muttered. "You have a point
there?"

Ling shrugged. "Just seems strange given the timeline of events that we have
seen so far."

Kimblee was shown.

Scar's eyes appeared on screen. "Tell me something, Kimblee."

A picture of Kimblee with an evil grin in place from the war appeared on
screen.

Scar from the war was shown glaring up at Kimblee.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Scar asked.

Kimblee reappeared on screen, face shown from the side.

"It seems we changed places." Scar said.

"Just one difference." Izumi said. "Kimblee didn't have a hostage when you
faced off during your first meeting."

"That and their level of cruelty." Mustang added. "Scar is a serial killer, but
he does have some honor and doesn't attack civilians or kill people from his
own side." Now that he actually thought about it, the only time civilians were
ever hurt because of Scar's fights was when Lust and Gluttony attacked him
and then those two bounty hunters came after him. He did a good job of
avoiding civilians when attacking his targets.

"You shouldn't be so confident!" Kimblee said.

The episode title, "Daydream," appeared on screen.

Ed appeared on screen running towards Kimblee. "Kimblee! Damn

you!" His hands were shown as they grabbed the front of Kimblee's
jacket.

Kimblee's hat was shown as it flew through the air.

Ed was shown from behind with Kimblee staring coldly ahead.

"Tell me why?" Ed demanded. He was shown from the front to show

Miles, Al, and a couple Briggs soldiers watching. "Why is Winry here?"

"It didn't really register before, but you're the one who snuck Winry away
from the soldiers." Hughes said suspiciously.

"And your point is?" Ed asked agitated.

Hughes raised a brow. "You're angry so you aren't thinking. Why would you
be screaming at Kimblee about not watching Winry when it was you guys
who took her away from the soldiers?"

Ed frowned and looked at the screen with narrowed eyes. "I wouldn't be. I
would be blaming myself for sneaking her away from the soldiers."

"So you will agree with me that something is up?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "Something is always up."

"We finally got Scar cornered and now he's taken her hostage because of
you!" Ed said.

Ed was shown from behind.

"Stand aside." Kimblee said, causing Ed to look down in surprise to

watch Kimblee pull his gloves off.

"Oh, hell no! He is not going to do what I think he is going to do while there
is a hostage?" Ed snarled angrily.

"This is Kimblee." Luke pointed out. "I don't think he really cares. He did kill
his own comrades."

"But he knows Winry is a hostage to Ed and Al so they'll do what the

Homunculi want. He should be focused on keeping her alive for that sole
purpose so he really shouldn't be planning to attack." Riza said with a frown.

Havoc snorted. "I don't think we will ever be able to understand Kimblee's
mind or why he does things he shouldn't."

"He might just really want to get the Ishvalan that got away." Brody said with
a shrug. "I can see him putting that over the importance of a hostage."

Kimblee was shown from behind as his spread his arms.

Ed's shocked face was shown up close as he shouted, "What are you
doing?"
Ed caught Kimblee's arms as he started to bring them together and kept
them apart. "Stop! Stop this now, Crimson Alchemist!" Ed growled. His
angry face appeared on screen. "Can't you see Winry's up there with
him? I won't let you attack."

Al let out a sigh of relief. Thank the heavens and earths his brother was right
there in front of Kimblee. There was no possible way any of them could have
stopped Kimblee from attacking and possibly killing Winry if his brother
wasn't so intent on yelling at Kimblee. Though why was he? Ling and
Hughes were right about something being off. It was him and Ed that snuck
Winry away. It was them that kept her hidden from the soldiers. The only
thing Kimblee was at fault for was being stupid and blind enough to fall for
it.

Scar was shown from an upward angle with Winry still hanging limply
in his arms.

The back of Ed's head appeared on screen. The scene slowly moved up to
Kimblee's face.

"Why can't you just stay out of the way?" Kimblee growled.

"Who?" Lan Fan asked. "Ed or Winry?"

"What do you mean?" May asked.

"Well, Ed is the one stopping Kimblee from attacking, but it is because of

Winry. Winry kept getting in the way by insisting she come to Baschool and
now she is a hostage to Scar. And Ed is just plain stubborn and he ran away
in Baschool with Al. I'm sure Kimblee is aware of that. So who exactly is he
telling to stay out of the way?" Lan Fan asked.

"I'm sure he is equally annoyed at all the teenagers currently in Baschool."

Hughes said amused.

"Why was I dragged into this?" Al asked, not that he really cared if he
annoyed Kimblee or not. He didn't particular like the man, especially now
since he just tried to attacked Scar while he had Winry.
"Maybe because you escaped from Kimblee's men." Grants sad sarcastically.

Scar was shown crouched on the roof with Winry lying behind him as he
put his hand on the roof and blue alchemical light lit up the screen. The
screen moved rapidly down the building to follow the sparks of
alchemical light. At the bottom of the building, the light disappeared and
the building cracked all over.

The soldiers were shown from behind as parts of the building fell and
slammed into the ground. Ed jumped aside to stand next to Kimblee as
he covered his head and all the soldiers were lost in the kick up of snow
from the attack.

The roof was shown again as Scar stood up with Winry under his arm
again. He turned around and left.

Kimblee and Ed appeared on screen, both looking back up towards the

roof.

"Not so fast, Ishvalan!" Kimblee shouted and started to run after him
when a soldier grabbed his shoulder.

"No, wait, it's much too dangerous to get close to the building." The
soldier warned.

The building was shown from an upward angle as some of the smoke
blew past it.

"Fall back!"

Kimblee appeared on screen, staring at the building as the soldiers

moved around behind him to get away from the building.

"A snowstorm!"

"Hurry!"

Kimblee was shown up close.

The scene changed to show Ed, Miles, Al, and a couple of soldiers from
the side as it snowed around them.

Miles appeared on screen. "That was a convincing performance."

"Performance?" Avery asked with a frown. "What the heck does that me?"

"I think it means that everything Ed just did and said was an act." Havoc said
slowly. "So Ed was acting irate about Winry being taken hostage by Scar."

"That would never be considered acting. He would be beyond angry if

anything ever happened to her." Riza said.

"It could be possible the whole thing was an act. Not just Ed's actions, but
also Winry's and Scar's." Izumi pointed out.

Ed shot her a look. "Are you kidding me? We staged her kidnapping? Is that
what you're saying? Who in their right mind would stage a kidnapping with a
known serial killer?!"

"It is just a suggestion. But because we know a few more things than
Kimblee, we can see a few things strange with what was going on. So it is a
possibility." Izumi told him calmly.

The scene moved down to Ed. "It wasn't a performance." He said before
the screen changed angles to show his face from the side to show him
gritting his teeth in anger. "I'm every bit as angry as I sounded back
there. I feel so worthless…having to put on this stupid charade."

"If that isn't enough proof that this whole kidnapping is all an act, then I don't
know what is." Grants said.

"But why are we doing it in the first place?" Al asked confused.

"Well, hopefully the stupid future will explain it to us." Ed grumbled.

Ed's mind flashed back to the group when they were still inside the
building as ghostly music filled the background.
"Why?" Winry asked. "Why did you kill my mother and father?"

"There's nothing I can say that won't sound like an excuse." Scar replied
as the scene pulled farther and farther away from the group. "And
nothing can change the fact that I am responsible for their deaths."
Scar's trapped hand appeared on screen, curling into a fist. "I killed
them."

Winry's face appeared on screen.

Scar was shown from the side, eyes shut and head bowed. He slowly
opened his hand, then his eyes as he looked up at her. Winry was shown
standing in front of him with Miles and another soldier behind her
watching.

"Young girl, you have every right to pass judgment on me." Scar said.

Winry's face was shown from the side.

Scar was shown as Winry turned away from him.

Winry grabbed a rag out of a crate and went back to Scar, who watched
her in surprise.

"Your arm." Winry said as she crouched in front of him. "You'll die if
we don't bandage it." She wrapped the bandage around his arm.

"Well, that explains the bandaged arm." Aran said.

"Though, I'm sure May could just as easily heal Scar's arm. She is there
watching from the doorway, right?" Luke asked, shooting a look at May.

May shrugged. "I probably don't want to step into that room at the moment."
She looked back at the screen with a small smile. And, this was definitely
something Winry needed to do. She would probably heal Scar's arm later, but
for now, she would let Winry do what she needed.

Ed was shown, staring in surprise. "Winry."

"Quiet, Ed. I think…I think this is what my parents would've wanted."
Winry said.

Scar was shown, staring in surprise as he watched her wrap his arm.

The side of Winry's face appeared on screen. "Mom and Dad saved his
life before after all. There has to be a reason for that."

"Yeah, it's called being good people who took their job to save lives very
seriously." Hughes said softly.

"Great people, really." Ed corrected to himself as he looked down at his

photo book. He opened it to look at a picture from when he was a little kid. It
was right before Winry's parents had to leave to go be doctors in the war. It
was of him, Al, Winry, and Winry's parents all on a picnic together. He did
remember this picture. Granny Pinako had taken it. Aunt Sara and Uncle
Urey were trying to comfort him and Al on this trip since they no longer had
parents at his point. It was actually really nice.

Scar stared at her. "Does that mean you're forgiving me?"

Winry looked up angrily at him. "Don't get me wrong. I don't forgive

your wanton murdering."

Scar's surprised face was shown from the side. He frowned before the
scene was shown from a downward angle.

Scar's arm appeared on screen as Winry tightened the makeshift

bandages. When she was done, she stood up and Ed turned to face her.

"Winry," Ed said softly.

"It's alright." Winry said. "I won't cry."

Ed was shown from behind with Winry in front of him, who turned to
Ed as she closed her eyes and gave him a forced smile.

"Didn't I promise that the next time I cried they would be tears of joy?"
Winry asked.
"She is being strong for you." Izumi said with a soft smile. Winry may not be
a fighter. She may not be physically strong, but mentally, mentally, Winry
was probably one of the strongest people out there. Having to suffer so much
and having to watch those close to her suffer so much has really made her
strong enough to handle so much. And because of all of that, she was fighting
her own tough battle of not letting anything make her cry so she could keep
her promise to Ed to cry tears of joy the next time she cried. It really was
amazing that she would fight so hard to keep a promise when she had no idea
of what life was going to throw at her next.

"That is what happens when someone loves someone else so much." Hughes
said with a grin. "They do what needs to be done to be strong for them."

"Why is everything about love with you?" Ed mumbled. "Can't it be that we

are just very close friends?"

"Isn't she the one who said she was falling for you?" Luke asked with a grin.

"This whole thing is way too intrusive into our thoughts." Ed grumbled. "You
guys had no need to know that."

Luke smirked. "Well, since we do, we better get an invite to that wedding."

"There is no wedding!" Ed shouted as he threw a pillow at Luke, who ducked

and let the pillow hit an annoyed Mikal.

"Hey!" Mikal shouted.

"It was Luke's fault." Ed said quickly.

Luke smirked at him.

Ed was shown, staring at her.

Winry was shown. Ed put a hand on her head as he stepped closer to her
and put their heads together.

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Hughes said as he swung an arm around Ed's neck.
"She is acting tough for you, but you know she is upset so you hugged her."
"Isn't that the same thing Izumi did for him and Al when they were trying to
act tough when they were telling her about their human transmutation?"
Mustang asked.

"Well, hugs are a great way to comfort someone." Hughes said.

"Or annoy them." Ed added with a scowl and a glare at Hughes. "Get off of
me."

Chuckling, Hughes released Ed from his hold.

Ed turned around to glare at Ling who was still on the couch. "You leave me
to this torture?"

Ling chuckled. He jumped down off the couch and motioned to Hughes to
take his spot. When Hughes did trade spots with him, Ling grinned at Ed.
"Do you think I will be any better?"

Ed glared at him. "We'll see. I can hit you at least."

"Why can't you hit Hughes?" Ling asked.

"He still has a higher rank than me." Ed grumbled in annoyance.

"Didn't stop you before." Ling teased.

Ed glared at him. "He's driving me crazy."

Winry smiled a bit.

Scar appeared on screen.

Ed stepped in front of Scar. "Listen, Scar." He was shown. "No matter

what Winry says, I still want to beat you bloody."

"Now who is aiming for unnecessary force?" Jerso sneered.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You two were doing it for no reason at all. I want to do it
because he killed my aunt and uncle, hurt Winry, and he has tried to kill me
multiple times!"

"Now you're just making up excuses." Heinkel retorted.

"Always good to have those backed up." Al said amused. "And Brother
always seems to have a lot, even if they don't always do him any good."

Ed rolled his eyes. "That's because people don't like to believe me."

"You do have a tendency to lie sometimes." Havoc pointed out. "Makes it

kind of hard to believe you sometimes."

"And drag you down to the Rockbell family grave to pay your respects."
Ed said.

Scar appeared on screen, staring at the teen State Alchemist. After a

moment, he closed his eyes and bowed his head.

Miles and another soldier were shown to be watching the scene.

"Should we contact headquarters, sir?" The soldier asked.

"Yes," Miles replied.

"Major Miles, wasn't it?" Scar asked. He was shown from the front with
Ed still standing in front of him. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Miles asked.

Scar was shown up close as he raised his head and opened his eyes.
"Earlier you said I was one of your people."

Miles was shown, gun pointed at Scar, as he approached him. "That's

right. I'm part Ishvalan on my grandfather's side." He reached a hand
up and removed his glasses to show his red eyes. "I wished we didn't
have to meet like this, red-eyed brother of mine."

Scar appeared on screen.

"Both Ishvalans, but both on opposite sides of the coin." Maria said softly.
"One became a murderer and the other stayed in the military of the country
that destroyed Ishval."

"Just goes to show how different people can be, despite having the same race
running through their blood." Armstrong said.

"The knowledge and pain that everyone receives in a situation can lead them
down a different path." Skylak said. "It's amazing to see how different people
handle the same situation."

"How can you bring yourself to be a part of the Amestrian military?"

Scar asked.

Miles was shown with the soldier behind him looking at Miles.

Ed, Winry, and Al were shown before the scene went back to Miles.

"My objective is to work from the inside to change how the people of this
country view the people of Ishval." Miles said.

"One works to change people's view and the other works on killing for
revenge." Ed shook his head. "That kind of makes Major Miles's goal a bit
harder to achieve."

"Does it? You accepted me rather easily." Miles pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm not racist." Ed said with a shrug. "People are people to me.
I've seen Amestrians kill other Amestrians and Amestrians become terrorists
to their own country. It would be stupid of me to hate all Ishvalans for Scar's
acts alone after seeing what I have, but civilians don't see what we in the
military see. They are kept in the dark about a lot of what happens."

"Some say ignorance is bliss, but it also leaves you not knowing or
understanding a lot." Mustang said.

"That is true, but they don't know what they are missing so they don't realize
how little they truly understand." Riza said.
Scar's eye appeared on screen, widening. The scene pulled out to show
his face. "I don't think that great a task will be easy to accomplish."

"Who knows how long it will take." Miles replied before the side of his
face appeared on screen. "But still, my mixed blood gives me a slight
advantage at least."

The scene was shown from a downward angle.

"I'm an Ishvalan pebble tossed into the ocean of the Amestrian military."
Miles said. "Maybe in time, the ripples I create will become great
waves." He put his glasses back on before his face was shown up close.
"And do you want to know what the most ironic part about is? It was an
Amestrian who set me on this path in the first place."

Scar was shown to be glaring at Miles. After a moment, he looked down

and was shown up close as he said, "Look at me. I'm a festering wound
of hatred born of the great Ishvalan war." He looked back up at Miles.
"I am thankful that there is someone like you out there."

"It just took years, but I think that was admittance from Scar that the way he
was handling things is the wrong way." Forman said.

Scar glared at him, but didn't refute. It was true. Going for revenge and
killing all those soldiers and State Alchemists was never the way to handle
the situation. It did not solve a single problem that his people faced since
losing their country. It was his mistake for letting the hatred he felt fester into
such greatness that he would act on it by becoming a murderer. It was his
fault for almost losing who he was, no one else's.

"What's that say about Amestris who handles every situation with
bloodshed?" Lan Fan asked.

"That we are ruled by evil, inhuman monsters and that we really need to fix
that." Ed replied dryly.

"Well, duh. You guys really should get on that. Considering your country has
been like that since its creation, I think you've put it off long enough." Ling
said.

"Yeah, no one asked you, Ling." Ed retorted.

"Just speaking the truth."

Miles appeared on screen.

"Major," A soldier said as he walked over, causing Miles to take his eyes
off Scar.

The soldier was shown standing next to him, holding up a phone.

Miles took the phone and held it up to his ear. "Copy. Major Miles
here." His face was shown from the side. "We captured Scar. We're
holding him in area D."

Kimblee and his team of soldiers were shown to be walking out of a

building.

"That would explain how the soldiers knew you were in the area when that
explosion happened." Myers said.

"And why they were right outside the building when you guys came out."
Skylak added.

"But where does the kidnapping part come into play? It hasn't even come up
yet in the conversation." May said confused.

"It's going to soon. With Kimblee on the move, we don't have much time left
on our own." Ed said.

"What happened to not being able to predict the future anymore because
everything is going to be an impromptu plan from here on?" Havoc said with
a grin.

"Maybe the fact that we already saw Winry get taken hostage by Scar. Seeing
that, it shouldn't be too hard to make a few predictions." Ed retorted.
"Inform Kimblee." Miles said as Kimblee's face was shown close up.

The room the group was in reappeared on screen, showing the group
from a distance.

"Whatever the circumstances may be between us, I cannot let you go."
Miles said.

"And yet, from the context of your words alone, you did let him go, with
Winry." Izumi pointed out.

"There would have to be a really good reason for me to do something like

that." Miles replied.

"You must accept judgment."

Dr. Marcoh stepped onto screen and shouted, "Hold on!"

"Wow, you must really believe in this if you are going to argue with soldiers
after hiding from the military for so long." Clarink said.

"I would never forgive myself if I sat back and did nothing now that I have an
idea of what those Homunculi plan to do to the country." Dr. Marcoh replied.

"Finally ready to join the fight?" Ed asked.

Dr. Marcoh chuckled. "I'm more of a researcher then a fighter, but I will do
what I can to help."

"I would hope so. Brother and I may have studied Homunculi a bit and met
them a couple times, but you seem to know more about them then we do." Al
said. "Whatever knowledge you have and with those notes you have, it would
all be helpful."

The group turned to look at the doorway.

"Who's there?" Miles asked.

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen with May leaning passed him to look
into the room as gentle music began to play.

"May!" Al shouted.

"Dr. Marcoh." Ed said.

"Please don't take Scar as your prisoner. We need him." Dr. Marcoh
said.

"It's strange. Never really heard of anyone needing a serial killer's help
before." Ed said.

"Stranger things have occurred." Ling pointed out.

"In a country run by Homunculi and their Father, that isn't hard to believe."
Ed retorted. "Especially with idiot princes allowing themselves to become the
enemy!"

"What can I say? I'm greedy! You know this." Ling argued.

Ed snorted. "If it was any other Homunculi you were trying to become, I
doubt it would have worked. You would have been killed."

"Then lucky for me it was Greed." Ling replied.

"Usually that wouldn't be lucky." Al muttered. "Now that you are a

Homunculus, maybe you could use your time as an immortal being to find a
way to become human again."

"It's not really my area of expertise." Ling muttered.

"Great job, idiot. What is your plan now? You can't really get to Xing since
Greed is in control." Ed muttered.

Ling shrugged. "I'll figure something out."

Ed stared at him blankly before shaking his head. Figure something out?
Yeah, sure, how was he planning to do that when Greed wasn't letting go of
control of his body?
The scene changed to show a group of soldiers outside being led by
Kimblee.

Kimblee was shown close up with a soldier behind him looking up at the
sky.

"This doesn't look good." The soldier said. "The weather's changing."

Kimblee raised his head and turned it a bit to look at the soldier.

The sky was shown to show the dark clouds in it moving fast.

"The clouds are moving fast." Another soldier said.

"A storm's on its way." A third soldier said.

"And now that we know Winry's kidnapping was planned by us, a storm is
the perfect cover, not another hindrance to us." Miles said.

"What do you mean?" May asked curiously.

"The weather up north is very unpredictable. It can change in an instance.

And now the weather is changing with Scar having kidnapped Winry. From
the speed and color of the clouds, it looks like it is going to be bad one and it
is moving in fast. As long as Scar can get out of there quickly with Winry and
find shelter, he'll be able to use the storm as the perfect cover so we can't
capture him." Miles explained.

"He can hide, but he can't escape. That would mean he will be stuck in
Baschool with us until this storm passes over." Ed said with a frown.

"But as you've already learned, it's a big town. They could hide, and then get
out of the town the minute the storm passes without us knowing." Miles
pointed out.

"I guess if they move fast enough." Ed muttered, though he wasn't really
convinced. Not with Kimblee being the one hunting them down.

Kimblee's back was shown. He looked over his shoulder at them. "Hurry
then."

"Deciphering notes, huh." Miles said as Dr. Marcoh's hands appeared on

screen, holding the notes in them.

"Yes! It's groundbreaking research that tries to fuse Amestrian alchemy

and Xingese Alkahestry." May explained.

"And it might also help with what is going on with the country." Al added.
"Telling him that might actually help your argument since I'm sure General
Armstrong has told Major Miles about what we told her."

May shrugged. "Well, it might come up yet, and if it doesn't, it's probably
cause I don't know what you've told them."

"I wouldn't be that concerned about that part." Miles told her. "Any
information about the country being in danger would be welcomed by
soldiers who swear to protect the country and its citizens at all costs."

The group was shown from a downward angle with May and Dr.
Marcoh now with them.

"But all of the important parts are unreadable, written in ancient

Ishvalan." Dr. Marcoh said before looking over at Scar. "Scar's the only
one who can make sense of it." He looked back at Miles, who was still
pointing his gun at Scar. "Don't you see?"

Miles was shown up close as he refocused his eyes on Scar. "Hmm." He

was shown from the side as he looked back at Dr. Marcoh and May. "So
you're the Alkahestry girl? I have orders to bring you back to the fort."

"Ah! I forgot about that!" May exclaimed.

"It could be worse." Ed said with a shrug. "At least she doesn't want to kill
you."

May shot him a look. "You say the most reassuring stuff ever." She scowled.
"I'm not going to help her make Alkahestry into a weapon. That is not the
purpose of it. You guys fight too much in this country."
"Well, that's what happens when you have enemies surrounding you and
Homunculi controlling things from the shadows to make those neighboring
countries into enemies." Olivia growled.

"Me? But what do they want with me?" May asked scared. She jumped
behind Dr. Marcoh to hide.

May shot a look at Ed, then at Al. "It is all your fault."

"I think you should blame Major Armstrong. He is the one who sent us to
Fort Briggs." Al protested.

"And it was to help you, which it did. You would never have been able to get
to this point without their resources." Armstrong said.

"Can't argue with that." Al chuckled. "At least I'm with you, May. Brother
too. You know us so it should be fine."

"Except they want to turn Alkahestry into a weapon." May muttered annoyed.
Her Alkahestry was not meant to be utilized for mass destruction. It was to
protect, heal, defend, and to attack those who wanted to harm her or her
friends. It was never meant to be used for war.

"Don't worry. You'll receive a warm welcome I'm sure." Miles said.

"Until you refuse to explain Alkahestry so we can use it as a weapon, then the
welcome will no longer be warm." Kei said with a grin.

"And you're amused why?" May grumbled.

Kei chuckled. "Sorry. You see it enough times, it just gets amusing."

Ed shook his head. "Kei is just a jerk. Ignore him."

Kei shot Ed an annoyed look.

Miles turned his head and put a hand to his chin. "Now, let me think
here. Scar needs to be kept free and it would be just as bad if they found
out Dr. Marcoh was here as well." The scene changed angles to show
Miles from the front. "Alright, I think it might be best if we took you
back to Fort Briggs to hide you from senior military staff."

Ed walked onto screen and held up a hand. "Hold on. What are you
saying?" He turned to glare at Scar before looking back at Miles. "You
mean we're bringing that monster with us?"

Miles lowered his hand. "We need to decipher those notes, right, Elric?"

Ed raised a brow. "Did you just call me Elric?"

"There is a first time for everything." Buccaneer said amused.

Ed looked at Miles. "It's strange having you call me that."

"It's just because you are arguing with me." Miles told him.

Ed scowled and crossed his arms. Well, why shouldn't he argue? Right now,
he had a better understanding of Scar, but that didn't mean future him was
going to accept him. It was hard enough for him to accept Scar right now.
The more he found out about Scar the easier it was to understand his anger,
but the truth about his aunt and uncle still hurt a lot. It was always going to be
a complicated comradeship with Scar. Nothing would change that.

Ed was shown, looking at Scar out of the corner of his eyes. "There's not
a damn thing I want that guy's help with. Just hand him over to
Kimblee!"

"You must really hate him." Fu said.

"Considering how I met him, our meetings after that first meeting, and the
fact that he killed my aunt and uncle, how am I supposed to react?" Ed
retorted.

"And that fact that he's still a kid." Hughes pointed out. "His anger is pretty
normal for a teen his age. Plus, considering the horrors of those events, the
amount of hatred is normal too."
"Don't analyze this." Ed said annoyed.

"That reminds me of something Fullmetal once told me." Mustang said

thoughtfully.

"Yeah? What was it?" Hughes asked curiously.

"He was screaming about not wanting to grow up if it meant that he couldn't
go after someone for revenge for them killing a friend of his." Mustang said.
"I was telling him to just do his job, find the guy, and get him arrested, but
Fullmetal wanted revenge."

Hughes raised a brow. That was real rich coming from Mustang who now
wanted revenge in the future because of his death. He wondered if Mustang
even saw the irony of the whole situation. "Did you get him?"

Ed snorted. "I got him."

"Almost killed him to until he got control of his emotions and pulled back to
let us take him into custody." Riza said softly.

Mustang frowned as he recalled that moment. They were looking for Ed, who
had ran ahead to find the alchemist they were after. Then they heard the
screaming and just knew Ed had found him. When they did catch up,
Mustang was so sure he was going to have to attack Ed to stop him from
killing that alchemist. It was lucky for them that he managed to talk Ed down.
He really didn't want to have to burn Ed to stop him. But he definitely would
have done it if he needed to. He knew that he couldn't let Ed go through his
revenge back then. It would have destroyed him later on so yes, he would
have hurt the boy to save him from himself if he had to. Even if it did destroy
the trust between them. Protecting Ed was much more important.

Hughes sighed. It was hard. If someone was emotionally compromised, they

weren't supposed to work on the case for a reason just like that. But, if the
situation was emotional for them, it would be hard to keep them off the case,
especially if they started to work on the case on their own. It was never an
easy situation.
Miles appeared on screen. "The transmutation circle."

Ed appeared on screen, turning his head to look at Miles in surprise.

"The one this country was formed to make." Miles said. He appeared on
screen. "I heard all about it from General Armstrong. We know
something's about to happen that will affect all of Amestris and its
people. We need to know what the notes say."

"Wow, you inferred that the notes have to do with that without anyone even
having to tell you." Al said.

"At least that speeds things up a bit. Any more time wasted is less time to
escape before the storm hits." May said worriedly. "And we have a lot of
different ways to go since Dr. Marcoh, Yoki, and I have to disappear without
being seeing by Kimblee."

"Which you guys manage to do brilliantly since you weren't seen at all during
that little act that Scar, Winry, and I put on." Ed said.

May smiled. "Maybe because you kept all eyes on you, Edward."

"That is something he knows how to do really well." Breda said with a smirk.

Ed was shown.

"That's more important than anything else." Miles said.

Ed scoffed.

Dr. Marcoh, May, and Winry were appeared on screen.

"I heard they're using the Rockbell girl as a hostage against you." Miles
continued, making May and Dr. Marcoh turn to look at Winry. "If we
act now, we can disgrace Kimblee and find some place to hide her where
they can't touch her."

Dr. Marcoh and May looked back at Scar.

"Of freaking course. Stupid freaking future. It's trying to freak me out. Why
couldn't it show us this first?" Ed snarled. "At least then I would have known
why Winry had to be a fake hostage to Scar!"

"And I think this future is succeeding in freaking you out." Ling teased.

Ed shot him a look. "My friend just allowed herself to become a hostage to a
serial murderer to escape being a hostage of the Homunculi. I am not in the
mood for jokes, Ling."

"Think about it this way. I doubt anyone made her do it. They know her
history with Scar. I'm sure in the end, it would have ultimately been her
choice. She chose whose hostage to be. With being Scar's hostage, she
escaped the Homunculi's sight. In that case, she is actually a lot safer with
Scar at this point." Mustang told him.

"It had better have been her choice." Ed grumbled, shooting a glare at Scar.

"I'm not going to harm your friend, especially if I am escaping to Fort Briggs
to hide there." Scar replied. "I have no reason to harm her and if I did, I
would probably find myself in a lot of trouble with the military when I make
it to Fort Briggs."

"If you really go there." Al pointed out.

"He will, I'm sure he will. He wants answers just as much as we do." Dr.
Marcoh assured the brothers.

"Whatever. I'll be more comforted when they get there." Ed grumbled. At

least then, Winry won't be alone with Scar.

"And where you will know where she is at last and that she is safe from the
Homunculi. With that, you'll be free to act more freely." Grants pointed out.
"This act is actually helping you out a lot."

Ed's face appeared on screen with Scar seen behind him. He looked
down to the side with an annoyed expression. He walked away as Miles
raised his gun once more and pointed it at Scar.
Miles appeared on screen. "Listen up, Scar. If you're willing to work
with us, I'll postpone your judgment day."

Scar appeared on screen.

"Well?" Miles asked.

"It doesn't look like you're going to give me any other choice." Scar
replied. He was shown up close. "Yes, I'll help you decode the notes."

Miles's face was shown from the side. "I have your word on that?"

Scar appeared on screen. "You do. I swear on my Ishvalan blood. You

can trust me, my red eyed brother."

Dr. Marcoh and Winry were shown from behind with Miles in front of
them. Miles lowered his gun and turned to them.

"We have a deal then." Miles said.

"Now it is just a matter of everything turning out right." Walkers said.

"It is a bit worrisome since those soldiers from Central just appeared at Fort
Briggs." Buccaneer said with a frown.

"Do you think it is a great enough concern that sending Scar, Winry, and the
others there is a horrible idea?" Al asked worriedly.

"Fort Briggs is big. If we can get heads up that they are coming, we could
probably prepare to meet them and sneak them in and hide them without
anyone knowing they are there. But, since we don't know what those
annoyances from Central want, it is really hard to say." Buccaneer replied.

"My apologies, Ms. Rockbell. You'll have to wait a while before we can
punish your parents' killer." Miles said.

Winry was shown, eyes narrowing slightly, while Jerso and Zampano
were seen in the background tied to a pillar. "Fine." She said with a
slight nod.
"Hey, look. Jerso and Zampano." Al said. "They weren't with us either and I
doubt we left them tied to the pillar as we all left to go our own ways after
this."

"Doesn't that just make you feel horrible?" Jerso grumbled. "It's like we're an
afterthought."

Zampano nodded. "Well, being there and working for Kimblee hasn't really
put us in their good books."

Jerso and Zampano took that time to wake up. Winry turned to look at
them in surprise.

Miles was shown. "Right, I almost forgot about these two freaks of
nature." He looked at his men. "Dispose of them."

"What?!" Zampano and Jerso shouted.

"That is a bit harsh…really harsh." Al said.

Ed and Winry were shown.

"Yes sir." The soldiers said.

"Hold on a second." Ed said as he and Winry turned to face Miles.

"Wow, coming to our defense?" Zampano asked.

Ed shrugged. "I may not trust you, but I don't want you dead."

A soldier appeared on screen, raising his rifle before Al stepped forward

and spread his arms wide. "Wait!" Al said. "You don't have to kill
them."

The soldier lowered his gun and looked at Miles.

"I see no reason to let them live." Miles said before turning to look at the
soldier.
"The way of the north. It is much harsher than you two are used to." Rebecca
told the brothers.

"And with a storm coming in, we'll be stuck in Baschool for a while. It's not
easy keeping prisoners in the conditions that are coming up. Especially since
we'll be with Kimblee. We can't keep two of his men prisoners when we are
with him." Miles pointed out.

"And if you kill them, what's to keep Kimblee from finding out?" Ed retorted.

"Making sure he doesn't go in the building, then he won't find out. And
considering Scar destroyed the building and made it unstable no one will be
entering that place for a while." Miles said.

"Point taken." Ed said. "I still don't think you should kill them though."

"Kill them." Miles said.

Al was shown, taking another step forward. "No! A life is a life! What
better reason do you need then that?"

Zampano and Jerso were shown.

"Humph, showing us mercy. How adorable." Jerso said.

Zampano turned his head. "You're just a sentimental fool. We didn't ask
for your help, did we?"

"Wow, so ungrateful." May said annoyed, shooting the two a look. "He is
trying to keep you alive. You should be happy he is trying to save you."

Al sighed. "Maybe they are just really bitter."

Jerso scowled. And why shouldn't they be bitter? Everyone kept saying it.
They were monsters with bodies like this. They couldn't see their families
anymore. All he really wanted was to be normal again and to be with his
family. But that was an impossible dream. There was no way to get back to
being normal.
Al turned to look at them in surprise.

"Look at these bodies." Jerso said as he and Zampano appeared on

screen. "What kind of future can we have? If you're gonna kill us, do it."

Al walked over to the two. "I don't understand." He said as his head was
shown. "Don't you have families? Loved ones?"

Jerso and Zampano were shown again.

"Sure we do." Jerso said.

"But as soon as we got these bodies, they were all told that we were
dead." Zampano said.

"But they didn't abandon you." Al argued. "Why not go find your families
and tell them the truth?"

"It may be easy for you and your brother to accept things like this, but it is
not so easy for normal people." Zampano argued.

"They are still your families. You won't know until you try." Mustang
retorted, surprising Al and Zampano. Sure, there was a lot of strangeness in
this world and it was hard to accept at times, but they could go back and forth
between chimeras and humans. If their families loved and cared for them that
much, surely they would be able to look passed that. Just because their bodies
have changed, didn't mean they have.

"We are locked in the military. We just don't have the chance." Jerso replied.
And to be truth, even if they did, he was too scared to even try. He was
scared of the rejection that he might face.

"And to them, we are." Zampano said.

Ed was shown to be watching with Winry, Miles, and a shocked May.

"Don't you want to see them again?" Al asked.

"Even if we did, how could we go back to them like this?" Zampano

replied.

Al was shown as he scoffed. "So you don't want to get your original
bodies back then." Jerso and Zampano were shown. "You're content the
way you are now, is that it?"

"No, how could we be?!" Zampano said angrily.

"Of course we want our true bodies back." Jerso snapped before he was
shown up close.

Al pointed a finger in his face. The scene pulled out to show him in
Jerso's face. "There's your answer. I don't want to hear a bunch off
fatalistic nonsense. Why not live and learn whether there's a chance of
getting your bodies back?"

Jerso was shown, staring in shock at Al. He looked away as Al lowered

his finger.

"How could you possible know what we're going through?" Jerso asked.

Havoc scoffed. "He's know better than anyone, which is why he can throw
this in your faces so well."

Zampano looked over at Al. "How's there ever been a time where you felt
like we have? Like when you first got that body?"

"I may feel alone at nighttime when everyone is sleeping and I have no one
with me, but I've never truly been alone…without family. Brother has always
been by my side, supporting me and helping me through living with this
body, even if he doesn't understand how hard it is. He knows it is hard and
what I am going through, but without experiencing it, he doesn't fully
understand it. But even so, he has always been there for me, so I don't know
what it is like to feel utterly defeated. Sure, the bad leads were painful, but Ed
was always there being strong for me and not giving up. We've had each
other and we were supporting each other when the other needed it so no." Al
replied. "It's hard, but the support and friends we have is great help."
Zampano nodded. They didn't have the same support system that Al had, but
that didn't mean they had to give up either. There had to be something they
could do. Even if they weren't alchemists, maybe there was still something
that could be helpful. Though they would probably need help from an
alchemist to fully understand everything. And then maybe….maybe they
would have the chance to see their families once again.

Zampano appeared on screen. "And what chance do we have of going

back?"

There was a sound of metal shifting before Zampano was gasping.

Al was shown with his helmet off to show he was empty inside.

Zampano and Jerso appeared on screen, gasping.

Al was shown. "Well, I'm going back. No matter how long it takes, I'm
not giving up!"

Zampano and Jerso appeared on screen again.

Ed, Winry, May, and Dr. Marcoh were shown to be watching with a
soldier standing in the background, watching the window. The soldier
turned around. "Major!"

The group turned to look at him before he was shown up close as he

looked back outside.

Miles walked up to his side as the wind blew.

"It's not good." The soldier said as the sky outside was shown with dark
grey clouds that moved quickly. "A snowstorm."

The group was shown from a downward angle.

"We can't complete a snowbound march with this equipment." Miles

said.

Dr. Marcoh, Winry, and Ed appeared on screen.

"We have no chance of reaching the fort." Miles said.

Winry turned to Ed. "What do we do now?"

Ed looked at her.

Yoki appeared on screen. "This is a mining town, isn't it?" He asked

blandly.

"Where did he come from?! He wasn't in the room before!" Al said.

"Or he was, and you guys were completely ignoring him again." Ling said
with a grin. "I know Ed would be doing that."

Ed shot him a smirk. "What can I say? I like to ignore people who I don't care
for." He frowned a second later. "What does it being a mining town have to
do with anything?"

"Good question." Mustang said. "But, as corrupt as Yoki was, he was in

charge of a mining town for years before he got kicked out of the military.
Maybe he learned some stuff that could be helpful."

Ed shrugged. "Maybe. He most likely knows more than I ever will."

"Why don't we just go in the underground tunnels?" Yoki asked.

"That's a really great idea." Miles said. "It will give Scar and his group a
chance to escape Baschool while we are holed up in the town during the
storm."

"Yeah, if you know the tunnels layout and how they work. If you don't, you'll
just get lost." Skylak said with a frown.

"Yoki might be able to figure it out. Mining towns are his area of expertise."
Falman said. "Hopefully his time out of the military hasn't diminished that
knowledge."

The teens and Dr. Marcoh were shown to be staring at Yoki. Yoki looked
at them in fear.
"What's wrong?" Yoki asked. He raised a finger. "I mean, this is a
pretty large mine, right? So surely there's a tunnel that can take us
beyond the mountains? Uh…I think."

The teens and Dr. Marcoh turned fully to Yoki.

"That's it!" Al and Ed shouted.

"Mr. Yoki!" May said.

"Hey," Yoki said, chuckling as he put a hand to his chin. "Give me some
credit. This is what I did for a living."

A map appeared on screen. A hand pointed at a tunnel and traced it as

slow dramatic music started playing. "He's right. The tunnels come out
passed the mountain."

"Right," Miles said as he was shown to be writing in a book with Dr.

Marcoh standing in front of him. "Once you run into Briggs soldiers,
just hand them this." He closed the book and held it out to Dr. Marcoh.
"I've explained our arrangement so you shouldn't have any trouble with
them."

Dr. Marcoh took the book. "Thank you." He was shown with Ed, Al, and
Winry standing in the background, watching them. "But there's still the
matter of the young Ms. Rockbell." Winry was shown up close with the
scene moving up her body to her face. "She can accompany us to the fort
of course, but when word gets out that she's missing, won't the Elric
brothers be the first people they suspect?"

Al was shown. "We can handle ourselves."

"That is obvious, but you want to keep the heat off of yourselves as long as
possible." Rilen pointed out. "If you can keep the heat off of you, you'll be
able to work more easily."

Ed gave an aggravated sigh. "Hence the whole kidnapping act." He rubbed

his eyes. "I still don't like it though."
Ed appeared on screen as he raised an arm and planted his other hand
on it. "Yeah, I hate to brag, but I've got a pretty smooth tongue, you
know."

"No," Miles said. He and Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen. "This is

Kimblee we're dealing with. He's very skeptical. He's automatically
going to be suspicious of whatever we tell him."

Ed appeared on screen, looking up in surprise.

"But Fullmetal was pretty convincing with his act so hopefully that will
convince Kimblee that this was not planned." Miles said.

"When it comes to anger, Fullmetal is one of the best." Mustang said.

Ed shot him a look. "Very funny, Colonel."

"And it's not just anger." Riza said. "It was concern and fear underlying that
anger. He is truly worried for Winry right now."

Ed lowered his arm with a frown.

Winry appeared on screen, hand covering her mouth.

Al was shown.

"Um," Winry said, causing Al to look at her. "I hate to be the one to
suggest this."

The scene changed to show Ed staring at her.

"But, uh," Winry was shown. She turned to look at Ed. "What do you
think Kimblee would do if I was suddenly taken hostage by Scar?"

"She suggested it?!" Ed and Al shouted.

"So she wasn't made to do anything." Rebecca said with a grin. "I like her
more and more. She is a very brave girl."
Ed groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe this is
happening."

"She's doing it to escape the Homunculi and to help you and Al get out of the
tight position you were put in." Riza pointed out.

"That doesn't mean we have to like it." Al moaned.

"Don't worry! I'll be there to protect her." May assured the brothers. "I won't
let anything happen to your friend."

Al sighed. "I guess. Thanks for the help, May."

May smiled brightly at him. "You can always count on me, Alphonse!"

Al and Ed, who was staring blankly in shock, appeared on screen.

Havoc laughed loudly. "Oh, that is great! Your expression is wonderful,

Chief!"

Ed glared at him. "It's not funny!"

"No, it kind of is. I've never seen your wear that kind of expression before."
Luke said with a huge grin.

"Well, he's never been thrown for this type of loop before." Hughes said with
his lips twitching as he tried to fight a grin off.

"You want him to kidnap you?" Al asked.

"Hold on, Winry." Ed said. "You're saying…"

Scar was shown as Ed pointed at him.

"You want us to let him go?" Ed asked.

"Right, Scar runs away carrying me." Winry explained. Winry was
shown with her back to Ed and Al. "Then Ed, you and the others try
desperately to stop him, or at least that's what you pretend to do." She
looked at Ed and Al. "You understand?"

Ed and Al appeared on screen.

"You can't do that!" Ed screamed. "You're crazy!"

Winry appeared in front of him, screaming, "Well, I don't have a choice,

do I?" She appeared on screen, throwing a hand over her chest. "I'm
hostage either way so I might as well get to choose my capturer."

Al and Ed appeared on screen, staring at her.

"But he's a mass murderer." Al said.

"Al's right! There's no reason for you to be risking your life!" Ed

protested.

"She would not be. She is not a target of mine." Scar said.

"Yeah, well, future us don't trust you very much." Ed retorted. "It's one thing
to take you through the mines as a prisoner to Briggs and a completely other
thing to let you go with Winry and hope you keep to your word and meet the
others at the mines."

"What I can't believe is that you actually tried to argue with Winry about
this." Riza said amused. "I don't know her as well as you do, but I have
figured out that when she sets her mind to something, she doesn't change it."

"Yeah, well, this is a bit reckless of her." Ed grumbled. "We had to try to stop
her."

A very furious Winry appeared on screen. "Don't you get it? It's time for
you two to learn that you don't have to do everything alone."

"Wow, she understood that faster than you two ever did." Ross said with a
smirk.

"We get that, but we don't like putting Winry in danger." Al protested.
"She's in danger either way. And she is safer with Scar." Hughes pointed out.
"Wow, I can't believe I said that when I know who he is." He shook his head.

"You can't know if that is true. She can go with him and still end up in highly
dangerous situations." Al muttered.

"So trust them to protect her. You two aren't the only competent fighters
around that can keep her safe." Havoc pointed out.

"We know that." Ed muttered. Oh, they definitely knew there were other very
powerful fighters around. "It's the idea of letting her out of our sight and not
knowing if she is alright that is scary."

Al and Ed appeared on screen, staring at her in shock.

Miles and Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen.

"Make up your minds." Miles said.

"Not going to get involved?" Buccaneer asked with a grin.

Miles smirked and pushed up his glasses. "I know better than to get involved
in fights between friends."

"It's not a fight! It is a very loud discussion." Al protested.

"More like argument and ultimately, this is their decision." Miles added to
Buccaneer. "I can't just give them orders to do the plans I want. They need to
decide for themselves."

"Not that you could order Fullmetal anyway. You two are technically the
same rank." Luke said.

"And he's just plain bad at listening to them anyway." Mustang said.

"I listen to them when they suit me. Besides, I'll listen to Major Miles at
times, especially since he understands the north better than I do. I'm still new
up there so Major Miles has the seniority up there and since I don't want to
die because of my ignorance of the ways up there, I'll listen." Ed retorted.
"That's good to know." Miles said. "I'll hold you to that."

"The storm is coming in." Miles said as he looked at the screen. "If we
don't hurry, we won't be able to get out of here."

Winry's back appeared on screen with Ed in front of her, staring at her

with a frown.

Winry was shown staring back at Ed with determination.

The soldier by the window looked towards the group. "I can see
Kimblee's forces now."

Winry and Ed broke their staring contest to look over at him in shock.

"There is no more time for arguing about this." Breda said.

Ed ran a hand over his eyes. "And no more time to think of another plan
which is why I gave Winry's plan my blessings."

"That's a weird way to phrase it." Hughes said with a grin.

"Don't say it." Ed growled.

Ed growled. "Damn it!" He shouted angrily before he turned to look at

Scar. "Scar, if you do anything to hurt her, I–"

"I won't harm the girl." Scar interrupted. "I keep my promises."

Scar's trapped arm appeared on screen as Ed put his hands over it. Blue
alchemical light sparked around it before the veins blew into pieces. Scar
stood and grabbed his injured arm.

"Us too." Jerso said.

The group was shown from behind as they stared at Jerso and Zampano.

"Please, you have to take us with you too." Jerso said.

Dr. Marcoh, Miles, and one of the soldiers was shown.

The soldier looked at Miles.

"I know you don't trust us." Jerso said. He was shown. "So I understand
if you want to keep us tied up."

The screen moved over to Zampano. "Kimblee shows no mercy to troops

who fail to accomplish their mission."

"Oooh, it wasn't a hard choice at all for you guys to want to swap sides." May
said.

Zampano shrugged. "It's hard to be loyal to someone like Kimblee when he

can easily turn on you and kill you."

Jerso looked at Heinkel and Darius. "What about you two?"

Darius shrugged and pointed at the Elric brothers. "As of now, we are still
reeling that those two escaped from us."

Ed grinned evilly. "Sore losers."

Brosh sighed. "We understand your pain." He told Darius.

Ross nodded. "It is quite annoying to deal with these two."

Ed's brow twitched. "You guys were different type of guards!"

"It doesn't matter! You still ditched us and left us to get in trouble!" Ross
growled.

"One way or the other, we're dead." Zampano said. "Besides."

Al appeared on screen.

"We don't want to give up either."

Al made a relieved sound.

Dr. Marcoh turned to look at them. He walked towards them. "How do
we know you mean that? You realize if you do anything to obstruct us
the whole country could be destroyed." He appeared on screen.
"Including your families and everyone you care about."

Zampano appeared on screen.

Jerso was shown from the side. "Wait! Hold on! Just what are you
saying?"

Dr. Marcoh was shown from behind with the two chimeras in front of
him.

"I don't understand. The Central forces weren't told about any of this."
Jerso said.

"Of course they weren't." Olivia scoffed. "Because if they were told, they
would obviously rebel to protect their country and families."

"Please we need to know me. What's going on?" Zampano asked as Dr.
Marcoh was shown.

The scene changed to show a few lone papers blowing across the screen.
When they disappeared off screen, Kimblee and his men were seen in the
distance, walking towards the screen before they were shown up close.

The scene changed once more to show two pair of hands. One of the
pairs was tied up.

"You're sure about this?" Miles asked.

The whole group in the building was shown. Jerso and Zampano were
now standing up, hands tied.

"Yeah, I'm sure everyone will feel a whole lot better if we're tied up."
Jerso replied.

Miles turned to look at Scar. "Alright, Scar, give us a good

performance."
"It was a superb performance." Ling said with a grin. "Ed's anger and yelling
at Kimblee really put it over the top."

"He's lucky I didn't punch him cause that's what I really wanted to do." Ed
grumbled. "Actually, after all of that, I would be fine with punching anyone."

Ling edged away from Ed, making the teen roll his eyes.

"Scared, Ling?" Ed mocked.

"I've felt your punches. I am in no hurry to feel them again." Ling said.
"Especially from your automail."

Ed smirked. "Sounds like someone is scared."

Ling rolled his eyes. "I just rather not get punched right now! Anyone would
feel that way!"

Scar appeared on screen. "I know what I'm doing." He replied harshly.

Miles appeared on screen. "And you will keep your oath, your solemn
word as a true Ishvalan."

Scar reappeared on screen as he gave a slight nod of his head.

The stairs of the building were shown as a soldier walked onto screen
walking down with the rest of the group following him. The scene
changed angles to show Ed going down while Winry headed up with
another soldier watching.

"Excuse me, miss." The soldier said quickly to Winry, causing Ed to

stop. "Your ears."

Winry was shown as she turned to look at him.

"Your earrings are made out of metal. If you don't take them out, you'll
get frostbite." The soldier explained.

"She can realize the need for northern automail, but it completely passes over
her that her earrings are metal?" Ed snorted.

"Automail and earrings are completely different. I'm not surprised the idea of
taking them out never crossed her mind. They are so insignificant compared
to automail." Kei said.

"Oh," Winry said as she started to remove her earrings. When she was
done, her hand appeared on screen with her earrings in it as she put the
last one in the pile. She was shown to be staring at them.

"Ed!" Winry said as Ed was shown as Winry moved quickly down the
stairs to him. "You hang onto these for me."

Hughes grinned widely. "Aww, look at that. It's a silent promise between you
two that you will see each other again."

"Why do you interpret everything as having a secret meaning because of

some love?" Ed snapped at him.

"No, for once I agree with him." Mustang said with a smirk. "That was
definitely a promise to see you again. She has to if she wants to get her
earrings back."

"That doesn't mean Hughes has to imply love." Ed shot a glare at Hughes.

"That is the perfect reason to imply it." Ling retorted.

Ed punched him in the arm. "Don't forget out deal." He hissed.

Ling raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Take away all my fun."

Hughes smirked. "You know, Ed, I didn't say anything about love. I could
have just meant a friendship promise."

Ed's eye twitched.

"So, you know what that means?" Hughes teased.

Ed turned around, eye twitching madly. "That you're going to shut up before I
bury my fist in your stomach?" He raised his automail hand and stared
challenging at Hughes, who sat back in his sit and raised his hands in
surrender. Next time he would get Ed. Next time.

Winry was shown running back up the stairs. She turned her head to
look at him. "I'll see you back at the fort." She turned back around and
jogged up the stairs.

Ed was shown standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching her leave.
He was shown close up, raising the hand that held the earrings and
tightening his hold around them.

The building was shown from the outside with black smoke rising from it
as another explosion shook the screen which created more black smoke
as the soldiers ran away from the building.

The dark smoke was shown up close as a coughing Ed ran out of it.

"We finally got Scar cornered," Ed said as he appeared on screen,

looking beyond angry. "And now he's taken her hostage because of you."

The scene went dark and reopened on a window. Outside the window a
blizzard could be seen raging.

"That looks like a bad storm. I hope they got to the mine tunnels in time." Al
said worriedly.

"I hope they don't get lost in the tunnels." Ed muttered. "I've been in tunnels
like those before and they can get really confusing and it is so easy to get
lost."

"Which is why you don't go in them without someone who knows mining
tunnels." Havoc said with a grin.

"I know. I don't. I'd rather not get lost in those stupid tunnels." Ed mumbled.
"Man, I hate having to go to mining towns."

Mustang rolled his eyes. "It's part of your job. Stop whining."
The room was shown to show Ed and Al sitting on some crates while a
soldier leaned against a wall.

Ed was shown from the side, staring down at something. The scene
moved down to show the earrings in his hand. He closed his hand around
them.

"Someone is really worried." Luke teased.

Ed shot him a glare. "And you wouldn't be if one of your friends was out
running around with a serial killer trying to escape the sight of deranged
immortal beings?"

"I would never get myself stuck in such a situation to begin with. I am a
completely normal person." Luke retorted.

Ed scoffed. "You can't predict that. You have no idea where life will take
you."

"Well, I certainly don't want to go down that crazy path you went on." Luke
said. "It doesn't really seem like fun at all."

Darius, Heinkel, and a couple of soldiers appeared on screen.

Heinkel looked at Darius. "I'm worried about what's happened to

Zampano and Jerso."

Darius put a hand to his chin. "There are two possibilities. Either Scar
did them in or they're out there in the snow."

"You completely skipped over the possibility that they betrayed you." Brody
said with a smirk.

"No one ever wants to think of the chance that their comrades will betray
them." Richards said.

"They should still consider it an option." Aran said.

"I guess it just never crossed our mind that they would betray us. Betray
Kimblee? Sure, but us, no." Darius said.

"It makes sense. You all suffered through those experiments together so that
formed some type of comradeship between you." Fu replied.

"Yes, and yet," Heinkel looked at Jerso and Zampano. "You left us alone
with Kimblee."

Jerso shrugged his shoulders with a smirk. "Our bad."

Kimblee was shown to be sitting in a chair with his eyes closed.

"The storm will have Scar trapped to." A soldier said.

"We know he has to be somewhere in this town, sir." Another soldier

told Kimblee as the scene moved to the side to show Miles standing
behind Kimblee and staring out a window. "Since we're stuck here, we
might as well start planning our next search."

"At least it seems like they bought the act." Ed said with a sigh of relief.
"Hopefully nothing else goes wrong."

"Something always goes wrong." Havoc pointed out.

"Yeah, well, we can hope that enough has gone wrong already and nothing
else will considering that fact." Al retorted.

Miles was shown close up. 'We got lucky. This storm really saved our
hides. Please let them reach the fort safely.'

"Excuse me, Major." A soldier said as he stepped in the room.

Miles looked over at him.

"Briggs is on the line for you."

A phone passed between the two when they were in another room.

"Yes, Miles here." Miles said.

Miles was shown up close as he listened before he was looking up in
horror.

"So, want to bet that something bad has happened?" Grants asked, rubbing
his eyes.

"What else could have possibly gone wrong?" Walkers groaned.

"When your enemy is immortal beings and a psychotic State Alchemist, you
should be prepared for anything." Mustang said with a frown.

"How can you be prepared when you don't even know what their next move
might be?" Lan Fan asked with a frown.

"You think like them. What would you do when two of your sacrifices head
north and show up at Fort Briggs and in their time there, one of the higher
ups from Centrals comes for a visit then disappears?" Ed asked.

Lan Fan frowned. "I have no idea."

Ed shrugged. "I don't either, but there definitely would be an investigation.

Internal Affairs and all that annoying crap."

"What'd you say?" Miles asked before the scene went dark.

The scene reopened on a tunnel with Scar's group walking towards the
screen.

Winry was shown from behind with the rest of the group in front of her.
Dr. Marcoh had his head turned to look at her.

"So it's true then? You're actually the daughter of the doctors
Rockbell?" Dr. Marcoh asked.

"Well, it seems Scar kept his word. Winry is safely with them." Riza said.

Ed and Al shared a look and sighed in relief.

"All that worrying for nothing." Hughes teased.

"What kind of friends would we be if we didn't worry about Winry going off
with a known murderer?" Al retorted.

"Quite horrible friends." May said. "Good thing you two are so loyal."

Winry was shown from the side. "Yes, did you know my parents, Dr.
Marcoh?"

Dr. Marcoh was shown from behind, but still looking over his shoulder
at her. "Of course I did. There isn't a single doctor who worked in Ishval
that didn't know your parents' names."

Winry was shown to be smiling with Scar walking behind her.

"They did their duty without any regards to themselves." Dr. Marcoh
said.

Scar was shown close up.

Scar's mind flashed back to Winry shouting, "I don't forgive your
wanton murdering!"

Scar reappeared on screen.

The scene flashed to Scar and his master kneeling in front of each other.
"This is something you must abide."

"How can I forgive the military for all that they've done?" Scar asked.

Scar's master appeared on screen. "I said nothing about forgiveness.

There is no forgiveness for wanton murder."

"Oh, look at the irony right there." Ed said sarcastically. "You've gone and
done the very thing that you despised Amestris for."

Scar gave Ed a nasty glare. He didn't need his sarcasm. His mistake that is
similar to what the military did to his people was something he was already
much aware of now that he was watching this. He fell so deep into his anger
that he couldn't even see how far it was that he had fallen by himself. How
could he let himself fall into the darkness like this? Where had his control
gone?

"Any good man must always condemn it, but still, you must abide it. You
must sever the chain of hatred once and for all."

The scene flashed to Scar's brother. "If hatred and fear are allowed to
prevail, the world will be swallowed by them. But if ultimate
understanding can be reached, we may still have a chance to be saved
from ourselves. That is my motivation. That's why I study alchemy."

Scar frowned. When his brother first told him that, he really had no idea of
what he meant. At the time, Scar was just furious that his brother was
studying the wretched science that was alchemy. He didn't even try to
understand his brother's words. But now he did. He was studying that blasted
science in the hopes of saving people from the hatred and fear that surrounds
this world. But it didn't seem that simple. It seemed like there was a lot more
to this then what his brother just told him. Did his brother know something
that he didn't?

The side of Scar's face appeared on screen.

The scene changed to show a room with Yoki leading the way into it and
raising his lantern. "Yep, this is it alright."

"Okay, what is this place?" Zampano asked as he and Jerso walked into
the room.

Yoki was shown crouched down as the rest of the group trailed into the
room. "The mine staff room." He said. "We need something from here.
Now let's see." He picked up a piece of paper. "Ah, here it is."

A table was shown as the map was slid onto it.

"See? A detailed map of the tunnels." Yoki said.

"Looks complicated." Jerso replied.

The scene was shown from a downward angle to show the group
surrounding the table.

"I can't tell what's what." Jerso said.

Yoki traced a finger down the map. "We go through here, here, and here
and we're out."

Yoki, Jerso, and Zampano were shown.

"Impressive. You sure know how to read a map." Zampano said.

Yoki smirked. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Oh, please stop helping him get an even bigger head." Ed moaned.

"I think he needs an ego boost after being around all of us." May said with a
grin.

Ed raised a brow. "Is that so?"

May nodded. "Yep, we are showing him up a lot with our alchemy and
Alkahestry and martial arts. With all that has happened, it is a good thing to
boost his ego when he shares what little knowledge he has about things we
don't understand."

"I guess, but that self-satisfaction thing he has is annoying." Ed muttered.

Jerso was shown with Winry, Scar, and Dr. Marcoh in the background.
"At this rate, we should make it over to the other side of the mountain a
lot quicker than we at first thought."

Dr. Marcoh was shown from behind as Zampano stepped in front of

him. "Uh, excuse me, Dr. Marcoh, are there any hints in those research
notes you have about how we might try to get our original forms back?"

Dr. Marcoh's face was shown from the side. "At the moment, I can't say.
It's a possibility, but this is a form of alchemy I know nothing about."

A grinning Jerso and Zampano appeared on screen.

"I'm sure you'll find a way, doc." Jerso said. He closed his eyes. "Ah, I
can't wait to see my family again."

Zampano chuckled. "Are you really that eager to get back to the old ball
and chain? I'm sure you miss your daughter, but I doubt you miss your
wife."

The scene changed angles as Jerso turned to glare at his friend. "What
about you? You were such a lousy drunk, your own son couldn't stand to
be around you for more than five minutes?"

"Yeah, well after going through this, you learn to appreciate some things in
life, like family." Zampano growled.

"So, uh, did you guys know each other before you were experimented on?"
May asked curiously.

"Well, Zampano and I knew each other beforehand, but we didn't know
Darius and Heinkel until we were in the lab." Jerso replied.

"That would explain why they partnered you up the way they did." Al said.

"Well, that and because of the animals we are." Zampano replied. "But with
the way they did the experiments, they probably knew that we were going to
be partnered this way anyway."

"What about you two?" Havoc asked Darius and Heinkel. "Did you guys
know each other beforehand?"

"Yeah, we worked in the same unit." Heinkel replied.

Darius snorted. "That's about as far as we got before we were taken to the lab.
We weren't the best of friends."

"They took two people who weren't close, turned them into chimeras, and
made them partners?" Ed scoffed. "Why would they do it like that?"

"They most likely chose them for a reason." Mustang said.

"They did, but what they did brought us closer together which is why we
work so well together now." Darius replied.

"The form of comradeship that is created when you go through horrors

together." Havoc said.

Darius nodded. "That is it."

"And you really think you'll be able to face them now?" Jerso asked.

May's downcast face was shown from the side.

"You have to bring that up?" Zampano asked.

Jerso laughed.

Dr. Marcoh looked down at May. "Are you alright, May? What's
wrong?"

May turned to look up at her. "It's just…" She looked back down. "My
entire clan is waiting for me back in my country, but I don't think I can
return to them."

The scene changed angles to show the whole group.

May appeared on screen. "The Philosopher's Stone is made from

sacrificing people's live."

"And you don't want it anymore?" Ed asked.

May nodded. "It's too horrifying. I wouldn't want to give that or the
knowledge of the stone to the emperor. I'm afraid he would abuse it." She
breathed out softly. "But still, my clan needs it to survive. I don't know what
to do about all of this anymore."

Ed shot a glare at Ling. "See? Why can't you be smart like her? Instead you're
an idiot and take a stone into your body and become Greed!"

"Well, that is worse than just taking a stone." May said.

Ling glared at Ed. Did he really have to continue to bring that up? "I need to
become emperor and I wouldn't let him abuse the stone. He won't be living
for much longer and I doubt he'll figure out how to use the stone before his
death. Especially considering, it's stuck in my body right now!"

"Well, technically it is a part of you right now." Al corrected.

"Knowing the horrors of that stone, I'm not really comfortable with letting it
cross the border into another country at all." Mustang said with a frown at
Ling.

"Trust me, you'll want it to cross the border." Ling said.

Mustang raised a brow. "And why is that?"

"Because not all of my siblings are great people. You don't want one of the
horrible ones to become the next ruler." Ling replied.

"So we should let one of you take a stone to become the next ruler so your
country doesn't fall to shambles?" Riza asked.

"Well, that and because we would most likely set up trade with Amestris
while one of the others might lead an attack on you." May said, nose
wrinkling at the idea. "Though, why they would want to cross the desert to do
that, I don't know."

"A war in the desert." Hughes said. "That sounds horrible just thinking about
it. Don't you agree, Ed?"

Ed growled. "You know I hate the desert. It's too freaking hot."

"Too hot. Too cold. You always have something to complain about." Brody
teased.

"No one should be allowed to create something so awful." May said.

Jerso, Zampano, and Yoki were shown as they watched her.

"If his Imperial Highness found out how to make one,"

Winry was shown.

"He wouldn't hesitate a moment to do it." May said.

"What is wrong with people in power?" Rebecca scoffed. "Bradley. Now this
Imperial Highness. What next? Why do they always think they can sacrifice
those below them?"

"And you want to give a stone to him?" Izumi asked Ling with a glare.

"He has like no knowledge of Alkahestry and the Philosopher's Stone is made
with alchemy so he has even less." Ling retorted. "Besides, just seeing a stone
isn't enough to figure it out." He looked at Ed. "Right?"

"You know you're right." Ed said while rolling his eyes.

"Besides, if something does happen, Ed can just come to Xing, kick my butt
for letting something happen, then help fix it." Ling said with a grin.

Ed glared at him. "What have I told you? I'm not crossing the desert just to go
to Xing. And how is it my job to fix your mistake?"

"Come on, something as big as the stone and you are just going to stay out of
it?" Ling scoffed.

"What? So now it is my job to get involved in all things involving the

Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked.

"That's what you've been doing for the last three years." Breda pointed out.

Ed's brow twitched. "Shut up."

May was shown with Dr. Marcoh staring down at her. "He'd be willing
to sacrifice any number of our people." The scene changed angles. "But
we need it." May looked up at Dr. Marcoh. "What am I supposed to do
now?"

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen. "It's possible these notes contain what
you're looking for."
"Notes, notes, notes. Apparently the notes possibly contain the answers to
everything." Clarink said.

"Of course they do." Brody said sarcastically. "Where have you been?"

Clarink rolled his eyes. "It would make things a whole lot easier if all the
answers we needed were in those notes. Can you imagine what it would be
like to run all over the country looking for answers?"

"I can't, but Chief, how about you?" Brody asked with a grin.

Ed scowled. "You're hilarious, but I'll have you know, I enjoy traveling. But I
don't really enjoy all the life and death situations I am put in because of
searching for those answers."

"You'd be insane to like them." Walkers muttered.

"A humane secret to immortality."

May appeared on screen, eyes still shining with sadness.

"Let's hurry to the fort and figure out what they say."

"Right." May replied.

"What do you mean the fort is no longer safe?" Ed demanded.

Miles appeared on screen, staring at Ed.

"What?" Ed growled.

Miles sighed. "It seems that something has happened."

"Why does something always have to screw up our plans?" Al moaned.

"I thought the fort would always be safe." Ed said.

"That's only true as long as the one in command there is someone we trust.
We give all our trust to her and she in return trusts us." Buccaneer replied.
"So why isn't it safe anymore?" Lan Fan asked curiously.

"No one is safe when Internal Affairs is doing investigating, then you have
the corrupt higher ups getting in the way as well." Mustang pointed out. "And
who knows what Kimblee has planned. There are too many unknowns right
now."

"I hate IA." Ed grumbled.

Hughes chuckled. "They're not really well received by many."

"I mean that General Armstrong's been summoned back to the Central
Command Center." Miles said.

Ed, Cyril, and Al were shown as they all stared at Miles, who was sitting
on the crates.

"Troops sent from Central have begun invading Briggs in force. There's
no doubt they're acting on the Crimson Alchemist's orders." Miles said.

"Great, IA investigation, higher ups, and now stupid troops." Ed grumbled.

"I don't want Central troops in my fort." Olivia growled. "They don't have the
training or experience to be up there. They're going to weaken the power of
the fort! We can't afford that right by the border!"

"They are more concerning issues right now." Ed snapped. "Like the fact we
are sending our allies into a trap to get captured! And we have no way to
warn them! Now that stupid blizzard is screwing us over."

Olivia shot him a glare. "Then you had better think of something quickly."

"There is nothing to think of. By the time this storm is over, they'll either be
at the fort or almost there. We'd never get to them in time to warn them." Ed
said angrily. Now they would be captured and their hoax will have been
figured out. That would leave Kimblee with the chance to inform the
Homunculi of what Ed and Al planned and things would just get a lot worse.
He could handle that if it wasn't for the fact that now Winry was involved. He
didn't want to put her into any more danger.
"When we were back at the fort I noticed him making rather frequent
phone calls." Miles said.

Ed appeared on screen. He looked away to the side. "This is bad.

Without General Armstrong there…"

Al and Cyril appeared on screen.

"A commander handpicked by Bradley will be posted in her place."

Miles said.

Ed appeared on screen, looking at Miles angrily. "What do we do about

Winry?"

Miles appeared on screen. "Hiding her and the others will be difficult."
He looked down. "If they're not careful, they'll bound to fall into the
hands of the enemy's clutches."

Ed, Cyril, and Al were shown from behind again as they all continued to
stare at Miles. Ed and Cyril stood up straight before Ed was walking
towards the window.

"We have to find some way to warn them." Ed said.

Miles was shown as he turned his head to look at the teenager. "There's
no way we can catch up to them in a storm this bad."

Ed stopped in front of the window and glared at the raging storm. "So
we sit here and do nothing?" He asked angrily. "I'll go tell them."

"Well, unless you want to freeze to death by going outside, I suggest you
destroy that idea right now." Cyril snapped at him. "You'd die before you
even got close to finding them."

"I don't like sitting around and doing nothing while my friends walk into a
trap." Ed snarled, crossing his arms and glaring at the screen. Stupid storm.
Why did it have to be such a bad blizzard?
"Yeah, well, I don't like my comrades thinking of doing stupid things that
will get them killed so you are going to sit still." Cyril snarled.

Ed glared at him.

Cyril rolled his eyes and looked Grants. "Crazy kid, isn't he?" He muttered.

Grants laughed. "He is just worried about his friend."

"He should be concerned about his safety as well. If he doesn't start worrying
about it, he'll end up dead and that will just upset his friends." Larne retorted.

Ed's face was shown with Cyril behind him. "Don't go underestimating
the storm out there, kid. You'll freeze to death before you come
anywhere close to reaching them."

Ed's eyes narrowed.

"There is a way." Al said, surprising Cyril and Ed.

Ed perked up. "And what way is that?"

Al sighed. "Brother, do you not remember that I don't have a body? I can't
feel the cold."

Ed's eyes lit up.

"That is probably the best move you all have to getting to us in time." Dr.
Marcoh said. "Though how will you explain Al's disappearance to Kimblee?"

Ed smirked. "Don't worry about that. For now, our concern should be getting
to you guys in time."

"Al getting to them in time. Remember? You're confined to that building for
an undetermined amount of time." Mustang pointed out.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Colonel." Stupid freaking blizzard. His hatred
of the north was coming back with a vengeance.
"Listen," Al said as the scene moved to him. "Send someone who doesn't
have a body." He was shown close up. "That storm won't freeze me to
death."

The blizzard was shown. The scene moved down to show Al struggling
through it with a piece of paper in hand.

Al was shown close up from the side. "This is worse than I thought."

"You won't freeze to death, but you will struggle through the snow and seeing
through the storm." Miles said. "You have to pay a lot of attention to your
surroundings so you don't get lost and go the wrong way."

Al nodded. "I know." He looked at his brother. "That's something we learned

to do when we are strange environments. Though it is my first time doing it
in a blizzard."

Ed gave him a strained grin. "Good luck." He looked down with a frown a
moment later. Al was leaving to find Winry and her group to warn them
while he was stuck in Baschool. He trusted Al to be able to handle this, but
this is the first time he was ever left behind. Usually it was him disappearing
to do military stuff and leaving him behind. But now that he was the one left
behind, it left an aching fear in his chest. He could cover for his brother easily
enough if he had the right stuff to transmute, but he would have no possible
way of finding out if Al got to them in time. He wouldn't know until he got
back to the fort himself. Unlike all the times before, he was the one stuck in
the unknown and he didn't like it.

And if they did get find out, it wasn't just them that were screwed. It was well
known that Miles was with them when they found Scar. If Scar was captured
at the fort with the others, Kimblee would realize what Miles did. They
would all be royally screwed if Al didn't get to them in time. And he really
didn't want to know what would happen to them all if it was found out.

The map in Al's hand was shown with red markings all over it. "Let's
see. The mark. The marker."

A wooden sign appeared on screen.

"There!"

Al's legs were shown as he struggled to move them in the snow. He

stumbled back a bit as the wind picked up. Al's head was shown as he
raised a hand to block his face from the wind. He lowered it and looked
at the snow blowing at him.

"I can't see anything at all." Al said.

The scene went completely white.

Al was shown as he looked up. He gasped and the scene changed to show
his body standing there, staring at him.

Sheska shouted in surprise. "What is going on?"

May's heart jumped into her throat for a moment. [1] "That's Al's body. How
is this possible?"

"Al…has this happened before?" Ed asked shocked.

Al mutely shook his head. What was going on? How was it possible that he
came face to face with his body at this moment? It just shouldn't be possible
for his body to appear in front of him like that. Well, from his surroundings,
it looked like Future Al was in the area where the Gate of Truth was. But why
did he flash there? And how? Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was his
body and they were still connected somehow. But after all the time that has
passed, why did happen now?

"Any theories?" May asked, looking from Al to Ed.

Ed shook his head. "Not a single one." His mind was actually not working at
the moment. It was completely blank in shock. This was shocking to say the
least, but this didn't just happen at random. Something had to have caused
this to happen, but at the moment, he just couldn't think. His mind couldn't
fathom why Al and his body came face to face right now.

"Do you think this could be a warning of some sort?" Mustang asked.
Al looked at him. "A warning?"

Mustang shook his head. "I don't know. This whole situation just feels
ominous. Like he's trying to warn you of something."

Al blinked. "Like he knows something in the future that is going to happen

that I don't?"

"That, or the weather is so bad that it is even affecting you this badly."
Hughes said with a frown. "You can't feel it, but being out in a storm this bad
can't kill you, right?"

Al shook his head. "I can survive the storm."

Al appeared on screen.

The Gate appeared on screen. The scene moved down it until Al's body
was reached.

Al's face appeared close up on screen.

Al's body was shown again as he reached out a hand towards Al.

"It's like it's trying to call you back." Ed said with a frown.

"But why now?" Al asked.

"Ominous feeling is in the air again." Ed replied. "If you go back to your
body right now, you'll be trapped in the Gate and I won't know…at least for a
while."

"Or you could think I was dead and fall into despair." Al said worriedly. "But
I won't go back. I can't. I have to get to Winry."

Al was shown, staring at the outstretched hand. He raised a hand and

stretched it towards his body's hand. Just as he was about to grab it, the
hand disappeared.

Al was shown with his eyes going dark.

"That right there is definitely ominous." Ling said with a frown.

Ed glanced at his brother. "Al? Do you think that was your form of passing
out?"

Al shrugged. "I don't know, Brother. Nothing like this has ever happened."

Al's eyes lit up once more as he appeared back in the storm.

"At least it didn't last long." Hughes said in relief. "You okay?"

Al nodded. "There wasn't anything to feel."

He grabbed his head. "What was that? Was it my body?" He lowered his
hands from his head and stared at them. "But how?"

The scene flashed to Barry. "I guess a body just can't hold up with
someone else's soul being shoved inside of it."

The scene flashed back to Al. "A body. A body that shouldn't have a soul
in it. It's being rejected!" Al fell to his knees.

Ed shot up, eyes wide in horror. Al's body was warning Al of this! Well, that
was nice, but now they were running out of time! He looked over at Al, who
was frozen stiff in shock. "Just another thing to add to the list of problems
right now." He said weakly.

Al glanced over to his brother, but didn't reply. His mind was in shock right
now. Was this body really going to start rejecting his soul soon? He figured
something like this would happen after he heard what Barry said, but didn't
really give it much thought. His brother's transmutation was so well that it
lasted all these years without trouble, but even his brother wasn't all
powerful. It was only a matter of time before his transmutation started to fail
and he was rejected from this body. So now the question was, how long did
he still have until his soul was rejected from this body?

May clenched her fists shut. Was Alphonse really almost lost to them? To
her? He had to make it through this! Please, he just needed a bit more time.
Don't let his body reject his soul just yet. She didn't want to lose Al. He was
too important of a friend to her.

"Does this mean my body is pulling on my soul?" Al asked. He was

shown from behind. The scene changed angles to show him from the
front as he grabbed his head. "Stop it! Snap out of it!" He stood up and
shook his head. "I have to hurry!" He started walking again.

Al was shown from behind as he made his way through the storm. The
snow blew across the screen, making it hard to see him.

"Alphonse Elric." Father's voice said before his lair appeared on screen
and he was seen from behind in his chair. A piece of paper with an array
on it appeared on screen. At one point on it was a figurine. "Edward
Elric." A second figurine was added to another point.

Father was shown. "And also," He raised a third figurine. "There's Van
Hohenheim." He placed the figurine at another point.

"I'm going to make a guess and say he is referring to sacrifices." Izumi said.

Ed raised a brow. "Hohenheim is a sacrifice." He shared a look with his

brother. Was it possible that their father really tried Human Transmutation?
The more he thought that question, the more absurd it got. Hohenheim wasn't
missing anything to show that he tried human transmutation. Or maybe he
was missing something.

A point on the array was shown.

"Izumi Curtis."

A fourth figurine was placed.

"She's a possibility." He knocked the figurine over.

Father's cruel eyes were shown.

The array appeared on screen to show four points of it with figurines on

them.
"And he is missing one." Mustang said with a frown. "It looks like the array
needs five sacrifices."

"What do you think the Homunculi would do if they couldn't get five?"
Darius asked.

Clarink snorted. "They're definitely not giving up. Not after all the effort they
put into this. Beyond that, I don't want to imagine what they would do."

"That leaves one more."

The scene went dark.

Music started playing as red light sparked around the screen.

A curved tunnel appeared on screen as the sparks disappeared. The

scene moved quickly through the tunnel until it reached an exit with a
bright light shining in it. The scene went through it, blinding the viewers.

When the light died down, Ed was shown surrounded by a destroyed

building.

"Kawashita hazu no nai yakusoku ga

Kyou mo"

The scene changed to show Al standing in an area that had alchemical

created pillars all around.

"Bokura no mirai wo ubaou to suru"

"'The promise we never made yet again tries to snatch our future away from
us.'" Ed said.

"That's great and all, but I've still only seen you and Al so far." Havoc
grumbled.

Ed shot him a smirk. "Sorry, but you are kind of out of commission, Havoc."
Havoc growled. "Lucky me."

Ed shrugged. He knew it was hard for Havoc to realize that was his future,
but until they could get out of here, they really couldn't change much.

Envy, who had his left eye glowing red, quickly flashed onto screen and
was followed by Gluttony with his right eye glowing red, then Wrath,
whose left eye was glowing red. Following him was Pride standing in the
hallway of the Bradley estate with his right eye glowing red.

Finally, Father appeared on screen, his right eye glowing red as he

stared at the screen in disdain.

Riza's naked back appeared on screen to show the burned tattoo there.

"Hoshigatteita mono wo te ni shitemo"

"Why the hell is my lieutenant's back being shown?" Mustang growled

dangerously.

Riza sighed. As much as she hated that tattoo being shown…."It could be a
lot worse, sir."

"Yeah, they could be showing her from the front." Hughes said, making both
of them shoot very nasty glares at him. He raised his hands. "I'm just
explaining how it could be worse. I meant nothing by it! Nothing, I swear!"

"You just love digging yourself into deep holes." Ed told him.

"I didn't mean anything by it!" Hughes shouted.

Riza started to turn around before it changed to her dressed as a soldier

who turned around to face the screen.

"Sunao ni"

The scene changed to show Mustang leaning against a wall as it rained.

"I don't think you should be in the rain. It just makes you even more useless."
Ed mocked.

Mustang growled and hit Ed in the head with a pillow.

"Hey!" Ed snapped, rubbing his head. "It's not my fault you can't handle the
truth!"

"Seems I'm not the only one digging myself into a deep hole." Hughes said
with a snicker as Mustang hit Ed in the head again.

"Knock it off!" Ed growled.

"Umaku waraenai nowa nazedarou"

"'Why is that we can't rejoice straight from the heart when we obtain
something we've always been after?'" Ed translated.

"Because of something called self-control?" Luke asked.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"I'm just guessing here, but since this is from a song, I'm pretty sure that
question was rhetorical." Ling said amused.

"I never liked rhetorical questions. There were always annoying. Why ask a
question if you don't want a freaking answer?!" Luke shouted.

Ed snickered. "Did you get in trouble a lot as a kid because of that way of
thinking?"

Luke glared at him. "No more than you, I bet."

Ed stopped laughing and glared at him. He didn't have parents anymore, but
he still somehow managed to get in trouble with all the stupid adults around
that felt that they could scold him. It was really annoying.

Hohenheim's smiling face appeared on screen.

"Afureru namida wa yowasa ya koukai ja nai"

"'The overflowing tears aren't from feebleness or remorse.'" Ed growled. Why
the hell did his dad have to appear in this?

"Why is Hohenheim appearing in this? We haven't really seen him that

much." Sheska said with a frown.

"Well, it seems that he might be a sacrifice. We might start seeing him a bit
more." Izumi replied thoughtfully.

A smiling Trisha appeared on screen.

"Itami ga unda kakera de"

"'They're fragments born from agony.'" Ed translated.

"Well, that just sounds depressing." Brody said. 'But really, that pain is
expected when a husband loses his wife.' Of course, he would never say that
aloud. He would rather he didn't have Ed screaming at him right now about
Hohenheim abandoning him and Al and their mom.

Hohenheim appeared on screen again. With each beat, the screen moved
in closer to him. Red alchemical light rose up to his face before the scene
changed to show Ed as he jumped. Al followed him onto screen and he
was followed by Greed. After him two chimeras wearing military coats
appeared next, then Zampano and Jerso were seen transformed before
Scar was seen. Following him was May, then Dr. Marcoh and Yoki.

"Donna shunkan date unmei date"

The scene changed to show Pride as his shadow rose out of the ground
and flew at Ed. Ed knocked the shadows away with his automail arm.

"Hitotsu dake tashika na mono ga aru to shitta"

"So, I'm going to take a wild guess here and say those two unknown chimeras
were you two?" Dr. Marcoh asked Heinkel and Darius.

Darius nodded. "Yes."

"One of you looked to be a lion and the other a gorilla." Al said. "But who is
which?"

Heinkel smirked. "We'll leave that to you to figure out."

Al huffed in annoyance.

"'Of all the moments and destinies, I realized there's one absolute certainty.'"
Ed said.

"Brother, that isn't helping!" Al said.

Ed shrugged. "I'm just translating. And you do realize we'll probably see
them transformed soon enough?" He glanced at Darius and Heinkel. "But if
you really want to know, Darius is the gorilla and Heinkel is the lion."

"What? Why do you say that?" Al asked while the two chimeras just stared at
Ed in surprise.

Ed shrugged. "Darius looks like Mr. Gorilla and Heinkel looks like Lion
King."

"Those aren't our names!" The two chimeras shouted.

"But is he right?" Hughes asked curiously.

"We say nothing." Darius grumbled, glaring at Ed. Seriously, what was
wrong with this boy?

"My question is how did Ed block Pride's shadow in that last scene? He did
the same thing in the opening." Ling asked. "We've seen what that shadow
can do. That shouldn't be possible."

Ed scoffed. "I always do the impossible. Don't question it."

Ling laughed. Still it shouldn't have been possible, but this was just an ending
song. Maybe it meant nothing. Then again, it probably did mean something
since they saw it in the opening as well. "It has to mean something thought."
"Yeah, it does. It means I am amazing." Ed said.

Ling snorted. "I'll admit you're amazing if you can defeat Pride."

Ed raised a brow. "If?"

"Don't make those kind of challenges! Pride is too dangerous." Hughes

scolded.

"Well, he needs defeated somehow." Ed grumbled.

Winry's feet appeared on screen as she walked down a hallway.

"Genkai date konnan date"

Winry appeared on screen, looking determined.

"Akirametakunaiyo

The scene changed to show all these hands raised into the air.

"Konomama hanasanaide"

"'Even if things get tough and I'm at my limit, I refuse to give up. Please don't
let go.'" Ed said.

"Well, that's good. We don't have the luxury to give up in this. If we do, we
will surely all be killed." May said with a frown.

"Well, you could always leave and go home. You don't have to get involved
in this." Al pointed out.

"I can't go home yet! I can't leave without the secret to immortality and…"
May stared at Al. "I can't abandon my friends to deal with this!"

Al blinked in surprise. She really did want to help them even though this
wasn't her country. "Thanks, May." He said quietly.

A big hand and a small hand appeared on screen reaching for each
other. The big hand curled around the smaller one. The hands shifted so
the smaller hand could grip the big hand.

"Kataku nigirishimeta kimi no migite no nukumori"

The scene darkened a bit before a bright light started shining where the
hands held each other.

"Koko ni arukara"

"'I can feel the warmth of your right hand where it tightly joined with my
left.'" Ed said.

The bright light lit up the screen before the scene was quickly pulling
backwards in the tunnel to go back.

Ed appeared on screen.

Al appeared on screen.

Hohenheim appeared on screen.

A map of Amestris appeared on screen with an unknown array drawn

over it.

The scene went dark.

"There's that strange array again." Mustang said with a frown.

"Must mean it is really important." Lan Fan replied.

"Well, hopefully the future will explain it to us soon." Hughes said before
looking at the teens. "Do you guys want to take a break or watch one more
episode?"

"Another episode." Ed said. He had to make sure Al got to Winry in time. If

he didn't know that, there was no way he could possibly relax.

"I'm sure everything will work out." Al told his brother.

Ed sighed. "You are such an optimist."

"Well, someone has to." Al teased. "You love to look at the dark side of
things."

Ed scoffed. He didn't always look at the dark side of things. If he did….well,

let's just say working on finding the Philosopher's Stone these past three years
would have been a lot different. And not the good kind of different.

A/N: [1] That was totally me. I don't know why since I knew what was
coming, but I jumped when Al's body appeared on screen with that ping
of music. I think it's cause I paused it on Al's face right before it
happened and the moment I hit play, I was slammed with that image. I
think it was cause of the expression on Al's body's face. It doesn't look
happy at all.

This is a forum I created so I can talk to you guys and hopefully get ideas
for Truth Revealed: forum/Unveil-the-Truth/153823/

Please Review!
*Chapter 43*: Episode 40: Homunculus
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 40: Homunculus (The Dwarf in the Flask)

"So, Edo–" Ling started, only to be cut off when Ed punched him in the
shoulder. "Ow."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Your own fault."

"You're just too violent!" Ling grumbled. "All I wanted was for you to sing
the opening."

"Annnnd, no." Ed said, glaring at his friend. "That was a one time thing,
Ling. I'm not doing it again."

"You're no fun."

"Then why are you still around?" Ed retorted.

Ling shrugged. "For the torment you cause others."

Mustang groaned while Hughes laughed, making Mustang glare at him.

"What?" Hughes asked with a grin. "It's amusing. Have you ever seen Ed
interact like this with anyone?"

"No, and I wished it stayed that way. It would be a lot safer for everyone,
especially me." Mustang grumbled.

The opening song began.

The scene opened up to Briggs as it continued to snow.

The scene changed to show Rolan sitting behind the desk with a soldier
standing at the side.

"So you think that General Armstrong had something to do with General
Raven's disappearance?" The soldier asked.

"It seems so." Rolan replied as he was shown up close to be looking at the
soldier. "However, she's too smart to leave any evidence behind."

"Of course, no body, no trace, no evidence of foul play, it's going to be really
hard to prove anything." Hughes said.

"That and there is no one who is going to speak up about what happened."
Buccaneer added with a grin.

"I thought she said to put the blame on her." Lan Fan said confused.

"I did say that, but they probably won't listen." Olivia said, glaring at her
men. She knew them well enough to know that they were loyal enough to
keep their mouths shut even when she told them not to. Actually, it was
loyalty and their hatred for the Central higher ups now that they knew what
was going behind the curtains that kept them quiet.

"Yes, that's true."

Rolan appeared on screen. He looked down and closed his eyes as he

clasped his hands. "Well, anyway, the only thing we have to worry about
is holding down this fort."
Olivia growled. "He talks about it as if that is an easy task to accomplish.
Why did Central put this idiot in charge of my fort?"

"Or maybe he knows how strong your men are and are going to let them take
care of the defense of the border why he does his own work inside the fort."
Breda suggested.

He opened his eyes and looked back up at the soldier. "As for the
General, well I'm sure the tigers in Central will make sure she's taken
care of."

Central appeared on screen.

Olivia appeared on screen, walking down a hallway of Central

Command with two soldiers behind her. She looked up in surprise before
the scene changed to show Mustang walking in front of her. Mustang
stopped to look at her.

"Can't even go one day in Central without seeing that idiot." Olivia said
angrily.

"I don't mind, General." Mustang said brightly. "It's always wonderful to see
a beautiful face once again."

Olivia glared daggers at him as she wished for her sword back at her side so
she could impale him.

Luke snickered. "I think the General wants to kill him."

"He really knows how to rile her up." Clarink muttered with a smirk. Oh,
they were completely loyal to General Armstrong, but the interactions with
Mustang were just too amusing.

"General Armstrong, how nice to see you." Mustang said.

Olivia appeared on screen. "Tch, they posted you in Central, Mustang?"

"I thought you knew that." May said confused as she looked at Ed and Al.
"Didn't you guys tell her that? I thought you told her everything in the
tunnel."

Ed shrugged. "We didn't hear everything we told her, but we probably did.
But of course when we told her that, we were in a tunnel underground having
a secret, "illegal" meeting."

"Which brings in another act. It can't be known that they know what's been
happening through secret contact." Riza said.

"I see. That makes sense." May replied.

"You still sound confused." Ed said with an amused smirk. "Don't worry, I
get it. I was just as confused as you when Colonel was training me. It takes
lessons and actual experience to fully understand everything they do."

"Training? I thought he didn't have any official training." Miles said.

"I'm right here." Ed said dryly.

"Officially, he doesn't." Mustang agreed, ignoring Ed. "Unofficially,

Fullmetal has spent long nights in my office with me learning what I thought
he needed to know."

"Oh," Ed groaned. "They were such long, horrible nights."

"Do you really think he is so smart that he could interpret as much as he has
so far without any type of training?" Mustang asked with a smirk. "That is
hours of training at work."

"Horrendous training." Ed moaned.

Ling looked at him amused. "Seriously, Ed?"

"You don't understand how bad it was! You weren't there!" Ed exclaimed
loudly.

Havoc snickered. "I was for a few of the training sessions. It was amusing at
times."
Ed glared at him. "You're lucky I didn't throw you out a window because I
was seriously considering it at times."

"Woah, violent, Chief."

"Uh, what type of training was it?" Brody asked.

"You don't need to know!" Ed growled.

Mustang laughed. "Mostly in the beginning it was basic military procedures,

but it has gotten more advanced since then. It's taken a long time to get to
where his training is since he is always leaving to go on missions and doesn't
come back for a long time at times."

Riza sighed. "I think he does that to escape the training, sir."

Mustang appeared on screen.

"You're well connected." Olivia said.

"No, it's solely based on merit." Mustang replied.

Olivia appeared on screen. "That's rich coming from you."

The two started walking together.

"What brings you here today, General?" Mustang asked.

Olivia and Mustang were shown.

"Fuhrer Bradley summoned me for an extended stay I imagine." Olivia

replied.

Mustang looked ahead. "Is that so?" He looked back at her with a big
smile. "Well, sometime we should grab some dinner."

"Your treat? I hope you know I could eat you into bankruptcy." Olivia
replied.
"Uh, maybe we should skip dinner then."

Ed snorted. "Yeah, Colonel is already a big cheapskate. No way would he go

into bankruptcy for anyone."

Mustang's brow twitched in annoyance. "Are you still whining about that 520
cens? You didn't even pay me back! Not to mention, it hasn't happened yet!"

"That's cause I made a promise instead of paying you back." Ed retorted.

"And that's not the issue here, you cheapskate!"

"No one would buy dinner if it meant going bankrupt!" Mustang snapped.

Ed raised a brow and looked at Hughes.

Hughes grinned. "I would go bankrupt gladly if it made my Gracia and sweet
little Elicia the happiest people in the world."

Mustang shook his head and looked back at Ed. "That right there is a bad
example."

Ed hid a laugh by ducking his head. He knew that was going to be a bad
example which is why he looked at Hughes for the amusement.

"I see. You're short on both money and nerve, huh." Olivia said.

"And he's a big cheapskate!" Ed shouted.

Mustang growled and grabbed a pillow, which he smothered into Ed's face.
"You need to let that go!"

Ed hit Mustang's arm until it fell and the pillow dropped from Ed's face,
giving the teen a chance to take in some air. "Jerk."

"Brat." Mustang retorted.

"If you two are quite done with your games," Olivia glared at the two.

Ed snorted. "I'm far from done."

"I'll be done when he grows up." Mustang growled, glaring at the back of
Ed's head.

"Then I will never grow up just to annoy you!" Ed declared.

Ling grinned. "Best decision ever in my life: coming to Amestris!"

Ed rolled his eyes and whacked Ling with a pillow. "Stupid prince."

The group came to a stop at the end of the hallway.

"Maybe I could offer some flowers instead?" Mustang said.

"Still trying to get rid of those." Hughes snickered. "You sure made a mistake
in buying so many."

Mustang rolled his eyes. "You are as bad as Fullmetal."

Ed raised a brow. "I resent that idea. No one can be as bad as me!"

"It's an insult." Al pointed out.

"Well, I'm taking it as a compliment!" Ed stuck his tongue out at the annoyed
Mustang.

Olivia scoffed and turned away.

"There are many fine florists here in Central." Mustang said to her back.

"Meaning the message has been received." Havoc said with a grin.

"And they are all on the same page." Breda said. "It is now time to see how
long that will last. Everyone seems to be going off on their own so it is going
to be harder to get information to each other."

"How many groups are involved now?" May asked, looking around. "There's
my group with Scar, then Al is by himself but he should hopefully be joining
us soon. After him is the East, then there is Briggs."
"There's also Lan Fan and Fu, but they are in Xing right now but I suspect
they'll be coming back for Ling, who seems to be in his own group entirely
right now." Ed added. "Counting Ling's own little party he has going on, that
is at least five groups, but we don't have to worry about telling Ling anything
since he is in the thick of the information hole right now."

Ling nodded. "What about you though?"

Ed shrugged. "I'm still hanging around Briggs. I'll either stay with them for a
while or go after Al later. Either way, I don't have my own group like you."

Olivia raised a hand in farewell. "Are there?"

Mustang turned to go the other way with a smirk. He walked off as

knocking was heard.

A door appeared on screen with a gloved hand knocking.

"You may enter." Bradley's voice said.

"Sir," Olivia replied as she snapped her feet together.

Bradley's face appeared on screen.

The sound of a door opening and closing was heard.

The office was shown from a downward angle as Olivia walked onto
screen. She stopped behind the coffee table and folded her arms behind
her back.

Bradley's hand appeared on screen. "Now then, General Armstrong."

His hands tensed. He was shown from behind with General Armstrong
in front of him. "We need to talk about General Raven's recent
disappearance." His furious face appeared on screen. "Just what have
you done?"

Olivia appeared on screen. 'I won't be able to hide it all.'

"Pardon me, your Excellency, but I simple don't understand how you can
employ someone as careless and incompetent as General Raven." Olivia
replied.

"Meaning he gave up the information way too easily?" May asked.

"And he was weak." Olivia scoffed.

"Aren't most people considered weak when compared to you?" Kei asked
amused.

"Obviously. Not many people can match the strength of the commander of
Fort Briggs." Hughes said amused.

Bradley appeared on screen. "Is that the reason you saw fit to dispose of
him?"

"It didn't take them long to discover the truth." Sheska said.

"The only proof they can have she did it is if she admits to it." Ed said before
glancing over at Olivia. "Would you admit to it or indirectly say you did it so
you can't be charged, but still let it be known it was you?"

"Why would I admit to a crime that would get me thrown in jail?" Olivia
asked.

Ed shrugged. "Kimblee got out for doing the same thing, and he murdered
more than one soldier." He pointed out.

"Yes, but he is a psychopath who is working with the Homunculi." Mustang

pointed out.

"I still don't get why a human would side with them. They want to use us
which will ultimately kill us." Havoc said.

"Because he is psycho. That is the only explanation we need." Ed replied.

Olivia appeared on screen. "Surely you don't need him. It can't be good
to have someone so talkative on your senior staff."
The bottom half of Bradley's face appeared on screen. "You have me
intrigued, General. What did Raven say?"

Olivia's face was shown from the side. "Immortality."

The room was shown from a downward angle as suspenseful, dramatic

music began to play.

"The history of this country. Your Excellency's identity. He told me all

sorts of things without any prompting." Olivia said.

"I get it. You're using what we told you and are telling Bradley that Raven
told you." Ed said with a grin. "He can't really disprove you about who told
you since Raven is dead and I would never tell him I told anyone anything."

"You're just lucky, Ed." Riza said.

"How so?"

"Pride wasn't in the tunnel when you guys were talking. I'm sure if his
shadow was there, he would have been listening in and knew what you and
Al did." Riza explained.

Ed paled. He hadn't even thought about that. From what he saw and could
understand, Pride kept an eye on the tunnel, but for whatever reason he wasn't
in there when Olivia was demanding answers which was lucky for them.

"That would have been bad." Buccaneer agreed. "I would hate to see what
Pride would have done if we were caught."

Bradley's eye was shown close up. It narrowed slightly.

The scene changed to show Olivia once more.

"And after learning all of this, you still responded to my summons?"

"Yes sir. I assume you'll be needing someone to fill that fool's vacant
seat." Olivia said.
"You've certainly got some guts to place a claim on that seat after all of this."
Mustang said.

Olivia shot him a smirk. "I saw the way you play, Mustang. It's hardly any
different."

"Yes, you are both very daring fools." Ed muttered dryly.

"The reckless brat should not be speaking." Mustang retorted.

"But you don't deny it." Ed said with a smirk.

Mustang's eyes narrowed. "I won't deny that sometimes I have horrible
thoughts about wanting to burn you, especially when I get calls about the
destruction you've caused!"

Ed thought for a moment. "This is just a suggestion, Colonel, but maybe you
should go to anger management classes if you're having those kind of
thoughts."

Mustang's eye twitched violently, while Olivia laughed.

"I like this kid. Can I have him for Briggs?" Olivia asked.

"Sometimes, I seriously consider agreeing to those offers of a transfer for

Fullmetal." Mustang said.

"So why don't you?" Hughes asked amused.

"He's get a picture of Ed and stabs it with a knife a few times and calms
down." Havoc said.

"What?" Ed asked surprised before shooting a betrayed look at a surprised

Mustang.

Havoc held up his hands. "Kidding, kidding. I'm just joking, relax, Chief."

"I don't because I remember I have to help keep his secret." Mustang told
Hughes. "And we really need to continue now before this gets even worse."
Bradley was shown from behind with Olivia seen in front of him. The
Fuhrer started to laugh. "Interesting." He said when he stopped
laughing. "I like the way you play." His sword sheath was shown as it hit
the ground. Bradly appeared on screen, left eye glowing red, as he stood
up. "Very well. You can have General Raven's seat, but as I expect you'll
understand, my men will take over Fort Briggs. Agreed?"

Olivia was shown as she bowed to Bradley. "Of course. As you wish."
She was shown up close as she looked up at him. "My soldiers are
extremely strong and well trained, sir. I guarantee they will serve you
well, your Excellency."

Bradley's face appeared on screen. "I'm sure they will."

"Anyone else find the way he said that untrusting?" Al asked.

"It did sound like he didn't believe her." Lan Fan agreed.

"That's not hard to believe. Bradley is no fool. He's not going to completely
trust her right from the straight. He still believes she killed Raven. That right
there screams you can't trust this person." Fu pointed out.

"It means watch your back in case she comes after you." Ling said.

"I appreciate the sacrifice, General."

Olivia appeared on screen, glaring at him. She faded out from the scene
for Fort Briggs to take over the scene.

"To steal a tiger's cubs, you have to enter her den." Henschel said before
he and Buccaneer appeared on screen. "It seems like the General landed
herself right in the middle of it."

"Yeah, and now this place is theirs too." Buccaneer said as Rolan and
one of his men appeared on screen, walking through department.

"But still," Henschel said as he reappeared on screen. "There's one thing

they don't know."
"Only one thing?" Breda asked with a smirk.

Henschel chuckled. "I'm sure there is a lot they don't know, but I think I
meant there is one more point that they don't know."

Rolan and his soldier were shown from behind as they walked farther
and farther away.

"Although our leader might be gone, we still stand as one. We act with
one will."

A soldier walked onto screen.

The soldiers were shown, glaring at Rolan's back.

"That's the Fort Brigg's way."

"Loyal to the very end, even if it means jumping into the pit of hell to follow
your commander." Ed said. "Well, I guess that would mean this is our fault
for dragging you guys into this, but if it means saving the country, I'm sure
you guys don't mind…much."

Brody shrugged. "It's always dangerous when the threat is coming within. It
makes the challenge of ending it that much harder since you don't know who
you can trust."

"That is one good thing about asking Briggs for help. We all trust each other
and will follow our leader with our complete trust and loyalty so you know
we won't betray you." Grants said.

"Trust me. I think after everything that has happened in the fort and in
Baschool, Al and I have learned that." Ed replied.

"Yep," Al said. "Really, thanks for all the help you've given us."

"You make it sound like we're parting ways from Briggs." Ed said.

"Well, I am. I am going to get Winry and the others and lead them away from
Fort Briggs." Al said.
Ed sighed. "Yeah, I wonder how I will find you when I can finally get out of
there."

"You realize that Kimblee isn't going to let you leave." Miles pointed out.

Ed growled. "I know. Stupid annoying psychopath. But we're still in

Baschool for a while. I'm sure we're working on something. If we aren't, we
are just wasting all the extra time we were lucky to get."

Buccaneer's automail hand appeared on screen as he clenched it into a

fist. The scene moved up to his face. "From here on, the bears will fight
the tigers."

"Homunculus (The Dwarf in the Flask)

"Wow, what is with that title? I get what a Homunculus is, but what is the
deal with the "Dwarf in the Flask" part?" Skylak asked.

"Just another thing to add to the list of crap that doesn't make sense." Walkers
muttered.

"Everything makes sense once you get more information and put the pieces
together." Ed said before smirking. "Oh, right, sorry, that seems to be too
hard for you guys."

"Shut the hell up!" Walkers and Skylak snapped at him.

The cafeteria at Central Command appeared on screen as a soldier

picked up his tray.

Riza was shown close up at a table as she ate.

"Is this spot taken?" Mustang asked as he approached her.

Riza looked up at him.

Mustang was shown.

"No."
Mustang threw some papers on the table next to his tray.

The two were shown from a downward angle as Mustang took a bite of
his sandwich.

"So how is work treating you?" Riza asked.

Mustang picked a pen up off his tray and wrote on the papers in front of
him. "See for yourself."

"Working at lunch?" Ed smirked. "You must be really suffering without your

Lieutenant. If only you weren't so lazy."

Mustang whacked Ed in the back of the head with the teen's research notes.

"Ow!" Ed turned to glare at him. "Are those my notes? Haven't you given up
yet?"

Mustang glared at him. "You're not so smart that your notes will be
impossible to decipher, Fullmetal."

"Oh? How far have you gotten?" Ed mocked.

Mustang chose not to respond.

Mustang was shown with his sandwich in one hand and a pen in the
other. "I have to work through every meal or I can't keep up." He
looked up at Riza. "And how about you?"

"Oh, you know, just meeting psychotic Homunculi in the middle of the
night." Myers said sarcastically. "But nothing dangerous is going on so all is
good."

Riza rubbed her cheek where she still felt a very small twinge of pain from
the cut. She had to inform Mustang about Selim as soon as possible in the
future.

Riza appeared on screen, still looking down at her tray. "I've been
staying busy too, especially with everything I've had to learn." She closed
her eyes. "Fuhrer Bradley works very efficiently though so that helps.
He isn't a slacker. That's for sure."

Mustang was shown from an upward angle.

"That was definitely an attack on someone's character." Hughes teased,

nudging his friend in the side.

Mustang glared at him. "Why am I friends with you again?"

"Because you need someone to keep you on your toes." Hughes said.

Mustang raised a brow and then slowly moved his eyes to Ed. "I got the
bratty teen for that."

"Are you saying you are going to let Ed replace me?" Hughes shouted in
mock horror.

"What?" Ed asked as he whipped around to glare at the two. "I am replacing

no one. I have my own things to deal with."

"Then stop causing so much destruction." Mustang growled.

"Please, Chief." Havoc added. "Do you know there was a time when Colonel
jumped every time the phone rang and looked close to setting it on fire since
he thought it was going to be about you destroying something?"

Ed raised a brow. "Seriously?" A smirk slowly formed on his face.

"Excellent."

"No, not excellent!" Havoc shouted. "He actually did snap his fingers once
and set a chair on fire!"

Ed's lips twitched a bit.

"Don't you laugh." Havoc growled. "You have no idea the chaos that caused
at Eastern Command that day."

A chuckle slipped passed Ed's lips, but it was only one since he was silenced
by multiple pillows hitting him, all from soldiers from the east. None of them
enjoyed that day.

"Ah, misery," Ed said evilly as he tossed the pillows aside in his pile of
pillow ammo. "I sure love causing it."

"He's evil." Rufus muttered. "Pure, unhindered teenage evil."

"Why did we never stop it from coming this far?" Myers moaned.

Mustang frowned. "Sounds like this is going to be a dull conversation."

Riza's mug appeared on screen as she picked it up. She put it to her lips
before her feet appeared on screen to show her shadow. A creepy sound
filled the screen before the scene went back to Riza as she lowered her
mug.

"Well, apparently," Riza said as her mug was shown. She tapped it twice
on the table.

Mustang looked at her mug.

"Scar is up in the north." Riza said.

Mustang looked up at her.

Riza was shown from the side, looking serious. "The Elric brothers are
up there as well."

Mustang was shown from the side. He closed his eyes. "I see." His papers
were shown as he tapped his pen twice against them.

"Mug tapping twice? Pen tapping twice? What is going on?" Lan Fan said
confused. Those actions looked normal enough, but this was Riza and
Mustang. They wouldn't just do something like that one after the other
without a reason. "It feels like it is supposed to mean something."

Ed's brows furrowed and he scratched his head. "I feel like I should know
what that means."
Mustang looked at him with a frown. "Do you even listen when I tell you
anything? I honestly think you just tune me out sometimes."

"I try to tune out the unimportant stuff." Ed retorted before he paused and
looked at Mustang, who was glaring at him. He tapped a metal finger on his
book twice and paused. There was a game he and Mustang played once that
had that in it. Mustang would tap something like a pen twice on his desk and
start a normal conversation and Ed had to reply by tapping something twice
as well to show he was listening. And those normal conversations involved a
lot of….names. That part was a bit different. He made Ed write down all the
names and at the end…there was a code about his next lead for the stone in
the names from the first letters of the name. He had to admit, when he was
twelve, he found the game a lot of fun. Not that he would tell Mustang.
Besides that, he never really got the point of it, but Mustang never let him
forget it. He often made them play the game every few months.

Mustang smirked at him. "Remember?"

Ed scowled. "Code. You guys are talking in that annoying code!"

"You know about the code?" Havoc asked shocked.

Ed growled. "Colonel taught me the code like it was a game when I was
twelve! I never realized it was for things like this." He looked at Havoc. "You
know it?"

"Only those on Colonel's most trusted team were taught it." Havoc explained.

"I see."

"Though, now it is pointless since everyone is going to see the code and learn
it." Havoc said.

Ed growled. "So I learned that stupid code for nothing?!"

"Well, they are loyal comrades of ours so I don't think they are going to tell
anyone what the code is." Breda pointed out.

"My former classmates Lucy and Ian are stationed up there. They like to
keep me informed." Riza said as dramatic, suspenseful music started to
play.

"Is that true or a lie?" Ed asked with a frown.

Riza smiled. "They are codenames, Ed, but I do have former classmates up
there that pass information onto me."

"Hmm, aren't the north and east conducting joint exercises this spring?"
Mustang asked as Riza took a bite of her sandwich.

"Yes, I think you're right about that. I hope Major Miles and Buccaneer
don't show us up like they have in the past." Riza said.

"How does this code work?" May asked confused.

"You give names and at the end the first letter of each name will spell a
message." Mustang explained.

"That seems pretty simplistic." May said.

"Codes aren't always supposed to be hard to decipher." Mustang replied. "The

hard part about this code is that you can't write down the names you are told
during the conversation. You have to memorize the names and order they
were given in and figure out the message later. If you don't have a good
memory, it can be hard to do."

Riza took another bite of her sandwich.

'Miles,' Mustang thought as he appeared on screen in a stall in the

bathroom with a pen cap in his mouth. 'Buccaneer. Okay, York, Ida, and
Sugar all spoke to her too.'

The paper Mustang was writing on was shown as he wrote the names
down and circled the first letter and underlined the names.

Mustang was shown from the side as he bit on the pen cap. 'Havoc,
Oscar, Mike, Uni, Nora, Charley, then Uni and Lucy again.' He stopped
playing with the pen cap as his eyes widened.
The paper was show as Mustang wrote a 'u.'

'Uni once more.'

Mustang was shown as growing horror was shown on his face.

'And Sterling.'

The paper was shown with the message 'Selim Bradley is Homunculus.'

"Nice, Lieutenant." Al said. "You finally got the message out. Now we know
who all the Homunculi are."

Riza nodded in relief. It was a hard and dangerous move to pass that message
on, but it was needed. "Now we just need to let everyone else know. Well,
Colonel does. There is no way for me to get that message to anyone else
since Pride is still watching."

Mustang smirked. "And there is no need." He frowned. Getting the message

to Briggs wouldn't be that hard, but it would be to Ed and Al. But as long as
Ed stayed with Briggs, he was sure it would be fine and he could inform them
of what was happening.

"As long as it is out and we know not to let our guard down around that little
brat." Buccaneer growled.

"It is hard to think of kids as the enemy." Rebecca said.

"But Selim isn't a kid. He is very old." Riza replied.

"But he has the appearance of one. And then," Rebecca looked over at Ling.

Ling frowned. "We're back on this?"

"You have technically allowed yourself to become the enemy." Ed pointed

out.

Ling sighed.
"And if you attack us, they will fight back." Ed said.

"They?" Ling asked, raising a brow. "And what about you?"

"Well, Fu and Lan Fan definitely won't kill you and I will fight you to defend
myself but I'm not going to kill you." Ed replied. "I'd just hit you until you
were back to yourself or unconscious." He shrugged. "Whichever comes first
really."

Ling sweatdropped. "I don't think that will help."

'Selim Bradley is a Homunculus.'

Mustang's hand appeared on screen as he snapped his fingers. Orange

alchemical light flashed before the scene pulled back to show him
standing over the toilet with the paper in his hand. The paper caught on
fire. As the fire spread to the rest of the paper, Mustang let it fall into the
toilet.

Mustang was shown up close. 'I'd say impossible, but then,' He frowned
and looked up. 'There is no such thing.'

Central was shown from the sky.

'What in the world is about to happen here in Central?'

The scene changed to show Father as the music came to an end. He was
slowly zoomed in on before the scene changed angles to show his face
from the side.

"Young man." A voice said as a younger version of Father's appearance

appeared on screen. "Hey!"

Birds chirped in the background.

"You there!"

The young man opened his eyes.

"So, is anyone else finding this weird?" Walkers asked.

"What's weird about it? It's a voice talking to a young man who looks like a
younger version of Father." May said. "And Ed and Al's dad. Are you sure
they aren't twins?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure Hohenheim has a twin that evil."

"Hey, anything is possible." Ling said. "After this, I'm thinking that should be
our motto."

"There's another curious thing about this." Hughes said as he stared closely at
the young man on the screen. "Isn't that the boy we saw in the first opening?"

"I honestly have no idea." Ling said cheerfully.

"Was that…sarcasm?" Ed asked confused. "Did you just do sarcasm in a

cheerful voice?"

Ling stared at him. Ed stared back.

"Anyway," Havoc said slowly, turning away from the teenagers. "I think
you're right about that. Guess this guy is really that important."

"Are you trying to mess with me?" Ed asked.

"Why would you think that?" Ling asked.

"I just wanted to know if it was sarcasm." Ed said.

"It would be real sad if you can't tell what sarcasm is." Ling replied.

Ed's brow twitched. "Who can tell when you say it like that?!" He growled
and turned back to the screen. "I swear, sometimes you frustrate me so much
I want to throw you into the fiery pits of hell and watch in great amusement
as you burn!"

"Maybe you should join Colonel Mustang in those anger management

classes, Brother." Al said weakly. "I don't think it is safe or right to threaten
your friends."

Ed stared at him blankly. "I don't need them! I let my anger out in nice,
controlled ways."

"How is that?" May asked.

"By beating up immortal bastards who don't know the meaning of taking a
beating and staying down like they should!" Ed shouted.

"Uh, Brother, I think you have lost it a bit." Al said.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I am perfectly fine, Al."

"Sometimes, I'm not so sure about that." Al mumbled to himself.

"Oh no!" The young man said.

The scene pulled out to show him sitting on a crate with a broom in his
hand while a flask sat on a desk with a black creature inside it.

"It's alright." The voice said as the young man stood up. "Look, over
here."

The young man was shown closer up as he looked at the flask.

"Look at those golden eyes." Sheska said amazed. She tilted her head to the
side. "Don't you think he looks like Edward?"

"There is a really good resemblance there." Hughes said thoughtfully. "Hey

Ed–"

"I don't know him. Never seen him, never heard of him. I have no idea of
what is going on." Ed interrupted. "You guys said it yourself, gold eyes are a
rarity. I wonder who his parents are."

"Um, yeah." The young man said.

"Hey now," The flask was shown. "Can't you at least bring yourself to
act a little surprised or something?"

"Uh…is that thing in the flask the one talking?" Brody asked blankly.

"Could be. There is no one else in the room that could be doing it. Unless
there is a ghost." Luke said.

"Ghosts don't exist." Ed replied dryly.

"Fine." Luke mockingly snapped. "Then that little black thing is doing the
talking. Even if it doesn't have a mouth to do any talking with. You suck the
fun out of all mysteries."

Armstrong frowned. "Wasn't the name of this episode 'Homunculus (The

Dwarf in the Flask)?' Do think it is possible the Dwarf and the Homunculus
have anything to do together?"

"It's possible, but I'm not seeing the connection. That dwarf is in a flask. I
don't see how it can have anything to do with the Homunculi." Mustang said
with a frown.

The young man was shown from behind as he put a hand to his hip.
"What do I get for acting surprised?"

"Argh, this guy is definitely a teenager." Mustang groaned.

"And you're an expert on teenagers?" Avery asked.

"His rude tone and his appearance all speak loudly." Mustang glared at the
back of Ed's head. "It's not hard to realize he's a teen."

Ed turned to look at his brother. "He's trying to say something, isn't he?"

"He is always throwing some type of insult at you, Brother, so you should be
used to it." Al replied.

The dwarf was shown up close. "Hmm, you show no fear. I like that."

The young man was shown from the side as he blinked.

"What's your name?"

"I'm number 23."

"What?" Ling asked shocked. "A slave number?"

Ed's brows furrowed. "Slaves? This can't be Amestris then. There are no
slaves here." He looked at Ling with a frown. "You realized it was a slave
number real fast. How? Are there slaves in Xing?"

"No, but part of my duty as a prince is to study and know the history of Xing.
In the past there were slaves and instead of names, they were branded with
numbers. I'm just guessing that wherever this is, having a number for a name
means he is a slave." Ling replied. "I don't see any other reason why he
would be called a number, unless his parents were really that bland."

The dwarf in the flask was shown from behind as 23 watched him. "Not
your number. I want you to tell me your real name."

"I'm a slave. I don't have one." 23 replied.

"That must be hard." Riza said softly. "If he doesn't have a name, then he was
either born as a slave or taken to be one at a very young age and doesn't
remember the name his parents gave him."

"He doesn't seem to mind too much." Mustang muttered. "I'm not an expert
on slavery, but I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to speak in that kind of
tone."

"He's a teenager. Teenagers can be pretty defiant." Hughes said amused.

"I know. They just have something against following orders." Mustang said.

Ed's brow twitched. He knew that was thrown at him as well. He would not
take the bite. Not this time.

"A slave. You mean a person without any rights or freedom? Someone
trafficked and deeded as a possession?" The dwarf asked.
23 was shown up close. "Deeded? What's that?"

The two were shown from the side.

"It's when a piece of property is transferred to another person." The

dwarf explained.

"Huh."

"Seems you're not all that bright, are you?"

"Hey!" 23 shouted angrily. "Get out of here."

"Temper, temper." Grants laughed.

"Reminds me a certain other teen's temper." Hughes teased.

Ed rolled his eyes. "You're so funny, Hughes."

"Come on, Ed. You don't find it weird at all?" Havoc asked. "You guys look
similar and you both have a temper. That is strange."

"Maybe he's my doppelganger." Ed said sarcastically.

"So you do know what sarcasm is. That's good. I was kind of worried for a
while." Ling said.

Ed pointed a finger in his face without turning to look at him. "Ling, I want
you to shut up."

"I don't take orders from peasants." Ling said.

Ed's eye twitched. "How am I peasant when I am a State Alchemist?!"

The dwarf was shown with the scene pulling out from it. "How could I
have possibly been born from someone as stupid as you?"

23 was shown.
"Born? This is getting creepier and creepier." Al said.

"And not making any sense whatsoever." May added. "How could that
whatever that is be born from a human?"

The dwarf reappeared on screen. "You are the one who gave me blood,
right?"

23 was shown again, showing surprise. He lifted up his bandaged arm as

mysterious music began. "I guess so. He said he was going to use it for an
experiment."

"I exist today," The dwarf said, surprising 23. "Because you gave me
your blood."

23's hand was shown with his fingers spread so the dwarf could be seen.

"Thank you." The dwarf said as he was shown from behind with 23
staring at him. "Let's see."

The scene was shown from the side.

"Number 23 isn't going to cut it. I think I'll give you a name of your
own."

"Give me a name? Who are you?" 23 asked.

"You'll want a noble sounding one, right?" The dwarf asked. "Let's see.
Theo! Theophrastsu Bombastus."

"What kind of name is that?" Aran asked. "It's way too long!"

Luke snorted. "Not everyone can have a simple name like you."

Aran smirked. "At least I have a unique name, unlike a certain someone."

"Say what you like. I like my name." Luke replied in a mock snotty voice.

"Are you sure they aren't teenagers?" Al muttered.

"That's too long!" 23 said.

"Huh? Oh yeah, you're not that smart. Maybe we shouldn't put too
many syllables in it." The dwarf replied.

"Hey, you, I'm plenty smart!" 23 snapped.

Breda laughed. "He is just like chief when his height is insulted."

Ed grabbed one of the pillows from his ammo pile and threw it at Breda.
"Shut it. Can we just get through this? There has to be some type of
importance to it, but I can't figure it out."

"Of course it is important." Breda said as he tossed the pillow aside. "We
wouldn't be seeing this if it wasn't."

The dwarf was shown. "Well, how about Van?" 23 was shown. "Van
Hohenheim."

Ed's eyes snapped back to the screen, his attention completely focused once
more. "No way."

"B-brother…" Al said shocked. "Did I hear that correctly? That can't be…this
can't really be dad's past, can it?"

"Your dad was a slave as a kid?" Ling asked surprised.

Ed growled and hit his friend. "That is not the issue here, Ling!" He screamed
before looking back at the screen, feeling a bit lost inside. This was his dad's
past. His dad had no parents and was a slave. His dad's blood was used in an
experiment. This weird creature in a flask gave his dad a name. What the hell
was going on?! This couldn't really be his dad, could it? His dad…from what
he remembered, he didn't seem like he could have a past like this.

"This certainly got a lot more interesting." Avery said.

"And wrong." Hughes said. "There haven't been any slaves in a long time.
Considering Ed's and Al's age and from Hohenheim's appearance, he doesn't
seem that old. How could he have been a slave at this age? The timeline
doesn't match up."

Al stared at the screen in a daze. Hughes was right about the timeline not
matching up, but that didn't concern Al. There was something. He was sure
there was something more to this story about their father. From what he
understood, his father left them for a reason and his mom knew what that
reason was. From the context of what his dad said, he understood something
happened in his past that had something to do with his body and made him
feel like a monster. Were they going to see that? Was there some truth that
had to be uncovered here? And what was its important to what was
happening to Amestris?

"But why?" Ed asked hoarsely in shock. "Why is his past so important to

what is going on?"

"You guys only knew your dad for a few years and it's obvious he kept
something hidden from you." Izumi told them softly. "You only saw what he
showed you on the surface. Perhaps there is something much deeper, a dark
secret maybe, that you don't know about."

"But what's the importance of it?" Al murmured.

"Who cares? We'll find out, but the real important thing here is that we know
why he and Ed look so much alike now!" Luke cheered.

Ed shot him a glare.

Luke grinned. "And they seemed to much alike personality wise as well. Both
had or have in Ed's case such temper for their youth."

Ed rolled his eyes.

"But it is shocking to find out that someone like Hohenheim, who seems so…
sophisticated, was a slave." Brody said.

"Maybe he found a way to escape it." Ling suggested. "In some countries in
the past, from what I read at least, it says it was possible for slaves to rise out
of thralldom through education. I'm not sure how far they would go in society
after that, but it was a way to escape it."

"What countries were those?" Al asked curiously.

"One was Xerxes, but that seeing as that was destroyed over four hundred
years ago." Ling replied. "I'm pretty sure it's not possible for your dad to be
that old though."

Al laughed. "Right."

"How does that sound?"

Hohenheim was shown. "So Van Hohenheim." He was shown from

behind. "I think I can remember that."

"It's spelled–Oh, you don't know how to read and write, do you?"

Hohenheim took his hand off his hip and waved it. "I don't need to read
and write to do my work."

Ed snickered. "That's so hard to believe. He was always so smart from what I

remember."

"He must have studied really hard." Al said.

The dwarf was shown up close. "Your slave work."

Hohenheim appeared on screen, blinking.

"Don't you even want freedom?"

The window was shown from the outside to show the dwarf in the flask.

"Are you going to live out the rest of your life as a slave, without the
rights of a real man?" The dwarf asked as the scene slowly moved to
change angles to show Hohenheim through the window. The dwarf was
shown. "In that case, you're no different from me, trapped inside this
stuff flask."
A shocked Hohenheim appeared on screen.

"Let me teach you, Van Hohenheim."

Hohenheim nodded.

"How can a dwarf born in a flask even know this much? Let alone know
enough to teach dad?" Al asked confused.

"I still don't get how he was born." Ed muttered. "That's what I really want to
know."

The dwarf was shown up close.

"Hey," Hohenheim said before he was shown, expression morphing into

one of determination and a bit of fear. "What are you? Who are you?"
The dwarf was shown. "What do I call you?"

The dwarf spread out as arms grew out of it and an eye appeared on it.

"That eye." Greyson swallowed thickly. "Is anyone else reminded of Pride's
shadow?"

"It does kind of look like it. But that's not possible. Father created Pride
centuries ago." Armstrong said with a frown.

"I'll tell you what, Van Hohenheim. You can call me the Dwarf in the
Flask, Homunculus."

"That thing is a Homunculus." Olivia growled. "The more we hear, the more
confusing this gets." She looked sharply at the shocked and horrified Elric
brothers. "Are you sure your father is not working with Father?"

"We don't even know what is going on anymore!" Ed said annoyed.

"Hohenheim…slave…Homunculus. We don't even know how long ago this
was!" He rubbed his temple as he felt a headache developing. "Or even
where. Is this Amestris or not? It really doesn't look like it."

"There isn't enough information to understand this, but I know dad isn't a bad
person." Al said determined. He just knew his dad wasn't at fault for what
was going on with Amestris. But still, so many questions were becoming left
unanswered and the more he saw, the more everything got more suspicious.
But for people who didn't know his dad, he could understand why they would
feel so suspicious.

The scene went dark before relighting on a dark sky with a dark planet
in it with light shining around it as dramatic music starting to play. The
scene moved up to show an hourglass as the sun and moon spun around.
The hourglass was shown up close as the sand moved down it. The
hourglass was picked up, changing the scene to show Hohenheim holding
it with his master behind him, writing in a book.

Hohenheim put the hourglass on top of a book.

"All things are made from one." Master said as the scene outside the
window turned to nighttime to daytime to nighttime to daytime multiple
times. "And in the end, all things turn to one." The time stopped
changing as it ended up on daytime outside the window.

Hohenheim was show from a distance, standing on a cliff in much better

clothes as his Master stood behind him, holding the dwarf in the flask.

"In other words, one is all." Hohenheim said as he was shown close up
with his master behind him.

"Indeed, and all is one as well." Master said.

"Dad learned that principle too." Al said.

"It is a fundamental principle of alchemy so that shouldn't be surprising." Ed

said with a frown. He couldn't place it, but something did feel strange about
what they were seeing. And it wasn't because what they were seeing was
about Hohenheim. It was because of Homunculus. Because of that, what they
were seeing now had a dark, eerie feeling to it all. "But I guess Ling was right
about slaves being able to move up by learning in some societies."

"What? Did you think I was wrong?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "Just saying. I am curious about where this is. I'm not sure if it
can be Amestris or not." He folded his arms behind his head with a sigh.
"Would be nice if we could know the year. That would make it a bit easier."

Hohenheim turned to look at them. "All is ultimately of the one, so if all

is not included in the one, then all is nothing."

The scene showed the dwarf in the flask before moving up to show his
master's face. "You have passed. You are now an alchemist, Hohenheim.
Well done, child."

Hohenheim was shown, looking over his shoulder at him with a smirk.
"I'm still only fit to be an assistant. My skill is nothing near yours,
master."

"The resemblance really is uncanny between you two." Hughes said.

Ed shot him an annoyed look. He hated being compared to his dad. "You've
already said that. Why are you saying it again?"

"It's the smirk." Hughes said. "When he smirks, I see you."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Homunculus appeared on screen, eye opening a bit before it narrowed

and he chuckled.

Sheska shivered. "Did that chuckle sound evil to anyone else?"

"Yes," May said.

"It came from a Homunculus so that shouldn't be surprising. I find it very

hard to trust any Homunculi after meeting all the ones I have met." Ed said.

"Hohenheim seems to be friends with this one." Hughes pointed out.

"Yes, but something happened to him." Ed retorted. "I never met him and
neither has Al. Something happened to him or he did something. Whatever it
is, I doubt it was anything good."
"Because he is a Homunculus?" Riza asked.

Ed looked at his brother then shrugged. "Just an eerie feeling I have." Yeah,
just that. He had goose bumps going all up his arm. He didn't know why, but
he just had a really bad feeling about this.

The scene changed to show the ground of a room with two shadows on
the floor.

"I'm grateful to you." Hohenheim said.

"Oh, for what?" The Dwarf asked as the scene moved up to show the two
looking out a window.

"I live as well as I do now because of the knowledge you gave me."
Hohenheim said before the two were shown close up.

"Imagine if he never got that knowledge, I doubt Ed and Al would have ever
been born." Falman said.

"What?" Ling shouted. "No! Not my best friend!"

Ed pointed a finger in his face without looking at him. "Touch me and you
die."

Ling held up his hands. "Maybe I was referring to Al, not you. Ever think
about that?"

Ed turned to him with a raised brow. "Oh? Then go hug Al and while you at
it, impale yourself on one of his spikes."

"Brother! Do not get me involved in your petty squabbles. My spikes are not
to be used for that." Al snapped.

"Fine, fine." Ed said but still shot a pointed look at Ling before looking back
at the screen. "Besides that pointless fact about Hohenheim, look out that
window at the city. You can't see the buildings too clearly, but they look like
they are all made from stone. Do you know of any cities like that?"
"No, but we don't know just how far back this is, Fullmetal. We just know it
is when your dad is a teenager. Do you know his exact age?" Mustang asked.

"No."

"Do you know where he lived as a young man?"

"No. I was four when I last saw him so I saw no point in about wondering
about this."

"Then there is no way of knowing."

"And, I've also earned the Master's respect. Thanks to you, maybe
someday," Hohenheim turned to look at him with a smile. "I'll even be
able to get married, have a family."

Ed scoffed. "And then abandon that family."

Al looked at him sharply.

"Do not start." Izumi growled, glaring at Al then at Ed. "Not another word
about your family situation."

"But–" Al started.

"No."

"If–" Ed said.

"No." Izumi growled. "I don't want to hear anymore arguing!"

"A family, huh?" The dwarf appeared on screen. "How inconvenient for
you humans. Unless you form communities and breed, your species can't
continue to exist."

Hohenheim was shown, staring him. "Don't call it breeding." He looked

away and rested his chin on his fist before looking at him out of the
corner of his eyes. "And whether or not it's a concept that you're able to
understand, that's where humans find happiness." He closed his eyes.
The scene pulled out to show the two from a distance as Hohenheim
turned his head to look at him again.

"We live for the bonds that we form with friends and family members.
That's who we humans are." Hohenheim said.

Ed frowned. Why can he say that so easily but he can't follow it? If humans
truly lived for the bonds they make, then why did he leave them? They were
his family. Wasn't the love his mother and Al and him gave him enough to
make him stay?

If he could have, Al would have smiled at that. His dad was certainly right
about those bonds. From the moment he and Ed began their journey, they
have met so many wonderful people that were cheering for them to get their
bodies back. And now, he was sure of the bond that was there between him
and his dad. His dad may not be there for them, but Al knew he was doing
something important. He may not know what, but he believed in his dad. Just
because they were apart, didn't mean the bond between father and son was
any less.

"Sure, whatever you say." The Dwarf said.

Hohenheim lowered his hand from his chin. "Okay then, what is it that
makes you happy?"

"Well," The Dwarf said as he was shown from the side. "I hate to be
guilty of asking too much," The two were shown from behind. "But I
think I'd happy if I could just leave this flask."

The scene changed to show a row of lit candles.

"Immortality?" The Dwarf asked.

"Oh, are we seriously back on this again?" Rebecca snarled. "Why does this
always come up?"

"Because old people get scared when they start to realize their mortality?"
Luke suggested sarcastically.
Olivia scoffed. "Like those old bastards in Central. Fearing their own
mortality after serving this country for so long. What a bunch of pathetic
excuses for soldiers."

A small stand with a cloth draped over it appeared on screen. The scene
moved up to show the Dwarf in the Flask sitting on top of it. "Why
would someone who already has so much power and prosperity need
such a thing?"

"So he can't lose it all by dying." Clarink said angrily. "Greedy little…"

"We don't even know who is asking for it." Havoc pointed out.

"Well, it is obviously someone with power and riches." Clarink grumbled.

"That makes him greedy for wanting more."

"Watch your tone!" Master snapped at him.

The room was shown from a downward angle.

"You are in the royal presence!" The dwarf was shown from behind with
Master seen in front of him, kneeling down. Master pointed at him. "If
you continue with this insolence, I will smash your flask!"

"Seriously? Royalty again? First, it's the higher ups, then Emperor of Xing,
and now this royal guy that we don't even know!" Rebecca growled. "It is
always those with power who think they can do this and get away with it!
They have no care for their people!"

"With great power comes great responsibility." Izumi said softly. "But that
power can corrupt you if you're not careful and it can make you arrogant."
She put a hand to her stomach, sighing sadly. Alchemy was such a power that
could corrupt someone and make an alchemist think it was possible to do
anything. It was when an alchemist believed that and tried to make the
impossible possible that an alchemist was really foolish. Foolish, ignorant,
and blind to the truth.

Ed and Al shared looks of shame and understanding. They got what their
teacher was saying. When they attempted human transmutation, actually
believing they could do it, they were corrupt with their knowledge and
power. They weren't evil, but their power was getting to their heads. In truth,
the human transmutation woke them up and showed them just how little they
understood about the world.

"You wouldn't dare to destroy such an important source of knowledge."

The Dwarf replied.

The two men in front of the throne were shown from the side, gasping in
surprise.

"That's enough chatter." The king said.

The two men turned to look at him.

The king was shown up close. "Immortality, tell me, is it possible or isn't
it?" The scene changed angles to show the two men and the Dwarf in the
Flask from the king's view.

"Growing impatient in your old age?" The Dwarf asked. The king's face
was shown from the side. "How lamentable, King of Xerxes."

"WHAT?!" Skylak and Luke shouted in surprise.

"That can't be Xerxes! Xerxes was destroyed over four hundred years ago."
Al said weakly. "Our dad…he couldn't be from Xerxes. No one can survive
that long!" Even though he said that, it still felt right to say he was from
Xerxes. But if he was from Xerxes, a country destroyed centuries ago, there
was only one possibility and that possibility….it was just something he didn't
want to think was possible. His dad wouldn't…

Ed stared at the ground, hands trembling in front of him. It couldn't be. There
had to be some kind of mistake. That Van Hohenheim wasn't their dad. That
was a possibility, but as Hughes already pointed at, the resemblance between
them was uncanny. So it could be him. But if it was, then that meant…that
meant….
"Al, you know as well as I do that there is one way your father could have
survived all these years." Izumi said darkly. She looked over at Ed. "Ed's
already realized it."

"The small Philosopher's Stone we've seen can't keep you alive for four
hundred years." Ed said, voice actually trembling in shock and horror. "To
survive four hundred years, you would need a huge Philosopher's Stone." He
slammed a fist into the carpet. "Damn it! I remember now. Future me
mentioned this in the future when we were inside of Gluttony…the
destruction of Xerxes…But Hohenheim. How could he be involved…"

"Your father was involved in the destruction of Xerxes." Olivia growled,

glaring suspiciously at the screen. "And you still trust him?"

Al's mind was going crazy. Xerxes was destroyed over four hundred years
ago. His dad was from Xerxes. His dad was the only person from Xerxes that
survived because he had…was…a Philosopher's Stone. It couldn't be. It
couldn't be. His dad couldn't have taken all those lives for a stone. His dad
wasn't like that! He wasn't a murderer!

"Let's not jump to conclusion." Hughes said quickly, looking from the
confused and scared Al to the lost form of Ed. Well, this was amazing. Both
boys were completely lost in shock and fear and all from the word Xerxes.
"We don't know the full story of what happened to Xerxes."

"We know it was destroyed in a single night to make a stone." Al said

quietly.

"We also know Hohenheim survived it." Ed added weakly.

"But it was the king after immortality, not Hohenheim. We need to watch to
see what happened." Mustang told them.

The dwarf was shown, grinning evilly.

"The more I see that thing, the more I am reminded of Pride's shadow."
Lester growled.
"Now that we know how far back this is, I think it is possible that there is a
connection between Homunculus and Pride." Miles told him.

"Are we sure that thing isn't actually Pride?" Avery asked.

"Yes, because Father created Pride." Izumi answered. "We know Hohenheim
isn't Father and his master looks nothing like Father so it's not him either."

"Okay, I'll tell you how you can achieve immortality." The dwarf said.

The scene changed to show citizens of Xerxes digging a trench.

The ground was shown from the sky. The scene moved down the
trenches that were being built to show tents around them.

"What are you digging here for?" A man asked.

"Irrigation canals. The king's ordered them to be dug all throughout the
country." A man replied.

Riza closed her eyes. "No, that has to be the transmutation array they are
digging. In a way, you can say they dug their own graves without realizing
it."

"Do you think the king realized he would be sacrificing his own people for
his immortality?" Armstrong asked.

"I don't see how he couldn't. But what about Hohenheim? Think he knew
what was going to happen?" Buccaneer asked.

"No, there is no way dad knew what would happen and not do anything." Al
said harshly, snapping out of his shock to glare at him. He may not know his
dad that well since he was only with him for three years and he was a baby
during that time, but he just knew. He had this feeling. His father would not
have let all those people die if he knew what was going to happen. He just
spoke about bonds between families and friends. Hohenheim would not lose
those bonds. If he knew, Al knew he would do something to save those
bonds.
"He knew something though." Miles pointed out calmly. "We just don't know
what."

"Maybe afterwards, but before, I'm sure he didn't know a thing." Al retorted.

The man laughed. "That's the king for you." The men appeared on
screen with the one talking putting hand to the back of his head. "He
even cares about the well-being of us commoners."

"Yes, he does."

"Those poor fools. They never suspected a thing." Brody said sadly.

"We wouldn't have either if Ed and Al didn't show up and start tearing
everything we knew and understood apart." Havoc pointed out.

"I hate to say it, Fullmetal, Al, but your father was involved in whatever
happened in the past and I think it set you on this path. Like it was your
destiny to help uncover this truth and help us." Mustang said.

Ed gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to punch the ground. He didn't want
to believe that. No way was it his mother's destiny to die to set this in motion.
He couldn't believe that. He wouldn't believe it.

The scene changed to one of nighttime. Horses were heard trotting along
before a light appeared on screen, followed by a man riding a horse.

"Did you notice that all of these people have golden blond hair and gold
eyes?" Sheska asked.

"They must be the traits of Xerxians." Mustang said. "Which really would
explain Fullmetal's and Al's eyes. They are descendants of a lost race." He
smirked. "Unbelievable. They always have to be unique. They can't even be
Amestrians like the rest of us."

A weak smirk crossed Ed's face as he turned to look at Mustang. "You're kind
of late on that attack, Colonel. You should have established that fact when it
was revealed this was taking place in Xerxes."
Mustang rolled his eyes. "I was giving you some breathing room since you
are in so much shock."

Ed grimaced. It wasn't so much shock at this point as it was his mind going
crazy with all these different theories about what could have really happened
and why Hohenheim was involved. It was just so hard to believe. If he wasn't
seeing it happen, he didn't think he would believe it at all.

He raised a sword as slow dramatic music started. "Remember."

The group of men on the horses was shown from the front.

"There must be no survivors."

A hay porch roof was shown as an arrow doused in flames hit it, followed
by a second one.

The inside of a house was shown as a man sat up in his bed and rubbed
his eyes.

His door was opened by a soldier. Behind him there was a raging fire.
The soldier ran into the house, surprising the occupant of it. His sword
appeared on screen as it was raised while the man screamed. The sword
came down with a sickening sound as it met its target as the scene
changed to show the village from the distance to show it on fire.

"This is the creation of a blood crest." Al said sadly. "This is what happened
to Xerxes and this is what they are now trying to do to Amestris."

"But why would those men kill their own people?" Lan Fan asked horrified.
"And without any question?"

"It is probably like what happened with Ishval, but on a much smaller scale."
Mustang said. "Most likely they were told lies and went to follow their
orders."

Scar glared at the screen. People of Xerxes killing people of Xerxes and
unknowingly creating a blood crest. It really was just like Ishval. Ishval was
annexed into the country, and then they were attacked by that very same
country for the same purpose as what is happening in Xerxes. It really was a
never ending circle of bloodshed.

A bloody corpse was shown with blood seeping out of it.

A stone wall with an array on it appeared on screen.

"Isn't that the array from the first opening?" Izumi asked.

"I guess it really was from Xerxes." Dr. Marcoh said with a frown. "The true
starting place for all of this it seems."

"Hurry, quickly." The king said as the scene moved down to the show the
king staring up at the array. "Carve out the crests of blood while there's
still time." He said as he raised his hands towards the array before the
array appeared on screen once more.

The scene changed to show the landscape with the village seen in the
distance only by the bright red flames that enclosed it.

The scene changed to another town with citizens all around, talking and
shopping.

"The north village was attacked." A voice said as Hohenheim appeared

on screen, walking through the city with the Dwarf in the Flask.

"I heard they all died." A woman whispered.

Hohenheim was shown up close as he stopped to listen in shock.

"They thought it was the west village."

"What an awful tragedy." Hohenheim said.

"I don't think he realizes what is going on." May said.

"Why would they tell him?" Al asked. "He doesn't seem to be part of the
king's court. This seems like something they would keep real quiet about."
"So why did he survive most likely with a stone then? It's obvious it was the
king's plan, not Hohenheim's so Hohenheim shouldn't have survived." Izumi
said with a frown.

"Something devious probably happened." Liran said.

"Yeah," The Dwarf said as he was shown up close. "Real tragic."

The scene faded out to be replaced by the array with two of the points in
the center of it on fire. A sword appeared on screen over the array,
covered in blood as a third point in the center was lit on fire.

"I guess those fires signify that a blood crest has been created." Hughes said
with a frown.

"Which means it won't be long now." Ling said. "That king is very eager to
get his immortality."

The sound of flesh being pierced was heard as another bloody sword
entered the screen from a different angle, setting a fourth point on fire. A
third bloody sword came from the top of the screen to set the last point
on fire.

An hourglass with sand moving through it appeared on screen. The blue

background turned red as the time ran out.

The Dwarf appeared on screen, being carried in someone's arms.

The king was shown from behind as he sat up in bed with Hohenheim
holding the dwarf in the flask in front of him.

"Majesty," Master said. "At long last, your transmutation circle is

complete."

The king was shown from the side as he leaned forward eagerly. "Took
long enough. Finally it's done."

"Despicable old man!" Izumi snarled angrily. The plan was obviously one to
make a Philosopher's Stone. How many people lost their lives because of the
greed and corruption of one king? How many children didn't get to know the
joys of life because of him?

Scar clenched his hands into fists. They were actually going to go through
with this. How could anyone be greedy enough to actual sacrifice thousands
of lives? Was the idea of immortality really that great to those with power?
They were so many people who struggled to survive and get through the one
life they were given. But those with power and money never saw that. They
had such great lives that they didn't want to give it up while those without
power suffered just to survive. Though they suffered, they still lived life to
the fullest as best as they could. It was hard, but they did it because that was
the life they were given. No one with power had the right to take that from
them.

"This is it."

The Dwarf was shown from the side.

"Everything is ready?"

"Yes, you may now become immortal."

The dwarf faded off the screen to be replaced by a full moon.

The moon was replaced by the transmutation array on the wall.

The scene pulled out to show the throne room with the king standing in
the middle of a rug while Hohenheim stood at the bottom of the stairs
with the Dwarf. The king was shown up close as he cut his finger with a
knife and let the blood drip into a basin.

Hohenheim was shown with the Dwarf. "Incredible. The king will
achieve immortality."

"I'm still a bit confused." Havoc said. "Xerxes was wiped out in a single
night, but Hohenheim survived somehow, but it is the king getting
immortality."

"Foul play." Luke said. "There is foul play within the foul play going on
here!"

"And that means what exactly?" May asked.

Luke shrugged. "Don't know. I just know that something foul is going on."

"There is always something foul when the ruler gets corrupt and decides to
sacrifice his people." Rebecca growled. "It's like he doesn't know what it
truly means to be king!"

The king was shown as he leaned over the basin.

"He looks beyond insane with desperate urgency." Armstrong said darkly.
"It's sickening. He doesn't seem to have one bit of a conscience in him if he
isn't thinking about what he is about to do to his people and country."

A black fog rose out of the basin and covered his face from the screen.

The Dwarf appeared on screen. He grinned evilly and rolled around in

the flask. "Yes, this is an amazing moment indeed."

The scene changed angles to show the room as the black fog that rose out
of the basin spread around and started to fill the vicinity.

One of the men was shown from behind as he stood by a basin with
flames in it. Behind him black hands rose out of the ground, causing the
man to turn to face them in surprise.

The black hands were shown as they soared towards the ceiling.

The king appeared on screen, kneeling on the ground as black hands

circled the screen around him.

A group of men, looking around in fear, were shown with black hands
stretched towards the ceiling around them.

The king reappeared on screen, looking up at the black hands. "This is

immortality? No, no, you must be wrong!"
"I doubt he is wrong." Izumi said softly. "If anything, that dwarf tricked him."

Ed gritted his teeth in frustration. "That stupid dwarf said he wanted out of
the flask, didn't he? I'm not sure how this would work to accomplish that, or
if it even did, but what if he saw an opportunity to escape the flask and took
it, at the lives of all these people?"

"That doesn't account for dad surviving though." Al replied.

Ed shook his head. He was just throwing guessing out here. He knew nothing
about how this alchemy worked. There were theories and he knew what the
array did, but he didn't understand how it worked or what the Dwarf
explained it would do. There were too many unknowns here.

Groaning was heard, making the king look around.

A man was shown from behind, grasping at his throat as he struggled to

breath. As he collapsed, the man standing to him grabbed his throat next
and gagged as he fell to the ground.

The king reappeared on screen as fast, dramatic music began. "I don't
understand it!" Saliva flew out of his mouth as he stumbled. He was
shown from the distance with black hands all around. "You said if we
were in the center of the circle, we wouldn't be harmed!" He collapsed
onto the ground.

"And the price of his greed killed him." Hughes said.

"Those in the center won't be harmed, huh?" Ed chuckled darkly. He

slammed a fist into the ground. "Foul play indeed."

Mustang closed his eyes. "You guessed it to, huh? The true center is where
Hohenheim is standing with Homunculus."

"Which meant dad didn't know. He survived and got a stone without meaning
to. That Dwarf in the Flask tricked everyone!" Al said angrily. That Dwarf,
whoever he was, was a horrible person…thing…Homunculus. Whatever, the
point was that he caused all of this. He shot a glare at Olivia. "My father is
not a bad man."

"No, he's just another unknowing pawn it seems." Olivia replied. "It was
because of his blood that the dwarf was born. If that dwarf never came to be,
this wouldn't have happened to Xerxes."

Al growled, but he could say nothing. His dad was a slave and his master
wanted to use his blood for an experiment. That experiment led to the ruin of
Xerxes. But that still didn't explain what this had to do with what they were
facing. Sure, they were facing the same thing, but there had to be some more
meaning to it than that.

The king's hand fell onto screen with Hohenheim in the background,
staring. Black hands rose onto screen as Hohenheim gasped. "What
the–" He was shown up close. "What's going on here?" He glared down
at the flask in his hands. "Hey, Homunculus!"

The Dwarf was shown up close as he turned to face Hohenheim with an

evil grin as he opened his eye and raised his hands. "The true center of
the transmutation circle is right here where you're standing."

"Which means not only did Hohenheim survive, but so did the Dwarf. I
wonder what happened to him?" May asked with a frown.

Hughes frowned and bit his thumb. There was some deeper importance here
than just Hohenheim's past. And now that he thought about it, Father looked
exactly like Hohenheim, but it was their guess that Hohenheim was the only
Xerxian to survive. If that was true, then where did Father come from? Father
obviously had a Philosopher's Stone. He had a stone. He looked like
Hohenheim. He created Homunculi and this dwarf was obviously a
Homunculus since that was the name he gave. Hughes's mind flashed back to
when Future Ed and Ling were in Gluttony's stomach.

"Tell me, Envy. Whoever this guy is, he's been using you Homunculi to try
and recreate the destruction of Xerxes here in Amestris, hasn't he?!"

Hughes's eyes widened in horror. "Ed, I need you to tell me now, is it

possible for that Dwarf to get a new body? He wants to escape the flask, so it
should be possible, right?"

Ed blinked. "What?" He looked at Hughes with a frown as he thought. "I'm

not too sure. I've never seen anything like this, but that array they are using, it
is a Philosopher's Stone array and with those two in the center, they won't
become part of the stone. Uh, Dr. Marcoh? What happens when you stand in
the center of the Philosopher's Stone array?"

Dr. Marcoh closed his eyes and sighed. "Normally, when making a stone, you
sacrifice people's lives and their souls combine in the center to create the
stone. If someone happens to be standing in the center, and this is only a
theory since I have never done this, they will most likely become stones. I
believe it would be their very being after this. It will flow through their veins
and keep them alive, even if they don't want it."

"If that's the case, then they can use alchemy without any restrictions." Ed
said. "If that's the case, then I guess that Dwarf would be able to get a new
body."

"Then there is no doubt." Hughes said.

"You guess it as well?" Dr. Marcoh asked. When he noticed some people still
looked confused, he said, "Father is most likely that Dwarf. He had to get the
Philosopher's Stone that makes up his being from somewhere."

"Are you serious?" Brody asked in horror.

"He's done this once and now he wants to do it again." Al said angrily. "He
created this country for that sole purpose! He went from destroying Xerxes to
creating a new country just to get more power! He is no better than that
Xerxes king!"

Ed chuckled darkly. His mind was so messed up right now. Future him also
mentioned Father doing this when he was inside Gluttony. He should have
realized it sooner! He should have known that the Dwarf in the Flask and
Father were connected! If only he could concentrate more, but he was just in
so much shock that he was completely thrown.
"Actually, I think Homunculus is a lot worse than the Xerxes king or the
higher ups." Miles said.

Scar growled softly. He had to agree with Miles on that. Anyone who could
sacrifice so many lives to create blood crests, then used all those who
survived for a stone, not only once, but planning to do it a second time was
the absolute worse person ever. And it was because of this Homunculus
believed people were below him and that he could use them to get what he
wanted. If this continued, just how many people would be sacrificed because
of him?

Hohenheim was shown, staring at the Dwarf in surprise. "It is?"

"Surely you remember that your blood is within me. I used it to open the
doorway." The Dwarf said. His evil grinning face appeared on screen.
"Blood brother of mine, Van Hohenheim," The two were shown from
the ceiling as a blue circle surrounded where they stood. "Right now you
and I are at the center of everything."

A blue streak appeared under Hohenheim's feet and stretched to the

edges of the circle before it opened to the familiar eye of Truth as the
music turned to ghostly suspenseful music.

Hohenheim was shown up close as he gasped.

"Blood brother?" Hughes echoed with a frown.

"Doesn't that make…" Mustang looked at Ed and Al. "You guys technically
relatives with Father and the Homunculi?"

"Please don't make those kind of jokes." Al said weakly. "The very idea…"
He shuddered.

"It's more like blood kin then actually relatives." Ed murmured. "Don't say
relatives to them ever again!" He shot a glare at Mustang. He would never
want to be considered relatives with the Homunculi. They have caused him
far too much grief. Not only that, they have destroyed so much for Father's
plan. He didn't ever want to recognize the fact that the blood flowing through
their veins was the blood flowing through his and Al's and that it was because
of Hohenheim that they were all connected.

"All of this would definitely explain Father's interest when you told him you
two were Hohenheim's sons." Izumi said thoughtfully.

"Perhaps we shouldn't do that." Al muttered. Now that he knew that

Hohenheim and Father had a history together, he really didn't want to share
too much information with him. He doubted the information about them
being Hohenheim's son would do anything, but just to be sure, he probably
didn't want to reveal that to Father a second time around.

The scene changed angles to show Hohenheim surrounded by blue light

as the eye rose out of the ground and started to swallow him. The eye
continued to grow until it took over the screen.

The scene changed to show the palace from the sky. In the center of the
palace, blue light rose out of it as the eye opened up and became bigger
and bigger. The scene changed angles once more to show the eye as it
rose up from the ground with blue alchemical light sparking around it.
Black hands rose up out of the ground next with the sounds of moaning
and struggling coming with them. The blue light surrounding the eye
spread out over the country before the black hands started to enter the
eye.

A gold eye appeared close up on screen before Hohenheim and the

Dwarf in the Flask were shown to be falling through the white void of
Truth with blue light sparking around and black hands covering the
screen.

The scene went white for a moment before the Dwarf in the Flask was
shown disintegrating. Hohenheim was shown next with the same thing
happening to his body as he screamed. Blue alchemical light zapped
across the screen before it changed back to Xerxes with the eye fading
away from the country which was now bathed in a red light with blue
alchemical light stilled zapping around in the center of it. The red light
faded away followed by the alchemical light disappearing. As the music
ended, the scene went dark.
Scar growled angrily at what he just watched. It was always because of some
type of corruption that so many innocent people lost their lives. The king set
this in motion, but it was because of that Dwarf in the Flask that it all truly
happened. He had the knowledge and despite how dark it was, he gave the
knowledge out just to get what he wanted! He used everyone, especially the
king's greedy nature, like a greedy manipulator and now he was doing it
again with Amestris and with that, he was sacrificing so many more people.

"Oh my god." Sheska said horrified.

"That's what they want to do to Amestris?" Myers asked. What they saw was
horrifying. That was the transmutation that wiped out such an advanced
country. And now Amestris was next on their list. Amestris was going to face
the same horrible demise as Xerxes if they didn't find some way to prevent
everything from happening.

"Dr. Marcoh, is that how everyone was killed in Xerxes?" May asked quietly.

"If they were standing inside the array, but not in the center, then all of those
souls were used as ingredients for the stone." Dr. Marcoh replied darkly. "No
one could have survived that."

May covered her mouth in horror. If that was truly how a stone was made,
there was no way she could tell her emperor that. She was sure that he would
use that knowledge to make himself immortal. "Ling, we can't–"

Ling shook his head. "I never once planned to tell him how to make a stone,
May. I was just planning to present him with one. That was it, May. I know
how corrupt our father can be with his greed and fear of death."

"That seems to be a common theme for those with power." Ed muttered

before glancing at Lan Fan. "Be sure to keep your prince from falling that
far."

Lan Fan smiled grimly. "I will, but first I have to get him back in the future."

"Right, I guess he already fell too far." Ed replied. "Hopefully that means he
will have learned his lesson."
Ling glared at him and elbowed him in the side.

Ed rubbed his side and sighed. "At least that explains how Hohenheim can be
considered a sacrifice. He did see Truth, just not of his own free will."

The scene lit up on the palace as the sun rose into the sky.

A broken flask appeared on screen.

"Isn't that the Dwarf's flask?" Fu asked.

"Yes, and it looks like he really did escape his flask like he wanted with this
whole demented plan of his." Mustang growled. This really was the whole
start of what their country has to go through now. It was because of the king's
greed that the transmutation was possible and why that dwarf was able to
escape. He was the reason their country existed. He was the reason their
country was always fighting and taking innocent lives for his damn country
transmutation array! This couldn't go on. If it did, not only would their
country be destroyed, who knows what would happen to the people of other
countries if Father succeeded.

The scene moved to the side to show Hohenheim lying there. His eyes
scrunched up for a moment before his face appeared on screen as he
opened his eyes. The room was shown with bodies lying on the ground as
Hohenheim sat up.

"Majesty!" Hohenheim said.

"Does he have blind respect for him or something? Doesn't he realize what he
tried to do?" Aran asked.

"I don't think he truly understands what actually happened at this point."
Izumi replied. "He never knew that gaining immortality like the king wanted
would cost everyone their lives so he probably doesn't realize everyone has
been lost yet. Or even, he doesn't know what happened to himself."

Ed's hand curled into fists. Waking up to find everyone he knew and cared for
dead. He could never understand how it felt to wake up and be the last person
of his country alive. It must have been so hard for him to be completely alone
like that. Not to mention he probably felt completely betrayed by the
Dwarf…Father. It was a complete betrayal by someone he considered to be a
friend. He almost snorted at the thought. The only time Ed ever felt the bitter
sting of betrayal was when his father abandoned them and now he learns that
his father went through the same thing, but somehow, Ed felt it was on a
much larger scale for Hohenheim, despite how much anger he felt for his dad.

"Brother?" Al asked softly. It was hard to believe that this is what his dad was
forced to go through. No, that wasn't wrong. It wasn't hard to believe. It was
horrifying, scary, but not hard to believe. He could believe it happen, but he
wished it hadn't. No one deserved to go through that, let alone his father. "Do
you think this is what dad told mom that he wanted to keep from us?"

"What? That he was a Philosopher's Stone?" Ed shrugged, though he was

having trouble keeping calm as his mind was still racing. "Probably. I wonder
how much he actually told her though."

Hohenheim stood up, holding his head.

Master was shown lying on the ground as Hohenheim ran over to him.

Hohenheim kneeled by him. "Master, are you…" He put his hand to his
neck to feel for a pulse. His expression turned to one of horror as his face
appeared on screen. "No, he's dead."

The scene changed to show a staircase with bodies lying all over as
Hohenheim slowly approached the top of them in a horrified daze. He
was shown from the side as he slowly trudged passed all the bodies.

"Is anyone…out there?" Hohenheim asked.

Al grimaced as he listened to his dad. It almost sounded like he was pleading

for someone to just appear in front of him. And why wouldn't he be? He
woke up to find everyone just lying on the ground and he didn't know why.
He didn't realize the true horror of what just happened yet or of what he has
become of Xerxes.
"He sounds so lost and hopeless." Riza said softly. And quite honestly, why
shouldn't he? The situation was completely unfathomable and he had no one
he could trust now since everyone was left. Only Father remained, wherever
he was at the moment, and Riza knew that if she was in Hohenheim's spot,
there was no way she would be able trust him. This was a complete betrayal
of trust. She glanced over at Mustang and clenched her fists. If Mustang, one
of the people she trusted most of all, betrayed her like that, she didn't think
she would be able to handle it.

"I think considering the situation, he should be allowed to sound much worse
than this." Izumi said.

A pillar was shown with a man leaning against it.

"Willard…Mechthild…" The scene slowly moved to the side to show a

body lying facedown on the ground. "Reinmeir!" The scene changed to
show the bottom of the stairs to show more bodies. "Tony! Mayo!"

"Wait, those names!" Breda said quickly. "Hohenheim said them earlier."

"You remembered the names he said?" Havoc snorted.

Breda glared at him. "He said them before piercing his skin and apologizing
for having to use them and blood spurted out of his body and seeped into the
ground."

Mustang's eyes widened. "This makes that scene make a whole lore more
sense. He was using their souls from the Philosopher's Stone, but for what
purpose?"

"He knows the names of the souls inside of his stone which is in his body?"
May asked with a confused frown. "But I thought they became ingredients for
the stone. How could he know the names of each soul that he used?"

Dr. Marcoh shook his head with a frown. "Envy said that their minds and
bodies crumbled a long time ago. I don't know how it would be possible to
know the souls in the stone."
The scene moved up to show more and more bodies.

Hohenheim was shown as he approached the balcony. He put his hands

on the railing as he looked at the city to see bodies everywhere as
mysterious, sad music started to play.

"Somebody…" Hohenheim said weakly. He was shown from the front.

"There must be somebody left."

"It's no use." A deep voice replied.

"Recognize that voice?" Ling growled.

"Yes, it's Father." Scar said angrily. So the true monster finally makes his
appearance.

"All of their souls have been taken from them." Father said, surprising
Hohenheim who turned his head.

Royal dress robes were shown.

"Majesty!" Hohenheim said. He was shown as he turned and got down

on one knee. "Are you alright?"

"Tell me." Father said.

Hohenheim was shown up close. He looked up in surprise.

The scene changed to show Father's chest before moving up to his face
which was exactly like Hohenheim's. "Your body, how is it feeling?"

Hohenheim was shown, staring in absolute horror at him.

"If someone suddenly had my face as well, I would be staring in horror as

well." Luke snorted.

Avery smacked him. "You always have a joke, don't you?"

Luke rubbed his arm. "It wasn't really a joke. I really would be horrified."
"It's me." Hohenheim said. "Impossible."

Hohenheim was shown from behind as he looked up at Father who was

standing on a level above him.

"Using your blood, I created a receptacle for myself." Father got down
on one knee. "Nice. Finally, I can walk on my own two legs."

Hohenheim's horrified face appeared on screen. "Are you…the

Homunculus in the flask?" Father was shown from behind with
Hohenheim staring at him. "What's going on here? What is this? What
have you done?"

Father appeared on screen, smirking. "To thank you for your blood, I've
given you a name, and I've given you knowledge."

The scene was shown from the side.

"And now, I've given you a body that will live forever." Father said.

"A body that has become a Philosopher's Stone with the souls of his friends
and fellow Xerxians." Skylak grimaced. "There is nothing wonderful about
such a body."

"Guess that what he meant when he was calling himself a monster earlier."
Miles said darkly. "He is being forced to live forever because of the sacrifice
of his friends who reside inside of him."

"It's too big of a price just for immortality. It would mean to live alone
forever as everyone he meets grows old and dies while he cannot die. That
stone will forever be a part of him." Armstrong said sadly.

Ed stared down at his flesh hand in horror. His dad was a Philosopher's
Stone. His dad had the souls of thousands running through his veins. It was a
part of who he was. The very thought made Ed's own blood run cold. Was
he…did that mean…he and Al couldn't be the same, could they?

"What are you thinking?" Ling asked when he noticed how distressed his
friend looked.
"Just about the blood kin thing." Ed murmured, hand curling into a fist.
"Hohenheim's blood flows through Al's and mines veins."

Al stared at his brother in surprise. To be honest, the same thought had been
flowing through his mind since Mustang mentioned the blood kin thing with
the Homunculi. Father created the Homunculi with his stone. Could that
make him and Ed the same? Could they each have a Philosopher's stone
running through their veins because of dad?

"You're thinking about the possibility of being born with Philosopher's Stone
in you because of your dad?" Izumi asked for clarification.

Al nodded. "We could be the same as dad." He said quietly. The very idea of
having those Xerxian souls inside his body made him shiver. Those poor
people lost their lives. He didn't think he could live with having so many
stolen lives inside of him. It amazed him how sane his father could be with
that.

"Would such a thing be possible?" Lan Fan asked.

"I don't know." Al murmured. And that was what made the idea even worse.
How could he ever know the truth of whether or not he was like his dad and
didn't have a normal body?

Ed glared at the ceiling. "What do you say V.H?" He shouted angrily. "Now
would be a great time to say something!"

Hughes laughed. "Ed, I don't think shouting at the ceiling will get you an
answer."

There was a flash of gold light and paper floated down to Ed.

"Or, you know, it will." Hughes said surprised.

Ed caught the letter. "Even though the stone is fused with Van Hohenheim's
soul, he is still in fact a human being."

Scoffing, Ed tossed the letter aside. "Well, that wasn't a direct answer. All I
wanted to know is that Al and I are normal humans. It was a simple yes or no
question! What is wrong with being direct?!"

"Screaming at the ceiling isn't going to help." Mustang chided.

"But it makes me feel better." Ed growled and crossed his arms.

"But at least we know now." Al said relieved.

The still horrified Hohenheim appeared on screen. "I'm immortal?"

Father's hand appeared on screen as he pointed at Hohenheim. "Focus

your attention within yourself, Hohenheim."

Hohenheim's face was shown from the side. He blinked a few times
before the color scheme turned red. He grabbed his face.

"You hear them, don't you?" Father asked as the scene moved down to
Hohenheim's body from the inside to show the ghostly faces of the souls
within him. The scene moved down to show more and more of them.
"The voices of all the people in this country who were offered in
exchange for your immortality?"

Father suddenly appeared on screen with an evil grin.

"I know he did this because he saw it as a way to give thanks to Hohenheim,
but the more times I see his evil grin, the more I can't help but think he knew
this would be torture for Hohenheim." Mikal said.

"Maybe he just has a sick mind." Forman said.

Skylak snorted. "There is no maybe about it. Anyone who can do something
like sacrifice a whole country, then plan to do it a second time is definitely a
bit touched in the head."

"Must be the insanity that comes with genius." Walkers snarled angrily.

"Well, half of their lives were for me actually." Father said.

Hohenheim was shown as he ripped his hands off his face and stared at
them.

"I appreciate your cooperation, Hohenheim." Father said as Hohenheim

stared in dismay and fear at his hands. His hands trembled before he
slammed them over his eyes. Hohenheim was shown from behind as he
screamed out his pain. The scene rapidly pulled away and through the
country that was full of lifeless bodies.

Hohenheim appeared on screen on a train as he snapped awake.

"One hell of a nightmare." Levi said.

Growling, Ed jumped to his feet and climbed over the couch between Hughes
and Mustang.

"Where are you going?" Hughes shouted, but Ed ignored him and entered the
training room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Al winced at the noise. "Sorry, he is really stressed. We both are. We knew

what happened to Xerxes since Brother figured it out earlier, but I guess
neither of us expected dad to be involved in this so much."

"Who could have possibly guessed that?" Luke asked, waving his hands in
the air. "No one would be able to predict that your dad is over 400 years old!
The very idea just isn't plausible!"

Kei rolled his eyes. "I think you're freaking out a bit."

"Why wouldn't I be? Did you see what just happened?" Luke asked.

Kei shrugged. "It really was shocking, but it is four hundred years in the past.
There is nothing we can do about it."

Ling looked over at Al. He motioned towards the training room. "Should one
of us…"

"You should go. I myself am still trying to wrap my mind around this." Al
mumbled. "I don't think I would be much help in calming him. Not to
mention, we might start fighting about dad again." He glanced at the door to
the training room then away as he sighed. He really wasn't up to fighting
about dad again, not after what they saw. "An unbiased person about our dad
would be best."

*Training Room*

Ling walked up behind Ed as he kicked the punching bag so hard it slammed

into the wall. He winced when he noticed a bit of sand pouring out of a rip in
the bag. "Ed, you okay?"

"I'm just great!" Ed snapped, slamming his automail hand into the bag. The
bag caught on one of his joints and ripped even more. Growling, Ed pulled
his hand away and ripped the fabric out of his joint. "I mean, why would
something be wrong? I only just found out my dad got tricked into being a
Philosopher's Stone and he has all of those people inside of him, he's over
four hundred years old, Xerxes was destroyed by Father which I sort of
already knew, Father and those stupid annoying Homunculi are my blood kin,
and oh yeah, everything I understood about Hohenheim is a lie!"

Ling stared at his friend punching the hell out of the punching bag while he
ranted for a few minutes before saying, "You know, that makes us blood kin
in the future."

Ed's next punch faltered and he fell into the punching bag. He pushed himself
off of it and glared at Ling. "What?" He hissed.

Ling smirked. "In the future, I become Greed and you are related by blood to
them so we are blood kin. We're family!"

Ed pointed a finger in Ling's face. "Don't you ever become Greed. I refuse to
be blood kin with the likes of you!"

"That's just mean. And here I was so happy about it." Ling said. He stared at
Ed for a moment as he became serious. "Father and Hohenheim have a
connection, Ed, and we already learned that your dad left home with a
reason."
"Don't you start." Ed growled. He turned back to the punching bag and
slammed his fist into it again.

Ling walked around the punching bag and pulled it away. "He knows about
the Philosopher's Stone array since he lived through that transmutation
already and he knows that Amestris is next. He said it himself. He wants to
be with his family, but he knows that can't be when Father is planning to
destroy this country."

Snarling, Ed glared at Ling. "You think I haven't realized this all already?!"
All the fight seemed to leave Ed as he leaned against the wall and slid down
to the ground. "He was gone for over ten years without one visit. It doesn't
take ten years to put a plan in motion."

"Maybe he didn't know what to do and was researching." Ling pointed out.
"You should be happy. He is fighting for his family to live in peace."

Ed snorted. "But along the way his family was slowly destroying itself." He
flexed his automail hand and thought about Al's body. He sighed and lowered
his hand. No, he wasn't blaming Hohenheim for his and Al's mistake. That
was their mistake alone, but he just wished Hohenheim had been there to tell
them no.

"I don't get you. Do you hate your dad or not?" Ling asked confused.

"I hate him for not being there." Ed sighed and leaned his head against the
wall. "That jerk."

Ling chuckled. That almost sounded like he didn't hate Hohenheim

personally, just his choice for leaving and not being there when his kids and
wife needed him.

Ed ran a hand through his bangs in frustration.

*Screen Room*

"Al?" May asked softly. "You okay?"

"Compared to Brother?" Al asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. I am still in shock and

trying to imagine how hard it must be for my dad to go through life for four
hundred years without being able to die while watching his friends die." He
sighed. "I can't believe this happened."

"But," May smiled at Al. "I think there is something good in all of this."

"What do you mean?" Al asked confused.

"I don't know what your dad is doing, but I do know he is fighting back
somehow. He isn't going to sit back and just be another victim this time."
May replied. "I can't say for sure, but I think him fighting back will help
bring Father's downfall. Father will regret making him immortal with him."

Olivia smirked. "I like your declaration. That little bit of generosity on
Father's part will help bring about his end. It's a nice idea that it was his own
fault he is defeated."

"You just have to defeat him first." Ed said as he and Ling came back into the
room. "And that isn't going to be an easy task to accomplish. First, you have
to reach Father to do that. And to do that, you have to get through the
Homunculi and Kimblee. Not to mention the Central forces who have no idea
of what is really happening. Who knows what they will do when the day that
we decide to act comes?"

Mustang smirked. "Well, we have to get rid of Bradley, who is Fuhrer, and
the corrupt higher ups. You realize that this is most likely going to become a
coup d'état because of that."

Ed grimaced. Well, he hoped they planned it just right then. If they didn't, it
could end badly for them all.

Hohenheim's scared face appeared on screen. He sighed and closed his

eyes.

"Van Hohenheim?" Izumi asked, causing Hohenheim to look up.

The section of the train Hohenheim was in was shown from the side to
show Izumi looking at him.
"I knew it." Izumi said. She was shown as she smiled and turned to Sig.

A train station appeared on screen with the train stopped in it.

"Finally," Izumi said before she, Sig, and Hohenheim appeared on screen
as they walked through an alley. "I get the chance to meet Ed and Al's
father."

"And I finally get to meet the one who taught my sons." Hohenheim
replied before the group was shown up close. "I'm sure they must've
been a handful."

"I resent that statement no matter how true it is!" Ed declared.

"You would." Al said dryly.

"It's amazing how well your father realizes what handfuls you two are."
Hughes teased. "He must have heard so many stories about you two causing
mayhem during your journey."

"A few explosions, a couple buildings being taken down and suddenly you're
a handful!" Ed grumbled.

"That's more than being a handful." Mustang replied dryly.

"You know, all those things being destroyed weren't always my fault." Ed
retorted. "Some of them were caused by my target."

"You really should learn to keep your fights contained so your target can't do
that." Mustang said.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Oh no, they were fine boys." Izumi replied.

"Who fought a bit too much." Izumi growled.

"You're the one who taught us how to fight." Al pointed.

Izumi glared at him, making Al shy away. "Not to fight each other."

Izumi coughed suddenly and fell to her knees.

"What is it?" Hohenheim asked, looking down at her as Izumi coughed

violently while Sig kneeled by her.

"Izumi!" Sig said as he set his bag down. "Are you alright?" He reached
into his coat. "Let me get you your medicine."

Hohenheim kneeled down by her. "May I have a look at her? I know a

bit about the medical field."

"Sure." Sig said.

Izumi's back appeared on screen as she continued to cough.

Ed frowned. She seemed worse than usual in the future. Was she getting
worse as time went on? If that was the case, that medicine really wasn't doing
much to help her.

"Your dad knows about medicine?" May asked curiously.

Al shrugged. "I guess. I don't know where he learned it or even when since I
never saw him use any medical knowledge."

Hohenheim put his hand on her back.

Izumi was shown from the side as Hohenheim moved his hand down her
back.

"I'm alright. This happens." Izumi replied Hohenheim gasped.

"No, you are not alright." Hohenheim said before turning to Sig. "Mr.
Sig, find us a car quickly."

Sig tensed up a bit. Was Izumi really getting that much worse in the future?
There had to be something that could be done to help her. He couldn't lose
her. He loved her too much. Sig looked down at his wife and wrapped an arm
around her shoulders. A part of him did it as if to assure himself that she was
still there with him.

Sig was shown, staring in surprise.

"Hurry." Hohenheim snapped.

"Right." Sig said. "I'm on it!" He stood up and ran down the alley.

"Miss Izumi," Hohenheim said before Izumi appeared on screen. "You

have seen the truth."

"How did–" Izumi asked surprised. "He barely checked me over."

Al shrugged. "He probably managed to do a quick check with the help of the
stone fused with his soul. He must have learned how to use it efficiently over
the years."

Izumi gasped.

"What did you sacrifice?" Hohenheim asked.

Izumi looked away.

Hohenheim appeared on screen. "Please be honest with me."

Izumi was shown as she looked back at him. She closed her eyes before
her stomach was shown where she was holding it. "My insides were
taken."

Hohenheim was shown as sad, heavy music began.

"I was trying to bring my child back to life." Izumi explained.

Hohenheim closed his eyes. "I see."

The two were shown from the front.

"Yes, I see." Hohenheim said.

Izumi appeared on screen.

"I'm sorry." Hohenheim said before his hand was slamming into her
stomach.

Izumi gasped at the sudden pain and fell forward.

"What the hell is he doing?" Sig asked angrily.

Al was staring in shock. His dad just stabbed his teacher in the stomach with
his hand.

"Who the hell does something like that?" Aran asked in horror with wide
eyes.

May stared wide eyed at the screen. That was no medical technique that she
knew. People didn't get stabbed to solve a problem!

Izumi was shown, eyes wide in shock and horror. She slowly looked to
see Hohenheim's hand in her stomach. It slowly entered her farther.

Hohenheim was shown, glasses blurred form the sun. Izumi's stomach
appeared on screen as Hohenheim pushed in farther and blood spurted
out around his hand.

Izumi coughed violently as blood shot out of her mouth.

Izumi groaned and fell forward, holding her stomach as she coughed
violently.

"Izumi," Sig said, holding his wife tighter before glaring at the screen.

"Uh," Al said unsure, glancing from the screen to his violently coughing
teacher.

"Why is he doing this?" Sig growled.

As Izumi collapsed, Sig could be seen watching in horror in the

background.
Sig growled and ran forward as Hohenheim turned to look at him and
got a fist in the face.

"Aww, I wanted to punch him first." Ed said.

"Ed!" Riza snapped.

"What? It's no secret that I want to punch him." Ed replied.

"Probably not the best time to say it though." Ling pointed out.

Ed grimaced. "Look, I don't like him and I really hate to say it, but I know…
he isn't…a bad…person and he wouldn't do this…." He waved his arm at the
screen. "Without a reason."

"Really struggled to say it, didn't you?" Ling asked sarcastically.

Ed glared at him. "Shut up."

Hohenheim went flying back, rolling across the ground while Sig turned
back to his wife.

"Izumi, hang on." Sig said as Hohenheim's glasses hit the ground. He
helped her sit up. "Izumi!"

"Calm down, dear, please." Izumi said. "I'm alright."

"He shoved his hand into you." Sig protested.

Izumi appeared on screen, blood tickling on her chin. "But my

breathing," She looked up at Sig in surprise. "It's easier."

Sig gasped.

Izumi sat up and stared at the screen in surprise.

"He did something to help you." Al said surprised.

"How can that be?" Sig asked.

Izumi looked down at her blood covered shirt. She felt under it. "There's
no wound."

"That's impossible." Sig replied as Hohenheim's glasses appeared on

screen.

Hohenheim picked them up. "Your organs were taken away as a

testament to your sin and they cannot be brought back." He said as he
put his glasses on. "But I did rearrange your innards somewhat to
improve the flow of blood."

"Okay, I admit he knows what he is doing if he can do that." May said

surprised. "He must have studied Alkahestry to some degree if he knows how
to do something like this."

"Can you do something like that?" Al asked.

May shook her head. "No, but he does seem to have some great medical
knowledge for him to do a transmutation like that."

"It didn't look like any transmutation I've ever seen." Walkers said.

"That's because it was something completely complex that was done most
likely with the help of the stone." Ed replied.

"Miss Izumi, you cannot give into your fate just yet." Hohenheim said.

Izumi appeared on screen. "You're the boys' father, but who…"

Hohenheim's face was shown from the side.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I?" Hohenheim's eyes were shown. "I am a Philosopher's

Stone in the form of a man."

Izumi and Sig were shown from behind as they stared at Hohenheim.

"That's what I am." Hohenheim said.

"How dramatic." Ed said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, at least it seems he has accepted what he is." Dr. Marcoh said. "I can't
imagine how hard it must have been for him in the beginning."

The ending song began.

"Ha! Chief didn't appear once in that episode!" Havoc exclaimed. "Finally!"

"What do you have against me appearing?" Ed asked dryly.

"You get shown too much!" Havoc shouted.

Ed rolled his eyes. "And Al doesn't?"

Havoc shrugged. "Al can appear as much as he likes."

"Yep, he definitely has something against me." Ed muttered.

A book appeared on screen.

"The Sorcerer's Stone. The Celestial Stone. The Grand Elixir." Ed said.

"Curse you, Chief. You just always have to make an appearance, don't you?"
Havoc grumbled.

"Technically, I haven't appeared. You've only heard my voice." Ed pointed

out.

Havoc glared at him.

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen, pouring a stone out of a small vial. The
table was shown as the stone formed into a gel stone.

"The Philosopher's Stone is known by many names."

The stone inside of Envy was shown.

Kimblee's hand appeared on screen as he put down a stone.

"It's not necessarily a stone." Ed said as he appeared on screen, hands
shoved in his pockets as he stared at Miles and some Briggs soldiers.

"And there it is! Chief has appeared in this episode!" Luke said with a grin.

"It looks like it is nighttime." Ed said, ignoring Luke. "Are we still trapped in
that building?!"

"The weather can change in an instant up there, but it can also stay as a
blizzard for a long time." Miles told him.

Ed groaned. "Great."

"You should be happy about that. It gives your friend more time to escape."
Cyril pointed out.

"The one Dr. Marcoh had was a semi-liquid form." Ed was shown from
behind as he looked away and gentle music played. "The one that
Kimblee had was similar to a crystal." He lifted his hand to show his
index finger and thumb about an inch apart. "And it's about this big."

"You say it has incredible power." Miles said as Ed lowered his hand. "I
would've expected it to be a little bigger than that."

"It's not." Ed said as he was shown. "I've never seen one that's much
bigger than a small pebble."

Hohenheim appeared on screen having dinner with Izumi and Sig.

Hohenheim was shown up close.

"Besides, to create Philosopher's Stone that big, you'd have to kill

thousands of people." Ed said as his face was shown from the side.
"Maybe it's possible, but I would never want to see it."

"But you lived with one for four years." Izumi said.

Ed slammed a fist into the ground. "You think I don't realize that now?!" He
sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. This was going to take
some time to get used to.
The building was shown from outside as the blizzard raged on.

The scene went dark.

"It's getting late. We should stop for the night and have dinner." Izumi said as
she stood up.

Ed dragged Ling to a corner of the room and smirked at him. "Don't think I
forgot that you promised to start to teach me how to read the Dragon's Pulse."

Ling crossed his arms. "Well, someone sure is eager."

*Havoc & Rebecca*

"You know, if we continue to sneak off like this, someone is bound to

notice." Rebecca said.

Havoc smirked. "I think we'll be fine. Everyone is busy with their own thing.
Only way they'll found out is if Ed gets bored and blurts it out."

Rebecca smiled and leaned up to kiss Havoc's cheek. "Think that will
happen?"

"Not if we can keep Ed distracted enough until it gets lost in his mind."
Havoc said. "But I think the future is doing a good enough job of that for us."

Rebecca hummed and leaned into Havoc's arms. "Do you really think Ed and
Al were destined to help unravel this mystery? With their father involved in it
by being a Philosopher's Stone and being blood kin to the Homunculi, it is
hard to imagine them not getting involved."

Havoc shook his head. "I don't know. After everything that has happened
though, I can't imagine not knowing them though." He sighed. "I do think
that having a tough life is part of their family legacy though. Hohenheim was
a slave, then he turned around to get a good life for a while before he was
tricked into becoming a Philosopher's Stone."

Rebecca took Havoc's hand and squeezed it. "But all those trials make you
stronger." She turned to smile at him. "Future you is having a hard time as
well with being paralyzed, but you will make it through it with your stubborn
friends and be stronger for it, even if you can't get up and fight."

"Yes, it just makes me want to bring the Homunculi down even more."
Havoc smirked.

*Miles*

"From that last scene, it looks like we are going back to Baschool in the next
episode." Cyril said.

"Well, that storm had to end eventually." Luke said, leaning his chin on the
back of the couch as he stared at Cyril with a grin. "What do you think is
going to happen now that Winry has escaped?"

"It is most plausible that we will be aiming for Kimblee now." Miles said as
he approached the group of Briggs soldiers.

"Sir," The men greeted, but Miles waved them off. Right now, he wasn't
concerned with rank while they were here.

"You mean, aiming to take him out of the picture?" Aran asked.

"Of course. We cannot let him continue to live. He is a threat." Miles replied.

Cyril frowned. "You want to take him out in Baschool with Fullmetal there?
He isn't going to like that."

Miles pushed his glasses up. "He is a soldier. It can't be the first time he has
seen death." He turned away from the group. "I know he isn't going to like it,
but it does need to be done."

*Izumi & Al*

"Are you alright, Teacher?" Al asked worriedly.

Izumi smiled at him. "It's fine, Al. Your dad helped me in the future." She put
a hand to her stomach. "I'm sure whatever he did made me feel a lot better."
"But you can't feel it?" Al asked curiously as Izumi went back to cooking.

"No, but I know it helped a lot." Izumi replied. "I don't know how he did it,
but rearranging my organs." She shook her head. "I never even thought of
that as a possibility."

Al chuckled. "He has more experience and knowledge of alchemy than the
rest of us."

"Though that can be considering cheating since he's had centuries to study."
Izumi replied wryly. "Now, enough chitchat, Alphonse Elric." She looked at
him sternly. "Are you going to help prepare dinner or not? If not, get the hell
out of my kitchen."

Laughing, Al picked up a knife to signify that he was going to help.

*Hughes*

"Hey, Ed," Hughes swung an arm around Ed's shoulder, dragging him away
from the cafeteria.

"What?" Ed asked annoyed, shooting a longing look at the cafeteria. "I want
to eat."

Hughes smirked and leaned down into Ed's face. "And I want to know what
you know about Havoc that he doesn't want you to speak of."

Ed raised a brow. "You remembered that?"

Hughes smirked.

"You know you remind me so much a teenage girl gossiper." Ed replied

dryly.

"You realize I am an Intelligent Agent, right? It's my job to gather

information." Hughes said.

"I don't think Havoc will want me to tell you." Ed said.

Hughes smirked. "Come on, Ed. Just a hint. I'm sure you want to tell me as
much I want to know."

Ed smirked and he motioned for Hughes to get closer. When he did, he

screamed, "NO!"

Hughes jumped in surprise and grabbed his ear in pain.

Ed ran over to the kitchen door, but before he went in, he smirked at Hughes.
"You remember you made me take that pic with Mustang, right? I am not
telling you anything."

Growling, Hughes rubbed his ear. He never expected that act to backfire on
him right now. "I will get you to tell me."

Ed laughed. "You can try." He went into the cafeteria, still chuckling.

Mustang walked up behind Hughes with a smirk. "Does he realize the wrath
that has just befallen him by making such a challenge?"

"I don't think he really has seen me work, except for when I discovered the
truth of the country." Hughes replied before smirking at Mustang. "So, no, he
doesn't. You know, I'm going to get it out of him."

"I know." Mustang sighed. "You're going to have fun with this, aren't you?"

"The challenge is always particularly fun." Hughes replied.

"Well, while you're at it, think you can get some clues from him about how to
decipher these notes?" Mustang hold up Ed's research notes.

Hughes raised a brow. "Giving up?"

"No," Mustang growled. He flipped the notes open. "But he codes using his
travels. I don't travel as much as him so I haven't seen all he has. And Al,
who has been with Fullmetal the whole time, is lost as well. There has to be
something we are missing."

Hughes shrugged. "I'm not an alchemist so I don't know that much about this
type of coding so I wouldn't even know what to ask him."

Mustang groaned and snapped the notes shut. "At least I know that his
research has some of the best protection ever."

"Still going to try to decipher them though?" Hughes asked.

"I'm not going to lose to him!" Mustang declared.

A/N: Who is excited for the next chapter, you sadistic people? *sigh*
Who am I kidding? I am worse than all of you. To be honest, I created
the pain factor for the sole purpose of this episode. I know, that is just
plain evil, but I really wanted to write the reactions to it so badly. The
reactions are just so much fun!

Please Review!
*Chapter 44*: Episode 41: The Abyss
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 41: The Abyss

A yawn escaped Luke as he walked into the cafeteria where he sat down and
proceeded to drop his head onto the table.

"Maybe you are a pathetic soldier if you can't handle mornings." Clarink
teased.

Luke groaned. "Shut up, Clarink. You want to share a room with Brody,
Avery, and Aran? Please, be my guest."

"What did we do?" Aran asked as he sat by his friend.

Luke lifted his head to glare at him. "You? You snore! Very loudly!"

Aran scoffed. "You never complained before."

"Well, I am now!" Luke snapped.

"Tempers, tempers, ladies." Brody said with a smirk.

Luke and Aran glared at him for the ladies comment.

"And you," Luke muttered. "What was so important that you felt the need to
stay up until three in the morning to discuss with Avery?"

Avery and Brody shared a look and just shrugged.

"Nothing. We just couldn't sleep so we talking about the future." Avery said.

Luke's eye twitched. "Are you serious? And you couldn't take it out of the
room?"

Grants snickered and leaned over towards the group. "You're like a bunch of
teenagers with the way you act." He said before taking a sip of his coffee. "I
suggest coffee, Luke. It will wake you up."

"Another cure is sleep." Luke mumbled, dropping his head back to the table.

Clarink shoved Luke. "No one has the time for you to continue to sleep."

"You're all annoying jerks." Luke muttered.

*Screen Room*

"Hughes wants to know about you and Lieutenant Catalina so badly." Ed said
with a smirk, causing Havoc stop walking towards the cafeteria to turn to
glare at the teen, who was leaning against one of the couches.

"What did you tell him?" Havoc demanded.

"Nothing." Ed replied in a sing song before smirking cruelly. "Yet."

Havoc wrapped an arm around Ed's neck, brow twitching a bit. "You tell him
nothing. He is the worst possible person for you to tell, Chief."

"Would he blab it to everyone?" Ed asked curiously.

"He could, but he could also keep it to himself and use that information
whenever it benefits him." Havoc replied.
Ed blinked for a moment. "You can just say blackmail, you know." He
frowned. "And that is my thing with this information! He can't use it like
that!"

Havoc shoved Ed's head down as he let the teen go. "You can be such a brat
sometimes."

Ed shrugged and crossed his arms behind his head with a smirk. "I warned
you, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't. You told me to freak me out." Havoc retorted. "There is a
difference, Chief."

"You can take it whatever way you like." Ed replied. "Where is your
girlfriend anyway?"

"I don't see how that is any of your concern." Havoc said.

*Al & Ling*

"So, Al," Ling said with a grin at his friend.

Al sighed. "You know, it was never a problem before when I saw Ed grin.
Now when I see his grin or yours, I know that I am going to regret seeing it."

"Oh, relax, Al, I'm not going to do anything. I'm just curious about
something." Ling replied.

"Okay, sure. What is it?" Al asked, mostly just to get whatever Ling wanted
over with.

Ling's grin morphed into an evil smirk. "How are things going with May?
You two seem to be getting really close."

The younger Elric brother stared incredulously at Ling, and if he could have,
he would have been gaping at him. "Wh…Ling! There's nothing going on!"

Ling raised a brow. "That's what they all say. I see it's not only Ed in denial."
He shook his head, still smirking evilly. "What is wrong you Elrics and not
admitting that you're in love?"

Al's hand twitched a bit. He never felt such an urge to hit someone before…
well, except for his brother but he got to hit him all the time when they
sparred. "What does that say about you and Lan Fan then?" He retorted.

Ling faltered for a moment before glaring at his friend. "There is nothing
between her and me. She is my bodyguard. There can never be more than
that."

"Sure," Al replied disbelievingly.

"Believe what you want then." Ling said with his confident smirk back. "And
I will continue to see this crush between you and May grow while you
continue to live in denial with your brother."

"You and Ed should not be allowed to be friends. It's not good for anyone's
health." Al muttered.

"And why is that?" Ed asked as he jumped onto the floor next to Ling,
holding his familiar black book at his side. He looked over at Ling's evil
smirk then at Al. "Oooh, what did I just jump into?"

Al groaned as his brother adopted an evil smirk too.

*Miles & Scar*

"So," Miles smirked at his red eyed brother. "It seems we are going to be
fighting on the same side now."

Scar looked over at Miles with a frown. "It does seem that way, doesn't it?
The corruption of Amestris is too great for me to ignore since it puts our
people in danger. The corruption needs destroyed and burned into ashes so a
new Amestris can rise, one that is not so corrupt and will cause pointless
genocides."

"Amestris being reborn, huh?" Miles smiled a bit. "Sounds like a phoenix.
Dying with fire and then being reborn, rising from the ashes of its
predecessor."
The former State Alchemist murderer stared at the major for a moment more
before looking back towards where Ed had joined Ling in teasing Al. "I will
stay around to make sure this country doesn't make the same mistakes ever
again. And if it does…" His eyes moved down to his arm.

"I don't think we will." Miles replied calmly, not bothered by Scar's threat.
"Not with people like General Armstrong and Colonel Mustang determined
to clean up the government." He looked over at the teenagers as well, all
laughing and fooling around. Even in horrible, difficult times, they still
managed to find time to smile and keep on living. "And the next generation
seems to be in very good hands, for both Xing and Amestris."

*Screen Room*

"Are we going to get started now or what?" Luke asked as everyone took
their seats in the screen room.

"You sound grumpy." Ed said.

Luke glared at him.

Ed raised his hands a placating manner. "No need to glare. I was just saying."

"He had trouble sleeping last night. Don't mind him." Aran told the teen.

"Well," Ed huffed. "He doesn't need to take it out on me."

The opening song began.

A lantern appeared on screen with the sounds of footsteps in the

background.

The group was shown from a distance in the tunnel before they were
shown close up. The scene slowly moved to the side to show Yoki before
Jerso and Zampano were shown from the side.

"This place is like a maze." Jerso said, causing Zampano to glance over
at him.
"Try not to get separated." Zampano said.

May appeared on screen with Winry following behind her. "Alright."

Winry suddenly stumbled and fell over to the ground.

Sheska winced. "Ouch, is she clumsy?"

"No, she is the farther thing from clumsy." Al replied.

"Tell that to her future self who just stumbled for no reason." Avery said.

Winry was shown as she pushed herself up to her knees as Dr. Marcoh,
May, and Scar turned to look at her. "Ow."

Dr. Marcoh crouched in front of her and put a hand to her shoulder.
"Winry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Winry replied as May moved behind Dr. Marcoh to look at
the crate that Winry tripped over.

The crate appeared on screen with dynamite in it.

"I'm pretty sure she didn't trip over nothing." Al said dryly.

"So, the town was abandoned, but they left these crates of dynamite in the
mine? Shouldn't those have been picked up and taken with them when they
left?" Walkers asked with a frown.

"Not if they abandoned the town in a hurry because of something dangerous.

I doubt they would be concerned about picking up the dynamite if that was
the case." Breda said.

"I wonder what would cause people to abandon a town." May said
thoughtfully.

"Nothing good, that's for sure." Falman replied.

May's face was shown as she reached into the crate. She picked up a
stick and stared at it. "What's this stuff?"

"You don't know what dynamite is?" Havoc asked shocked.

"You have to realize she is a princess. She's never had to work with this kind
of stuff so she doesn't know what it looks like." Ed pointed out.

"That could in some cases be considered a really dangerous type of

ignorance." Riza said.

Dr. Marcoh was shown from behind as Yoki reached into another crate.

"Dynamite!" Dr. Marcoh shouted, causing Winry to gasp and May to

scream and wave her arm around as she held onto the dynamite.

"Take it from me! Take it from me! Take it from me!" May shouted.

Yoki picked up a stick and looked at it. "Ah, these are all sopping wet."
He raised his lantern and looked at the three, who had calmed down.
"Relax, they wouldn't blow up even if we wanted them to."

"Well, Yoki is an annoying idiot, but he seems to have a few uses when it
comes to mines." Ed said. He shot a smirk at May. "And keeping you people
calm."

May huffed. "Anyone without knowledge of dynamite would freak out."

"I think everyone should know that it needs lit before it can do anything." Ed
teased.

May shot him a glare.

The three sighed in relief before Scar appeared on screen. "Enough. Quit
doddling. They could already be after us."

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen with the girls behind him. "Right,
sorry."

Dramatic music started to play as the scene changed to show Baschool.

"Look, no more storm. It is now time for some action in Baschool!" Clarink
said.

"Meaning hunting down our friends?" Ed asked dryly.

"Or, stalling Kimblee." Walkers pointed out. "You want to keep him from
finding your friends."

Ed sighed. "I know." He rubbed the back of his head. Alright, stall Kimblee.
Don't let him find his friends. That didn't seem so hard, unless Kimblee
pulled out those Philosopher's Stones of his. He bit his lip at that thought. He
needed to get those stones away from Kimblee before he used them. Kimblee
was dangerous enough without a Philosopher's Stone.

A building in the town appeared on screen.

"The storm has finally passed." Miles said before Ed appeared on screen
as he turned his head to the side. Miles appeared on screen as he turned
away from a window. "Start preparing."

"Yes sir." The soldiers replied before they were shown from behind with
Miles approaching them while Ed just watched.

"We can't take any risks with Kimblee and his men." Miles said before
he faded out from the screen to show Kimblee with Darius and Heinkel
surrounding a table. "So first chance you get, take out all three of them."

"What?" Ed asked surprised. "You're going to kill them?"

"Can we talk about this?" Darius asked sharply. "It's one thing to go after
Kimblee, but do you have to target us too?"

"You are working with Kimblee in the future so we will go after you two.
We're not going to let the fact that Jerso and Zampano changed sides affect
our choice in going after you as well." Miles replied calmly before looking at
Ed. "And yes, we are going to kill them. We can't risk the chance of them
finding anything out and it is safer for all of us if they are taken out of the
picture."
Ed scowled and looked away. It didn't matter what type of battle it was,
soldiers always had the option of killing their opponents if they weren't useful
to them. Even Mustang and his men had that option and threw it around
often, but they didn't often choose that option, at least when Ed was working
closely with them on a case. And that didn't bother Ed in the least. He was
glad they kept the killing option to a bare minimum with him. He hated
Kimblee, but he didn't want him dead. Besides, he had some valuable
information in the future. That Ed was sure of. They could use that
information.

"I don't think you have to go after Darius and Heinkel so viciously." Al
replied. "They could be a good aid to us."

"I like his thinking." Heinkel said with a grin.

"Don't get your hopes up." Cyril retorted. "For now, in the future, you are our
enemy."

Kimblee was shown up close as he spoke.

The two soldiers appeared on screen.

"Right."

"Yes sir."

Ed appeared on screen, staring up at them with frowns.

"The Abyss"

"What kind of episode title is that?" Aran asked. "What does a deep void
have to do with anything?"

"You know, abyss also means the most hopeless depths." May pointed out.

"Or hell in some cases." Ling added.

"You can keep naming meanings of the word, but it will never help in
figuring out what this episode will be about." Ed pointed out dryly.
"Really? Because personally, I think the title means that something hopeless
will happen or someone is going to go through hell. There are so many
options." Ling replied.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yes, so many that you cannot possibly figure it out." He
frowned. "And don't say that so easily about someone going through hell.
What if it is a friend that is going through it?"

Ling grimaced. "I was just saying, Ed. You don't need to make such dark
thoughts about it."

"You're the one who started it!" Ed retorted.

Baschool reappeared on screen before the scene was moving down the
buildings. A group of soldiers outside were shown around the building
before the scene changed to show a window from the inside, still showing
the soldiers. The scene pulled away from the window to show Miles
staring out the window.

Miles turned his back to the window to face the two soldiers and Ed.
"You're the only ones to know of this mission. Don't mention it outside
of this room."

Ed appeared on screen, frowning. "Hey, hold on a minute. You're not

planning on killing them, are you, Major?"

"I see your morals are the same in the future." Miles said.

"This is only a few months into the future, Major. I'm not going to change
that much." Ed replied.

"Trust me, Fullmetal, I know you haven't changed at all. You are still reckless
and impulsive, and your morals about not killing are strong as ever from what
I've seen." Miles replied.

Miles appeared on screen, looking out of the corner of his eyes behind his
glasses at Ed with a cold look in them. "Of course we are."

The soldiers and Miles were shown as Ed stood in the background,

glaring at them, "No, I'm not going to have any part of that. I say we
should take Kimblee prisoner and try to get some answers."

"You really think he'll tell us anything? He's too dangerous to live."
Miles replied.

"If it was anyone else but Kimblee, I would say set Ed loose with his scare
tactics interrogation style." Mustang said amused. "It usually gets the job
done fast."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's have a vote." He shot a look at the Briggs
soldiers. "You guys are not in the vote so don't raise your hands. Among the
Eastern soldiers," He looked at the people from Xing. "That's means you're
out too. Among the Eastern soldiers, who thinks they should kill Kimblee?"

Some of the soldiers raised their hands, while others kept their hands down.
A few of the people who kept their hands down looked unsure though.

"It's a hard situation. On one hand, I do understand where Fullmetal is

coming from, but on the other hand, I know first-hand just how dangerous
Kimblee can be. He's not someone you want to take alive because there is
such a high risk of him escaping, especially since he has two Philosopher's
Stones at his side." Riza said as she lowered her hand.

"But he had one of those stones while in prison. He could have escaped
whenever he wanted to, so why didn't he?" Walkers asked with a confused
frown.

"Who knows why he does anything? He is unpredictable, which makes him

even more dangerous." Mustang replied darkly.

Walkers nodded. "That makes sense. And now that he has two stones, he is
even more dangerous. You guys really shouldn't take any chances when
dealing with him."

"Except that we do not know he has two stones. We only know about one."
Miles pointed out.
"So you think they should kill him?" Al asked with a frown heard in his
voice. Like his brother, he did not like killing at all. He could understand
their motives for wanting to take Kimblee out, but that didn't mean he had to
like it or go along with it. Not that he could since he was no longer in
Baschool with his brother.

"It might be for the best when you consider who Kimblee is and what he has
done." Skylak replied.

Myers nodded in agreement. "Someone that dangerous could cause us a lot of

trouble."

Ed scowled, but didn't jump into the conversation. They all seemed to want to
kill Kimblee. He understood why. It would be safer for them to have one less
enemy around, but it was still stealing someone's life. Giving an aggravated
sigh, Ed looked down at his book and opened it up to a random page.

The first picture he saw was him and Hughes sleeping on the couch after they
watched Hughes's death. Immediately under that picture was one of Ling
covered in whip cream and cherries from their food fight. He almost chuckled
when he saw the annoyed look in Ling's eyes in the picture. The next one was
of him smirking sadistically as he beat Buccaneer at poker with the Briggs
soldiers watching in surprise and amusement. The final picture on these two
pages made him blush a bit. It was of Winry sitting on a couch with Ed
sleeping with his head in her lap.

He got it. He really did as he stared at the pictures of his friends. Kimblee
would not give a second thought about killing any of his friends. They
wanted to take Kimblee out before he had the chance to kill their comrades or
any innocent people. He hated the idea, but he understood their reasoning
behind wanting to get rid of someone so dangerous.

"We don't know that about his men." Ed retorted.

"Oh, is that who you care about?" Cyril asked.

"Well, Jerso and Zampano proved that they could switch sides, so why
shouldn't Darius and Heinkel do the same?" Ed asked as he snapped his book
shut.

"I like his thinking." Darius said.

"You just don't want killed." Heinkel replied.

Darius shrugged. "We were just ordered to follow Kimblee's orders and don't
know anything about the truth of what is going on. Why should we be killed
for that?"

Ed's face appeared on screen. "I mean, for all we know, he could be
manipulating them somehow, forcing them to obey."

"So, anyone want to make a bet that Darius and Heinkel join our side?"
Grants asked.

"Why would you think that? Didn't we just say we would kill them?" Cyril
replied.

Grants shrugged. "Well, they have to be here for a reason, and Jerso and
Zampano did join our side."

"If we knew the truth of what was going on, I know we would join your side
in this war." Heinkel replied.

Hearing that, Ed shot a pointed look at Miles and his men. "You choose the
killing option too easy sometimes."

Miles raised a brow in surprise as Ed's harsh tone. For the most part, he was
pretty calm about his argument against killing Kimblee and his men. In the
future and here. Sure his voice was strong and full of argument, but it wasn't
harsh like it was just now. Maybe future him was a bit hasty in his choice to
kill Darius and Heinkel as well, but he didn't want to take any risks. They
were all dangerous and he had to do his job and take out anyone he
considered a threat. It was best for his men and his country. These were the
hard choices those in command had to make.

The two soldiers were shown as Miles walked onto screen by them. "You
could be right." Miles said. "But we can't take such a risk on a
possibility."

The room was shown from a downward angle.

"And yet you're still willing to kill them for one. This isn't like it was
with General Raven." Ed retorted before Miles's eye appeared on screen,
staring coldly at Ed. "There might be another way!"

The scene pulled out to show Miles. "Have you forgotten the first law of
Briggs?"

"Survival of the fittest." Ed said dryly.

"Yes, it has to do with being strong, lucky, careful, and able to survive." Cyril
replied. "Which also means, when there is a danger, you don't take the easy
road. You have to take care of it."

"I never really liked the easy road." Ed retorted.

"The careless are the first to die." Miles said.

A frowning Ed was shown.

"You show mercy in this place, and I guarantee it's going to get you or
your friends killed." Miles said.

"Then it's a good thing all of his friends have left." May said before looking
at the soldiers. "Well, except you guys, but you guys can take care of
yourselves."

"While that it true, with an enemy like Kimblee, anything could happen."
Brody replied. "Especially with his alchemy." He glanced at Ed. "Since
Fullmetal is the only alchemist left with us that we can trust, we could really
use his help if something goes wrong."

"Just because I don't agree with you guys wanting to kill Kimblee, it doesn't
mean I'm not going to be watching to help if something goes wrong." Ed
replied.
"Of course." Luke said with a grin. "Even when we didn't trust you, you still
went out of your way to help us when Sloth attacked. That's some great
loyalty."

"Yes, so you should trust that I'm going to still be there when you are going
after Kimblee." Ed said.

Ed's eyes widened and he looked down at the ground as Miles and the
soldiers started walking.

The three were shown from behind as Miles stopped at the door. "We
aren't going to be careless." He pushed the curtain aside.

Ed's clenched fist appeared on screen.

"We're killing Kimblee and the two men with him." Miles said as the
scene moved up to Ed's face as he stared angrily at the floor.

The scene changed to a hallway to show Miles leading the two soldiers
down it.

"I had almost forgotten that he's just a kid." Luke commented.

"Really, Luke, really?" Ed asked sarcastically.

"Oh, don't worry, people are always forgetting that Fullmetal is a kid."
Mustang told Luke while hitting Ed in the back of the head and giving him a
look.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Indeed he is, especially if he's naive enough to think he won't have to

kill anyone." Miles replied.

"Well, I have to admit that I used to think the same thing." Luke said.

Miles was shown close up as he smirked. "So did I." His gun holster
appeared on screen. "But once you've lived through a couple of wars like
we have, you learn some things. Like sometimes, killing someone isn't as
hard as letting them live."

"What does that means?" May asked with a frown.

"It really depends on the situation you are in." Cyril told her. "In some cases,
it might be best to end someone's life since they are suffering so much and
there is no possible way to save them. In other cases, if your enemy is really
dangerous, it is easier to take them out then risk capturing them, only to have
them escape and kill your comrades and you. Another is, after being in so
many battles, after a while, it is just easier for us to kill then to let someone
live. Those are just three scenarios though."

May blinked. "Sorry, I'm still on the first one. You would kill your friend to
put him out of his misery?"

"It's not the easier thing to do and it's very rarely done because it is so hard to
do." Luke replied. "Personally, I don't know many soldiers who have done
that because they don't want to kill their friends. It is more of a scenario we
learn but never put into practical use since it would hurt too much to do."

"I don't see how anyone could do it." May grumbled under her breathe. The
idea of doing a mercy kill when it was her friend was just unimaginable to
her. It hurt too much to think about losing a friend at her own hand.

"There is more than one reason to kill a comrade. Not just a mercy kill."
Havoc said darkly. "As Luke said, these are merely scenarios we learned at
the academy. One of the scenarios is sometimes there is the choice of having
to kill a comrade or yourself if you are captured and about to be tortured for
information and you don't think you'll be able to hold out and you don't want
to betray your country."

May stared in absolute horror at Havoc. "That sounds horrible."

"It is a part of being a soldier." Riza replied. "It's not an ideal solution but it is
something we learn."

Mustang glanced over at Ed, who looked just as disgusted and horrified as
May about that. Some of what is taught at the military academy is very
horrible which was another reason he didn't have Ed learn at the academy. He
chose to train Ed in his own way so he didn't traumatize a twelve year old
with what was learned at the academy, even if those scenarios were just what
if scenarios that a soldier might find himself in.

"The Elric brothers have certainly chosen the more difficult path." Miles
said.

"Heh, I guess they like to go against the grain." Luke replied.

"Who doesn't?" Ling asked amused. "Going along with everyone else would
make the world so boring."

Miles smiled. "Yeah, but in a way, I envy their conviction." As he said

this Ed was shown standing in the room with his back to the screen.

The scene went dark for a second before reopening on the mine tunnel
with a light in the distance as a dark, haunting noise filled the
background.

A lantern appeared on screen.

"What's this 'Rasayana' term here?" Dr. Marcoh asked.

"Rasa-what?" Myers asked confused. "Is that Xingese or Ishvalan?"

"It belongs to the Ancient Ishvalan language as a term for a miracle drug that
is used for longevity." Scar explained.

"So that means like having a longer life?" May asked excitedly. "Like
immortality?"

"It is a possibility." Dr. Marcoh replied. "But unless we can look at the notes,
it is hard to know for sure."

"It's a miracle drug used for longevity." Scar answered.

The scene changed to show the group sitting around the lantern in a
circle, except for Jerso and Zampano who stood behind May.
"Huh, are you guys taking a break?" Clarink asked with a frown. "Are you
sure it's safe to do that? Scar did mention earlier that they could already be
after you."

"That is true, but we can't keep going without taking breaks. We need to
conserve our energy, especially if we do have to fight later on." Scar replied.

"That does make sense, but I would still be worried about Kimblee finding
the tunnel and getting down there while you guys are still there." Clarink
replied.

"Two things on that. One, Major Miles and Ed will keep him from the tunnel
for as long as they can so I'm sure Scar's group is trusting them to do that.
And two, Kimblee isn't an expert on mine tunnels. Scar's group is only doing
so well because they have Yoki, but I believe Kimblee would struggle to not
get lost." Hughes pointed out.

"But," Al stressed. "You have to remember that Major Miles is going to try to
kill them so they might not even make it that far."

Darius groaned. "Did you have to remind us?"

"Sorry." Al replied. "But you can hope something will happen to get you out
of being killed."

"You know, you really aren't helping in bringing our spirits up." Heinkel said
dryly.

"Eh, could that be the Philosopher's Stone?" Dr. Marcoh asked. "It says
here that it can transform all metals into gold and restore youth to the
elderly." He looked up from the notes to look at Scar. "And what does
this term mean? 'Aurelian?'"

"It's another term for gold." Scar replied.

Dr. Marcoh was shown from behind. "So these notes are centered
around immortality and gold." He said as the scene slowly moved to the
side to show May with a piece of paper in her hands.
May looked up from what she was writing. "I'm guessing that it's
because Mr. Scar's brother was influenced by Xingese Alkahestry
whenever he wrote them."

Dr. Marcoh's scarred face appeared on screen. "And why is that?"

As gentle music started to play, May appeared on screen with a smile.

"We refer to an immortal as a 'Shinito.' It means a 'True Being.' These
'True Beings' are considered to be perfect souls."

Scar and Dr. Marcoh were shown to be watching her.

"And since gold is considered the perfect metal, these beings are also
sometimes called 'Aurelian.'"

Scar and Dr. Marcoh nodded before Winry, Jerso, and Zampano
appeared on screen, all looking highly confused as question marks
appeared all around them.

"They're not the only ones who are confused." Aran grumbled.

"True Beings are considered perfect souls because of their immortality. Gold
is a perfect metal. Since it is perfect, like how True Beings are considered
perfect, they refer to True Beings as Aurelian, which can be like saying
Golden Being. He is like the bright golden being that will never be lost since
he is immortal." Ed explained with a frown. "Does that help you idiots?"

"You don't have to call us idiots." Walkers grumbled. "But it does help."

"Don't mind Fullmetal. He has a problem with being respectful as you all
know." Mustang said, glaring at his subordinate.

Ed rolled his eyes.

The ground was shown from a downward angle.

"So in other words, an immortal person is seen as a 'Golden Being.'" Dr.

Marcoh said.
"In a sense." May replied before Hohenheim's face was shown from the
side on screen. "It comes from the man who brought alchemy to Xing."

Hohenheim turned away and he was shown from behind as he walked

away from Izumi and Sig.

"The legend says he was an immortal with golden hair and eyes, and
that's where the term first originated." May explained.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding!" Ed shouted, pulling at his hair. "This
cannot be happening!"

"It's a wonder we didn't realize this before. I mean, immortal, an expert on

alchemy, he was in the desert between Amestris and Xing. And while Father
went one direction to create Amestris, where did Hohenheim go? We really
should have seen this one coming." Havoc said with a grin. He looked over at
Ed, who had a twitching eye. "Where were you with that, Chief? You are
usually so good at predicting these things."

Ed slowly looked at him, eye twitching more violently. "Don't test me,
Havoc."

Havoc raised his hands, but couldn't help the smirk that he was giving the
teen.

"In all seriousness," May said excitedly. "Do you really think the Western
Sage is Mr. Hohenheim?"

"It does seem to be highly likely, considering the timeline and him being
immortal like the story says." Fu replied thoughtfully.

"Al!" May exclaimed, turning to the younger Elric brother. "I want to meet
your dad!"

Al blinked. "You do?"

May nodded. "If he is the Western Sage, I'm sure I could learn a lot more
about Alkahestry from him. There is always a lot more to learn."
"I'm sure Dad will be happy to talk with you if you ever meet him." Al
replied.

"I wonder where he got the term Alkahestry for it. He learned Alchemy, so
why did he call what he taught Xing Alkahestry?" Mustang wondered.

"It is most likely because the practice and goal of what he taught is different
from alchemy. Since he knows both, he knows how they are different so he
gave it a different name." May replied. "I wonder what made him teach it
differently to Xing."

Ed's mind wondered back to Father and their assault on his lair when they got
out of Gluttony before he sighed. "Because with alchemy, Father can stop us
from using it, whereas he can't stop Alkahestry since its practice is different. I
guess Hohenheim knew that which is why Alkahestry uses the Dragon's
Pulse."

"To use it like a counter attack?" Lan Fan asked curiously.

Ed shrugged. "Could be, but I don't really know."

"Hmm," Winry appeared on screen as she smiled. "An alchemist with

golden hair and golden eyes, huh? Sounds like Ed and Al."

"Considering it is a high possibility that it's their dad, it should." Hughes said
with a grin.

Ed whacked himself in the head with his photo book. He seriously should
have seen this coming. Why couldn't he guess this? That was it! He had to
finally be losing it if he couldn't even figure something like that out without
the future basically shoving it right in his face!

Yoki's back suddenly appeared on screen. "Hey! Over here!" He

shouted at the group. "The exit!"

The sky appeared on screen. The scene moved down to the mine building
as banging was heard. A few seconds later the door came down and the
group came out.
Winry appeared on screen, laughing. "Oh, wow," She shielded her eyes
with her hand. "It's so bright!"

"I guess being in a dark tunnel for so long really makes you appreciate the
sun and how bright it is a lot more." Skylak said amused.

The group was shown from behind as they walked over the snow and
looked at the mountains in the distance.

"I was starting to wonder if we'd make it." Dr. Marcoh said.

"Considering how long that blizzard lasted, they were underground for a
really long time." Cyril said. "But at least they had those lanterns. It gave
them some light and saved them their sanity."

"Not to mention, they really would have been lost in there forever without
them, even with Yoki's help." Luke added amused.

"The weather's clear." Jerso said.

"For now." Zampano replied. "Let's head to Briggs before it turns

again."

"Alright everyone!" Yoki said as appeared on screen and tried to sound

tough. "Follow my lead–AAAH!" When he took a step forward, he
immediately sunk into the snow. "Hey, someone help me! It's freezing!"

"Looks like the snow is pretty deep." Jerso said as they watched Yoki
sink farther.

"So no one is going to help Yoki?" May asked with a frown.

"They will eventually. They can't just leave him there." Al replied. "But I
didn't realize the snow would be that deep. It must have been a really bad
storm. I hope it won't hinder me."

"It most likely will hinder you in a way." Miles replied. "It hinders us all at
times when it gets that high."
"Will it hinder us while we're in Baschool?" Ed asked.

"We'll be fine in Baschool, but unless you're experienced, it's not safe to be
driving with the roads like they are now." Miles said, giving the teen a
pointed look.

Ed's brow twitched. "I'm not going to steal a car while I am up north! I hate
the snow enough as it is. I'm not even going to attempt to drive in it!"

"Are you sure? Because I know you do some pretty crazy things." Miles
replied.

Ed grumbled to himself. "Even Major Miles!"

"You should hop on my back, miss." Zampano told May. "Just to be

safe."

Jerso turned to look at Dr. Marcoh and Winry. "We'll walk ahead and
stomp down the snow and make a clear path for the rest of you to
follow." He said while Yoki continued to scream for help.

"Thank you very much." Dr. Marcoh replied.

The sky was shown again before the scene changed to show the group
from the side at a distance as they made their way across the land.

Jerso, Zampano with May on his shoulders, and Scar appeared on

screen.

Winry was shown from behind.

"HELP!"

Hearing the scream, Winry turned around.

The land behind her was shown with a foot sticking out of the ground as
Winry looked around in confusion.

"Hey! Is someone there? Help please!"

An arrow pointed at the foot in the ground as Winry looked at it.

"Is that an arrow?" Ed asked, smirking. He had no idea of how the arrow got
there, but weirder stuff has happened, like when his soul was leaving his
body after Winry whacked him in the head with that stupid wrench.

"That's not important!" May shouted. "My Alphonse is buried in the snow!"

Ed stared at her freaking out form for a moment before he burst into laughter.
He fell over, hands clutching his sides as he laughed. "That's great! Stuck in
the snow. I guess that snowstorm really did get to you, Al."

Al glared at his brother. "Thanks for the sympathy."

"It's just like that time you got stuck in the sand." Ed said with a smirk as a
few more chuckles escaped him.

"Hmph," Al grumbled. "No sympathy at all."

"I'm the one who should get sympathy. I had to dig you out of that sand and it
was hot! I hate the desert!" Ed shouted at the ceiling.

"How do you even get buried in the sand?" Ling asked confused.

"His armor fills up the sand and then he just sinks." Ed replied. "It's really
annoying."

"Again, I should be the one annoyed since I'm the one who gets stuck!" Al
protested.

"And I'm the one suffering in the heat who has to do all the work to get you
out." Ed moaned as he rubbed his shoulder as he thought about the heat
causing his automail to burn his skin when he was out in deserts. He hated it
out there.

Al's foot was shown with the sun shining on it. "HELP!"

A horrified Winry appeared on screen with sparks shaking the screen

behind her. "That's Al!"
A horrified May and Xiao-Mei jumped in front of Winry as May
screamed, "My Alphonse!"

May and Winry were shown to be digging in the snow while the others
just watched.

"Just hold on! We'll get you out of there!" Winry said.

"No, no! Just wait, Alphonse! I'll save you!" May said.

"So, not going to help?" Al asked, shooting Jerso and Zampano a look.

"Hey, Dr. Marcoh and Scar weren't helping either." Zampano protested as he
pointed at the doctor.

"Plus, we're kind of tied up." Jerso pointed out.

"And your excuse, Scar?" Al asked.

"I'm watching the prisoners." Scar replied blankly.

Al stared at him blankly. "I don't think they are going anyway in that short
amount of time." He stared at Scar for a moment longer before sighing and
mumbling under his breath, "Lazy meanie."

Al flew up onto screen before falling onto all fours as the group stared at
him. "You saved me! I got stuck in the snow and then the blizzard
buried me!"

"What are you doing out here, Al?" Winry asked.

Al was shown close up with Winry on one side and May, who was
rubbing her face on his arm, on his other side.

Ling shot a grin at Al while Al glared at him.

"Uh, May, are you sure you want to rub your face against Al's arm?" Ed
asked, though he had a hard time keeping a straight face. "That might actually
burn your skin with how cold he probably is."
"Oh, don't worry, Ed. My love will keep me warm." May said dreamily.

Ed blinked a few times while Al whacked his head and Ling laughed.
"Alright, I've got nothing." Ed said. "I think we should just all move on now
without another word after a response like that."

"But–" Luke said with a huge grin.

Ed glared at him. "Not another word, Luke."

"I crossed the mountain to warn you guys." Al replied.

The scene moved to the side to show Winry, Yoki, and Dr. Marcoh.

"You crossed over?" Dr. Marcoh asked as Yoki reached into his coat.
"In the middle of that snowstorm?"

Yoki pulled out the map of the mines. The map appeared on screen as
Yoki traced a finger over the mine. "So you cut straight through,
bypassing the mine's twists and turns?"

Al was shown as he stood up with a still extremely happy May still

hanging onto his arm.

"Why would you even risk that?" Dr. Marcoh asked as soft suspenseful
music started.

"It was the only way to warn you." Al said.

"Warn us? About what?" Winry asked confused.

"Oh, just that everything has gone to hell!" Luke shouted.

"You really need to cool down." Brody said.

Luke shrugged. "Well, it has."

"Things going to hell is nothing new." Ed replied dryly. "In fact, I am starting
to get used to them."
"And when you say things like that, things just get a whole lot worse."
Hughes said.

"How could things possible get worse?" Ed asked with a frown. "And don't
you dare say I jinxed it, Hughes." He shot a glare at his friend. "This is the
future. Whatever happens is going to happen no matter what I say here."

"The future isn't set in stone." Avery pointed out.

"No, but this future pretty much is since it most likely won't happen this way
since we are going to change it. This future is something we can't change
right now since we're here. Nothing we say or do impacts this!" Ed growled,
shooting a glare at Hughes.

Hughes shrugged. "Fine, take the fun out of everything." He frowned.

"Though something horrible possibly happening isn't fun."

Al was shown close up. "Briggs has been taken over by troops from
Central."

A shock Winry appeared on screen. Dr. Marcoh and Yoki were shown
next.

"General Armstrong's gone."

Scar was shown, frowning darkly, with Zampano and Jerso behind him.

"They summoned her to Central Headquarters."

The group was shown from a distance.

"You'll be walking right into their hands if you go there."

"Well, at least the warning got to them." Olivia said. "Though it almost didn't
since you got yourself buried. It's lucky for you that you got buried near the
mine exit."

"It's not my fault." Al moaned. "It was that stupid blizzard. There were
always some risks when I went out, but it was the only option."
"Ah, who cares?" Havoc asked with a grin. "It all worked out in the end."

"On our end." Scar corrected. "There is still the trouble in Baschool that
needs taken care of." He scowled as he thought of Kimblee. He wanted to end
that man, but if Major Miles and his men managed to take him from this
world, he wouldn't be particularly upset.

"Well then, what are we supposed to do? We can't just hide in the
mines." Jerso said.

"I don't know. We'll have to find someplace else." Al replied.

Dr. Marcoh and Yoki appeared on screen as the latter took a step
forward. "But there isn't any place else!"

The group was shown, staring with frowns as the wind blew around
them.

"Stuck out in the open in the cold with no place to go. Fun times." Clarink
said sarcastically.

The scene changed to show Scar with his back to the screen as he stared
at the mountains. "Just follow me." He said as he turned to look at them.

Dr. Marcoh walked onto screen. "Where are you taking us?"

"There's a mountain village called Asbec nearby. It shouldn't take us

long to get there." Scar replied as he turned away and started walking.
His face was shown from the side. "I have been told that some of my
people have taken refuge in the slums there."

Jerso and Zampano appeared on screen as the former said, "An

Ishvalan refugee camp?"

"It's not like we really have any other options." Zampano replied.

Scar glared at the two.

"I didn't mean it offensively." Jerso defended. "I'm sure it was just the
surprise."

"The town will be a great spot for us to hide in. None of my people will
betray us while we are there." Scar replied.

"Probably because they don't like the military. They'd rather guard
Amestrians who are having trouble with the military than turn them in." Dr.
Marcoh added.

"That is one of the good things about refugee camps." Riza said. "Excellent
hiding spots if you know how to blend in."

"Except you guys can't exactly blend in with two large men in military coats,
a suit of armor, a Xingese girl with a panda bear, an Amestrian girl, a former
soldier, a doctor with a scarred face, and an Ishvalan." Hughes said, listing
off each member of the group on his fingers.

Miles chuckled. "That does make things a bit difficult. But by saying they are
hiding from the military, I'm sure they'll be fine as long as no one asks a lot
of questions."

"My people know how to respect privacy and they understand the need to
hide well so there will be no questions." Scar assured them.

Yoki walked passed the two. "Great idea, sir! Let's get going!"

"He doesn't seem to mind." Ling said.

"He lived in an Ishvalan refugee camp before so he knows what they are like
and is fine with them." Mustang replied.

Jerso and Zampano shared a look.

The group was shown from a distance as they trekked through the snow.

The three teenagers appeared on screen.

Winry turned to look at Al. "Are you sure about this, Al?"
"About what?" Al asked.

"Well, isn't Mr. Kimblee gonna be suspicious if you just suddenly

disappear?"

Al's face was shown up close, eyes dark. "It's okay. Don't worry." Ed
appeared on screen, frowning. "Brother's got it all taken care of."

The scene pulled out to show soldiers standing in groups, talking, while
Ed stood by a wall with Al.

"So, a fake Al?" Ling asked. "You really can make anything, can't you?"

"I can make the armor, but I certainly can't get it to move." Ed replied.

"Won't that be problematic?" Lan Fan asked.

Ed grinned evilly. "That's where the soldiers come in. Having such loyal
comrades is really helpful."

"He is evil." Aran muttered. "I feel sorry for the soldier that has to be in the
armor to make it move."

"Three men in this squad!"

"There are five men in mine, sir."

Al was shown from behind with Miles seen in front of him, surrounded
by his men as they spoke to him.

Miles appeared on screen, looking at the men around him. "Each squad
is ready then. Spread out and carefully search your designated sector."

"Sir!"

"Yes sir!"

Kimblee was shown with Darius and Heinkel walking away.

The scene changed to show Miles with Ed and Al in the background. He
turned to look at them. "Let's get going."

Al stood up. "Yes sir."

Al smacked his forehead. "There's a soldier in the armor and you didn't teach
him anything, Brother!"

"It's hard to break soldiers of their habits." Ed muttered. "Do you remember
what we saw of Colonel's training at the academy? This training is liked beat
into their skulls! It's not my fault this soldier has trouble remembering what I
told him!"

Ed, wearing a disgruntled expression, appeared on screen. "Don't get

carried away, Alphonse." The scene changed angles to show the brothers
from the side. "There's no reason to call the Major 'sir.'"

The armor shifted before Cyril was shown to be inside it. "It's hard to
move around in here. Couldn't you have made this thing lighter?"

"No." Ed said. "And I hope you learn not to call Major Miles sir!"

"And no mercy given from Fullmetal." Cyril muttered. "You know, it might
be easier to concentrate on what you told me about acting like Al if I didn't
have to focus so much on staying upright."

"Multi-task." Ed replied bored. "You'll be fine."

Ed and Al were shown from behind as they watched Miles walk ahead
with the soldiers. "You're strong, you can handle it." Ed replied. "Come
on, Kimblee's watching."

They started to walk forward.

"Hold on, Brother." Cyril said in the highest voice he could.

"Argh, too weird." Ed said.

"I think I should be the one saying that." Al grumbled.

Cyril glared at the two. "You two sure complain a lot. I am helping you."

"Not complaining about that." Ed protested, raising his hands. "It's just
weird."

"And funny." Aran snickered, making Cyril glare at him. "What? Did you
hear yourself?"

"Next time, we make Aran wear the armor." Cyril said.

"No thanks. I'm fine." Aran replied.

Olivia glared at her men. "I should make you all wear armor for the whining."

Aran groaned and glared at Cyril.

Kimblee was shown with Heinkel and Darius on either side of him as he
looked over his shoulder at them.

"Hurry up! Come on!" Ed said as Kimblee turned back ahead.

The buildings of Baschool were shown as the scene slowly moved to the
side. The scene changed to show Miles and Luke walking down stairs
with Ed and Al following slightly farther behind. Luke and Miles walked
off screen before the scene changed angles to show Kimblee and his men
from behind as Miles and his team followed.

Miles and another soldier were shown from the side. "Did you overhear
Kimblee say where his squad is searching?" Miles asked.

Benjamin turned to look at him. "You saw that shaft in the center of
town, didn't you?" The mineshaft appeared on screen as Benjamin
continued, "They're headed down there to search the tunnels."

Ed appeared on screen, frowning.

Benjamin reappeared on screen with Miles and Luke behind him. "I
heard him mention that he couldn't trust the Northern soldiers, so he's
only taking the men he brought with him, sir."
Miles's eye appeared on screen as it narrowed.

Kimblee and his men appeared on screen.

"I guess he's figured us out then." Miles said. He reappeared on screen
with Luke. "We'll head them off. Position snipers near the opening of the
mineshaft."

"Yes sir." Luke replied.

As the soldiers rounded the corner at the end of the alley, Ed was shown
from behind. The scene changed angles to show his face before he picked
up his pace and dramatic music began.

"What are you going to do?" Miles demanded.

Ed shrugged. "I don't know. But I do know that I am going to the mineshaft
as I've already said I may not like your plan, but I'm not going to turn a blind
eye if something goes wrong. And considering that Kimblee has figured you
out, something is wrong."

The mineshaft appeared on screen. The scene slowly moved down to

show Kimblee with Darius and Heinkel outside the mineshaft. Kimblee
was shown from behind with Darius and Heinkel in front of him. "Check
the entrance for tracks in the snow. We'll follow them in if you find
multiple sets."

"The storm would have covered up all the footsteps though." May said
confused.

Lan Fan frowned. "The ones outside the mineshaft at least. I don't know
much about mines, but it looks like there is another opened section you
would have to walk through before getting to the mines."

"Wouldn't the snow have covered those ones too then?" May asked with a
frown.

Lan Fan shrugged. "I don't know. Sorry."

"Yes sir." The two chimeras replied.

A window appeared on screen with the three soldiers seen standing in

the snow. A gun was seen pointing out the window at them. Darius and
Heinkel walked passed Kimblee before Cyril and Luke were shown with
the former pointing the gun.

The room was shown with the fake armor resting on the ground while
Miles walked a bit farther into the room and asked, "Is it clear?"

"Yes sir. He's in my sights." Cyril replied.

The scene changed to show Kimblee through the scope lens. Cyril was
shown as he gasped in surprise.

Ed's legs appeared on screen as he walked.

"What's wrong?" Miles asked.

"I'm surprised you didn't take that shot then." Ed said. "You had the perfect
opportunity."

"It probably wasn't the right moment. You know when the right moment is."
Cyril explained.

"That comes from the training?" Al asked.

Cyril nodded. "It's harder in real combat then in training when you are
shooting a target board."

Kimblee was shown from behind.

"It's Edward." Cyril said as Ed walked onto screen.

"What?" Miles asked.

Kimblee was shown as he looked over his shoulder at the approaching

teenager.
Ed stopped quite a few feet away from Kimblee.

The soldiers turned to stare at Ed, some with frowns and some in confusion.

Ed held up his hands. "In my defense, I will probably just talk to him, maybe
even attempt to stall him. I did not step into the sniper's area to block his shot
and from you guys killing him."

"You? Stall?" Aran snorted. "You've been against this plan the whole time."

The soldiers in the building were shown as they watched from the
window.

The two alchemists were shown.

"Hey, Kimblee. You should probably let the Briggs soldiers check the
tunnels instead. You can get lost in there pretty easily." Ed said.

"The mere fact that you're stopping me is proof that we're in the right
place. Now I know that they're down there."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure we're not." May said.

Ed grinned. "That's the beauty of it. Future me doesn't know if you are still in
there or not, but I do know that you are far enough away that I can play this
act and not have to worry about him finding you guys anytime soon,
especially since I know how tricky those mines are and that he will get lost."

"That's true, but it also seems that he is onto you as well." Olivia pointed out.
"He knows you aren't fully cooperating with him."

"You win some, you lose some." Ed replied.

"And how is that? Look, I wanna catch Scar just–"

Kimblee was shown as he turned his head to face Ed with a slight grin.
"You're trying to buy some time for your snipers to get into position,
aren't you?"
"You're actually stalling?!" Luke and Avery shouted in surprise.

"But…you…." Brody said weakly.

Ed shrugged. "Who really knows? But if you're guys are really planning to
take the shot, whether I like it or not, you should stop wasting time. I kept my
distance from him for a reason."

Ed appeared on screen, looking surprised for a moment, before

frowning. "You knew about that?"

The scene changed angles to show Kimblee closer to the screen with Ed
still watching him. "I can practically smell the murderous intent in the
air around here. It's like a sixth sense I've picked up while in Ishval."

Cyril appeared on screen, aiming carefully once more. "They're just

standing there, talking. What should I do?"

The scene moved up to Miles, who leaned down. "Can you still target
Kimblee?"

"Considering the fact that Fullmetal is keeping a safe distance from Kimblee,
I think that is highly likely." Buccaneer said. "And you should do it quickly
since Kimblee has admitted to knowing the plan."

"We probably can't hear them in the future so we don't know he knows."
Luke replied.

"What I don't get is why he doesn't try to escape if he knows what the plan
is." Darius said confused.

"He isn't suicidal." Mustang said with a sigh. "He probably has a plan of how
he is going to handle this, but we won't know what it is until it happens. I
suggest extreme caution when dealing with him." He glanced at Fullmetal
with a frown. The guns weren't pointed at him, but he was right near
Kimblee. And if Kimblee does try to escape the snipers, it puts Ed in very a
dangerous position.

"Yes sir." Cyril replied before the three were shown from behind to show
Luke kneeling down and pointing his gun at Kimblee as well.

"Then aim carefully and fire." Miles replied.

"Yes sir." Both soldiers replied as a trigger appeared on screen and the
finger on it began to pull back.

Kimblee's hand appeared on screen as he started to raise it. His other

hand started to rise at the same time.

Kimblee was shown from behind as Ed tensed in surprise before Miles

and Cyril appeared on screen, staring in surprise as the music came to a
halt.

"He moved at the right time." Riza growled. "He's really good at sensing the
murderous intent." She shot a glare at Cyril. "But you shouldn't have stopped.
He can't move faster than a bullet to transmute something."

Ed shook his head. "Kimblee moving him probably shocked him enough to
stop him, but it might have been for the best. With Kimblee's alchemy, I don't
want to risk anything with bullets. We don't know what kind of tricks
Kimblee has."

"He's been in prison for years. Where would he learn tricks?" Havoc asked
with a frown.

Ed tapped his temple. "He may not be able to research, but he is still smart. I
can think of different transmutations, but I wouldn't dare try them until I've
research them and tried to figure out what array I would need or to build my
own array. Kimblee could do the same thing, though he might have no
qualms about testing them out without research."

"He can't be that psychotic." Walkers said in disbelief.

Ed shrugged. "I've never met him so I wouldn't know. I'm just making a point
here."

Loud alchemical sound filled the scene as Kimblee's hands appeared on

screen in the snow with red alchemical light flashing around him. Ed was
shown from behind, covering his face as the snow and some rubble
kicked up into an explosion of a smokescreen, blocking the two
alchemists from view as Ed shouted in surprise.

"Well, damn." Havoc said, staring at the screen with a frown.

"That about sums up the whole trip to the north." Ed said with a sigh as he
rubbed his head at the sudden pain in it, but at least it wasn't much pain. His
head dropped. "Fight time?"

"Fight time. You really can't seem to stay out of fights, can you?" Izumi
growled.

"Brother, don't get killed." Al said worriedly.

Ed looked up with a strained grin. "Al, I'm going to be fine."

"Fine? Fine?!" Al shouted incredulously. "It's Kimblee! Who has two

Philosopher's Stones!"

Al's words seemed to have the effect of raising the tension in the room. It
seems they had forgotten that Kimblee had two stones, not one. It wasn't safe
for any of the soldiers in the future in this battle with Kimblee there. Ed,
being the only alchemist there, might be the only one able to deal with
Kimblee at this point since an ambush was no longer an option. There was no
way they could do anything with a smokescreen up. But the Ed in the future
didn't know Kimblee had two stones and wouldn't be prepared for that. The
situation really has become a whole lot more dire.

New, more dramatic music started to play as Baschool from shown from
the sky to show the smokescreen filling the vicinity.

"That bastard!" Cyril growled as the soldiers in the building stood away
from the window as smoke filled the room. "He's using the snow to block
our view!" The smoke started to block the soldiers from view before Ed
appeared on screen, still covering his face as the smoke blew around him,
making him hard to see.
"Damn it!" Ed growled as the smoke blew away to show him more
clearly with some scratches on his face.

"That would explain the pain." Ed said as he rubbed his cheeks.

"Oh, you are already injured!" Al shouted.

"Al, relax. It's just scratches from the rubble." Ed replied.

Mustang glared at the screen. "He had this planned out carefully so he could
either escape or fight you, but considering you both can't see in a
smokescreen, I don't think he is going to fight you, Fullmetal."

"I think he is more concerned with Scar and Dr. Marcoh then anything else."
Riza added.

"He can't think that my men or Fullmetal are just going to like him walk
away, even with a smoke screen." Olivia growled.

Through the smoke, Kimblee could be seen entering the mineshaft.

"Kimblee!" Ed shouted angrily right before Kimblee went through the

door.

Kimblee was shown close up as he stopped briefly and turned his head to
smirk cruelly at Ed.

"I don't like that look." Hughes said darkly.

"Yeah, well, I don't like psychotic murderers getting away from me." Ed
snarled. "Especially when I want answers and he is going after my friends!"

"Don't do anything reckless." Ling warned, staring at his friend with a dark
frown. There was no way to stop Ed. This was the future and even if it wasn't,
there still wouldn't be a way to stop Ed. And Ling would never try to stop
him. Kimblee did need to go down after all.

Ed gave him a confident smirk, though on the inside he was feeling anything
but. From what he has seen of Kimblee, he knew the man was highly
dangerous. He trusted his skills, in both alchemy and martial arts, but he was
still worried about this upcoming battle, even if he tried to act like it was fine.
He was mostly worried because of the fact that Kimblee had Philosopher's
Stones.

Ed appeared on screen as he ran towards Kimblee. "Son of a–"

The screen went dark as a loud slicing sound cut through the scene as
claw marks covered the screen.

"Well, that would explain why Kimblee is so confident that he can leave."
Miles growled. "He had people lying in wait to attack."

The scene reopened on Ed pulling back in surprise. He started to turn in

surprise when a fist came out of the smoke. Ed just barely got his arms
crossed in front of his face to block the fist.

"Who the hell–" Ed started angrily, but stopped and turned to look at Darius
and Heinkel. "You two bastards never left! You were waiting to attack!"

"Again, why are you guys in here with us?" Luke demanded glaring at them.

"You weren't this mad when they fought Jerso and Zampano!" Darius
snapped.

"Probably because Fullmetal and Al won that fight with ease." Heinkel
replied.

"But in this fight, we have the advantage." Darius concluded.

"How do they have the advantage?" Karin asked confused.

"Because they are chimeras, a lion and gorilla, that have heightened senses
which gives them more ease to fight in low visibility." Izumi explained
darkly. "It puts Ed at a severe disadvantage."

Ed's feet hit the ground from being launched back and he skidded back
in the snow. He was shown from behind with two shadowy figures in
front of him.
Ed appeared on screen, frowning as he lowered his arms.

The scene changed to show a face close up on screen with his eyes
glowing white as he growled. The scene changed to show a lion's mouth,
grinning to show his sharp teeth as he growled as well. From there, the
scene changed to show the two chimeras with their coats opened and
their glowing white eyes locked on Ed.

Darius cracked his knuckles.

Ed appeared on screen. "Tch." He was shown from behind with the two
chimeras in front of him. "I should've guessed you guys were chimeras."

The music ended as the scene changed to show Kimblee walking down
the stairs in the mineshaft.

"Well, those footsteps can't be covered up." May groaned. "He's going to be
on our trail."

"As long as you get away from the mineshaft and into hiding quickly, you'll
be fine." Olivia replied.

"Besides, I don't believe anything was going to stop Kimblee from going
down there." Riza added. "All you can do is move quickly because Kimblee
is relentless."

"Yeah, but why didn't that storm cover up those footprints as well?" May
mumbled.

Kimblee was shown from an upward angle as he stopped and looked at

the footprints in the snow. He was shown as his eyes moved before the
path of footprints was shown to be leading into another part of the
mineshaft. Kimblee was shown as he smirked and headed towards that
entrance just as dramatic music started to play once more.

The mineshaft was shown outside with the smokescreen still up. The
scene moved down to the smokescreen.

Ed was shown in the smokescreen with his hand raised, waiting for an
attack.

A pair of feet ran across the screen making Ed turn around at the noise.

The back of Ed's head appeared on screen as he turned to look in the

other direction.

"Having some difficulty?" Ling asked with a frown.

Ed scowled. "I can't really move when I can't see and my enemies are
surrounding me."

Ling nodded. "Then it's a good thing I'm teaching you to read the Dragon's
Pulse. If you can master it, you'll be able to fight in low visibility."

"That will definitely be helpful." Ed replied. "But it really doesn't help future
me right now."

Ed was shown from behind as a shadowed figure ran in front of him

across the screen before disappearing again. After he disappeared, a
second shadowed figure appeared and disappeared.

"Damn you, Kimblee!" Ed growled before he was shown from a

downward angle. As he continued to look around, he said, "I can't see
anything. On the bright side, they can't see me either."

"Well, you're right about that. We can't see, but we still have our other
senses." Heinkel replied.

"What sense would you use?" May asked.

"Heightened hearing and sense of smell." Heinkel replied.

Ed sighed. "Then I really can do nothing against you guys right now. I need
to get out of the smoke."

"I don't think that will be easy. They probably want to keep you at a
disadvantage." Hughes replied with a frown.
"The odds are–"

A hand came flying through the smoke and grabbed Ed around the
throat.

Heinkel was shown from behind as he held up Ed by his throat.

Ed gasped and scratched at his throat, both because of the sudden pressure he
felt and the fact that he was having trouble breathing.

"Are you trying to kill Fullmetal?" Miles asked dangerously, glaring at

Heinkel.

"That is the point of battle." Heinkel replied, though he was feeling really bad
about what was happening. He did like Ed and if it was him now, there was
no way he would be attacking the teenager. "Sorry, kid."

Ed didn't bother to look up at him since he was still struggling to get air into
his lungs.

"Ed, breathe!" Ling shouted. "At least take tiny breathes. You aren't really
being choked." He looked over at Riza for help since she had experience with
this.

Riza slid off the couch and sat next to Ed. "Come on, Ed, take small
breathes." She said softly a she rubbed his back. "As long as you stay calm
and breathe slowly, you'll be fine."

Ed coughed a bit before grimacing as he tried to follow Riza's advice and

take small breathes.

"There's no point in trying to run, Fullmetal Alchemist."

"But he wasn't running. He was actually standing really still." Al said angrily.

"I think they are just trying to say that he wouldn't be able to escape at all if
he was trying to since they have the advantage." Mustang explained.

Ed was shown from behind with Heinkel in front of him, holding him
tightly. "You can't hide from us here. We may not see you, but we can
smell you!"

Ed dropped his hands and they appeared on screen as he clapped. "Shut

up!" A metal echoingly sound filled the screen as Ed touched his
automail and a blade shot out.

The scene changed angles to show Heinkel from behind this time as Ed
slammed his blade through Heinkel's arm. With the attack causing
Heinkel's grip to loosen, Ed slammed his foot into Heinkel's chest to send
him flying backwards and releasing Ed.

Ed gasped quickly as air flooded into his lungs so fast that he fell into a
coughing fit with the Lieutenant patting his back and telling him to take a few
deep breathes.

Heinkel cried out in pain and grabbed his arm that felt like it was being
ripped apart through the skin and muscles on both sides all the way to the
bone. He wouldn't be surprised if that kid's blade destroyed the bone with
how sharp it was. "Argh, Fullmetal. You are very vicious in fights."

"There is…" Ed paused for a moment to breathe. "Being gentle is how you
get killed. I may not kill my enemies, but I'm not going to go easy on them
when they are trying to kill me." He coughed a bit and took another deep
breath as he rubbed his throat.

"Are you okay, Chief?" Havoc asked worriedly.

Ed waved him off and sat up. "I'm fine. I have had a lot worse than that."

"What about you, Heinkel?" Darius asked.

Heinkel rubbed his arm at the intense burning pain flaring in his arm before
looking at his chest where he was kicked. The kick had hurt, but it wasn't
anything to be concerned with. When compared to the pain in his arm, that
little kick was nothing. "I'm fine, mostly. That blade really hurts."

Ed grinned evilly. "That's the idea, lion king!"

Heinkel glared at him. "My name is Heinkel."

"Whatever, lion king." Ed said, rolling his eyes. "How about you stay down
and stop trying to kill me now? I would really appreciate it."

"We're not that nice, kid." Darius replied.

Ed landed in a crouch before the scene changed to show Darius as he

brought his hands together quickly and slammed them down, but Ed
jumped out of the way. As Ed was flying through the air, he gritted his
teeth in annoyance.

Luke, Cyril, and Miles came out of the building with their guns raised.

"Fullmetal!" Miles shouted before he was shown up close, gun pointing

towards the sky.

The mineshaft was shown before the scene moved down to show Cyril,
Luke, and Miles from behind as they stood outside the smokescreen.

"What's going on in there?" Miles demanded.

"Just don't go in. It's already confusing enough." Ed said. "Anyone else
joining in and we'll start attacking each other in the confusion."

"That is if those two chimeras didn't get to us first." Luke pointed out.

"Just don't come in!" Ed snapped.

"Edward," Miles snapped demandingly. "Answer me!"

Ed winced. "Argh, that sounds like a tone the Colonel would use when he is
worried about something and I'm not listening…Aw, Major, you're worried!"

Miles glared at him. "This is not the time for your fooling around, Fullmetal."
Why wouldn't he be worried anyway? Fullmetal was a comrade and friend
and he was fighting all alone since they couldn't see him in the smoke.
Anyone would be worried about their comrade in that situation.
Mustang glared at Ed as well. "Fullmetal has trouble understanding that
sometimes."

"I am in a dangerous fight against chimeras. I am not fooling around at all."

Ed retorted with a frown as he rubbed his neck. "I've just never heard that
tone from you before is all. It's not something I hear often from soldiers is all
so I was surprised."

Ed appeared on screen as he slid back. "Major Miles!" He blocked an

attack with his automail arm.

Darius's snarling face was shown as he attacked again.

"These guys are chimeras and they know how to fight in low visibility."
Ed shouted as the three soldiers were shown again. Ed came back onto
screen again as he moved back. "Stay out of here, trust me–" His foot
was shown as he pressed down onto the snow. The scene changed angles
to show Ed from an upward angle to show him standing on the edge of
ground as the snow he stepped on shifted. He started to scream before he
was shown up close as he fell. He slammed into the snow covered roof of
a small shed in part of the mineshaft.

Brody winced. "At least you had the snow to break your fall."

Ed groaned and rubbed his back as the pain flared up in. His whole body
ached from that fall, but nothing felt broken. He just felt like he got horribly
bruised from that fall. "I hate low visibility fighting." He moaned.

"Well, that could have happened to anyone. Even with the ability to read the
Dragon's Pulse, you still probably would have fallen." Ling replied.

"You're not helping." Ed grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head,

wincing a bit as he did.

"Brother, are you okay?" Al asked worriedly.

Ed rolled his shoulders as he loosened them since his whole body had tensed
up when he noticed he was falling. "It's okay, Al. As Brody pointed out, I
landed in the snow so it's not that bad. I'm just sore."

"Brother, I'm pretty sure you went through the roof." Al replied.

"You too?" Ed asked. "The snow still helped though."

Al sighed. "You should be more careful. Falling through roofs isn't a good
idea."

"I know." Ed grumbled.

Darius and Heinkel appeared on screen as they stared over the edge.

The shed roof was shown with a hole in it before the screen moved down
into the dark smoke that had risen up from the fall until it got to Ed, who
was on his hands and flesh knee and wincing as he held his head in his
hands. "Ow!" He moaned as he lowered his automail leg. "Falling like
that's going to stunt my growth even more!"

"Are you not taking this seriously?" Olivia growled while a few of the
soldiers actually laughed at Ed's statement.

Ed groaned and grabbed his head. Now he had a pounding headache. He

could understand while future him was moaning in pain. It felt like someone
was trying to burst out of his skull with a chainsaw. "Trust me, General. I am
completely serious. I just need a moment to regain my bearings."

"Headache?" May asked with a frown. "Well, it's not surprising. You
probably hit your head pretty hard with a fall like that. Sorry I can't do
anything to relieve you of your pain, Edward."

Ed just waved a hand at her. "Don't worry about it, May. It's just a bit of
pain."

Hughes snorted. "He's probably going to pass off all of his injuries like this."

"Hughes," Ed sat up as he released his head and sighed. "It really is nothing
to be concerned about it. It's not like I'm going to get brain damage."
"You don't know! Hell, you could have a concussion right now!" Hughes
snapped. "Honestly, how does Al deal with you when you also say your
injuries are no big deal."

Ed blinked before looking at Al. "Okay, before I say anything on that, did
Hughes just swear?"

Al nodded. "I think he did, Brother."

"Huh," Ed turned back to Hughes. "I've had concussions before, Hughes. I

know what they feel like. What this feels like," He tapped his head. "There is
either no concussion or a very, very minor one. So I'm telling you to relax. I
really am fine. It's just a headache."

Ed was shown close up as he sat up and grabbed his head. He turned his
and the scene changed to focus on a box that said dynamite. "Dynamite,
huh?" He was shown from behind as he stared at the box. "There's one
perk to fighting in a mine."

May frowned. "But Edward, as Yoki said earlier, they are useless."

"Maybe to a regular person." Ed mumbled, still rubbing his head. "But not to
an alchemist."

"Are you going to blow us up?" Darius demanded.

Ed growled. "Have you not been listening to anything I've said here or in the
future?"

"So you're not going to blow us up?" Heinkel asked.

Ed shrugged. "Actually, I might."

"Make up your damn mind!" Heinkel and Darius screamed at him.

"Well, maybe if you stopped attacking me!" Ed retorted. "Stupid jerks."

Darius and Heinkel were shown as they jumped down.

They landed loudly in crouches outside the shed that Ed was crouching
in. When they landed, he quickly turned to look at them.

Heinkel sat up first, then Darius did.

Ed appeared on screen as he stood up with the dynamite between his

fingers as the dramatic music started again. "Whoa, you might wanna
keep your distance, guys. These aren't exactly cigars I'm holding."

The scene was shown from a downward angle.

"You idiot." Darius said while he laughed.

"That stuff isn't gonna do you any good. It's too damp." Heinkel added
with his own laugh as the scene moved up to show Ed.

"And I am so going to win." Ed said with a smirk. "That's what you get for
underestimating an alchemist."

"What exactly are you planning?" Darius asked worriedly.

Ed's only reply was an evil chuckle. "You should have quit the fight
beforehand."

Darius looked over at Heinkel. "I feel like we are fighting a devil."

Heinkel nodded in agreement.

Ed chuckled. "You sure about that? Do you happen to know what

dynamite's made of?"

Heinkel and Darius were shown as they looked at each other.

"It's Nitro Glycerin, isn't it?" Heinkel asked.

"And Nitro Glycol. And there's sawdust. Isn't there Ammonium Nitride
in it, too?" Darius asked.

The two were shown from behind while Ed had his back to them as he
was crouched down once more to continue his work.

"So, is this a science lesson or a fight?" Buccaneer asked. "You could use the
time he is preparing this to attack him."

"Don't say that!" Ed shouted. "Who's side are you on anyway?"

Buccaneer smirked. "I'm on yours. I'm just saying that instead of trying to
answer your question, they could be attacking."

"I guess we got distracted since he sounded so confident that he could use the
dynamite." Darius said. "Dynamite is dangerous. We probably don't want to
risk anything when he has it. We do recognize the fact that he is an
alchemist."

"Yes, there is." Ed replied as the two chimeras turned to look at him.
"And what's Ammonium Nitride made out of?"

"I'm beginning to think this really is a science lesson." Mustang said as he

laughed. "It's an ingenious idea you have though."

Darius and Heinkel groaned as they also realized what Ed was planning.

"What's he planning?" Avery asked confused.

"To show just how much of a demon he is." Al said amused.

"That's easy. Nitric Acid and Ammonia." Heinkel said.

A horrified Darius and Heinkel appeared on screen.

Ed appeared on screen as he turned to face them with his nose plug. He

grinned evilly with a chuckle as he raised a hand before the horrified
Heinkel and Darius appeared on screen.

"Hold on you!"

"Damn you!"
"So, uh, you are definitely doing something evil." Luke said with a laugh.

"And he seems to be enjoying himself." Walkers added with a grin.

"Brother always has fun when he is doing something evil, even if it is in a

fight." Al said with a sigh. "But really, Brother, a stink bomb?"

"Stink?" Lan Fan asked confused. "And that will?" She paused before she
chuckled. "They have heightened senses so Ed is going to take them out with
smell?"

"Trust me. That stuff has a disgusting smell." Ed said with a smirk. "It will
work just fine."

"You're an evil little brat." Darius growled.

Ed twitched and looked at him with a twitching evil grin. "Did you just call
me little?" He raised his metal fist. "I'm going to pound you into the ground!"

Before Ed could get to Darius, Ling and Al grabbed him and held him back.

"Let me at him!" Ed screamed, struggling to get away from Ling and Al. "I'm
going to show him who's little! JERK!"

"I'm sure that would be hilarious, Ed, but we're in the middle of a battle."
Ling shouted. "You can punch him later!"

Ed growled and struggled for a moment more, but soon gave up and gave a
pointed look at Darius. "This is not over."

There was the sound of clapping before the chimeras were shown from
behind as Ed did his transmutation and blue alchemical light sparked
around. A big greenish cloud appeared and rapidly filled the screen,
hiding all the occupants on it. Darius and Heinkel were shown in the
smoke to be grabbing their faces in agony.

Kimblee's face was shown close up from the side as he looked out of the
corner of his eyes.
The scene changed angles to show him from behind as an explosion come
from one of the halls and the smoke filled the room.

Darius and Heinkel were shown to be lying on the ground, twitching

while Ed crouched by them.

"Beaten by smell. What a pathetic way to lose." Olivia said with a smirk.

"To be fair, it also seems that Ed kicked them through a wall to finish them
off." Miles added.

Ed chuckled evilly, sending a cruel look at Darius.

Darius sweatdropped.

"Shouldn't have called him the l-word." Jerso snickered.

The scene moved up to show Kimblee.

"Ugh, what's that disgusting smell?" Kimblee demanded.

"Well, I couldn't take Kimblee down with it, but at least I got to annoy him
with the smell." Ed said with a smirk, looking away from Darius. "Always a
plus."

"You're found him quite easily." Hughes said with a frown. There was a
small part of him that wished that Ed wouldn't find Kimblee. He knew Ed
was going to go after him and he understood why, but Hughes knew how
dangerous he was in a fight so he was worried about Ed. To be honest, he
didn't know who would win in a fight between him and Kimblee.

"It does make things simpler for me." Ed said, not aware of how tense
everyone was getting. Kimblee was on a whole another level when it came to
fighting.

"It's Ammonia." Ed explained as he stood up. "They're downsized to

having a sharp nose. I doubt they'll be of much use to you now."

Kimblee was shown up close as he smirked. "Your attitude changed

rather quickly now that I've lost my hostage." He said as footsteps were
heard.

Ed was shown, staring at Kimblee in determination as he walked

towards him. "What'd you expect to happen?"

Kimblee was shown from behind as Ed reached the section of the room
he was in.

"Let's make this easy. All I want here is for you to tell me everything you
know." Ed said as he came to a stop and faced Kimblee.

"Which he won't do, then you'll have to fight him." Mustang sighed. "I don't
want you to fight him, but since you are going to anyway, you better kick his
ass!"

Ed grinned evilly. "At least someone has some faith in my abilities."

"We don't doubt your skill, Ed, but we've seen Kimblee fight. He's
dangerous." Hughes replied.

"Not only did Kimblee just get out of prison, he also just got out of the
hospital. He's out of shape for not having fought in years." Scar pointed out.

"That's a good point. Also, Kimblee doesn't really fight like Ed does, with
martial arts." Lan Fan added.

"No, though he does have military hand-to-hand combat lessons." Mustang

sighed. "But also with his alchemy, all he has to do is blow something up and
you can be done for. You have to be faster than he can transmute."

"Instead of analyzing Kimblee and his fighting, how about we just watch the
fight?" Ed asked annoyed. "You guys are worrying too much and psyching
yourselves out."

"Oh, is that all you want from me? I just got out of the hospital and I
don't feel like getting banged up fighting a youngster like you." Kimblee
starting searching in his pocket. "Not to mention that I really don't have
the time either."
Ed looked up in surprise.

Kimblee was shown as he held up the Philosopher's Stone. "I guess I'll
have to speed things up with this."

Ed's eye was shown up close as it narrowed. 'At least I won't have to
search for it now.'

Ed was shown from behind, already in a fighting stance, with Kimblee

standing calmly in front of him, holding the stone up. He started to run
towards Kimblee before Kimblee was shown up close, eyes opening in
shock. He moved to punch Ed, but Ed dodged and circled around
Kimblee.

Kimblee looked over his shoulder just as Ed got there in surprise. 'He's
fast.'

Ed was shown up close as he threw his leg up and kicked Kimblee's arm
up. Kimblee's hand was shown as the stone went flying out of it and over
an opening of the mineshaft where it fell down. The stone was shown as it
fell, glistening a bit.

"Well, that stone is gone." Ed said.

"But doesn't he have two stones?" Ling pointed out.

"Yeah, well future me doesn't know that!" Ed shouted.

Ling frowned darkly. "That is going to get you in trouble most likely."

Kimblee reappeared on screen as he went to clap his hands.

"Too slow!" Ed said as he appeared on screen and brought his blade up.

Kimblee was shown from behind with Ed in front of him, blade still
raised.

A shock Kimblee was shown as the scene moved towards his hand which
had a deep cut in it with blood spurted out of it.

"Damn, Chief, you cut really deep." Havoc said, whistling.

"Sorry I didn't take the time to properly measure how deep I should cut him
to stop him." Ed replied, rolling his eyes.

"I think you just like to show how vicious you can be in a fight." Heinkel
grumbled as he rubbed his sore arm.

Ed was shown. 'He's lost his Stone and he can't transmute now.'

Kimblee was shown as Ed landed in a crouch in front of him.

"And now I've–"

"Now you've what?" Kimblee interrupted. He was shown from behind as

Ed stood up. "You think you've won?" Kimblee's sliced up hand was
shown. "So you're determined not to kill? How admirable of you." The
scene moved up to show Kimblee with an evil smile and glowing red eyes.
"You do realize the advantage that gives your opponent though now,
don't you?"

"I've always known the dangers of that. It's just never been a problem since
I've never faced someone with two Philosopher's Stones." Ed replied with a
frown. "On a different note, how do people keep getting their eyes to glow?
First the chimeras had glowing white eyes. Now he has glowing red eyes! I
get it from the Homunculi, but not a human."

"Ed! Second Philosopher's Stone!" Hughes snapped angrily, close to

smacking the back of the boy's head.

Ed sighed and leaned back against Hughes's legs, surprising the Lieutenant
Colonel. He looked up at Hughes with a soft, strained smile. "It'll be fine,
Hughes. I promise."

Hughes stared into Ed's golden eyes and saw the worry there and sighed
softly. Ed was joking and fooling around, but he was actually worried about
this fight. He was just trying to stay calm to keep his friends calm. Al was
already close to freaking out earlier so Ed declared everything would be fine
to assure them and himself.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Hughes retorted.

Ed grinned. "I'll hold you to it."

Ed was shown from the side.

"Instead of finishing me off, you've given more a second chance to kill

you." Kimblee opened his mouth, baring his teeth as the second
Philosopher's Stone was on his tongue as dramatic, suspenseful music
once again played.

Ed's eye appeared on screen as it widened in horror.

"That sense of mercy is about to get you in a lot of trouble."

Ed looked over Miles, who was staring at him with a frown.

Miles sighed and looked back at the screen. He warned Ed that mercy would
get him killed, but that was a warning to protect the teenager. He didn't want
him to get killed here. Hopefully his quick mind would find a way to end this
fight without any serious injuries.

"This is why you should have killed him when you had the chance!" Olivia
snapped at Ed.

"For the love of–" Ed screamed, pulling at his hair. "Can we just let that go?
Nothing has happened yet! I am still standing on two feet. The fight isn't over
yet!"

"Which leaves time for something to happen." Izumi pointed out, though
what Ed couldn't tell was that she was worried. She had all the faith in Ed's
skills, but she also knew how powerful the Philosopher's Stone is so it did
leave her feeling concerned about this battle. Anything could happen in a
fight.

"Yes, but I don't care. I know the risks of mercy." Ed glared at General
Armstrong. "You guys say that killing has become easier for you at this point
then letting someone live. Well, I say it does take a strong man to pull that
trigger and kill someone, but it takes someone even stronger to show mercy
to his enemy, even if it does lead to something bad. It may end bad, but I will
know I stuck to my morals and I won't regret that mercy I gave."

Olivia raised a brow. "If this ends badly for you, I hope you remember those
words and really won't regret anything you've done in this battle."

The stone fell out of his mouth and began its descent into his waiting
palm. When it hit his palm, there was a resounding, suspenseful donging
sound.

Ed was shown, staring in absolute horror as his face lit up from a red
light.

The ground started rumbling under his feet so he crossed his arms over
his face as red alchemical light sparked around him while he screamed.

The screen went white before the mineshaft was shown from outside,
stopping Miles and his men in their steps as the red alchemical light
flashed around the building.

"Brother!" Al screamed.

"That is not fine!" Hughes and Ling shouted.

"What the hell is he doing to the building?" Luke asked horrified.

Rage filled Mustang's eyes. He's seen enough of Kimblee's alchemy to know
exactly what that bastard was doing! How dare Kimblee blow up the
building? Was he trying to kill Fullmetal? And what about his own men that
are unconscious and in the building? This man had absolutely no loyalty to
anyone. He was putting them all in extreme danger. Mustang's hand clenched
into a tight fist. The idea sickened him, but Ed should have killed Kimblee
when he had the chance. It was a sickening idea because he didn't want to
turn the kid into a killer, but maybe it would have been for the best here.
The roof of the building lifted up a bit before an explosion shot out of it,
causing dark smoke to fill the air.

Miles was shown as he took a step back in horror.

Darius and Heinkel, both screaming, were shown surrounded by rubble

as they fell through the floor before dark smoke swept over the screen.

Darius looked over at Heinkel with a frown. "Think we'll live?"

Heinkel chuckled darkly. "I don't know, but I do know that I want to kill
Kimblee for this. He blew us all up. You don't do that to your comrades."

"No, you don't, but you better not die." Jerso said, punching Darius's
shoulder. He was closer to Zampano, but Darius and Heinkel were still his
friends and he didn't want to lose them to this. If only they had more time in
the future then maybe they could have gotten to Darius and Heinkel before
this and told them what was going on. None of them knew the danger the
country was in when they were ordered to work for Kimblee in the future. He
was sure Darius and Heinkel would have turned their backs on Kimblee as
well. Then maybe this whole situation could have turned out differently.

Al was so close to freaking out at this very moment. If he had his body, he
would even say he would be hyperventilating and close to passing out with
how badly he was freaking out. His brother was just involved in an explosion
caused by Kimblee using a Philosopher's Stone. The power behind that attack
would have been incredible and amazing to him if his brother wasn't standing
right there in the building that just got blown up! Kimblee was going to get
his brother killed with that! What the hell was he doing? Al thought his
brother would be safe since he was a sacrifice and the Homunculi needed him
alive. Kimblee should know that! What was he trying to do?! Oh god, his
brother could be killed in the future by Kimblee. No! He didn't…couldn't lose
his brother!

The mineshaft was shown from the sky as the screen shook violently and
filled up with smoke.

Ling tensed up and looked over at Ed in fear, but Ed just kept staring at the
screen with a dark frown. "It's one thing to be involved in an explosion like
that, Ed, but to be right next to the guy who caused it? That throws you right
into the middle of the explosion."

Ed was quiet for a moment before sighing. "You don't need to tell me. I've
caused explosions before. I know how they work."

Ling growled. "Then you should also realize just how much danger you are in
right now!"

"We don't know what happened with me after Kimblee set off the explosion
because we haven't seen anything yet." Ed snapped as he turned to look at his
friend with a scowl. "Don't jump to conclusions."

Hughes and Mustang shared a dark look. It didn't take a genius to realize that
Ed was scared of what happened and knew he was in danger, but he didn't
want to freak himself out until he knew exactly how much trouble he was in.

Izumi swallowed thickly and held Sig's hand tightly in hers. At the moment,
she was scared to death for Ed. From what they have seen of Kimblee's
alchemy, it wasn't something to mess around with and now Ed was involved
in a big explosion because of him. Ed could be dead right now from that
explosion! He was one of her precious students….well, ex-students, but that
didn't matter right now. She just wanted to know that he was okay.
Something like this couldn't kill the teen who has been through so much pain
and seen so many horrors already!

Baschool was shown as the whole town shook from the explosion and
soldiers ran through the streets to escape the collapsing building before
the smoke spilled through the streets.

The scene changed angles to show the mineshaft as it fell to pieces and
slammed into the ground.

Luke, who was lying on the ground and covering his head, and Miles,
who was lying on the ground and staring up at the collapsing building,
appeared on screen for a moment before the smoke covered them from
view.
Baschool was shown again with the smoke from the explosion seen in the
distance as it rose into the air and spread around the town.

The scene went dark as soft, suspenseful and horrifying music started to
play.

A big hole in a roof appeared on screen with destroyed beams hanging in

the air as rubble was heard falling to the ground. The scene moved down
the destroyed building to show rubble everywhere.

Ed's automail hand, clenched into a fist, appeared on screen. A tiny

pebble hit his hand before bouncing to the ground.

Ed was shown to be lying facedown on the ground with rubble all around
him.

"How is there no rubble on top of you?" Havoc said amazed. In an explosion

like that, it would be normal to expect the rubble to crush you.

Ed didn't answer as his eyes widened and he sat stiffly. No one, except Riza
and Ling, who sat on either side of him noticed, but they couldn't figure out
what was wrong. They weren't the only ones. Ed didn't know what was
wrong either. He didn't feel any pain right now, but his body had just tensed
and all he could hear was the blood pumping in his body. Something was
wrong, but he didn't know what it was yet.

"Forget amazement over that, Havoc. We should be glad that he wasn't

crushed." Hughes said with a bit of relief. As long as Ed wasn't crushed, there
was still a hope of him making it out of this.

Al sighed in relief. Hughes was right. They should be glad that his brother
wasn't crushed. His brother was still in one piece. But he wasn't moving. Why
wasn't he moving?! 'Get up, Brother! Please, don't stay down. I need you
still. Get up!...Please…'

Riza looked down at Ed once more. He was still sitting perfectly still, staring
at the screen with a frown. She grabbed his flesh hand and closed her hand
tightly over it. Whatever had Ed worried, she would be there help him with it.
"Are you okay, Edward?" She asked softly.

Ed blinked, but kept his eyes on the screen. "I…don't know."

Ling, who heard them, looked over at Ed with a frown then back at the
screen. Were they missing something here?

Snow fell through the hole and landed on the ground next to Ed.

Ed was shown up close he shifted and lifted his head off the ground,
blood trailing down from his mouth.

Ed groaned and rubbed his head. As if it wasn't hurting enough from the fight
with the chimeras, it was now doubled, maybe even tripled.

A support beam was shown as it hit the ground before it fell over as Ed
said with some difficulty, "I must've fallen down through the
mineshaft."

"You need to get out of that place now. That support beam fell too close to
you." Al said fearfully.

"This is why you don't go near places that have collapsed. They are
completely unstable." Hughes said worriedly.

"Blown up." Ed corrected. "That place was blown up."

"I don't care what it was!" Hughes snapped. "You just can't stay there."

Darius and Heinkel were shown to be trapped under the rubble.

Darius groaned a bit.

"Kim-blee." Heinkel muttered.

Darius coughed violently at the insane amount of pressure that was pressing
down on his body and making it hard to breathe. The white hot pain ripped
through his body next. It felt like all of the bones in his body were going to
be crushed completely from the amount of pressure he felt all around him.
Heinkel groaned next to him and leaned forward a bit. It felt like his whole
body was being crushed and destroyed and it wasn't even happening to him
for real. With how much pressure was being pushed onto his body, it was
amazing that he could even still breathe somewhat properly.

"It's amazing you guys aren't dead." Hughes said.

"These bodies…do help." Darius struggle to get out. Future him would be
lucky if none of his bones were broken because right now, Darius felt like
absolute crap.

"They do make us stronger and more resistant." Heinkel agreed from where
he was leaned over his knees as he tried to focus his mind. This pain factor
was really horrible. This pain was like none he ever felt before.

"But not strong enough to escape that rubble?" Buccaneer asked.

"That is a lot of rubble on top of us." Heinkel retorted with a hiss as he

rubbed his agitated ribs. "And it's not like we are in the best condition."

"Or position." Darius added.

"To get ourselves free." Heinkel finished.

Ed appeared on screen as he struggled to push himself up. "Damn it. I

can't let Kimblee get away." He pushed himself up and a moment later
globs of blood dripped onto the ground.

"B-blood?" Al said horrified, turning to stare at his brother.

In that moment, Ed's eyes widened, pain and surprise filling them, as an
extremely sharp shot of white hot pain ripped through his side and sent his
whole body through the turmoil. His mind went blank as the sensation of his
skin and muscle being viciously ripped apart by a knife stabbing into him
then being yanked down his side. But that wasn't even the worst of it. The
worst of it was his organs. His insides felt like they were being destroyed,
like they were being torn apart completely by being shredded by something
and with that came an intense burning feeling like all of his blood was
rushing to his side to escape. The pain….it was the pain of this all that shut
down his brain and he actually forgot how to breathe as he sat there.

"Ed?" Ling's face appeared in front of Ed's, concern shining in his eyes as he
stared at his friend.

Ed stared back, unblinking, wanting to say something, but was having a bit of
difficulty since he still forgot how to breathe.

Next to him, Riza seemed to realize the problem and turned to him quickly.
"Ed, breathe!" She smacked him on the back to help him as he seemed out of
it.

But after taking one breath of fresh, much needed air, instead of any words
coming out of his mouth when he opened it again to speak, it was a long
drawn out bloodcurdling scream of pain. This completely threw Ling off
guard, even more so when Ed fell over on the ground, grabbing at his side
with one hand while the other held onto the carpet tightly as he scrunched his
eyes shut in pain.

"Ed!" Ling shouted.

Al shook violently as he stared at his screaming brother. His brother was

injured. His brother was injured. His brother was in pain. His brother was
screaming because of how bad the pain was. His brother never screamed like
this!

"What the hell happened?" Buccaneer growled as Hughes and Mustang

jumped off the couch and pushed a very confused and shocked Ling away to
look at Ed. They rolled Ed onto his back. Mustang pushed Ed's shoulders
down and pinned them to the ground, but the boy struggled against his hold,
seemingly not aware of him.

"Fullmetal!" Mustang snapped. He frowned when the teen ignored him, but
that frown turned to confusion a moment later when he felt something
digging into his leg. He looked down to see Ed's flesh hand clawing at his
pants for something to hold onto it. Looking up, he saw Hughes staring him
with a worried frown before both of their attention was back on the
screaming teenager. What the hell caused this sudden pain?

Ed whipped his head to the side, screaming subsiding for the moment as he
panted, sweat making his face shine.

Hughes grabbed Ed's face to get the boy to look at him. "Ed?" He frowned
when he noticed the boy's eyes were completely out of focus.

Al watched Hughes and Mustang lean over his brother, but he couldn't move.
He was scared. He was actually deeply scared right now. What could have
happened to his brother to cause this? And where was his brother's blood
escaping from in the future?

The blood on the ground was shown as more globs of blood hit the
ground.

"That's way too much blood." Havoc said horrified. What had happened to
Chief? They obviously missed something if he was losing this much blood.
And if he continued to lose this much blood….At this rate, he was going to
die!

Mustang stared at the blood hitting the ground in the future in terror. His
subordinate was injured. Kimblee injured his subordinate in that explosion of
his. That bastard! He didn't care if Kimblee was part of their military,
Mustang was going to burn him to hell! Whether Ed survived this or not, and
he only said that to make a point that he did acknowledge Ed's injury since he
wasn't going to let the teen die, Kimblee wasn't going to live through this war
with the Homunculi. No one injures or attempts to kill his men and gets away
with it.

Ling sat on his knees, watching Mustang and Hughes lean over Ed, unable to
move in his shock. What the hell could have happened to cause Ed to scream
like that? He never screamed like that! It wasn't like Ed to fall to his injuries
and scream in pain. Just what kind of injury could pull this reaction from his
friend?

Ed's face was shown, blood flying out of his mouth and dripping to the
ground. He froze and just stared ahead of him. He turned his head and
his eye was shown up close as it widened in horror. 'You're kidding! No!'

Ed was shown from behind on his hands and knees with a support beam
through his side.

At Ed's sudden sharp intake of air, Hughes and Mustang shared one quick
dark look before they were suddenly pinning down the screaming and
thrashing teenager as a new, much more intense, wave of pain ripped through
his body. The searing pain was ripping through his side and it wasn't
changing at all. All he could feel was the burning fire in his side and around
his organs as the feeling of them being torn apart came back full force.

'Impaled. Impaled. Impaled.' Havoc thought in horror. His young boss just
got impaled by a support beam. This couldn't be happening. This was…there
was no way…Havoc covered his mouth as he felt bile rising up. He didn't
feel like he was going to be sick, but the horror was just too much and a
burning feeling was rising in his throat. Without realizing it, Havoc's hand
traveled down to his stomach where he remembered the pain from being
stabbed by Lust's spears originated from. Those thin spears hit his spine and
left him paralyzed. It hurt like hell, but it wasn't a support beam. And he only
survived because of the Colonel, but the Chief…the Chief. He knew the kid
was smart and resourceful, but this just didn't seem like something he could
survive. Were they really going to lose that loud, reckless teenager that
they've all come to really like?

Some of the soldiers were forced to throw their hands over their ears because
of how loud Ed was screaming while the others just continued to stare in
absolute horror at the screen where they saw Ed impaled or at the thrashing
teenager in the room.

Ed managed to rip one of his arms free from Mustang and swung it violently
through the air, knocking a surprised Mustang back where he held his now
throbbing cheek.

Rubbing his cheek, Mustang growled, "I forgot how violent he can be when
he is feeling extreme pain like this."

Snapping out of his surprise, Ling jumped passed Mustang, horror coursing
through his veins as he grabbed Ed's free arm that he was trying to use to
claw at his side and pinned it to the ground while Hughes held his other arm
down with some trouble. Mustang shifted around and leaned across Ed to
help Hughes by pinning both of Ed's shoulder to the ground. "Is this normal?"
Ling asked. Ed had always been able to handle his injuries with ease. He's
never once acted like this from the pain of his injuries.

"Only when he gets himself in bad situations." Hughes replied with a grunt as
Ed's hand whacked against his knee in his struggles to escape.

Ling looked down at Ed's sweaty face that was scrunched up in pain in shock
and horror, then at the screen where his future friend was impaled. This was
probably one of the worst possible situations he could have gotten himself in.
Ling swallowed the sick, empty feeling that rising and focused his attention
back on his friend.

"Well," Aran said weakly. "Fullmetal knows what it's like to be impaled
now." He swallowed thickly.

"He never wanted to know what it felt like. He said it sounded horrible after
Kimblee got impaled." Luke retorted before he rubbed a hand over his face in
frustration. He was right there with Major Miles and Cyril, but he couldn't do
a single damn thing to help Ed because of that smokescreen. It hindered them
from helping Ed to fight off the chimeras and that put Ed in this position. His
hands curled into fists. They were supposed to help Ed, not send him to fight
alone. He hated this! They were the adults here and yet, they couldn't do
anything to help this kid!

"I hate to say it, but maybe that did jinx him." Brody muttered.

Izumi felt completely weak to the bone as she saw her student impaled with a
support beam. That was a grievous wound. There was no way he could
survive such an injury. Was this where she was going to lose her student? She
felt her eyes tear up, but forced herself not to cry. This couldn't be happening.
She couldn't lose another child. The pain of losing one child was painful
enough. She didn't think she could handle the torture of losing a second child.
Please, don't let this be the end of his life. He didn't deserve something so
cruel.
"Ed!" Ling shouted over the teen's screaming. "Come on, buddy. Take a few
deep breaths!"

Ignoring Ling, Ed whipped his head to the side, hitting his head against
Mustang's knee in the process. He got knocked back to his senses for a
moment which brought the pain to a whole new level.

"Breathe!" Ling and Hughes shouted before Ed could start screaming again.

"Just breathe through it!" Hughes growled.

'You make it sound like it's easy!' Ed shouted in his mind. He attempted to
take a shaky breath, but when he let it out, his whole side protested at the
expanding and contracting motion. His eyes widened and he looked over at
Ling as if wanting to say something, but didn't manage to get a word as he
took a breath in and it escaped his body in a very loud cry of pain.

Al couldn't believe that this was happening. Cuts, bruises, fractured bones,
concussions, losing limbs. He has seen all of his brother's injuries, but there
was never once an impalement. His brother got impaled by a support beam
for sparing Kimblee's life! Is this what his brother deserved to get for
showing mercy? He buried his face in his hands. This was not how
everything should be going. His brother was supposed to be taking care of the
chimeras and Kimblee to keep them away from his group as long as possible.
It never even crossed his mind that his brother could be seriously injured. He
left his brother alone with the Briggs soldiers with the very firm belief that
they would be fine. This wasn't fine at all! He knew he needed to leave to
warn Winry and May, but would that cost him his brother because he wasn't
there to help him? The very thought sickened him. Would he lose his brother
to save his friends from walking back into the hands of the enemy?

Two small hands grabbed one of Al's hand and pulled it away from his head
so the distressed teenager looked over to see May staring sadly at him with a
few tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Al, but he's not dead yet. I don't know
Edward as well as you do, but I do know he is one stubborn person. He won't
let this keep him down." May gave him a small smile before looking away as
she tried to block out Ed's screams since Mustang, Hughes, and Ling were
having a hard time in calming the teen.
Ed's injury was extensive. Anyone could tell that just by looking at it, but
May studied the human body extensively as part of her Alkahestry training so
she could heal using it properly. She knew that Ed's organs would be a
mangled mess from this. They would be so mangled that she found it hard to
believe if any of them could be saved. Maybe some could, maybe only some
parts of others could be saved. Maybe he would even lose some. It was hard
to say without looking at the real injury, but besides the organs, there was big
hole in his side. He would bleed out within in seconds of that support beam
being removed. The only way he could survive is with an Alkahestrist there
to immediately heal it. May sighed sadly. She could heal the wound to close
it to stop the bleeding, but she knew there was nothing she could do about the
organs. He needed a doctor and major surgery. Truthfully, May didn't know
how Ed was going to survive this and that scared and worried her.

Ed looked away, groaning and moaning as his body convulsed violently

before he pushed into the ground hard. Ed's face appeared on screen,
morphed into pain as he gritted his teeth and lifted his head with the
scene going in and out of focus. Eventually the pain got too much and he
shouted out as more blood flew out of his mouth. His body wavered
before he was falling over onto his side. The scene changed angles to
show him from above as he landed on the ground with the sound of the
metal support beam hitting the ground ringing in the air.

Ed's sweaty face that was lying on the ground appeared on screen with
the scene going in and out of focus. His whole body shook violently as he
gasped for air. His eye fluttered around a bit before his bangs fell into his
face, blocking it from view.

Hughes leaned over Ed, staring at his face which was covered with so much
sweat that his bangs were sticking to his face. He still looked like he was
having the hardest time imaginable trying to focus on the world around him
with his eyes strained so badly from the pain and Hughes honestly couldn't
blame him. That was a horrific injury that Ed had received and it was scaring
the hell out of him. He could watch his death. He could watch the death of
the soldiers, but he didn't want to watch a kid die, especially if that kid was a
close friend of his. If there was something that was truly difficult in this
world, it was burying a child. It hurt when they couldn't save a kid in time,
but to bury a kid that was a friend, someone like family to him, it just wasn't
possible. The very thought of it made him sick to the stomach. Kids were
supposed to live longer than adults. Ed just couldn't die here. He may not be
alive in the future, but still, it would hurt so much to see someone so young
die. He wasn't even sixteen yet! This shouldn't be happening!

Hughes's hands trembled as he held down Ed's automail arm. Why did stuff
like this have to keep happening? Ed couldn't just die here. He had too many
promises to keep. He promised to get Al's body back. He promised Winry
that the next time she cried, they would be tears of joy. "Come on, Ed, you
can't just die here." Hughes whispered. "You'll make your friends cry and
you'd be breaking so many promises. You can't do that, kiddo. Don't make
everyone sad that they won't be able to see the day you complete your
journey."

Armstrong had his head bowed. This was just getting too hard to watch. He
understood the mercy that Ed showed Kimblee. It wasn't easy to kill, much
less for a teenager with no experience in such a field. And now, because he
wasn't able to take life, he was dying instead. Nothing about this was fair. For
not being able to take a life, that shouldn't mean that Ed had to die. Tears
filled up his eyes. No one so young should have to go through this.

Olivia frowned darkly as she watched Hughes, Mustang, and Ling help Ed
the best they could. "At this rate, he is going to die." It was a cold hard fact
that was hard for everyone to hear, but Olivia was never one to hide from the
truth. Right now, Fullmetal was in a large amount of danger and unless a
miracle happened, she did not see any way that he could survive this. This
was going to be difficult for all of them to watch if the kid was going to die
here. She actually liked the kid a lot, even though she still believed him to be
reckless and impulsive from his actions. Despite everything, he was a
comrade, a soldier, and it would be a hard loss if he does die from this injury.
With this happening, she wondered if Ed did regret his choice of showing
Kimblee mercy. She sighed. Even if he didn't regret his actions, she did. She
would rather it be Kimblee dying right now.

Ling stared in horror at the screen once more as future Ed passed out. His
friend was impaled. His friend was dying from impalement. How the hell was
he supposed to survive something like this? Ed couldn't die now! How was he
supposed to annoy him if he was dead? How was he supposed to rely on
Edward, the Fullmetal Alchemist, if he was dead? How was he supposed to
support and help his friend if Ed died here? That stupid idiot just had to go
and get a serious injury like this! He better not die here because if he did,
Ling was going to punch him in the face until he felt better. That stupid idiot
wasn't allowed to die yet.

Ling leaned over Ed's head, shadowing the teen's face. "Pull it together, Ed!"
He shouted, gripping Ed's flesh arm more tightly. "General Armstrong is
right. You're going to die at this rate! So right now, you need to snap out of it
now and do something before that happens!"

Ed groaned and turned his head to the side. "Not…that….easy!"

"Oh, you are focused enough to hear." Hughes said surprised and a bit of
relief as he pushed Ling out of the way and stared down at Ed. "How do you
feel?"

Ed grimaced and closed his eyes. His hand curled around the carpet once
more to keep it in a tight grip.

Hughes grimaced and pushed the sweaty hair out of Ed's face.

Winry appeared on screen as she turned around in shock.

Al was shown as fell facedown into the snow.

Winry and May walked over to the fallen armor.

"Al? What's wrong?" Winry asked.

Ed cracked his eyes opened at Winry's voice and lifted his head up to see the
screen. Seeing his brother on the ground, Ed shot up from the floor, only to
fall over on all four as the pain intensified at the sudden movement.
Groaning, he wrapped an arm around his stomach.

"That was extremely stupid of you." Mustang scolded.

"Shut up!" Ed snapped as he bowed on the ground far enough to rest his
forehead on the ground while still hugging his stomach. "What's wrong with
Al?"

"I think…" Al paused and looked at himself in the future. "I think I'm being
pulled back again." He quickly looked back at his hunched over brother.
"Maybe you should lie back down."

Ed gritted his teeth in frustration. "I'm fine."

Izumi's eyes snapped to him, anger flaring in them. "Being impaled is the
farther thing from fine, you stupid idiot!"

Ed grimaced and lifted his head a bit to look at her before dropping his head
back down to the ground. He didn't take offense to her anger since he knew
she was just concerned about his wellbeing. Well, to be honest, he was
FREAKING OUT about it too. He was the one who was impaled so why
wouldn't he be scared? Yeah, he knew saying he was fine was stupid, but
he….well, he wasn't. He could barely focus. His vision kept going from
blurry to focused to blurry, his headache wasn't lessening at all, and he was
fighting the urge to not pass out from the extreme amount of pain that was
tearing through his body. The injury was in his side, but his whole body felt
heavy and the pain felt like it was traveling all through his body when he
knew it wasn't. The blissfulness of unconsciousness was almost like a dream,
but he had to stay conscious. He needed to know that his brother was okay.

"Alphonse?" May shouted.

The rest of the group was shown with Dr. Marcoh and Scar looking back
with frowns.

"Al!" Winry shouted.

"Oh no!" Al said as he appeared on screen, on his knees, with the girls in
front of him. He put a hand to his head as he shook it. "I'm being pulled
back again."

Izumi looked up sharply. Al was almost pulled back during the blizzard and
he said his body was starting to reject his soul. But what if was more than
that? Back when they did the human transmutation, the boys mixed their
blood for it and because of that, Ed felt Al's pain for him when he lost his
body. Their souls were connected now. Could it really be possible that
because Ed was dying that the connection was being affected and pulling Al
back? If that was true, then if Ed really did die here, then would that mean Al
would die as well? She gasped silently in horror. That would mean she would
lose all of her children. The very thought of losing both of them at the same
time made the pain in her heart from just seeing Ed's deathly wounded
tripled. Her heart constricted as she covered her mouth in horror. To save
them both, Ed needed save, but what could anyone who was still in Baschool
do to save Ed?

The scene changed angles to show Dr. Marcoh, Scar, Jerso, and
Zampano walking back towards the teenagers.

"What? Pulled back?" Winry said confused. "What do you mean, Al?"

"Hey, what's wrong with the armor guy?" Jerso asked quickly.

"Al!" Winry said.

Al was shown up close, eyes black. "My body."

The Gate appeared on screen with Al's body standing in front of it, back
towards the screen. Al's body was shown up close.

"It's pulling my soul!"

"Al!" Ed moaned, hand clutching at the carpet as he cracked his eyes open in
an attempt to see his brother on the screen. "I need you to resist that pull."

Izumi got off the couch and moved over to where Ed was lying down. She
sighed softly as she kneeled by him and said, "I think I know what is going
on. Your souls are connected because of the Human Transmutation, Edward."

That caused Ed's eyes to snap completely open in horror.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he collapsed because you are dying right now. The
connection is becoming weak as your life drains away." Izumi's voice faltered
for a moment as she said that, but only for a moment as she forced it to be
strong again. "I'm not too sure of what would happen if you die since nothing
like this has happened before, but I think it is possible that Al will die with
you because of that connection."

"No." Ed moaned weakly. No. No. No. His brother couldn't die as well!
Wait…he didn't want to die either! He pulled at the carpet roughly as his eyes
slid shut. He didn't want his friends to notice how scared he was by looking
into his eyes. He always knew he might die on this journey to get Al's body
back, but he still didn't want to die. Al still needed him to get his body back
for him and there was still so much Ed had to live for. A picture of Winry,
her beautiful blue eyes sparkling with laughter, flashed in his mind and he
smiled faintly before his mind immediately started to panic about Al again.
He would never want his little brother to die along with him. It wasn't fair to
him that this connection might kill him! He punched the ground in frustration
as he rested his head back down on it.

Al stared down at his hands in shock. "We mixed our blood, then Brother
bonded my soul. It is also Brother's transmutation that leaves me bonded to
this world. If…If B-brother were to d-die, the transmutation would weaken.
But we are also connected by our souls crossing from the transmutation, and
that would…"

As Al couldn't finish, tense silenced fill the air in the room as the possibility
that both brothers would be lost here filled everyone's minds.

The scene went white before a distressed and scared Winry appeared on
screen. "Al, AL!"

The scene changed angles to show Al lying in the snow with Winry and
May kneeling by him, shaking him, while the others watched in shock.

"Al, you're scaring me! Come on, Al!" May shouted.

"His soul is being pulled away?" Scar asked confused.

May's hands trembled in her lap. She couldn't lose Al. He was too important
to her. She didn't hate Ed and she definitely doesn't want him to die, but she
did hate this connection of their souls a lot right now. It might take both
brothers away from this world. Hugging Xiao-Mei close to her chest, May
stared desperately at the screen, hoping that Al would wake up and that Ed
would survive. But she was so scared right now that they would both be lost.

"Do you know if anything like this has ever happened before, Winry?"
Dr. Marcoh asked.

"I don't know." Winry replied upset.

"Can you hear me, Alphonse?" May asked desperately.

"Al? Al!" Winry was shown close up. "Please wake up!"

Al was shown.

"No! Al! AL!" Winry was shown from the side, staring desperately down
at Al. "What do I do? What do we do?" She gasped painfully. "ED!"

Ed grimaced and closed his eyes. He hated to hear Winry call desperately for
him to help while he was unable to help. But then again, even if he was there,
he doubted he could do much to help. But if Teacher was right and Al
collapsed because he is dying, then Al wouldn't even be in this predicament if
he was there. Still, hearing Winry so scared and confused hurt Ed. He wished
there was something he could do, but he was dying in the future and if he
died, she would cry. All he could do was hope that future him found a way
out of his situation so she wouldn't cry and hopefully that would help Al.

Havoc smiled weakly. "She's calling for you, Chief."

"Hmm," Ed rolled his head on the ground, not bothering to open his eyes.
"When something happens to Al's blood seal, it's only natural to call for the
expert."

Al scoffed. "Oh, that's it, Brother? It can't be because you're my brother and
Winry's friend that she is yelling desperately for you."

Ed gave a weak grin. "Naw, she just wants my expertise."

The scene changed back to the destroyed mineshaft where Ed was lying
unmoving on the ground. His flesh hand was shown up close as it
twitched a bit. The scene changed to show his back and head which was
lying in his blood as he took a small breathe in and out. The ground was
shown as Ed slammed his fist into the ground.

"I'm thinking that means he's not just going to lie there and die." Lan Fan said
in relief, even if she had no idea of what Ed was going to do.

"That's great, but there isn't much he'll be able to do with that support beam
in his side." Hughes said with a frown before a growl was heard. Next thing
Hughes knew, Ed was hitting his leg.

"Shut…up." Ed said, breathing hard once more as the pain came back full
force to assault his mind and body. He grimaced and closed his eyes more
before he felt a soft hand take his flesh one. He cracked one open to see Riza
sitting there now, having pushed Ling and Mustang away when he didn't
immediately start freaking out over the pain again.

Riza squeezed his hand. "Any idea of what you are planning?"

Ed closed his eye again. There were some ideas, but he had a feeling he knew
just which idea he was going to go for since it would be the faster and
probably only way to save himself, though it had a lot of risks. Though at this
point, anything that happened would be really risky. "One." He replied
thickly. If he was right about his idea, then he was about to meet some
extreme pain real soon.

The scene changed angles to show Ed from a distance as he struggled to

breathe. "I won't make her cry." Ed said, gritting his teeth and pushing
himself up. "Especially not over something this stupid!" He clapped his
hands and moved his hand to the part of the support beam on his back.
There was a brief flash of alchemical sparks as the support beam cut
itself in half and the loose part clanged against the ground. Ed collapsed
back into the ground when he was done, breathing heavily.

Ed was shown up close once more. The scene moved down to his hands
as he lifted his flesh hand and placed it on his automail one. There was
another ringing sound of a transmutation before the chimeras trapped
under the rubble were shown. Blue alchemical light sparked around the
rubble as a group of hands shout out of the ground to push the rubble up
to free them.

Darius and Heinkel were shown from a downward angle as they stared
up at the hands and rubble in surprise.

As the pressure was lifted from their bodies, Darius and Heinkel sighed in
relief. It may not have taken the pain of the injuries away, but there was some
relief for them now.

"Thanks for that, Fullmetal." Darius said as he rubbed his aching arm.

Ed cracked open an eye. "Wha–"

"You freed them from the rubble." Ling explained.

"Oh." Ed said briefly as he shut his eye. "Don't thank me. My own selfish
reasons are why I did it."

"What do you mean?" Heinkel asked.

Having used up too much strength talking already, Ed didn't bother to reply
and tightened his grip around Riza's warm hand. It wouldn't be long when he
was going to have to let go so his friends could pin him after all. Yes, he was
fully admitting to the idea that he was going to need pinned. There was no
way he could get through what he believed was coming without hurting
himself more if he wasn't held down.

Ed was shown again with his flesh hand on the ground.

The room was shown. Darius took a few steps forward, moaning a bit in
pain.

"Damn, Kimblee's gonna pay." Darius growled.

Ed was shown lying in his blood as the two chimeras walked onto screen
and looked over at him. They shared a look before Ed's back was shown
with the chimeras seen in the background looking at him.

"Hey, Fullmetal kid, you still alive?" Darius asked as he and Heinkel
started to make their way towards him. "What made you decide to
rescue us?"

"You're more injured than we are." Heinkel added.

Ed's face was shown, one eye cracked opened to watch them. "Don't get
the…wrong idea." He replied while breathing heavily. The scene
changed angles to show Ed from a downward angle as Heinkel and
Darius crouched by him. "I can't pull this out of my stomach on my
own…I could use…a little bit of help."

"Okay, you're insane." Brody growled. "What exactly is your plan here? To
die? Cause that's going to happen if that is removed."

Ed ignored Brody and opened his eyes as he turned his head to look at
Mustang, who looked horrified.

Mustang looked at Ed.

"I'm dead…if I don't get it out…anyway." Ed said with some difficulty. "I
also need…some help." When he was sure he had Mustang's attention, he
closed his eyes. It was getting too hard to keep them open.

Mustang looked confused for a moment before remembering what future Ed

just said and sighed deeply. "You want us to hold you down." It was quite
obvious why he wanted held down, but Mustang knew from his own
experience how it felt to be impaled and want it felt like when Lust's spears
extracted themselves from his side. It was a whole new pain when she did
that. But it was fast and easy. Ed was getting a support beam out. That wasn't
going to be fast and it was going to be extremely painful. He didn't know how
Ed planned to survive this, but just like how Mustang refused to die from his
impalement, he knew Ed was refusing to die as well and he trusted Ed to
come up with a solution.

"Yeah," Ed breathed. "Getting impaled…hurt…but I think removing it…will

be like what happened with the human transmutation."

"What happened with the human transmutation?" May asked worriedly.

"You didn't tell her?" Izumi asked Al.

Al shrugged. "I didn't think we needed to mention the stuff that happened in
here."

"Wait, what happened?" Ling asked confused.

Izumi resisted the urge to hit each of the brothers. That would not help the
situation at all. "When we watched them do the human transmutation because
of the connection of their souls, Ed felt Al's pain of losing his entire body."

"What does that even feel like?" Ling asked with a frown.

"I'll tell you….later." Ed gasped at the pain in his stomach. "Can we just…get
this over…with?"

"Guess you want to get the pain over with?" Mustang asked, frowning. Were
they actually going to be shown all of this though? When it was him and
Havoc, they weren't shown Mustang sealing the wounds shut with alchemy.
Did they really have to see Ed go through all of this?

"Yes!" Ed practically screamed, which just sent his body arching on the
ground with his automail scrabbling at the carpet to grab hold of something
as his sight went dark for a moment from the amount of pain that soared
through his body from the screaming. Right, yelling at his friends wasn't a
good idea.

"Ed! Snap out of it!" Izumi growled, slapping the boy's face lightly. Well,
what was considered light for her.

With a new pain in his face, Ed's eyes snapped back open so he could stare at
his teacher. Breathing heavily, Ed turned his face so he could stare at the
ceiling. He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to fight the urge to
pass out. But he needed to be conscious to see if his brother was okay, but the
pain was just getting too much.
"We were enemies just five minutes ago, and now you're asking us to
save your life?" Darius asked.

"Yeah…basically." Ed replied.

Darius and Heinkel shared a look before the scene changed to show the
giant hole in the roof as some more rubble fell down.

"Well, it's not like we were given orders to kill you." Darius said.

"Why should that matter? Didn't you just say that Kimblee was going to pay?
Who cares about his orders now?!" Ling said annoyed. He just wished Darius
and Heinkel would forget about Kimblee now and help save his friend's life!

"We still do not understand much of what is going on in the future. It's not
just Kimblee we would be betraying if we ignored orders like to kill
Fullmetal." Heinkel replied. "We don't know what the higher ups are like in
Central. For all we know, we could believe Fullmetal was the traitor here."

"It's a complicated situation, but hopefully it can be explained to your future

selves soon." Kei replied, biting down hard on his cigarette. "You would be
good comrades to have on our side."

Heinkel nodded. After everything they have seen in the future, he hoped it
was explained to them soon as well. He didn't want to help the higher ups
with bringing the demise of this country. He had family and friends here that
were too important to him.

"Come on." Darius said as he was shown helping Ed to sit up and leaning
the boy against him.

Ed groaned and scrunched his eyes shut in pain. There was a sudden pain
flaring loudly in his stomach from the shifting around. It made his organs and
skin burn greatly. If that's what it felt like to just shift around, he was really
scared to know what it felt like to have the support beam pulled out. Though
he quickly swallowed that fear. This was something that he had to go through
to survive. This happened because of the mercy he showed Kimblee and he
was going to fix it himself with some help from Heinkel and Darius. It was
his mess to clean up.

"You know, kid, you're gonna bleed to death pretty quickly once I pull
this out."

Ed was shown up close, gritting his teeth and one eye scrunched shut in
pain. "Not if I heal it." The scene slowly moved down to the support
beam in his side. "As soon as it's out of me, I'll close up the wound…with
alchemy"

May stared blankly at the screen for a moment before shouting, "Are you out
of your mind, Edward?! An injury like that cannot be healed properly with
Alkahestry, let alone with alchemy! Not to mention you need to have great
knowledge of the human body and medical alchemy."

"Actually, we do have a little bit of knowledge of medical alchemy from

when we were studying human transmutation, though we never used it." Al
pointed out calmly before he turned to his brother with a glare. "But she is
right on the rest. How do you plan to heal yourself? You have nothing to
sacrifice for the healing! You could just make it worse."

Dr. Marcoh sighed deeply. It was a dangerous gamble Edward was making.
Medical alchemy was a very tricky field of alchemy, and May was right.
Medical alchemy was not as good as Alkahestry when it came to healing.
Alkahestry would never be able to heal such an extreme injury and neither
could alchemy, unless one had a Philosopher's Stone, and even then it was
very dangerous and might not heal properly unless the alchemist knew what
he was doing. In Ed's condition, it was going to be difficult for him to
perform a proper transmutation, but it might just be the only chance that he
had to survive this. It was better that he try to save himself then to just lie
there and wait for death.

"I know what…I'm doing." Ed replied, not bothering to mention just what he
thought his plan was. He'd rather not hear even more yelling right now.

"Care to enlighten us?" Olivia demanded.

Ed winced. "Not really."

"Which means the idea he is thinking of is reckless." Izumi growled, glaring

at the teen.

"I wouldn't call it…reckless." Ed replied.

"You never believe your actions are reckless." Mustang grumbled.

"What?" Darius asked.

The three were shown from the side.

"Have you ever performed any kind of medical alchemy before?"

Heinkel asked as Ed straightened his leg out in front of him and leaned
farther back against Darius's supporting body.

Ed groaned. All this shifting around just kept burning up his insides more and
more. He wished everyone in the future would just shut up and they could get
on with the pulling out of the support beam. He just wanted this over with.

"Sort of." Ed replied. "I did some research on it…when I tried human
transmutation."

"Just some research?" Darius asked. "Your guts have got to be all
messed up. You're gonna need a Philosopher's Stone to make this work."

Ed's face appeared on screen, eyes shut and biting his lip in pain. He
opened his determined eyes. "I'm gonna have to use my own life force…
the same way I would use a stone."

Al gasped in horror. "But that…that would mean…B-brother!"

Dr. Marcoh closed his eyes. The idea of Ed using his own life force to save
himself was not an option he even considered. It was an extremely difficult
process. If Ed didn't have so much knowledge about the Philosopher's Stone,
he would never even be able to do this. But he did know so much about it
which means he knew exactly what he was risking and giving up to do this.
This could never be an easy choice for anyone to make, and yet Ed chose this
path without much thought. He really was brave, or reckless, to decide to do
this.

"I can't believe you would decide to do this." Izumi said faintly in disbelief.
She knew why Ed decided this and she could understand it, but she still hated
it. It was his life he was giving up. She had no idea of how much of it he
would lose for something like this, but it would be enough. She couldn't stop
Ed, but she could hope he didn't sacrifice so much here that after this all was
over, he would die before her. She couldn't watch another one of her kids die.
Watching him get this injured was torture enough for her. But when this was
over, she was definitely going to teach him exactly what she thought of this
plan.

"How about explaining it to us who aren't experts in alchemy?" Buccaneer

asked with a frown.

"When you use a Philosopher's Stone, you sacrifice the souls in the stone as
the power for transmutations and eventually, you will run out of power
because there are no more souls to help power the stone so it is not unlimited
power you have with a stone." Al explained darkly. "So it seems Brother is
planning to use his own life force to heal himself, but the cost would be using
up part of life span, which means he won't live as long as he is supposed to."

"That's insane!" Kei said in horror.

"You stupid brat," Mustang muttered, glaring at Ed. "You're going to take
your life away?"

"Have to." Ed muttered, breathing in deeply through the pain. "Need to…
survive." He cracked an eye open to look at Mustang. "I don't want…to die."

Mustang stared at Ed, looking into his eye which held so much pain and by
looking deep enough, he did see the fear there. Ed was still just a kid. He
accepted the fact that he might die on his journey to get their bodies back, but
he was still scared to die and to leave all his friends behind. So he was going
through with the only option he had to save himself and survive to fight
another day. "Survive to fight another day, is that it, Fullmetal?"
Ed gave a brief smile before closing his eyes again, glad that Mustang
understood now. He couldn't leave this world just yet. There was still so
much that he needed to do.

"Is it possible to mess up the transmutation and kill himself?" Olivia asked
calmly, though she was actually really worried, not that she would let anyone
know that. She was really starting to like Ed and the way he seemed to
always annoy Mustang and drive him up the way with insanity. Not to
mention his great skill in alchemy and martial arts. It would be a horrible lost
if they were to lose him now.

"It is possible." Izumi said slowly since Al couldn't bring himself to answer
in his fear and worry for his brother. "But only if he doesn't concentrate and
uses too much of his life force to power the transmutation."

"Won't it be hard to concentrate with a support beam being pulled out?" Lan
Fan asked worriedly.

"That is why this is considered reckless." Izumi snapped, but she was looking
at Ed as she said it, not Lan Fan. "You better not screw this up, brat."

Ed smirked faintly at her without looking out her. "I'm going to need held…
down soon."

Darius gasped in surprise as Ed gave a harsh, ragged cough as slow, sad

music started to play.

"It will probably take a few years off my lifespan though." Ed continued.

"You positive?" Heinkel asked.

"I don't really have time to think about it." Ed said. "If this is really
what showing mercy is going to cost me, then I'm going to have to learn
to pay the price, right?"

Miles closed his eyes and sighed before he smiled sadly. When he told Ed
that showing mercy would get him killed, he didn't expect it to come to this.
He never thought it possible that just a couple hours after he told Ed that, and
the teen would end up impaled and all ready to sacrifice years of his life just
to save himself. This was never what he wanted to come to pass. Ed almost
dying or Ed having to use his life force to save himself. If only he was able to
do more to help Fullmetal after that smokescreen came up, but he was
completely useless to help while his friend was being attacked. His hand
clenched into a fist in frustration. He was glad Ed understood what his mercy
would cost him, but he still wished there was more he could do to help
Edward. What kind of comrade was he when he couldn't do anything to help?

While this whole situation was horrifying, above everything else that has
happened in this episode, Scar found himself admiring the bravery that Ed
was showing in willing to give up part of his life to stay alive. Giving up a
few years of his life was something crazy for him to attempt, but in the long
run, Scar knew it was for the best. He may lose a few years of his life, but it
was still better than for him to die right here and lose his whole life.

Heinkel sighed and was shown from the front as he grabbed the support
beam. "I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds like you're
sure."

Ed was shown, staring up at him through pain filled eyes and a slightly
pained smirk.

"Ready?" Heinkel asked.

Ed felt shifting around him and opened his eyes to see Riza and Izumi
moving from his sides.

"I want to clarify one more time for all of us that this is completely insane."
Luke said as he suddenly appeared by Ed.

Ed stared at him with a confused frown until Luke was kneeling by his side
and pressing down on his automail shoulder.

"We remember what happened with the human transmutation. We'd rather
not risk you thrashing around too much and hurting us again." Luke
explained.
Ed grinned weakly. "Sorry about that." He closed his eyes once more as he
felt more hands pin his flesh shoulder, arms, and legs to the ground.

Al watched sadly as Mustang, Ling, Hughes, Luke, Miles, and Havoc pinned
his brother to the ground. He had a feeling watching his brother go through
this pain was not going to be easy for him or anyone else.

Ed nodded. He closed his eyes and took a deep breathe in.

Heinkel was shown from behind with Ed and Darius in front of him.

Ed breathed out slowly before raising his hands to have them ready to
clap as Heinkel prepared himself to pull. "Yeah. I'm ready." His eye was
shown close up. 'I've got to picture myself as a single mass of energy.' His
eye widened in shock and pain as Heinkel started to pull.

Ed's eyes snapped opened in shock as the sharp burning pain of the
something being pulled from his organs and flesh met his body and mind. He
thought he could be ready for this extreme pain, but it was so much worse
than he thought it would be. It felt like his insides were being ripped to pieces
with fire burning all around them and his skin as the support beam was
yanked from his stomach. There was no way for Ed to stop the loud,
bloodcurdling scream of pain that ripped from his throat as his back arched
painfully off the ground. He tried to twist away from the hands that suddenly
tightened their grip on him and forced him back on the ground to lay straight
once more. He needed to escape this burning pain. All he wanted right now
was to escape and curl into a ball while clawing at his side as the pain tore
out him, making it feel like he was being destroyed from inside out.

Ling was at first completely shocked at the sudden resistance Ed was

showing with his thrashing and trying to escape. So much so, that he actually
lost hold of Ed's arm for a moment and suffered a fist in the gut for it. He
hissed in pain and quickly grabbed Ed's arm tightly and slammed it back onto
the ground. "Thanks," He wheezed painfully. "For the warning."

Hughes struggled with Ed's leg to keep from getting kicked in the face. "We
said it was bad." He glanced up quickly at Ling before looking back down at
Ed's leg to make sure he kept it down so he wouldn't get kicked. "And be glad
it was his flesh hand and not the automail one."

Heinkel's hands were shown around the support beam as he pulled it as

quickly as he could from Ed's side.

The three were shown from a distance as Ed's legs scrabbled at the
ground as he screamed and cried out from the torment.

Ed cried out and threw his head back head against the ground. His eyes
scrunched shut in pain while his hands scrabbled at the ground to hold onto it.
His skin and muscle felt like they were being ripped wider and wider apart.
Sweat poured down his face and neck as his breathing became heavy and
difficult. Damn it, he was the Fullmetal Alchemist. There was no way in hell
he could falter at this!

Ed was shown up close, gritting his teeth and staring blankly up. 'Use the
energy.'

Heinkel was shown as he pulled the support beam farther out.

'Just like the stone.'

Darius was shown, watching in fear and worry.

Heinkel was shown from behind as Ed struggled under Darius's hold as

he screamed out.

Ed cried out, struggling to move as the pain in his side increased more and
more. The farther the support beam got pulled out, the more the burning pain
in his side intensified. No matter how much he struggled though, he couldn't
get free. He cracked his strained eyes open, staring blankly ahead of him. The
ceiling went out of focus before it came back into focus. He groaned and
twisted his head to the side to see a worried Mustang pinning his flesh
shoulder to the ground and a scared Ling next to him holding down his arm.
He blinked and when his eyes reopened, all he could see was blurry versions
of them.

Mustang stared down at his subordinate in pain. He hated to see the kid in
this much pain, but that support beam couldn't stay in his side. It would kill
him. Taking it out would kill him as well if Ed didn't manage to perform his
transmutation. He hoped that the Ed in the future could stay conscious
through the pain to perform it. And he just wished it would move faster.
Seeing Ed in so much pain….he didn't want to see it anymore. It needed to
end soon. And when it was over, he was going to plot some very evil revenge
against Kimblee for putting his subordinate through this. He didn't care if
anyone thought Ed getting himself in this situation was his fault for showing
mercy. Even if Ed did show mercy to an enemy, he didn't deserve this. No
one ever deserved this.

Miles held down Ed's automail arm with his hands and one of his knees while
his other leg supported him. He knew this was going to painful for Ed, but
even he wasn't expecting something this extreme when the support beam was
pulled out. Just how painful was that pain factor? It was amazing that
Fullmetal was even still conscious for the procedure of the support beam
being pulled out.

Ed's eye was shown up close again, completely stressed with pain and
anguish. 'That's it! I'm a Philosopher's Stone that's powered by a single
soul.'

"So, basically," Havoc said thickly as he watched Ed struggle beneath his

hold in horror. "Chief has to concentrate on being a Philosopher's Stone while
the support beam is being pulled out and one false move will kill him?"

"Yes," Al replied quietly. Doing what his brother was doing right now in the
future would be impossible for most people because of how much pain
something like this caused. Al will never able to understand the pain that Ed
was going through right now. He knew pain and suffering from not being
able to feel or eat like a normal human, but the physical torment his brother
was going through was never something he would be able to understand. And
he hated it! He couldn't understand his brother's pain and there wasn't a single
thing he could do to help ease his suffering! All he could do was sit here and
suffer in silent anguish as his brother went through some of the worst pain
imaginable while he was useless. His brother was going to sacrifice so much
just to survive! Why was it always his brother that had to sacrifice so much?
First he gave up his arm to save Al's soul, and now he was going to give up
his life force to save his life. Why couldn't Al just do something for his
brother so he didn't always have to give something up?

Havoc grimaced at Al's answer. What Ed was doing was something that
shouldn't even be possible. Having already been impaled before, Havoc knew
just how hard it was to focus and concentrate afterwards because of how
much it hurt. Yet…Mustang did pull out that focus to not only save them, but
to also kill Lust afterwards. And now Ed was pulling out that focus of his to
save his life. These alchemists were insane. Their focus and concentration
through such pain was even more insane to him.

Izumi closed her eyes briefly before she moved and sat by Ed's head. She
covered the teen's forehead and eyes with her warm hand. Ed turned his head
and nuzzled his head into the small bit of comfort that he was getting right
now. Izumi swallowed thickly as she looked back up at the screen to see her
suffering ex-pupil in the future showing such pain. This was a lot harder to
watch then she imagined. She knew it was going to be hard to watch him go
through such pain to save himself, but she didn't think it would hurt her this
much. What kind of teacher….second mother…was she to these boys if she
couldn't even help them when they needed it?

Ed's side was shown as the support beam continued to slowly be pulled
out of his side.

The scene was shown from a downward angle as Ed screamed out in

pain. He was shown up close, clenching his teeth shut. 'Remember!'

The scene changed to show the eye of Truth with Ed standing outside the
transmutation circle from when they were inside Gluttony.

'What it felt like…' Ed shown as he traveled through Truth with strips of

memory all around him. 'At that moment!' Ed's eye reappeared on
screen. 'REMEMBER!' Envy's monster side with all the souls of Xerxes
on him were shown as they were disintegrated. 'How it felt to use souls!
To harness LIFE!'

Ed's side appeared on screen as the support beam was finally ripped
fully from him.
Ed screamed as it felt like his burning skin was being ripped even farther
apart. He ripped his head away from Izumi's head and knocked it against
Mustang's knee in frantic struggles. His eyes cracked open and he lifted his
head off the ground a bit, which sapped all the strength he had, but he
managed to catch Mustang's eyes for a second before his head was hitting the
ground again.

"You're doing good, Fullmetal." Mustang assured him softly. "It's almost
over." 'Finally.'

Ed's clenched teeth were shown as the sound of clapping filled the
screen. The three were shown as blue alchemical light filled the scene as
Ed put his hands to his stomach.

Darius, watching in fear, was shown up close with the flashing

alchemical light lighting up his face. Heinkel, watching in fear and
worry, was shown with the same happening to him. The three were
shown from a distance with the alchemical light dying down. Both
Heinkel and Darius sighed in relief as it was over as the music stopped.

"Shouldn't Ed be the one sighing in relief?" Avery asked.

"You want to try putting a kid through that much pain as you pull the support
beam out without being able to stop?" Heinkel retorted. He was actually a bit
scared the whole time they were watching that scene. They were forced to put
Ed through so much pain and if they stopped before the job was finished, he
would have either died or passed out. And if he passed out, then he would
have died before he woke up so they could finish so stopping in the middle of
pulling the support beam just wasn't possible. "Hey, Fullmetal, you alright
over there?"

Ed coughed violently in reply. Seeing as the torment was over, the hands
holding him down released him and Ed greedily took the opportunity to roll
onto his side and curl into a ball to hug his stomach. He didn't care if it did
make him look weak. The pain was too much, and even though he sealed the
wound in the future, it didn't get rid of the pain. His organs and skin were still
burning in pain and he still find it impossible to focus. His vision was getting
all blurry, which didn't help his aching head at all.
The scene was shown from a downward angle.

"Did he make it?" Darius asked.

Ed was shown up close as his antenna rose. He looked up with one of his
eyes opened. "You can't kill me that easily."

Heinkel was shown from behind as Darius looked down at Ed and asked,
"Huh, you mean it worked?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that I'm healed. I rejoined my undamaged

organs," Ed said hoarsely as he looked down at his side where he held his
hand against it. "And I've managed to stop the bleeding, but it won't last
for long."

"I can't believe he actually managed to seal that injury with alchemy."
Mustang said shocked.

"Says the Colonel who did it with Flame Alchemy." Hughes retorted.

"But what he did by using his own life energy is completely insane and it
didn't even work fully!" Mustang growled.

"And…he is…right…here." Ed moaned. He cracked an eye open to glare at

Mustang. "And yours didn't either….You and Havoc were both…still in the
hospital from…yours…" Seeing as everything was still blurry, Ed closed his
eye again in the hopes to ward after his sudden dizziness.

Ed used his soul to save himself? May bit her lip and looked down. If she was
there, she could have prevented that. If she was there, she could have helped
save him so he didn't have sacrifice part of his life. She wouldn't have been
able to heal the injury completely, but she could have done enough to help
him to give him enough time to get to a doctor. But she wasn't there to help a
friend when he needed her and that caused him to have to sacrifice so much.

Heinkel raised a hand. "Oh, then you need a real doctor."

Ed pushed away from Darius. "No," Ed breathed as he bent over a little

bit and covered his side with his automail hand. He pushed himself to his
feet, wavering a bit as he did. "I don't have time for that."

Olivia growled. "You stupid, reckless brat! How could you be so stupid right
now? You could still die if you don't get a real doctor to look over soon and
fix your injury properly!" She shot a look at Mustang. "I understand now why
you always check on his injuries if he is being this stupid over such a serious
injury."

Ed bit his lip as pain flared in his side at his future self moving. Oh yeah, the
injury was definitely still pretty bad in the future.

"You really should go to a doctor, Edward." Riza said firmly, glaring down at
the boy.

Ed groaned and rested his head on his flesh arm. Why couldn't they just leave
him alone to his misery? All their talking was just making him feel a lot
worse.

The scene was shown from a downward angle as Heinkel and Darius
stood up.

"What?" Darius asked.

"Hey!" Heinkel said as Ed started to walk away.

The powerful urge to remain conscious until he knew Al was okay slowly
slipped away from Ed. He felt his eyelids fluttering as his side throbbed
painfully with a familiar burn. The damaged organs were screaming in protest
and his fleshly closed skin in the future was burning and felt like it wanted to
rip open all over again with each step future him took. He saw his friends,
then he saw darkness, then he saw Al leaning over him in worry, then he saw
darkness again. Sweet, blissful darkness where he could forget the pain
racing through his body finally overtook him.

"Brother?" Al asked fearfully. "Brother!"

Ling quickly moved back to Ed's side to hear his ragged breathing. "The pain
became too much I guess. He's fine, Al. Just passed out."
Mustang sighed and scooped the unconscious boy into his arms. He pushed
himself onto his feet with some difficulty because of how heavy Ed was. "No
choice then. I'll put him to bed then." He readjusted his grip on Ed before
moving over to Ed's room and kicking the door open with his foot. He paused
when he noticed two beds in there and just chose the closest one to put Ed on.
He laid Ed down and pulled the covers out from under him and draped them
over the teen. Before leaving, Mustang stared down at Ed for a while before
slowly reaching forward and brushing the boy's sweaty bangs out of his face.
"You did good, Fullmetal. Real good, you saved yourself." He smirked softly.
"For the time being. Let's just hope future you forgets his stupidity and finds
a doctor."

After a moment more of watching Ed sleep, taking in harsh breathes,

Mustang sighed and left the room, being sure to leave the door open so they
could hear Ed in case something was wrong.

Mustang sat back on the couch next to Hughes and sighed. "Let's get this
over with already. I doubt he'll be waking up anytime soon."

"I've got to stop Kimblee before he gets too…" Ed was shown close up.
"To…them…" His eyes fell shut before he was falling forward.

"Stupid child. There are more important things then going after the enemy
when injured like that." Olivia growled. Going after Kimblee now would just
mean certain death for him. How could he be so reckless? She knew he
wanted to stop Kimblee from reaching his friends, but in his condition, it
would be just signing his death warrant.

Darius and Heinkel were shown from behind as Ed hit the ground.

"Oh man," Darius said.

"Idiot." Heinkel said as they made their way over to Ed.

Hughes laughed, partly in amusement and partly in relief. "Well, now that
he's unconscious, he can't argue about you taking him to a doctor." He glared
at them. "You will take him to a doctor, right? You won't just leave him
there?"
"We're not cruel monsters." Heinkel retorted.

"Besides, we do owe him for saving our lives." Darius added.

"There's no way you can fight Kimblee in your condition." Heinkel said
before he was shown from the front as he passed some rubble with
something red shining in it. He stopped and looked over towards it.

Ed's body lying on the ground was shown with Darius staring at him
before looking over at Heinkel as he changed directions. "What is it?"
He asked as Heinkel kneeled down.

Heinkel's hand appeared on screen as he held up the Philosopher's

Stone. "Woah."

Silence reigned in the room for a moment before Izumi and Al screamed in
frustration.

"It was right there!" Izumi screamed.

"Brother could have used that." Al moaned. "He wouldn't have had to give up
part of his life if only…"

Mustang breathed out his frustration, closing his eyes briefly before
reopening them. "It's happened. We can't do anything about it right now. It
was just rotten luck that they didn't know it was there. They probably thought
it was completely lost in that mess."

Al growled and crossed his arms. He knew his brother didn't want to use the
stone to get their bodies back, and Al completely agreed with that. But he still
could have used that stone to save himself from that injury. Instead, he had to
sacrifice a lot. Why did his brother have to suffer so much?

Darius and Heinkel appeared on screen.

"The Stone, huh?" Darius asked as Heinkel stood up. "I guess Mr.
Kimblee must've lost it."

"Quit calling that freak 'mister.'" Heinkel replied as he turned to face his
friend. "He's not our boss." He put the stone in his pocket.

"You guys changed sides pretty easily." Kei said.

"Well, when your boss tries to blow you up," Darius replied sarcastically.

"That's always a good reason to betray someone." Avery said amused.

"Not since he almost killed us." Heinkel said.

The scene was shown from a downward angle.

"That's a good point." Darius replied as Heinkel stepped back over

towards him. "How about we make our resignation official?"

"Let's just hold onto our freedom and let the bastard think we died in the
rubble." Heinkel replied.

Jerso grinned. "Which means we are away free from that bastard."

"And back on the same side." Darius added with a smirk. "So at least we
won't have to fight each other."

The two chimeras were shown up close as they looked down at Ed. The
scene moved down to show the unconscious Ed.

"Well, what do we do with him?" Darius asked.

"We can't just leave him here to die." Heinkel replied as Ed's back was
shown. Heinkel started to walk forward with Ed on his back, holding
him up by his legs. "We do owe him our lives after all."

"Very true." Darius replied as he followed Heinkel while holding his

injured arm and the ending song started to play. "First things first,"
Ed's scratched up and bloody face was shown. "We've gotta find him a
doctor."

"Right." Heinkel replied.

They were shown from a distance as they walked away, leaving the
destroyed mineshaft behind.

The ending song appeared on screen.

The scene went dark.

"Is it finally over?" May asked, sighing. That was a really scary episode. She
hoped that Al would be okay. If Al passed out because of his connection with
Ed, then he should be okay. If it was because of his body pulling him back…
she swallowed her fear. She had to believe that Al was going to be okay and
make it through this.

Ling sighed and sat back against the couch, rubbing his abused stomach. He
was glad that was over and that Darius and Heinkel were getting Ed to a
doctor. That helped him believe that his friend was really going to be fine
after all of this. He lowered his hand from his stomach, causing it to knock
against something. He looked down in surprise to find the book that Ed has
been attached to recently and blinked. Grinning, he picked up the book and
opened it to a random page. To his surprise, he didn't see any words, but
pictures. He flipped through the pages and found more and more pictures and
they were all of things that happened here, in Ed and Al's past, or in the
future they were watching. Where did Ed get something like this?

He stopped flipping pages and stopped to stare at the pictures. He chuckled

when he saw a picture of May and Xaio-Mei staring starry eyed at Ed. This
must have been right before they got disappointed by what they found
instead. Immediately under that was a picture of Riza pointing a gun at
Mustang's crew to get them to work, almost causing Ling to laugh out loud.

How dare Ed hold out on him with this?

The next picture he saw shocked him completely. It was of Lan Fan and May
sitting on a bed with each other, talking. They were from different clans so he
didn't expect them to get along with each other like this. The final one was of
Ling tackling Ed while he talked to Hughes, which made Ling smirk in
amusement.
"Are we going to wait for Ed to wake up before we continue?" Hughes asked.

Mustang sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure when he'll
wake up."

Dr. Young stood up and excused herself before heading to Ed's room. She
stood over Ed as she looked down at the boy, eyes scrunched shut in pain as
he gripped the covers tightly. Putting a hand over Ed's forehead, she frowned
at the heat she felt. She was sure it was just from the sweat and pain that he
was overheating, but still. She went into his bathroom and grabbed a
washcloth which she wet with cold water before she was back by Ed's side
and resting the cloth over his eyes and forehead. "I doubt you'll be waking up
anytime soon. Your body went through an extreme amount of torture just
now." She sighed. "You're absolutely insane. No wonder you get along with
Briggs so well." She chuckled and left the room.

"How is he?" Al asked quickly when he saw her.

"He's fine, a bit overheated from the pain and sweat, but fine. I do not believe
he'll be waking up anytime soon." Dr. Young replied as she sat back down.
"He needs time for the pain to dissipate, then he'll be fine." She gave Al a
reassuring smile.

Al sighed in relief. That was good, but he needed to see his brother in the
future as well to know he was alright and there were no other worries about
this injury killing him.

Ling snapped the photo book shut and looked up. He was sure Ed would be
fine. He saved himself, which gave him enough time for Darius and Heinkel
to find a doctor. That was enough to reassure him that Ed wasn't going to die.
As long as he believed that, there was nothing to worry about it.

"Can we just continue?" May asked. "We still need to make sure Al is okay
after passing out."

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 45*: Episode 42: Signs of a
Counteroffensive
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Oh yeah, I'm not sure if I ever explained this about the Roy vs Ed
fight back in chapter 17, mostly because I thought it was obvious just
because I have it in my head all the time but I was reading the reviews
and some of you thought that Roy couldn't or shouldn't win. For those of
you who don't understand why Roy won. One, I recognize military hand-
to-hand combat. I know it isn't shown a lot in the anime, but in real life,
soldiers are taught hand-to-hand combat and they train in it. Just
because Mustang using Flame alchemy, I don't think he'll let his other
skills go weak. As you can tell by his muscle and the fact that he is in
shape! He knows he can't rely solely on alchemy since he can't do
anything when wet. Second, I was watching a Roy vs Ed fight scene in
FMA: Prince of the Dawn. Yeah, Mustang never throws a punch in it,
but he was fast enough in it to dodge all of Ed's attacks with his blade.
And thirdly, Ed was restraining himself in the fight with Mustang. Not
just because he didn't want to hit him with his automail hand, but also
because he knew that his automail arm was missing a piece and anything
too crazy would cause it to break like it did in the fight with Slicer. So
yeah, multiple reasons why Ed lost. Everything I do is for a reason. Like
telling you this. It's for a reason….though not important until the next
chapter.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative
Regular talking/actions

Episode 42: Signs of a Counteroffensive

Al shifted in frustration on the ground and glanced towards his bedroom door
again. He really hoped his brother didn't take too long to wake up from this.
His brother still had to be suffering in pain right now, so he hoped the pain
vanished quickly so his brother didn't have to continue to suffer. So much has
caused his brother to suffer and give up so much already. The more it
happened, the more he watched his brother continue to give up so much, the
more Al hated it. Was his brother still being punished for the human
transmutation? Whereas Al lost his whole body and now had to suffer in a
suit of armor without being able to do things a normal human did, Ed only
lost a leg, then his arm to save Al. Was that not enough punishment? Was it
because they were trying to get back what they loss as a punishment instead
of just accepting it? His hands curled into fists. His brother shouldn't have to
give up so much for him. It just wasn't fair!

The opening song began.

An abandoned house appeared on screen. Al, in pieces, appeared on

screen next.

Al looked up from his thoughts about his brother and blinked in surprise.
"Why am I in pieces?!"

"Well, you did faint on us earlier." Dr. Marcoh pointed out. "I don't think
with even Scar and two chimeras there with us that we would have been able
to carry you in one piece."

"Are you calling me heavy?" Al asked in mock offense.

Ling laughed. "Actually, Al, you might be a bit heavy. Have you thought
about weight loss programs?"

Al chuckled. "I will consider it, Ling. Though I don't think Brother would
like to pay for it."
Ling snickered. "And here I thought Colonel Mustang was the only cheap one
around."

Mustang glared at the two. "Do not start that as well. Fullmetal is bad
enough."

Ling smirked at him, but when Mustang looked away, his eyes drifted
towards his bedroom in worry. After a moment, he shook off his worry and
looked back at the screen. Staring at the bedroom door was not going to make
Ed feel any better faster. For now, Ling just had to focus on watching the
future and keeping his and everyone else's spirits up, while trusting Darius
and Heinkel to get Future Ed to a doctor in time so they wouldn't lose him.

Al looked back at the screen, hands clenching and unclenching into fists. He
was glad that Ling was joking with him. It did help take his mind off his
worry for his brother temporarily. He knew his brother was alright. Well, not
alright since he was in pain, but at least he was alive and sleeping the pain off
in dark obliviousness. His brother was strong and would make it through this
pain without much trouble. He had to believe in his brother. If he didn't
believe in Ed, then it would be impossible for him to ever trust in his brother
making it through anything without him there to back him up. His brother
was strong, mentally and physically. He didn't always need Al there to
protect him, so that meant Al had to trust in him the same way Ed trusted Al
to take care of himself.

The scene slowly pulled back to show Winry sitting on a crate, looking at
Al. She was shown from the front, staring sadly down at him. After
sighing, she turned to look at the others, who were shown to be sitting
around a fire. Yoki sneezed as the scene moved to the side to show the
rest of the group.

"Look at this," Dr. Marcoh said he was shown close up to be showing the
notes to May. "He mentions that phrase again here."

May looked closely at the notes before looking up at Dr. Marcoh. "Yet
another term for gold. It's got to be some kind of pattern."

"What are you trying to do?" Winry asked. She was shown walking over
to the group as May and Dr. Marcoh looked up at her.

"Oh, just trying to decipher a code that seems to really love the idea of gold."
May said, frowning thoughtfully. Scar's brother didn't seem the type to just
discuss gold in different terms for no reason at all. There was a pattern or a
reason he put all those different terms for gold in the notes. But what could it
possibly be? What was he trying to show them with all the mentions of it?

"We believe there's a chance these notes were written in code." Dr.
Marcoh explained.

"You think so?" Winry asked as gentle music started to play.

"Alchemists are typically very protective of their research and methods.

They bury the meaning of their notes beneath a layer of metaphors and
allegory." Dr. Marcoh explained before he looked down at the research
notes. "But these are almost straightforward. There's something else
going on."

"Your brother wasn't an alchemist for long, was he?"Ling asked Scar.

"No, he started during the war in the hopes to be able to fight against the
State Alchemists." Scar replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, if he was doing this during the war, maybe he didn't have time to
come up with a complex code for his notes. I don't know much about
alchemy and coding, but it must be difficult to come up with a code, right?"
Ling asked.

May nodded. "The difficulty of the code depends on the skill and intelligence
of the alchemist. But another reason for an almost straightforward code could
be that he didn't want to make the notes difficult to decipher because he knew
they would help one day. He gave them to his brother, who isn't an alchemist,
to protect and hope that one day the notes would help. If he used a difficult
code, it might be that we wouldn't be able to decipher it in time."

"Though with how straightforward it is, it still seems that you are having
trouble with it." Brody pointed out.
"A code, no matter how simple, will always be difficult until you understand
the situation of the alchemist who made it and what their code is based
around." Al explained. "Like Colonel's code is women's names and Brother's
code is a travelogue. Once you figure that out, you need to learn what they
are researching or at least have a basic idea of what to look for. If you don't
know that, you won't be able to understand what you are decoding."

"Argh, it's too confusing!" Luke cried, grabbing his head. "What does this
have to do with Scar's brother's research?"

"Nothing really. We are just trying to understand them." May replied.

"Well, knock it off! You're making my head hurt!" Luke snapped.

"But it is important." May said. "If you can understand that, then you will
realize it is very important to figure out what Scar's brother's code is. If we
can't figure that out, we'll never be able to understand the notes."

Mustang glared down at Ed's research notes. He knew how to decode and he
knew what Ed was researching and that he was using a travelogue to code it,
but why couldn't he figure them out? No one was good enough to make a
code that wasn't able to be decoded.

Winry was shown from behind with the group seen in front of her,
staring at her.

"We noticed that he uses several different terms for gold and immortality
across various passages, so we're checking to see if they're connected."
May explained.

"And you think that could be the code?" Winry asked.

May closed her eyes and spread her arms. "We're hoping so."

A groan was heard, making everyone turn to look at Al in surprise.

Al's armor was shown. "Huh? Where am I?"

"You're awake!" May shouted in relief. That meant that she wasn't going to
lose Al. She just hoped that nothing like Al passing out happened again. It
was hard enough seeing it happen twice in such a short timespan. There was
no way she could handle the fear of losing Al again. He just had to make it
through this.

"Well, that is one less worry." Ling said with a smile.

Al nodded. "Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."

"Well, if you did faint because of your soul connection with Ed, then it
shouldn't happen again as long as he is alright." Hughes replied with a smile.

"Yep, we just have to trust Darius and Heinkel." Al, along with quite a few
soldiers, turned to look at the two mentioned chimeras.

"Hey," Darius protested, raising his hands. "Future us said we would take him
to a doctor and we are going to. We're not just going to dump his body
somewhere. That's not our style."

"Though it does seem to be Kimblee's style." Heinkel growled.

Al chucked a bit before looking back at the screen with some worry. That
time he passed out was because of his brother's injury, but he was sure the
first time was because of his body pulling on his soul. If his brother was
alright, he would be fine. But if it was his body pulling next time without
interference from Ed getting hurt, what would happen? The thought that he
could be pulled back and not be able to return scared him. What if it
happened when no one was around? Then he would be lost and trapped in his
body inside the Portal of Truth with no one knowing. He would be lost…He
didn't want that! He wanted to continue on living with his brother and friends.
There was so much he still had to do!

"Al!" Winry shouted as she rushed over to him with May.

"Alphonse!" May shouted.

Winry collapsed onto her knees by Al and put her hands to the shoulders
of the armor. "Thank goodness you're okay. I was so scared you might
not wake up. I didn't know what to do."

"Now she is rambling in relief." Hughes said amused.

"It's rare for her to do that. She must have been really scared and worried." Al
replied.

"And why shouldn't she be?!" May glared at Al. "You passed out after saying
your body was pulling on your soul. We had every right to be scared."

Al winced. "Sorry, May. I didn't mean to worry you so much."

May huffed and turned her head away with a soft, relieved smile. Al was
awake in the future. Al was safe now and would be back on his feet soon
enough. That brought a lot of relief to her. They weren't going to lose Al to
his body. They still had time…No, Ed and Al still had time to complete their
journey. May would only be able to support them since she couldn't help
much with their journey to get their bodies back.

"Oh, sorry." Al replied. "I didn't mean to freak you out like that." His
chest was shown to show his blood seal. "So where are we? And why am
I in pieces?"

The abandoned house was shown from the outside at nighttime, light
shining through the windows from the fire.

"And that's basically it." Winry's voice was heard saying before the
room was shown from a downward angle to show everyone standing in
front of Al, who was still in pieces.

"Not that there really was much to explain. You were conscious most of the
time. The only thing you really seemed to miss was the walk to the
abandoned house and talking about the notes. Well, and Baschool, but there
is no way for any of you to know what happened there." Avery said, causing
Al and May to get depressed.

"Nice going, idiot." Clarink muttered, hitting Avery in the back of the head.

"Well, it's true." Avery muttered, rubbing his head. "None of us in the future
know the truth of what happened in that stupid building."

"Do you think we'll find out?" May asked with a frown.

Al sighed. "I don't know." He admitted. They were going to be traveling in a

way to avoid any cities since they couldn't risk getting spotted by soldiers so
any news of his missing brother might not ever reach their ears. And if by
some miracle they do find out, they aren't going to know much since no one
except Ed, Darius, and Heinkel know the full story of what happened in the
mine. It would be a hard thing to hear since no one knew the full story and
those who did weren't going to start spreading it around. His hand clenched
into a fist. But if they somehow did hear about his missing brother in the
future then he just had to believe in his brother. He would never let his belief
in his brother falter again like it did back during the Fifth Lab incident.

"As for why you're in pieces, you're too heavy to carry whole." Scar
explained as the scene slowly started to zoom in on the group. "We had
to dismantle you."

"Huh, that makes sense." Al replied. "Sorry to put you guys out like
that."

"Has this ever happened to you before?" Winry asked.

"Just once." Al replied. "When I was trying to find you guys."

Winry and May, both looking sad, and Dr. Marcoh, who was holding the
notes to his chest, appeared on screen.

"Well then, I can't imagine it's very comfortable being scattered about
like that. Why don't we start putting you back together?" Dr. Marcoh
said.

"Good way to get rid of the somber mood May and Winry seemed to be
falling into." Hughes said with a grin.

"And how is that?" Mustang asked.

"It's a puzzle!" Hughes said excitedly. "They have to reassemble the pieces in
the right places like a puzzle!"

"Are you referring to me as a puzzle?" Al asked blandly.

"Well, he is right about you kind of being one at the moment." Havoc pointed
out.

Al sighed. "Honestly, is this what I deserve at the moment?"

Al's chest appeared on screen, showing his blood seal again. "Please. If
you don't mind."

May and Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen with the latter holding the
notes out to May. "Can you hold onto this while we fix him?"

May took the notes before Dr. Marcoh made his way over to the pieces of
Al. He kneeled down and picked up two pieces of the armor. "Let's
see…" He looked at the pieces. "This goes…"

Winry came over and kneeled down. "Isn't that a part of his right
shoulder?"

Hughes grinned widely while Al smacked his forehead. "Puzzle."

Al groaned.

Ling laughed. "It really has turned into a game of 'how to assemble an
Alphonse.'"

Al smacked his forehead. "What did I do to deserve this?" He asked again.

"You allowed yourself to be disassembled." Clarink said with a grin.

"I allowed nothing! I was passed out!" Al retorted.

"Which means you allow yourself to let what happens happen when you
sleep or pass out." Clarink teased.

"….That makes no sense." Al muttered.

"Sure it does." Clarink replied with a smirk. "You just don't want it to make
sense."

"Oh, yes, seems to be. I guess we should reassemble him correctly." Dr.
Marcoh said as Winry bent down to pick up another piece.

May's eyes narrowed in thought. From what she understood without having
seen the notes, the terms for gold and immortality were all throughout the
book, but other than that they couldn't find the meaning of the code. But what
if it was more than that. It wasn't just an importance of gold and immortality
that Scar's brother was trying to tell them. Maybe the meaning of it could be
found by reassembling the pieces of the notes that had to do with gold and
immortality. Oh, if only she had the notes in front of her so she could figure
this out.

"That would be really appreciated." Al sighed. "I don't need to be designed to

look like a strange monster."

"Are you sure?" Ling asked excitedly. "That might be fun."

Al looked at him dryly. "No, Ling, no."

"Doesn't it feel like something is missing with Ling's teasing and jokes?"
Riza asked softly.

"His other half." Hughes replied with a sigh.

Riza glanced towards the boys' bedroom where Ling's "other half" was.
"They do seem to manage to fall into a good rhythm of teasing and jokes
when together. It's amazing how well they get along." She glanced at Hughes
and Mustang. "Then again, it's amazing you two get along so well. Colonel
seems to want to set you on fire quite a bit."

Hughes grinned. "He never means it."

"Just like Fullmetal never means it when he says he wants to hit Ling."
Mustang retorted, glaring at his friend.

"But he hits Ling all….the….time…." Hughes inched away from Mustang

until he hit the armrest. "I'm just going to sit over here."

May appeared on screen. She gasped softly before gentle music started
as Scar, Yoki, and Jerso were shown to be putting together Al's legs.
"Reassemble…" Al's shoulder was shown as someone put part of the
arm back in its place. "…the pieces." May said before she was shown,
staring at them. She looked down at the research notes in her hand. She
turned to look at the side with the bindings. She started to rip the
bindings out and let the pages fall to the ground.

Dr. Marcoh gaped at the screen.

"Well, someone has clearly lost it." Brody said with a teasing grin at May.

"What are you doing?" Dr. Marcoh asked loudly in shock. "Now everything
is going to be all out of order."

"I know, I know." May said quickly. "But hear me out here."

"I'm listening." Al said interested.

"I think the answer will be found by taking the notes apart and connecting the
parts about gold and immortality." May explained.

"Like a puzzle?" Miles asked.

May smiled and nodded. "Yes."

"Wow, first the Al puzzle, now the alchemy puzzle. You guys sure get to
have a lot of fun in the middle of nowhere" Ling said with a grin.

Al smacked his forehead. It seems he wasn't the only one missing Ed if Ling
was being like this so much right now. He was telling too many jokes for Al's
liking. And, they only just started to!

"But isn't that a strange code to have? Just connect the pieces?" Lan Fan
asked. "It doesn't seem very protected."

"Maybe Scar was the real protection to these research notes." Hughes said
with a grin. "He protected the secret that his brother wanted known when the
time was right."

"Makes sense. I don't see anyone wanting to steal from someone like Scar."
Havoc replied dryly.

The group reassembling Al was shown as Winry looked over in surprise.

"What are you doing, May?!" Winry asked shocked, getting the
attention of the rest of the group.

Dr. Marcoh looked over his shoulder before gasping in horror and
dropping Al's arm as he stood up. "What have you done?" He asked as
he rushed over to May, who was on her hands and knees as she looked at
all the papers on the ground. "How could you be so careless, May?"

May huffed. "I am not careless. Everything I do is for a reason."

"Even attacking Brother for no reason at all?" Al teased.

May blushed. "I have apologized multiple times for that so I think we should
just let it go."

"But you've also attacked him multiple times." Al pointed out.

May huffed. "Let it go, Alphonse."

May scooped up some of the pages and looked around at the other pages.

Dr. Marcoh kneeled down and started to pick up the pages.

May was shown from behind as Scar and Winry approached the two.

"We need to rearrange the pieces." May said as the two kneeled down.
As the group looked up in surprise, May reappeared on screen, looking
at the pages in her hands. "What if we try connecting each occurrence
for the world gold and immortality by physically overlapping them?"

The ground was shown as May laid down the pages, overlapping them
like she said to. Dr. Marcoh, Scar, and Winry were shown to be watching
her work. Scar and Dr. Marcoh shared a look before Scar started to
gather up some papers while Marcoh looked at the ones he was holding.

"An immortal being." Dr. Marcoh said. "This phrase appears earlier in
the notes."

May was shown from a downward angle, leaning over the pages she
already laid down. She pointed at a section. "Huh? A 'True Being?' That
overlaps here!" She took the page and laid it down.

"So you have to lay them down in the right order?" Skylak asked. "And if it's
in the wrong order you won't find the right message? It really is a puzzle!"

"Though it is a slightly harder than normal puzzle." Walkers pointed out.

"Which do you think is harder? Al or this code?"

"Still referred to as a puzzle." Al muttered dejected.

May patted his arm. "I'm sure it will only happen until we have you put back
together."

"Though, who knows when that will happen? They abandoned you to play
with the code puzzle." Ling said with a smirk.

"I really feel the care in the air." Al grumbled.

Ling laughed.

"Sorry, Al. I guess I was just excited to see if my idea was right." May said
with a sheepish smile.

Al sighed. "Don't worry about it. I am used to it from Ed. And I have to say,
I'm curious as well. I hope we are about to learn something."

"Now where did I see this?" Dr. Marcoh talked to himself as he looked at
the pages. He grabbed a page. "Here."

Scar held his hand out. "Let me take a look at those other pages,
Marcoh."

Dr. Marcoh handed them over as May said excitedly, "Golden! That
connects over here."

The rest of the group, minus Al, were shown, watching them work.

"You know, you could spend the time they are working on that helping Al
out." Cyril pointed out.

"But watching them is so fascinating." Jerso said sarcastically.

"I would love to be able to watch properly, maybe even help them." Al said
dryly.

"Fine. We deeply apologize for forgetting to put you back together."

Zampano replied mockingly.

"That's all I ask for." Al said amused.

"And what about 'Aurelian?'" Scar asked.

"Oh yeah! Right here!" May said.

The abandoned house was shown from the outside.

The papers appeared on screen.

"That's the last one." Dr. Marcoh said as he laid down the last sheet.

The scene pulled up to show all the notes neatly connected.

The group was shown to be staring down at the notes.

"Uh," May gasped. "I wonder if we…"

A portion of the notes was shown as May drew along the notes with a
pencil. Another portion of the notes was shown as she connected a line to
an array to make a point. A third portion of the array was shown as she
made a point with a line she already drew.

Jerso, Yoki, and Zampano were shown as they watched her. Scar and
Dr. Marcoh were shown next. Both of them gasped as May finished.

"It can't be!" Dr. Marcoh said.

May was shown as she sat up.

With a dramatic bang, the group and the notes were shown from a
downward angle to show a countrywide transmutation circle drawn on
the notes.

"It's the transmutation array again." Olivier growled. "Scar's brother

discovered the truth before everyone else did, besides Hohenheim. And he
did it without having to learn about the Homunculi first."

"That's amazing, but it's too late for that to do anything to help us." Mustang
sighed. "We already know about it."

"I know what you mean." Dr. Marcoh sighed in disappointment. "I was
hoping for something that could help us save the country." Learning about the
same countrywide transmutation circle from these research notes would do
nothing to help them stop Father or his Homunculi. Maybe he was just too
eager to find something that could help them if he was relying on someone to
save them. Now there was only disappointment and a loss of what to do to
feel.

"So, it was just all a waste of time?" Myers asked in frustration. "We still
don't know a way to save the country?"

Scar's hand clenched into a fist. His brother knew what was going on even
back then. If only he wasn't so angry back then about everything, then maybe
he could have realized this horrible truth sooner. But he didn't, and that
couldn't be changed, but still, even with these notes, was there really no
information his brother could leave them about how to stop this? His brother
really couldn't just leave them with this information and no way to stop
Father. He knew his brother would never do that unless he really did find no
way to stop this. That's just the kind of person his brother was. Even after
discovering something so horrible, he really would not have stopped working
on it until he found a way to stop it. Or did his brother really die without
finding a way to stop this even after all of his research that he did during the
war? His brother had to have left them more than just this. This couldn't be
the end…

"It's the countrywide transmutation circle." Al said.

Dr. Marcoh sighed as he sat down on the ground. "It's too late for this to
help us now."

Zampano was shown, glaring at Dr. Marcoh. "Wait, you saying what I
think? You mean these damn research notes are completely useless to
us!"

Jerso's hands clenched into fists. This couldn't just be it. There had to be
something more in these notes. He hated that all of this could have really all
have been for nothing. Hatred and even feared it a bit. Feared it for his
family. If the notes couldn't tell them a way to stop that transmutation, then
how would they save their country and their families? It couldn't just end
here. He already lost his family because of the experiments done to his body.
He couldn't let this countrywide transmutation circle now take them away
from him forever. There might still be a chance of him getting his normal
body back and him being able to go back home to see them. He wanted to
hold onto that hope.

Yoki and Jerso were shown as the latter shouted, "No way! You can't be
serious! But what about the…What's gonna happen to our families? Our
country?"

Dr. Marcoh's face was shown up close as he grimaced in dismay. "I'm

sorry. I should've known this was an act of futility. It was naïve to think
someone else's research could save us."

"What's naïve about it?" Aran asked with a frown. "Why can't someone else's
research save us? It's not like we can come up with everything on our own.
Sometimes you just have to rely on someone else to come up with a solution
when you can't. And sometimes, that is where the best answer comes from."

"That 'it's good to be strong, but when you need to, you can lean on your
comrades for help' thing you believe in." Clarink said with a grin.

Aran shrugged. "Why not? If you can't believe in your comrades, who can
you put your trust in?"

Scar was shown, staring at the trembling Dr. Marcoh and the notes.
'Brother, is this really all you were trying to tell me?' The transmutation
array was shown. 'After all of your research, you couldn't see a way to stop
this?' Scar was shown, staring down at the notes with a frown.

"We're missing something." Al declared, making Scar turn to look at

him.

The rest of the group was shown as they turned to look at Al in surprise.

Al appeared on screen. "We've only broken the first code, and I bet
there's more! There's got to be some other message hidden in there!"

"You sure are being optimist." Luke said sadly.

"Or maybe you are just being downers!" Al retorted. "I've cracked alchemic
codes before. The first thing you discover in the notes does not always mean
it is the only thing to discover. If you don't keep looking for the rest, you are
going to miss it completely."

"How can you be sure?" Heinkel asked.

"Because why would he just give us the transmutation circle without a way to
stop it?" Al asked. "It makes sense that he would make the first part of the
code the transmutation circle because why would he just give us a solution to
stop it without telling us what we need it for? He couldn't have known that
we would discover the secret of the country before we started working on his
notes."

Mustang nodded. "That makes complete sense. If we only got the solution,
we would have no clue about what it was for if we didn't already know about
the countrywide transmutation circle."

"If there is more to the notes, how do we find it?" May asked with a frown.
"We only managed to find this one because we were looking at gold and
immortality because of what we know about the Philosopher's Stone and
Homunculi."

Al sighed. "I'm not sure. You already took the notes apart to find this part of
the code. I don't think it will be so easy to put them back together and find the
next part. It seems a bit impractical anyway."

"Everything with alchemists is impractical." Hughes grumbled.

Dr. Marcoh was shown as he stared at Al. After a few seconds, he

nodded and looked back at the notes.

The scene changed to show them looking at the transmutation circle

again. Zampano and Yoki were shown from behind as the scene
continued to move to the side to show Jerso. Yoki appeared on screen as
he sneezed, which disrupted the papers and blew them into the air. Jerso
quickly leaned forward to push the papers down before glaring at him.

"Whoa! Can't you cover your mouth, you idiot!" Jerso snapped.

Yoki rubbed his nose. He crossed his arms and looked away. "Well,
thanks for caring that I'm getting sick! I can't help the fact that I'm
catching pneumonia!"

"Who cares?!" Jerso snapped.

Zampano and Al were shown as the former shifted through the pages.

"You can't even tell which side of the page is right side up anymore."
Zampano said as he lifted a page and looked at one side then the other
side.

The scene rapidly zoomed in on Al as he gasped.

"Well, look, now Al's realized something. First, May realized something and
now Al has. Where is your help in this, Dr. Marcoh, Scar? I think the kids are
outdoing you." Hughes said with a grin.

"Who could keep up when they keep realizing everything with simple
sentences?" Havoc asked.

Al laughed. "Actually, I think the person who really outdid himself is Scar's
brother. He did want us to be able to decode the notes so he coded them in a
way that as long as we had an idea of what we were looking for, we could
find it by making it a puzzle and connecting the pieces. It was an ingenious,
simple code he created."

Mustang narrowed his eyes in thought. Simple code? They were first
confused by the code since they didn't know how to decipher it and were
making it harder than it was, but then it turned out to be simpler than they
realized. He glared down at Ed's notes. No way that kid would make his notes
so complex to throw people off and the real code was actually simple. Or
would he hide the simple code under the complex one since he didn't think
anyone would be able to see it under the complexity? His eye twitched a bit
in annoyance as he thought. If Fullmetal wasn't unconscious and already in
pain, he would hit the brat for making this so confusing.

The group was shown sitting around the notes as Jerso and Zampano
lifted up pages and looked at them.

"Good job, moron. You blew the whole damn thing upside down!" Jerso
said.

Dr. Marcoh leaned forward to help.

"That's got to be it!" Al said, making the group look at him again. He
was shown. "You take a bad situation and you turn it around! There's
two sides!" The group was shown as they looked at him. "We've got to
put it back together and then flip it over!"

"That seems to be really too simple." Brody said surprised.

"Because he wanted us to discover it!" Al and May said together before

looking at each other with the latter blushing.

Ling grinned evilly. "So, Al, about what I was telling you about earlier…"

"Shut it, Ling." Al snapped.

The group gasped softly before the completed transmutation array

appeared on screen.

Dramatic music began as hands reached forward and started to flip the
pages over. Different parts of the transmutation circle were shown as the
pages were flipped over. May's pencil appeared on screen once more as it
drew over the pages. She drew lines connecting the different arrays on
the pages.

Winry and May were shown with Al behind them as May sighed when
she finished.

"Well?" Al asked.

May and Winry were shown from behind as the former turned to look at
him. "You were right, Al."

Dr. Marcoh, Scar, and Jerso were shown from an upward angle as they
looked at the new transmutation circle.

"This is it."

The scene moved to the side to show Zampano and Yoki as he stood up.

"It's a new Amestrian transmutation circle." The new transmutation

circle was shown. "But it's activated through Xingese Alkahestry
instead."

"Xingese Alkahestry?" Dr. Marcoh repeated before he smiled. "Then it is

lucky for us that an Alkahestrist came to Amestris and ran into us. With you
here, May, it will be easier for us to come to understand this transmutation
circle."
"It's a really interesting design. I've never seen anything like it." Armstrong
said. "I wonder what it will do that will help us."

May shook her head. "Even I couldn't tell you that until I studied it and the
notes more carefully." She smiled. "But it does seem to be taking advantage
of the transmutation circle already around dug around the country. I bet that
Father guy never expected anyone to come up with another way to use his
countrywide transmutation circle to their advantage."

"Signs of a Counteroffensive"

"So, you took the notes apart and found the secrets within them?" Mustang
looked down at Ed's note with a thoughtful smirk and ripped the binding
apart. Well, he's tried a lot of different methods with this code. What is one
more method to decode them going to hurt?

Hearing the ripping, Al looked over at Mustang to see all of his brother's
notes coming undone. "AH! Brother's research! Colonel, what have you
done?! He's going to kill us all! You don't mess with his research like that!
You have to fix it before he wakes up!"

"Never ! I am going to decode them!" Mustang declared.

"How is ripping the binding going to help?! I'm pretty sure his notes are not
coded the same way as Scar's brother's notes." Al cried, grabbing his head.
Oh, his brother was going to blame him for not protecting his notes while he
was down.

Mustang ignored Al's moans and started to shift through the pages. They had
to be some type of pattern to them. He slid onto the floor and started to order
the pages on the ground as he thought it over.

Hughes laughed as he stared at his friend. "I think you're the one who has
really lost it, Roy."

"This is no laughing matter!" Al shouted.

"Al, just relax and come help me shift through these pages." Mustang said
unconcerned.

"That would make me an accomplice to this madness! And if I become an

accomplice, I won't be spared any of Brother's wrath. But if I sit quietly over
here, minding my own business, maybe he'll go easy on me!" Al retorted.

Ling raised a brow. "Isn't he just going to be angry at you since you're his
brother and you didn't protect his notes at all for him? Cause if that's the case,
I don't think you're being spared no matter what you do."

"And what about you, best friend." Al retorted. "Where were you with
protecting his notes?"

"That's not my area." Ling replied with a grin as he lifted Ed's photo book.
"But I am protecting his book."

Al screamed. "Why do you have that?!" He buried his face in his hands as he
groaned. No one else was supposed to know about that book!

"Yeah, you really are not good at watching his books, are you?" Ling asked
amused.

"Oooh, the book! We can finally see what's in it!" Hughes said excitedly until
Ling pulled it away.

"I, unlike Al, will protect the book I have been entrusted with." Ling said
firmly.

"No one entrusted you with that!" Al shouted.

The walls of the mine appeared on screen. The scene moved to the side to
show Kimblee walking down the tunnel with a lantern. His feet appeared
on screen next. Blood dripped down to the ground.

Kimblee's hand was shown, covered in blood, as he licked it up.

"What is wrong with him?" Skylak asked.

"We always knew he was psychotic." Brody muttered. "Guess he must really
like the taste of his own blood."

"Well, if he likes blood so much, he must be a vampire!" Hughes declared.

He sighed when everyone just gave him blank or annoyed looks. "I need Ed
here to glare at me for saying stupid stuff! You are all useless!"

"I'm actually wondering if he really could be a vampire." Ling said. "But I

don't think vampires drink their own blood."

"Blood is blood." Hughes replied.

"You two are idiots." Mustang said.

"Says the alchemist going so crazy over research notes he pointlessly ripped
their binding." Hughes retorted.

Mustang glared at him. "I will figure this out!" He shifted through a few
pages about Ed's travels through New Optain two years ago according to the
timestamp. He frowned as he tried to remember about a trip that Ed took to
there. All the notes discussed were the town, people he met, and anything he
liked or hated about it. There was nothing important on the first layer of this,
but they had to be something underneath it.

A dark section of the mines appeared on screen. It lit up as Kimblee

walked into that section of the mine.

"Seriously, how did he escape that explosion unscratched?" Rebecca asked

annoyed. He was the one to cause the explosion. Like Ed, he was in the thick
of it so how did he manage to avoid getting injured?

He stopped and lifted his lantern as he licked his lips. 'There's no

evidence that someone's come through this way. I might have taken the
wrong path after all. Guess I'll turn back.' He turned to go back, but
stopped and looked over his shoulder at something that caught his eye.

A painted red 'X' appeared on screen.

Kimblee was shown.

The scene changed to show Kimblee from behind as he stared at the door
that had the big red 'X' on it.

The door was shown from the other side as it was opened and Kimblee's
lantern lit up the stairs. The scene changed angles to show the stairs
from Kimblee's view. He was shown from the front as he stared down
the stairs before he started walking down.

The dark tunnel was shown as the scene slowly moved down to show
Kimblee walking down the stairs. A skull and some bones appeared on
screen as Kimblee stopped by them. He was shown looking down at
them.

"Why the hell are there bones in a mining tunnel?" Walkers asked.

"Well, that area was marked off for a reason. Maybe they found something
that they shouldn't have and they got killed for it." Ross said with a frown.

He turned away to look at the other parts of the tunnel. The scene
changed angles to show him from the side looking at a railroad track. It
moved to the side to show mine carts lying all over the place.

"And what do we have here?" Kimblee asked as one of the mining carts
was shown up close. "They must've been using this place to dispose of
the excess rubble from the tunnel that Sloth has been digging." The
scene changed to show a conveyor belt and some rubble.

"As part of the mine?" Fuery asked shocked.

"I would run from Baschool." Brosh muttered.

"Maybe that is why Baschool is abandoned." Miles said. "We never knew
why the town became abandoned, but maybe they came across the tunnel and
Pride in it. Unexplainable deaths caused by shadows? It is likely they would
abandon the town after learning about something like that because of the fear
he would have spread."

"That just sounds horrible. They unknowingly reached one of the most
dangerous and most protected places in the country." Riza said.

"One of the most protected places in the country which will be used to
destroy the country." Buccaneer said, shaking his head. "That is just messed
up."

Kimblee was shown as the shadows suddenly spread on the screen all
around him before eyes suddenly appeared on it. Kimblee's eye was
shown up close as he looked at Pride out of the corner of his eyes.

Pride was shown, shadow waving around a bit on screen. "You must be
the Crimson Alchemist. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Pride."
He said as the scene slowly pulled back to show Kimblee standing
immobile.

"Yep, Pride is definitely haunting that place. He wasted no time in getting

there." Brody said.

"Good thing we had Yoki to guide us and we obeyed the big red x's or that
could have been us meeting Pride." May said with a shiver. From what she
has seen Pride do to the Briggs soldiers in the tunnel, he was one of the few
Homunculi that actually caused shivers to go down her spine.

Kimblee was shown from behind. "Can I help you with something,
Pride?"

Kimblee's feet appeared on screen. With the light from his lantern
surrounding them, Pride's shadow hands crawled onto screen.

"Any new developments with Scar?" Pride asked.

"I'm actually pursuing him now." Kimblee replied.

"And doing a horrible job of it." Grants said.

"How do you think Pride would react if he heard that Kimblee almost killed
one of the sacrifices? Think he would kill Kimblee on the spot?" Cyril asked.

"Seems more like something Wrath would do." Richards replied.

"Either way, it would be nice if we could just get Kimblee out of our hair. We
have enough dangerous enemies to deal with." Cyril replied.

"We were close to getting rid of him." Luke sighed. "If only he didn't sense
our intent to kill him."

"Worry about him later. As for now, go ahead and carve the Crest of
Blood at Briggs." Pride said.

A portion of Kimblee's face was shown with Pride seen behind him.
"With all due respect, Pride, the soldiers of Briggs are much stronger
and more resourceful than you might realize. It's not exactly a simple
task."

"Then use their strength to your favor." Pride replied, surprising

Kimblee enough that he looked at Pride out of the corner of his eye.

Olivia growled angrily. So they were finally going to make the final Crest of
Blood at her fort. It was only a matter of time until that happened, but that
didn't mean she had to like that they were going to use the strength of Briggs
to help complete the transmutation circle. It fact it infuriated her that her
men's strength would be used to spill blood for transmutation. The spilling
blood wasn't a problem. It was their job as soldiers to spill the blood of those
that threatened the country. The fact that the spill blood would be used to
help a transmutation to kill the citizens of Amestris is what infuriated her
beyond belief.

Sloth appeared on screen, pulling dirt and rock away violently. He was
shown from behind, still digging, as slow, suspenseful music began to
play.

"Sloth is nearing completion of the tunnel, so there's little time left."

Pride said.

Kimblee was shown from a downward angle. "Hmm," He smirked. "So

it's an urgent matter. Well, if you insist that I carve the Crest of Blood at
Briggs," His face was shown up close to show his cruel smile. "I'd be
happy to oblige you."
"Well, at least Ed doesn't have to be involved in helping with that anymore."
Ling said.

"Probably the only advantage of what happened." Mustang replied darkly.

Olivia smirked. "Actually, I believe there is one more."

Mustang looked up at her. "And that would be?"

"Darius and Heinkel chose not to reveal that they are still alive and left with
Fullmetal, which means he is off the radar and the Homunculi won't be able
to keep an eye on him." Olivia explained.

"So basically my brother is on a vacation from the military by being on the

run from them." Al said a bit amused and a bit worriedly.

"Sounds like it, but I'm sure he'll be fine." Ling said with a grin.

Al's eyes narrowed.

Ling shrugged. "Well, after the whole doctor visit. I'm sure his transmutation
gave them enough time to find one and he is safely tucked into
bed!...Hopefully."

Al looked confused at the Xingese, but nodded anyway.

Fort Briggs appeared on screen as a car drove towards it. The car was
shown up close as it sped closer to Fort Briggs before the scene slowly
started to move up to show the towering wall.

The door to Fort Briggs was shown as they slid open to show a waiting
Buccaneer and Falman. They both saluted and said together, "Welcome
back to the fort, Major."

"Any changes to report?" Miles asked as he walked in.

Falman and Buccaneer were shown from the side as they lowered their
salutes.
"None since we spoke." Buccaneer replied. "The situation is still normal
here." Miles walked passed them, causing the two soldiers to turn and
follow him. "But we've heard that Kimblee has gone missing."

"I wonder where he went." Luke said with a frown.

"If I had to guess, probably to find a way to create a Crest of Blood using the
strength of Briggs." Brody said sarcastically.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I know that. I just wonder why he had to disappear all
of a sudden to do it."

The three were shown from behind.

"You heard right. There was an explosion in one of the mineshafts."

Miles replied. "No one's heard from Kimblee or a few others since then.
We did a thorough search through the rubble, but no bodies turned up."

"That must have taken a long time considering how big of an explosion it
was." Lan Fan said. "How long would you have searched for?"

Miles sighed. "I'm not sure, but I'm sure there is a time skip of a few days
since the explosion." A flash of gold light in front of him surprised him since
this usually only happened to Fullmetal. He caught the letter with ease. "The
Briggs soldiers were in Baschool for ten days searching the rubble. Thanks
for trying so hard. V.H."

Hughes's brows furrowed in confusion. "'Thanks for trying so hard?'"

"Maybe Chief was right and it is Hohenheim that brought us here." Havoc
said with a smirk.

"It makes sense since I don't see why anyone else would be saying thanks."
Al replied. "But ten days, really?" He looked over at the Briggs soldiers
happily. "That is a long time. Thanks for trying so hard to find them."

"I'm not saying it is bad to try so hard, but why did you? Ten days of
searching is a bit extreme. If he didn't die immediately from that attack, he
could have frozen to death, starved to death, or even died from his injuries
during that time." Lan Fan said with a frown. "Were you trying to find a body
to confirm death or hoping not to find a body because it would mean that he
was alive and escaped?"

"Oi, it's all about Fullmetal. I don't think they care for us." Darius said.

Miles shrugged. "In the future, we still consider you enemies, even more so
since we know you attacked Fullmetal."

Heinkel shrugged. "He's got us there. They don't know we are helping
Fullmetal now."

Miles turned to Lan Fan. "And we would search that long for any comrade.
Yes, we probably already assumed he was dead after a few days, but we
wouldn't give up until we searched through all the rubble to find his body,
especially since they might be a very small chance that Fullmetal was still
alive. But also not finding a body would be a great relief to us since it might
mean there is a chance he escaped and is alive."

"Though you would be confused why he didn't come find you." Ling said
which made Miles nod in agreement.

"I think all the reasons can get a little jumbled, but I think I get it." Lan Fan
added. "You needed proof if he was dead or you would regret it forever if he
was down there and you didn't do anything to help."

Cyril nodded. "You got it. It would be abandoning a comrade if we just

believed he instantly died and didn't do a thing. That isn't how we operate. He
may not be a Briggs soldier, but Fullmetal is a close comrade so we could
never forgive ourselves if we didn't do anything."

"He could be a Briggs soldier." Aran muttered quietly, making Brody and
Avery laugh.

"Trying to steal him?" Avery asked amused.

Aran shrugged. "Was just saying. Why don't we have any alchemists
stationed at Briggs anyway?"
"General Armstrong gets annoyed by most State Alchemists and hates quite a
bit of them." Brody explained. "You've seen how much she likes Colonel
Mustang."

Aran laughed. "Makes sense now."

Buccaneer and Falman were shown as they exchanged looks. When they
looked back at Miles, Buccaneer asked, "Are the other men that are
missing Briggs soldiers?"

Miles's feet appeared on screen as he stopped. The scene changed to

show his hand which was curled into a fist as Falman and Buccaneer
stopped to watch him. "No. They were two of Kimblee's men." Miles
said before he was shown from behind. He turned his head a bit. "And
the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Buccaneer and Falman appeared on screen, gasping in shock and

horror.

"Well, no going back now." Hughes sighed. "He'll be declared MIA now."

"MIA is missing in action, right? What will that mean for Ed, Darius, and
Heinkel?" May asked curiously.

Hughes nodded. "It does mean that. Being declared it will mean that they
were either killed in action and they haven't found the bodies yet, they've
become a prisoner, are seriously wounded and missing, or they have deserted
the military. If the military declares their MIA cases as because they have
deserted, they are going to hunt them down, particularly Ed since the
Homunculi need him."

Al sighed. "So they really will be on the run from the military."

"Can't the same be considered for you?" Sheska asked. "They need you as
well."

Al shrugged. "It is more like I am hiding out since I am not military, so they
really can't use their resources to track me down without a valid reason,
which they do not have."

"At the moment." Riza pointed out. "They could try to find one or try to
locate you on the excuse that Edward might be with you."

"Isn't that a cheery thought?" Al mumbled.

Dramatic music started to play as the three were shown from a

downward angle.

A house covered in snow appeared on screen.

"Is that so?" Breda asked. "Fullmetal's missing?"

Falman appeared on screen, holding a phone up.

"I hope he's alright." Breda said.

"Me too." Falman replied.

"Does needing surgery from being impaled sound alright?" May grumbled.

"So basically, we need to the get the kid to a doctor that can be discreet so he
can cut the kid's recently closed flesh back open to save his organs, then
stitch him back shut?" Heinkel asked.

May nodded. "And since you guys are avoiding the military now, it's going to
be hard."

"Fullmetal always did like to make things really complicated." Mustang

murmured. He frowned as he shifted Ed's notes around. So Falman is alerting
Breda of Ed being MIA. As long as things worked out right, the memo about
Fullmetal should reach his ears if his team manages to get the info to him
promptly.

"So are things any better there?"

The sign for West City Station appeared on screen.

"Afraid not." Breda replied before a map of Amestris was shown. It was
slowly zoomed in on to show the west. "The border war at Pendleton was
a massacre." Breda appeared on screen, standing at a phone booth with
his arm in a sling. "If the military was hoping for causalities, they sure as
hell got them."

Breda rubbed his arm a bit as some pain flooded his system. It wasn't much,
but it was enough to grab his attention. Since there wasn't much pain, he had
to guess that the injury wasn't that bad or it was a couple days old. Either
way, it was nothing worth complaining about.

Mustang growled softly to himself. He knew that causalities were going to

happen in war, but this was just too much. Their government was starting
wars to create Crest of Bloods and sending their men to die for their own
selfish purposes. How many people died needless deaths because of the
corruption? Those from their own side and those from other countries or even
their own civilians that were caught in the crossfire of the greed and
corruption of those old idiot generals. He almost snorted at that. Old idiot
generals. Great, now he was insulting his superiors the same way Fullmetal
did. Not that they didn't deserve the insults for what they were planning.

He turned around to show his back to the screen. "It's just like you
said."

A woman and her child passed over the screen, blocking Breda briefly
from view.

"They're sending men in to be slaughtered for this transmutation circle."

Breda said. His face was shown from the side.

"What's going on in the south?" Falman asked. "Have you spoken with
Fuery?"

"We talked on the phone a while back."

A map of Amestris appeared on screen again, this time heading to the

south of the map.
"It's just as bad down there."

The map faded out to be replaced by a battlefield

"They're locked in combat with Aerugo."

The scene slowly moved to the side as bombs hit the ground, exploding
upon impact and causing smoke to rise into the air. More and more
bombs hit the ground, going off at they did. As the scene continued to
move to the side, the bombs got closer to the screen until one hit so close
that it covered the whole screen with smoke. The scene moved forward
through the smoke to show the trenches with two soldiers running
through them.

The soldiers were shown up close, running through the trenches,

carrying communication wire between them as they dodged bombs.
Fuery was shown from the side until an explosion hit too close and he
was sent tumbling forward. As he rolled across the ground, his helmet
bounced off.

Fuery groaned a bit at the sudden soreness that tore through his muscles and
limbs. He felt battered and bruised over. He smirked wryly as he rubbed his
shoulders. Guess that is what happens when one is in war and constantly
fighting to survive. He has seen battle. And why wouldn't he have? As part of
Colonel Mustang's team, they have faced a lot of enemies whenever they go
"fishing," but he has never seen war until future him gets sent south to fight.
Those cases with the team and war were really different. He knew that one
day he might have to go to war since he is a soldier and he wasn't scared to
fight, but to survive. He had to survive. There was no way he would just die
to become more split blood to be used for a Crest of Blood. He had to survive
to fight another day to stop this conspiracy. It was his duty as a soldier to
protect the country and he would hold true to that duty.

Fuery was shown from behind as he lay on the ground. He groaned a bit
as he struggled to push himself up. "Keep moving, Thomas. Just don't
stop! Thomas!" He sat up and turned to face his comrade. The scene
moved to the side to show his friend's smoking corpse covered in dirt.
Fuery reappeared on screen as he turned away and closed his eyes before
reopening them and looking ahead in determination. "Damn it!" He
climbed to his feet and started running through the trench again. "I'm
gonna survive this! I'm gonna live!" He was shown from behind as he
ran through the trenches. "I won't die for this!"

A bomb hit the ground behind him and filled the screen with smoke,
blocking him from view.

Buccaneer smirked. "That's the spirit!"

"Meaning you won't die to become part of the Crest of Blood for their
transmutation circle." Breda asked.

Fuery nodded. "I won't be used for their cruel plan. I will not be a victim for
them. It won't make much difference in making the Crest of Blood, but…"

Havoc smirked. "You just want to defy it all and help to end the higher ups
corrupt reign."

"That is one way to put it." Fuery replied.

The smoke faded away to show Falman back on screen. "…That's

terrible."

"I guess it's to be expected. The higher ups aren't our biggest fans."
Breda said.

Skylak snorted. "That is what tends to happens when you are running around
Central, getting in the way of their evil plans."

"Have you been in touch with the Colonel?" Breda asked.

"Yeah. We've been using a messenger connected to the Armstrong

family." Falman replied.

The messenger appeared on screen, smirking as she turned towards the

screen with a flower in her hand.

Breda appeared on screen, eyes shut. "Good to hear. Just be careful with
everything going on up there."

"I am…well, trying to be." Falman replied.

Breda opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder with a frown.

Falman reappeared on screen. The scene moved down to show his legs
with one them bent so his foot was resting on the wall. "Bradley's got his
soldiers everywhere up here, working around the clock to create Hell on
Earth."

"And that is what happens to us when we get involved and meet Sloth and
then have our leader take out a General." Buccaneer said with a smirk. Briggs
would not falter because soldiers from Central were trying to make things
hard for them. And he emphasized try. Briggs soldiers wouldn't become weak
and helpless because of those weaklings from Central.

The scene continued to moved down to reach underground as the sound

of digging was heard. "And the worst part is there's nothing we can do."

The scene went dark for a moment before the scene was being ripped
away to show Sloth digging through dirt and rock. Sloth pulled away
some more rock and looked through the hole he created as the rocks fell
apart and slammed into the ground. Sloth was shown from behind as
more rocks hit the ground and suspenseful music starts to play.

"So I guess that means the circle has finally been completed." Ross said with
a sigh. "Well, it was only a matter of time. I didn't realize they were that close
to completing it when you guys ran into Sloth in Briggs."

"No wonder they want to get the last Crest of Blood at Briggs completed
quickly." Miles said with a frown.

"Though they are still missing a sacrifice." Armstrong replied. "They can do
nothing with only four sacrifices."

"Then we just have to make sure a fifth alchemist who did human
transmutation doesn't show up." Mustang said as he continued to flip through
Ed's notes.

"Getting anywhere over there?" Al asked dryly. "Doesn't seem to be going

too well. I suggest you put the notes back together."

Mustang shot him a glare. "I will not give up."

"How do you plan to put those notes back together when you do? You don't
know the order Chief had them in." Havoc said with a smirk.

Al twitched a bit, having forgotten that part. "We're all dead."

"No, you and Colonel are dead. No one else had a hand in this." Breda
retorted.

"Where's the backup?" Al cried.

"I've seen Chief fight. I've felt his fists bury themselves in my face. That is
one battle you have to deal with on your own." Havoc replied.

Sloth was shown as he smiled. "Tunnels connected." The scene slowly

started to pull away from him to show the tunnel. "I'm all down
working! Does this mean I can rest? Can I, Pride?"

The tunnel faded away to show Pride from behind. He turned around to
face the screen before he was shown from behind to show that he was
staring at Father.

"The time draws near." Father said before he was shown, glaring at the
screen. "The Day of Reckoning is almost within our grasp."

"Day of Reckoning? Suppose that is the Promised Day he mentioned

before?" Hughes asked.

"When did he mention that?" Fu asked.

Hughes thought for a moment. "I think it was when he killed the first Greed
so it was probably right before you guys arrived here."
"What does it mean?" Ling asked.

"Still don't have a clue about that, but if I were to venture a guess, it probably
has to do with when he plans to activate the transmutation circle. Don't quote
me on that. It's just a guess." Hughes replied.

The town of Liore appeared on screen, showing destroyed buildings with

its citizens around working to clean it up. The sound of hammering filled
the background.

The scene changed to show the citizens of Liore working on rebuilding

the buildings. The scene changed again to show a couple men carrying
boards of wood on their shoulders. As the scene moved to the side to
show some men throwing rubble into a wheelbarrow, someone shouted,
"Be careful!"

"I got it!"

"Hey everyone!" Rose shouted before she was shown carrying a box of
bread near the food stand.

"It's Rose!" Al said in relief.

"You know her?" May asked.

Al nodded. "Brother and I met her a few weeks ago in Liore. Remember, I
told you about Liore the other day."

May nodded. "So that's the girl you were saying you guys helped a lot there."

"Yeah, looks like she is doing really well, despite the fact that there was a
violent civil war there." Al said. "I'm just glad that it seems to be over now."

"I'm amazed that food stand you two went to is still in one piece." Grants said
with a grin. "Nothing else seems to be."

"It's a food stand! They would never take it out in their war, especially if the
food is really good there." Ling replied seriously.
Al smacked his face. "Ling, what is with you and food? Isn't it bad enough
you drive Ed insane with your crazy food bills?"

Ling shrugged. "Sorry, sorry. Look, when I become emperor, I promise to

pay your brother back everything I owe him. Would that make it better?"

"You might make Xing broke with such a promise." Skylak said dryly.

"And who says you'll become emperor?" May added, glaring at Ling.

Ling smirked. "The person with the support of the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"That's not going to help you!" May said.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Ling replied with a grin. "All the crazy
stuff with immortality and Philosopher's Stones happens around him."

"I wouldn't really call it support. You were just following him everywhere
and driving him crazy until you started helping him and his comrades with all
their insane plans." Mikal point out.

"I think that is a great way to earn his support!" Ling retorted.

"Oh, Brother supports you, Ling. He'll support so you will become emperor
and have to stay in Xing and do your job so you can't bother him anymore!"
Al retorted.

Ling blinked. "Well, I could have him kidnapped so he'll come visit me in
Xing."

Al smacked his face again.

"He doesn't even like it when he gets kidnapped by his own comrades."
Hughes said dryly. "I think you would be pushing your friendship a bit too
far if you did that."

Ling shrugged. "He'd get over it."

"Go ahead and line up! It's time to take a lunch break!" Rose said.
The citizens were shown as they smiled brightly.

The citizens lined up in front of the "Drink and Food" café were shown
from a downward angle as gentle music played.

Rose was shown behind the counter at "Drink and Food" as she scooped
food into bowls for people.

"Ya know, Rose, I'd love to try your three meat pie sometime." The man
she was serving said.

"Well, I promise to make it as soon as we get some meat." Rose

promised.

The man laughed as he walked off. "I'll try to be patient."

An old lady walked forward with two kids. "Uh, pardon me, I confess I
haven't been able to do any work, but would you please give just a little
bit of food to these children?"

"Is this really what it is like after war?" Al asked sadly.

"Yes, the food supplies suffer because of battles so when war is over and
you're trying to rebuild, you really need to ration the food properly or you'll
run out." Riza explained.

"It must be hard to adjust to. Life after war." Al murmured.

"It is," Riza smiled. "But it looks like they are doing just fine. They are all
smiling and working hard together to fix their city."

"Yeah," Al said softly. They really were strong people out there if they were
able to smile after such a bloody slaughter of their people.

Rose appeared on screen, smiling brightly at them. "Well, of course, I'll

feed them. But you have to eat too, okay?" The bowl in her hand was
shown as she poured the meal into it.

The old lady and the two kids were shown leaving with three bowls and
some bread.

"It looks delicious." The little girl said.

"That was very kind of her." Lan Fan said.

"Rose has always been kind, even when she was lost and hoping her fiancé
could be brought to life." Al replied.

"That's true, but she does seem different from what I remember when we first
saw her." Hughes said. "She seems a lot more cheerful and maybe even
stronger. Not physically, but her heart seems stronger and more open."

"Hey ya, Rose. Pile it high." The next customer said.

"You know I can't." Rose said cheerfully as she was shown from the side,
holding out his dish. "Everyone gets the same amount."

A shaky hand appeared on screen, reaching towards Rose. "Um, excuse

me, Miss."

Rose looked over in surprise. "Oh?"

Rose was shown from behind as she stared down at Hohenheim, lying
weakly on the ground with his suitcase tossed to the side. "Ma-May I
have some food? If you don't mind?"

"Huh," Izumi said with a grin. "I guess even Philosopher's Stone collapse
from hunger."

Al blinked in surprise. "I'm shocked he is even in Liore. I wonder why he

would go there."

"I'm sure we'll figure that out, but back to the collapsing from hunger thing.
How does that even work when he is a Philosopher's Stone? Isn't he
immortal?" Ling asked.

Al sighed. "You still have so much learn."

Ling glared at him. "Are you calling me an idiot in a roundabout way?"

"He's still human so he still feels everything a human does. The stone will
keep him alive while he suffers from hunger, but I don't think it is going to
get rid of the feeling of hunger." Al explained.

Ling grimaced. "Oh, geez, that sounds horrible!"

Al wished he could roll his eyes at Ling. Stupid, crazy food obsessed prince.

The scene changed to show Hohenheim greedily eating some food. He

quickly ate the food before smiling in relief. "Thank you. You saved me,
literally. Thanks so much."

"So how did that literally save him? I thought he couldn't die?!" Ling said
confused.

Al sighed. "Ling, just stop."

"But I want to know." Ling whined.

Rose and the vender were shown to be watching him.

"Where are you from if you don't mind me asking?" The vender asked.

"I'm not really from anywhere. I tend to travel mostly." Hohenheim

replied.

"And what brings you all the way out to Liore?" The vender asked.

"We don't mean to pry. We're just surprised to have a tourist." Rose
said as she looked to the side to show the destroyed buildings that the
citizens were working on. "Most people tend to avoid Liore. There isn't
much left here after the riots."

The citizens all looked up and waved.

Hohenheim was shown, looking down with a smile. "Your cooking is a

good enough reason to visit."
Ross chuckled. "He's a charmer, isn't he?"

"And he seems quite good being a charmer." Rebecca smirked at the men in
the room. "Much better than the men in here."

"He's had four hundred years of practice." Havoc grumbled.

"I'm just plain insulted." Mustang mumbled.

"I'm wondering how those skills of charming the ladies passed over Ed and
Al." Hughes said with a grin.

"Hey!" Al exclaimed insulted.

"You fall into May's trap of tears or admiration all the time, Al." Hughes
teased. "You're supposed to charm her, not fall into her tricks."

"They're not tricks." May said insulted.

Al groaned. Why did he always fall for that? It just made the teasing about
him and May horrible and Ling and Ed were just too eager to mess with him
about it. He swore that sooner or later those two were going to do something
about it that left him wanting to crawl into a dark hole and never come out.

Hohenheim stood up.

Rose was shown as she finished waving to the men. "That's sweet of you
to say, but I don't know about that." She sighed. "I just wish there was
more I could do to help out around here."

"That reminds me of Winry." Al said.

"How so?" May asked.

"When she says she wishes there was more she could do to help us and how
she is tired of waiting at home to know if we are okay when we go off to
fight." Al explained. "It must be hard to be waiting for news or not helping to
rebuild. It probably makes them feel like they can't do anything to help…that
they are useless."
May nodded. She would probably feel the same. She sighed. Actually, her
clan probably felt the same way. She wasn't there with the secret to
immortality. Instead she was running around Amestris, trying to find the
secret while helping her friends work on saving their country. It must be hard
for her people to wait for news without knowing anything that was going on.

"Don't underestimate yourself." Hohenheim walked over to her with a

smile. "A delicious meal and the smile of a lovely, young lady are more
help than you can imagine."

Rose was shown as she smiled at him in thanks.

The vender was shown, looking at Rose with a wink and a thumbs up.
Rose was shown, looking at him, before looking back at Hohenheim as he
spoke again. "By the way," He was shown as he picked up his suitcase
and looked back at them. "I hate to impose any further than I already
have, but can you point me towards the church?"

The two were shown again as Rose asked, "Which church?"

Hohenheim appeared on screen. "Well, I'm actually looking for the

Church of Leto where the riot was started."

Slow suspenseful music started as Rose and the vender were shown as
they shared a look.

"I would be looking shocked too. Why would anyone want to go there?"
Walkers asked. "The church being a wreck from Chief fighting there, riots
starting there, Homunculi formerly using it as a base while they were there. It
just doesn't seem like a fun trip."

A statue of the sun god Leto appeared on screen, hand still alchemized
into a fist from when Ed was there. The scene changed to show another
destroyed portion of the church.

"This is what's left of it. There's nothing left inside either." The vender
said as the alchemized fist was shown.
Havoc whistled. "They really destroyed that church."

"Probably the people who no longer believed in Leto or the priest after Ed
and Al came and threw the truth in their face." Breda said.

"Probably learned the violent streak to destroy the church completely from
Fullmetal." Mustang grumbled.

"You can't blame everything on him." Al protested.

Mustang glared at him.

Al raised his hands. "You are just doing this because he's not awake to argue
with you."

Mustang grumbled and looked back at the notes. Maybe if he complained

enough about the brat, he would wake up just to yell at him.

The scene went dark before the sound of water was heard.

"Do you know if there's a passage that leads underground?" Hohenheim

asked as the scene started to light up.

"Uh, yeah, I can show you where it is." Rose replied as two lanterns
could be seen in the distance in the underground passage.

The path came to an end and a pool of water was shown to be starting.

Hohenheim came to a stop next to it and his reflection, along with Rose's
and the vender's, was shown in the water as he looked into it. "And
what's this?"

"The water turned toxic." Rose replied as the water bubbled. "No one's
really sure how it happened."

Hohenheim stood up straight before the dark passage was shown. The
scene pulled back to show Hohenheim. He was shown from the front
with the vender behind him. "I get the feeling that this was put here to
keep people from going any further."
"What would be the point in stopping people from going any farther?" Lester
asked.

"I'm going to make a wild guess." Ling said with a smirk. "Crest of Blood
there, transmutation circle that goes around the country. I'm guessing the
transmutation circle is at the other end and they don't want anyone going near
it."

Forman raised a brow. "Where was that kind of planning in Baschool?"

"They did have a plan. Kill a few trespassers, have a rumor start about a crazy
murdering shadow, and BANG! Everyone is out and the place to dump all the
rubble from the transmutation circle is safe." Myers said.

"I don't think I like their plans. They all involved deadly situations." Walkers
grumbled.

"So…" Hohenheim said as he started to walk forward.

"Wait!" Rose shouted.

"Hey! What are you doing?! That stuff will kill you!" The vender
protested.

Hohenheim's face was shown from the side as blue alchemical light
started to spark. The water was shown with the alchemical light
sparking around before a path started to form over the water out of the
stone. He was shown to be walking across the path as it continued to
build itself.

"Isn't that highly convenient?" Ling asked. "That is some amazing

transmutation."

"It seems pretty simple to me." Al replied.

Ling shook his head. "Not that. The fact that he is able to walk across it while
it is still building. You regular alchemists, can't do that, can you?"

"Well, it's not like we are all Philosopher's Stones." Al mumbled.

Rose and the vender were shown from the side.

"It's some kind of miracle." The vender said.

Al smacked his forehead again. "Must they still mention miracles?"

"It is hard to learn it to be something else when they were always told it was a
miracle. Rose only knows so well because you and Fullmetal worked closely
with her to teach her the truth." Mustang said before his eyes widened as he
looked at one of Ed's research pages that he picked up. "Al…I think there is
something wrong with your brother."

"What?" Al said frantically, looking towards his brother's room, forgetting

about what the vender had just said. "What's wrong with Brother?!"

"Not like that." Mustang assured him quickly. "But this!" He waved the page
in front of Al. "He has recipes for smoothies in his travelogue! In his
research!"

Al blinked. "I don't think my brother would put something like that in his
travelogue." He took the page from Mustang and if he could have, his mouth
would have dropped opened in shock. "Why is this page full of smoothie
recipes?!"

"As I said, something is wrong with him!" Mustang said as he shifted through
the pages. "This one is about smoothies too!"

Al sweatdropped. "I'm so sorry." He said as he resisted the urge to laugh. "I'm

not sure if these are important or not."

Ling leaned in next to Mustang to see the page he was looking at. "Ooh, I
know that smoothie. He made it for me the other day. It tastes really good."

Mustang's brow twitched. "Al, would your brother hide something important
in a recipe?"

"I don't…his code is his travelogue." Al muttered. "I don't know why he
added recipes in here. Maybe it means nothing or it is to hide a transmutation
or something about the stone. I don't know! I told you I never got passed the
first page!"

"Maybe the recipes are there just to throw you off." Hughes suggested.

"Or that's what he wants you to think and there is actually something to
them!" Mustang retorted.

"Would Chief really put a decoy in there?" Brody asked.

"I don't know, which is why it is annoying." Mustang growled.

"Do you think he could make a decoy travelogue to throw you off?" Hughes
asked.

Mustang's brow twitched violently. "If he did that, I would have to set him on
fire for the pure frustration he caused me."

"That's pretty dark." Hughes mumbled. "And gruesome."

"That's no miracle, but I know what it is. That's alchemy." Rose replied.

"At least she gets it now!" Al said, still staring at the smoothie recipes. What
was his brother playing at with putting recipes in his travelogue?

Riza smiled. "You two made sure she would never forget the lesson you
taught her."

The path was shown with the only way to detect Hohenheim being by his
lantern since he was so far in the tunnel. "I'm going to go a little farther
in! Would you mind waiting for me?" He called back before he turned
around and started walking again.

Rose and the vender were shown.

The scene went dark for a few seconds before it was moving down to
show the tunnel. There was a spark of alchemy on one the side of the
tunnel. The wall was shown up close as a portion of it came out of the
wall and slammed into the ground, causing dust to rise up. When it
cleared, Hohenheim was seen there. He gasped before the tracks were
shown.

The scene changed to show him walking along the tracks.

"It's enormous!" Hohenheim said before he was shown up close. "I'm

impressed. They certainly went all out making this."

"How so?" Rufus asked. "Just because it giant?"

"It might have to do with what he saw in Xerxes. That one was just dug
around the country. It was a lot different than this tunnel. It's underground
and they put so much protection around it to keep humans out. Of course that
protection entails killing any humans who come across." Walkers said
bitterly.

He walked a few more steps before looking ahead. "Huh?" The tunnel
was shown. He was shown again. "Found it right off the bat, didn't I?"

"Found what? The tunnel?" Myers asked confused.

"If he is referring to the tunnel, shouldn't he have mentioned that earlier?"

Charlie asked.

"Or maybe he is referring to something in the tunnel." Greyson said darkly.

"But the only things in the tunnel would be Sloth, who probably left by now
since it is finished, and Pride's shadow." Kei said with a frown. "Would he
really go there looking for a Homunculus?"

Greyson shrugged. "It'd be an insane thing to do considering their power."

The tunnel was shown, slowly zooming in on the darkness at the edge of
the light of the lantern before suddenly Pride's shadow that was filled
with sharp grinning teeth and red eyes shot out of the darkness at
Hohenheim.

"Jeez, how abrupt can you get?" Hughes said shocked. "He just came out of
nowhere."
"That does seem to be Pride's specialty." Mustang said dryly.

"Really? And here I thought his specialty was his shadows." Havoc replied
sarcastically.

"Shadows that can appear out of nowhere if you don't know he is there."
Mustang retorted. "That is a specialty."

Hohenheim was shown as he quickly turned around and ran away.

"Don't really think it is actually possible to run away from Pride." Lyle said
darkly.

"It is if he would just turn the light off." Julian retorted.

As he ran off screen, the tunnel turned dark and Pride's shadow
swarmed over the wall.

Hohenheim was shown running with Pride's shadow chasing after him.
He was shown from behind at a downward angle as Pride's shadow
started to reach him. His hand skimmed over the wall and blue
alchemical light started to spark around as spikes shot out of the wall.

"Well, that is convenient. No clapping, no transmutation circles. All he has to

do is touch something." Ling said.

"Must be because of the Philosopher's Stone. Father can do the same thing."
May said with a frown. "It's inconvenient when Father does it, but I guess it
is a good thing that Mr. Hohenheim can do it since Pride is so fast it might be
impossible to do a transmutation that requires clapping or transmutation
arrays."

"Is it possible for transmutations to be interrupted because an enemy moves

so fast?" Lan Fan asked curiously.

"It is. We saw it earlier when Ed was fighting Slicer." Hughes explained.

"Slicer…that was a pair of brothers who were bound to a suit of armor?" Ling
asked.
Hughes nodded.

Ling whistled. "I know Ed said he fought them, but he never said they were
fast enough to make it impossible for him to transmute."

"All that fight proved is that you can't solely rely on alchemy." Olivia
scoffed.

Pride's shadow shot through the spikes and the cracks that were between
them.

"Well, that didn't even slow it down!" Hohenheim said, looking over his
shoulder at Pride.

"Damn, is the only way to stop Pride's shadow by getting rid of the light?"
Brody growled. "It's like nothing can slow down that shadow of his if even
alchemy can't help."

"I really don't envy the person that ends up having to fight Pride to take him
down." Avery said.

Brody nodded. "I'm with you there, but I do have to admit I am curious as to
how he'll be defeated."

"You guys speak as if our victory is to be. We could lose to the Homunculi."
Luke pointed out.

"That's quitters talk!" Brody and Avery shouted at him.

"If our mental states say we'll lose, we will lose! So we must believe that we
win this war!" Aran added.

Ling laughed. "I like you guys. To the end of Father!" He cheered, throwing a
fist in the air.

The Briggs soldiers roared with him, throwing their own fists in the air while
Al just stared blankly.

"Ling?" Al asked weakly.

Ling grinned at him. "What?"

"Are you rallying the troops that are not your troops?" Al asked.

"Yes!" Ling said with his grin widening.

Al sighed. Unbelievable. They weren't even in the final battle yet.

Hohenheim's foot was shown. As it hit the ground, blue alchemical light
started to spark once more while he continued to run. "Okay then." A
pillar shot out of the ground before Hohenheim was shown. As he ran
ahead, pillars continued to shoot out of the ground and walls to make it
impossible to get through. "Let's see if I can trap it."

The pillars were shown from Pride's side. As the light started to vanish,
Pride's shadows shot forward through the smallest cracks that were left.
As it did, it destroyed all the pillars.

"This is absolutely ridiculous." Grants growled. "He seriously got through

such small cracks?"

"Do you think Hohenheim knows turning the light off will stop Pride?" Kei
asked. "He did seem to know about Pride being there."

"He knew that, but I don't know if he really knows everything. How would he
have found out about that? We only know about it because we have been
watching this. In the future, Captain Buccaneer and his rescue team don't
know why they had to keep the lights off in the tunnel." Avery said with a
frown.

Kei shrugged. "Yeah, but he already seems to know a lot more than we do."

"Because, once again, he's had four hundred years!" Havoc shouted.

As the rubble hit the ground, Hohenheim was shown as he turned

around and slowly walked backwards. "Oh dear." He was shown from
behind as he took a few more steps backwards as Pride surrounded the
walls and roof of the tunnel. Hohenheim was shown, smiling grimly.
"I'm afraid that's all I've got."
"That's really all? He is a Philosopher's Stone and can do anything!" Brody
said in disbelief.

"Well, he is trying to stop Pride's shadow from getting to him so he can get
out. He can't actually kill Pride there so there isn't really much he can do." Al
defended. "I don't think anything can stop Pride right now….well, except for
darkness. I guess it's a weakness no one thinks of since it's hard to believe a
Homunculus could have a weakness like that."

"Why can't he kill Pride? It would make everything easier for us." Myers
asked.

Al shrugged. "Honestly, I don't have a clue as to how Pride can be defeated.

I'm not even sure if you could hurt that shadow of his."

"So basically, we need to attack Selim Bradley." Luke said.

"And with his shadows to protect him, that isn't an easy task to accomplish."
Al replied.

The tunnel wall was shown as Pride's shadow crept along it.

The scene changed to Hohenheim's feet as he took a couple steps back

until he was falling over into the tunnel he created. Just as this
happened, Pride's shadow was shown shooting forward. Hohenheim was
shown in his tunnel as the shadows descended on him, only to stop right
at the entrance. The edges of the tunnel circle were shown as Pride's
shadow slammed into them.

Hohenheim's lantern was shown with the fire inside it wavering at the
trembling of the ground from Pride's shadow slamming into the tunnel
edges.

Hohenheim appeared on screen. "Something wrong? Aren't you going to

attack me?" Hohenheim taunted as he sat up. He looked up with a
frown.

The scene changed angles to show Hohenheim from behind as he stared

at Pride's shadow.

"Is he taunting Pride?" Mustang asked in disbelief.

"Definitely the father of Ed if he is doing something that reckless." Hughes

said with a smirk.

Izumi shook her head with a smirk. "Honestly, he could do nothing to stop
Pride and now he taunts. Well, he is immortal so it seems he doesn't mind
much."

"I don't think my dad is that reckless, even if he is immortal." Al replied.

"You did hear what he said, right?" Havoc asked.

Al sighed. He had indeed heard what his father just said and it definitely
sounded like he was taunting Pride there. But he did have to wonder, why did
Pride suddenly stop his attack?

"You look just like…." Pride's metallic voice said. "You must be Van
Hohenheim."

Hohenheim was shown as he put a finger to the edge of his tunnel. "So
I'm assuming that this must be the edge of your container."

Pride's red eyes were shown.

"Container?" Armstrong echoed with a frown.

"Why would Pride's shadow have a container?" Dr. Marcoh asked with a
frown.

Armstrong put a hand to his chin as he thought. "Well, Pride's shadow is like
Father when he was just a dwarf in a flask. Maybe it is like that, the shadow
can't go any farther than around the transmutation circle. It can't leave it
which would explain why only those who were in the tunnel were ever
attacked."

"Isn't that lucky for us then?" Ling asked with a smirk. "It means we will be
safe outside of the circle and we don't have to worry about shadows attacking
us all around."

"But what about in Central? Pride was using his shadow to keep an eye on
Lieutenant Hawkeye." Al pointed out.

Mustang almost growled at the reminder of his lieutenant being under close
scrutiny of Pride just so she couldn't talk about what she knew. "Well, Selim
Bradley is his body, right? And Selim does get around Central. It is possible
that Central is a part of his territory for the shadow."

"Well, if that is true, it is still lucky for us. There are only two places where
we really have to be concerned about him." Ling replied. "Unless he decides
to travel the country, then we should be concerned about his shadow."

"Then as long as he remains in Central, there shouldn't be too much concern

about him attacking us." Lan Fan said.

Hohenheim was shown from the side. "You'll die if you pass it, correct?"

"Really? Then please let him pass it!" Walkers begged.

"That could be really considered cruel by some." Myers pointed out dryly.
"But considering how many lives he took, I agree with you. Please pass it and
just die already to save us all a lot of trouble!"

The edge of the circle was shown to show Pride's shadow still resting
there.

"You can't survive outside of your container, can you? It's not much
different than your flask, is it?"

The scene flashed to Hohenheim holding the Dwarf in the Flask as he

spoke to it then changed to a scene of the Dwarf in the Flask sitting on a
desk. Another picture of the Dwarf in the Flask was shown to show him
as he grinned evilly.

"So they are the same?" Brody asked confused. "I thought the Dwarf was
Father and the shadow now was Pride."
"In a sense, they are separate beings. But at the same time, Pride comes from
Father. He is Father's pride so he can be the Dwarf that we saw in Xerxes,
even if he isn't exactly the same Homunculus that Dad knew." Al replied.

Brody blinked. "That makes it even more confusing!"

"Pride is from Father. Father is the Dwarf in the Flask so he can make Pride
be the Dwarf if he wants to." Breda explained.

Brody glared at Al. "Why didn't you just say that?!"

"I did!" Al shouted frustrated.

"Well, not in layman's terms!" Brody retorted.

"Why don't you just go read a book and learn something on your own then?"
Al muttered to himself.

Brody threw a pillow at Al. "Can still hear you."

Al chuckled sheepishly. "Uh, whoops."

"You are evil." Ling said. "I knew I was right about you!"

"What? About what?" Al asked sharply, but got no reply. "Right about what,
Ling?!"

The tunnel reappeared on screen.

"I'm guessing that you can only move freely within these tunnels and
Central City, am I right?" Hohenheim asked.

"Isn't that the same thing we just said?" Ling asked amused. "I guess with all
that we are seeing, we are catching up to Hohenheim's four hundred years of
experience and research."

Havoc rolled his eyes. "You're mocking me, aren't you?"

Ling smirked. "Just a bit, yes."

Pride's shadow was shown before Hohenheim was shown to be glaring

up at him. "I'll that as a 'yes.'" He stood up before he was shown from
behind. "What's wrong? Why the silent treatment? Did I hit a nerve?"

Pride was shown up close, teeth gritting angrily as he glared at

Hohenheim.

"Ooh, look. He actually looks mad. I didn't think that would be possible for
Pride." Izumi said with a smirk. "Your father is quite good at angering
people, Al."

"Which is amazing considering the polite person we have only seen him to be
this whole time." Hughes added.

Al snickered. "Well, he's had over four hundred years to perfect all of this."

Havoc groaned. "You too, Al?"

Al shrugged. "You brought it upon yourself."

Hohenheim was shown as he smiled. "Are you angry?"

Olivia smirked a bit. "I don't know what he is trying to do, but that calm tone
makes it almost feel like he is mocking Pride, which will just make him
angrier."

One of Pride's narrowed eyes appeared on screen. "I'm never angry."

"That seems to be a lie. He seems pretty angry to me." Mustang scoffed.

"Anger does not exist within me." Pride said before Hohenheim was
shown from the side. "I have no need of such things." Hohenheim was
shown from behind with Pride seen in front of him. "I left all
unnecessary emotions within Father. All but one. My name is Pride."

"'My name is Pride.'" Havoc mocked. "He sure does love introducing
himself."
"Well, he is arrogant." Aran pointed out. "It only makes sense that he would
want to introduce himself to make sure everyone knows who he is. Such an
arrogant person, eh, Homunculus, wouldn't want mistaken for another
Homunculus. I mean, heaven forbid that we believed him to be Wrath
because he got a bit angry there."

Havoc laughed. "Oh yes, it would be such an insult to him."

Hohenheim was shown, a slight smirk adorning his face. "Pride the
Arrogant. That makes sense, I can see your conceit."

Pride was shown.

"There are seven deadly sins within man."

A picture of Lust with her nails formed into spears appeared on screen.

"Lust."

"Dead. The only one that we have managed to get rid of so far." Mustang said
with a sigh.

"Well, it's not like they are easy to kill." Lan Fan grumbled as she
subconsciously touched her arm. Yes, they weren't easy to kill. She had no
idea of what to truly expect in her first fight with them, and she could
promise that she would not make that mistake again. Future her said she
would be back, and she knew she would. And that time, she would be
prepared to fight the Homunculi.

"Does the first Greed being killed not count?" Ling asked.

"No, because we didn't get rid of him. Father did and then he came back."
Hughes shot a glare at Ling as he said.

Ling scowled at him. "I'm sure I know what I'm doing."

"I don't think you do. You don't know anything about alchemy." Hughes
retorted. "So ever since you've arrived in Amestris, you've been relying on Ed
for anything about alchemy, but you ignored him when you chose to become
Greed. That was a mistake."

Ling glared at him. It wasn't a mistake. He would admit that he had been
relying on Ed and his alchemy a bit, especially when they were inside
Gluttony, but he came here for the secret of immortality. It was for his
people. If he couldn't make the sacrifice of his body to get the stone for his
people, then he had no right to call himself a prince.

A picture of the first Greed appeared on screen.

"Greed."

"Huh, why the first Greed? Do you think Hohenheim doesn't know there is a
new Greed in town?" Ling asked with a frown.

"He might not. He wasn't there for any of that. He probably only knows about
the original Homunculi from his four hundred years of traveling and
research." Mustang said.

Havoc groaned. Now even the Colonel was getting involved in this? If he
apologized for starting moaning about Hohenheim having four hundred years
would they all just shut up about it already?

A picture of Sloth was shown next.

"Sloth."

Next, a picture of Gluttony appeared on screen.

"Gluttony."

An evil grinning Envy appeared next.

"Envy.

A picture of Wrath's face shown up close with his Ultimate Eye shown
appeared on screen.

"Wrath."
"And of course,"

Pride appeared on screen again.

"Pride."

The scene slowly pulled away from him.

Hohenheim appeared on screen. "You're obviously the first one that he

separated; pride was his strongest trait."

"He did seem very arrogant when we saw his past in Xerxes so I can believe
that." Miles said with a frown.

Brody scoffed. "Just in Xerxes? I swear he is still arrogant from his actions
and words alone. It's like separating from Pride didn't do anything to stop that
arrogance."

"Is he? I'll admit he seems rather stoic and very confident in his plans, but I'm
not sure that makes him arrogant." Rilen replied.

Brody frowned. "But that is why. He is so freaking confident that everything

will go his way, that he looks down on his humans like they are beneath him
and only good to be used for ingredients for his plan. That right there is
arrogance."

"Seems right." Hughes said. "Didn't Ed say before that pride never dies?
Father couldn't get rid of his pride completely since it can never be truly
lost."

"Thinks Father realizes that one?" Rebecca asked with a smirk.

Hohenheim smirked. "And the mere fact that he took the time and
energy to give you his original appearance."

Pride was shown, gritting his teeth angrily.

"That act alone shows how egotistical he truly is." The scene slowly
moved up to show Pride's red eyes. "You are the pure essence of your
Father."

Pride's eyes narrowed. "I insist that you come with me to see Father."

Hohenheim was shown. "Don't try to rush me, Pride. I don't need an
invitation to call on him." His feet appeared on screen as he turned
around. He stopped and looked at Pride over his shoulder. "But you can
give him a message. Tell him Slave 23 will be dropping in quite soon."

"Saying his number." Mustang smirked. "And with that, he is pretty much
saying he is denouncing Father and the name he gave him."

"Which means he is basically turning his back to Father and declaring war."
Ling said with an evil grin.

"That is quite the way to go and declare war. Haunt down Pride, give him a
message after almost being killed, then just walk away." Buccaneer added
with his own evil smirk. "That has got to really annoy Pride."

"Ah, ah, ah," Luke said with a grin. "Pride cannot feel that. He is only
prideful."

Breda scoffed. "Did you already forget the anger he just showed? I'm pretty
sure he can feel things besides pride."

He started to walk away. He was shown close up as Pride watched him

from the tunnel. "Just tell him to be patient and relax in his chair
beneath Central. I'm coming."

"Seriously, he does know everything! How could he know that is where

Father is?" Havoc grumbled.

"Except for that fact that there is a new Greed in town!" Ling protested. "He
doesn't know that."

"Would you let that go?" Havoc asked dryly.

"No. You know why? Because you won't let your annoyance at Hohenheim
knowing everything with his four hundred years of everything go!" Ling
retorted.

Havoc rolled his eyes. "I have let it go, but now you all want to mock me for
it when I only mentioned it like twice."

Ling shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Hohenheim was shown from behind, walking down his tunnel as the
adjacent tunnel was seen with Pride in it.

"I am waiting, Van Hohenheim." Father said before his face appeared on
screen. "Yes, I am waiting for you."

A paper with the transmutation array on it and four statutes for the
sacrifices was shown.

A lantern appeared on screen.

Rose and the vender were shown as they looked back down the path that
Hohenheim created.

"Oh, here he comes." The vender said.

Hohenheim was shown up close.

The scene changed angles to show Hohenheim reaching the end of his
path as the vender asked, "Did you find anything?"

"Yes. Dangerous and disturbing things not meant for ordinary people.
Please tell everyone to stay far away from here." Hohenheim replied. His
feet were shown with his path behind them. The path sparked blue
electrical light as it cracked into pieces and sank into the water. The
scene moved up the path to show the alchemical light traveling up it,
destroying the path as it went.

Hohenheim was shown from behind with Rose and the vender in front of
him.

"What exactly were you doing in there?" Rose asked.

"Hmm?" Hohenheim turned around to face the screen. He was shown up
close as he said, "Sending a declaration of war."

Mustang smirked. It really was his own special way of declaring war on
Father. Well, Hohenheim should have his own way. He knew for such a long
time what Father's plan for Amestris was, and after facing it in Xerxes, that
gave Hohenheim the right to want to declare war on Father so he knew that
Hohenheim wasn't going to accept the fate of Amestris without a fight like
what happened with Xerxes. If it was Mustang dealing with it, he knew he
would definitely make such a declaration that he was coming. There was no
way he would be able to sit still and wait if he ever had to go through
something like Hohenheim did.

Fort Briggs appeared on screen with a blizzard raging around. The roof
of Fort Briggs was shown.

"Why is there always a freaking blizzard up there?" Walkers grumbled.

"Because the weather up north just plain sucks." Skylak growled.

Brody smirked. "You guys just hate losing."

Skylak rolled his eyes. "I don't see how the training exercises between north
and east make sense when we do it in the north and blizzards start raging
around us. There is no possible way for us to win when we are not used to
such weather."

"See? That is you making excuses for yourself." Aran retorted with a smirk.

"You're relieved." A soldier said.

"What took you so long? We've been miserable in this storm." Another
soldier said

"And you guys tease Ed for complaining about the cold." Ling said with a
smirk.

Greyson scoffed. "Anyone would complain when they have to sit in a

blizzard while on guard. Why don't you try it?"
"No thanks. I am even worse with cold than Ed. I'm surprised May is doing
so well with it, considering that we are both from Xing." Ling replied.

Grants raised a brow. "What? Do you not have winters in Xing?"

"We do, just not to the extreme that you have in your north." Ling explained.
"We rarely see snow in Xing so I personally wouldn't be a fan of the north.
Too much of it up there."

Mikal rolled his eyes. "Just another thing for you to agree with Chief on."

Four soldiers were shown.

"Well anyway, I think some terrible coffee should warm us up." One of
them said.

"Heh, enjoy it." One of the new guards replied before the soldiers looked
over at Drachma's side of the border.

The blizzard was shown. The scene slowly zoomed in on the blizzard to
show Drachma's army marching towards Fort Briggs as dramatic music
began to play.

Three of the soldiers reappeared on screen.

"No way." One of them said.

"What the hell? It couldn't be."

The scene changed to show the approaching Drachman army once more.

"It's Drachma!"

"This is just what we bloody need right now." Kei growled. "It's not like we
don't have enough shit to deal with right now."

Fort Briggs suddenly appeared on screen with an alarm blaring.

A corridor of Fort Briggs appeared on screen. Soldiers came running
down the hall and stairs that were adjacent to the corridor as a voice
sounded over the speakers, "Drachma is launching an attack from the
north! All men prepare for combat!" An outside staircase was shown as
pairs of feet raced up it. "I repeat! Drachma has declared war and is
approaching!" The stairs leading to the roof of Fort Briggs were shown.
"All men prepare for combat!"

Cannons appeared on screen as soldiers reached them and took their

positions. They started to push the cannons forward.

Fort Briggs was shown as the cannons were pointed over the edge
towards the Drachmans.

The scene changed angles to show Fort Briggs from a downward angle.
It slowly moved back to show the Drachman army before the
commander of the Drachman army was shown with binoculars.

"We are rather fortunate the Northern Wall of Briggs has been called
away." He lowered his binoculars. "Good timing, Mr. Kimblee." He was
shown close up with Kimblee standing behind him.

"That would explain Kimblee's disappearance. He went to Drachma." Miles

said with a frown.

"We should have guessed this is what Pride meant when he said to use
Brigg's strength to his advantage." Cyril growled.

"So, has the fort ever been breached?" May asked worriedly.

"No, it hasn't. Drachma has tried before and failed. It isn't likely they'll
succeed this time either since Kimblee is doing this to create a Crest of
Blood, not have Drachma invade us." Miles replied.

"Even without the Northern Wall of Briggs there?" May asked, this time
curiously.

"While General Armstrong's fierce leadership and strength help keep Fort
Briggs ours, one person cannot make up an army. Each soldier of Briggs is
valuable and provides strength to keep the border safe." Buccaneer replied
with a grin.

"Unless they are a Homunculus." Fu said with a frown.

"The Homunculi do not count because they are monsters!" Levi growled.

"And on top of that, I've got a number of my top men already stationed
inside the Fort. They'll spring their treachery when the fighting starts.
The insuring chaos should weaken them from within." Kimblee replied.

"What men? He doesn't mean the Central soldiers, does he?" Dr. Young
asked.

"I believe he is just bluffing." Miles replied. "Even if the Central soldiers
don't know the truth of what is going on, they would not assist with Drachma
invading the country. Kimblee probably told them anything to just get them
to come die for the Crest of Blood."

The commander was shown from the side as he smirked. "My country
has long dreamed of the day that we can breach the walls of that
abomination. Fort Briggs will belong to Drachma by nightfall."

Olivia scoffed at that. Her fort was not so easily breached. She did not spend
years building up its strength for it to be breached just because she wasn't
there at the moment. Drachma would soon learn to fear the strength of her
men and realize that Fort Briggs did not so easily fall just because the top
leader of it, the Ice Queen, wasn't there.

Kimblee was shown, smirking. "Well, let's send a declaration of war."

The scene moved up to show the cannon behind him. "What do you say
we give them a nice firework show for starters?"

The commander appeared on screen. "All cannons! Prepare to fire!"

The cannons were shown as they started to rise to point at Fort Briggs.
Once all the cannons were ready, the scene changed angles to show the
cannons and the soldiers.

The commander was shown as he shouted, "FIRE!"

The cannons appeared on screen as cannons shot out of one at a time.

Kimblee's face appeared on screen as he smirked.

The ending song began.

A town appeared on screen. The scene moved to the side to show a phone
booth where Zampano was, arm resting on the phone box. "Yeah, yeah,
hello? This is Zampano reporting in. I'm one of Kimblee's soldiers." He
was shown up close as he turned his head. "Dr. Marcoh and Scar are
hiding out in the slums of Asbec village."

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jerso shouted while the soldiers just glared at
Zampano.

"I knew we should have shot them." Miles growled. When they asked to
leave with Scar's group, he thought they sounded sincere, but maybe he
should have believed in his gut and just killed them. It was always hard to
know who could be trusted and who couldn't be trusted when a conspiracy
like this was happening. Maybe it was best to just follow first instincts and
never second guess.

Jerso glared at his friend, who was gaping in shock. "You betrayed us and
your family and your country by reporting that!"

Zampano frowned darkly. "No, I don't believe that. I would never betray my
country after learning what is going on from the others. I will not betray my
duty as a soldier to protect the country and its people."

"But you just did. When you report that, that is a betrayal. Scar and Dr.
Marcoh are helping us fight against the Homunculi." Darius growled, feeling
a very hot burn of betrayal. Reporting the location of Dr. Marcoh and Scar,
and on top of that, doing it as one of 'Kimblee's soldiers.' That just angered
him beyond belief. That psychopath didn't deserve to have any men be loyal
to him or just be his soldiers.

Central Command appeared on screen.

"You made the right move by telling me this, Zampano." Envy said
before the bottom half of his face appeared on screen. "And I promise
that you'll be protected."

Mustang snarled angrily, looking up from Ed's notes once more. "You called
that bastard of all people for the betrayal?" It didn't matter who it was that
Zampano told, he was still betraying. But the fact that it was Envy, who
Mustang was starting to hate more and more as they continued to watch the
future and learn about all his sadistic ways, just made it a lot worse for him.

Zampano's hand clenched into a fist. He couldn't believe this. There was no
way he would betray his comrades after learning about what the Homunculi
planned to do to the country. He had family here. They would get killed if the
plan went through. That just couldn't happen. It was hard enough losing them
after he became a chimera, but if this plan went through to use Amestris to
make a Philosopher's Stone, there really would never be a chance for him to
see his family again.

The phone was shown as Envy hung it up.

Envy was shown to be sitting on Bradley's desk with Bradley sitting

behind it. Envy laughed. "Dr. Marcoh." He jumped off the desk and was
shown up close up he grinned insanely. "Things are starting to look up!"

Mustang's eyes narrowed to slits. He wanted to burn that bastard to ashes so

badly. His fingers rubbed together as he wished for that chance to make Envy
pay for everything that he has done! From starting the Ishvalan war to killing
his best friend to trying to manipulate him. Everything! All he desired at this
moment to wipe that smug, satisfied smile off of his face in the most painful
way possible.

The scene went dark.

Luke sighed. "Chief didn't make a single appearance in this episode."

Havoc grimaced. He always teased Ed about always appearing in every
episode, but after seeing Ed get seriously injured in the last episode and
almost dying, he didn't want to not see the kid at all. "Considering the
circumstances, I wish he had."

Hughes grimaced at that. He had to agree Havoc there. They were used to
seeing their comrades in the hospital after an injury, but how would that work
for Ed when they had to avoid being seen? He sighed a bit. Really, he just
wanted to see Ed to know for sure that future him was safe and on the road to
a strong recovery. So why weren't they shown that he was okay? Where was
he? It had already been ten days in the future since the explosion according to
V.H. He had to be at a doctor by now.

"So, now there is a battle going on in the north and another betrayal."
Buccaneer growled, glaring at Zampano, who scowled and stared at his
hands, as he said this. "Things really are starting to pick up."

Zampano glared at his hands. What was future him doing?

A flash of golden light and an "Oomph" cut off the conversation. As the light
died down, the group could see a surprised Hohenheim lying on the ground in
front of the screen.

"Dad!" Al shouted in surprise.

Hohenheim sat up, staring around at the group with a suspicious frown.
"Where am I?" He looked at the armor. "And 'dad?'"

A dejected Al fell to all his fours. Right, his dad hadn't been home in years. It
wasn't until he returned in the future that he learned about what he and Ed
did. Wait…then that mean he didn't know about mom's death either! Unless
Hohenheim was V.H. then he would already know all of that.

"Van Hohenheim?" Izumi asked surprised. "I guess you will be joining us."

"Joining you?" Hohenheim asked calmly as he stood up. "And what is it that I
am joining?" He looked around and took in the military uniforms that some
of the soldiers were still wearing. Though most of the soldiers at this point
were dressed in normal pants and simple shirts or tank tops as they chose to
be comfy during their watching of the future. Only a few still wore their
uniforms to alert Hohenheim to the fact that they were soldiers.

"We're watching the future of Amestris. V.H. gave us this chance. Wait, if
you don't know that, are you not V.H?" Hughes asked.

Hohenheim frowned. "Well, those are my initials, though I'm sorry to say I
am not V.H. I do not even believe it would be possible to see the future so I
don't see how I could make such a thing possible."

"Wait, so you're not the V.H that brought us here?" Mustang asked surprised
and with a frown. If he wasn't V.H., then who was? Who was it that could
have brought them here? Who would even care enough to show them their
future?

Hohenheim frowned. "I'm afraid not."

Luke and Havoc shared a frustrated look. Ed was so sure that Hohenheim
was V.H., but Hohenheim was saying he wasn't. Seriously, just what the hell?

"WHO THE HELL IS V.H THEN?!"

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 46*: Intermission I
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

A/N: Writing out Hohenheim all the time is driving me crazy so I am

going to call him Van now just to simplify my life a bit.

With Ed's code: I don't know if it will ever be decoded or not since I do
not know exactly what he will have coded. I know he has had a lot of
adventures so I am not sure exactly of what he put in the research. I
guess things about red water and fake Philosopher's Stones? I really
don't know…

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Intermission I

"So, Trisha's dead." Van said thickly as he looked down, tears stinging his
eyes as he thought about his deceased wife. Her gentle smile to her bright
green eyes so full of life flashed through his mind as he recalled the gentle
soul she always possessed and how she taught him so much about what it
meant to be human and to get stronger. She was the first person to bring him
so much joy into his life after years of suffering because he felt like a
monster. And with her, they brought two wonderful sons into this world.
Seeing Ed for the first time gave him a great amount of joy and excitement.
First Trisha, then Ed, and then finally Al. They were the ones who gave him
so much happiness and a reason to want to live. He wanted to spread his life
with them. He wanted to die before his wife and sons so he never had to
watch them leave him forever. He's watched too many people come and go in
life, and he didn't think he could handle watching it happen with his family.
And now because he's been gone so long, he missed his wife leaving him and
could do nothing about it.

"Yes, I am very sorry to have to inform you." Hughes told him gently. "But
that is pretty much where everything begins for your sons." He looked over at
Al, who wasn't able to find the words to tell his dad about mom which is why
Hughes did it. "Do you want to take over now, Al?"

Al glanced over his dad and nodded. It was only right that the part about the
human transmutation be told by him and Ed. And since Ed wasn't
available…"There's a lot to tell, but you already know so much already so I
hope it won't take too long then. I stick to the main points. Firstly, I am
Alphonse, your youngest son."

Van blinked and looked his son up and down, well his armor up and down.
"And why are you wearing my vintage armor?"

"Well, I'm not really wearing it." Al replied softly, rubbing the back of his
helmet. How should he explain this? He wished his brother was here. He
could be so blunt about everything…then again, he would probably be so
mad at their dad that he wouldn't want to talk to him anway. "After mom
died, Ed and I were upset and desperate to have her back, so we got ourselves
an alchemy teacher." He pointed to Izumi. "That is Teacher right there, Izumi
Curtis."

Izumi smiled at Van. "It is nice to meet you."

"So you're the one who trained my sons?" Van asked gently.

"I definitely advanced their training. They already knew alchemy when I met
them, but I helped them advance much farther and faster than they could have
done alone in Resembool." Izumi explained.

Van smiled. "Thank you for looking after my boys. I hope they weren't too
much of a handful."

Izumi blinked before laughing, surprising Van. "Sorry, sorry. It's just future
you said something similar to me when we met."

"Anyway," Al grumbled. He wasn't a handful…at least not as much as his

brother. "I should probably mention the pain factor before I go any farther.
As part of the price of seeing our future, we have to feel the pain of the
injuries we receive. Anything from a simple cut to the loss of a limb. The
pain is felt."

Van nodded with a dark frown. "I see. That does make some sense, even if it
does seem inhuman."

Al nodded as he recalled what his brother had to go through earlier and on

their first day here. No one should have to go through that amount of pain. It
was bad enough that future him had to deal with it, but to make him feel it in
here when he never received such an injury yet was undeniably cruel. "So
about what happened with Ed and I, after we trained with Teacher, we went
home and attempted human transmutation to bring mom back."

Van looked sharply at Al as he said this. His sons tried to bring their mother
back? His hands curled into fists. All because he wasn't there to stop them
from doing something that stupid, which meant that his sons suffered greatly
when they were just little children, and now that they have both seen the
Truth, they were now targets to Father that he would use. Homunculus was
going to use his sons as sacrifices for his transmutation! Van shook his head,
trying to erase the dark thoughts he had flowing through his mind right now.
He shouldn't focus on that at this moment. He had to focus his attention on Al
and his story.

"Obviously, it didn't work. Brother lost his left leg and….I lost my entire
body." Al said softly, looking down at his hands.

Van looked up at him surprise. He didn't have a body? And if he didn't have
his body, that meant he was just a soul bounded to that armor. His eyes slid
shut. His sons committed the ultimate taboo and now they were paying the
price for their sin. But to be just a soul bounded to a suit of armor? That
couldn't just happen with his body being stolen, which meant someone did
the transmutation for it and Van didn't have to ask who it was. He's heard
stories of the Fullmetal Alchemist and how he has an automail right arm.
Even without those stories, he knew just who would sacrifice so much for Al.
Ever since he taught Ed when he was a toddler how much his mother loved
both him and Al, he had been a great older brother and doing everything he
could for his little brother.

"Brother bonded my soul to the armor sacrificing his right arm to do it." Al
explained.

Van sighed gravely. So he was right. Ed really did give up another limb to at
least save Al's soul, which was probably all he do back then.

"After that Colonel Mustang, Brother's commanding officer," Al motioned to

Mustang, who was still pouring over Ed's notes.

Van looked at him. "What are you doing?"

"He's trying to decode Brother's research notes. Personally, I think it is slowly

making him insane." Al replied dryly, making his dad chuckle and Mustang
to shoot him a glare. "Anyway, he came to Resembool after our
transmutation and offered Ed a chance to become a State Alchemist so he
could work on a way to get our bodies back to normal which is how the
Fullmetal Alchemist was born."

And from there, the explanation went into details of how the brothers met Dr.
Marcoh after Scar almost killed while they were depressed about the incident
with Nina and Tucker. With Dr. Marcoh's help and his notes, they learned the
truth of the Philosopher's Stone and how it led to the death of Hughes. Their
adventure with meeting the first Greed in Dublith when they were visiting
Teacher came up next, which also brought up how they learned that Bradley
was a Homunculus and how the first Greed was killed. Then came the
introduction of the people from Xing.

"Hey!" Ling said cheerfully to Van. "I'll take over here, Al, since I was
involved a lot in the next part." He grinned at Van. "My name is Ling Yao,
the twelfth prince of Xing and Ed's best friend."
Al and Hughes fell over in shock.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hughes shouted.

"How could you move from friend to best friend in just a few days?" Al
added.

"I just want to make sure he understands." Ling replied with a grin.

Al smacked his forehead. "But again, you've only known him for a few days!
I think you are moving too fast up the ranks of friendship."

Ling waved him off with a grin and pointed to Lan Fan and Fu. "This is Lan
Fan and Fu, my personal bodyguards." Ling then pointed towards May. "And
over there is May Chang, the seventeenth princess of Xing, and her friend
Xiao-Mei."

May smiled at Van and she and Xia-Mei gave him a small bow. "It is very
nice to meet you, Mr. Hohenheim."

Van smiled at them. "It is very nice to meet you all." He turned to look at
Ling. "So best friend to Ed?"

"Yep, he's hilarious!" Ling said happily. "A bit insane too, but I like that in a
friend."

Van chuckled. Ling definitely seemed like a unique one.

Ling started to explain how he met Ed and Al and told them his goal to
achieve a Philosopher's Stone. He found great enjoyment in explaining how
they destroyed a town in their first meeting, which just made Van
flabbergasted. His sons sounded like dangerous people when Ling explained
it the way he did, which made Al repeatedly smack his helmet. He knew it
was a bad idea to leave this to Ling.

"Be serious or you don't get to explain." Hughes scolded.

Ling huffed. "Fine, take all the fun away."

Now serious, Ling explained how the Homunculi tried to frame Ross for
Hughes's murder and how this led to a dangerous game of fishing for
Mustang and his team. They encountered Gluttony before meeting Lust
underground which is where she was killed.

"That Flame Alchemy of yours sounds highly dangerous if you managed to

take a Homunculus out that fast." Van said.

Mustang looked up from Ed's notes with a smirk. "Perhaps, but it is a good
weapon to use, especially against monsters like them."

"Though it seems completely useless against Gluttony." Al said.

Mustang's brow twitched, while Van looked at his son in confusion.

Laughing, Ling went on to explain Ed's adventures in Xerxes and then when
he got back to Resembool where he met Future Van and found out the truth
about the human transmutation. When he got back to Central, he started to
plan a dangerous game of baiting the Homunculi by having Scar hunt him
down to try to kill him. Ling and Lan Fan joined to help him catch one of the
Homunculi. Here, Ling paused and looked over at Lan Fan, who gave him a
strong smile in return so Ling could continue to explain the impending battles
and escape. He explained how they captured Gluttony, got Lan Fan out of the
city, then how Gluttony started to attack them. They got rid of the adults and
the kids went to play.

"It's not playing." Mustang snapped as he remembered what happened in that

battle.

"Fine, fine, so Envy showed up and we had a showdown with him and
Gluttony. In the end, Envy, Ed, and I got swallowed by Gluttony and trapped
in his fake portal of truth." Ling explained.

Van raised a brow. "You got trapped in there?"

Ling nodded. "For a while, Ed and I thought we were never going to get out
there."
"I think that is why they were going a bit insane when that was happening."
Brody muttered.

"Insanity is the best kind of fun there is." Ling retorted.

Brody rolled his eyes. "There shouldn't have been anything fun about that
experience."

Ling shrugged and turned back to Van to explain how they did go a little bit
crazy before Envy found them and they fought him before Ed realized how to
get them out of there by using Envy's stone and transmuting himself to open
the real Portal of Truth. From there he described Ed's meeting with Al's body,
then went onto talk about how Mustang learned the treachery of the higher
ups in Central and how his team got split up. He paused after that as he
recalled their meeting with Father in his lair.

"When we returned, we came out in Father's lair beneath Central. He healed

Ed's injuries and after talking a bit, we fought him and learned that he could
turn off the alchemy." Ling said. "It didn't really make much sense."

Van nodded to himself. So he was right in his guessing about Father having
complete control over the alchemy. That would be problematic if he did that
when they fought Father.

"But because of that, we learned he has no control over Alkahestry." Ling

said as he pointed to May and Scar. "They were still able to use Alkahestry
when they joined us in the lair."

Hughes coughed. "Aren't you skipping over something?"

Ling grinned sheepishly. "Oh, right. Future me accepted a Philosopher's

Stone from Father and became Greed!"

Van looked up sharply at Ling. "You became one of the Homunculi?"

Ling nodded. "Yep, and I don't care what you say. I don't regret that choice."
He said with a glare at Van, just daring him to reply.

Van frowned. It was amazing that he even survived the transformation into
Greed, but to not regret it? He lost his body to a Homunculus. What was the
point in having the stone if he couldn't use it the way he wanted?

"Anyway, that started a free for all when May and Scar showed up. Ed told
Scar the truth about Ishval so Scar attacked Father, May vs Gluttony, Al vs
Envy, and of course, Ed vs me or Greed, whichever you prefer! But sheesh,
Ed sure was mad." Ling said.

Van sighed. "Best friend giving up his body to the enemy? I would be
amazed if he wasn't mad."

"Yeah, I guess." Ling replied before going on to explain how afterwards Ed

and Al met Bradley with Mustang there as well. Their childhood friend got
threatened and then the boys left to continue their journey, meeting Greed
along the way who had a message from Ling for Lan Fan.

"You managed to get control to give a message?" Van asked surprised.

Ling smirked in reply. "Well, that's basically my part. After that, some
conversations happen and plans were made and we learned about the Ishvalan
War before Ed and Al were heading north. Alright, who from the north wants
to go next?"

"I guess I will explain." Miles replied and he started to explain their first
meeting with the brothers and how the fort got attacked by Sloth.

As he started his explanation, Ling took the chance to sneak away from the
group. He entered his bedroom and turned to look at Ed's bed, but the teen
wasn't there so he looked at his bed and raised a brow to see Ed sleeping in it.
Ling leaned over Ed in confusion. Why was Ed in his bed anyway? It had to
be Mustang's fault. "Still completely passed out, aren't you?" He sighed when
he got no response from Ed. "You've already missed one episode. How much
do you want to miss?" He frowned. "Seriously, I miss your sarcastic retorts."

He stared at Ed's sweat drenched face for a bit before he grabbed the cloth
covering his eyes and went to wash it off before returning and placing it back
over his eyes and forehead.
"You can't sleep forever, shorty." Ling said. He stared at Ed and smirked
when he saw Ed twitched a bit. "I hope that means you're going to wake up
soon, Ed."

*Screen Room*

Miles went on to explain how they learned about the countrywide

transmutation circle, the truth about Selim Bradley, the death of General
Raven, how Pride killed a lot of soldiers in the transmutation circle and then
how they went to Baschool with Kimblee and his men. During the time in
Baschool, they found Scar and his group and planned a fake kidnapping to
get Winry out of her hostage situation.

"There was an intermission at this point where we saw your past in Xerxes."
Miles said.

Van looked up sharply, frowning darkly. "So you know what Homunculus
did to the people of Xerxes then."

Miles nodded. "We do. For a while we thought there was something going on
with you and him since you look alike, but now that we've seen your past, we
understand."

Van sighed. Well, at least he didn't have to explain the horrible, dark mess
that happened back then. That did make things slightly easier for him.
Though he did wish that not everyone learned about it. He would have rather
it was just his sons who got to learn that truth. They were the ones who truly
deserved to know the truth of what he was and how it happened.

"After that, we went back to the future to see what was happening in
Baschool." Miles continued on to explain how Al passed out, then went into
the battle Ed had against Darius and Zampano which led to him telling about
how when he fought Kimblee the older alchemist blew up the building they
were in which caused Ed to get impaled. Al jumped back in here to explain
the connection between him and Ed and how he passed out when Ed got hurt
then how Ed saved himself by using his life force.

Van started to frown as he listened to Al's explanation. His frown deepened

the farther Al got in the explanation. His eldest son gave up part of his life
force in the future? After spending centuries alive, Van learned to watch
humans and their mortality. They either had long lives or short lives
depending on their circumstances. And from watching them, he knew that
every moment, every day, every month, every year of a life shouldn't be
taken for granted. Life should be lived to the fullest and now because of an
injury, his son was losing years off of his life. It was in the future so it didn't
happen yet, but what if his son still had to do that when they got out of here?
It wasn't something he ever wanted his son to do. He had lived for centuries,
but Ed only got one chance at life. He shouldn't have to give up years of his
life like that.

"Did Edward feel it?" Van asked quietly.

"Yes." Al said softly. "He passed out afterwards. It happened a little more
than an hour ago. He is still sleeping the pain off." He looked towards the
bedroom he was in. An hour. His brother had been out for over an hour
because of the feeling of his impalement. Just how much pain was coursing
through his body that he still hadn't woken up yet?

Van looked in that direction with a frown on his face.

"After that, we used Scar's brother's research notes to find a new countrywide
transmutation circle, but we don't what it does yet. And we saw you head to
Liore to find Pride in the transmutation circle to declare war." Al said
quickly. "And that is basically everything that we have seen."

Van nodded, though his eyes were still on the bedroom door. "I see. You
have all seen a lot already then."

"You can go check on him if you want." Izumi told him.

Van nodded, but didn't move right away. He stayed where he was, staring at
his son's open door with a frown. How much did his sons have to sacrifice?
They were too young to be making such sacrifices. This was never what he
wanted for them. He always wanted them to live happy, peaceful lives in
Resembool with their mother while he worked on stopping Father so they
didn't end up dying from his plan or facing such horrors. Guess he failed
horribly at that.

*Boy's room*

Van stepped into the bedroom and looked over at the bed to see Ling sitting
on the end of it, legs stretched out in front of him with his back against the
wall while Ed slept on, eyes and forehead covered by a cold cloth. Ling
looked up as he came in and gave him a small smile. "Hello Hohenheim."

Van nodded to him and walked over to the bed. He stared down at his
sleeping son, expression twisted into one of pain, making Van sigh sadly. He
wanted to brush Ed's hair out of his face, but didn't dare to touch him so
instead he turned to look at Ling. "So this is where you snuck off to."

Ling gave him a cheeky grin and grab Ed's flesh ankle through the blanket
and shook it. "I had to see if this idiot woke up yet. I miss his cheeky jokes
already."

Van chuckled. "From what I understand, you two have only known each
other a few days. Are you two really that close?"

"I know it's weird and shouldn't even be likely, but he is my best friend
already." Ling looked down at his friend, smiling sadly. "To be honest, being
a prince from such a high clan makes it hard to make loyal friends who aren't
just being your friend to get something. Even though I've only known Ed for
a few days, I know he would never use my status as a prince to get anything
from me. Maybe it has to do with that we're from different countries, but
even if we weren't, I still know he wouldn't. I can tell because he doesn't treat
me like a prince. He always yells at me and hits me, but I do know he is
being honest. We argue a lot, but I know the friendship is there, even if Ed
doesn't like to admit it."

Van smiled. "Are you sure it's only been a few days since you've met? You
seem to understand him well."

"Well, watching the future has helped me come to understand him." Ling
replied. "So much has happened in the future and I have seen Ed so much and
his interactions with me in the future. I know what he is like just from that
and what happens here."

"Always cherish the friendship you have, Ling. Keep an eye on your friend
and if he starts to lose who he is, pull him back before it is too late." Van
sighed heavily.

Ling looked up at him before glancing back at Ed. "You truly valued your
friendship with Homunculus, didn't you?"

"I did, but then his arrogance and greed got the better of him. The person he
has become now, I don't think I know him. He wasn't the Homunculus I met
when he was first born." Van replied. "In the beginning, I never thought he
could do what he did just for immortality and a body. I never suspected he
wanted a body that badly. The signs were there, but I didn't realize it until the
transmutation already happened."

Ling sighed and looked at Ed's sleeping face. He was frowning in his sleep,
his hand holding his blanket tightly as he fought through the pain in his body
even in while he was unconscious. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Perhaps." Van replied.

Ling looked at him with a serious expression. "How do you handle it?"

Van looked away from Ed to look at him. "Handle what?"

"My future self became a Homunculus, but he still managed to keep himself
from just becoming a loss soul in the stone so he is still able to gain control of
his body at times." Ling explained, leaning his head back against the wall as
he watched Hohenheim closely. "I was just wondering how you handle being
a Philosopher's Stone. I know our situations are slightly different…but…"

Van nodded. "We both have stones in our body so we are similar in that
way." He sighed. "I won't lie. It was incredibly difficult in the beginning. I
found it hard to accept what I had become. For one because I never dreamed
of living forever. Having to watching anyone I befriend die and not be able to
die has been hard. But I think one of the hardest parts was realizing the
people of Xerxes, those who were my friends and even those I didn't know,
died and now resides as souls trapped in a stone in my body. I felt very
disgusted with myself, like I had a body of a monster."

"You still think like that. We saw a past memory where you said you didn't
want to touch Ed or Al because you didn't want to spread the monster." Ling
replied.

Van smiled grimly. "When you have as many souls of your people inside of
you, you find it hard to forget. So many people died for this stone to be made.
Could you really say with one hundred percent that you would not falter if it
was your people residing inside of you without being able to live their lives?"

"I would never let such a thing happened to my people." Ling growled. "After
seeing what is becoming of Amestris, I would never let this secret get out. It
is much too dangerous, and already too many soldiers are learning the
secret."

"A lot of people are learning the secret, but they are also very dedicated
soldiers who will protect their country to the end. They are learning the
dangers so I do not believe they will betray this secret." Van replied calmly.

Ling stared back at him before closing his eyes. "Perhaps, but anything can
happen."

"It is hard to handle, but I learned to converse with the souls." Van said,
surprising Ling enough that he opened his eyes to stare at him. "I spent the
last four hundred years talking with each soul in my body. All 536,329 of
them. I learned their names and spoke with them."

Ling's eyes widened a bit in shock. He had that many souls in him and he
spent all his time communicating with them? Did he do it because he felt
guilty about what happened and was trying to make up for it or was it
something more than that?

"That would explain it." Ling said as he closed his eyes. "We saw a part
where you were dropping part of the stone into ground and as you did, you
were saying names. Were they names of the souls you were using?"
Van smiled. "Sounds like it."

"Why did you do it?"

"The souls that reside in me are not happy about what Homunculus did. They
want to fight back and I am helping them do it." Van explained.

"Helping the common people be able to fight back, huh?" Ling smirked.

It was only when he heard a groan that he opened his eyes and looked over at
Ed to see him shifting in his sleep a bit. His shifting caused Ling to get
kicked in the leg by Ed's automail leg, making Ling groan and rub his leg.
Ed's automail really, really hurt. After kicking Ling, Ed settled down and
quietly slept.

Van chuckled. "I think he is sending you a message."

"Yeah, probably to get off his bed." Ling grumbled, glaring at Ed's sleeping
form. "Well, I have news for you, Edward! This is my bed!"

Ed just continued to sleep, making Ling scowl. "Fine, don't wake up!"

"He'll wake up when he is ready to." Hohenheim said as he looked down at

his sleeping son again, and he swore he saw him smirking in his sleep.

*Screen Room*

Ling dropped back down to the ground and looked over at Al. "Even asleep,
your brother is evil."

"Is he alright?" Al asked.

"Oh, he's just fine! He even kicked me!" Ling shouted, shooting a glare at the
bedroom.

Al blinked a few times before a chuckle escaped him, making Ling glare at
him. "I'm sorry, Ling. It's just the way you said it."

Ling scowled. "Why don't we see how you like being kicked by his automail
foot?"

"I'm sure I could handle it." Al said confidentially.

"How about in your body?" Ling asked.

Al sighed. "Well, when that happens, Brother will have his limbs back as
well so I don't think we'll be able to test it out, Ling."

Ling grumbled to himself as he rubbed his leg. He was probably going to be

all bruised. He swore Ed was causing him more pain then the future was.

Izumi looked over at the clock and sighed. So much time was used up on just
for two episodes alone, added with the time spent to catch Hohenheim up on
everything. "I believe we should break here and have lunch. Hopefully by
then, Ed will be awake and able to rejoin us."

"Awesome!" Ling said as he threw his hand into the air. "I totally agree. I'm
starving."

"Aren't you always hungry?" Al muttered.

As everyone split up to do their own thing, May looked at Al, then at Van,
and the back at Al. Noticing her staring, Van chuckled. "Is there something
wrong, little miss?"

May blushed. "Uh, well, Mr. Hohenheim, I'm an Alkahestrist and I'm pretty
advanced for my age, but I still have much to learn. We theorized that you are
the Philosopher of the West and I was wondering if you were, if you could
maybe teach me some more about Alkahestry!" She gave a fast and low bow
to Van, surprising him.

Van smiled softly. "You do not need to bow to me, little miss. I would be
glad to talk to you about Alkahestry."

"So you really did create it?" Al asked curiously as May looked up in
excitement, sparkles in her eyes.

"I did. Why do you ask, Al?" Van asked, smiling at his son.
"Well, Alkahestry's practice is centered on the Dragon's Pulse." Al replied.
"Brother and I want to learn how to read it, and since you help create
Alkahestry, I was wondering if you could help me better understand and read
the Dragon's Pulse."

Van nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, if you really want to learn, Al, I
will gladly help you and May, that was your name, right?" He looked over at
May as he said this.

"Yes sir." May replied with a smile.

Van put a hand to his chin. "They might be some books in Ed's room that
might help us with this. I barely glanced at them when I was in there, but I
believe a few titles jumped out at me."

*Kitchen*

Havoc and Luke looked from the table to Ling to the table and then back to
the evil grinning Ling.

"CHEATER!" Havoc and Luke screamed, pointing at Ling.

Ling laughed. "It's War. How can I cheat in such a simple card game?
Besides," He put on an expression of superiority. "I'm a Prince. It would be
beneath me if I lost to such simpletons."

Havoc's brow twitched in annoyance. "You–" He growled in frustration.

"You're just like Chief and his cheating ways. You two were made to be best
friends."

Ling laughed and leaned his chin on his hand. "Ed's a cheater?"

"In cards? Hell yeah." Havoc growled.

Luke's eyes narrowed in on Havoc. "So he does cheat? Even at poker?"

Havoc nodded. "Why?"

"He beat Captain Buccaneer and we couldn't figure out how he was doing it.
We knew he was cheating, but couldn't figure it how." Luke explained.

Havoc snorted. "He's a master cheat in card games. Even we don't know how
he does it yet."

Ling watched with a smile as the two second lieutenants tried to figure out
how Ed cheated, completely forgetting about him so he snatched up the
betting pool for himself since he did win. He took the candy they bet and
looked over at Lan Fan, who was finding it hard to get a straight face.

"These soldiers from Amestris really are amusing, aren't they?" Ling asked.

Lan Fan smiled. "Yes," She looked at Luke and Havoc, who were both
laughing as they came up with ridiculous ideas of how Ed cheats. "They
really are a loyal bunch."

Ling looked over at them before back at his bodyguard. "I guess a threat to
their country will bring them closer together. A situation like this is when you
truly learn who you can trust." He held out a candy bar to Lan Fan with a
smile. "Want one? There is too much candy here for me to eat."

Lan Fan nodded and took the chocolate. "Thank you, Young Lord."

*Kitchen*

"Is Colonel still studying Ed's notes?" Riza asked with a frown as she looked
around the cafeteria and didn't see him anywhere.

Rebecca laughed. "I can't believe how focused he is on them. Is it really that
important he deciphers them?"

Riza sighed. "It's only important in the fact of his and Ed's rivalry."

Rebecca smirked. "Seems like you wish he would give the amount of
attention he does to Ed's research to you."

Riza's eyes widened before she was glaring at Rebecca. "We aren't like that."

"Well, who's hand was it that he was holding the other day?" Rebecca teased.
The first lieutenant growled and grabbed her drink. "Do not start with that.
It's bad enough when Ed teases, but he is fifteen so I let him get away with it.
You do not get that relief."

The black haired second lieutenant laughed and leaned her chin on her hand
and looked at her friend slyly. "Come on, Riza. Just answer me and yourself
honestly. Do you love Colonel Mustang?"

Riza stared down at her drink with a frown. Love her boss? Why would she
love the man who slacked off on his work so much and acted like a kid who
liked to tease a fifteen year old? Sure, he was brave, loyal, and had wonderful
determination to change this country, but he could be so childish at times, and
then he was so reckless. If she wasn't there to watch his back, she was sure
she would have lost him by now. And then what would she have done? She…
she couldn't imagine a world without being by his side, guarding his back and
helping him reach his dreams.

"Riza?" Rebecca said softly.

Riza thought back to the long nights when she was a teenager, sitting outside
under the stars and just talking to Mustang about anything. Back then, back
then she had a crush on him, but he was her father's student so she crushed
the idea of ever loving him like that. She thought maybe she could love him
again after Mustang finished studying with her dad, but then Mustang
became a State Alchemist with the Flame Alchemy she trusted him with.
Flame Alchemy was dangerous and something that used to be a secret
between her and him. With Mustang's dreams and the secret of Flame
Alchemy in his hands, she followed him into the military to guard him, the
secret she entrusted to him, and his dream because she never wanted to see
his dream crushed. It would hurt her so much to see his dream crushed which
is why all she wanted was to be by his side as he reached the top and be the
one to make sure no one ever took him from her..…

"Yes."

*Screen Room*

"I wonder what possessed Future Zampano to do what he did." Jerso said
with a frown as he glared at the wall. How could his partner do something
like that? He didn't think his partner would ever betray them like this. He was
supposed to be someone that Jerso could trust with his life, to watch his back.

"No idea." Heinkel said with a frown as he leaned back into the couch.
"Some people just do stupid and crazy things."

"But knowing the risks, why would he?" Darius asked. "He seemed to
genuinely want to change sides and help the country and find a way to get his
original body back. Making the choice to call Envy and tell the location of
Scar and Dr. Marcoh isn't something that would be made easily when you
weigh it against why he changed to their side in the first place."

Heinkel folded his arms behind his head and sighed. "Well, it isn't something
we can just figure out by discussing it. We have no idea of what anyone is
thinking in the future at this point."

*Bedroom*

Zampano lay on his bed, glaring up at the ceiling as he thought. Why would
his future self tell Envy where Dr. Marcoh and Scar were hiding? Everyone
was right that it put his family in danger. They were trying to work on a way
to save the country in the future with the help of Dr. Marcoh and Scar, so
why? Just why would he betray everyone and ruin the plans of saving the
country? It would cause him to lose his family. He wanted to try to get his
body back and go back home to his family. He just wanted to see them again
after all this time.

*Kitchen*

"Can you believe how this is all turning out?" Brody asked.

"What? The future?" Skylak asked as he leaned back in his seat and stared at
the ceiling. "I have to say I agree. When Fullmetal first read that letter telling
us we were going to see the future, this was the last thing I expected to learn.
I can't believe we never realized just what was happening in the shadows of
our country."
"I have to admit, I don't think I would have believed it if I wasn't seeing it
played out right in front of my eyes." Walkers replied.

"That would by a good thing about Sloth attacking Fort Briggs in the future."
Avery said before he paused. "No, that would be the only good thing about
that. Though it does make me curious about if General Armstrong would
have believed Ed and Al about the Homunculi if Sloth didn't attack."

"That is just cruel." Breda said with a smirk. "For Chief and Al. You are just
thinking of making things harder for them."

Cyril scoffed. "They make thing harder for themselves all on their own." He
thought back to Ed withering on the ground, pinned down by his comrades,
as he suffered through the pain from getting impaled by a support beam and
scowled. "We have to kill Kimblee."

"In the future or in our future once we get out of here?" Aran asked. "Wow,
that just sounds confusing."

"In both." Cyril said, glaring at table. It happened right in front of him in the
future. He hesitated in pulling the trigger that would have ended Kimblee's
life, and because of that, Ed fought him and ended up getting impaled. He
almost died and had to save himself by giving up years of his life. That
should have never happened. But it did and all because of one single moment
of hesitation on his part. What kind of soldier was he if he couldn't eve
protect his comrade right in front of him?

Havoc smirked as he sat down at the table. "I think a lot of people want to kill
Kimblee after what happened." His eyes narrowed with a dark look in them.
"I just wonder who will get the honor of ending that traitor's life."

"Wow," Luke whistled as he leaned against the back of a chair. "That

certainly is dark of you."

"WHAT IN THE HELL?!"

*Boys' Room*
As Van looked through the bookshelf for any books about Alkahestry, Al
leaned over to look at his brother with worry. His face and neck were still
covered in sweat and there was still an expression of pain twisted into his
face. He couldn't even imagine just how much pain his brother was feeling
right now. Why was it taking so long for his brother to recover from this?
Shouldn't the pain have eased away by now?

May jumped onto the bed and kneeled by Ed. She looked down at Ed sadly.
She really wished she was able to do something. No one should have to feel
the kind of pain that Ed was feeling right now.

"Hmm," Van looked over at the teens looking down at his eldest son. "You
said alchemy doesn't work in here?"

Al nodded. "Yeah, Brother tried to do some, but nothing happened."

Van frowned and looked back at the book spines to look at a few more titles.
"What about you, May?"

May looked over at him in confusion. "What do you mean, sir?"

"Did you try any Alkahestry? Alchemy and Alkahestry have different
practices. While alchemy has roots in the diastrophic energy that comes from
the movement and collision of tectonic plates, Alkahestry is centered on the
Dragon's Pulse, which is about the constant flow of chi in the Earth. The idea
of both alchemy and Alkahestry not being able to be used is a hard concept to
believe because of different practices. While it is possible for alchemy to be
turned off because of the control Homunculus has at the moment, would it
really be possible for Alkahestry, which uses the flow of chi, to be blocked?
You cannot stop the flow of chi. As long as Earth has a constant flow of chi,
Alkahestry should never be able to be blocked." Van explained.

"Are you saying…?" May asked shocked, sharing a look with Al.

"Alkahestry can still be used?" Al murmured. May might still be able to use
Alkahestry? She might be able to use….which meant…his brother and
everyone else went through all that suffering for nothing?
Van smiled at the two. "Why don't we give it a try?" He nodded at Ed.
"While he does not have a physical injury that you can do anything with, you
could transmit some chi into his body and let it flow around to help ease the
pain and help it lessen a lot faster."

"Would it really work here?" May wondered as she looked down at Ed.

"If there is a chance it will and it will save Brother some pain, I say we try.
What's the worst that could happen? We really should have tried earlier when
we saw there was a difference after we fought Father and he turned off
alchemy." Al replied.

May nodded. "Alright." She looked around. "We should move him to the
floor." She looked up at the ceiling. "Do you think V.H is listening?"

"Why?" Al asked as he looked away from his brother to look at May who
jumped off the bed and landed lightly on her feet.

"I want my kunai to do the transmutation." May explained.

"Do you really need them when you're going to be doing it right by him?" Al
asked confused. "I thought you only did that to enhance the range of your
Alkahestry."

May shook her head. "Remember that when I healed Scar, I still used kunai
even though I was only using one array at the time."

"The kunai help with the control of flowing chi that comes from the Earth
when they perform Alkahestry." Van explained as he picked up another book
and flipped through it. He found a picture of an array with kunai at the points
of the star in it and showed it to Al. "While the kunai help enhance the range
when an Alkahestrist wants to perform a transmutation from a distance, at
close range, it helps with the control of the chi, as I just said, which means, as
the transmutation occurs, the chi flows up to the points of the kunai which
rest in the ground then around the array."

"Does everyone use kunai?" Al asked.

"No, kunai was my choice of markers, but anything can used as long as you
can hit the points of the star and that chi can flow through it to reach us."
May replied.

"Then couldn't you use something like knives from the kitchen?" Al asked.

May nodded. "Yes, but I am more comfortable with kunai as it is what I

always used."

Al nodded in understanding. It was easier to use something that one had more
practice with. "So, when performing Alkahestry, the life of the Earth helps
with the flow of transmutations?"

"When performing long range transmutations, the chi will flow through the
Earth to the second array and expel from there. When doing a transmutation
with one array, we only need the chi to flow up into the air to surround the
area. In this case, I would want it to surround the array and Edward so my
kunai would act as that medium." May explained.

"I guess that makes sense." Al said. "So it wouldn't be possible to do a close
up Alkahestry transmutation without markers?"

May nodded as a flash of light appeared in front of her. "You've got it, Al."
She replied as she caught the letter and smiled as she read it. "Check the desk.
V.H."

Chuckling, May raced over to the desk and pulled the drawer open to find a
box inside it. She pulled it out and opened it to find some chalk and five
kunai with pink ribbons on them. "I guess V.H. wants us to help Ed if he is
giving me these." She frowned. "But if V.H. knows Alkahestry can be used in
here, why didn't he mention so before?"

"Perhaps because of safety reasons?" Al suggested.

"What do you mean?" May asked with a frown as she took one of her kunai
out and checked it out to make sure it was in perfect condition.

"Remember when Scar got so mad about the war that he attacked Dr.
Marcoh?" Al asked, making May's eyes widen in realization. "If we knew
Alkahestry worked then, I think Scar would have done something horrible in
his rage, don't you? And since none of us have weapons or alchemy, it would
have been really dangerous for us."

"What's to say he won't attack now?" Van asked.

"I think learning the truth has helped him to calm down and not attack us
again. I think he is angrier at the Homunculi and wants them more than the
State Alchemists who destroyed his land and people." Al replied.

Van nodded. "I see. That makes sense. So this Scar is that State Alchemist
killer I've been hearing about?"

Al nodded.

Van smiled. "It's amazing what can happen when a dark truth is learned.
Enemies become allies. Allies become enemies."

Al sighed. "Yeah, none of us were expecting Bradley and his son to be

Homunculi and then there were the higher ups. It's hard to believe they would
be so greedy that they would sacrifice their own country just so they don't
have to die."

"As people get older, their own mortality becomes more obvious to them.
Some handle it with grace and realize they've lived a good life and have to
die eventually while others get so scared that they will do anything if it
means they won't have to face the fact that they are mortal." Van said darkly.

Al glanced over at him. "You've learned a lot about the dark side of humans,
haven't you?"

"When you go through life unable to die, you constantly see humans making
the same mistakes over and over again." Van replied softly. "But," He
glanced at May, who was checking each kunai very carefully then over at his
sons. "Then I see all the good that humans have to offer. Trisha really helped
me see it since I had a hard time seeing the good in humans after I have seen
so much darkness and death. Humans can be really selfless, but not everyone
is like that. Each human is his or her own person. They can show so much
loyalty, love, bravery, and strength to one another." He walked over to the
bed and looked down at Ed. "You have both gain a lot of good allies, haven't
you?"

"Yes," Al said.

"Hold on tightly to those bonds, Al. Never lose touch of them. The bonds we
create are something we should always value." Van replied.

Al nodded.

Once May checked all her kunai to make sure they were safe and not
tempered with, May took the chalk out and starter to draw a purification
circle on the ground that would be big enough to lay Ed in the center of.

"Dad, there was something you said that confused me." Al said.

"What is it?" Van asked.

"You said alchemy could be turned off because of Homunculus. How is he

able to turn it off and isn't he the only one who can do it?" Al asked.

"In answer to your first question, I am not a hundred percent sure myself. I
have a theory which is why he is located beneath Central." Van replied,
making Al and May look up at him curiously. "He has pipes that attach to
him, correct?"

May nodded. "I think it has something to do with his chair."

Van nodded. "Right. Well, the pipes connect to him and then he uses them to
spread his Philosopher's Stone all over the country. This acts like a barrier
between the Earth's crust and the tectonic plates which is how he is able to
turn alchemy off."

"I see. That would explain why Scar and I were still able to use Alkahestry."
May said. "Since Alkahestry is about controlling the flow of life, not
diastrophic energy from the tectonic plates."
"Correct, little miss." Van replied.

"I highly doubt Homunculus would show us our future though." Al said. "So
how was our alchemy blocked? Would you be able to turn off alchemy,
Dad?"

Van put a hand to his chin as he thought. "I never thought about it, Al. In
theory, since he separated portions of the Philosopher's Stone from his body
all over the country so alchemy could be turned off, anyone should be able to
do it as long as they understand what needs to be done. But since I was there
four hundred years ago with him and studied alchemy a lot more than anyone
else, I am probably the only one with enough understanding to be able to do
it, besides Father."

"And yet, you're not V.H." May said with a frown. "This is all annoying.
Why can't V.H. just come out here and explain it to us?" She sighed and
tossed her kunai so they landed perfectly in the points of the star. "Alright, it's
ready." She stood up and looked over at Al. "Are we sure we should try this?"

"The worst that could happen is that nothing happens." Al assured her. "I
have every faith in your skills, May. If Alkahestry does work here, I know
you won't hurt Brother."

May smiled brightly at him and nodded. "Alright, then I hope this will work."

"What? The transmutation or your Alkahestry?" Al asked.

"Both." May replied. Her hands curled into fists as she looked over at where
Ed was sleeping. No one deserved to feel the type of pain that he was feeling.
As long as her Alkahestry worked, she would make sure he no longer had to
suffer this pain. "Could you put him in the array, Al?"

Al removed the cold cloth from his brother's face before he carefully picked
him up. His brother just had to be difficult though and brought his, Ling's,
blanket with him. "Uh, May, the blanket."

May laughed and, with some difficult, ripped the blanket free from Ed's grip
and tossed it back onto the bed. She clapped her hands together before
grinning sheepishly at Al, who laughed. "I guess I have been watching you
and Ed do alchemy too long."

Al shook his head in amusement and gently laid his brother down in the array
and stepped back before he could mess it up. "Alright, May. It's in your
hands."

May nodded and stepped up to the array. She looked down at Ed, who was
breathing softly through his mouth, hands automatically going up to his side
to hold it as he no longer had a blanket. She kneeled down and placed her
hands on the array as she concentrated on what she had to do.

Blue alchemical light immediately lit up the room. It spread around the circle
then down the lines of the stars to reach Ed.

"So, how does this work?" Al asked. "It doesn't seem like it is doing anything
to Brother."

"Usually when an Alkahestrist is using healing alchemy, there is an actual

wound to heal and that is where the chi swarms to. In Ed's case, there is no
physical injury to heal. His body is just wrapped in pain so the chi is forming
a layer over his body." Van pointed at Ed. "Look closely. You should be able
to see a very faint trace of a blue light covering his body."

Al got down on his knees and watched closely from behind May. It was hard
to tell with the blue light sparking around, but it did look like his brother had
something flowing over his body.

"So the chi is flowing into his body and…?" Al trailed off, looking over at his
dad. "There isn't an injury as you just said."

"The best way to explain it is that May is healing the pain in his body using
the chi." Hohenheim explained.

Al nodded. "I get it." He looked back at his brother to see his expression of
pain slowly changing into one of comfort and a small smile was forming.
"Whatever you're doing, May, it seems to feel really nice to Brother."
May chuckled a bit, but kept her attention entirely focused on the
transmutation.

Not much later, the light died down and May leaned back with a smile. "I
can't believe Alkahestry really does work in here."

"Too bad we didn't realize that earlier and could have helped Brother a lot
sooner." Al said with a sigh.

Golden eyes cracked open a bit to observe the ceiling above him before they
shifted to the side to see May kneeling on the ground near him, turned
halfway around to talk to Al. His eyes caught sight of the kunai in the ground,
making him frown. Kunai? Where the hell did she get her kunai? His eyes
moved to Al to look at him. What was going on here? What happened
actually? Wait…he looked back at the kunai to see chalk markings there as
well. Oh, hell, was he inside an array? And why?! Nothing worked here!
Seriously, just what was going on? His eyes caught sight of a third figure
standing to the side and he looked over there to see….

"WHAT IN THE HELL?!"

Al and May looked over in surprise to see Ed had jumped to his feet.

"Brother–" Al started, but he didn't get to finish as his brother charged at

Hohenheim and was slamming his automail fist into the surprised man's face
so hard he was sent through a wall. Al slapped his face.

May stared in shock from Ed to Hohenheim. "That…seemed a bit extreme."

"Brother, that wasn't necessary!" Al scolded.

Ed glared at him and pointed out the hole in the wall. "What the hell is he
doing here?" He looked over his shoulder to look at the floor which was
covered in an array. "And did you guys just do a transmutation on me? Why?
HOW?!"

"Maybe you should calm down." Al suggested.

Ed's eye twitched violently.

"Or not. But you won't get answers while you're so worked up." Al replied.

"You think he would be a lot calmer after waking up." May said.

Al sighed. "I should have seen this one coming actually."

"I am standing right here!" Ed shouted.

"WHY IS THERE A HOLE IN OUR ROOM WALL?" Ling screamed from

the screen room. "WHO DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"

*Screen Room*

Izumi looked at Van on the ground, holding his cheek, then at the hole in the
bedroom. There was only one person here who wanted to punch Van like
that.

Ed stepped through the hole in the wall, then over the rubble, a furious glare
smoldering in his golden orbs.

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 47*: Episode 43: Bite of The Ant
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

'Events that happened in previous episodes'

"Xingese"

'Drachman'

Episode 43: Bite of The Ant

Ed stood on a piece of rubble from the destroyed wall, scowling down at his
father. Just what the hell was going on? Hohenheim wasn't supposed to be
here. And yet, he was right there. As happy as he was that he finally got to
punch Hohenheim, he was hoping this was a horrible nightmare. He didn't
want to watch the rest of the future with him here. The whole thing was hard
enough without Hohenheim being here to aggravate him!

"Ed, you're awake!" Ling cheered with a grin that slowly slipped away as he
stared at his friend standing there. "Wait a minute…" He glanced at Van, who
was holding his bruised cheek then at the hole in the wall and finally at his
glaring friend. "It was you!" He grabbed Ed by his shirt and shook him
violently. "You put a hole in our wall! What did that wall ever do to you? Do
you expect me to sleep in a room with a hole in the wall?"
Ed's brow twitched bit in annoyance.

"I think you're missing the important point here, Ling." Mustang said with a
sigh as he walked over to the group. "Took you long enough to wake up,
Fullmetal, but did the first thing you do have to be to hit your father?"

"While we're on that," Van rubbed his cheek. "Did you have to hit me with
your right hand?"

Ed's hand itched with the urge to punch his dad again, though he didn't think
he could get away with more than one punch in here. When he saw his father
just sitting there, bruised cheek already healing, Ed growled. Oh, well, screw
everything. Screw the consequences. He wanted to hit the man a second time!

Before he could though, Al's hand was on his shoulder pulling him back and
with Ling suddenly releasing his shirt and pushing him back instead he didn't
get to punch Van again. Stupid friends and predicting his actions. Why
couldn't they just stay out of his way?

"Brother, would you just calm down already?" Al scolded.

Ed shot him a glare, but just crossed his arms and turned away from Van to
show he wasn't going to punch anyone again, unless it was Ling. Ling was
always going to get hit whenever he acted like an idiot.

"You know," Ed said with a small smirk as he looked at his friend out of the
corner of his eyes. "I had an amazing dream where I got to kick you, idiot
prince. It felt so wonderful."

Ling glared at him with a frown.

The smirk Ed wore grew. "Wasn't a dream, was it?"

"I can't believe I missed you while you were asleep." Ling muttered.

Ed closed his eyes, smirk disappearing before he stood up straight. "Alright,"

His eyes snapped open so he could glare at everyone again. "What the hell is
going on? Why is Hohenheim here? And you," He snarled, turning to look at
Al and May. "What the hell did you two do?"
May squeaked in fear and hid behind Al's leg.

"It was Dad's idea!" Al protested. "And it worked so I don't know why you
are complaining!"

"I'm complaining because I don't know what worked. I'm not something to
experiment on!" Ed growled.

Izumi raised a brow. "What exactly happened in the bedroom?"

May coughed a bit, smiling sheepishly as she and Al stepped aside to allow
everyone a view of the bedroom to see the array on the ground.

"Alkahestry?" Scar asked surprised when he recognized the array May was
constantly drawing.

May nodded. "Mr. Hohenheim was talking to us about how Homunculus

turns off alchemy and why it shouldn't be possible to do the same thing to
Alkahestry. He suggested we try to heal Ed of the pain he was in with
Alkahestry to see if I could use it here."

"So you did use me as a part of your experiment?" Ed growled.

"We were helping you. You were in a lot of pain. You could act a bit more
grateful. You could still be unconscious right now." May retorted stubbornly.

Ed scowled and turned a glare to his father before looking back at May,
trying to reign in his anger. "It's not that I'm not grateful. I can still remember
the pain so I appreciate you….doing whatever it is you did. I feel like I am in
top condition."

"As you should. What I did was medical Alkahestry. I used the chi of the
Earth and let it flow into your body to calm you down and help heal the pain
your body was fighting so you should have been calm when you woke up. I
don't know what went wrong with that part." May said with a frown. "The chi
I left flowing in your body should have kept you calm."

Havoc snorted from where he was leaning against the couch. After they heard
Ed screaming, they all rushed out thinking something was wrong, only to see
Van lying on the ground. Ed certainly wasted no time in letting his anger get
the better of him. "Can't do anything about his temper, May. The moment he
saw his father, you should have known he was never going to stay calm."

May huffed, but nodded.

"So Alkahestry can be used here?" Scar asked interested, looking down at his
hand in interest.

"Not getting any ideas, are you, Scar?" Mustang demanded, glaring at the
Ishvalan.

Scar shot him a glare in return. "I'm not planning to kill anyone, Mustang. If
it was a few days ago, I would already have you on the ground, but I
understand what is going on as well as you do so I am not going to be taking
anyone out."

"I feel like there is a 'yet' hanging in the air." Ed muttered to Ling, who
nodded in agreement.

"I know. He did lose his temper the other day. What if he does again?" Ling
said quietly.

"Hopefully they weren't be any more surprises like what happened in the
war." Ed replied.

Izumi rolled her eyes. "You idiots figure this out yourself. I have a lunch to
go finish making."

"Need any help?" Ed asked.

"Stay out of the kitchen!" A group of voices mixed together to shout at him.

Ed rolled his eyes. "As sensitive as ever. It was one time. I'm not going to do
it again."

"Ah, forget that," Hughes slung an arm around Ed's shoulders. "I'm just glad
you are awake."
"How long was I asleep for? You make it sound like I was out for ages." Ed
replied.

"I think you were out for around an hour and a half." Hughes replied.

"Felt more like two hours." Ling retorted, glaring at Hughes, who grinned
back at him and dragged a confused Ed away.

May blinked as Ling followed after Hughes and Ed. "Uh, Al, what does that
seem like to you?"

"Hughes messing with Ling by keeping Ed to himself." Al said dryly. "No

wonder Ling calls Hughes his enemy."

"Weren't we supposed to explain things to Ed though?" May asked.

Al glanced at his brother, who was fighting against Hughes before he was
thrown onto a couch with a look of annoyance as Havoc ruffled his hair,
making Ed snap at him. "He looks distracted to me. He'll remember
eventually….maybe. We'll just explain things to him then." Al sighed and
looked at his dad, who was standing up now, cheek healed. "That
Philosopher's Stone is a cheat is probably what Brother is thinking."

Van chuckled. "He has a really good punch."

"He hit you with his automail hand though. That is cheating." Al said. "I'm
really sorry about him, Dad. I didn't think he would wake up right after May
finished so I didn't react to stop him from hitting you."

Van shook his head. "It's alright, Al. I probably deserved it. I did leave you
two to fend for yourselves." He smiled sadly at his son. "If I had known
Trisha died, I would have come back for you two."

"I know you love us, Dad. You don't have to convince me." Al replied before
he looked over at his brother, who was laughing with Ling now. "But
Brother…he is just so angry about you leaving."

"And I don't blame him, Al. He is allowed to be angry at me, just as you are
allowed to not be angry at me. You can be mad at me if you want." Van told
him.

Al shook his head. "I can't. I know why you left. I understand why you did it.
Brother knows to, he just doesn't want to forgive you because he is so
stubborn."

"Because he has been angry at me for too long." Van replied. "Just because
he learned the truth about why I left doesn't mean it will be so easy to forgive,
Al. When people hold onto angry for so long, it is hard to forget it and
forgive. Maybe he'll never forgive me. Maybe one day he will find the
strength to let go of his anger at me and forgive. But it is up to him."

Al's hands curled into his fists as he thought that over. He and Ed always
fought about their different opinions of their dad. Whenever their dad was
brought up, it led to raised voices and just pointless arguing. Nothing was
ever solved and nothing was changed when they did that. Perhaps it was time
for them to stop arguing about their dad. At this point, it was up to his brother
like his dad said. He couldn't change his brother's opinion. He had all the
facts just like Al did. It was up to Ed to sort through them and his feelings on
his own.

*Kitchen*

"You would think you were unconscious for days by the way you are eating,
Chief." Havoc said in shock as he watched Ed eat plate after plate of food.

Ed paused in his eating to say, "You know going through pain like that saps
you of a lot of energy. I slept through it to gain some energy back, but I need
substance to restore the rest of my energy." After that, he went back to eating
and didn't rise again.

Havoc slowly turned to look at Ling to see him eating just as much as Ed,
though this was actually normal for him. "Are we sure these two aren't
related?"

Luke snickered as he grabbed his water. "Why can't they be brothers in

everything but blood? You know, like brothers-in-arms?"
Ling, who had been following the conversation, looked up with a grin. "Ed,
we're brothers now!"

Ed's foot shot forward under the table and kicked Ling in the shin. Ling fell
forward in shock and pain and grabbed his leg under the table. "Would you
stop kicking me?!" Ling shouted, but Ed ignored him as if nothing happened
and continued to eat, but Ling could still see his smirk. "Seriously, I don't
understand why I missed you at all."

"Cause life is boring without me." Ed said before shoving more food in his
mouth.

"Arrogant little–"

SLAM!"

Ed stood up, eyes blazing as he glared down at Ling. "DID YOU JUST
CALL ME LITTLE, YOU SQUINTY EYED FREAK?!"

"I did!" Ling retorted as he stood up and glared down at Ed. "What to make
something of it, shorty?"

Ed's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I do." He lunged over the table, tackling
Ling to the ground with a war cry ripping from his throat.

"And now I miss the peace we had when Chief was sleeping." Breda said
dryly as he stared at the two teenagers rolling around on the ground, throwing
punches at each other.

"If they almost kill themselves, I'm not going to heal them." May warned as
she came over, jumping over to the two fighting teenagers.

"Don't worry about that. If they almost kill each other, it will be their fault.
They should suffer from their injuries to learn their lesson." Mustang said
coldly, glaring down at the two for a moment before returning to his lunch.

Van chuckled as Ed and Ling made their way around the cafeteria, seeming
to be trying to kill each other. "Those two are certainly lively."
Al sighed. "I honestly don't know where Brother's get his violent streak from.
Neither you or mom were like this. It was probably Teacher's fault."

Izumi looked up, eyes seeming to glow red, making Al squeak in fear.
"Would you like to say that again, Al?"

Al frantically shook his head. "No, Teacher!"

Izumi nodded and stood up. "That is what I thought." She walked down the
table and picked up Ling's and Ed's dishes.

"I don't think they're done." Havoc said.

"Idiots who spend their time fighting don't get to finish eating." Izumi
growled.

"WHAT?!" Ling and Ed shouted, heads poking over the edge of the table to
stare at Izumi.

"But Teacher–" Ed said.

"I'm hungry." Ling whined.

Izumi glared at them both and left with their plates.

Ed scowled while Ling glared at him. "This is your fault."

Ed rolled his eyes. "You started it."

"No, you did! You kicked me first!" Ling retorted.

"Because you were saying stupid things." Ed snapped.

The two glared at each other, making the soldiers roll their eyes.

"I cannot believe you two are fighting about something so pointless." Hughes
said.

Ed and Ling slowly turned to look at Hughes and said in perfect unison,
"Nothing is ever pointless."

Mustang smirked. "Weren't you constantly saying that the other day,
Hughes?"

Hughes rolled his eyes. "Ed, just go help Izumi with the dishes."

"I'm banned remember?" Ed retorted.

"You're unbanned." Hughes ordered.

"Now I wish I wasn't." Ed muttered to Ling, making him laugh.

Smirking, Ed got up and headed to the kitchen, hands shoved in his pockets.
He had no idea why Hughes suddenly wanted him in the kitchen, but
whatever. He was such a strange one. So strange that Ed could never figure
him out. Oh, he knew Hughes was an obsessed family man and was very
smart, but he was complicated as well. He should hit him for it.

"Hey Teacher, Hughes wants me to help you." Ed said as he walked in to find

her by the sink.

Izumi glanced over at him. "Oh? I only get help when you are told to?"

Ed scoffed. "I was banned, remember? And now apparently I am unbanned. It

really makes no sense."

"Then let's get to work and get the dishes done quickly so we can get back to
watching the future." Izumi replied.

"Yeah." Ed said softly, but he didn't move, making Izumi shoot him a glare.

"Get to work, Ed."

Ed frowned and crossed his arms. "There's something I want to ask you."

"Then get to it."

"Why didn't you stop me and Ling?"

Izumi raised a brow. "Stop you from fighting?"

Ed nodded. "Usually if it was Al and me, you would pull us apart and throw
us into a wall. I imagine you would do the same with Ling and me, but you
didn't. I just found it strange is all."

"Maybe it's because we don't need any more holes in the walls." Izumi said
with a smirk.

"I think they add character." Ed retorted.

Izumi stared at Ed for a moment before she quickly made her way across the
kitchen, surprising Ed enough that he actually took a step back. But Izumi
moved faster and grabbed his arm before pulling him towards her and
wrapping her arms around his small form. Ed's eyes widened in shock. "I
thought I was going to lose you, you idiot. And then your brother passed out
along with you. I was so scared I would lose you two just how I lost my own
child."

"…Teacher." Ed said quietly. When he felt his teacher's hand on his hair,
smoothing it down, he smiled a bit and returned the hug. "I'm sorry, Teacher.
I'm sorry for worrying you, but I promise you, I won't die."

"You better not, you reckless brat. I don't want to have to watch you or your
brother get buried before me. You hear me?"

Ed smirked a bit as his teacher's tone turned harsh once more. "I hear ya,
Teach. I hear ya."

*Screen Room*

"Are we finally able to start again?" Olivia asked. "No more distractions?"

"Actually, I'm still hungry." Ling protested.

Olivia glared at him.

"…I can wait." Ling said. "Oh, wait, I have that candy I won earlier." He
pulled out a bag of candy, making Ed look around.
"Where did you pull that from?" Ed asked incredulously.

Ling grinned at him. "That's for me to know."

"Whatever. Give me some of that. I'm still hungry too." Ed said as his hand
plunged into the bag.

"Hey! This is mine!" Ling growled, pulling the bag away. Ed's hand fell out
of the bag, but it was too late as he already had a handful of candy. "You
could have asked."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Quit your whining. There's a lot there."

Olivia growled. "Both of you shut up now before I knock you back out,
Fullmetal."

Ed gaped at her. "Why only me?"

"At least with you unconscious," Olivia pointed at Ling. "He doesn't talk as
much."

"But I was already unconscious. Can't we knock Ling out this time? Don't
you want to know what it is like with just me?" Ed asked.

"We already know. Remember? We had fourteen episodes to figure out what
it was like with you alone on the first couple of days." Havoc pointed out
dryly.

Ed scowled. "You're all jerks."

The mountains of Briggs appeared on screen with cannons shooting in

the distance.

The cannons on Fort Briggs were shown up close with soldiers around
them, watching through binoculars.

"So, what is happening at Briggs?" Van asked.

"Oh, right, Kimblee brought the Drachman army there to get killed for the
Crest of Blood up there. I guess we forgot that part." Al replied.

Van sighed. That would make this the final Crest of Blood. They were getting
close to being ready to set their plan in motion. It wouldn't be much longer
now. The eclipse was approaching fast, and with it, the true final battle which
would be the end of Homunculus forever or it would be where they all died.

"Wait…what? Drachma is attacking? Since when?" Ed asked confused,

looking around. "And when did Kimblee decide to bring them to Fort Briggs?
I thought he was going after Scar. Did he already find Scar?!"

"Oh, right. See, in the last episode–" Hughes started.

"Last episode?" Ed glared at the occupants of the room. "You guys watched
an episode without me? Where the hell is the love? How could you go ahead
without me?"

"I don't see why missing one episode makes you want to complain. I missed
forty-two." Van said.

Ed shot a glare at him.

"We missed fourteen." Lan Fan added, motioning to her and the others from
Xing.

Ed crossed his arms. "Fine."

"Good." Hughes nodded. "Now last episode, with Scar's brother's research,
we found a new countrywide transmutation circle, though we do not know
what it does. We saw Pride order Kimblee to carve the Crest of Blood at Fort
Briggs and to forget about Scar for the time being."

"So Kimblee didn't find Scar and his group? Winry is still safe?" Ed asked.

A teasing grin appeared on Hughes's face. "Oh, I see how it is. Forget
everyone else. You only care about your love."

Ed's brow twitched violently. "Hughes! Die!"

"Already did, it's not pleasant so I won't be trying a second time." Hughes
replied.

Ed gaped at him for a moment before smacking his face. Right. Hughes was
killed by Envy in the future. He guess he forgot about that part with
everything that has happened, mostly the torture his body went through. It
kind of wiped a lot from his mind. Stupid pain.

Al coughed. "Anyway, after Kimblee got that order, we saw Dad in Liore.
While there, he met Pride in the transmutation circle and declared war on
Homunculus, then we saw Kimblee leading the Drachmans to Fort Briggs to
die."

Ed nodded. "Doesn't sound like I missed a lot."

"It was only one episode." Hughes replied.

"Oh! And Zampano betrayed us!" Ling added loudly, making Ed stare at him
blankly.

"How so?" Ed asked, glancing over at the scowling Zampano and then back
at Ling.

"He called Envy and told him where Scar and Dr. Marcoh are hiding." Ling
explained.

"Huh, doesn't seem like the kind of thing he would do." Ed said with a frown.
"Why'd he do it?"

"We don't actually know that part." Avery replied. "We just saw the phone
call."

Van raised a brow at that himself. They forgot to mention Zampano making
that phone call to him earlier. Despite the strange assortment of people they
had in this group, he didn't see any of them as being ready to betray one
another.

The scene changed to show the Drachmans on the ground, cannons

destroyed, blood everywhere, and a few Drachmans still standing.
Cannons hit the ground around, exploding and filling the scene with
white smoke as the Drachmans cried out.

Fort Briggs was shown from a downward angle as more and more
cannons went off and slammed into the Drachmans. A cannon was
shown up close as it shot off another cannonball.

May grimaced a bit as she watched the slaughter of the Drachmans. It was a
horrible thing to watch. The soldiers probably didn't mind slaughtering their
enemy so much since it was part of their job to protect the country, but it was
hard for her to watch a slaughter like this. There was no hiding the bodies or
blood that was spilled all over the place. She knew why Amestris had to do
this and she knew it was Kimblee's fault for leading the Drachmans there for
this, but something like this still wasn't something she wanted to see. It was
too horrible and gruesome. And the fact that they were being killed as part of
an evil plan for Amestris just made it even worse. No one deserved to be used
like this.

Smoke filled the screen. As it faded away, the Drachman commander

was seen walking through the messy chaos of his men being lost to him.
"Kimblee!" He shouted. "Where are you?"

Cannonballs hit the ground, causing it to tremble violently.

The Drachman commander was shown up close, covering his head as he

groaned. He looked up with a frown. "This…this shouldn't be
happening! You guaranteed victory! What happened to the turncoats
who would attack from the inside?" He looked up and a look of horror
crossed over his face.

Olivia scoffed. "What a pathetic excuse of a commander. The moment things

don't go the way it was planned, he falls apart instead of taking charge of his
troops who are in disarray."

"Personally, from the beating you guys are giving them, I don't think there
was any way for them to recover and regroup. You aren't exactly giving them
the opportunity." Hughes replied.
Ling nodded with a frown. So this was the strength of Briggs while in battle.
They were really a strong force to be reckoned with. Their attack was not
ceasing for one second. They would attack until there was no longer an
enemy left to oppose them. No wonder they were the perfect defense. They
never once let anyone passed them.

The scene changed angles to show a cannonball slamming down in the

area where he was. Smoke and snow filled the area as his hat drifted
slowly down to the ground as more and more cannonballs slammed
down and filled the whole scene with smoke and snow.

'How tragic. Poor excuse for a commander.' Luke sneered.

'The soldiers are at fault as well. They couldn't maintain formation during
our assault.' Brody pointed out.

Havoc raised a brow. "What language is that?"

Luke grinned. "Drachman."

"You guys speak Drachman?" Ling asked surprised.

"We're stationed on the border of Drachma. It's a good idea to have a few
soldiers who can act as translators up there if we ever catch a Drachman spy
and need to interrogate him." Luke explained. "This way they can't hide their
answers behind Drachman."

"How do you interrogate them?" May asked.

Brody smirked. "You really don't want to know."

May shivered a bit. And they were hunting her down in the future a few
episodes back. Scary thought.

Ed scoffed. "They just want to show off that they can speak a second
language."

"Like you with your secret conversation with Ling in Xingese?" Luke
retorted.
Ed raised a brow. "I cannot believe how sore you are being about that."

Luke cried in frustration. 'You can be so irritating at times!'

"Okay, I can't reply because I honestly don't know what you said." Ed
replied.

'Good.'

"Don't start." Ed growled.

"Doesn't feel so good when you can't understand people, does it?" Luke asked
with a smirk.

"Irritant." Ed grumbled under his breathe.

Fort Briggs was shown once more as another cannon fired.

"Cease fire, men!" A soldier shouted.

Buccaneer and Miles, who was looking through binoculars, were shown
from the side.

"That was too easy." Buccaneer said.

Miles lowered his binoculars. "Yeah," He walked to the edge of the roof
and his face was shown up close from the side. "But why?"

"Because a psychopath led them into a trap." Brody said dryly.

"I wonder where said psychopath disappeared to anyway." Aran added. "It
didn't seem like he had enough time to get off the battlefield before we began
our attack."

A smirking Kimblee was shown, smoke blowing passed him as he walked

through the bloody mess of bodies. His foot was shown as he stepped on a
Drachman's hat. The scene changed to show his smirking face once
more. "The Crest is carved."
"He's standing on the battlefield." Lan Fan said with a frown.

"How did he not get killed if he is still down there?" Avery shouted in
frustration. Why couldn't they just kill Kimblee? After everything he's done,
after all the trouble he has caused them and almost killing Chief, he wanted
nothing more than to see Kimblee get what he deserved.

The scene pulled up higher and higher to show Kimblee standing in the
middle of the mess of blood, bodies, and destroyed weapons as the wind
blew.

The opening song began.

A small village appeared on screen with Ishvalan refugees all around.

A small shack was shown as a couple Ishvalan women, carrying sticks

and folded laundry, walked in front of it as they smiled and chatted with
each other as a couple of playing kids ran with them.

"You aren't listening!" May shouted before she appeared on screen with
Al in front of her and Xiao-Mei next to her. As gentle, fun music played,
she slammed her hand on the ground with each word she said. "I told
you!" She stopped hitting the ground and Xiao-Mei stopped copying her.
"Alkahestry is all about reading the Dragon's Pulse."

"I told you." Al retorted, mocking May by hitting the ground three times
as he spoke. "I have no idea what that even means."

"Seems you two are getting along very nicely." Ed said with a smirk.

Ling snickered, while Al shot the two a glare.

"May, you aren't really helping since I have no idea of what Dragon's Pulse is
in the future." Al told her, still glaring at his snickering brother and his
brother's friend. As of this moment, Ling was going to be deemed the enemy.
Since Ed was his brother, he couldn't technically call him an enemy. He'll just
say Ling corrupted his brother and made him even worse than he was before.

"Come on, Al. She can't help it. Dragon's Pulse is something every
Alkahestrist and warrior in Xing knows. It's like the first thing we learn to
read when we begin training." Ling said with a smirk. "To her, it's just
something natural so she doesn't understand that you don't understand what
she is saying since you are already behind by not even know what the
Dragon's Pulse is."

"No one asked you, enemy." Al muttered.

Ling raised a brow. "I'm the enemy?"

"Yes."

Ed covered up a laugh by turning it into a cough and looking the other way.
First Hughes declared Ling the enemy. And now his brother was doing it too.

"Sorry, Al." May said sheepishly. "But Ling is right about why I said it the
way I did."

Al nodded. "The way you and Dad were talking about it earlier makes it
easier to understand."

Ed raised a brow. "Why were you talking about Alkahestry?"

"He and May were explaining quite a bit about it and how it works since May
was going to use it on you." Al explained, making his brother scowl and lose
all his amusement in the situation at the mention of Van.

May and Xiao-Mei crossed their arms as they were shown close up.
"Clear your mind and think with your senses." May uncrossed her arms
and pointed her index fingers at her forehead. "Like this. See. It's easy."

An angry Al appeared on screen. "You're just pointing!"

"He has a point. That is confusing." Havoc said with a frown.

"Hey Chief, didn't you start your lessons on reading the Dragon's Pulse with
Ling already?" Brody asked curiously.

Ed nodded. "Yeah. Al has a point though. It is confusing at first."

Ling snorted. "It took you an hour to even feel my chi and that was after a
half hour explanation because you kept yelling at me that I wasn't making
much sense, then you threw me into a wall and the moment you did that, it's
like everything click for you."

"Still took an hour to just be able to sense your chi." Ed muttered.

Ling shrugged. "It takes practice and complete understanding. At least it is

only reading the Dragon's Pulse you're learning. If it was Alkahestry, it would
take a lot more studying."

May nodded. "Correct. Reading the Dragon's Pulse and doing transmutations
with it are very different. When doing transmutation, you need two arrays
and you have to connect them with the mediums, like my kunai, through the
chi of the Earth. To do so, you need to have great understanding of the
Dragon's Pulse, be able to read it very well, and know how to use the chi of
the Earth to connect the mediums. If you make a mistake, it will either result
in a rebound or the transmutation won't take place because you don't connect
the mediums properly."

"And you can't explain that properly in the future?" Al asked dryly.

May blushed. "We don't know what I said before this, Alphonse. The future
skipped over showing us that part."

The door of the shack was shown with angry red scribbles around it as
May said, "No, I'm focusing."

"Can't you explain it scientifically?" Al asked.

The scene pulled out to show Scar with another Ishvalan approaching
the shack.

"They rambunctious, huh?" The man asked.

The two were shown.

"Yeah, no kidding. Sorry to impose on you." Scar replied as the man

turned to look at him.
"You're not imposing. You're actually helping us out." The man replied
before the scene changed to show Winry helping a little girl hang the
laundry.

"Except for May and Al who decide yelling at each other about Alkahestry
and the Dragon Pulse's is a better use of their time." Hughes said, chuckling a
bit.

"It's important." Al retorted.

"Why are you so interested in learning Alkahestry anyway?" Van asked.

"Brother and I think it might help in our search to get our bodies back to
normal." Al explained.

Van nodded. "I see. So you two don't want to use a Philosopher's Stone
then?"

Al shook his head while Ed just shot a glare at him. "No," Al said. "We don't
want to use people's lives to fix a mistake that is because of our own
arrogance."

Van smiled. That was strong of his sons to make that decision. The choice
was right in front of them. Their journey could end, but they were determined
to find another way, which would take them down a harder path.

A smiling Winry turned to the girl to pick up the next item before Yoki
fell onto screen with a kid on his back, pulling at his hair, hiding Winry
from view. He screamed in pain as the kid yanked his hat off and he fell
to the ground to show Winry staring in surprise at him.

"Ow! Stop pulling my hair, you brats!"

The scene changed to show Yoki on the ground with two kids on him,
one of them yanking at his hair.

"You guys are a welcomed distraction for our kids." The man said.
Yoki's head was shown up close as the kid yanked some of his hair out of
his head.

Ed snickered.

"Brother, that's mean." Al scolded.

"Doesn't make it any less hilarious." Ed replied with a smirk. "He is horrible
with kids."

"He seems fine with me." May said.

"Isn't that because you aren't pouncing on him and are very kind and
helpful?" Al asked.

May smiled. "Most likely."

The Ishvalan man and Scar were shown up close as they watched.

"OOOOW!" Yoki screamed as Jerso and Dr. Marcoh walked over to the
two.

"We're gonna head out to find some firewood." Jerso said when Scar
looked at him. He was shown. "Would you mind letting Zampano know
for me?"

Zampano shifted a bit uncomfortably as quite a few people gave him dark
looks of betrayal. He hadn't even done anything yet. Future him was the one
who made the call and none of them even knew why he did. He was tired of
getting glared at when he was just as confused and upset about this as the rest
of them about all of this. As of this moment, he knew he would never betray
his comrades like this when he knew what was at stake. And since Future him
knew the stakes as well, he couldn't imagine any reason as to why he would
call Envy. It just wasn't making any sense at all.

Scar appeared as screen as he gave a small nod.

"Damn it!" Yoki shouted before he was shown running away towards the
group. He spun around and pulled his hat on. "Evil little children!"
"You think he would be used to evil brats." Skylak said with a smirk.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Is that a jab at me?"

"I thought you liked being evil." Skylak replied.

"I do. It's fun. You should try it." Ed replied.

"I'm fine." Skylak said.

Ed shrugged. "Suit yourself. Though I still claim to know nothing of this evil
torture I put Yoki through."

"You were drunk, but you can't have forgotten it all, Brother." Al said dryly.

Ed snorted. "Sure I could." He looked over at Hughes. "Right?"

Hughes frowned at him. "You shouldn't have been drinking at all, Edward."

"Not my fault." Ed grumbled.

"You like drinking? You should really come to Xing. We have some great
drinks there." Ling said with a grin.

Ed pushed him over. "I don't drink. I'm not even old enough."

"Aww, come on, Ed. When I become emperor, you really have to come to my
coronation and have some drinks with me." Ling replied as he sat up, making
Ed glare at him.

May huffed. "Again with claiming you'll get the throne?"

"I do a have a stone, while you don't have one." Ling retorted.

"Do not start arguing about that again." Mustang growled.

"But–" May started.

Mustang put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. "No."
May grabbed her ears and shot a glare at Mustang.

"And where the hell is Zampano?" Yoki looked around. "Why does he
get to wander off while I get tortured?" He asked as the scene changed to
show a forest near Asbec.

The music ended as a lone figure was shown to be standing on a snow

covered path outside the forest.

Heavy breathing was heard before Zampano was shown up close

running towards the man. "Hey!" Zampano said with a wave before he
was shown from behind as he reached the man. "They're close by.
Follow me." He spoke quickly before turning away.

The man lowered his hood to show an Ishvalan, but when he spoke it was
Envy's voice, "You lead the way, Zampano."

Scar snarled angrily. He was impersonating an Ishvalan, one of his people.

And with the knowledge that Envy was the one who started the Ishvalan war
and enjoyed every moment of it, that just angered Scar a lot more. Envy
taking the appearance of one of his people made Scar want to end Envy and
all of his sadistic ways. All the destruction that Envy loved to cause just hurt
too many people. His mind flashed back to when he killed Winry's parents,
then the image of watching the crying girl point a gun at him. He would
always take the blame for that, but it would never have happened if Envy and
the Homunculi were never involved. He killed innocent doctors and left their
daughter an orphan because of the cruelty and greed of Homunculus and his
'children.'

Ed frowned as he heard Envy's voice, but didn't ponder on it too much. They
would have to see where this led. Right now, he was more concerned about
something else…his black book wasn't on the floor anymore! He knew he
dropped it earlier when he was fighting through his pain. Did someone pick it
up? Or did it get kicked somewhere? He had to find it before someone else
looked inside it! Anyone who saw those pictures must perish….unless it was
Al. But if Al had the book, he would have given it back already or told him.
So where was it?!
Dramatic music suddenly thundered in the background as the title
screen came up with the title, "Bite of the Ant."

Central Command appeared on screen with storm clouds in the sky.

The Fuhrer's office appeared on screen as the music slowly stopped.

Bradley was behind his desk while Riza was off to the side making tea.

"So I hear you've discovered Selim's true identity." Bradley said.

Riza's hands appeared on screen, pausing in pouring the tea. She was
shown, looking out of the corner of her eyes at Bradley, before she
shifted her eyes back to the dishes. "Yes, sir."

Ed laid down on the floor and looked under the couch. That was the most
logical place for his book to be. He was sitting by this couch when the pain
started. He could have kicked his book under the couch without realizing it
when he was thrashing around. He scowled as he looked under the couch.
Stupid darkness under the couch. That coupled with the fact that his book
was black did not make it easy to find. Shoving Hughes's legs out of the way,
Ed pushed his arm under the couch and swept it across the ground. The more
he moved his arm around, the deeper his frown became. WHERE WAS IT?!

"Ed," Hughes said annoyed as his legs got shoved by Ed again, this time in
the opposite direction. "What are you doing?"

Ed lifted his head off the ground and glared at him. "None of your business,
Hughes!"

"If you're going to keep pushing my legs around, I believe it is my business."

Hughes replied.

"You will know nothing!" Ed shouted. Hughes definitely could not find out
about the photo book. It would be the death of them all.

"And you're also aware of who I am." Bradley said, causing Riza to
stiffen as he spoke.

"Yes." Riza replied before she went back to pouring the tea. The tea cup
was shown with a strainer in it as Riza poured the tea into it.

Riza's face was shown as she kept her eyes focused on the tea.

"Lieutenant, I'm interested in hearing your opinion as a loyal citizen of

this country." Bradley said as the scene changed to show him with his
eye closed. "How do you feel about your leader being a Homunculus?"

"That is a strange thing for him to ask." Brody said with a frown. "What does
he care what Hawkeye thinks of that?"

"Who knows? Bradley is such a misleading Homunculus." Cyril said. "One

moment he can be completely cheerful and making jokes, then the next he is
completely serious and deadly. Do you believe it could be a part of his cover
to make sure no one realizes he is Wrath?"

"Even if that was the plan, it would be hard to pull off since Homunculi don't
have emotions the same way humans do." Dr. Marcoh replied, frowning in
thought. "It might have something to do with the fact that he is a human
based Homunculus."

"But so am I…I mean, future me." Ling replied confused. "I…he hasn't really
shown many different emotions like Bradley has."

Dr. Marcoh nodded. "True, but since you've become Greed in the future, we
have not seen much of you. In fact, we haven't seen you since before Ed and
Al left for the north. We do not know how your future self is doing as a
human based Homunculus. And you have to remember, since we know
nothing about any of this, we don't know if there is an affect to the human
body when a human based Homunculus is born. For all we know, Bradley
really could just be acting."

"What does any of this have to do with the question at hand?" Hughes asked.

"There was a question?" Ed asked, head popping over behind the couch
Hughes was on, making Hughes and Riza jump in surprise when his voice
assaulted their ears so close to them.
"Were you listening at all?" Brody asked.

"….No." Ed admitted.

"When did you get behind there?" Riza demanded, glaring at the teen. "And
what are you doing?"

"….Nothing." Ed said. "I moved back here while you were all distracted by
the future."

"Stop fooling around and sit still, Edward." Izumi growled, glaring at the
teen.

"NEVER!" Ed shouted as he ducked back behind the couch to continue

searching for his book under the couch. Maybe he kicked it so far back, he
couldn't reach it from the front.

Riza's face was shown up close once more. She looked briefly out of the
corner of her eyes before looking back down with a frown. "I think it's
sad the family I've answered to and trusted isn't real. That you don't
even have that much."

Bradley appeared on screen, slowly opening his eye.

The room was shown.

"You're just putting on an act, pretending to be the humans you secretly

despise."

Riza nodded. That was how she did feel. For years, everyone in the military
answered to Fuhrer Bradley and protected his family. It was their duty to
protect their leader since losing their leader would lead to absolute chaos. But
now, she knew it was all a lie, a farce. Selim and the Fuhrer were both the
enemy, Homunculi pretending to be humans and fooling all of them with the
act. She hated the fact that she had to continue to answer to a family that
wasn't real. She would do her part as a loyal soldier and continue her job as
Fuhrer Bradley's adjutant until the time was right to overthrow the traitors of
their country.
Bradley stood up. "It is true that Selim was appointed to be my son by
my superior." He clasped his hands behind his back and walked over to
the window to stare out it. He was shown up close from behind, his
reflection seen in the window. "Everything from my power down to rank
was appointed to me. Most of my life is just an act."

Riza appeared on screen, looking down sadly, eyes trembling.

"But my wife at least was of my own choosing."

Riza lifted her head and looked at Bradley in surprise. The scene
changed angles to show her staring over at Bradley.

"Huh? He chose Mrs. Bradley to be his wife?" Aran asked surprised.

"It does make sense though. Homunculus can't just make a woman be
Bradley's wife. Though it is surprising he even chose a wife for himself since
they do despise humans so much." Armstrong replied.

"Probably for the family dynamic." Hughes said with a frown. "The people
would be more accepting of a leader who has a family because it will show
he values that." He grinned at Mustang's back, and Mustang felt it so he
started twitching. "So you need to get a wife and have some kids, Roy! It will
help you!"

Mustang's hand snapped behind him, fingers poised to snap at him before he
paused and growled. "You're lucky, Hughes. Very lucky right now."

Hughes snickered.

"You know, one day I really think he is going to burn you." Ling told him.

Hughes smirked. "You just be concerned about not getting killed at Ed's
hand."

Ling huffed. "Ed would never kill me. He loves me!"

Hughes glared at Ling, making the prince snicker until he was suddenly
tackled by a blond teenager who flew over the couch between Riza and
Hughes.

"You idiot! I will kill you!" Ed shouted, hands already around Ling's neck to
throttle the younger boy.

A frazzled Hughes blinked a few times and looked at the space between him
and Riza, surprised Ed made it through that without hitting either of them.
"Wow, you are smaller than I thought."

Ed paused, hands falling limply off of Ling's neck, who breathed in relief and
collapsed back against the ground. Very slowly, Ed turned to look at Hughes
with a very angry look in his eyes. "Hughes…" He practically flew off of
Ling and grabbed Hughes by his shirt and started shaking him violently while
screaming, "WHO THE HELL IS SMALLER THAN THE GROOVES IN A
TIRE THAT HE CAN USE THEM TO HIDE FROM GETTNG KILLED
BY A TIRE?!"

"I didn't say that!" Hughes protested while the soldiers roared with laughter.
"Do you have some type of horrific dream where you get killed by tires?
Where did that even come from?"

"That is not the issue here!" Ed snarled, shaking Hughes a bit more roughly.

"What? So you do?" Breda asked with a smirk.

Ed screamed out in aggravation before releasing Hughes and falling limply

onto the surprised soldier.

"Ed?" Hughes poked Ed's head. "Come on, Ed. I know you're still alive."

"Leave me to my misery." Ed moaned.

"What about my misery?" Hughes said with a frown. It wasn't exactly

comfortable to have a teenager lying on him, especially at such an awkward
angle since the teen was half off the couch. Sighing, Hughes looked over at
Ling. "Catch."

"What?" Ling asked confused but didn't get an answer as Hughes pushed Ed
and the surprised Prince found himself with Ed lying on top him. Ling
groaned under Ed's weight. "That wasn't necessary, Hughes."

Hughes chuckled. "It's fun. Ed is just being over dramatic again."

Ed rolled off of Ling and glared at Hughes. "You're mean."

Hughes leaned down and ruffled Ed's hair, making the teen scowl and glare at
him. "Hey, you're the one who fell on me. If you want a hug, Ed, I prefer you
give me one in a more gentle way."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "I will enjoy watching you burn in hell."

Hughes shook his head and leaned back into the couch. "How will you do
that?"

"I have my ways."

Bradley turned to look at her. "Are you finished with the tea?"

Riza shifted a bit in surprise. "Ah," She quickly put down the pitcher
and looked at the tray with the cup on it, looking a bit frantic and lost as
she did. "Yes sir."

"Looking a bit out of your element there, Lieutenant. Did you lose your
composure for once?" Mustang said with a smirk.

Riza glared at Mustang. "I would advise you to be quiet, sir."

"So Lieutenant Riza breaking down in tears when she thought you were
killed by Lust's hand doesn't count as losing her composure?" Al asked.

Riza turned her glare to Al, forcing herself to remain calm as she remembered
how close she came to losing Mustang there. She wasn't there to watch his
back and he almost died because of it! That couldn't happen again. She
couldn't lose him. He had to accomplish his dreams with her helping him by
guarding his back.

The tray with the single cup of tea on it appeared on screen as Riza
carried it over. Bradley took the little plate the cup was on and took a sip
of the tea. "Delicious, thank you."

The screen slowly moved towards Riza as her brows furrowed a bit as
she watched him.

The scene changed to show the north again with two figures in the
distance near an abandoned shed.

A bunch of sticks appeared on screen as Jerso tied a rope around them

to keep them together. "Are you serious, Doctor?" Jerso asked. The
scene changed angles to show Jerso kneeling on the ground, looking at
Dr. Marcoh, who was picking up more sticks. "You were one of the big-
weight researchers at the Fifth Laboratory?"

Dr. Marcoh stood up and pushed his fist into his back a few times. "I
wasn't that important. I just had a few men working for me." He turned
to face the screen before he was shown up close. "It's been ages since I've
spoken with any of them."

"Hey!" Zampano shouted.

A grinning Zampano and a disguised Envy were shown to be

approaching as suspenseful music started to play.

Scar shot a glare at Zampano. He led Envy right to Dr. Marcoh. He may find
it hard to forgive the doctor for using his people to make that wretched
Philosopher's Stone, but he did recognize the fact that they needed his help.
Dr. Marcoh was an essential part in figuring out how to stop what was going
to happen to Amestris. And now a betrayal was occurring from someone who
he didn't think would become a traitor. He didn't know Zampano long, but he
really did seem like he wanted to help save the country, if not for his duty as
a soldier then to protect his family that believed him to be dead. Wanting to
protect his family should have been reason enough for him to not betray.

"You brought him right to us." Jerso growled, glaring at his friend.

Zampano didn't bother to reply. He just kept his eyes locked onto the screen,
mind in complete turmoil. Why? Just why was his future self doing
something like bringing Envy right to where Dr. Marcoh was? None of this
made any sense. He wouldn't do something like this. So why? It was all he
could ask himself at this moment.

Dr. Marcoh was shown, gasping a bit. The scene pulled out a bit to show
Jerso as he stood up next to Dr. Marcoh.

"Who is this man with you?" Dr. Marcoh asked.

The scene changed angles to show all four of them as Zampano stopped
and turned halfway around to Envy. "He's just a nice drifter I met."
Zampano was shown up close with Envy behind him. "He was hoping
you might be able to examine him, Doc–"

Envy grinned evilly as he interrupted. "You can stop, Zampano." He

was shown up close, expression in his eyes turning dark just like the
dark, evil grin marring his face. "Nobody's falling for your bad acting."
Red alchemical light sparked around him.

Dr. Marcoh was shown.

Envy was shown, walking forward as his body started to change back
into his normal appearance starting with the feet first and moving up.
"It's nice to see you, Doctor. It's been too long." His transformation
finished as the red sparks wrapped around his head before his long spiky
hair fell down, dark grin still on his face. "I like what you've done with
your face."

Dr. Marcoh was shown again as he frowned.

Envy appeared on screen, walking towards the doctor. "Now, who do

you think you are? You honestly believed you could pull one over on
me?" His foot was shown as he stepped into the snow and the ground
exploded under it, snow filling up the screen. As the snow hit the ground,
Envy was seen as he lowered his arms and stared down at the ground in
surprise. The scene rapidly moved down to show ice spikes sticking out
of the ground with one of them going through Envy's foot as red light
sparked around.
Ed laughed loudly. "Oh, that is too great. Alkahestry, May?"

May smirked. "It looks like it, Ed. Unless you can activate an array like that
with alchemy."

"Not that I know of." Ed replied with his own evil smirk. "Envy's shocked
face was just too good."

"I wonder if he knows about Alkahestry." Al wondered.

Van smiled. "He doesn't. Homunculus would not waste time researching the
sciences of a country that is so far across the desert."

Al nodded. "I remember. He was surprised that Scar and May could still use
their Alkahestry after he blocked alchemy."

"It was an arrogant mistake of his not to look into the sciences of Xing."
Olivia said with a smirk. "Arrogance like that leads to mistakes that start the
downfall of a tyrant."

"What is this?" Envy was shown from behind as Zampano ran over to
Dr. Marcoh and Jerso. He was shown up close as he shouted,
"Zampano!"

Dr. Marcoh was shown with Zampano reaching him as dramatic music
began to play. Zampano laughed and turned to face Envy. "Now what
were you saying about my acting? It's bad?"

"Heh," Ed smirked. "So it seems Zampano didn't betray after all. He was
actually helping you by luring Envy to you."

"Shut up, Elric." Jerso said as he threw a pillow at the teen which hit him in
the head. He turned back to look at his friend. "Luring the enemy towards us,
huh?" He smirked and nudged his friend in the side. "You did an excellent
job of acting. I don't know what Envy is talking about with your acting being
bad. It seems you fooled him easily."

"It's easy to fool someone who takes so much pleasure out of the cruelty he
passes around." Dr. Marcoh said. "He was blinded by his love of cruelty that
he failed to see the trap."

"Makes everything easier for us." Zampano said, shooting his friends a look.

"Fine," Heinkel grumbled. "Sorry for doubting you. With all the stress and
fear of not knowing what our future will bring us, I guess we really weren't
sure what to believe because of that."

Zampano grunted. "It's understandable, I guess. But I hope you know now
that I would never betray you guys."

The scene slowly zoomed in a bit on Dr. Marcoh. "Thank you, Envy. You
couldn't have made our plans to lure you here any easier. You did just as
we expected. You take such delight in your cruelty," Envy was shown,
gritting his teeth and glaring at Dr. Marcoh. "I knew you'd come to
capture me on your own."

Envy chuckled and pointed at Dr. Marcoh. "Well, you were right about
that one, Doctor." He flung his arm back as he threw his leg back before
he was moving forward again. "And now that you've got me here you've
asked for–" Envy stopped as blue alchemical light started to flash
around him again.

The scene pulled out to show Envy from a distance, blue light sparking
from the ground all around his body. An ice fist shot out of the ground
right under Envy, slamming into the Homunculus and sending him
flying through the air while he screamed, "Aaahhh!"

Ed and Ling roared with laughter.

"Oh man, that is too great!" Ed cried.

"Is it a bird?" Ling asked with a mad grin in place.

"No, is it a hot air balloon?" Ed asked, smirking.

"No! It's a flying Homunculus!" Ling and Ed shouted together before they
collapsed onto the ground, clutching their sides as they laughed loudly.
The soldiers smirked.

"A flying Homunculus, it certainly is a sight to see." Avery said, shaking his
head in amusement.

"May, do not take this the wrong way, but I know this is your doing and I
love you so much for it right now." Ed said, grinning widely as May blushed
a bit but still managed to smile brightly.

"I'm glad, Ed…though you seem rather sadistic." May said.

Al laughed. "You're learning, May. You are learning so much. That is normal
for Brother."

Ed glared at Al. "Ha, ha. It is normal in terms of Envy since I hate him! He
has done so many horrible things in the past and in our future. He deserves
whatever is coming to him."

Dr. Marcoh, Zampano, and Jerso appeared on screen, all three of them
smirking.

Dr. Marcoh chuckled. "What do you think, Envy? They're like

landmines loaded with alchemy!"

Envy was shown on the ground as snow fell on top of him. He shot up.
"That kind of alchemy doesn't even exist!" He slammed his fist into the
ground.

The spot where he hit was shown as blue alchemical light shot up again.
Dr. Marcoh and Zampano were shown from behind as Envy was heard
screaming again as ice spikes shot out of the ground into his body.

Hughes whistled. "It seems like you guys are very well prepared."

May laughed. "I think I understand. We planted arrays all over the ground
under the snow and I set them off as Envy touches them."

"Minefield!" Ed cackled.
"Do you think you might be getting too much pleasure out of this?" Skylak
asked.

"Never! Envy killed an innocent girl in Ishval, pretended to be a priest to start

a riot in Liore, killed Hughes, tried to get Colonel to kill Ross, tried to kill
Ling, almost killed us inside Gluttony and almost ate me in there. All the
while getting so much pleasure and enjoyment out of the chaos and death he
caused!" Ed said angrily. "And now, he is completely confused and no longer
in control of a battle with his manipulative ways. He is losing to the humans
he claims to be fools because they actually care for each other." He paused as
he thought about it. Sloth was indolent. Wrath was furious. Pride was
arrogant. Lust was lascivious. Greedy was obviously avaricious. Gluttony
was voracious. So that would make Envy jealous obviously, but for such a
cruel and manipulative Homunculus, just what was he jealous of?

The spikes were cut in half before Envy was shown up close in the
middle of the ice, arm still stretched out as the broken ice fell to the
ground. "Damn it!" He shouted. He stepped onto the broken ice and
jumped over it to land in the footprints in the snow. "You say there are
landmines? Well, then all I have to do is follow your footsteps to avoid
them!" He stepped carefully into the next footprint, but an explosion
shot out of it as he stepped into it. The snow turned into an ice hand once
more, this time with the index finger of it pointing out to send a
screaming Envy flying through the air once more. He was shown up close
as he continued through the air, screaming, "What the hell?"

Brody laughed. "That's a great reaction."

"How long until he realizes he is screwed?" Walkers asked.

Ed snickered before turning serious. "Okay, it is really fun to watch Envy get
blown this way and that way in a minefield, but besides aggravating him, you
aren't doing much to use up his Philosopher's Stone. I hope there is more to
your plan then just getting great amusement by making him go flying."

"To not get killed or captured seems like good goals." Jerso said.

"They always are." Luke replied.

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen, looking up at the flying Envy. "They're
set to detonate for Homunculi only!"

"Good idea." Miles said, nodding his head. "Don't let him find out about
Alkahestry."

"Though I doubt he'll believe that the "land mines" only detonate for
Homunculi." Al said.

"He may not believe it, but with no knowledge of Alkahestry, he won't be
able to figure anything out." Dr. Marcoh replied.

The scene changed to show the area they were in. An abandoned shed
was to the far right. The scene slowly moved to the left to show Dr.
Marcoh, Zampano, and Jerso from behind on a hill and Envy kneeling in
the snow with an ice hand behind him. "We've littered the entire area
with them, all hidden beneath the snow." Dr. Marcoh said.

Envy was shown up close as he stood up, looking warily at the ground.

"Well, Envy, how does it feel to have the tables turned on you?"

Envy's wary look turned to one of anger and he looked up to glare at

them.

"It's not as much fun on that side, is it?"

The scene moved passed him to show the shed as an evil chuckle was
heard. Two figures were seen in the shed before it was shown up close to
show Al and May, who had evil amusement shining on her face, in it.

"It's working perfectly." May said before her hand was shown to be
resting in the center of one of her purification arrays.

"Evil." Al said amused. "Why is that you seem to be enjoying this?"

"Hello? Minefield!" May said with a grin. "How often do you get to make a
minefield using arrays?"
"….Never considering we can't do that with alchemy." Al replied.

"Oh, well, you don't get to do it often with Alkahestry….eh, ever with
Alkahestry since it is more focused on medical purposes and the fact that we
don't have immortal monsters in Xing." May replied.

Ed smirked.

"Don't smirk, Brother." Al said. "It makes me think you're thinking up evil
thoughts."

"That's cause I am." Ed replied.

Al sighed.

"What are you thinking of?" Ling asked excitedly.

"I would learn Alkahestry just so I could make a minefield like this and screw
with Envy." Ed explained.

"Of course you would." Mustang said dryly.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Colonel–" He said, turning to his superior with a frown,
only to lose his voice as he caught sight of the papers lying on the ground in
front of Mustang. He looked from the papers thrown around the place then
back at Mustang, eyes going wide in shock.

Mustang merely grunted, still immersed in his work of decoding Ed's notes
while everyone else went completely silent. Al even started to tremble in fear
and tried to silently crawl away from the impending doom that was about to
befall them all. The longer that Ed took in the mess that he now recognized as
his research notes, the more he started to tremble with uncontrollable anger.

When Ed didn't continue, Mustang looked up with a frown only to see a pale,
trembling Havoc pointing behind. Raising a brow, Mustang looked over his
shoulder to see Ed standing there, anger radiating off of him in waves, fists
shaking at his sides with his eyes scrunched shut.

"Colonel," Ed said slowly and almost entirely too calmly before his eyes shot
open, fire burning in them as he looked at Mustang with a steady glare full of
anger. "What. Have. You. Done?!"

He said it with so much anger, but still in such a calm way that Mustang had
to wonder where the control came from since he had never seen it before. "I
believe I am studying your notes." Mustang replied calmly.

Ed's eyes flashed angrily. "I never gave you permission to tear the binding of
my notes!" He screamed, pushing Mustang aside and shifting his notes
around. "They're completely out of order!" He looked up with a glare and
without warning tackled his boss. "YOU!"

"FREEZE!" Izumi screamed, glaring at Ed, who paused in his plan to throttle
Mustang and looked up at her. She was glaring darkly at him. She was
glaring darkly at him. Oh…that was never a good sign.

"Y-yes, Teacher?" Ed asked nervously.

"If you're going to fight about this, Ed, take it somewhere else." Izumi
shouted, glaring at Ed. The teenager nodded quickly and stood up, grabbing
Mustang's wrist as he did and dragged his surprised boss to the training room.
"She will kill me if I don't listen. That's the only reason you aren't being
throttled out there."

Mustang raised a brow before smirking. "You want to spar again."

"No." Ed stepped into the sparring ring. "I want to kill you for messing up my
notes!"

"Nice goal, but it's not one you'll ever achieve." Mustang replied.

Ed snarled angrily. "Whatever. What's the deal with my notes?"

Mustang raised a brow. "I already told you. I am in the process of studying
and decoding them."

Ed screamed and pulled at his hair. "Why did you have to take them apart to
do that?!"
"Because I am looking for the way to decode them."

"And you think you can do that by ripping the binding?" Ed launched himself
at Mustang, bringing up his leg to kick Mustang. Mustang jumped back, but
Ed followed him and threw a fist into Mustang's face. Mustang stumbled
back and threw his leg up to kick Ed, who jumped back to avoid it. With Ed
out of the way, Mustang fell down, but threw his hand back to catch himself.
He quickly rolled out of the way of another one of Ed's fists before he pushed
himself back to his feet.

Mustang narrowed his eyes as he dodged Ed's foot and continued moving
backwards as Ed continued to throw punches and kicks at him.

"Heh," Ed smirked and slammed his elbow into Mustang's stomach when he
found the opening. He followed this up with dropping down and sweeping
Mustang's legs out from under the wheezing Colonel. "I'm not restrained by
broken automail this time."

Mustang groaned from the mat as Ed stood up. His eyes opened and his
kicked his leg to the side, knocking Ed down to the ground. "Don't get
overconfident, brat."

"Lucky shot." Ed snarled as he rolled onto his stomach and flipped himself
back onto his feet. "But don't think it'll happen again! May's transmutation
has put me in top condition!"

Mustang rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Great."

*Screen Room*

"You let him leave to beat up Colonel." Havoc said, staring at Izumi with a
frown.

Izumi scoffed. "I never liked that egotistical Colonel anyway."

"Didn't Chief lose in the last fight against him?" Brody asked.

Kei smirked. "That was before I fixed his arm. Want to make a bet about who
will win now?"
Izumi smirked. "Don't bother with that. Now that he is in top condition, there
is no way my stupid ex-pupil will lose again."

*Training Room*

"HA!" Ed exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air triumphantly. "I came, I saw, I
conquered!"

"Yes, wonderful," Mustang groaned from where he was lying on the ground
with Ed's automail foot firmly planted on his chest. "Now get your foot off of
me!"

Ed smirked down at him. "What's the matter, Colonel? Too weak to move it
yourself?"

Mustang rolled his eyes. He grabbed Ed's ankle and yanked on it, causing Ed
to fall backwards. The teen threw his hand backwards to catch himself and
flipped himself back onto his feet.

"Well, you're free. I won. Everything's good." Ed said, brushing his hands
off. He paused and thought about why he decided to beat the crap out of
Mustang in the first place. "Actually, it isn't fine. YOU DESTROYED MY
NOTES!"

Mustang scoffed as he stood up. "They are hardly destroyed, Fullmetal. The
binding was just ripped and they are thrown around the place, but not one
page has been ruined."

"You think that makes it alright!?" Ed shouted, pulling at his hair again. He
grabbed Mustang by his shirt and proceeded to drag the Colonel back to the
screen room.

*Screen Room*

"YOU DESTROYED MY NOTES!"

May frowned. "I think Ed's stress levels are rising again. And I just got him
calm with my transmutation too."
Al sighed. "Don't worry about Brother, May. This is pretty normal for him. It
has nothing to do with stress."

Ed stomped into the room, still dragging Mustang with him, catching
everyone's attention.

"Hey–" Havoc started, but stopped when Ed sent him a death glare.

"Not one word." Ed hissed. He looked at Mustang. "Now fix my notes!"

"Never!" Mustang declared, pulling away from Ed's grip and fixing his shirt.
"I haven't decoded them yet."

"And you'll never be able to so give it up!" Ed shouted, staring sadly at his
notes strewn around the place. His poor travelogue! He knew it was a
horrible idea to let Mustang have it.

"On that, I have to ask." Dr. Marcoh asked amused. "What is with the pages
about smoothies?"

Ed blinked and looked away from his notes. "I like smoothies."

"But why are they in your research notes?!" Mustang demanded.

"Why don't you have any in your notes?" Ed retorted.

"Because I'm not insane!" Mustang snapped.

"Well, you should be! It is much more fun on this side." Ed replied, glaring at
Mustang. "And on this side, we don't destroy people's research!"

"Your research is completely fine. Not a single page is torn. It's just no longer
held together." Mustang said.

"Oh? And that makes it better? It's not like it's destroyed as long as all the
pieces are there. So I can go and destroy Al's armor and it would be perfectly
alright since all the pieces are still there?" Ed growled.

Mustang raised a brow. He wondered if Ed knew that Al was in pieces in the

last episode. But how would he have found that out?

Al whimpered and tried to crawl behind the couches to hide.

"Don't. Move." Ed snarled when he caught Al shifting out of the corner of his
eyes. "You're next, Alphonse Elric! I should disassemble you for allowing
this to happen! I'll make a giant how-to-assemble-an-Alphonse puzzle! Then
we'll see how you like being in pieces and maybe you'll protect my things
better when I am incapacitated!"

Ling roared with laughter while everyone else just gaped at Ed.

"Ed…are you sure you were sleeping during the last episode?" Hughes asked.

Ed shot him a look. "Of course I was sleeping. I was unconscious from pain!
And that is not the issue here, Hughes! The issue is destroying Al!"

Al screamed and ran away from the room, making Ed blink in shock before
he was running after his brother, screaming and cursing at him for being
horrible at protecting his precious research.

"He….Ling…." Hughes looked from Ling to where Ed and Al disappeared.

"Maybe he and I have best friend telepathy." Ling said with a smirk, which
made Hughes glare at him.

"THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE!" Hughes screamed. "You and he are not

allowed such a thing. Already hanging with you makes him even more of a
brat who wants to mock everyone. You cannot have telepathy too. The world
will not survive!"

"I find that insulting." Ling replied. "Ed and I have no plans to destroy the
world." He thought for a minute. "But we might conquer it. Would that be a
problem?"

"YES!" Hughes and, to Ling's surprise, a lot of other soldiers screamed.

Ling looked over at Lan Fan with a smile. "That makes me want to conquer it
with Ed even more now. You want to help?"
Lan Fan sighed. "I will follow you wherever, Young Lord."

"You can't take over the planet!" Hughes said.

"I'm pretty sure with the Fullmetal Alchemist at my side, I can." Ling replied.

"And there you go again using Ed's title to say you can do whatever you need
to." May said with a frown. "He can't help you with everything!"

Ling raised a brow. "Do you know how many supporters he has in Amestris?
I'm sure with all the support he has, that taking over Amestris after I achieve
power in Xing will be easy."

"Try anything and I will burn you to a crisp." Mustang said.

"And I'll impale you on my sword." Olivia growled.

Ling chuckled nervously. Amestris was full of scary people.

"I'M SORRY!" Al screamed, running back into the room with Ed chasing
him with a kunai.

"Is that my kunai?" May asked as she watched the brothers run around the
room. She twisted around to follow their path. "How did he get my kunai?!"

Van raised a brow as he watched his eldest chase his youngest. He wasn't
concerned. He knew enough about his sons to know that they loved each
other very much so Ed wouldn't kill his brother. "Is this normal?"

"Chief wanting to kill Al? No, that isn't." Havoc said amused.

"STOP RUNNING AWAY! IT WON'T HURT!" Ed shouted as he jumped

over a couch, almost hitting Darius in the face with his foot.

"Watch it!" Darius snapped.

"NO!" Al screamed as he quickly turned and went back in the direction he

just came from to escape his slightly insane brother.
Ed jumped back over the couch, this time he did whack Darius in the face
with his hand.

"Damn it!" Darius shouted, grabbed his cheek. "Brat!"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT COLONEL LOST IT!"

"Are we sure Ed isn't the one who has lost it?" Lan Fan asked as she stepped
to the side as Ed came flying forward. He slammed his foot onto the couch
and propelled himself over it to get to Al who took the long way around. He
tackled Al to the ground, losing his….May's kunai in the process. An
annoyed Izumi caught it before it could hit someone. She handed it back to
May before she jumped over the couch.

"ENOUGH!" Izumi shouted. She grabbed the back of Ed's shirt and dragged
him off of Al. "We have better things to do then watch you fight everyone."

Ed huffed. "Fine. I still want my notes fixed!"

"I'm not done with them." Mustang retorted.

Ed shot him a nasty glare. "I can't wait to watch you fail and fall into
despair."

"Sit down and shut up." Izumi growled.

Ed dropped to the ground, arms crossed stubbornly. Stupid Al. Stupid

Mustang. Stupid Hohenheim.

Blue alchemical light briefly flashed around the array, connected by the
kunai. "He doesn't know it's remote Alkahestry."

An array was shown in the snow with kunai in it.

"I thought you didn't need a second array drawn when doing Alkahestry."
Armstrong said in confusion. "You were always fine with just throwing your
kunai then doing a transmutation."

"That is true when I am doing one transmutation. When you do a

transmutation at a long distance in battle, you have no choice but to just
throw markers and do it without an array. But if it possible to have arrays
prepared beforehand to do long distance arrays, then it makes it easier for you
since the array is already created." May explained.

The scene continued to move up to show arrays hidden all over the
ground.

"That's a lot of kunai. Where were you hiding all those kunai?" Al asked,
looking over at May.

May smiled. "That is a secret."

Al groaned in frustration. "Of course it is."

The scene moved up from the thin layer of snow that hid the arrays to
show Envy crouching in the snow. "That's enough!" Envy's hand was
shown, red light sparking around it as the hand turned into a monster's
claw. "You should've just done as you were told! But if you really want
to test me," Envy's eye was shown, completely black with a purple pupil.
"Then I'll show you who's in charge!" The scene pulled away from him
to show him completely muscular and growing rapidly. He threw his
head back with a roar escaping him. His back was shown as a big,
muscular limb shout out of his side. He was shown from the front as
another limb shot out of his side on the other side.

"Great, he is transforming into that giant form of his again." Ling grumbled
as he recalled what happened inside Gluttony. That wasn't something he
wanted to go through ever again. On that note, he never wanted to fight Envy
in that giant lizard form again.

Dr. Marcoh and Zampano were shown from behind as Envy's limbs
turned green and his body expanded rapidly into a large lizard-like
shape with his head shooting up with a mane of black hair falling around
his head and continuing down his neck.

Zampano and Dr. Marcoh were shown from the front as they stared up
at him in shock and horror.
"They look surprised." Ed said with a frown, falling out of his state of angry
to stare at the screen. "Hey Al."

Al jumped a bit and looked over at his brother warily. "Yeah?"

Ed raised a brow, but didn't comment. "Wouldn't your future self have
warned them about Envy being able to transform?"

"I may have, Brother. But even if I did explain it, seeing him transform into
that is completely different than hearing about it." Al replied, carefully
moving a few inches away from his brother. If he lost it again, he didn't want
to be near him.

Envy's face was shown up close, teeth gritted angrily as he pulled back a
bit. He opened his mouth and roared loudly as his tongue was shown up
close to show human faces on it. Moving down to his neck, little green
human faces protruded from it. Another portion of Envy's body was
shown to show another human head pushing itself out of his body and
screeching a bit before Envy's swinging tail appeared on screen. His tail
slammed into the ground, sending snow flying into the air.

Zampano was shown, snow billowing all around him as he shouted

"Doctor" before the snow hid him from view.

Envy's tail swept across the ground. The scene moved up to Envy as he
turned his head to look around. He noticed Jerso, who was transformed,
in the distance carrying Dr. Marcoh in a fireman's carry.

"Oh, that was a close one." Jerso said as he was shown close up,
readjusting his grip on Dr. Marcoh.

"Th-thank you." Dr. Marcoh said, lifting his head to look at Jerso.

"No problem, Doc!" Jerso said with a grin.

Envy appeared on screen, raising his head. "You're fast for a fat one."
He said before spikes shot across the screen and into his face, pushing his
face to the side. When Envy regained his bearings, he looked at the
screen.

"Well, that is insulting." Jerso growled.

"It was also a compliment." Zampano pointed out.

"Insliment!" Ed cried.

Jerso and Zampano blinked and stared at him. "What?"

"In-sli-ment." Ed said slowly and clearly as if talking to a child. "It's an insult

and a compliment!"

"Go back to bed, Fullmetal. You clearly still need more sleep." Mustang said.

"I am completely fine! May fixed me up great!" Ed snapped. "And insliment

is a real thing. You do it me all the time!"

Mustang raised a brow before shaking his head. His subordinate really was
insane.

Zampano, also transformed, was shown to be on his hands and knees,

spikes protruding from his back. "You shouldn't underestimate us
'scum!'"

Envy pulled his head back and shouted, "Damn it!"

May's hand, resting inside her purification circle, appeared on screen as

the array lit up with blue light.

Zampano was shown from behind with Envy in front of him as ice spikes
shot out of the round all around Envy and impaled him.

"You are using more than one array at a time." Dr. Marcoh said with a smirk.
"That definitely takes a lot of skill, May."

May nodded. "I am considered a master of Alkahestry."

"Really?" Ed asked surprised, but not because he was trying to offend May.
"That's really impressive for your age."

May raised a brow. "I'm eleven, Ed. Weren't you a master at my age?"

Ed laughed. "Good point. I guess that makes you a genius too." He grinned at
her. "Watching you fight with Alkahestry is definitely really impressive."

"Don't be fooled, May." Al said in a conspiratorial tone. "He is just trying to

butter you up so you'll teach him Alkahestry so he can screw with Envy using
a minefield like you."

May laughed while Ed rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Al. It would be fun!" Ed said.

"You're just evil!" Al retorted.

Ed raised a brow. "So you wouldn't enjoy fighting a Homunculus like this?"

"That's not the point."

"That's not a no! So I'm taking it as you would enjoy it." Ed declared while
Al just groaned in reply.

The ice spikes were shown up close as Envy's tail swept out, destroying
them. The destroyed ice was shown falling through the air before the
scene moved down to show a shocked Zampano and Envy as he shouted,
"If you think you're gonna win this, you're fools!"

Scar flipped through the air and broken ice to land in a crouch on
Envy's back. "Is that so?"

"That is one hell of a jump." Brody said blankly. How could anyone jump
that high?!

The scene pulled out to show Envy with Scar on his back as he turned his
head to look at him.

"Huh?" Envy said.

"The opponents just keep coming out of nowhere." Havoc said amused.
"Where was Scar hiding?"

"Who cares? The mystery adds to the fun." Ed said.

Havoc raised a brow. "Oh really?"

"Yes." Ed nodded, looking completely serious.

Scar was shown up close as he lifted his hand. "Now then," His hand
tensed and blue alchemical light flashed around it. "What do you think
of this?" He thrust his hand downward with a grunt before the scene was
shown from a distance as a metallic sound filled the air. Blue alchemical
light surrounded Envy's form with the sound of cackling electricity
joining the metallic ringing sound as his shadow flickered on the ground.

Envy was shown up close, screaming and with his eye rapidly moving.
His body was shown from behind as Scar landed on the ground right
before Envy fell down into the snow with a loud THUD, kicking up snow
as he did. His tail flew through the air before it landed with a thump
next.

Jerso and Dr. Marcoh were shown. Dr. Marcoh took a few steps forward
and asked, "Is he dead?"

"Highly unlikely." Ed said with a frown. "I used up a lot of his stone to get us
out of Gluttony and he was completely fine afterwards."

"That's true." Hughes said, frowning in thought. "Just how many souls does
he have in his stone?"

"It is likely that he has more souls in his core Philosopher's Stone then the
rest of the Homunculi. It seems that it takes a lot of energy for him to
transform." Dr. Marcoh replied. "If that is the case, then it's no wonder using
a part of his stone to escape Gluttony didn't affect him that much, though I'm
sure it used up quite a bit of the souls."

Dr. Marcoh and Jerso both gasped in shock before Envy's tongue was
seen flying across the screen. It slammed into Dr. Marcoh, sending him
flying back before he was suddenly yanked forward.

Scar appeared on screen, taking a few steps forward with a gasp.

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen with Envy's tongue wrapped tightly

around him as Envy chuckled and dramatic, suspenseful music started to
play.

"Oh, shit." Havoc said, frowning darkly.

Dr. Marcoh lurched forward a bit at the sudden pressure around his chest and
neck. He coughed a bit and felt around his neck. His chest and neck felt like
they were being squeezed tightly, but it was worse around his torso. Envy
was holding him so tight it felt like his bones were being crushed under the
hold, like they were about to snap into pieces at any moment. And the hold
around his neck, while it hurt, it was not tight enough to choke him. That's
right. Envy still wanted him alive to try to use him.

"Hate that tongue of his." Ed muttered. "It's so freaking creepy and

dangerous. You alright, Doc?"

Dr. Marcoh grimaced a bit. "Don't worry about it, Edward. As of right now,
I'm fine."

"I gotcha!" Envy said.

Dr. Marcoh pulled at the tongue around his neck.

"Doctor!" Zampano shouted.

"Whoa, stay put. Unless you want him dead." Envy warned as his tail
waved a bit.

"Empty threat." Dr. Marcoh sneered angrily. "He still wants to try to use me
for their plan."

"I don't think it is completely empty." Mustang said with a frown.

"Remember that Envy was completely prepared to kill Fullmetal when they
were trapped inside Gluttony. That was because he thought there was no way
out of there, but it shows that he doesn't care. He will kill anyone who gets in
his way. Besides, Dr. Marcoh, you haven't committed human transmutation.
You're just a candidate. He will kill you if he has to and find another
candidate."

"Like you, sir." Riza replied darkly.

Mustang sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, like me."

"You both are candidates to be a sacrifice?" Van asked with a frown, looking
from Dr. Marcoh to Mustang.

"That is what the Homunculi have been saying." Mustang replied.

Van looked down, thinking. His sons, Izumi, and himself were all sacrifice.
There was no doubt about that, but who would end up being the fifth
candidate? No one else had committed the taboo, at least no one that was
here. Was there someone that they didn't know about that would appear to be
the fifth sacrifice? And if there wasn't another alchemist that committed the
taboo by the time of the Promised Day, then what would the Homunculi
going to do? He knew they wouldn't decide to end their plans because they
didn't have a fifth sacrifice. Knowing their cruelty, he would hate to see what
they would do to one of their candidates if they couldn't gather the five
required sacrifices.

"Now then," His black eye with a purple pupil was shown up close. "How
should I punish you?" Envy's tongue which held the struggling doctor
was shown. "What do you think, Doctor? How about I wipe out a village
of innocent people?"

Dr. Marcoh clenched his hands into tight fists. Envy's cruelty really knew no
bounds at all. Just how many innocent people was Envy going to take delight
in killing? It was like they were all pawns in his sick twisted game of
psychological warfare. With Envy it was always the same. He liked to play
on the emotions of humans to have a psychological advantage against his
opponents to make it impossible for them to fight back. As if he didn't have
enough of an advantage against his opponents, he had to go and add the
trauma of changing into friends and family members. It must have been so
hard for Hughes to get shot in the future and watch his "wife" pull that
trigger. It was a horrible mind game that Envy liked to play. He preyed on the
emotions and weaknesses of humans to make them fall to their knees, unable
to fight back. It was a hard thing to handle since he knew anything Envy said
he did or would do, he did. It was so psychologically painful, he wouldn't be
surprised if people's minds did break because of it.

Dr. Marcoh was shown from behind, hands gripping the tongue around
his neck with Envy seen at a downward angle in front of him. "I'm not
gonna let you do that!" He struggled to get out.

Envy's hand stretched onto screen. He flicked Dr. Marcoh's chin,

sending his head back painfully.

Dr. Marcoh shouted in pain and grabbed his suddenly aching chin, then the
back of his neck as a feeling whiplash hit him. It was amazing his neck didn't
break from such a hard hit.

"Dr. Marcoh, are you okay?" May asked worriedly. "Should I heal you?"

Dr. Marcoh smiled at her as he rubbed at the burning pain in his face.
"Thanks for the offer, May, but I am fine. Let's not waste time with you
worrying about healing all the little aches and pains everyone feels in the
future."

May frowned, but nodded. She looked around the room. She wondered if she
could set up an array somewhere so that she could help people if the pain got
too much for them. But with a carpet floor, she didn't think this room would
work for her plan. Maybe she could set up shop in the infirmary. After
watching what Ed went through a few episodes backs, she wanted to help
anyone going through that kind of pain.

Zampano was shown from behind, taking a few steps towards Envy and
Dr. Marcoh, only to stop.

"Quit trying to resist, Marcoh," Envy rose to his feet as some red sparks
surrounded his back for a moment. "You just look stupid."
Dr. Marcoh was shown, breathing heavily for a few moments before he
looked up with blood trailing down his face. He grabbed the tongue
around his neck and looked up at Envy with a glare.

Envy's face was shown up close at an upward angle. The scene zoomed in
on his eye to show it looking to the side. The Ishvalan refugee camp in
the distance was shown.

"There we go! That slum is ripe for destruction!" Envy said.

Scar's hands clenched into fists. Envy knew that was an Ishvalan refugee
camp. He was going after his people once more to play his cruel
psychological game again. As if his people didn't suffer enough back during
the war, Envy was still using them for his sick cruelty. When would it ever
end?

Scar appeared on screen, glaring up at Envy.

Al was shown as he gasped.

Dr. Marcoh and Envy reappeared on screen.

"Don't do it!" Dr. Marcoh said.

"But it would be wasteful to simply kill them. I could always take them
back to Central instead! We are running low on ingredients!" Envy
replied.

"Who's making them?" Darius asked with a frown.

"Probably the Gold Tooth Doctor we saw earlier. He did use the stones to
help heal Kimblee. Isn't it likely he knows how to make them as well?" Ed
asked.

"It does seem likely. My research team was researchers of alchemy, but they
didn't perform it." Dr. Marcoh replied. "I do not know of another alchemist
besides the Gold Tooth Doctor that could do it."

"Homunculus could also do it." Van interjected. "Though I am not sure he

would use his time on that if he had another alchemist to do it for him."

Ed shot him an annoyed look before looking back at the screen with a scowl.
He didn't want to have to listen to him.

"Monster!" Dr. Marcoh said. "You're still using souls to make

Philosopher's Stones! I won't let you! Let my research team go, damn
it!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Envy looked closely at Dr. Marcoh with his eye which
had seven pupils in it. The eye was shown close up to show Dr. Marcoh's
reflection in all seven pupils. "It's a little too late to release them now
that we've turned them into Philosopher's Stones!"

Dr. Marcoh's trembling eye appeared on screen. "Y-you sacrificed my

men!" His eyes shut in despair.

Dr. Marcoh stared in horror at the screen. They already used his men to make
a stone?

"You should never have run off and left them behind." Olivier growled.

"I never expected this to happen. I was the only one to perform alchemy in
my team. I thought they would be fine and just continue researching the stone
or be charged with researching something else." Dr. Marcoh said sadly. He
really should have known better. His team wasn't informed of the Homunculi,
but that didn't mean they weren't in danger. But what could he have done? He
couldn't continue making Philosopher's Stones anymore so he left, but he left
his team behind. They knew that the main ingredient for the stone was human
lives, but they didn't know about the Homunculi. He ran away with the stone
out of horror and fear of what he'd done, not even thinking about his team.

"It doesn't matter what you thought. You never leave a man behind." Luke
replied.

Dr. Marcoh was shown from behind with Envy looking closely at him in
sadistic satisfaction. "What? I forgot to tell you? Oh well, Doctor.
There's no point crying over spilled milk now." Half of Dr. Marcoh's
face was shown with his eye still shut. "It's not right for you to get so
upset, considering all the Stones you've made!" Dr. Marcoh opened his
eye, a tear at the corner of it with a gasp. Envy's purple was shown up
close with Dr. Marcoh staring at it as he trembled. "And all the lives
you've put into them!"

Scar appeared on screen, glaring up at Envy as the homunculus cruelly

laughed.

"Psychological torture again." Armstrong said with a frown. "Envy either

really loves to torture people's minds or it really is used to hurt them so he
can win."

"In this case, it could be his form of a punishment." Mustang said, frowning
darkly at the screen. He hated seeing Envy's psychological games because
every time he saw him trying to hurt people through mind games all he could
think about was how Envy started the Ishvalan Civil War and enjoyed every
minute of it and the way he killed Hughes by looking like his wife. His teeth
gritted in frustration. He wanted to teach Envy a lesson about playing those
kind of games. He would show him just what his Flame Alchemy could do
first hand.

Zampano was shown, followed by May and Al shown from the side.

A tiny brown figure that looked like a baby human from Envy's tongue
reached forward to grab Dr. Marcoh's arm.

"You're right. I've sacrificed many innocent lives to make your damn
Philosopher's Stones!" The little baby human pulling at Dr. Marcoh's
sleeve started to cry.

Ed looked at the crying figure sadly. It sounded just like a baby crying out for
someone to come help. Everyone told him that those human like creatures
were no longer human and were just monsters as they lost who they were
when they became the stone, but his heart clenched in pain as he watched that
so-called monster crying and pulling at Dr. Marcoh's sleeve. Why was it
doing something like that?
'Help me…Kill me. Help me die! I'm begging you!'

'I want to die!'

'I don't want to be with you!'

'Mommy!'

Ed's eyes widened as the voices he heard earlier from watching the future him
fight Envy inside of Gluttony played through his mind, repeating over and
over again. They were hurting. They were suffering inside that stone. They
couldn't live their lives, but they couldn't die either because they were trapped
as a swarm of souls inside the Philosopher's Stone. They wanted set free. And
that little figure that looked like a baby human was crying for an escape. It
wanted set free. But that cry for the death, the way to escape the stone, made
them so much more human like to Ed and it hurt to think about just what type
of suffering they were going through.

The bottom part of Dr. Marcoh's face was shown, blood trailing down
his chin. "I know better than anyone else how much pain goes into
creating them!" His hands appeared on screen as he pulled off his glove
before it went back to showing the bottom part of his face. "And not only
do I know how to create them!"

Envy surprised face was shown from the side.

Dr. Marcoh's face appeared on screen as he shouted, "But I know how to

destroy them as well!" His hand was seen, blue alchemical light sparking
around it as he lifted his hand towards the screen to show the array
tattooed there.

"Destroy them?" May said in surprise. "That is possible?"

Van smiled as he leaned back in his seat. Taking the knowledge the
Homunculi gave him about how to create the Philosopher's Stones to use it
against them and destroy them. It was the fastest method to defeat a
Homunculus, but not one that many could do because it was something very
complex and it took lots of researching and studying of the Philosopher's
Stone to pull off.

"It is." Van replied. "It takes a highly skilled alchemist who had extensively
studied the Philosopher's Stone and knows everything there is to know about
them. It's not an easy task to accomplish."

"Which makes it a definite fault of the Homunculi. They told Dr. Marcoh all
about the Philosopher's Stone and how to make it so that will be Envy's own
downfall here." Al added.

Van nodded. "That is correct."

"I guess they believed I would never use what I learned against them." Dr.
Marcoh scoffed.

A mix of blue and red alchemical light lit up the screen as Envy was
shown with Dr. Marcoh's hand on his face as Envy screamed out in pain.
Envy's mouth was shown up close to show it open so the Philosopher's
Stone in his mouth could be seen with the blue and red lights mixing
together and converging towards the stone while the other parts of the
light were flashing around the scene.

Dr. Marcoh was shown, teeth gritted in determination and lights flashing
all around him.

Jerso and Zampano were shown from behind as they watched the
screaming Envy and Dr. Marcoh with flashing red and blue alchemical
sparks all around them.

Envy's mouth was shown up close once more to show both the red and
blue alchemical light surrounding his Philosopher's Stone.

Dr. Marcoh was shown once more. The alchemical light surrounding
him soon turned blinding before the scene changed to show Jerso and
Zampano from behind again. Red alchemical light flashed into the dark
sky, looking like lightening.

"That's really flashy." Luke said. "I hope that means the transmutation is
working."

"Since I have never done a transmutation like this before, I can't be sure if it
is or not, but it seems to be going fine. It should hopefully remain that way
and a rebound doesn't happen." Dr. Marcoh replied.

"Well, Envy sounds like he is the one in pain. That should be a good sign."
Brody replied. "But how is it that you are destroying the stone? I thought
Chief said Philosopher's Stones couldn't be destroyed."

"I think the correct way to phrase it is that I am draining Envy's Philosopher's
Stone of its power." Dr. Marcoh replied thoughtfully. "Because you are right.
A Philosopher's Stone cannot be destroyed. It can be used up from running
out of souls or drained of its power which will have the same result."

Winry and Yoki were shown playing with the Ishvalan kids. But from
the trembling ground, all of them looked up in shock.

A group of adults was shown from behind as they looked in the distance
at the red alchemical light that was filling the sky.

"What's that?!" An Ishvalan asked.

"That's where the Doctor and the others were headed!" Another
Ishvalan said.

Winry was shown, gasping silently as she stared in worry.

Dr. Marcoh hit the snow with the tongue falling slowly around him as it
disintegrated.

A groaning Envy was shown, red alchemical sparks around his head
while his body slowly disintegrated into black dust.

Zampano was shown dragging Dr. Marcoh away from Envy as he slowly
fell to pieces. Envy's head hit the ground and his mouth opened so his
tongue could bleed out of it.

"It's so much!" Envy cried as Dr. Marcoh was shown, lying on the
ground, with Jerso and Zampano, who supported the doctor, behind
him. "So much pain!" Envy's mouth was shown as a brown human
figure came out of his mouth.

Mustang snarled as he watched. Envy had absolutely NO RIGHT to complain

about pain after all the pain and suffering that he has caused. So many lives
have been lost from this world because of Envy. So much suffering in the
families of the loved ones he killed or were the cause of their death have
occurred. And so much mental torture he did. It was all because of Envy.

'An evil grin appeared on Gracia's face. "You look surprised."

"What the hell are you?" Hughes asked in shock and fear.

The streetlamp was shown before a shot ran out.'

Mustang's hand clenched into tight fists. That's right. Envy killed his best
friend in the form of Gracia. He made his friend suffer through the image of
his wife pulling the trigger and shooting him. No one should ever have to
suffer the mental torture of watching the image of their loved one shoot them.
And then he couldn't just leave it at that. He had to mock Hughes as he died.
The bastard.

'Envy looked down at Hughes, who had blood pooling around his body.

"You humans don't make any sense to me. You throw away your lives for
nothing." Envy said.

Hughes's blood trickled down to the picture of his family, covering it with
blood.

"Gracia…I'm so sorry….Elicia…Remember Daddy loves you. I'm sorry."

Hughes whispered before his head dropped down to his shoulder, never to
rise again.'

Mustang's fist slammed into the ground, startling quite a few people, but he
never noticed. All he could think about was Hughes. Envy killed his best
friend in the future and took so much sadistic pleasure out of it. He enjoyed
the pain and misery that he spread. Just how many families and friends has
Envy truly torn apart with his cruelty?

'"But if Daddy gets buried, then he won't be able to do all his work." Elicia
said.

Gracia was shown, tear trailing down her face. She put a handkerchief to her
mouth. "Elicia." She pulled her daughter up to her chest and cried against
her small form.

Elicia reached her little hand out towards her dad's grave. "Daddy said he
has a bunch of work he needs to do."

Armstrong covered his tear streaked face as he listened to Elicia's voice.

"No! Stop it!"'

It was all because of Envy. He spread so much pain and suffering. It wasn't
just him hurting. Gracia and Elicia were left without a husband and father and
all Envy could say was that Hughes threw his life away for nothing. It wasn't
for nothing! Dying to uncover a conspiracy that would destroy the country
and cause Hughes to lose his wife and daughter was not nothing! He died
trying to save them and the last thing Hughes had to hear was Envy mocking
him for it. Envy thought nothing of the torture he put people through. All he
cared about was the cruel pleasure that he got from it.

And because of that cruel pleasure, Envy had no right to be moaning about
pain. He deserved any pain he got! He deserved to suffer hundreds of painful
deaths as payment for all the suffering he has caused everyone. And more
than anything, Mustang wanted to be the one to cause him that pain, to teach
him the real rage of humans. Envy would suffer the same cruelty that he
showed all humans.

Its mouth was wide open to show the Philosopher's Stone in the center of
its mouth, red sparks zapping around it. The little human figures
continued to ooze out of his mouth.

Scar appeared on screen, watching calmly. A red spark zapped across

the screen in front of him.

Another one of the human figures from Envy's mouth appeared on

screen. From its mouth came another human figure, and from that one's
mouth the same thing happened. It happened once before it was Envy's
face pulling out of the next mouth.

"No! This can't happen! It can't!" Envy cried.

"That is really creepy." Richard said with a grimace. "Is this because of you
draining his stone of souls?"

Dr. Marcoh nodded. "Without the souls to power his transmutation, he is

losing his transformation."

"And reverting to his true form." Van added. "Without the souls, he won't
even be able to keep up the form you constantly see him in."

"What do you mean by true form?" Armstrong asked.

"It's not enough to create a Homunculus just from a Philosopher's Stone.

Each Homunculus has a true form which he gave the Philosopher's Stone to.
Like Fuhrer Bradley. He started as a human, correct? His body is his true
form. All the other Homunculi are not based on humans but have the form of
humans. But they started as something different." Van explained.

"Lust didn't show a true form when she was defeated." Hawkeye said with a
frown.

"You said that Colonel Mustang set her on fire over and over again until she
died." Van replied. "He used his alchemy to kill her repeatedly until her stone
was all used up. Her true form was never shown because instead of losing
enough of her stone to revert to her true self, she lost all of her stone in one
go."

"I see, that makes sense." Hawkeye replied. "So then Envy won't be
completely destroyed here?"

Van shook his head. "Envy is one of the Homunculi with the most souls in
his stone. You said it yourself earlier. He has so many souls in him to help
with his transmutation. It's not so easy to kill him. Even with Edward's
transmutation with Envy's stone and Dr. Marcoh's transmutation to drain the
souls, it is likely he still has a few souls left to keep him alive to show his true
form."

Dr. Marcoh, Zampano, and Jerso were shown for a second before Envy
was shown. His lower body was like a limp tail made of white human
figures that matched the brown human figures from his tongue which his
body was connected to.

"This can't be! No! How can this?" The scene slowly moved down to
Envy's shocked and horrified face. "How can this happen?" His hands
pulled at the ground.

"Because when you do horrible things, you will eventually pay for it. No one
can escape the punishment for doing cruel things forever." Izumi growled. "It
always catches up to you."

"In Envy's case, it took a very long time to catch up." Walkers replied.

"With his shape shifting ability, that's no surprise. He can hide and blend in
so easily." Hughes said darkly. Yes, with that ability, he can hide who he is.
It hid him from everyone who was looking for him. He changed his
appearance and committed cruel acts in the form of other people.

'"Have a heart, will you? I have a wife and daughter waiting for me." Hughes
said as a knife come flying into his hand from his sleeve. He turned to throw
it when he froze in horror to see his wife standing there, pointing the gun at
him.'

It wasn't his wife that shot him. Hughes knew that, but just seeing the image
of his wife, wearing such a cruel, evil grin and pointing a gun at him hurt him
so much. He loved his wife more than anything, besides his daughter, and to
know she pulled the trigger that ended his life, it was horrifying. It was more
painful than his actual death. Even now, though he knew the Gracia that shot
him wasn't real, he still had that image locked into his mind, unable to forget
it. He didn't think he would ever be able to forget watching Envy, who looked
like his wife, shooting him with such a cruel grin. Such a grin never belonged
on his beautiful wife's face.

Dr. Marcoh and the two chimeras were shown again.

Envy reached a hand up desperately towards them, fingers trembling. "I

could never be defeated by pathetic creatures like you!" His face was
shown up close, face twitching as he looked around with desperate, angry
eyes. "And you! You chimeras!" Envy's monster body was shown as it
started to turn into black dust that floated off into the air to reveal Scar
standing there. "Don't! Quit looking at me!" His voice was hoarse with
pain and sorrow. "How dare you look at me!"

"This is almost sad to listen to." May said softly. She did not feel sorry for
him. After every horrible thing she has watched him do, there was no way
she could feel sorry for someone so cruel. But hearing Envy scream at them
in such a tone to not be looked down on was a bit hard. It almost made him
seem human. He didn't want to be seen at his weakest, especially in front of
his enemies.

Envy pushed himself up, tear streaming down his cheeks. "Don't look
down on me, you WORMS!" Red alchemical light sparked around his
forehead as a little green lizard came out of it. It flew through the air as
Envy's husk collapsed face down on the ground. The little green lizard
hit the ground, bouncing a few times.

When it landed, it was shown close up. "Don't look down on…me…
worms." The body behind him disintegrated into dust and smoke.

"That's his true form? And he calls us worms?" Olivier scoffed. This was the
being that was causing so much bloodshed? What a truly pathetic creature he
truly was.

Mustang laughed harshly. "The thing that has been giving us so much grief is
a defenseless little creature." The cruel, sadistic monster that caused so much
damage and grief to their country was really a weak creature that was no
threat to any of them. A tiny insignificant true form that deserved the flames
of hell burning it to its core.
Hughes glanced worriedly at his friend before looking away. He has never
heard such a cruel, harsh laugh from his friend. He knew none of them had
any reason to feel sorry for Envy, but it felt like Roy was feeling more anger
than the rest of them. Not that Hughes could really blame him. He had no
sympathy for Envy either. He hated that Envy killed him. But even more than
that, he hated that Envy did it with the form of wife. That was absolutely
unforgivable!

"A tiny lizard." Ed muttered, eyes narrowed. "Firstly, HE calls me small?!"

He screamed angrily.

"I don't think that is the point here, Ed." Ling pointed out. "And what is
second?"

"We lost to a tiny lizard inside of Gluttony?!" Ed shouted.

Ling scoffed. "He wasn't so tiny when we fought him."

"Wasn't tiny when we fought him either." May pointed out with a smirk.

"Okay, that is completely unfair!" Ed protested. "There were only two of us

with only one of us being an alchemist, while there are five of you and three
of them are alchemists and the other two are chimeras! The only backup I had
against giant lizard Envy was a normal human!"

"Oi!" Ling shouted offended.

"Six." May corrected. "There are six of us."

"Al isn't fighting so he doesn't count." Ed replied dryly.

"Fair enough, Brother." Al said.

"Why aren't you fighting anyway?" Fuery asked curiously.

"I am probably there as a backup in case something goes wrong with the plan.
I don't want to reveal myself to Envy about being there since I am trying to
stay off the radar." Al replied.
"But it will be fine if he sees you after you capture him?" Darius asked.
"Cause that is where this looks like it is heading."

"Oh, yeah, because after we capture him, there's no way we would let him
escape so it won't matter if he knows I'm there." Al replied. "And since this
really is his true form and he doesn't have the energy in his stone anymore to
cause us trouble, I don't think anything is going to go wrong."

"Who cares about that?" Ling said, glaring at Ed. "If I recall, I was the one
keeping us alive when we fought giant lizard Envy because you were
freaking out!"

"And who was it that got us out?" Ed retorted. "Yeah, that's right. It was me
who saved us from that bloody grave! You would have died in there if I
wasn't there!"

"None of that matters." Mustang snarled, glaring at the tiny form of Envy on
the screen. His fingers itched to snap and watch it wither away in pain.

Ed looked at him with a frown, but just shrugged his shoulders and let it go
when he saw how angry his boss looked.

A gloved hand picked up Envy's lizard form by the tail.

Slow, somewhat sad music began to play as Jerso and Zampano were
shown from behind with Scar standing up in front of them, holding Envy
by his tail.

"How pathetic." Scar said. "This is the thing that caused so much
damage?"

Scar scoffed at the thought. A pathetic tiny ant was the reason that the war in
Ishval was started. Not to mention, the hand he had in so many other blood
baths starting. Who would have a thought a small creature could cause so
much pain and suffering?

He turned and a heavily breathing Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen. Scar

appeared on screen, staring indifferently down at him.
The group was shown from a distance as Al and May ran over to them.

"We did it, Marcoh." Scar said as the scene moved up to the grey sky.
"We won."

"That battle at least. The war is far from over." Dr. Marcoh sighed.

"It's a start though. The death of Lust and now the defeat of Envy shows that
we do have a chance of winning this war." Armstrong replied.

"And that means the thought of giving up should never cross our minds."
Rebecca said with a smirk. That's right. They were fighting monsters and
those without alchemy couldn't do much against them, but that didn't mean
they should give up the fight. Like the Briggs soldiers proved against Sloth,
they could be creative with their attacks to win. And even if they couldn't,
they had so many alchemists and chimeras on their side for the fight. They
would not just sit back and allow these monsters to do what they wanted with
their country.

The clouds started to shift to show the sun shining through.

The outside of the refugee camp appeared on screen. Yoki was standing
there, waiting with a frown while Winry sat on a broken wall with a little
girl and a couple adults and another kid stood behind her in the
background.

"Hmm? Oh!" Yoki turned to them with a grin. "Hey look! Here they
come!"

Scar's group was shown from a downward angle. Jerso carried Dr.
Marcoh on his back while Al and Zampano carried the firewood.

The group was shown from a distance as Yoki and Winry ran towards
them.

"Ah! Doctor Marcoh! Are you okay? What happened?" Winry asked
worriedly.

Dr. Marcoh chuckled weakly.

"She is very sweet to worry." Dr. Marcoh said with a chuckle as he held his
hurting chin which hurt a lot more when he laughed. Laughing was a bad idea
until the pain went away.

Al chuckled. "It is just her nature to worry about everyone. She is just that
caring."

"Yeah, she is." Ed said, not realizing he was wearing a fond smile as he
thought of her. "But why didn't May heal you before you left the area?" He
continued on in confusion as he looked down at his body. He was in perfect
shape because of May. Not an ounce of pain was in his body anymore which
he was thankful for. No more lingering pain to deal with until the next time
he got injured.

"I probably didn't want Envy to see it since I probably don't want to reveal
too much of my Alkahestry to him." May said with a thoughtful frown.
"Other than that, I can't come up with a reason of why I wouldn't heal him
right away unless I am just waiting until we get to back to the camp."

"Well, wanting to keep it hidden from Envy makes more sense to me." Ed
replied.

Scar's hand which held Envy was shown with Yoki looking down at it
from where he stood by Winry's side.

"Eh, what's that?" Yoki asked.

Envy was shown, eye trembling a bit.

The Ishvalan slums were shown with the mountains seen in the distance.

The scene changed to show Yoki standing with Zampano and Scar while
the others stood around Dr. Marcoh who was sitting with his back to a
wall.

"Whoa, I can't believe you guys would keep me in the dark about this."
Yoki said.
Ed scoffed. "I can believe it."

"Seriously, what did Mr. Yoki do that annoyed you so much?" May asked.

"I don't remember!" Ed shouted, holding his head. "It is all still a blank!"

Al sighed. "Brother, I've explained it to you hundreds of time!"

"That's your side! I need to know it from my perspective!" Ed retorted.

Mustang smirked. "Give it up, Fullmetal. Those memories are long gone.
Maybe now you'll know better than to drink on the job."

Hughes growled. "Wrong, Roy. He shouldn't be drinking until he is of age,

and then it can be said that he shouldn't drink on the job."

"Oh, my deepest apologies." Ed said sarcastically. He really should stop

bringing up the incident in Youswell.

Yoki was shown up close, grinning evilly as he leaned down closer to

Envy. "That's what you get for picking a fight with us humans." He
flicked Envy a few times. "Grotesque tadpole."

Dr. Marcoh was shown from the side with Winry and Jerso kneeling by
him.

"Look at you." Winry said sadly. "Why would you do something so

dangerous?"

"Because I had to." Dr. Marcoh replied. "I've always done what I was
told to do."

Scar was shown from behind, looking over his shoulder at the group.

"I had to take a risk and think for myself this time." Dr. Marcoh
appeared on screen. "I put my fear aside and did what was right." He
looked up at Winry. "I wanted to be like your parents."

Winry looked at him in surprise. She looked down for a moment before
looking up with a small smile. "You were, but try not to be so reckless."

Winry was shown from behind so Dr. Marcoh could be seen smiling at
her. "Sure."

"OOWWW!" Yoki cried as his hand was shown with Envy biting down
hard enough on it to draw blood.

Ed snickered, making May throw a pillow at him.

"Not nice, Edward." May scolded.

Ed tossed the pillow aside to add to his pillow collection. "Come on, it is a bit
funny. Yoki taken down by the weakest creature there."

Ling laughed. "He has a point."

"I thought you guys hated Envy and now you're laughing cause he's biting
Yoki? Do you hate Yoki more than Envy?" Brody asked.

"The amount of enjoyment I get out of torturing Yoki will never match the
hatred I have for Envy." Ed replied with a smirk. "Doesn't mean I can't enjoy
this."

"It was his fault anyway for taunting Envy." Ling pointed out.

"You two are so evil." Al said with a sigh.

The scene pulled out to show Yoki running around, waving his hand in
the air with the group watching. After he hit the ground, Winry, May,
Jerso, and Dr. Marcoh all appeared on screen, staring blankly at the
scene.

"Mr. Yoki?" May asked.

Yoki was shown lying in the snow. He lifted his head. "Help, get it off
me!" His neck was shown to have Envy attached to it.

"That's creepy." Avery said. "Why would he bite his neck like that?"
"Haha! I've hijacked this idiot's body!" Envy said as light dramatic
music began to play.

Dr. Marcoh was shown, gasping a bit.

Yoki was shown as his body danced around a bit from Envy's control
while Dr. Marcoh and Jerso stood up and everyone else just watched.

"Stop it! Let go! Somebody help me! I can't control my body!" Yoki
cried.

Envy was shown on his neck. "That's right, you can't." Yoki was shown
from behind, still dancing as everyone else still just watched. "Now if you
want him to live, you'll do as I tell you."

"Is it worth it?" Brody asked.

"Not really. Even doing this, Envy still really isn't a threat." Havoc said dryly.

"Though it is amusing." Ed snickered. "Take control of someone's body and

what do you do? You make them dance weirdly."

"Not like there is much else to do." Ling said with a grin. "Except, you know,
try to escape with the body or detach and run away. He is small enough that it
would be hard to find him if he moved fast enough."

"Naw, Envy wants to try to manipulate people in his escape first." Ed replied.

"Naw, he's all yours. Do what you want." Jerso replied.

"It's not like he's our friend or anything." Zampano said.

A shocked and horrified Yoki appeared on screen, blue-white lightening

zapping onto the screen behind him.

Al who had a tear in his eye and May, who had Xiao-Mei on her
shoulder and was busy wiping a tear from her eye, appeared on screen.
"Poor Yoki, I'm sorry I didn't know you better." May said.
Al pulled out a white handkerchief and waved it. "We'll never forget
your sacrifice."

Ed and Ling roared with laughter while everyone else just smirked.

"Oh, Al, how cruel of you and May!" Ed said, grinning widely. "And here I
expected better of you two."

Ling shook his head with a smirk. "And he calls us evil."

Al laughed. "I've been badly influenced."

Ed raised a brow. "By May? I always thought she was pretty innocent."

Al smacked his face while Ling laughed.

"I am pretty sure you're the bad influence, Chief." Breda said amused.

"For Al? Sure, I'll agree with that." Ed agreed easily. "But not for May since I
haven't really interacted with her much in the future. She probably just has a
demon trickster in her soul."

May glared at him. "I am not a demon like you."

"Ah, ah, ah," Ed said with a smirk. "I never said you were a demon. I said
you had a demon trickster in your soul. And that just means a part of you
likes to be a trickster."

May rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Edward."

A screaming Yoki appeared on screen, tears streaming down his face.

Yoki ran over to Scar. "Please, Mr. Scar! You won't stand back and let
this thing kill me! Right?"

Scar appeared on screen, staring blankly at him before quickly turning

away.

"Nice." Havoc said with a smirk. "No words needed."

"Oh, poor Mr. Yoki." May said tragically. "Even Scar has turned his back."

"Oh well." Ed replied. "Maybe he'll learn not to taunt people without the
strength to back it up now."

Shivers ran down Yoki's spine.

Scar's dark face was shown as Yoki shouted, "How can you turn your
back on me?"

Envy appeared on screen again. "What? What is this? Doesn't anyone

care about this guy?"

"You're wasting your time, Envy." Dr. Marcoh said.

Envy looked out of the corner of his eye at Marcoh.

Dr. Marcoh was shown to be approaching Yoki with Jerso and Al behind
him.

"We've accepted the measures we'll have to take in order to defeat you.
We'll destroy both you and this man if you don't surrender." Dr.
Marcoh said as the scene slowly zoomed in on him.

Envy reappeared on screen. "Damn it!" He released Yoki's neck.

Al was shown to be standing next to Yoki and he picked up Envy. "Got

him!"

Yoki put a hand to his neck. "I'm free?"

Dr. Marcoh walked closer to the two.

"Nice acting, Doctor." Jerso said as Yoki ran away from the group with
Al watching him.

Dr. Marcoh collapsed, but Jerso caught him before he hit the ground. He
was shown from the front as Winry and May watched in the
background. "I'm afraid I'm not used to bluffing like that."
"Well, you did an amazing job!" Al complimented.

Dr. Marcoh smiled. "Thank you, Al." He chuckled. "It is easier to deal with
Envy when he is in this form."

Al laughed. "No doubt about that."

Jerso smiled as Winry and May shared a look as they chuckled.

Ed raised a brow. "Well, it looks like May and Winry are getting along now. I
had my worries after May was screaming at Winry in Baschool."

May blushed. "Do you have to constantly bring up everything I did?"

Ed grinned. "Yes, I do."

The scene suddenly pulled out to show Yoki glaring at the group with
tears streaming down his face. "Damn all of you! None of you guys are
my friends! How could you? You're dead to me!"

The shack the group was staying in was shown as a couple women
walked passed it.

Envy, now trapped inside a jar, appeared on screen, glaring up at

people. "This sucks." He said.

Jerso and Zampano leaned over the jar.

"So, this seems like a good opportunity to interrogate you." Jerso said.

Envy turned away from them. "I'm not talking."

Zampano leaned in close to the jar, growling.

Zampano was shown holding the jar and shaking it violently with a
grinning Jerso next to him and a depressed Yoki on the floor in the
background. "Spit it out, you slug! You're either gonna talk or die!"

"That's it. Let him have it, Zampano!" Jerso cheered, throwing his arms
into the air.

"You guys seem to be having fun with a defenseless Envy." Ross said.
"Though I doubt that will get him to tell you anything. The Homunculi don't
seem to have loose lips."

Brosh sighed. "If they did, it would just make thing a whole lot easier for us."

"I may not get answers, but I can at least get some pleasure from shaking that
jar." Zampano said amused.

"So cruel." Al mumbled. "They're just as bad as Brother."

Ed raised a brow. "I can hear you."

"Good, recall Liore, the battle on the train with those terrorists, all the times
you've hit Ling here and in the future." Al muttered. "Oh, and what you did to
Yoki in Youswell."

"Damn it, now who is cruel?" Ed cried.

Al snickered. "Sorry, Brother. It's your own fault really."

Ed scowled.

Zampano slammed the jar down.

The jar was shown as Envy flopped back to the bottom. He sat up. "Even
if I do talk, you're still gonna kill me." He turned away from them.
"What's the point? Fool."

Zampano leaned in closer to the jar. "What!"

Envy opened his eyes and looked towards Scar, Dr. Marcoh, Al, Winry,
and May. "So what's the deal? Why isn't the Fullmetal Pipsqueak with
you?"

Al looked up from studying the papers he was holding. "Brother? I'm

pretty sure he's at Briggs right now."
Envy's eye widened for a second before it narrowed. "Oh?" He said
interested. Envy was shown close up as he looked away from them. "Last
thing I'd heard, he'd gone missing."

"I'm MIA?" Ed said surprised. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But that sure
is lucky for me."

Everyone gave him deadpanned looks.

"Brother, please don't joke right now." Al said with a sigh.

Ed raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

"You mean besides the fact that we haven't seen future you since your
impalement and we don't know how you are?" Havoc asked sarcastically.

Hughes glared at Ed. "You said everything would be fine with your fight with
Kimblee. I don't see how any of what happened is considered fine."

"I survived, didn't I?" Ed retorted.

"You barely saved yourself and we don't know if Heinkel and Darius got you
to a doctor in time." Hughes replied sharply.

"Hughes," Ed sighed. "I'm sure I'm–"

"If you say fine one more time, I'm going to hit you, Ed." Hughes growled.

Ed raised his hands. "Well, I never expected you to be so violent, Hughes.

But don't worry too much. I'm sure my transmutation saved me a lot of time
for them to find a doctor. I'm probably resting with a doctor watching closely
over me." He gave Hughes a small smile. "It's all good. Right, Al? Back me
up here!"

Al stared blankly at his brother. "The transmutation was probably done good
enough that he is fine."

"That doesn't sound convincing at all!" Ed shouted.

"Personally, I would be a lot more comforted if I get to see future you." Al
retorted.

Ed stopped and stared at his brother for a moment before sighing and
dropping his head. Right, they were just worried about him since the future
hasn't checked up on him to show them he was fine!

Al and Winry ran over to Envy.

Al picked up the jar. "What'd you say?" He shook the jar. "He's
missing! Tell me!"

Envy was shown, rolling on his back in the jar.

"He disappeared after a mineshaft in Baschool collapsed." Envy rolled

onto his legs. "I wonder if he's still alive."

"Wow, I can't believe he is still trying to play his psychological mind games."
Ed said amazed.

"Brother," Al said with a sigh.

Ed raised a brow. "What?"

"He is talking about you being missing and possibly being dead so I would
appreciate it if you didn't make light of this." Al snapped.

Ed raised his hands. "Sorry, sorry. I know you're worried, Al."

"Everyone is so maybe you should shut up for a while, Ed." Ling said.
"You're really not helping the worry around here."

Al gasped.

Winry held her hand to her mouth while May stood behind her, staring
worriedly.

'He's lying…He has to be…' Winry thought.

Hughes sighed sadly. Winry must be hurting so much at the thought of Ed
being dead. It would be difficult for her to handle hearing that so soon after
she admitted her love for Ed. Anyone who loses a loved one wouldn't want to
believe they were dead. He closed his eyes as he thought about his wife and
daughter. He only saw them at his funeral. He would have hated to see how
they reacted to the news of his death when a soldier came to inform them.
Hurting his wife and daughter like that by dying was a completely unbearable
pain. He couldn't stop himself from dying to keep from hurting his family,
but hopefully Ed had managed to survive until he got to a doctor so his
brother and Winry didn't have to face the same suffering his family did.

"Winry," Ed whispered almost inaudible. He really hoped she didn't believe

Envy. He needed her to be strong until he got back to her and Al. She had to
believe that he wouldn't die so easily.

The shack was shown at nighttime as dark, depressing music played.

A lantern in the shack appeared on screen.

A downcast Al and Winry were shown.

"So what now?" Jerso asked, causing Al to look up. The group was
shown, most of them sitting down, except for Scar and Zampano. May
sat off to the side farther away from the group as she held Xiao-Mei on
her lap. "Should we head back to Baschool to check?"

"No," Al said, making Jerso and Dr. Marcoh look up. "That's not what
Brother would want."

"Of course it isn't. You would be walking right back into their hands after
you just escaped." Ed grumbled.

Ling elbowed him in the side, making Ed hiss.

"Though, thank you for worrying enough to suggest it." Ed growled, glaring
at Ling.

Jerso snickered. "Don't know why I would care. You burned me with
throwing ice cold water on me, then your brother's metal body."

"Ha, ha." Ed said sarcastically.

Al was shown from behind with Dr. Marcoh and Jerso seen in front of
him. "He would trust that I was alright, and wouldn't let a rumor stop
him. So we're gonna do the same thing and keep moving."

"Future you believes in me." Ed grumbled.

"Future me doesn't know you got impaled and used up your life force to buy
yourself time!" Al shouted.

"Eh…" Ed said. "You know, I never meant to worry you."

Al sighed and nodded. "I know, Brother, but still. That was very scary to
watch and I wish we could see you again."

Hughes sighed sadly. They would believe in Ed that he did save himself, but
after seeing the impalement, he would be a lot more comfortable seeing Ed
standing tall once more. Since he didn't know a lot about alchemy, that made
the wait to see Ed a lot harder. Then again, those who did understand
alchemy probably had theories and such running through their mind as they
tried to figure out how much Ed's transmutation helped or how many years he
lost.

Ling glanced at Al, then at the frowning Hughes. "We need to mess with
Hughes again." Ling declared to Ed.

"Why?" Ed asked with a frown. "And didn't you just tell me to shut up for a
while?"

"I did, but obviously that is impossible for you and everyone is depressed and
we need a hopeful air back so we must torture Hughes." Ling explained.

Ed blinked. "He's annoying, but it doesn't seem like he has done anything to
warrant torture."

Ling frowned. "My enemy cannot be depressed the way he is."

"So you'd rather he be annoyed at us?" Ed asked, raising a brow before
smirking, making a grin pass over Ling's face. "I can do that."

"Can do what?" Al asked confused.

Ed didn't reply and instead started to sing, "I know a song that gets on
everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. Yes, on everybody's nerves. I know
a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes. I know a song
that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. Yes, on everybody's
nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes.
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. Yes, on
everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is
how it goes."

"Not this song again!" Al moaned, wishing he had a way to block out the
sound. His brother sometimes sang this at night until he fell asleep to annoy
him or on a train. He couldn't count how many times he saw passengers
sending death glares at Ed and were probably planning his death.

Mustang's brow twitched. "Fullmetal, do you have to be such an immature

brat?"

"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. Yes, on
everybody's nerves.–"

"I think that means yes." Havoc growled. He grabbed a pillow and launched
it at Ed, who actually stood up and dodged it, making Havoc even more
annoyed.

Hughes looked at Ed in amusement as he jumped over a pillow that Al threw

at him. He was quite amused watching everyone trying to knock Ed out by
throwing pillows at him. But if he had to listen to this any longer….

"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes. I
know a song that gets on everybody's nerves," Ed ducked a pillow that Brody
threw at him and smirked. "Everybody's nerves."

Ling snickered as he watched Ed dance around the pillows that were being
launched at him, still wearing that cocky smirk as he sung.

"Yes, on everybody's nerves." Ed yelped and jumped over a pillow that Scar
threw at him.

"If I have to listen to that anymore," Scar snarled.

"Be careful, Ed. He does have Alkahestry in here." Ling warned.

Ed jumped away from Scar's side of the room. "I know a song that gets on
everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes." He caught a pillow thrown at
him by Luke and threw it back to hit him in the face. "I know a song that gets
on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves!" He twisted his body to the side
avoid another pillow and as he did, he caught sight of another flying
projectile coming from behind him and ducked under it. "Yes, on everybody's
nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, an–OOMPH!" Ed got
assaulted from pillows on all sides from Mustang, Hughes, Havoc, Izumi,
Olivier, who was glaring daggers at him as her brow twitched violently which
might explain why she threw three pillows, Scar, Brody, Avery, Breda, Al,
Walkers, Skylak, Aran Luke, Darius, and Heinkel. He fell over into his pile
of pillow ammunition and just laid there with pillows under him and on top
of him.

"You done now, Ed?" Hughes asked.

A muffled response was all they got.

Dr. Marcoh nodded.

A map of Amestris with two sheets of paper with arrays drawn on them
sitting on it appeared on screen.

"We can't give up hope yet." Al said.

Envy was shown with May and Xiao-Mei in the background.

"I'll go my separate way for now." Scar said, surprising May. He

reappeared on screen, standing in front of the group. "I realized
something about the actions I've taken. I don't intend to simply punish
this country for what it did to Ishval," He was shown up close. "I want to
change it."

Miles flashed onto screen as he removed his glasses.

Miles a smiled a bit at that. It seems that what he told Scar back in Baschool
was helping him to realize that he didn't need to kill those he hated since that
would not solve anything. Really, all that revenge seeking did was cause
death. It didn't help the country change from the mistakes that it caused. Scar
was learning that to fix what happened to Ishval, he had to change the
country, not kill those he believed to be the enemy.

Scar was shown again. "And I'll need your help, Marcoh. The two of us
need to set things right."

Dr. Marcoh appeared on screen, staring in surprise before saying,

"Alright then, we'll travel together."

Scar appeared on screen, giving a small nod.

May was shown. "In order to change this country?" She whispered
before looking down sadly.

"Actually," Al said. "I've got someplace I've been meaning to check out."

"Oh? Where's that?" Jerso asked.

The group was shown from behind.

"It's a town called Liore." Al replied as Scar turned away.

Ed shot out of his pile of pillows, shocking quite a few people as the pillows
went flying into the air. "You're going to head to Liore?" He said surprised.

"Why wouldn't I? We just learned that there was an uprising there. I want to
make sure everything is okay there." Al replied, staring at his brother then his
giant pile of pillows. He wondered if his brother knew the pile was bigger
than him and he could hide in it and not be seen at all.
Ed rubbed the back of his head. "I guess. Personally I would prefer to stay
away from lots of people if I am hiding from the Homunculi."

"Future you is hiding." Ross pointed out.

"So Al wants to go to a big town while Fullmetal wants to avoid lots of

people." Mustang said with a frown. "It's going to be hard for you two to
meet up without any contact between you two, especially when you think
differently like that."

Ed shrugged and started to reorganize his pile of pillow ammo.

"Did you have fun with that song, Ed?" Ling asked, grinning widely.

Ed shot him a smirk. "Oh, the most fun."

"Do it again and I shoot you." Rebecca growled.

"Violent." Ed muttered. "You guys should learn how to have more fun. Let's
go again!" He jumped up to his feet. "I know a s–" No one wasted a moment
and flung pillows at him again, knocking him back down into his pillow pile.
"Come on, guys! I am trying to organize this!"

"Why are you guys giving the kid all the ammo?" Buccaneer asked.

Ed smirked at the horrified looks on the soldiers' faces. When Hughes tried to
grab one of the pillows, Ed whacked his hand with his automail. "Mine." He
hissed. "Don't touch my ammo!"

Van withheld a laugh as he watched his eldest son. He was definitely a

unique one.

Hughes rubbed his aching hand. "Did you need to use your automail?"

Ed raised a brow at him.

"Still, I have to wonder. Where are all these pillows coming from? There are
a lot more than there were on the first day." Ling said, trying to take one of
the pillows to use but Ed whacked him with another pillow and took it back.
"Ling, these are mine." Ed said.

"Come on! I let you have my candy!" Ling whined.

Ed glared at him. "My pillows. If I am going to get assaulted with pillows, I

am keeping them."

"Greedy." Ling grumbled.

"I'm not sure," Scar walked away. "But I've got a feeling the tunnel runs
under it…"

May was shown as Scar held out the jar with Envy in it to her.

Scar was shown standing in front of her. "Here, May. Take this thing
and return to your country."

"Huh?" May said.

Yoki crawled forward a bit. "Ah! Hold on!"

Scar was shown up close from the side. "It's the reminisce of seemingly
indestructible creature. It might appease your Emperor enough to save
your clan."

May appeared on screen as she gasped. "I can't! Who's gonna teach you
about Alkahestry if I leave?"

"That's right–" Al started.

"You need to think about your own country!" Scar raised his voice a bit
as he pushed the jar closer to her.

Al, Winry, and Jerso were shown from behind as they watched Scar and
May.

"Have you forgotten why you came here in the first place? Your clan
could lose its power struggle, and what explanation will you have for
them when you return home?"
May appeared on screen.

"Will you apologize and tell them you were too busy saving another
country?"

May blinked, gasping a bit as Scar pushed the jar into her hands.

"He has a point." Ed muttered, looking up from organizing his ammo. "You
people from Xing are getting too involved with our problems."

"We don't really have a choice now that the Young Lord has become Greed."
Lan Fan replied. "We have to come back for him."

"Okay, that is a good excuse to get involved in this country's affairs." Ed said.
"But May really doesn't have to get involved so she should leave. There's no
reason she should have to risk her life for this country's problems."

'Except it would be abandoning my friends.' May thought sadly. They were

all such wonderful and kind people she met. How could she just take all that
kindness and push it aside to run back to her country with Envy? She knew
that was what she should do to save her clan, but if she did it, could she really
forgive herself for abandoning her friends like this? They were all so
important to her. How could she choose between her clan and her friends in
Amestris? They both needed her help.

Scar appeared on screen. "Now go home! Forget this place! Leave this
country's problems to its people."

May appeared on screen, eyes trembling. She looked over at her

comrades to see them smiling kindly at her.

Al was shown up close as he nodded.

May reappeared on screen, eyes trembling as she looked back at the jar.
She scrunched her eyes shut before stood up on the crate she was on and
she and Xiao-Mei bowed to them as she cried a bit as slow, gentle music
played. "Thank you! For everything!"

"I think she beat you, Ling." Al teased.

"No, I got a stone first. I just can't get it back to my country." Ling replied.

"And that is your own fault. You really should have thought it through first
what was going to happen." Ed said.

"There wasn't enough time and Homunculus wasn't exactly giving me a

choice." Ling retorted.

Ed shrugged. "Sure, sure. May still beat you, idiot prince. Nothing is
restricting her passage home."

Scar appeared on screen, staring at her before the scene went dark.

The scene reopened on the group standing in a crossroad.

"You take care, May." Al said. The group was shown close up. "Once I
learn the basics of Alkahestry, I'll be sure to find you to learn more."

"Oh, Alphonse," May launched herself at Al and hugged him as she

cried. "Alphonse, I…I'll miss you!"

Al put her down and pat her head as the rest of the group watched,
Winry smiling as she did.

May was shown, holding the jar which Xiao-Mei stood on and waving to
the group. "Good luck! I'll never forget any of you! Thank you!
Goodbye!" She turned around and ran away with tears in her eyes.

Mustang's hand curled into a fist as rage poured into every inch of his being.
She was leaving with Envy. Envy was his to kill! She couldn't just leave with
him and take him to another country! He needed to teach Envy the real wrath
of the Flame Alchemist. If she left with him, he wouldn't be able to find out
who killed Hughes and pay him back with one hundred times the amount of
pain and cruelty he showed Hughes. He needed it. He needed to kill Envy. He
needed to feel the dominance he had over Envy as he burned him to a crisp so
he would learn. Learn that humans were not his toys to manipulate and play
horrible, psychological games with before he killed them.
The group was shown from a downward angle, some of them waving to
May.

"Have a safe journey, May!" Winry shouted.

The group was shown from the front as they lowered their hands.

"There she goes." Al said.

"Uh-huh." Winry replied.

"We should start moving as well." Dr. Marcoh said.

"Let's go." Scar said.

Dr. Marcoh and Scar were shown from behind as they started down
another path. Dr. Marcoh turned back and waved to the group standing
in the crossroad.

"That group alliance didn't last long." Hughes said with a grin.

"Well, everyone has their own things to do." Riza replied. "Besides, it was
too big of a group. It will be easier for them to travel in smaller groups like
this."

"Though Al's group is still pretty big." Hughes said.

A town appeared on screen at nighttime, the only light coming from the
street lamps and the headlights of the car moving driving down the
street.

An alley was shown as a cat dug through the trash cans.

"Aww, that poor cat. It must be homeless." Al said sadly.

"No!" Ed shouted. "Do not start with the cats again, Alphonse!"

"But Brother, they need homes." Al protested.

"No, you know I hate those flea infested beasts!" Ed snapped.

"You're too cruel!" Al cried. "How can you just leave them to starve in the
streets?!"

"Because when you pick up strays, they'll end up like Ling." Ed pointed a
finger at the surprised prince. "They won't leave you alone, they'll constantly
follow you around like a stalker, and they steal all your food! I can't afford
that, Alphonse! And now I have to deal with it from an idiot prince because
you just had to pick him up!"

Ling blinked. "I'm not a cat."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Ed screamed, pulling at his hair. "You are so
annoying!"

"I've helped you multiple times so I don't know why you're complaining."
Ling said.

Ed looked at him with narrowed eyes. "If you ever throw any of your bills at
me when we get out of here, I will enjoy every moment I get of arresting the
illegal alien and throwing him in a cell, throwing the key away after I do so I
never get the crazy idea of releasing you."

"You would really arrest me?" Ling asked.

"Yes." Ed hissed. "Keep your bills to yourself!"

A figure in tattered clothes walked past the alley, scaring the cat away.

Bido was shown up close, a tear in the corner of his eye. "Poor Mr.
Greed."

"He looks familiar." Ed said with a frown.

Al smacked his face.

"He does?" Ling said surprised.

Al groaned. "Ling, we saw him before you got here. Ed, that is Bido. He's the
chimera who you beat up to get information about where Greed number one's
hideout was in Dublith. If you're going to spend so much time beating up
people for information, you could at least remember their faces."

"We only saw him in one episode!" Ed protested. "I haven't even met him in
our future yet!"

"On that note, how did he survive?" Armstrong asked with a frown. "Bradley
ordered everyone in the Devil's Nest to be slaughter."

"It is surprising. I didn't think Bradley or his men would miss someone with
the way they were slaughtering everyone." Hughes replied.

Bido wiped his tears away before stopping. He looked up before ducking
into an alley.

The scene pulled back to show a soldier standing outside a building.

A door open to light up the soldier with light before Bido was shown in
the alley to be looking around the corner to watch the two soldiers.

"No luck." The soldier that came out of the store said. "Izumi Curtis and
her husband are apparently on vacation and didn't say when they're
returning." The "Meat" sign of the store was shown.

"So, Al, Fullmetal, and Izumi are now all off the radar?" Mustang said with a
smirk. "The Homunculi just can't seem to keep track of their sacrifices."

Izumi sighed. "I can't believe you dragged me into this." She glared at Ed and
Al.

"Come on, Teach!" Ed cried. "It's not like I expected the military to be in
Dublith and learn about you when I came down there! I'll be more careful
when we get out of here and keep you out of the military affairs! Does that
make you feel better?"

"No, because I am getting involved when we get out of here." Izumi growled,
cracking her knuckles as she did. "I'm not going to let those damned
Homunculi or their father destroy this country. It is my home and I'm not just
going to sit back and let them do what they want with it."

"….So you're not mad?"

"I'm pissed." Izumi roared. "I'd rather not be considered a sacrifice, but there
is nothing I can do about it since I already committed the taboo."

Ed sighed. Right, she already committed the taboo. Maybe it was better for
those who committed the taboo to be the sacrifices. It was better than
someone who didn't commit it to be considered a candidate for doing nothing.
All those who committed it did it of their own free will, being stupid to
commit. Those who were just candidates, Mustang and Marcoh, they didn't
deserve that. They were avoiding the taboo but the Homunculi wanted to use
them. What would happen to them if there weren't five sacrifices on the day
Homunculus wanted to do the transmutation?

"Hmm, is that so?" The other soldier replied.

Bido reappeared on screen.

"We should report back to Fuhrer Bradley."

Bido stiffened at the name.

"There's not much else we can do."

Suspenseful music started to play.

'Bradley!' Bido thought angrily.

The scene flashed back to Bradley and Greed exchanging blows in the
sewers. Bradley plunged two swords into Greed's shoulders. Greed was
shown close up as blood flew out of his mouth as he fell to the water with
four swords impaled in him.

Bido was shown hiding behind a wall while on the other side Bradley
approached Greed."Now you stay put. I'll be right back." He said.
The scene flashed back to Bido, who was trembling.

"He was right there? It's amazing Bradley really did miss him if he was that
close to the fight." Ed replied.

"They might have replacements for us."

The soldiers were shown from Bido's perspective.

"Let's hope so."

Bido's eye was shown close up. 'I might find Mr. Greed if I follow them.'
He scrunched his eyes shut. 'But…' His eyes opened.

"Would that be a good or bad idea?" Ling asked.

"Well, it's dangerous and Bido isn't really a fighter." Ed replied. "From what I
saw, he is more of a spy and messenger."

Ling nodded. "Okay, but I meant. How was he involved with Greed?"

"Greed's gang in Dublith. It was full of human chimeras. Not like Lion King
or his friends."

"My name is Heinkel." Heinkel snapped, but Ed ignored him.

"Whereas Lion King and his friends can transform back and forth between
human form and chimera form, the human chimeras in Greed's gang had
bodies with the traits of animals and some type of ability that came with it."
Ed explained.

Heinkel glared at Ed for the name again.

"I see." Ling nodded.

"That's Greed's gang and he called all the members of it his possessions." Ed
replied. "Beyond that, I don't actually know what he thought of any of them.
Greed is strange. He got so mad when Bradley killed two of them in front of
him."
Ling nodded. If he got that mad from watching his friends get slaughtered,
then it couldn't be that he just thought of them as possessions. It had to be
more than that.

"Not that it really matters." Ed said. "You're the new Greed. And as was
proven in Father's lair, Greed doesn't remember us so I doubt he'll remember
Bido if he even meets him. That coupled with the dangers of Central, it's a
bad idea to go there altogether."

The car was shown from a distance as it was turned on. It started moving
and turned to the right before it was shown close up from the side. Bido
was shown to be hiding under the car.

Dublith was shown from the sky as the car drove down the street.

The scene went dark before it reopened on a hand. One of the fingers of
the hand tapped a sword hilt. Grunting was heard.

Armstrong's face was shown. "Uh, Sis," He grunted.

Olivia was shown, glaring upwards.

"Would you be so kind as to possibly move your foot please?"

Olivia's eye narrowed a bit.

The scene changed to show their feet as Olivia pressed down harder on
Armstrong's.

The scene pulled back to show Olivia and Armstrong.

Ed smacked his face. "Are you serious right now?"

"Sibling squabble?" Al asked amused. "What's wrong with it, Brother? We do

it."

"We are teenagers. They are adults and are inside Central HQ! And one of
them is a Major General!" Ed shouted. "I can't condone this!"
"Too bad you're only a Major and don't get a say in this." Mustang said
amused. "Besides, I deal with your behavior. Everyone in Eastern Command
Center does. What's the difference if it's this pair of siblings?"

"They are in Central HQ!" Ed shouted. "That's where the Fuhrer is and all
those other stupid big leagues!"

"You sure you haven't lost it?" Brody asked. "Because I find this very
amusing."

"Lost it?" Ed repeated.

"How could he lose something he never had to begin with?" Al asked.

Ed blinked a few times before slowly looking at his brother. "Did you just say
I never had my mind to begin with?"

"That is correct." Al said.

"Betrayal!" Ed shouted and he took one of his pillows and launched it at his
brother. "Traitorous brother!"

Al laughed. "Thanks for the pillow."

Ed glared at him. "That's all you get. The rest of mine. Don't even think about
it, Ling."

Ling huffed and pulled his hand away from the pillows. How did Ed know?
He wasn't even looking at him!

"You are to address me as General!" Olivia growled and Armstrong

stood up straight.

"Harsh." Al said.

Armstrong sighed. It seemed that his sister was even worse than usual. Being
up at Briggs for so long has just made her more ferocious it seems.

"Yes, ma'am, General!" Armstrong said.

Olivia scoffed. Her brother was such a wimp. How could they possibly be
related?

"Tch," Olivia removed her foot and turned towards the screen. "You're
just as gutless as I remember you being."

Armstrong was shown from behind, looking down at Olivia. "So, I heard
your men completely annihilated the Drachma forces."

Olivia turned to look at him sharply. "Of course they did."

Armstrong leaned down closer to her. "But won't that hasten the
enemy's transmutation circle?"

"It's not like there was much of a choice. It was that or let the Drachmans
take Fort Briggs and start a huge war." Mustang said with a frown. "And
that's something we don't need right now."

Olivia was shown up close. "I don't give a damn. It was their duty to
defend the border, and that's what they did. And Drachma won't even
think twice about attacking again!" The two siblings were shown as
Armstrong took a step back. "Now they know that our country is not one
to be meddled with!"

"Now you just have to teach that to the higher ups and the Homunculi."
Havoc said.

Olivia scoffed. "I'll teach. I'll impale them all with my sword!"

Ed winced a bit at the word impale and moved a hand down to his side. He'd
never admit it and would continue as if everything was fine, but he would
rather not have to recall what happened in Baschool. May healed his body of
the pain, but she couldn't take the memory of the pain away from him.

"Oh my, you're only grown more ferocious." Armstrong scratched his
forehead. "How will you ever find a husband if you continue to–?"
Olivia lifted her foot and slammed it into Armstrong's thigh. "Aaahhh!"
Armstrong stumbled back and grabbed his thigh.
"Call me crazy, but I'm thinking she doesn't want a husband." Ling said
amused.

"But it would be such a lonely life not getting married." Armstrong said
tragically.

"Then I'm think you and Colonel Mustang here should start looking as well."
Ling replied with a smirk. He glanced at Ed, and his smirk disappeared when
he saw Ed looking down. "What's wrong, Ed?"

Ed blinked and looked up in surprise. "Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you weren't teasing them with me." Ling said. "You always jump in!"

"Oh, uh, sorry." Ed replied with a grin. "Got distracted."

"What were you thinking about?" Al asked curiously.

Ed laughed. "Nothing important." When Al and Ling just shrugged and

turned away, Ed sighed and looked back down at his stomach, swallowing
the burning bile in his throat that came from the remembrance of the pain he
felt earlier. He shook his head and pushed the memory of the pain to the back
of his mind. He shouldn't focus on that.

An angry Olivia was shown from the side. "That's enough of your
sniveling, you pansy!" She turned around and walked away. She was
shown from behind with Armstrong kneeling on the ground, a tear in his
eye as he held his leg. "I need to get away from you before I start to
catch your cowardice."

Olivia was shown as Lieutenant General Gardner rounded the corner.

"Ah, I've been looking for you, General." He said as Olivia saluted. "Is
this man your brother?"

Olivia scoffed as she looked out of the corner of her eye at the now
saluting Armstrong. "I don't consider him my brother." She stepped to
the side to hide him from view. "Not after he deserted his country in
Ishval."
"And once again, harsh." Al said.

"Ice Queen, Al." Hughes replied with a smirk. "She is cruel to everyone.
Remember what happened when you and Ed first met her?"

"Which part?" Al asked dryly. "The part where she asked about her brother
when she didn't care or the part where she insulted Brother."

"All of it."

"Well, then, you should know, she scares me." Al replied.

Olivia smirked, which made Al shiver a bit in fear. She was as bad as Izumi!

Gardner appeared on screen. "Hmm, follow me please." He turned

around and walked down the hall. "There's something I'd like for you to
see."

Olivia looked out of the corner of her eye as she followed Gardner.

A dark hallway appeared on screen with the two walking down it.

"Are you familiar with the three state appointed points of alchemy?"
Gardner asked.

The two were shown from the side. "Of course. Obey the military."

"Fullmetal broke it when he went MIA in Baschool." Mustang said.

Ed shot him an annoyed glared. "Oh? And aren't you and General Armstrong
planning a coup d'état? That's going against the military as well."

"I never liked the regime we have right now." Mustang replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, you want to change it." Ed muttered.

"Do not create gold."

"Brother broke that one in Youswell." Al said.

"Temporarily! I changed it back!" Ed protested.

"Do not create people, and that's it."

"Broke that one with your help, Al." Ed said with a grimace.

Al nodded. "Yeah…"

"How is it that you are still a State Alchemist if you are breaking all the state
appointed points of alchemy?" Havoc asked.

"Since I am hiding from the military in the future, can I really still be
considered a State Alchemist?" Ed asked.

"You could always become a deserter like Dr. Marcoh." Riza replied.

"Hmm, I like that idea. On the run from the military, not having to take
orders anymore." Ed said with a smirk.

Al sighed. "Brother, you're not supposed to like the idea of being on the run."

Ed shrugged. "I always liked going against the grain."

"You know them well." Gardner said before a gate appeared on screen
with the two on the other side of it as Gardner unlocked it. "Obeying the
military should go without say. The creation of gold is restricted to avoid
financial disorder. So then," Gardner and Olivia were seen walking
down the stairs. "What about creating people? Why do you suppose the
state would so firmly enforce this regulation?"

The corridor they were in was shown with very little light in it. A door
was seen on the right as Olivia and Gardner walked onto screen.

"It's simply unethical, sir. It's even taboo among alchemists."

A lock appeared on screen as Gardner inserted a key and turned it to

release a lever.

"From what I understand, they're regarded as an implicit sacrilege

against God."

Gardner pulled the lever down. "But that isn't why." He was shown,
glasses reflecting the light, his back to the door as it rose. The room was
shown, slowly lighting up as the door rose. "The state has no interest in
'ethic's.'" Olivia's horrified face appeared on screen. "They're too much
of a variable to use as a guideline."

"If General Armstrong is that horrified, whatever is in that room can't be

good." Liran said darkly.

"The fact that this area was locked by a gate, required them to go down to
unknown levels, and then required a key to open the door should have all
been indicators that it was nothing good." Brody snarled. Just what the hell
were they doing in that room?

White mannequin heads with red strips doing down their face appeared
on screen.

Olivia's eyes, filled with horror, was shown up close on screen.

"The true reason is far less abstract."

Rows and rows of mannequins hanging upside down were shown with
Gardner standing in the middle of the room.

"The third tenet is to prevent someone from creating their own army,
General."

"The military is creating humans?" Riza asked. "But they don't look like
humans."

"No…not humans, but an immortal army." Mustang whispered in horror.

"This is what they were telling General Grumman about before he got
demoted for not agreeing with it."

"They look like mannequins." Hughes said, eyes narrowed darkly. "How
would they become immortal soldiers?"
Jerso growled softly. As if the horrible experiments they did in the
underground, illegal labs weren't enough. They were making an army of
immortal soldiers right in HQ. Just what the hell was wrong with Central? It
truly was the center of all the horror that happened in their country.

As the ending music started, one of the lens of Gardner's glasses was
shown up close to show Olivia's reflection. He tilted his head to hide her
reflection in the light that glinted on his glasses and the ending song
began.

The ending song ended.

The destroyed church of Liore appeared on screen as the sound of

hammering was heard.

"Ugh, this place is a disaster." Zampano said.

"You think there's any place left standing where we could get something
to eat?" Jerso asked.

A building appeared on screen with the scene slowly moving past it.

"I think so." Al replied as the "Drink & Food" stand was seen past the
wall with Rose cleaning the counter. "It's around here somewhere."

Rose was shown, looking up in surprise.

The scene pulled out to show Al and his group standing next to the stand.

Al gasped. "Rose! How are you?"

Rose walked over to him. "What a surprise! So, Al, what brings you
back to Liore?"

Jerso turned to Zampano. "Looks like the kid knows her, doesn't it?"

"Huh?" Al appeared on screen as he looked over his shoulder at them.

"Yeah, somewhat."
"Hey, Al. Where's Ed?" Rose asked. The scene pulled back to show her,
Al, and Winry. She looked around for the State Alchemist. "Isn't he with
you?"

"She sounds so excited to see you again." Havoc teased.

Ed glared at him.

"Uh, no, we're traveling separately right now." Al said.

Rose appeared on screen, putting a hand to her chin as she looked down
a bit sad. "Oh, that's too bad. I've actually really missed him."

"You know what that sounds like?" Hughes said with a big grin.

"Hughes," Ed started.

"Damn, the kid gets all the hot girls to fall for him." Jerso grumbled.

"She didn't mean it like that!" Ed shouted, face completely red in

embarrassment. "Idiots. She only misses me."

"Sounds like she does have a crush." Ling teased.

"You are all idiots." Ed growled, glaring at Ling, but the effect was ruined by
his blush.

"So you never once thought Rose was pretty?" Mustang asked.

Ed blinked before his blush grew even redder. "That has nothing to do with
this!" He shouted, throwing a pillow at Mustang.

Mustang caught it with a smirk. "This is mine now."

Ed snarled at him. "I am done with this stupidity."

Winry appeared on screen, smirking a bit.

Al looked down at her. "Winry?" He asked slyly.

The group was shown from a distance as a flustered Winry shouted, "W-
What, Al?"

"Someone sounds flustered. I wonder why that could be." Brody teased,
sending a sly look at Ed.

Ed growled. He couldn't deny Winry when she has already admitted multiple
times that she loved him.

"Oh, nothing. You just kind of had a funny look on your face, that's all."
Al said amused.

"I did not! You're imagining things!" Winry shouted, raising a fist.

"She can admit the love she has for Ed to herself, but she still can't say it."
Hughes said with a dramatically loud sigh. "How will you two ever get
married if you can't admit it?"

"There's nothing to admit!" Ed growled.

"Oh," Hughes said, putting a hand to his chin. "So it is Rose you want to
admit your love to."

Ed gaped at Hughes, his blush moving to the tips of his ears. "NO!"

"Oh, so there's a third girl?" Hughes asked, rubbing his chin. "You sure do
get around, but I feel sorry for Rose and Winry. How can you break their
hearts like this?"

Ed pulled at his hair in frustration. "It's not like that at all! Just shut up!"

Van, holding a pot filled with smaller pots, appeared on screen as he

walked towards them.

"Okay, Rose. These pots are as clean as they get. You have anything
else–?" Van stopped, gaping.

Rose turned around with a smile as Al and Winry ceased their bickering
and looked over in surprise.
A surprised Van appeared on screen.

All three of them were shown as they gasped.

The scene went dark.

"What a way to meet after ten years." Al said amused.

"A lot more amusing than the way Fullmetal ran into him." Buccaneer said
with a smirk.

"Leave me alone." Ed muttered, falling facedown into his pillows.

"Come on, Ed. You can't leave me hanging. Who is this third girl?" Hughes
asked with a smirk.

Ed groaned. "Shut up, Hughes."

Havoc sighed and crossed his arms. "Chief didn't appear at all in the episode
again!"

"Huh," Ed raised his head out of his pillows and glared at Havoc. "And what
are you complaining for? You're the one who was annoyed that I was always
appearing before this!"

"You weren't dying then!" Havoc snapped, surprising Ed.

"Not dying now." Ed muttered, dropping his head back down onto his
pillows. "Do we have a timeline for how long ago my im…the incident in
Baschool was?"

Hughes looked over at Ed with a frown. Why did he suddenly change his
words like that?

"Not really. V.H. mentioned that the Briggs soldiers searched for ten days
before Major Miles went back to Fort Briggs and the attack from Drachma
happened. So a little over ten days, but it had to have been longer at this point
if Al's group is in Liore already." Ling replied.
"Hmm," Ed said.

"What are you thinking?" Mustang asked.

Ed shrugged. "Nothing really. Just wondering how long it would take to

recover from such a wound. And with all the time jumps, I wonder how much
longer it will be til I appear so you will all shut up and I can tell you idiots
you were worrying over nothing since I will appear perfectly alright."

"We're so sorry for worrying." Ling said sarcastically.

"Please say that after you see me being completely fine." Ed retorted with a
smirk.

A/N: Please Review!

*Chapter 48*: Episode 44: Revving at Full
Throttle
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks for reviewing!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 44: Revving at Full Throttle

The opening song began.

"Revving at Full Throttle"

The sound of hammering filled the scene before it changed to the "Drink
& Food" sign with the radio sitting in front of it.

"It's been a long time, huh, Al?" Van asked.

"Yeah," Al replied before he and Van were shown with Winry and Rose
watching.

"So, uh, I saw Pinako recently. She told me about your body." Van told
him. His face was shown from the side.

Al was shown.
Hughes smiled. "You seem a bit unsure, Hohenheim."

Van smiled a bit in return.

Ed rolled his eyes. A bit unsure? Well, why wouldn't he be? He did leave
them for ten years. Not one call or letter to check up on them. He was
completely gone from their lives. Why should he just appear in front of Al
and talk to him with such ease after all the time that passed?

"It's strange. You had an easier time talking to Fullmetal when you saw him
in Resembool." Mustang said with a frown.

"Wouldn't that have been because it was easier to deal with the angry son
yelling at you then it is to deal with the accepting son after abandoning them
ten years before?" Izumi said.

Van looked at his angry son and sighed. That was most likely partly true. He
was expecting both of his sons to be furious with him. He could deal with the
anger and fiery temper of his son since he had a temper when he was younger
as well. He knew how to deal with it, but he had no idea of what to do with a
son that was so accepting of him with no resentment at all for what he had
done. It was no surprise his future self really had no idea of what to say to Al
then.

The two were shown with Rose seen standing in the background. The
scene slowly moved to the side to show Winry standing near Al.

"Hey, there he is." A woman said, causing Winry and Al to look to the
side.

A woman and man dressed in construction clothes and carrying

materials were shown approaching Hohenheim.

"Mr. Ho," The man said.

"Mr. Ho?" May asked surprised. "That's what they call you?"

Van chuckled. "Saying Hohenheim all the time can be a mouthful so I

sometimes tell people to call me that for simplicity."
"You think you can give us a hand for a bit?"

Van turned to them. "Yeah, sure." He looked back at Al. "Um, let's
catch up later."

Ed rolled his eyes. Nice, very nice. Sorry, Al, I haven't seen you in ten years
so let's catch up later. He can go help rebuild Liore all he wanted and it was
nice to help, but to Ed, it just looked like his escape from talking to Al since
he had no idea of what to say or do.

"Oh," Al was shown with his father in front of him. "Okay."

Van pulled the orange bandanna off his head and followed the two
workers. Al was shown as he watched them leave.

"You did a hell of a job fixing up this old radio." The vendor said.

Al turned to face him to see him pointing up towards the radio Al fixed
in his first visit.

"It works better than it used to."

The radio was shown.

"It doesn't even pick up static now." The vendor said as Al looked up at
the radio.

Al looked back at the vendor, who was leaning on the counter. "I'm
really sorry. All this bad stuff happened because we stuck our noses in."

"Everything that happened in Liore was going to happen one way or

another." Van said softly. "It wouldn't have mattered if you and Edward went
there or not. A bloodbath was coming."

Al sighed sadly. He did know that the Homunculi would cause bloodshed in
Liore no matter what, but it just felt like the way it started was their fault.
They were the ones who exposed a false priest and sent the military to Liore
afterwards. The civil war there started because of their interference, and then
the Central forces got involved and just made it worse. Maybe if they never
went there, it wouldn't have been as bad as it was. But then again, he thought
back to Rose and all the others. They were blind followers back then, and if it
wasn't for him and Ed, they still would be. They showed them the truth. This
was too confusing. They showed them the truth to help them, but at the same
time, they made things worse.

The vendor waved him off. "Don't say that." He leaned his chin on his
palm. "You've gotta look at all the good stuff that's come from it. You
guys exposed a corrupt fraud. People reacted badly at first, but take a
look." He was shown from behind as he looked out at all the people of
Liore that were working on rebuilding the city. Al looked over at them as
well.

The group standing around the stand was shown as soft, gentle music
played.

"Sounds good, huh?" The vendor asked. "The whole town's working
together to rebuild what we lost."

Ed grinned. "He's got a point."

"What do you mean?" Al asked.

"Well, the blood crest was going to be made there either way if the
Homunculi had any say, and sadly, they do since we aren't prepared to stop
them yet. So the blood crest can be made by mindless followers to a false
God or we can show the people the truth and help them move forward in life
after the stupid Homunculi are finished there." Ed growled the last part.

"If you look at it from that point, you going there and helping them see the
truth might have been for the best. If you think about it at this point with the
war over, they could still be blindly following a fake God right now and not
recovering from the war properly." Riza replied.

Al nodded. "I guess that makes sense. It did help Rose grow and move on in
her life after all. I'm sure we were able to help others too."
Al was shown.

"You guys are the ones who brought us together."

Al looked down at the ground. His hand appeared on screen as he

clenched it into a fist. He turned around to face Rose and Winry. "I'm
gonna help build. Rose, can you take care of Winry?" He asked before
running off.

"You should at least give her a chance to reply first." Walkers said amused.

"Naw, Rose will help. She won't mind at all." Ed replied.

Hughes raised a brow. "Oh? You know that, do you? You only knew her for
what? A day? Maybe two? How could you know that she wouldn't mind?"
He teased.

Ed's brow twitched in annoyance. "Will you stop, Hughes? I know because
Rose is very kind and sweet like that. It is nothing else."

"I see." Hughes nodded.

"See what?!" Ed shouted. "There is nothing to see!"

"Hey Al, to your knowledge, did Ed spend any alone time with Rose while
you were in Liore?" Hughes asked

"Don't answer that!" Ed snapped.

"Oooh, have something to hide, Brother?" Al teased.

"No, just don't encourage Hughes and his annoying antics." Ed replied with a
scowl.

"I think he has something to hide." Hughes said in a loud, conspiratorial

whisper.

"You're right! I do!" Ed shouted, glaring at Hughes and surprising the

soldiers. "It's called planning your demise! Every night before I go to sleep, I
obsessively make plans for your demise and am waiting for the perfect
opportunity to put one of my plans into action."

"Oh, wow," Brody said. "And here I thought it had something to do with a
girl." He grinned when Ed shot him a death glare.

"You are also on my list of people whose demise I must plan." Ed hissed.

Brody held up his hands in surrender, but an evil grin still marred his face.

Winry watched him leave in surprise, while Rose just smiled. The scene
slowly moved to the side to show Jerso and Zampano leaning against the
counter as they watched Al run off.

"Well, we might as well help too." Jerso said as he pushed off the counter
and started walking forward, surprising Winry.

"You heard him, Yoki." Zampano replied before he started forward as

well.

Yoki looked up from his plate. "Huh? I'm eating."

Zampano grabbed him by his coat and pulled him out of his seat to drag
him along.

Zampano, who was still dragging Yoki, and Jerso were shown from
behind as they made their way in the direction of work.

"The food will taste better once you've worked up an appetite." Jerso
said.

"Quit struggling." Zampano said.

"Come on, I'm hungry now!" Yoki shouted. "Let go! Please."

"How lazy can one person be?" Jerso asked.

"Well, if you and Zampano have a say, he won't be allowed to be lazy." Al

said amused.
"I'll kick it right out of him if I have to. That town needs all the help it can
get." Jerso said with a smirk.

A wooden peg appeared on screen as a mallet came down on it.

Van was shown to be holding it in place while the man from earlier held
the mallet.

"Really? You mean that was your son back there?" He asked as the
woman walked onto screen holding a bundle of wooden rods with
another man's help.

"I'm sorry if we interrupted. It's been a while, right?" The woman asked.

"You told them?" Al asked.

Van gave a small smile. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Besides the fact that you abandoned us ten years ago?" Ed asked
sarcastically.

Al shot his brother a look.

Van sighed sadly as he looked at his eldest, who refused to look in his
direction. In the ten years he has been gone, he has never once forgotten his
family. Whenever he met new people, he liked to tell them about his family.
Talking about them helped him to always remember his wife and his two
sons. They were his reason to fight. He wanted to stop Homunculus so he
didn't kill anyone else, but it was also because of his sons. He had to help
save this country for them. This was their home and he wanted them to be
able to live in it without worrying their whole lives about Homunculi.

"Maybe you should head back and talk."

Van stood up and rubbed the back of his head with a smile. "I don't
know. I left when he was just a boy and haven't seen him since." He was
shown from the side. "I doubt that he thinks of me as his father or trusts
me."
Al looked over at his brother, who just rolled his eyes in response. He had
absolutely no reason to see Van as his father after what he did. That was what
his brother believed, but Al wasn't like that. He truly believed in his dad and
that he had a reason which kept his beliefs strong.

He scratched his nose. "I'm not even sure what to say to him."

"Hey Dad," Al shouted, surprising Van.

Al was shown to be approaching him.

"I, um, I liked to work to." Al said.

Van appeared on screen, staring in surprise.

"Here," Al ran over to the citizens of Liore. He took the bundle of

wooden rods from the two carrying it. "Let me carry those." He took
them and carried them over to a man standing on a roof waiting for
them while Van watched him.

"Here you go." Al said as he started to push them onto the roof.

Van appeared on screen, watching him with a smile.

A shower head appeared on screen. Water dripped down from it before

the scene moved down to show a pair of hands interlocked as the arms
stretched into the air and a sigh of relief was heard.

"You okay in there?" Rose's voice asked. "How's the water feel?"

"Amazing!" Winry replied.

The bathtub was shown with one of Winry's long, slender legs resting in
the water while the other relaxed on the edge of the bathtub. The scene
moved up to show Winry relaxing in the hot water, face flushed from the
heat. "It feels like an eternity since I've had a bath."

Al quickly slapped his hands over his eyes, somehow managing to blush
despite being a suit of armor. He could not believe that the future actually
showed Winry taking a bath to them. He would not look. He would not look
at his childhood friend like this. They were so lucky Winry wasn't here. She
would probably knock them all out with a wrench by now if she was.

Ed gaped at the screen, face completely red. "W-winry?!" Winry was in a

bathtub. Winry was naked in a bathtub! Winry was shown on screen taking a
bath. Winry looked so hot like this….No, bad thoughts. He shook his head to
get rid of the thoughts, but couldn't stop staring at his friend on the screen.
Wait, if he was seeing her, then everyone else was. He growled. No one was
allowed to his W….he meant, Winry like this.

"Yep, definitely cannot watch an underage girl take a bath." Brody quickly
shut his eyes as did the rest of the men.

"That, and Chief will probably kill us if we look at his girl." Luke said, eyes
shut tightly.

Ed nodded. Good, if they did it themselves, then he didn't have to murder

anyone for getting a peek at Winry. Though he might still have to kill Luke
for saying 'his girl.' He looked back at the screen and his blush increased to
beet red color.

Ling stared at the screen in surprise. Wow, there were definitely a lot of
shower scenes in their future. Not that he ever got to see them in the future,
but still.

Noticing her prince staring at the screen where Winry was bathing and
getting so much enjoyment out of it, Lan Fan growled and smacked her hand
over Ling's eyes. "Young Lord," She said angrily. If Ed didn't kill him for
ogling the girl he loved, she might actually consider it. "Do not stare at
Edward's crush like that. It is unbecoming of a prince to be so lecherous."

Hughes quickly leaned down and put a hand over Ed's eyes since he was too
busy staring and blushing in embarrassment to even think about closing his
eyes like the rest of them. After covering Ed's eyes, Hughes closed his. "I
know you want to see, Ed, but you should really wait until you marry her."

Ed yelped in surprise. "It's not like that, Hughes!" He shouted as he grabbed

Hughes's hand over his eyes, but Hughes had a strong grip and wasn't moving
it.

"How long are you going to continue to deny it?" Mustang tsked, but didn't
look at Ed as he kept his head bowed over the teen's notes to keep from
looking at the screen.

Ed snarled but couldn't glare at his boss because of Hughes's hand keeping
his head from moving. Stupid strong grip.

The curtain around the bath was shown.

"I'll leave some fresh clothes for you here." Rose said.

The scene pulled back to show Winry looking at the curtain. "Thank you
so much, Rose." Winry sank into the water until it was just below her
nose. 'She's so nice to do all this for me.'

Rose appeared on screen as she stood up and looked over at the curtain
around the bathtub. "I'm really impressed with you, Winry. Working as
an automail engineer. You're so independent for someone your age. So
did you design Ed's leg?"

Mustang snorted. "Fullmetal was brought up. Why am I not surprised?"

"You know what?" Ed snarled. "Could you just shut up? Rose is a friend and
she is curious about my automail being designed by another friend. So knock
it off!"

"Are you sure that is all?" Hughes teased. "You know, you never told me
who the third girl was."

"Because there is no third girl!" Ed shouted.

Winry appeared on screen, only her head above the water. "That's right.
But that was back when we were just little kids really."

"Aren't you guys still kids?" Ross asked, not really looking at the screen more
out of respect for Winry and her privacy.
"I object to that. I am a teenager!" Ed retorted.

"Still a kid then." Aran teased.

Ed scowled and blindly reached for one of his pillows. He launched it in the
direction of Aran's voice.

"Hey!" Luke shouted when a pillow slammed into his stomach. "I'm not
Aran!"

"Well, I can't see, damn it!" Ed shouted as he went back to trying to tug
Hughes's hand off his eyes.

Rose was shown, smiling. "That's amazing. You're the one who literally
helped Ed get back on his feet again." The scene changed to show Winry
in the bathtub, staring at the curtain. "So you indirectly helped me get
back on my feet too. I owe you just as much as I owe Ed and Al."

A tray with a tea kettle, a cup of tea, and some sugar appeared on screen
as gentle music played.

"The bathtub scene is over. You can open your eyes." Riza said.

Hughes dropped his hand from Ed's eyes and Ed immediately turned to Ling
and smacked him in the back of the head before Lan Fan could drop her hand
to give Ling his sight back.

"Ow!" Ling cried, grabbing his head. "Did you have to use your right hand?
And why did you hit me anyway?"

"I heard what Lan Fan said. You were staring at Winry." Ed snarled.

Ling snorted. "Like you weren't?"

Ed glared at him through narrowed eyes. "Keep your eyes off her."

"Oooh, possessive jealously?" Ling teased, only to get punched in the arm.
"Seriously, are you ever going to stop hitting me?"
"Will you ever stop being stupid?" Ed retorted. "Since the answer to that is
obviously no, the answer to your question is also no."

"So mean to me." Ling mumbled.

"I was desperate enough to believe Father Cornello. He claimed that he

could bring my boyfriend back to life, and I began to blindly follow
him." Rose said.

Winry's hand appeared on screen to pick up her cup of tea.

The room was shown to show Rose standing by a small table that Winry
was sitting at while her bed had clothes thrown all over it.

"But lucky for me, that's when Ed and Al showed up, and proved that his
miracles were just alchemy." Rose was shown, looking at the screen as
she smiled. "Everything I believed in suddenly disappeared. I lost all
hope." She took a sip of her coffee.

Winry appeared on screen, staring up at Rose.

Winry's head was shown from behind as Rose turned to her with her
eyes shut and an amused, sheepish smile in place. "But then Ed got
furious with me. He told me to stand on my own two feet."

"I feel like I am completely unimportant to this story." Al muttered.

"I think the mention of you is just a passing mention since Rose and Winry
seem to want to focus on Ed." Hughes teased.

Al gave his brother a mock glare. "Once again, you are stealing all the girls'
attention, Brother."

Ed laughed. "I'm so sorry, Al."

"I don't know how you do it when you loud, reckless, violent, and have such
a horrible temper." Al teased.

Ling gave his friend a teasing smirk. "He has a good point, Ed. How do you
get the girls to like you?"

"You're annoying. Shut up, Ling. And once again, all of you stop mistaking
Rose's kind nature for anything more than that." Ed replied annoyed.

Winry appeared on screen, grimacing. "He said that? He can be a jerk

sometimes." She put a finger to her forehead. "I don't know why it's so
difficult for him to be nice."

"And she called me a jerk." Ed muttered.

"She said sometimes." Al pointed out. "And she basically said you're mean."

Ed glared at him. "Yes, thank you, Al."

"Aww, is Edo upset that the girl he loves thinks he's mean?" Ling teased and
was rewarded with a pillow to his face, but to him, it was worth it.

Rose appeared on screen, looking down. "But he was being nice. That's
just how much he cares."

"Am I mean or am I nice?" Ed asked confused.

"Shouldn't you know since it is you?" Mustang said with a smirk.

"No, because Winry who I have known all my life implies that I can be mean.
Rose, who I only knew for about a day, says I'm nice." Ed grumbled.

Al laughed. "It's only cause she got the abbreviated version of what happened
in Liore, Brother. She doesn't realize that what you said was said in a mean
way, but it was said to push those people back onto their feet to help them
move on."

She looked up at Winry. "But you already know that, don't you?"

Winry was shown, gasping in surprise. She put her cup of tea to her lips
as she blushed.

"Aww, look at that blush." Hughes teased, nudging Ed with his foot. "The
more we see her, the more I can tell how much she loves you."

Ed blushed, but still managed to glare at Hughes out of the corner of his eyes.
"Shut it, Hughes." He hissed.

Rose turned to look out the window. "He helped opened our eyes." She
walked towards the window. "Mine and the whole town's."

The window was shown from the other side to show Rose standing by it
as Winry walked over to look down at the town with her. The two girls
were shown from behind as they watched the townspeople work on
rebuilding Liore.

"We're learning to stand on our own." Rose said.

The destroyed buildings and the road appeared on screen to show the
workers.

"We don't need any kind of miracle to do it."

Winry appeared on screen, smiling as she watched the townspeople.

"It's all thanks to Ed and Al."

"Oh look, Al, another mention of you." Ed teased.

Al chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, thanks Brother. At least you aren't hogging the
whole story Rose is telling."

Winry looked over at Rose before looking back out the window, smile
vanishing. 'Ed…'

"It's not funny anymore. Why is she frowning?" Ed asked. "I wish I could tell
her not to focus on the fact that I disappeared." He shot a glare at Al. "Or you
could try to cheer her up."

"But I'm not there." Al protested. "Besides, I know she has a crush on you,
but I don't know it's developed into love so I don't realize how hard your
disappearance would be for her, especially when she acts so strong. I believe
in you to be alright so I thought that would be enough for her."

Ed sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Because he and Al always got
into such dangerous situations, Winry had become a bit of a worrier about
their safety. It must be really hard for her to have no idea of his whereabouts
in this instance. If he was on another journey with Al, it would be fine, but
for the sole fact that he was considered MIA by the military and being hunted
down (most likely), that was enough to make her scared and worried for his
safety.

A dark hall entangled with pipes and tubes appeared on screen. The
scene moved down to show Bido walking through the hall. "Maybe it
wasn't such a bright idea to follow those military guys."

"Back to Bido. Seriously, are we ever going to see Chief again?" Luke asked.

"Be patient." Ed replied. "I'll show up when it is time." He smirked at Luke.

"And I'll be in perfect shape and when that happens, I will hit you for your
pointless worrying."

"How violent." Luke sneered.

"I just can't believe we have gone this long without Chief." Brody said.
"Maybe the future decided to give him a break for once since he's been
hogging too much scene time."

Ed glared at him. "Well, excuse me. The future is called Fullmetal Alchemist:
Brotherhood. And I am Fullmetal. My name is clearly in the title so I will hog
the screen."

Cyril chuckled and tried to placate them by saying, "Probably didn't want to
put him back through the pain of his injury by showing him recuperating. I'm
sure he'll be back to hogging the screen soon."

Ed rolled his eyes.

Bido was shown up close as he looked around the dark hall. "I have no
idea where the hell I am."
The scene changed angles to show him walking along a pipe from a
downward angle at the side.

"Where are you, Mr. Greed?" He stopped and looked down.

The scene changed to the ground as Bido jumped from the pipe he was
walking along. He started to crawl along the floor before he got to an
area covered with pipes. He squeezed through them, which sent him
flying forward and slamming into the ground. He sat up, rubbing his
aching head, and as he did, his head hit two heads on either side of him.
He looked out of the corner of his eye at one before screaming in fear
and falling to the ground. When he pushed himself to his knees, he
looked over his shoulder to see rows of mannequin bodies.

Bido was shown from behind, standing in the middle of the rows of
mannequins with his hands over his mouth to keep from screaming.

"That is a great reaction." Avery sneered.

Aran smirked. "You would have probably sat there frozen in horror. Now that
is a reaction."

Avery rolled his eyes. "Who wouldn't react to seeing all those mannequin
bodies just hanging there? It's not right! Especially in one of our military HQ.
There are just some boundaries that shouldn't be passed."

When he heard a door start to rise, he looked over his shoulder to see it
starting to open which allowed light into the room.

"The state has no interest in 'ethic's.'" Gardner said while Bido moved to
hide. "They're too much of a variable to use as a guideline."

Bido was shown to be hiding between the pipes.

"That was close." Al said in relief. He didn't want to even think about what
would have happened if Bido got caught in there. He just knew that nothing
good would come of it.

"The third tenet is to prevent someone from creating their own army,
General."

A mannequin head was shown as a gloved hand tapped it. Olivia was
shown, hand resting on the mannequin's hand while Gardner stood in
the background watching.

"But these aren't, they aren't human, are they?" Olivia asked.

"Correct." Gardner appeared on screen. "They're like humanoid

reciprocals, powerful dummies that we can bond souls to." A
mannequin's chest was shown as the scene slowly moved down to its
head. "Not only are they immortal, they're mindlessly obedient. They are
the world's most perfect soldier."

"Aren't perfect soldiers wrong?" Lan Fan asked with a frown.

"Yes, a mindlessly obedient soldier would have no morals about all the
horrible things I'm sure these generals would order them to do." Mustang
growled as he thought back to the Ishvalan Civil War. Mindlessly obedient
soldiers like these would have done everything that they were ordered to do
in that war without a single thought about it being wrong.

Hughes sighed. That was definitely true. Sometimes there were just orders or
actions done by superiors that couldn't be condoned. Just because someone
was a superior in the military that didn't mean their orders were always the
right course. Even their superiors were still humans and humans weren't
perfect. They all made mistakes, even the generals. Like Brigadier General
Fessler. He was a petty man who didn't care about his men and got so many
good men killed back in the Ishvalan Civil War. He was a selfish man caring
more about his reputation then the lives of his men so it was no surprise that
no one ever reported Basque Grand for killing him back in the war. It just
showed that no one was above making the wrong decisions, which was why
no one should blindly follow the higher ups.

Olivia's face was shown from the side as she stared calmly at the
mannequins. "Mind if I ask you a question, sir?"

"Go right ahead."

Olivia's face was shown close up. "You mentioned that souls would be
bonded to them." She looked out of the corner of her eye at Gardner.
"Where do you plan on procuring these souls?"

Gardner appeared on screen. "From rival lands of course. Citizens from

the countries we ravaged during the course of war."

Ed's eyes snapped to the screen as he snarled angrily. "He cannot be serious."

"That is some anger." Luke said.

"I agree with him. Those citizens did nothing wrong. They're not soldiers.
They're not fighters. They are innocent people who don't deserve to have their
souls stolen from them." Ling said angrily.

"There's that," Ed growled. "But my mind was at what happened during the
Ishvalan Civil War."

"What do you mean?" May asked confused.

"My hometown got ravaged because of Ishvalan bombers attacking it for

having military connections." Ed shouted angrily, hands clenched into fists as
he glared at Gardner on the screen. "The idea that they would steal the souls
of innocent people from citizens when their countries were ravaged by
war…"

"You know what it is like to see war destroy something you love while as a
civilian so you understand how those citizens in the countries feel and how
they're innocent of everything that happened." Hughes said quietly. "And yet,
they are the ones who are becoming victims and just wondering why it is
happening to them. Why when they did nothing wrong. Why were their
families being destroyed? Why was their home being destroyed?"

Ed's eyes slid shut. Everyone was victims. The Ishvalans and the people of
Resembool. The Ishvalans that fought back and killed to survive that war
were not innocent victims, but they were still victims. The Ishvalans that
didn't fight were victims. The people of Resembool, while none of them died,
still had to face the bombings around the train station and the fact that their
town never managed to grow after that made the people there victims. And
with it, the unrelenting questions of the families that were affected by it. Was
it their punishment for not getting involved and doing something to help or
end the war? Was it just bad luck? Hughes was right. There were a lot of
questions that popped up in Resembool when it happened. But now after
experiencing so much, Ed knew it wasn't right to just think about Resembool
and what happened there. He was sure the Ishvalans were having a lot of the
same questions about why they were involved in such a war and what they
did wrong.

But dealing with all those struggles in war and being victims was hard
enough to deal with. He had no idea of how it would have felt if the military
began stealing souls for their mindless obedient army of soldiers. The citizens
of countries that did face that…it must have been so hard for them.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the souls they are stealing for those mindless
soldiers also come from Amestris." Van said darkly. "They are causing
bloodshed in places like Ishval and Liore. It is likely they may have stolen
souls from people there as well. They have had so many opportunities in the
course of causing bloodshed to do so."

Ed couldn't work up the energy to be mad at Hohenheim for talking as he

thought about what he said. He wouldn't be surprise if they did do something
that horrible. With the higher ups already planning to become immortal by
sacrificing their own people and knowing about Homunculi running things
from the shadows, it really wouldn't be shocking to learn some of the horrible
things the higher ups did or were planning to do to this country's citizens.

The scene changed to the floor covered with pipes and slowly pulled back
to show Bido listening to them.

"For one reason or another, the battlefield serves as a hunting ground for
the collection of souls." Gardner said as Bido started to crawl backwards
to escape.

Bido's feet were shown to be slamming into the pipe as he ran away
screaming. He was shown with tears flying out of his eyes. "This place is
evil! Pure EVIL!"
Ling snorted. "He's got that part absolutely right. I thought some of the parts
of my country's government were corrupt when I was studying them, but your
country really is messed up."

"That was obvious how many episodes ago?" Walkers sneered.

"About thirty-seven." Riza said.

"What?" Walkers asked.

"That was when Edward and Alphonse learned the truth about the
Philosopher's Stone. That is when all of this got set in motion." Riza replied.
"Well, the part about us learning the truth got set into motion."

"We could go farther back and say it started thirty-nine episodes ago then
since that is when Scar attacked Ed. If that never happened, then Ed never
would have gotten on the train with Major Armstrong and he would have
never spotted Dr. Marcoh and told Ed about him and Dr. Marcoh would have
never told Ed about his research." Hughes pointed out.

"That's too confusing!" Ling shouted. "Let's just stop, say your country is
absolutely insane, and move on."

"I can agree with that." Luke said with a grin.

Ed snorted. "As if Xing isn't crazy."

Ling glared at him.

"Fifty wives, Ling. Who in their right mind would have the emperor have
fifty wives so he could have fifty children?" Ed retorted. "I still don't get how
that works if you have an empress. No way she would want to give birth to
fifty kids."

"That's not even important right now." Ling snorted.

"Why did I ever come here? Mr. Greed would never be in an awful place
like this!" Bido shouted. He froze and the scene changed to show a dark
figure standing ahead of Bido.
The scene snapped forward to show a smirking Greed standing there.

"Who would have believed that he would actually run into Greed?" Mikal
asked. "That's just bad luck."

A shovel was pushed into the ground. "An underground tunnel?" Van
asked.

Van and Al were shown to be standing together in the construction area

with other workers around taking a break.

"Uh-huh, and I've got a hunch that it runs under Liore." Al said.

"Which Hohenheim proved two episodes ago." Mustang said. "You are pretty
late with that theory, Al."

Al huffed. "Well, I was stuck in the north for a while, unlike Dad who was
able to move freely across the country."

The two were shown close up.

"If it does, well, no, I'm positive it does." Al said.

"Hold on, Al." Van interrupted, raising a hand to silence his son. "Let's
find someplace more private."

The destroyed church appeared on screen.

"So it's a countrywide transmutation circle." Van said as the scene

slowly moved down to show Al and him standing near the church. "And
you plan on destroying it."

"Not that destroying it would do anything to help. They would just fix it."
Hughes said. "They spent too much time on this to just stop because the
tunnel got temporarily destroyed.

"Great way to annoy them though." Ling replied. "Especially Sloth who
would have to dig the tunnel again."
"Though considering Pride is in the tunnel protecting it, it's probably not a
great idea to go down there. It's dangerous as was proven when Pride killed
the soldiers from Briggs and the other part is that it would tell him where Al
is." Scar pointed out.

Ed rubbed the back of his head. "I don't think future us know about Pride or
his shadow. Well, Colonel and Lieutenant Hawkeye and Hohenheim do, but
the rest of us are in the dark about it."

"That's right. We still need to warn everyone about Pride." Mustang said.
"But hopefully Hohenheim warns Al here."

"And I will warn him since I have no reason to keep such information from
my son." Van replied.

Al was shown from behind as he faced his dad. "Yeah. So I was kind of
shocked to find you here, Dad. I must have some good luck after all." He
took a step towards his dad. "We encountered a man who was identical
to you in Central."

Van's face was shown up close on screen as he stared at his son with a
frown.

"I don't know how you're connected to him, but I'm guessing you at least
know who he is, right?"

Van looked away from his son. "Are you sure you want to know, Al?"

Al appeared on screen.

Van's head was shown up close as he turned his head slightly to look at
his son out of the corner of his eye. "Did it ever cross your mind I might
be on their side?"

Al gasped.

The bottom half of Hohenheim's face was shown from the side.

"He's got a point." Olivia growled, glaring at Al. "You trusted him too easily
because he is your father."

Al pointed over at his dad, who looked completely calm and unaffected by
Olivia's distrusting nature of him. "I think considering the fact that he is here
with us, he is on our side."

"Here, yes, but in the future, you are a bit too trusting of him and do not have
the slightest bit of worry that he will betray you." Hughes pointed out. It was
a complicated situation really. On one hand, he would want his child to be
able to trust him without one ounce of worry. But on the other hand, he
understood that betrayal could happen and in some situation, wariness was
something that was a lifesaver. Even if the person one was worried about was
of blood relation.

"I'm actually surprised you haven't learned to be more wary." Brody said.

"Why would I have?" Al asked confused.

"Besides everything that is going on," Brody said before pointing at Ed.
"Your brother has been in the military for three years and you've helped him
on quite a bit of his missions, haven't you?"

"Yeah." Al said. He paused and looked at the ceiling. "I see what you mean.
Well, I tend to leave the wariness and paranoia to Brother since he is the State
Alchemist."

"Paranoia?" Ed asked, raising a brow. "I am not paranoid. And that has
nothing to do with my hatred of Hohenheim."

Al snorted. "Brother, you have had your moments of extreme paranoia at

times. You are so quick to be suspicious of people!"

Ed's brows narrowed. "You call my distrusting nature paranoia? Maybe it is

the fact that you are too trusting, Al. Not everyone is going to be oh so
helpful and kind to you. And if they are, then they want something!"

"Not every kind person wants something." Al protested.

"But some do." Ed retorted. "Which means you can't put your full trust in
strangers!"

"Paranoid." Al muttered.

"You've given away your entire plan." Van said as the scene slowly
moved over to Al. "Aren't you the least bit worried I might leak it to
them?"

Al gasped.

Van was shown, staring coldly at his son.

Al was shown once more to be staring at him.

The two were shown, staring at each other.

Al's chest suddenly appeared on screen as Van knocked his fist against it.

Van was shown, taking his fist away as he smiled up at Al. "I'm glad that
you feel like you can still trust me. Thanks, Alphonse."

Al appeared on screen. "Heh, sure." He nodded.

"You laid the fact that he should distrust you on so thick and then suddenly
you're thanking him for trusting you." Luke muttered. "Things are hard
enough. Did you really have to lay on a layer of suspense like that?"

"Of course." Van said with a smile. Of course he would warn his son not to
be so trusting of others. He's lived for so long and has seen so much betrayal
and so much of the ugly side of human nature. He didn't want his sons to fall
into such trouble because they were too trusting. They grew up in Resembool
which is a peaceful and safe place for the most part, but at the same time, it
probably didn't help teach his kids that not everyone is trustworthy. He
sighed. He should have been around more to teach them about life, but
looking at Izumi and the soldiers, he was sure they were taught very well.
These were the people who taught his kids about life while he was the one
working on saving the country for the past decade to make sure that his kids
still had a home and their lives after this mess was over with. Though back
then when he first left his family, he never expected for them to get this
involved in the whole affair.

"Don't say it so easily." Al moaned. "Seriously, what was the point?"

"To teach you to be more careful?" Ed suggested.

"Stay out of this, Brother."

"Well," Ed huffed annoyed. "Sorry for trying to help."

"I don't need to be as paranoid as you!" Al retorted.

Van appeared on screen as he rubbed the back of his head. 'Event though
I left them, this boy stills sees me as his father and actually trusts me.' His
face was shown up close from the side as he opened his eyes to show how
serious he was. 'Now then, I suppose I owe my sons the same trust they've
given me.'

"I've given nothing!" Ed shouted.

"He is trustworthy, Ed, and his vast amount of experience and knowledge
would be really helpful to us." Hughes pointed out. "So you could try to be a
bit more supporting."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Weren't you the ones who said not to be so trusting?"

"But we know he is trustworthy." Hughes said. "Well, here. In the future, we

just have to rely on you and Al when it comes to your dad since the rest of us
don't know him."

Ed glared at him for using the term 'dad.'

"And Izumi." Riza pointed out. "She and Sig met him briefly."

Izumi nodded with a smile. Her future self's meeting with him was a bit tense
when he thrust his hand in her stomach, but the way it helped her by Van
rearranging her organs made her very grateful. She only felt it briefly earlier
when it happened, but being able to breath so much better for the first time in
years was amazing.
"This won't be easy to explain," Van said as he turned around to face his
youngest son. "It would be for the best for Edward to hear it as well."

Al gasped before he was shown up close. "Actually."

Snow covered cliffs appeared on screen.

"I hate to say it, but Brother has gone missing." Al said as the scene
moved down the cliffs to show a city.

Banks Bank appeared on screen.

"Banks Bank?" Havoc asked, raising a brow. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's a perfectly logical name if the owner of the bank last name is Banks."
Aran replied.

"Then it was simply his destiny to own a bank." Walkers said sarcastically.
"Poor guy."

The inside of the bank was shown with visitors standing around, either in
line or getting ready to leave. A dark skinned teller appeared on screen
as she straightened a stack of papers.

"Next in line please." She said as she put the papers away.

The window was shown as a note and a State Alchemist's pocket watch
was put onto the counter.

The teller looked up in surprise. She was shown from behind as the scene
slowly moved up to show Darius as he said, "I'd like to make a
withdrawal from the account of State Alchemist Edward Elric. His
research account."

The pocket watch appeared on screen.

"You have my watch?" Ed asked surprised.

"It makes sense. They are the ones who got you out of the mineshaft after you
fainted." Mustang replied.

Ed rubbed his forehead as he tried to think. Flashes of what happened in the

mineshaft assaulted his mind. And with those flashes of memory came the
reminder of the pain. His shoulders stiffened as he recalled the pain that
assaulted his body and mind. This caused his vision to blacken for just a
moment before he was blinking and found himself staring up into Ling's eyes
since the prince was leaning over him.

"Are you okay?" Ling asked worriedly. "You just collapsed!"

Annoyed, Ed pushed Ling away and sat up as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm fine."

May looked over at Ed with a frown. She knew that her transmutation
worked wonderfully on Ed. He was in top shape, the way he would be if he
didn't get into any dangerous fights for weeks. So why did he just pass out
like that? He was only out for a few seconds, but it was long enough to catch
everyone's attention.

"So," Ed turned to look at Darius to get attention off of what just happened.
He refused to be seen as weak and scared just because he couldn't easily
forget the pain of being impaled by a support beam. "If you have my pocket
watch and are taking it to the bank, you have to have my endorsement to use
it which means…"

"We're finally back to Chief!" Havoc and Luke said with a grin.

"Though isn't it dangerous to withdraw from your account?" Lan Fan asked
with a frown. "Won't that tell them you are in the city?"

Ed shrugged. "Probably, but when you need money, you need it."

"And you guys most likely desperately need money right now." Miles said
with a thoughtful frown. "You and Heinkel both had injuries that needed a
doctor's help, and since you have escaped the military's sight, you also need
to buy silence so your doctor doesn't report your whereabouts."

"Sounds costly." Mustang muttered. He knew State Alchemists got a lot of

money, but there had to be a limit somewhere. Ed never abused his account
too much, but when he used money from it to pay someone for their help, like
with Sheska, he would pay them the amount that equaled the work they did.
And that at times could be very costly because really, it was how Ed saw how
useful the work was so he determined the price it was worth.

"Are you the account holder?" The woman asked.

"I'm his representative." Darius replied. "But I brought a letter of

attorney."

Ed groaned. "I hated learning how to write those things."

Riza sighed. She knew how much Ed hated learning that. She was the one
who taught him how to write one a few weeks after he joined the military. He
didn't understand it at first and didn't believe he would ever need to use one,
but she made sure he learned how to write one. "And you complained so
much about not needing to know how to do it when you were twelve."

Ed grinned sheepishly at her. "Did I ever thank you for teaching me that? It
seems that it really has come in handy."

"No, all you did was complain for a week." Riza replied, hiding an amused
smirk from the teenager. "If you spent less time complaining, I'm sure you
could have come to understand how to write one a lot faster than you did."

Havoc snorted. "I'm actually amazed he managed to learn it in a week. He

looked so agitated and like he wanted to jump out a window."

Ed flushed. He would never admit that the agitation they saw was actually a
longing he had where he wanted to go back to Resembool and run through
the fields with his brother and Winry like when they were younger and
everything was simple. Where he didn't have to join the military. Where he
didn't have to work as a State Alchemist. Where he never trapped his brother
in a suit of armor because they made a stupid mistake.

"Ed always wants to jumps out windows. It is like his favorite escape route."
Izumi said with a smirk.
Ed twitched a bit. His teacher knew that too well. It was predictable and how
she always caught him. He chose that route since the soldiers never thought
he would use it and if he was on a high floor they couldn't stop him like
Izumi could. But they were learning of his favorite escape route. That would
not mean anything good for him.

"So Ling likes entering through windows and Chief likes escaping through
them." Luke said, grinning at the two teenagers. "You two are such
opposites."

Ling laughed before looking at Ed curiously. "I've been wondering. What's

with the name Chief?"

"Because calling a twelve year old sir is too weird. For me and them." Ed
replied.

"Then why not Major Elric?" Lan Fan asked curiously.

"Too weird." Ed replied. "Only those who don't know me well call me that or
Fullmetal. The higher ups usually address me as Fullmetal though. Actually, I
don't think I've met a single higher up who has called me Major."

"I guess it is too strange for everyone." Ling said amused.

"Damn right it is too weird." Havoc muttered. "A loud, reckless, energetic kid
bursts into the office all the time and you want us to address him as Major?
It's not very soldier like of him to do that."

"Hughes does it." Al pointed out.

Havoc shrugged. "That's the Lt. Colonel. The crazy family man, but he is an
adult. Chief is a moody teenager."

"Hey!" Ed protested.

"I didn't really want to address a kid as Major anyway. He was twelve. He
didn't need that title. He was already weighed down by the State Alchemist
title." Havoc said, ignoring Ed.
"So we just started calling him Chief since technically he is still our
superior." Breda finished.

"Ah, calling you Chief is their way of showing their respect for you without
adding on the weight of military titles." Ling said, nodding his head
thoughtfully.

Ed frowned thoughtfully. Calling him a nickname as a sign of respect so they

could avoid putting the weight of military titles on him? He never really
thought that deep into it. To him, it was just their way of addressing him so
he never thought anything of it.

Darius put a thick envelope with money in it in his coat pocket. He was
shown from behind with the teller seen in front of him.

"Thank you for your business, sir." The teller said as Darius walked
away. She leaned forward to watch him go before looking back at her
colleague who put the phone up to his ear.

"This is the Bank of Amestris, Northern Branch. I just had a very large
withdrawal taken from State Alchemist Edward Elric's personal
research account."

The scene changed to show a building. It was slowly zoomed in on.

"No, he claimed to be his representative…Well, he was rather tall and

very brawny."

Hughes snorted. "What a great description. They should go into more unique
traits that someone has. Like with Scar. He had an 'x' shaped scar on his face.
Can't get more unique than that."

"You shouldn't want them found easily. It would lead the soldiers right to
Fullmetal." Scar pointed out.

"I know. I just can't believe the descriptions that people give." Hughes
scoffed.

Ling looked over at Darius then at Hughes. "I think the description of a very
muscular man would work just fine. Not many people are muscular like that."

"True, but there is always the chance that another person like that could be
around and they could go after the wrong person because of that." Hughes
pointed out.

"And what is wrong with that?" Darius asked. "It would lead them off our
trail for a bit."

"Hughes just takes his position as an Intelligence Agent very seriously which
is why he is one of the best at gathering Intel." Mustang explained. "So when
he is gathering information, and the mission he is on is to track someone
down, he wants details so he doesn't make the mistake of going after the
wrong person. So he is a bit crazy about it when people aren't gathering Intel
properly."

Ed snorted. Only a bit crazy? Hughes was more than a bit crazy.

A table appeared on screen as Darius slapped down the envelope with

money in it, causing the bills to spill out.

"Here." Darius said. "That should cover your medical bill."

Skylak whistled. "That's quite a bit of money for a medical bill."

"It was quite an extensive injury Fullmetal had." Darius growled.

"It still is a bit too much just for that. It looks like they really did overcharge
the medical bill and you won't argue about the price since it is for their
silence, like Major Miles said." Mustang replied with a frown.

The doctor picked up the envelope and started counting the money with
a chuckle. "Well, I could charge you more, but this will do."

The scene pulled out to show Darius sitting at the table with him. "It
better. You're already ripping us off, Doc."

An elderly woman was shown to be making tea behind Darius. "How can
you say that?" She asked before turning to pour the tea. "It's reasonable
when you consider the risks involved."

"I don't even want to think about how much money you just cost the
country." Mustang said, rubbing his temple.

Ed huffed. "I am MIA, right? I'm surprised they didn't freeze my account
when that happened. I am going to continue taking money out just to annoy
them."

Havoc snorted. "They might freeze your account after this. They probably
kept it active to lure you out to get a fix on your location first."

"Yeah for me." Ed said dryly. "I just had to get injured before going MIA."

Hughes chuckled. "I think they'd freeze your account after this to avoid
having you take so much money again. I believe you when you say you
would withdraw a lot of money just to annoy the higher ups."

Breda snorted. "He would definitely do it."

"Not a single doubt in my mind." Havoc said amused. "Though what would
you do with all that money, Chief?"

Ed thought for a moment before shrugging. "Give it away. Buy junk with it
then send the government letters to ask them to reimburse me. Make a giant
bonfire near a military HQ then just throw all the money on it and watch it go
up in flames!"

Ling laughed. "Really? You're going to waste money like that?"

"I have issues with the higher ups so yes, I would. It would annoy them that
the tax money they take from the people for the government is being thrown
away like that." Ed replied with a smirk.

"Since it is the people's money, I hope your plans include giving most of it
back to the people and not destroying so much of it." Izumi replied.

"Sure, sure." Ed said bored.

"Should you really be encouraging that kind of wastefulness?" Mustang
asked with a frown, only to get Izumi to glare at him. Mustang sighed. Right,
she wasn't a big fan of the military, particularly the State Alchemist program.
She would enjoy screwing over the government. It had to be where Ed got it
from.

Darius turned to look at her and from his angle, Heinkel could be seen in
the other room looking out a window. "Sure, and as long as you
guarantee that you're gonna keep your mouth shut, then I'm not
complaining."

Heinkel turned away from the window. "Darius!"

The window was shown to show soldiers outside the building as dramatic
music began to play. The soldiers were shown close up before the scene
changed to show the window with Darius and Heinkel on different sides
of it, leaning against the wall to hide as they looked at the soldiers.

"I guess they found us." Darius said.

"What? Did they follow you?" Luke growled. "And where is the kid
anyway?" He shot a glare at Ed.

"What did I do?" Ed asked confused.

"We finally get back to Darius and Heinkel, who saved you from the
mineshaft, but you are still nowhere to be seen!" Luke muttered. "I don't get
how that can be."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Is that all? Obviously, I'm going to make a dramatic
entrance to show you I am in perfect shape!"

Mustang snorted. "You would do that even if you weren't healed."

"Says the Colonel who left the hospital before he was ready after Lust's
spears impaled him." Ed retorted.

"I'll concede to you that. We don't really have time to sit around and
recuperate when danger is just around the corner like this." Mustang replied.
"And considering you have soldiers after you and are on the run, you really
can't sit around."

"Thank you." Ed replied smugly.

"But you really should be careful if you're not completely healed." Riza
added.

A door appeared on screen as a fist came down on it to knock.

The scene pulled back as the door opened and the doctor looked out at
the soldiers. "Yes? Hello? Oh, you're soldiers. Do you need a physical?"

"We're looking for someone." The soldier standing in the middle said as
he walked forward and pushed the door open farther and stepped into
the clinic.

Heinkel was shown to be getting his bandages removed by the elderly

woman.

"Is this man your only patient?" The soldier asked.

"In all the craziness, I forgot you plunged your blade in my arm." Heinkel
grunted, opening and closing his fist of his right hand a few times. The pain
wasn't there since the injury was healed, but the remembrance of pain wasn't
something easily forgotten.

"I guess now that you've saved my life, I should apologize for that?" Ed
asked.

Heinkel waved him off. "We were attacking you. Don't worry about it."

"Besides, you saved our lives so that more than makes up for it." Darius
added with a grin.

Ed shrugged. "Then I guess you saving my life makes up for attacking me.
You know the whole choking thing, then causing me to fall off that ledge."

"How was that our fault?" Darius snapped.

"You were kind of pushing him towards it since you were all fighting blindly
without knowing the location the battle was in like the back of your hand."
Ling pointed out.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Who actually knows the exact layout of a battlefield
when you get unexpectedly attack?"

"Observant people." Ling replied with a grin. "I'm sure Lieutenant Hawkeye
could do it and so could Lan Fan and Fu."

Riza sighed. "I most likely could do it, but without sight I could not fight
since I am a gun specialist. I can't fire when blind since I risk hitting a
comrade."

"Aren't Lan Fan and Fu trained to be highly observant like that since they're
your bodyguards?" Hughes asked.

"Do soldiers in your country not get trained to be observant?" Lan Fan asked
curiously.

"Probably not to the extent you were trained." Hughes replied. "Unless they
are personal guards to the Fuhrer and his family. Those guards need a lot of
observant training and how to handle assassination attempts."

Mustang snorted. "I'm not sure they have enough training. Did you see how
close Fullmetal got to Bradley during his practical exam?"

Ed snickered. "We should ask Lan Fan and Fu to help train the Fuhrer's
guards. You know, after we get a new one. I don't think continuing with a
Homunculus Fuhrer is such a good idea."

"You think?" Rebecca scoffed. "It was never a good idea to begin with."

The soldier was shown from behind as he turned his head to look down
at the doctor. "There's no one else?"

The doctor turned his head slightly towards the doorway in the
background that had a curtain covering it. "There's one more resting."
The soldier shouldered passed the doctor. He was followed by one of the
other soldiers.

Heinkel and the old lady were shown as the soldiers walked behind them.

The curtain was shown as the soldier pushed it to the side.

The bed was shown to show Darius lying on his side in it.

The bed was shown from the side as the two soldiers approached it. "Are
you the only patient back here?"

Darius stared to sit up. "Yeah. Why are you asking? What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, just hunting down a MIA State Alchemist." Luke said
sarcastically. "I wonder what reason the higher ups gave to have Chief
tracked down."

"Probably nothing made up." Al muttered. "Brother has done a lot of stuff."

"While that is true, I believe the simplest one would be to claim he attacked a
comrade since that is what did." Mustang replied.

"Who? Kimblee?" Brody scoffed. "While he did attack Kimblee, I don't know
many soldiers who would complain since a lot of soldiers know what he did
in Ishval."

"Considering no soldiers up north, minus the Briggs soldiers, know

Fullmetal, I don't think they are going to question the idea of hunting down a
State Alchemist." Hughes replied with a frown. "They'll just hear that a
comrade attacked a comrade and to find and bring him in."

Ed fell backwards into his pile of pillows with a groan. "That doesn't sound
fun."

"Being hunted is not supposed to be fun." Havoc replied dryly.

"Great, now I'm prey." Ed muttered.

"Just don't make it personal for them." Miles warned.

Ed raised his legs into the air before throwing them down to help himself sit
up in his pile of pillows so he could look at Miles with a confused frown.
"What do you mean?"

"Don't kill or severely injure any of the soldiers that hunt you down. If you do
that to their friends, it will become personal for them and they will not rest
until they've captured you." Miles explained. "Keeping it from getting
personal will just make it another mission to them."

Ed raised a brow. "Would you if you were in my situation?"

"Would I keep from killing those hunting me down if I was on the run?"
Miles asked. "I wouldn't even let myself be found to get in a situation like
that."

Ed threw his hands into the air in disbelief and fell back into the pillows.
"There wasn't a choice here. We needed the money to pay that stupid, greedy
doctor for all his help and his silence." He huffed. "Because he just can't be
happy for the awesome pay he would get from helping me recover from such
a horrible injury."

The soldier was shown as he stared down at Darius. "Tell me, were you
at the bank this afternoon?"

Darius's face was shown up close as his eyes narrowed. His hand, which
was gripping a gun, was shown under the blanket as he slowly started to
pull it out, which made the soldier quickly raise his gun and point it at
Darius. "Don't move."

Harris appeared on screen as he stood outside the clinic, guarding the

door. The sound of footsteps had him looking to the side.

A pair of legs clad in black with a tan cloak which had some tears in it
flowing around them were shown from behind as they approached
Harris.
Harris stepped into the path. "Hold it. Do you work at this doctor's
office?"

The scene changed back to the soldier pointing a gun at Darius. "Slowly
raise your hands above your head."

"Back and forth. Back and forth." Avery said with a frown. "Why are we in-
between scenes like this?"

"To show that what is happening in the hallway is happening at the same time
Darius gets a gun pointed at him." Brody said with a frown.

"That's never happened before." May pointed out before pausing. "Has it? I
missed the first fourteen episodes."

"Nothing like this." Al replied. "Which makes it strange. It might be

happening like this because what is happening in the hallway has some
importance to what is going to happen in the clinic."

Darius was shown as the scene slowly zoomed in on him before it

changed to show a bag filled with food in the arms of a boy who had the
bottom half of his face showing as he clenched a kebab between his teeth.

"Have you seen anyone unusual frequently the clinic lately?" Harris
asked as the boy played with the kebab stick with his teeth.

Heinkel appeared on screen, raising his gun in front of his chest as he

looked out of the corner of his eye at Coen, who was keeping a close eye
on him from the other room.

Harris appeared on screen, holding up a piece of paper. "He's described

as…"

The soldier pointing a gun at Darius appeared on screen as he took an

angry step forward. "Right now!"

Darius's hand was shown as he slowly pulled his gun farther out from
under the blanket.
"Show me your hands!"

The boy in the hallway was shown on his left side from behind, long
blond hair flowing down to the top of his back.

The scene moved up to Harris. "A red coat, blond hair worn in a braid,"

"That's definitely Fullmetal they're looking for." Mustang said dryly.

"I'm unusual?" Ed asked, frowning.

"That red coat really makes you stick out." Havoc pointed out.

"But it's not unusual! What unusual are two human chimeras living in the
clinic!" Ed shouted.

"You realize we aren't transformed so no one knows we're chimeras." Darius

said with a smirk. "Besides, we're only temporarily living there because of
you."

Ed rolled his eyes. "You could have left at any time." He muttered.

Hughes nudged Ed's leg with his foot. "If they did that, you would be without
a group."

"What do I need a group for? Maybe I want to be a lone wolf!" Ed shouted.

"You need a group because everyone has a group." Hughes pointed.

"A group is three or more people." Ed retorted. "May is now alone with Envy
and on her way to Xing. Dr. Marcoh and Scar are a partnership, not a group."

"I am not alone! I have Xiao-Mei." May snapped.

Ed slapped his face. The panda bear. The freaking panda bear. Who counts a
panda bear as a partner? And how was he supposed to remember to even
count her? She was a panda bear!

Hughes grinned. "Exactly. Everyone needs a partner to watch their backs.

You're just annoyed that it can't be Al who is watching your back right now
like it usual is. Considering Darius and Heinkel saved you, you should have
more trust in them to watch your back while you watch theirs since Al is too
far away from you to do it."

"I don't remember you complaining this much when I was your partner inside
Gluttony's stomach." Ling pointed out.

"We were trapped in a hellhole with no hope of escape. Future me even

claimed he would be Envy's best friend if it got him out. At the time, you
were a blessing in disguise to keep me sane." Ed replied dryly.

Ling started to grin, while Al laughed. "At the time, Brother?"

"Well," Ed shrugged. "Now he is just an annoyance."

Ling's grin disappeared and he glared at Ed. "Thanks." He said dryly. "And
here I thought you were starting to respect our wonderful friendship?"

Ed raised a brow. "Wonderful?" He asked snidely.

Ling snatched up one of Ed's pillow and whacked him in the face with it.
"Yes, wonderful, and you know what else?" He raised the pillow. "I'm
keeping this."

Ed glared at him.

Harris looked up from the paper. "And short."

"BASTARDS!" Ed screamed, shooting out of his pile of pillows to glare with

a burning intensity of hatred and anger at the screen. "Who made that list? I'll
kill them!"

"It is a pretty bad description. Of all the ways to describe you, they choose
that way? I mean, you have gold eyes! That is so unique. How could it not be
on the description?" Hughes murmured with a frown.

"Don't help!" Ed shouted, pulling at his hair. "We don't want me found!"
"Still a pathetic description. I mean, blond hair worn in a braid and a red
coat? If you knew that is what they were looking for, you can change that real
easily. Not to mention, blond hair isn't uncommon in Amestris. And short?"
Walkers said with a frown as Ed's brow twitched in annoyance. "Your age is
commonly known. They can easily mistake another teenager for you.
Seriously, who came up with such a description?"

"That's for sure." Havoc looked over at Ed with a thoughtful frown. "Teenage
State Alchemist, gold eyes, blond hair, an automail right arm, an automail left
leg, and short."

"I'M NOT SHORT, DAMN IT!" Ed launched a pillow into Havoc's face.
"And stop coming up with better descriptions! You're not supposed to help
with the hunting down of your friend."

"Short tempered and reacts badly to the word short." Brody added with a
smirk and got a pillow in the face from an enraged Edward.

"STOP HELPING!"

Luke laughed. "It's the best description ever."

Ed collapsed face down into his pile of ammunition.

"You look close to drowning in your pillows, Brother. Don't suffocate

yourself now." Al said.

Ed's brow twitched and he slowly lifted his head to glare at Al. "Are you
calling me small?" He hissed through clenched teeth.

Al meeped in fear and was trying to think up a response when Mustang said,
"Of course that is what he is saying, Fullmetal. He doesn't want to see his
brother die by drowning in a pool of pillows."

"WHO THE HELL IS SO SMALL THAT A PILE OF PILLOWS IS SO

MUCH BIGGER THAN HIM THAT IF HE HID IN THEM, THE
PILLOWS WOULD BLOCK ALL OF THE AIR FROM GETTING TO
HIM, LEAVING HIM TO SUFFOCATE?" Ed screamed while Al smacked
his forehead.

"I'm positive Al just said that would be you." Mustang said with a smirk.

"You're not helping!" Al snapped at Mustang as Ed glared at him. He looked

back at his brother. "Stop listening to the Colonel! I never insult your
height….except on a few rare occasions…."

"I can't believe you would betray me like this." Ed muttered.

Al threw his hands into the air in disbelief. "I give up. Believe what you
want."

The kebab in the boy's mouth was shown as he bit down on it hard
enough to break the wooden stick with a loud snap.

"No one else reacts like that to the word short, which means…" Brody said
with a huge grin.

"It's Chief!" Luke and Havoc shouted.

"You guys are getting too much enjoyment out of this." Ed muttered.

"You shut up!" Havoc snapped. "You were gone for two episodes, could have
been dying for all we know. We will celebrate your return any way we want."

Ed looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Next time you complain about me
taking up too much screen time, I'm going to remind you of this."

"I'll never complain about anyone taking up too much screen time again if it
means they're going to vanish for a few episodes after getting seriously
injured." Havoc replied seriously.

"The lesson has been learned!" Ed shouted. "It's a bloody miracle!"

"We should have a party to celebrate this miraculous occasion!" Ling

exclaimed with a grin.

Havoc rolled his eyes at the two mocking teenagers.

The two soldiers in the clinic were shown as the sound of a punch
followed by a loud thumping noise was heard.

The soldier holding Darius at gunpoint turned to look at his comrade

and ordered, "Check it out!"

The door to the clinic was shown as it was quickly opened by the soldier
who pointed his gun down the hallway. He gasped when he saw his
comrade unconscious on the ground.

"You knocked him out." Hughes rubbed his temple. "You really need to work
on that temper of yours. But at least we know why we were watching the
scene the way we were. You kind of interrupted Darius almost getting
himself shot. That was the only way the scene could work."

Aran snorted. "It could have worked other ways. This way just added the
most suspense to put you on the edge of your seat with worry filling you up
that Darius was going to get killed."

"So that makes me two for one." Ed said with a grin.

"What?" Brosh asked confused.

"I save Darius and Heinkel two times while they saved me once." Ed
explained.

"I believe the one time we saved you should count for more than one saving.
It was a pretty gruesome injury we were helping to save you from." Heinkel
retorted.

"I don't think we should count them at all. Both times we needed saved was
because Fullmetal put us in those positions. Kimblee blew up the mineshaft
because of him. And this time, we withdrew money from his account to pay
his doctors which led the soldiers here." Darius said.

"That's a good point." Heinkel said, nodding his head.

"And I already told you, you didn't have to stick around, but you did so you
should have expected things like this." Ed retorted stubbornly, crossing his
arms. "So my two for one status still exists and I'm still winning."

Darius snorted. "My animal instincts won't let me drop a kid off at a clinic
and then just be on my merry way." He muttered to his friends.

Heinkel nodded. "Yeah, we can't just focus on ourselves. Besides, we're

soldiers and so is he, and we defected together so we might as well stick
together."

"Your way of saying your animal instincts are keeping you around and
having you stay loyal to a kid who saved your asses after he handed them to
you." Zampano replied with a smirk.

Darius and Heinkel glared at him.

"We lasted longer than you did against him." Darius retorted.

Jerso scowled. "Al was there to help him."

"Excuses."

He crouched down and drew his friend up by his coat. "Harris! Harris,
what happened to you?" He asked before shaking him. "Come on. Snap
to!" A shadowed loomed over him.

"The lurking demon waiting for his prey." Breda said with a smirk.

Olivia scoffed. "That soldier was an idiot. He didn't clear the hallway like he
was supposed to before checking on his partner."

Ed chuckled evilly. "Some soldiers just lose their heads when they see their
comrades injured."

"Or maybe he checked and just missed you." Mustang replied.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME SMALL?" Ed screamed. Without waiting for a

reply, he launched himself at Mustang. "YOU BASTARD!"

Ling quickly caught Ed around the waist. "You can't kill a superior!"
"Why not?" Ed screeched. "General Armstrong did!"

"I wouldn't mind if he got rid of Mustang." Olivia said with a smirk.

"I know you hate him, but that is just cold." Hughes replied with a frown.

"Brother, just calm down." Al scolded. "And stop freaking out so much."

Ed shot one last glare at Mustang, but he didn't do anything but release an
aggravated sigh before he shoved Ling away and fell back into his
ammunition.

"I didn't even insult you and I'm the one being pushed?" Ling grumbled as he
sat up.

"You kept me from getting to him." Ed growled.

"Sheesh, try to protect you from making a mistake and getting arrested, and
this is the kind of thanks I get?" Ling grumbled. "Why are we friends again?"

"We could always cancel our contract and forget one another exists." Ed
suggested with a gleeful smirk.

Ling shook his head. "Okay, first, you look too happy saying that. And two,
no, I cannot allow such a thing."

"And why is that?" Ed asked annoyed.

"Because as your best friend, it is my duty to make you miserable." Ling

replied with a grin.

"Best friends?" Ed mouthed to himself before shaking his head. "Must be my

duty to destroy you then for the annoyance you cause me."

"Or," Ling stressed. "You can just take it all in stride."

Ed gave him a deadpanned look that basically asked, "Who the hell do you
think I am?"
"Har–"

The soldier still in the clinic was shown with his back to the wall, gun still
pointed at Darius as a second punch and loud thump was heard. A look
of horror spread across his face as he heard it.

Van sighed. "Do you have to be so violent, Edward?"

Ed shot an annoyed glare at his father. Did he have to talk to him? He was
trying to ignore the fact that he was even here. "Yes," He growled. "I thrive
on it."

Al sighed. "Brother, honestly, sometimes I really don't know how I am

related to you."

"What? He called me that." Ed growled.

"Technically, Harris was reading the description he was given and he didn't
know it was you so he wasn't really calling you short." Ling pointed out,
which in turn just made Ed shift his glare from Van to him.

"And this other soldier didn't even do anything…besides get involved in the
search for you. Poor guys, they really don't know the demon they are up
against." Havoc said, sighing sadly.

"They're hunting me down. Don't I get any sympathy?" Ed asked.

"No. The demon State Alchemist who takes normal soldiers out with such
ease gets nothing." Brody declared.

The door to the clinic was shown as it swung open a little bit wider.

"Dun, dun, duuuun," Ling said with a smirk. "I want to make a bet that Ed
somehow got in the room without being seen and is making his way to the
soldier all stealth like."

"The fact that he managed to sneak up on Cohen is enough to make me not

want to take that bet." Brody growled. "Since when do you sneak around to
take your opponents out like this?! You usually just charge right in."
"When I don't want shot." Ed replied, rolling his eyes. "I know there is
probably a wanted status of me being alive, but since they don't know I'm me,
I'm not taking the risk of getting shot."

"Makes sense. You already had a big hole in your side. I doubt you'll be
looking to try getting another hole so soon." Avery said.

Ed's shoulders stiffened a bit at his words. Hole in his side. Hole in his side.
The pain of the support beam finally being yanked out of his side was like a
burning fire as his skin was pulled harshly apart as it was stuck to the support
beam. He was in so much pain that he didn't know what it looked like to
watch it play out in the future, but right now, Ed could just imagine all the
blood and the mess that it created. And then there was the excruciating pain
that left his vision white…

He quickly swallowed down the bile rising in his throat and blinked a few
times to forget the white void that was trying to fog up his brain. Forcing
himself to push the reminder of the pain to the back of his mind, he instead
focused on what Luke was saying.

"–get shot though since there are doctors right there." Luke added.

"Again," Ed forced himself to say calmly so no one realized there was a

problem. He wished they would stop bringing up reminders of…that incident.
"I don't need shot. I don't want any more bed rest. It's time to get on the road
again, especially since we've been found."

The scene pulled back to the doorway of the next room to show the
soldier leaning against the wall and looking passed the door frame while
still pointing his gun at Darius.

The solider was shown with Darius, hands raised, in front of him.
"Cohen! Harris!" He shouted. "What's going on? Hey, answer me!"

A hand slammed through the wall next to his head, sending rubble and
dust flying through the air.

"Did you just slam your hand through a solid wall?" Kei asked.
"When isn't a wall solid?" Ed asked, raising a brow.

"Not the point. No wonder you damage your automail so much." Kei
growled, glaring at Ed's arm. That kid really didn't take good care of his
automail. He had half a mind to confiscate it.

"Well, how else was I supposed to sneak up on him so I didn't get shot?" Ed
muttered.

"I'm sure you of all people could have found another way to take him out
without slamming your hand through a wall." Kei retorted. "There were many
options available like alchemy."

"But that would reveal I am an alchemist, and likely the one they are looking
for. Though, they would only make that connection if they are smart." Ed
replied.

"Are you saying our soldiers are idiots?" Olivia asked with a frown.

"Not all of them, only the ones who are truly idiotic." Ed said with a shrug.
"Like the one who gave such a description of me. I mean really, it's like the
person who gave that stupid description doesn't want me found!"

"I can't believe you're still hyping about that," Mustang replied, rolling his
eyes. "Oh, wait, considering it's you, I can."

Ed shot him an annoyed glare. "It's a curse and I'm tired of everyone insulting
me with it." He muttered.

The automail hand was shown through the dust as it swung around and
wrapped itself tightly around the soldier's neck.

"You scare me a bit." Skylak declared.

"What? It's not like I'm killing him! Just choking him." Ed protested.

"Through a wall." Skylak said calmly. "Through a freaking wall! I'm amazed
you managed to find your target to choke him when you didn't have a clue of
his position."
Ed rolled his eyes. "I had to have had some idea of where he was." He
pointed at the screen. "Look, my arm is wrapped around his neck. I didn't
miss."

"You had no time to find the exact position of your target though."

Ed shrugged and looked at the screen with a thoughtful frown. "Perhaps it's
because that is where a soldier stands when checking another room for the
enemy attacking them and since I know that much, I was able to estimate
where my target was so I didn't miss him."

"Did you really put that much thought into it?" Myers asked dryly.

"I believe the future speaks for itself." Ed replied, rolling his eyes. "That
training I received from Lt. Riza really does come in handy."

"I thought Colonel Mustang trained you." Aran said confused.

"On some stuff. On other things, it was Lt. Hawkeye." Ed replied.

"And what about us?" Havoc asked, raising a brow. "Don't tell me you forgot
the way we helped!"

Ed shrugged.

"What does he mean?" Fu asked.

"While I was in charge of some of the military training exercises we put

Edward through, the team did help." Riza explained. "We would use old
buildings that were no longer in use and divide the team up into soldiers and
those who played the enemy. We had to clear the rooms and capture the
targets."

Ed grinned a bit. "It was a lot of fun. We used fake guns during it and I got to
play the bad guy sometimes."

"I thought you were being trained to understand how to properly clear a
house so you knew the basics of it." Lan Fan said confused.
"That is true which is why he worked on the military side for most of it. But
it is a good learning experience to work on the other side as well because you
can observe how soldiers react to any situation or diversion an enemy might
cause. Edward would make such diversion while he tried to escape from us."
Riza explained.

Ed nodded. "In some of the training exercises, I was allowed to use alchemy,
but in others it was forbidden so I had to learn how to adapt without using
alchemy."

Havoc smiled. "I remember you were forbidden from using it and I was on
the other side and we ended up in a scuffle in which we lost our guns."

Ed snickered. "Then Lt. Riza showed up and shot you."

"Wait, I thought the guns were fake." Ling replied.

"They were. They fired small paint pellets. And when you were shot, you
could see red paint where you got hit." Ed explained. He rubbed his chest
with a grimace. "Though it still hurts a lot and will leave you with bruises if
you get hit by one."

Ling smirked. "Got hit?"

"Lt. Riza has no mercy in training." Ed replied.

"It's not good training if you show mercy." Riza replied.

Ed shrugged. "I'm not complaining." He pointed at Izumi. "Look who I had

for a teacher after all."

The soldier's feet were shown as they kicked out at the ground and his
gun hit it and bounced away.

A shocked Darius appeared on screen as he watched.

The soldier was shown, grabbing at Ed's arm as it choked him, but it did
nothing as his eyes rolled into his head and his arms fell limply to his side
while foam spilled from his mouth. Ed slowly pulled his arm away,
leaving the unconscious soldier to slide down the wall and hit the ground.

Olivia smirked. "Thirty seconds."

"What about thirty seconds?" Hughes asked.

"It took him thirty seconds to take out three soldiers. That is highly efficient."
Olivia explained.

Hughes nodded. "I see." He quickly leaned down to Ed and whispered, "Stop
impressing her. Before you know it, she is going to steal you from Roy."

Ed took a moment to think about what it would be like under General

Armstrong's command, and it didn't take long for shivers to run down his
spine. She scared him the same way that Izumi did. He would not survive
under her command!

"Damn." Darius said as he threw the blanket aside and stood up with his
gun in his hand. He walked towards the doorway. "You're just had to
take them out on your own, huh." He walked over to the downed soldier.
He bent over and rested his hands on his knees as he looked at the
unconscious soldier. "You're pretty reckless, kid."

"Reckless is his middle name!" Al shouted.

"No, it isn't." Ed grumbled.

"That's correct. His middle name is Van." Van said with a smile, immediately
knowing that what he just said would annoy the son that was so very angry at
him.

"Oh, well, screw that! I think I will change my middle name to reckless!" Ed
shouted. "Edward Reckless Elric! I like it."

"Knew that was coming." Ling and Al said dryly.

Hughes wiped away a fake tear. "I'm just so happy that he finally admitted to
his reckless streak. It must mean he is growing up and he'll soon grow out of
that recklessness!"
Ed grabbed a pillow and swung it behind him to hit Hughes in the stomach.
"Do not start on that again, Hughes."

"You haven't even fully recovered yet." Standing up straight, he looked

towards the doorway.

"I have too!" Ed protested.

Darius looked at him with a raised brow. "Really? Not an ounce of pain in
your body?"

Ed flinched. "Just a small twinge of pain, but it's nothing concerning." He

rubbed his side in annoyance. Right, stupid injury. Though it really was just a
twinge of pain at this point. It was hardly worth mentioning.

The bottom of the doorway was shown as a pair of feet stepped into it.
"Don't treat me like I'm an invalid." His automail hand appeared on
screen as he clenched it into a fist. "My injuries are completely healed."
The scene moved up to show Ed with a steely glint in his eyes and a
kebab stick clenched between his teeth. "And I'm revving at full
throttle."

"Did you just steal the episode title?" Avery asked amused.

Ed snorted. "No, the episode title stole my speech. I don't know episode titles
even exist in my future."

"Sounds like an excuse to me." Ling muttered.

"Quiet." Ed snapped and hit Ling in the face with a pillow. When he went to
pull it back, Ling yanked on it and stole it away before sending his annoyed
friend a smirk.

"This is also mine now." Ling mocked.

Ed scowled at him. "Pillow thief."

"Pillow abuser." Ling retorted.

"It's a pillow. It can't feel anything." Ed snapped.

"Oh, so that means it is alright for you to use them as weapons?" Ling
argued.

Ed's brow twitched in annoyance. "I am not having this conversation."

"You can't avoid it forever!"

"Shut up, Ling!"

The scene went dark for a moment before it reopened up to show the
clinic building from the sky.

"Thanks for everything you've done, Doc." Darius said.

Heinkel, Darius, and Ed were shown from behind with the doctor and
his wife in front of them, still inside their office.

"Don't worry about it." The doctor said, waving his hand at them. "Just
hurry up and go."

"We've had about all the trouble we can take for the day." The short
woman added as the group started to walk away.

An unconscious Harris appeared on screen with a slip of paper next to

him.

Without stopping his stride, Ed scooped up the small sheet of paper off
the ground.

Ed appeared on screen, munching on a piece of beard as he looked at the

paper with his description on it. 'That's all they're looking for? Someone
with a red coat and a braid?'

"Now, now, Chief, you can't simply ignore the fact that short was also in that
description just because you don't like it." Breda teased.

"Burn in hell." Ed deadpanned.

"There is no need for such words, Ed." Hughes said, nudging a foot into Ed's
back.

"Sure there is. There is always a need." Ed retorted. "I think they are a nice
indicator to show that someone is extremely angry at you. Of course not
everyone uses words like that to show angry. I mean, look at Colonel. He just
silently glares at your or when it is really bad, he'll snap his fingers and send
waves of flames at you in the hopes of burning you to a crisp."

"We are not talking about his anger issues though." Hughes chastised.

"We should though." Ed argued. "I mean, I can say burn in hell, but that's all
I can do. But Colonel can literally make you burn. Isn't that concerning?"

Hughes looked over at his friend, who stared back at him, then back at Ed.
"You are right. It is concerning."

"Hughes." Mustang growled annoyed. "Don't take Fullmetal's side."

"You sound childish right now, Roy." Hughes teased. "This is not about
taking sides. This is about protecting our comrades from you two."

Mustang rolled his eyes. "In that case, they should definitely be more worried
about Fullmetal."

"Says the one planning a coup d'état." Ed retorted.

"Is that going to be your argument for everything when I do or say something
against the government now?" Mustang asked, smirking. "It will become a
pretty weak argument."

Ed huffed. "I just want you to remember that what you are doing will be
considered treason if you screw it up."

"It'll be fine." Mustang replied.

'I guess I'll have to make do with this look for a while.'

"Freeze!"
Ed jerked in surprise and looked over his shoulder.

The scene changed to show the hallway with two soldiers at the end of it,
pointing their guns at Ed's group.

"Drop your weapons!" The second soldier shouted.

Darius, Ed, and Heinkel appeared on screen.

Ed calmly ate the bread in his mouth while staring in boredom at the
soldiers.

"Tch, we took too long." Heinkel said.

"All the while, Fullmetal looks like he doesn't have a care in the world."
Mustang said dryly.

"You're being hunted. You should be more worried, Chief." Havoc added.

"Why should I? Honestly, I am more worried about the Homunculi. Dealing

with a couple soldiers is a walk through a flower field at this point." Ed
replied before pausing and thinking for a moment. "Unless they are like the
Briggs soldiers. If it was them chasing me, I would be a bit more worried.
Actually, then again, the Briggs soldiers are my secret accomplices at this
point so no, I wouldn't be worried. Though I would be worried if I never met
them and they were hunting me down without knowing the truth."

"We get it. Us normal soldiers don't worry you as much as the Homunculi
and the Briggs soldiers do." Ross said dryly.

"And Lt. Riza….and Lt. Havoc when he is wielding that shotgun." Ed added.

Havoc snickered. "Really, Chief? Only when I weird a shotgun? Good to

know. If I ever have to hunt you down, I'll bring a shotgun."

"Why would you be hunting me down?!" Ed asked. "Betrayal, Havoc!

Betrayal!"

Havoc shrugged with a smile. "Who knows what the future holds?"
"I think the future holds a conspiracy being found out that involves the higher
ups and the Homunculi in which our country could be destroyed. And
because of all this, a coup is coming." Ed retorted.

Havoc rolled his eyes. "Hilarious, Chief."

The two soldiers appeared on screen, guns pointed at the group.

"Get your hands up in the air! Do it now!" The first soldier ordered.

"Move it, kid." The second soldier said.

A bored Ed appeared on screen, still eating his bread.

"Those guys are dangerous."

Ed swallowed his bread.

"How nice. They care about the wellbeing of the kid they're supposed to be
capturing." Luke snickered.

"What an embarrassment that would be for them if they ever learn that he is
Fullmetal. They made the mistake of assuming he is just a normal kid."
Skylak snickered.

Miles smirked. "He should use that to his advantage, but Fullmetal being who
he is would never dare to go with an innocent child act."

"Of course. It goes against my very being." Ed said dryly.

Darius and Heinkel appeared on screen as they looked at each other and
nodded.

Suddenly, as dramatic music began to play, Darius wrapped an arm

around a surprised Ed's neck and pointed a gun at his head. Heinkel
pointed his hands at Ed like they were guns. "Stay back or he's dead."

"Don't force us to blow this kid's brains out!" Darius added.

Ed blinked a few times before glaring at Darius and Heinkel. "Are you
freaking serious right now?!"

"There wasn't another option." Darius replied dryly.

"I like this option!" Ling declared with a smirk. "Edo is getting kidnapped by
his own comrades…again!"

"Why does this always happen to me?!" Ed cried in annoyance.

"They are just trying to get all of you out of the situation alive." Van replied
calmly.

"I'm just saying, stop going with the "kidnap Ed plan." It is getting old!" Ed
grumbled.

"So, what is the other option we could have used without you using alchemy
which would reveal you as Fullmetal?" Heinkel retorted.

Ed shut his mouth and thought for a while before scowling and shrugging his
shoulders.

"Exactly, so do not argue." Heinkel replied, feeling very self-satisfied at this

moment.

"Don't use that tone with me Mr. Finger guns." Ed retorted. "Seriously, I
know you have a gun." He made a gun with his fingers and pointed at
Heinkel. "Seriously? What is this going to do? Are you going to shoot me
with your soul? Soul gun! Wait, I don't like that the sound of that." He
thought for a moment. What was another word for soul? "Ah, spirit gun!"

Heinkel snorted. "If only I could do that. I would shoot you now, you damn
punk."

The two soldiers appeared on screen, staring in horror and shock as they
pointed their guns away from Ed's group.

"It always works." Darius said with a smirk.

"Oh, god, you've done this before?" Al moaned.

"Only once or twice." Darius replied with a shrug.

Ed rubbed his eyes. "I don't even want to know why you've done this before."

With Ed under his arm, Darius ran around the stair railing and down
them with Heinkel following after them.

Ed's brow twitched in annoyance. "First of all, I don't like being carried! And
second of all, don't carry me like a sack of potatoes!"

"Is complaining all you ever do?" Darius asked. "I can't just let you run. It
would ruin the image of us having a hostage."

The soldiers followed a second later.

The doors outside the building were shown as Darius elbowed the door
open. He and Heinkel stopped at the top of the stairs.

A car with three soldiers standing by it was shown. They looked over at
Darius and Heinkel.

"Tch, those three need sent back to the academy NOW!" Olivia growled.
"They weren't prepared at all for the enemy to come charging out of the
building."

"Or just be sent up to Briggs. That is probably the fastest way to learn.
Though it would also be the hardest." Levi said with a disappointed frown at
the lack of professionalism the northern soldiers were showing.

"And the scariest." Ed muttered to Ling, who snickered and was glad he was
not Amestrian or in the military.

The scene quickly pulled back to show the back of Darius's head as he
stared at them and raised his gun a bit.

Heinkel was shown with two guns as he fired both at the same time.
"Oh, now you have your guns out." Ed said sarcastically.

"Seriously," Heinkel made a gun with his fingers and pointed at Ed. "Can I
shoot a spirit gun for real?"

Ed snorted. "As if that is really possible."

"Well, there goes my dream." Heinkel muttered.

He was shown to be shooting the gutters of a house. The wood blew

apart, causing the snow to lose its support on the roof and fall down onto
the surprised soldiers. The snow that hit the ground created a smoke
screen around the three soldiers so they couldn't see.

"Well, at least he didn't shoot them." Aran said.

"See? That would actually be betraying the country and committing treason."
Heinkel replied. "We may be on the run, but we don't need to make it any
worse than it already is."

Darius, who was still carrying Ed, and Heinkel were shown as they ran
away.

"I'll hotwire some wheels for us." Darius said.

"Okay." Heinkel replied.

"Not going to steal a car while up north, huh?" Miles asked amused.

"Okay, just so we are all clear, I am not stealing a car. Darius and Heinkel are
stealing one. I am still just the innocent hostage here." Ed argued.

"Who cares who is stealing it? What is with you soldiers from the east
stealing cars?" Avery shouted. "First Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant steal a
car and now you guys."

"Circumstances dictate that stealing a car is necessary at times." Riza replied

calmly.
"And now you are trying to justify it." Aran said amused as he shook his
head.

A car's spinning tire appeared on screen. The car was shown from the
outside with Darius seen in the driver's seat with Heinkel sitting next to
him and Ed sitting in the back.

"It has now become a car chase!" Ling said with a grin. "And Ed looks like
some kid being guarded by two big guys there."

Ed grabbed a pillow and whacked Ling in the face a few times with it.
"Who's being guarded? I don't need guarded by anyone! Stop saying stupid
things!" With each sentence he spoke, he made sure to hit Ling extra hard.

"So Ed's gone from the hostage to the protected?" Hughes asked amused,
only to have Ed throw a pillow at him.

"You know what? I'll gladly join up in a group with Darius and Heinkel. It is
much better than this stupidity." Ed snapped.

Hughes laughed and held up the pillow. "I'm keeping this now."

Ed's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I'll get it back. Just you wait, Hughes."

"Did he just settle for us being in a group?" Darius asked.

"It sounds like any option involving us is a terrible annoyance to him, but
he'll take the one he hates the least." Heinkel replied amused.

"Isn't that just his natural sense?" Brody asked amused.

"But of course," Ed replied sarcastically. "Why would I willingly work with

anyone when all I need is Al?"

Ling frowned and hit Ed with the pillow he took earlier. "Oi, I don't care if
you say you don't want your comrades by your side but you cannot shove
your best friend into that group too."

"I sure as hell can." Ed retorted. "Nothing good comes when I associate with
you."

"I was the one keeping us alive in Gluttony!" Ling protested.

"And you're the one making me go bankrupt with ridiculous food bills." Ed
retorted.

"That has nothing to do with the trouble we happen to run into when we're
together." Ling replied.

Ed raised a brow. "Isn't it because you owed me for a food bill that we
worked together to capture Gluttony in the first place? Well, besides the fact
that we were both supposed to benefit from that whole ordeal."

Ling waved his hand in a careless manner. "Details, details."

"Go die."

"Can't. I happen to be immortal in the future." Ling replied with a grin.

"Yeah, in the future. Right now you are every bit as mortal as I am so go
die!" Ed retorted.

"Could I come back to haunt you as a ghost?" Ling asked with a very amused
sparkle in his eyes as Ed started to twitch.

"No." Ed said through gritted teeth. "That would destroy the point."

"And what point is that?"

Ed glared at Ling so fiercely it was amazing he didn't burst into flames on the
spot. "Are you trying to get me to murder you? Because, and honestly I'm not
surprised at this point, my bloodlust is actually rising."

"Wow, for someone who does not like killing, I didn't think you even had any
bloodlust in your." Ling replied with an easy going smile which just served to
annoy Ed even more.

"Brother," Al said exasperated. "You can't continue to threaten Ling like that.
You're supposed to be friends."

"I never asked for a friend like him." Ed retorted.

"Which is why you should be so grateful that a friend like me appeared in

your life." Ling replied with a grin.

"So, they really are supposed to be best friends?" Van asked amused as he
watched the two boys.

"Yes, this is really normal for them. They trust each other immensely, but
bantering and insulting is like a part of a deal for their friendship." Ross
replied with a smile. It was nice to see Ed relaxing and just arguing with a
friend over something stupid and pointless. He acted like an adult and got
into fights too often. That made it hard for them to remember sometimes that
him, Al, Ling, Lan Fan, and May were still just children.

Van smiled. Being gone so long, he didn't know what his sons were like, but
he was so happy to be able to see them now. And knowing that they were
both in danger a lot as they looked for a way to get their bodies back, it was
nice to see them safe and just having fun and acting their age.

Ed leaned back in his seat and looked out the back window.

The car was shown from the inside to show the back of Ed's head as he
stared at the approaching military vehicles.

"Hey, Gorilla," Ed turned back around. "Step on it."

Darius glared at Ed. "Use our names. I know you know them."

"Gorilla." Ed said with a smirk.

"Now you're just being a brat." Darius growled.

"I know. You know. Ling knows. Colonel knows. We all know!" Ed replied,
making Ling chuckle.

"How do your comrades deal with you on a daily basis?" Lan Fan asked.
"Simple, they don't." Ed replied with a shrug. "I'm usually not at HQ for more
than a week at a time unless something happens which requires me to be
there or I need to do research because I don't have a lead."

Darius appeared on screen. "Don't call me that!"

"Just drive faster!"

"These guys are from Northern Command." Darius replied.

The car tire was shown.

"We're never going to ditch them."

"Correct. Inexperienced snow drivers will just wreak up there." Miles said
with a frown. "It's going to be hard for you guys to escape from them since
none of you have such experience."

"I have some experience handling a car in the snow, just not enough to handle
the north or escaping from Northern Command." Darius replied.

"Yes, so one of you needs to come up with an ingenious plan pretty soon."
Brody said, causing Heinkel and Darius to turn to look at Ed.

"…Do I have to do everything in this group?" Ed muttered.

"No, since as you can see, I am driving." Darius retorted, making Ed roll his
eyes.

The steering wheel appeared on screen with the road shown on the
screen in the background. A car drove through an intersection before a
horrified and shocked Darius appeared on screen.

The steering wheel was shown again as he quickly spun the wheel. The
road appeared on screen as the truck beeped frantically and the car Ed's
group was in served around the truck and through the intersection. The
truck finished getting through the intersection just as the military
vehicles made it there and through the intersection.
"I don't like your driving." Ed moaned.

"It's better than yours! I at least got driving lessons and actually have a
license!" Darius snapped. "No way am I letting a kid without lessons drive."

"And he is better than Colonel, Brother." Al pointed out.

"What is wrong with my driving?" Mustang asked insulted.

Ed scoffed. "When you count in the points from the fact that Darius is driving
in the snow, his bad driving gets up to the Colonel's level of bad driving."

"I don't want to hear it." Darius snapped. "I got us through that safely so keep
your mouth shut."

"I think you are trying to give me a heart attack!" Ed retorted. "Seriously,
what kind of driving training do they give you in the military? I swear you all
have some crazy ass driving."

"Evasive maneuvers." Hughes replied.

"Seriously? There is actually a driving drill you have to do?" Ed asked in

disbelief.

"It is for very practical uses." Riza replied calmly. "I feel I should give you a
course in it."

"No!" Havoc, Hughes, Avery, Brody, and Skylak shouted desperately.

"Anything but that! He's bad enough as it is without being legally allowed in
the driver's seat." Breda said quickly.

"…when you're sixteen." Riza said, ignoring the soldiers.

On one hand, Ed would love to since it would obviously terrify the soldiers.
On the other hand, Riza would probably be showing him first hand her
driving, and when she was like that, it honestly terrified for him. He didn't
even want to remember the incident when he was twelve. So, the best option
right now was just to smile and nod. Maybe she would forget this promise by
the time he was sixteen.

The car appeared on screen with Heinkel and Darius in the front while
Ed sat in the back with a deadpanned look on.

"That was a little too close." Heinkel said.

"How's it looking behind us?" Darius asked.

The side of the car was shown with the approaching military vehicles
shown catching up behind them.

"Not good. They're right on us." Ed replied.

Darius appeared on screen with Ed turned in the backseat watching the

cars.

"Damn it." Darius said, making Ed turn his head to look at him.

Ed quickly turned around and leaned forward as he pointed at

something. "Turn there! I got an idea."

"Of course you do." Darius said.

Ed's brow twitched. "Weren't you just the one looking at me and basically
saying I would be coming up with one?"

"And this is why! You always seem to have one." Darius replied.

"If I recall correctly, it was my idea to capture Gluttony the way we did."
Ling protested.

"What? We may have worked together, but the actually planning was never
shown." Ed retorted.

"If that's the case, then I came up with it." Al said, the smile clearly heard in
his voice.

"Objection!" Ling and Ed cried as they both threw a pillow at Al.

"How about a compromise?" Ling suggested as he looked back at Ed. "We
collaborated on that plan."

Ed nodded. "Agreed."

"Anything to kick me out, huh?" Al asked amused. He and Lan Fan most
likely helped a lot to form that plan with Scar and Gluttony and he knew that
Ed and Ling knew that. Really, those two just wanted to push him out for the
fun of it. Al understood that they were just teasing him about this so he didn't
get upset with them over this.

"What?" Darius snapped.

The intersection was shown to show the turn Ed was referring to.

"Just shut up and turn!" Ed snapped.

An annoyed Darius appeared on screen. "Ah," He said annoyed before

the steering wheel appeared on screen as he started to quickly spin it.
"This better be a good plan." His foot pushed down on the gas.

A determined Ed appeared on screen. "Just park the car as soon as we

turn." A metallic ringing filled the scene as he clapped his hands.

The back of the tires of one of the military vehicles was shown from an
upward angle. In front of it, the car Darius was driving was seen turning
at a corner.

The inside of the military vehicle was shown. There were two soldiers
and the one holding on to the ceiling said, "They turned!"

"Thank you for stating the obvious." Luke said sarcastically. "What? Is the
driver of his car blind so he can't see what is happening? Who would let a
blind person drive?!"

"A suicidal person." Rebecca muttered.

Both military vehicles were shown as they whipped around the corner.
Two soldiers in one of the cars appeared on screen, staring in shock as
they looked around.

"What?"

The one driving groaned in annoyance.

The street they were on was shown from a downward angle.

The steering wheel and windshield of one of the cars appeared on screen.
The road was seen through the windshield and a strange purple car with
yellow horns was seen parked on the side of the road.

"How? Where did they go?"

"That is them." Brody said blankly.

Breda nodded in complete seriousness. "No doubt it's them."

"Still a horrible sense of style." Havoc commented with a grin.

"What was that, Havoc?" Ed asked really annoyed. He liked what he did to
that car. It was really cool and scary looking. No one would mess with the
owner of such a car.

"Oh, you heard me, Chief." Havoc replied. "But look on the bright side. Only
those who know you would realize that is the car you guys are in. These
soldiers don't know you're Fullmetal and they don't know about your horrible
sense of style."

Ed grabbed a pillow and launched it at Havoc's face. "There is nothing wrong

with my style, Havoc, so shut it."

Ling laughed and shot his friend a grin. "You can never be simple, can you?"

Ed turned his glare away from Havoc and gave it to Ling, since he thought
his friend was insinuating something about his style. "What is that supposed
to be mean?"
"Just that you have to return in flash. Can't just reappear, can you? No, when
you reappear it has to involve taking out soldiers, getting "kidnapped" and
then getting involved in a car chase in which you transmute the car to
escape." Ling said amused.

Ed twitched. "What am I supposed to do when soldiers are after me?"

Havoc snickered. "Chief on the run from his own military."

"We all knew this day was coming." Falman said.

Breda nodded. "We all just expected it to be sooner than this."

Ed glared at his comrades. "Really? You expected me to have to be on the

run someday? And what would I be on the run for?"

"Attempted or successful murder of Colonel Roy Mustang, Flame

Alchemist!" Havoc declared dramatically.

Ling snickered. "They think so badly of you."

"You can hide in Fort Briggs. I will gladly hide you after you succeed."
Olivia told Ed with a smirk.

'She really doesn't like Colonel.' Ed thought, sweat dropping.

"Really? You're going to hide someone for treason?" Mustang asked in

disbelief.

"Only if it is you he takes out." Olivia retorted.

Ling leaned in closer to Ed and whispered, "Is she serious about that?"

Ed shrugged. "How would I know? I barely know her…..Does she even

know how to joke?" He asked confused before saying louder, "Wait, you
would only hide me if I succeeded? And if I failed?"

"I have no use for failures in my fort." Olivia replied coldly.

Ed sweat dropped. So was she serious or not? He still couldn't tell!

The passenger's door was shown and through the window, the two
surprised soldiers could be seen.

The one in the passenger's seat pointed ahead. "They must have turned
on that street up there. Move it."

The car drove passed the screen and the demon looking car appeared on
screen.

"How could they miss the obvious? It is so conspicuous." Ross said with a
frown.

"They probably didn't even notice it." Mustang replied. "Sometimes when
completely focused on a task, in this case looking for a car they were chasing,
they're not going to focus on anything except that car. It doesn't matter how
strange looking another car is since it isn't the one they're chasing their eyes
just sweep over it."

"Strange?!" Ed asked offended.

"Yes, strange, weird, outlandish, bizarre. What is hard to understand about

the fact that not everyone likes your style?" Mustang asked.

The second military vehicle drove passed.

The angle changed to show the strange car from the front and in the
background the two vehicles were seen turning down another street.

Ed appeared on screen, head turned to the side as he looked out the back
window. He let out a sigh of relief before he smirked. "Phew, and you
doubted me."

The scene pulled back to show Heinkel looking at him out of the corner
of his eyes. "Yeah, well, can you change it back into a normal car now?"

Ed looked back around with a frown. He leaned forward, glaring at

Heinkel. "And why is that?"
The street and car appeared on screen.

"I think this car looks cool as hell." Ed said as the car started to move.

"Just change it back." Darius ordered. "Please, we're begging you."

The back of the car was shown as it drove down a street.

"Oh yeah?! You guys got a problem with my sense of style?!"

"You don't have any." Heinkel and Darius replied in sync.

"Can I travel with Jerso and Zampano? Darius and Heinkel are jerks." Ed
grumbled. "First, they point a gun at me and kidnap me, and now they insult
my sense of style."

"Hey, remember, we did save your life." Heinkel said dryly.

"I saved yours first!" Ed retorted.

"I can't believe you guys are still on that." Brosh said amused. "You have
constantly been bringing it up since you've returned to screen."

"Well," Ed said with a frown. "It's really the start of the loyalty and trust we
give each other I guess." It really was, wasn't it? He trusted them to take him
to a doctor, he didn't fight back when Darius pointed a gun at him, and in
return they trusted his plan without even knowing what it was in that high
stake moment. Well, saving each other's lives seems to be a great way to
form trust between people.

The scene faded out as snowy mountains overtook the screen.

The scene moved down to the road to show Darius peeing at a tree,
Heinkel leaning against the car with his hands shoved in his pockets, and
Ed standing on the other side of the car with a hand to his chin.

"So I guess this means we're drifters again." Heinkel said.

"Yeah," Darius replied.

Ed appeared on screen, hand still resting on his chin as he thought. 'I
never should have dropped my guard around Kimblee. Talk about a
setback.' His face was shown up close from the side. 'And Al. I hope he
was able to safely find Winry.'

"Hey, Fullmetal," Darius said. "Quit spacing out."

Ed jerked in surprise.

The front of the car was shown with Ed standing on one side of it and
Darius and Heinkel standing on the other. Ed turned to look at them.

"So what's the next plan of action?" Darius asked.

"Well, let's see. The first thing I need to do is meet up with Al." Ed was
shown briefly before Darius and Heinkel appeared on screen. "He
should be with Dr. Marcoh by now."

"Should be? If I'm not with him by now, there is a serious problem." Al said
amused.

Ed raised a brow. "How am I supposed to know you met up with them so fast
and right before the whole Kimblee incident?" He thought for a moment.
"Considering the…injury I received, I must have been out of commission for
a long time."

"At least ten days, but it could have been longer than that." Miles informed
him.

"I thought you only watched one episode without me." Ed said confused.

"We did, but we were curious about how long the Briggs soldiers searched
the mineshaft so V.H. told us." Rebecca explained.

"Ah," Ed nodded. "And that was in the episode I missed so I may have been
out a little longer than ten days like Major Miles said." He looked over at his
brother. "You're right. There would be a serious problem if you didn't meet
them by now."
"Yep, I met them, we confronted Envy, and then separated to go our own way
all while you were lying around." Al teased.

Ed's brow twitched. Everyone seemed to bounce back to teasing him now that
they knew he was okay. Though he wished the teasing wasn't about the injury
he received. He knew Al didn't mean anything by what he said, but it
reminded him of the pain. Something which his mind was desperately trying
to keep pushed to the deepest parts of his consciousness.

"Well, where are they?" Darius asked.

"Liore." Al said happily. "…Brother, will you be able to guess I am there?

You said before that you would go someplace where they weren't a lot of
people so…"

Ed thought about it for a moment. Would he? Right now, he would say yes
since he knew where his little brother was. But future him who didn't have a
single clue? Would he think of Liore? He really had no idea. How was he
supposed to guess when he had all this advanced knowledge right now?

Al sighed when his brother didn't reply. So he felt that he shouldn't hold
much hope that his brother would make his way to Liore. Understandable
since his brother hated crossing the desert. That lone fact was enough to
make his brother not like Liore so much. Purely the journey there made Liore
lose a lot of points in Ed's mind.

"You do know how to find them, right?" Heinkel asked.

Ed sat down on the car and interlocked his hands in front of his face. 'If I
were Al, where would I go? Come on…think…'

The scene went dark.

Al, arms crossed, appeared on screen.

Van's face appeared very close on screen with the sun glinting on his
glasses so his eyes couldn't be seen. "Still awake?"

Al jerked up in surprise at his dad's voice.

The two were shown from the side.

"Yeah." Al replied. "Sorry. It's just a lot. You were a slave, and now
you're a Philosopher's Stone?"

"Yeah," Van nodded. "Right."

There was silence for a moment before Van bowed his head. "Can't say I
blame you if you don't believe me…I doubt I would. I know how
impossibly farfetched that it sounds. You'd have to be crazy to believe
it."

Al appeared on screen. "Well, I guess I'm crazy then because I do believe

you."

"We kind of have to believe it now." Hughes said with a small smile. "We did
after all see your past in Xerxes a few episodes ago."

"Too bad Future Al didn't get to see that, which makes it amazing that he
believes his dad with no proof so easily. It shows just how much he trusts
him." Ross added.

"On the other hand," Izumi gaze moved down to Ed. "A certain someone will
have a harder time believing it."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I have a hard time believing from just hearing a
story. I want proof!"

"I can show you some of my alchemy or you could try to kill me." Van
replied calmly.

Ed held up a hand to stop him from speaking anymore. "I'm fine. I saw your
past so I know. At this point, I meant future me."

"Do you really?" Van asked as he appeared on screen. "That was fast."

"To be honest," Al appeared on screen. "It kind of scares me. And

besides, my situation is kind of farfetched too."
Van was shown again as he smiled.

The area they were talking in was shown from a downward angle.

"So, what's it like not being able to die?" Al asked.

"Well, it's…I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't come in handy." Van
replied.

"I'm sure it does. It means you don't have to worry about your mortality when
you are in dangerous situations." Buccaneer replied with a smirk.
"Meanwhile, the rest of us know we could die in any moment in a battle."

"I'm good at the moment." Ling replied.

'Yes, the reckless teenager who freely chooses to lose his body for
immortality." Clarink retorted.

"Hey, I'm still there…I just have trouble gaining control of my body." Ling
protested. "But we know it is possible for me to gain control."

"Good luck managing to get control from Greed. By the sounds of his name, I
doubt he'll give up control easily. He wants that body for himself." Walkers
replied.

Van's face was shown from the side as he tilted it up. "But it's not worth
watching everyone I love die before me."

Al appeared on screen. "Like Mom."

The two were shown from the side.

"Wait," Al said as his face was shown from the side. "If you're a
Philosopher's Stone, you don't have a normal human body, right? So
does that mean, Ed and I…"

"Nope." Havoc said.

"At least it finally came up in the future." Al said with a sigh. "And at least
future me knows for now."

Van raised a brow. "You already know the answer to your question, Al?"

Al nodded. "We realized it earlier and were worried, but V.H. sent us a letter
to reassure us we were normal…" He paused for a moment and looked at his
hands than at his brother's arm. "Well, normal as can be considering the
situation."

Van chuckled. "What a way to ruin the suspense of this moment than."

"Dad," Al muttered. "I expect something like that from Brother…."

Ed made a strangling sound from being offended of being compared to his

dad. He and his dad had nothing in common! Except alchemy….and the
gold-blond hair….and the eyes….and their love for Trisha and Al….He was
just going to stop thinking about what they had in common right now or else
he would have to go knock his head against a wall a few times….a few
hundred times…

"But not you." Al finished, ignoring his brother.

The bottom half of Van's face was shown from the side. "…aren't exactly
normal humans either?"

Al was shown to be staring at his dad. "Yeah."

A smiling Van appeared on screen. "You don't have to worry, Al. It's
true that I have a Philosopher's Stone fused to my soul." He said as
haunting music started to play. "But not even that can change the fact
that I am a human being." He tilted his head down a bit, which caused
the sun to shield his glasses again. "Although, my look alike beneath
Central."

An image of Father appeared on screen with a black and maroon

swirling background.

"His body is like a leather bag that's patterned after mine."

"A leather bag?" Al asked.

"More or less." Van answered.

The scene moved up to Father's face to show his eyes were glowing red.

"And if we can destroy that leather bag then we can defeat what's
inside," Van said before his back appeared on screen with Al in the
background, staring at him.

"So we just have to do that." Breda said with a frown. "And exactly how hard
is that going to be?"

"Hmm, I would say it will be like trying to break through ten Fort Briggs.
Most likely worse though." Van replied, making some members break into a
nervous sweat as they knew just how dangerous Fort Brigg was under
General Armstrong's command.

"So, this is going to be very hard." May said with a frown. How were they
supposed to defeat Father if he was that strong? He could recover from
whatever they threw at him because of his stone! She was sure a fight against
him would be nothing like the ones against the Homunculi.

"That makes sense." Al replied. He gasped and looked up. "I almost
forgot." He pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to his dad. "Look
at this. They're going to do the same thing to Amestris that they did to
Xerxes, aren't they?"

Van took the paper and looked at it.

"We've got to hurry and stop them." Al said. "It's almost complete."

The paper was shown to have the transmutation array on it with notes
surrounding it.

"Ho, I'm impressed." Van said. "You've really done your homework."
He went to the next page to see the reverse Alkahestric array. "This is a
reverse transmutation circle."
Al appeared on screen as he stood up. "Destroying the tunnel seems like
the best way to thwart them and since it runs under Liore…"

"That's not a good idea." Van interrupted. He was shown from a

downward angle, still reading the notes on the reverse transmutation
circle. "They've got an immensely powerful Homunculus named Pride
watching over the tunnel."

"And, once again, they would just make it again if you did that." Ed said.

"Unless you destroyed it on the day of the Promised Day because then they
would have no time to fix it." Mustang argued.

"And the one who did it would be the one hunted down and feel the full
wrath of Father." Ling pointed out.

"Isn't Father supposed to have no wrath because he got rid of all those human
sins to make himself perfect?" Sheska asked confused.

"Sure," Ed shrugged. "But he can be very prideful at times, despite having

made Pride. So why can't he feel anger? You can never fully expel the sins
we all commit from yourself."

"But still, we've got to try before it's too late." Al argued.

The two were shown from the side.

"For all we know, they've might of already completed the circle."

"Then why are you so relaxed?" Al demanded.

Van appeared on screen as he lifted his head to look at his son. "Because,
it's not yet time."

Al was shown. "Huh? How do you know?"

The two were shown from a downward angle.

Van rose to his feet. "Look up, son. You're too busy looking down." He
pointed a finger towards the sky. "You need to look up. If you want
answers, that's where you'll find them."

"Up?" Al asked as he tilted his head back.

"Up?" Ed repeated as he put a hand to his chin. "We already theorized that
Father might be trying to surpass God, but beyond that, we don't know much.
It involves the countrywide transmutation circle though."

"Oh?" Van asked interested. "You already figured out that he is trying to
surpass God?"

Ed looked up interested. "Are we right?"

Van smiled. "I'm sure you'll find out soon."

Ed shot him an annoyed look for his answer.

"But what are we supposed to be looking at in the sky?" Dr. Marcoh asked,
but he really didn't expect an answer. It seemed that Van wanted them to
work this out on their own. It was understandable. Just having the answers
handed out did not teach anything. People need to learn and discover on their
own to truly understand. It was why he gave Ed his research notes and didn't
tell him the truth about the Philosopher's Stone.

The blue sky was shown with a few wispy clouds in it.

"The sky?"

The scene wrapped around the sky causing the sun to glint brightly on
the screen for a second before the scene moved passed it. It moved to the
destroyed church.

"You mean the Sun God Leto?" Al asked.

A statute of Leto was shown up close.

"The man in Central is waiting for the Day of Reckoning." Van said.
The scene went dark.

"The Day of Reckoning?" Brosh asked confused.

"Also known as the Promised Day as you guys like to refer to it as." Van
explained.

"That is how Father addressed it when he mentioned it earlier." Riza

explained.

"I can see why." Van replied quietly. It sounded like Homunculus thought of
the Day of Reckoning as his promised day to become God.

"Though he mentions it, we know nothing about it. The Promised Day is a
certain day, right?" Mustang asked.

Van nodded. "Yes. And it is the day we need to make our move."

A pipe appeared on screen with a pair of feet running down them.

Bido appeared on screen, blood on his face and shoulder, which he was
holding. "Why is he doing this to me? What did I do to deserve it?"

Greed came jumping down from the pipes above with his ultimate shield
on his right arm. He sliced it downwards and Bido ran forward quickly
to avoid getting hit. Greed's hand slammed into the ground, causing
smoke to shoot up into the air.

Bido fell forward and hit the ground hard with some rubble hitting the
ground after him. He was shown from behind as he sat up and looked up
at the destroyed pipes that Greed was standing on.

A loud, mocking laugh came from Greed. His hand with the Ouroboros
tattoo was shown with Bido seen on the ground, watching him, in the
background. "Well, this is fun. Most people tend to curl up and cry."
Greed appeared on screen, bangs covering his right eye and a smirk in
place. "It's about time that someone actually fights back."

"Ed, you said before that Bido was one of Greed's old friends?" Ling asked.
"Well, more like he was one of Greed's possessions because he really refuses
to call anyone a friend." Ed replied.

Ling sighed. "So, he was a friend."

"Possession." Ed corrected.

"I refuse to call a person a possession." Ling retorted.

"You realize you're Greed, right?" Ed pointed out.

"Yes, and Bido is a human chimera who was Greed's friend. We are going
with the simplest method and just saying that." Ling replied. "Now to my
actual point here, Greed really needs to stop now."

"Then take control." Ed retorted. "Because Greed doesn't remember him so

he isn't going to stop."

Ling frowned and stole a pillow from Ed that he could lie on. He would take
control if it was that easy, but he was sure it wasn't that easy of a thing to do.
And because of that, he was sure something was going to happen soon. He
didn't know what, so he wasn't sure if it would be good or horrible.

Greed raised his clawed right hand. "I do appreciate the chance to kill
my boredom." He laughed darkly.

A scared and shocked Bido appeared on screen. "The Ultimate Shield?

And your voice sounds like. What the hell?" Tears appeared in his eyes.
"You, how dare you imitate Mr. Greed?"

Brody snorted. "This has to be so confusing for him. He would never expect
to see his friend with a different face."

"It will be a devastating blow to him when he realizes that Greed is no longer
the one he knows and has no memory of him." Lan Fan said softly. She could
understand a bit. If she ran into Ling after he became Greed and she wasn't
warned by Ed and Al beforehand, she would be horrified that he no longer
recognized her. It would be so painful to see her lord not know her after she
faithfully served him for years. It would make her feel so lost and like hope
was gone. But she did know the truth about Ling becoming Greed and how
Ed believes that he is still inside there, and for that, she would fight to get her
lord back. She would not let the Homunculus win.

Bido was shown from behind with Greed approaching him with one
hand on his hip and his other lifted horizontal across his chest and two
fingers held out.

"Excuse me, I'm no imitation." Greed lowered his hand. "My name is
Greed."

Bido appeared on screen. "The Avaricious?"

Greed appeared on screen, still smirking. "You got it. I want everything
you can possibly think of." His face was shown from the side. "I want
money and power and women. Sex, status, glory."

Bido's face was shown from the side as he finished, "You demand the
finer things in life!"

"I see Greed never changes. He is still the same as always, just without the
memories." Al said with a sigh.

"Though it is weird hearing it come out of Ling's mouth." Ed added.

"Especially the bit about sex. Aren't you a bit too young for that, Ling?"

"Well, if I become emperor, I have to have an heir with each clan but there is
a law in place that if someone becomes the new ruler before they are of age,
they can't start producing heirs until they are eighteen." Ling explained. "So
really, just three more years. And that way I can get myself established as
emperor before I start having heirs."

"If you become emperor. I could be the one to become empress over you."
May retorted as Xiao-Mei made a sound of agreement from her position on
May's shoulder.

"You know, you guys would be a lot better at becoming ruler of your country
if you stopped interfering in what is going on in Amestris." Skylak pointed
out.

"But I can't abandon Edo!" Ling protested and was rewarded with a pillow to
his face. "Really, Ed?"

"Don't call me Edo, you squinty-eyed weirdo!" Ed retorted.

"I don't like leaving friends behind to fend for themselves in times of danger."
May protested. "Especially My Alphonse!"

Havoc snickered at that and was sure if he was in his body that Al would be
blushing right about now.

"So I can't call you Edo, but you can insult me?" Ling asked, ignoring what
May said and the fact that a suit of armor was somehow managing to find a
way to blush. Maybe someday he should ask Al how he does that, but right
now, Ed was his focus.

"Of course." Ed replied. "That is how this friendship works."

"I don't think you have a good grasp of friendship." Ling muttered.

"Sure I do." Ed said amused.

"Do you have to say that, May?" Al mumbled. Did May really have that
much of a crush on him? This could be a problem. They were friends. They
should just be friends. That is how things are supposed to be. Being friends
with her was all he could do right now. It would be like how he and Ed were
friends with Winry when they both had a crush on her. Though, obviously,
his brother still liked her. And Winry liked him. They both they needed to
yell it at each other now. But that wasn't the point here. The point was May
was saying 'My Alphonse!'

"Of course!" May declared. "I don't want anyone else to take the person I
love away from me."

Al groaned and put his face in his hands.

"People who are friends protect each other. Why can't you accept that I want
to help you?" Ling retorted.

"Because you are only sticking around because Greed has control of your
body?" Ed retorted.

"Hmm, true." Ling replied and Ed glared at him, making Ling raise his hands.
"Ed, I wouldn't abandon you for my greed to be emperor. That would make
me a horrible friend, and I make it a point not to be a horrible friend. If I can't
be loyal to a friend and have his back in a dangerous situation like what your
country is going through, then I have no right to rule a country. Though I will
admit that if I had more control I might have left for Xing to prove I had to
get the right to be heir but I would return to help you guys."

"And how would you do that? I doubt they would let you leave with the stone
or even leave at all since you would become the rightful heir." Ed said
confused. "They wouldn't let you leave to jump back into a dangerous
situation."

Ling shrugged. "I'd figure something out. I always do."

Hughes smiled a bit as he listened to the two teenagers talk. They were from
different countries, yet they were completely loyal to each other to protect the
other's back. It really was like him and Mustang. He was sure it would be a
lot harder for them when Ling went back to Xing, but he knew that after
everything they have been through in the future that they would always trust
each other, even if they end up not seeing each other for years after Ling goes
back home. That was a true friendship. It was one where they never had to
doubt the other.

Greed appeared on screen, frowning.

Bido appeared on screen, sitting on the ground. "You can't…how could

you be…?"

Greed's face was shown from the side. "Oh right, who are you?"

The screen turned all fuzzy with scratching sounds for a second before it
disappeared and Greed's face came back onto screen as he put a hand to
his head.

Bido jumped to his feet. "It has to be. You are Mr. Greed! But how can
you look like someone else?"

The scene moved down to show the back of Greed's head. "I asked you
who you are. Now tell me." He demanded.

"Well, there's a tone I never heard from Greed." Ed said with a frown. "He's
being so demanding which isn't like him."

Ling shrugged. "He is probably desperate for answers. I imagine that just
because he is the second Greed that doesn't mean the memories are
completely gone. The Greed from before became a stone again and Father
drank it, right?"

Ed nodded.

"And then I became the new Greed from that same greed that Father took
back in his body so the memories likely still exist, right? It will just be
like….like the new Greed is born with amnesia so he doesn't remember his
first life." Ling explained, brows furrowed as he thought about it. "Right?"

"That is a very interesting theory, Ling." Dr. Marcoh said, nodding his head.
"It is possible that it could be like that, but since we have not been able to
study that deeply into Homunculi, we can't know for sure."

Bido pointed at himself. "It's me! I'm your friend, Bido!" He lowered his
hand. "You haven't been gone from Dublith long enough to forget."

Greed appeared on screen, looking as if he remembered as his fist

dropped into the palm of his hand. "You're from Dublith!" He leaned
forward. "Ooooh, now it makes sense."

A grinning Bido appeared on screen. "You remember me?"

Bido's body was shown from the side so his back could be seen with
Greed's hand, covered in the Ultimate Shield, pierced all the way
through his chest. Blood soaked his hand and flew through the air.
Ling wrapped his hands tightly around the pillow he was lying on. According
to Ed, Bido was a friend of Greed's and now, the second Greed just killed
him. He was sure that both Greeds had the same memories. Someone deep
down, Greed had to remember his first life. To kill a friend, even one that
wasn't remembered, was something that Ling would never be able to or want
to do. It was something extremely painful. He glanced at Lan Fan, then over
at Ed. They were his friends, and he could never imagine killing them with
his own hand. It was a complete betrayal of the loyalty and trust that existed
between friends. It would simply kill him inside.

Greed couldn't do this. He couldn't kill someone that he considered a friend.

Not like this.

The scene pulled out to show a disinterested Greed staring down at a

trembling Bido as slow, haunting music quietly played. "Afraid not."
Greed said. "You must've been buddies with the previous Greed."

Bido appeared on screen, still trembling and with tears in his eyes.
"But…I thought…"

Greed appeared on screen, staring coldly down at Bido. "Sorry, pal. But
you and I have never even met."

"But…Mr. Greed…"

Bido's body went limp and he slowly fell backwards as Greed pulled his
hand out of his body.

"Aren't you…Greed…" The last word came out gurgled as the blood
clogged his throat.

Bido's body hit the ground, surrounded by his blood as he laid

unmoving.

"It's nothing personal." The scene moved up to show Greed. "I'm just
doing my job." His face was shown up close. "I am sorry honestly." He
frowned suddenly.
A sudden fuzzy screen with loud scratching noises appeared again.

Greed reappeared on screen, staring down at his shaking hand. "What

the hell?"

Another loud fuzzy screen appeared on screen.

Greed's right eye appeared on screen a second later with a vein

throbbing in his temple.

Another fuzzy screen appeared for a few seconds until through the fuzz,
the backs of Martel, Dolcetto, and Roa were seen.

Greed, in pain, reappeared on screen and fell to his hands and knees,
sweating dripping down to the ground.

"It is like his memories are returning from a case of amnesia, but it is hurting
him." Armstrong said with a frown.

"Why would they be hurting him so much like this though?" Walkers asked
confused.

Ling rubbed his temple as he felt a throbbing pain there. He knew Greed
getting these memories back was hurting him, but why was he also feeling
the pain? Was it because it was still his body?

"Father destroyed the first Greed which forcibly took away who he was and
all the memories he had. They were never meant to return, but meeting Bido
has awakened something that shouldn't have been brought back up." Ed said,
glancing over at Ling.

"Because deep down in his heart, Greed knew Bido was a friend, even though
he himself didn't realize it. It caused a painful shock in him when he killed
Bido so his memories are hurting him as they return." Ling said as he rubbed
his temple. He glanced over at Ed. "Even though the first Greed knew you, he
didn't get his memories back even though he fought you. I think it is the
painful shock of killing his friend here that is waking the first him back up."

"Bringing the true Greed back to the surface?" Ed murmured with a smirk.
The first Greed hated the Homunculi and if the second Greed was getting
those memories back, he wondered how this would work out. Would he
defect again?

"So you're saying that something that shouldn't have existed anymore is being
forced back to the surface?" Clarink asked.

Ed shrugged. "It's just a theory. We might never know for sure if that is really
why this is happening."

The roof that was covered in pipes appeared on screen.

Greed was heard coughing before his face was shown from the side as he
breathed heavily.

"What have you done, Greed?" Ling's voice asked.

A multitude of red souls swarming around appeared on screen. The

scene moved down to show Ling sitting Indian style with his arms
crossed.

"Are you determined to prove you're a monster?" Ling asked. He was

shown up close, eyes closed, veins protruding by his temple, and a dark
frown on his face because of his anger. He opened his eye. "What kind of
sick creature would kill his own FRIEND?!"

Greed's face was shown from the side, veins still throbbing in pain and
his hand trembling as he slowly lifted it. "He wasn't my…friend."

Another fuzzy memory of Martel, Bido, and Dolcetto jumping down

from a roof appeared on screen. Martel and Dolcetto were shown up
close as the latter spoke.

Greed was shown as he grabbed his head, groaning in pain as it hit the
ground hard.

Ling groaned and pressed his hand against his forehead.

"Young Lord, are you alright?" Lan Fan asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I just didn't expect to feel Greed's pounding headache." Ling replied,
rubbing his forehead as he did.

"Falling because of a little headache." Ed mocked.

Ling rolled his eyes. "Oh, right, how foolish of me. A little headache is
nothing compared to your impalement."

Ed frowned at the reminder of his impalement. That was an injury he really

could do without in the future after they got out of here. He rubbed his side a
bit. The pain really was still too fresh in his mind. May's transmutation did
wonders to alleviate him of the pain and calm his mind, but he knew it would
do nothing about the remembrance of the pain he felt. He was just going to
always have to remember that horrible feeling.

Ling frowned as he watched his friend look away from him and then grab his
side. Was the incident too recent to be making jokes like that with him? What
was he thinking? Of course it was too soon. If they were just watching it, he
was sure it wouldn't have been a problem, but Ed suffered through the full
pain of getting impaled then having the support beam ripped out. That would
be traumatizing for even the most seasoned soldier.

And just because he had a horrible, throbbing headache that felt like his skull
was going to burst open did not mean he had to be a horrible person and
remind his friend of it so soon after it happened. Really, the pain he was
feeling in his head probably couldn't even match ten percent of the pain Ed
went through earlier.

Ling appeared on screen. "Then why do you remember him? And are
you going to try and tell me Bido was just making everything up?"

A big red soul appeared on screen with sharp teeth. "Those are the last
Greed's memories. They're not mine!"

The side of Ling's face appeared on screen. "Then why are you in so
much pain?" Ling shouted.

"Hn," Ling smirked. "I wonder which pain future me is referring to."
"What do you mean?" Jerso asked.

"Well, he is pain from his memories returning." Ling rubbed his temple and
mumbled to himself, "Horrible pain." He blinked a few times as he started to
feel dizzy. He hoped the headache disappeared soon. "But I imagine as his
memories of his friends return, he is started to feel the horrible pain and guilt
as he realizes he killed one of his precious friends. It's not an easy thing to do.
Imagine if you killed Zampano or Mustang killed Hughes or Lieutenant
Hawkeye killed Mustang."

Jerso frowned at that. Kill Zampano? His partner and his friend? There was
no way he would be able to do that. Zampano was the one he trusted
completely to have his back and Jerso gave him the same protection. Only a
heartless fiend would dare stab his friend in the back like that. His conscious
would never let him kill his friend. He doubted he could even get his hand to
obey such a command if it involved killing someone that trusted him with his
life. Just who the hell was awful enough to actually turn on their friend like
that?

Mustang's eyes narrowed. Kill Hughes? Just having Hughes be killed was too
hard to deal with. He would never be able to live with himself if he was the
one to end his friend's life like that. Losing anyone that he truly cared and
loved was too painful, but to be the actual one to do it? He knew there were
some scenarios they were trained for in which they might need to kill a
comrade, but he would never put it into practice. It was just too hard to kill a
dear friend. Killing friends is not something he could ever condone. No
matter the situation, it really did feel too much like a betrayal.

Riza's hands curled into fists as she remembered the promise she made to
Mustang about shooting him if he strayed from his path. Mustang was
someone she loved. Even though she loved him, she would never break the
promise she made him because if he strayed from the path he chose then that
meant he was no longer the man she loved and he got lost somewhere in his
story. She knew he would never truly want that which is why she promised to
shoot him if that happened. But it would never be something she would be
able to live with which is why she would die soon after.

Greed's strained eyes appeared on screen.

Ling was shown. "Pull yourself together, Greed. I'm warning you. I'll
take my body back if you drop your guard."

"Why the hell would you warn him of that? Shouldn't you just take it when
you get the chance?" Myers asked confused.

Ling shrugged in reply. To be honest, he wasn't one hundred percent sure of

why he warned Greed. Maybe he was trying to earn Greed's trust by not
stealing his body back when he was in weakened state like this. Was he
trying to befriend Greed so they could work better together since they were
both sharing that body?

Greed's pained filled face was shown from the side. "They aren't mine.
Father purified me and purged the old Greed's memories." He growled.
"Those memories aren't a part of me anymore."

"As if." Ling muttered. "Memories are just reminders of things done in the
past and can be forgotten, but the heart will never forget them. Those feelings
and experience will forever be locked in his soul and heart."

"Try telling that to a guy with no memories of it. It's not going to be easy to
get him to accept that." Mikal retorted.

"True," Ling agreed. "But if those feelings and experiences were real to him,
then he'll feel them to his very core, even if the memories don't return.
Though it looks like they are returning so all he needs to do is accept them
already. And accept the fact that the first Greed and him are the same
person."

A furious Ling appeared on screen. "No! You're wrong, Greed!" He got

into the face of Greed's red soul. "It's not that easy. They'll always be a
part of you. You can't just erase them from your soul! They were the
only part of you that you chose!"

A fuzzy image of Martel, Bido, and Dolcetto appeared on screen. The

scene moved up to show other human chimeras with them.

"Look at them." Ling said as they reappeared on screen. "Can you not
hear their souls crying out?"

A fuzzy memory of Dolcetto and Roa charging at Bradley appeared on

screen.

Greed's soul appeared on screen once more.

"You abandoned them!" Ling accused. "Your real family!"

A fuzzy image of Bradley slicing up Dolcetto's body in half was shown.

"You threw them away like trash!"

Greed's soul was seen again.

"Fool. You turned your back on something you wanted." Ling's angry
face was shown from the side. "You don't deserve to call yourself
Greed!"

"You can be very harsh when you want to be." Avery said dryly.

Ling scowled. "Sometimes being harsh and blunt are the only ways to get
someone to understand. And so he would stop fighting this already!"

"What do you expect to happen?" Miles asked with a frown. "To Greed, those
memories never existed for him. They belonged to the first Greed. To
suddenly have strange memories assaulting his mind like this, he has to be
wandering just what is going on and if that is really him. It's probably like
finding out about a part of you that you didn't know existed and it is hard to
deal with because you should know yourself better than anyone else."

Riza nodded with a frown and softly said, "Father tells him one thing. These
memories tell him another thing. It's a fight for him about what is going on
and which one is who he really is. Is it the Homunculus that obediently
follows Father or is he Greed, the leader of the chimera gang in Dublith? It's
an identity crisis to him. He needs to figure out who he truly is and not just
what he is told he is."

Greed's soul appeared on screen as his mouth opened wide to show a

white abyss as he screamed. The scene changed to a screaming Greed,
holding Bido's lifeless form in his arms. The scene pulled farther away
from the screaming Homunculus until the scene all around him turned
black and it looked like he was under a spotlight before the image faded
into the darkness.

Hughes grimaced as he watched that. Greed was hugging the corpse of a dead
friend. What made it worse was that he was the one who killed him. He
ended the life of a dear friend without any hesitation at all because his
memories were supposedly destroyed. It was almost cruel to have his
memories return in this single instance. His body felt the pure shock of
killing a friend and now it was leaving him to wallow in this great pool of
guilt. It had to be destroying him inside right now, pulling at his heart. He
remembered seeing the reactions of the other Homunculi after Roy killed
Lust. They may be the embodiment of a human sin from Father, but they still
had human emotions. They hurt at the loss of Lust and they were angry. It
was only natural for Greed to feel such torment as he recalled Bido being a
friend and realizing he betrayed the trust that Bido had in him.

The ending song began.

The scene lit up on the Bradley estate.

The scene changed to show Bradley reading a newspaper in his living

room.

"I think you'll enjoy this one." Mrs. Bradley said.

The scene moved to the side to show Mrs. Bradley and Selim standing in
front of a bookcase. Mrs. Bradley was pointing at a book. "I was just a
bit older than you are the first time I read it." She put down her tea cup
and started to pull out the book.

Bradley appeared on screen as he looked up from his paper.

"It's about an adventurer who travels the world."

Selim was shown holding the book as he looked up at Mrs. Bradley.

A sudden noise had him turning around in surprise and his mother
looking up.

Mrs. Bradley quickly pulled Selim against her. "What is it?" She asked.

Bradley appeared on screen as he stood up.

The family was shown from behind as they stared at the old oak door.

The door was shown up close before it slowly opened to reveal a pair of
dark clad pants as suspenseful music started to play.

Bradley was shown with his wife in the background.

"Who is it?" Mrs. Bradley asked.

The doorway was shown to show the person dropping the unconscious
guard from his hand that was covered in the Ultimate Shield. The scene
moved up to show the heavily breathing Greed who had sweat pouring
down his face.

He suddenly charged forward into the room. His clawed hand appeared
on screen.

Bradley's sword was shown as he drew it from the sheath and it clashed
with Greed's hand.

The scene went dark.

"Greed has gone crazy!" May declared.

Ed snorted. "Greed just really seems to love to defect from the Homunculi."

"He's defecting?" Karin asked with a frown.

Ed rolled his eyes. "He just broke into Wrath's estate and attacked him. If that
doesn't clearly explain 'I am leaving the immortal bastard's team,' then I don't
know what does."
Havoc snorted. "He just has to survive this reckless attack. Wrath is very
strong and deadly, not to mention that Pride is there."

"Yeah, but he is hiding behind an innocent child façade. Would he really

reveal himself?" Al asked.

"I think if he had to, he would." Mustang replied. "In any case, this is a
dangerous situation that Greed has thrown himself into."

"I think it is a good thing. If he is doing this, then he must have finally
stopped fighting with his returning memories and accepted them." Ling
grumbled.

"Are we sure he's accepted them?" Brosh asked.

"It seems like it. He is attacking Bradley, who was the one who killed his
friends in front of him." Ed replied with a frown. "There's no way a Greed
with all his memories intact wouldn't go to get revenge for that."

"Can I just point out that Greed is an enemy and we shouldn't care what he is
doing or thinking?" Skylak pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's in Ling's body so for that fact alone, I do care." Ed jerked his
head at Ling. "I have to make sure this idiot doesn't go and die because of
Greed being reckless."

"If anyone is getting injured for recklessness, it'd be you." Ling grumbled.

"Says the one who accepted a Homunculus into his body." Ed scoffed before
he turned to Lan Fan. "How do you deal with protecting this guy?"

Lan Fan smiled a bit. "Probably the same way your guards deal with you."

Ed's brow twitched.

Ross smirked. "It's very hard to protect these reckless boys, isn't it?"

Lan Fan sighed. "It certainly is challenging at times."

"We're being insulted." Ed muttered.

"I want to object to this comparison. I never escape from my guards like Ed
does. I simply work to protect my subordinates instead of letting them always
protect me and get hurt. It is different." Ling retorted.

"That makes you jump into reckless actions at times. And taking Greed into
your body is and always will be considered reckless." Al retorted.

Ling raised an amused brow. "Wow, Al is against me too."

Ed nodded, looking completely seriously. "As he should be."

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Forgetting this stupidity, perhaps we should

continue to the next episode."

A/N: forum/Unveil-the-Truth/153823/

And once more, I suggest looking at my forum if you ever want info
about Truth Revealed or want to ask anything. I don't always reply to
reviews since I sometimes don't think about it. And don't just look at my
forum. I can't send messages on it if I don't know you are there and want
to know something. I'm not psychic. So send messages and I'll reply. If
you're shy, which you really shouldn't be since no one on the forum will
mock you, send a PM. I will most likely reply….if I remember and have
time.

Please Review!
*Chapter 49*: Episode 45: The Promised
Day
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Thanks to everyone who left a review!

Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

"Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

Episode 45: The Promised Day

The opening song began.

Dramatic music began after the opening song ended and the scene moved
up the side of the Bradley Estate.

Greed's clawed hand and Bradley's sword appeared on screen as they

clashed against one another.

"We are jumping right back into the sibling fight!" Ed declared.

"Sibling fight? Really, Ed?" Ling asked with a frown. "I believe war is a
more appropriate term here. If Greed's memories really are back, there is no
way he will ever forgive Wrath for what he did. This is no little kiddie sibling
fight."

"I'll say. It is more dangerous at this point since you broke into the Bradley
Estate. I'm not surprised you managed to do that since you are a Homunculus,
but still, to actually do it…" Hughes trailed off, frowning.

"Though it would be better to say Greed broke in." Ed muttered.

Hughes whacked him with a pillow as his only acknowledgement to what Ed

said. "You are making a ruckus. Guards are going to be swarming to your
location fast. You may be "immortal," but you can still get shot and some of
the stone's power will be lost."

"Or you'll get chopped up by Wrath. The first Greed was no match for him at
all. It was like a cat facing off against a lion." Riza added.

"But there is a difference this time." Ling pointed to himself. "He's not alone.
I'm there with him."

Ed snorted. "How is that supposed to be comforting?"

Ling sat up, grabbed the pillow he was lying on and whacked Ed with it
before he went back to lying on it. "Remember all the times I helped and
saved you? You should, I do it often enough."

Ed scoffed. "As if. I bet I save you more often."

"And besides, having spent so much time with you and dealing with the
Homunculi, I think I am learning about how to deal with them." Ling
retorted.

"Sure, but I doubt Greed wants to hear anything more from you at the
moment. He's kind of pissed." Ed pointed out.

Ling frowned darkly. "It's his own fault for killing his friend. It was a
betrayal."

The scene changed to show the two facing off, each exerting force on the
other.

A furious Greed appeared on screen, teeth gritted as he pushed harder

against Bradley's sword. The scene slowly pulled back to show the back
of Bradley's head.
"Darling!" Mrs. Bradley shouted worriedly as Bradley appeared on
screen, glaring at Greed.

"You and Selim stay back." Bradley ordered.

Greed, veins still protruding from his temples, appeared on screen.

"Well…maybe you can explain this, Wrath."

The screen turned all fuzzy and through the fuzz Martel and Dolcetto
could be seen smiling.

"What the hell is happening to me?" Greed demanded as another

memory of Dolcetto appeared in the fuzz as he pointed a thumb at
himself and spoke.

Greed's eye appeared on screen with clear rage in it.

Another fuzzy screen appeared and through it, Dolcetto's body cut in
half hit the water in the sewer.

"Why am I seeing these things?"

"I don't think he's accepted that the memories are his just yet." Fuery said.

"That is not surprising." May replied with a frown. "An amnesic would have
trouble with returning memories, especially if they didn't realize they were
missing memories because someone told them who they were. In this case
that someone would be Father. But to add to that, these strange memories are
telling him the person he killed is a friend. It is tearing him up inside that he
killed someone who was supposedly a friend. They're destroying the ground
under his feet of what he knows and understands. It's no surprise he doesn't
want to accept these memories as a part of him."

"Which basically means he is still running from the truth of what he did."
Ling murmured.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I think he just doesn't know what to believe yet, not that
he is running from the fact that he killed a friend."
Roa's eye appeared on screen and in it, the image of Bradley's back was
seen. The scene changed to show Roa lying face down in the sewer water.

With his back to the screen and two swords drawn, Bradley appeared on
screen.

"They keep clawing at the inside of my skull!" Greed's strained, angry

eyes appeared on screen and the sound of metal clanging was heard.

Greed's hand which was keeping Bradley's sword stalled appeared on

screen along with Bradley who continued to stare coldly at him.

"And why are you there?" Greed demanded.

A fuzzy memory of Bradley cutting Dolcetto in half appeared on screen.

The memory changed to Bradley having Greed pinned to the wall with
his swords on either side of his neck.

"Why do I remember you, Bradley?" Greed demanded as Bradley's face

was shown up close in the memory to show him opening his eye to reveal
his Ouroboros tattoo.

The scene went back to Greed and Bradley shown from the side in the
Bradley estate.

"Tell me!" Greed demanded.

"He sounds very desperate for answers right now." Hughes said.

"It really is like he is fighting to figure out his identity and just which Greed
is really him." Mustang replied with a frown. He looked down at Ed's notes
as he shifted through them in annoyance. Really, the code should not be
difficult to figure out. A part of him was really starting to believe that the
notes Ed gave him were a lie. "And when he figures out which one is him,
what is he going to do? I believe it unlikely he chooses the side of him that
Father tells him is him, but if he did, he would likely stay with the
homunculi. But it's likely he won't, especially after attacking Wrath here, so
the question is, where will he go from here?"
"Last time he became a leader of a human chimera gang in Dublith. But that
gang has all been killed off so he really has nowhere to go." Izumi said
thoughtfully. "That leaves him with nowhere to settle down in, unless he ends
up making another gang."

"I doubt it." Ed scoffed. "His gang was his possessions, his 'friends.' And his
gang consisted of human chimeras. He's not going to make a whole new gang
of normal humans. It would be like forgetting his human chimera gang."

"Isn't this all assuming what he does after this battle? If he survives that is?"
Al asked.

Ed shrugged. "I think he'll be fine. Greed is immortal…more so than Wrath at

least."

"And that means?" Cyril asked.

"Uh, Bradley fought the stone that entered his body and depleted of its souls
until only one remained. Ling accepted the stone immediately so the souls are
there. Basically it means that Greed, Ling though I'm not really sure on him,
can die and come back. Bradley can't since he only has one soul left so he
only has one life." Ed explained.

"But he makes up for only having one life by being so skilled and strong that
we can't kill him easily." Hughes pointed out.

Ed rubbed his eyes. "I know. It's dangerous."

Pride and Mrs. Bradley appeared on screen as they watched, one in

anger and one in fear. From Pride's shadow, two shadowy hands
emerged and crept up the bookshelf.

"Why did you destroy my possessions?" Greed demanded.

"Seriously?" Ling growled. "Why can't he just say friends? And destroy?
Really, he can't say killed?"

"It's not Greed's nature. You have to understand that to an extent, don't you?"
Riza asked. "You did accept him after all."

"And you are greedy." Ed muttered.

"I get he wants everything in life, but he doesn't have to call people
possessions. He can't own people…unless they're slaves, but they aren't in
this case. And even then it's not right." Ling retorted.

Ed shrugged. "How about we just go with the fact that this is his way of
showing that he cares for them? Cause it certainly is true that this is his way
of proving that he cares for them."

An angry Bradley appeared on screen, still holding Greed's hand back

with his sword. "You miss your things?" The scene changed to show
Greed with his teeth gritted in anger. "You're a foolish packrat digging
up garbage, Greed. Quit craving the past!"

"That is completely harsh, though not surprising from Wrath." Mustang said.
"Especially after hearing what he said about being angry when Elicia was
crying during Hughes's funeral."

Hughes scowled at that. "He had no right to be angry at my sweet pea being
upset at my funeral."

"It clearly says in his name that he is an angry person." Havoc pointed out.

"How can he tell Greed to forget his friends like that? It's like he doesn't
understand emotional attachment at all." Ling scowled. "He said he chose
Mrs. Bradley to be his wife, and yet he doesn't understand emotional
attachment?"

"He may have chosen Mrs. Bradley as a wife, but I really don't think it would
bother him that much if he lost her. He chose her and was interested in her, to
an extent, but she is more of a figurehead to Bradley's family play." Cyril said
with a frown.

Ling scowled. The more he watched the future of Amestris, the more he was
convinced that Bradley really was no king. No emotional attachment? Of
course there was none. He was helping Father to destroy Amestris. Someone
who was that uncaring should not be the leader of a country with all its
citizens' lives in his hand. He was the type of ruler that Ling despised the
most. A rule who cared so little for his people wasn't a ruler. To him, that was
more like a dictatorship where the ruler could decide when someone was to
be executed and who got to live. But in this dictatorship, everyone was
sentenced to death, but they didn't even know it. They don't know they are
living in a dictatorship. And to be fair, at this point, Ling would claim the
true dictator to be Father with Wrath just being the figurehead of this
dictatorship.

"Bastard!" Greed retorted.

Mrs. Bradley's back appeared on screen and in the background, Wrath

and Greed could be seen facing off. She bumped into the tea cup behind
her in fear. The scene changed to follow the tea cup on its descent to the
floor where it smashed into pieces.

Greed's face was shown from an upward angle as he looked over there
out of the corner of his eyes.

"I can't believe that idiot got distracted by a cup breaking! You don't get
distracted in a fight like that." Ed grumbled.

"Says the person who was losing it during his fight with Envy inside of
Gluttony." Brody retorted.

Ed's brow twitched. "That is not the focus here. It was a long time ago."

"Technically, it hasn't happened yet." Hughes pointed out.

"Quiet, crazy family man." Ed snapped. "We are discussing Greed and his
stupid mistake of getting distracted."

"To be fair, he could have thought that someone from over there was coming
over to help Wrath." Ling pointed out.

"The only other dangerous person to Greed in that mansion is Pride. Really,
what was that idiot thinking charging into a place where there were two
powerful Homunculi residing?" Ed mumbled.

"It really was just a plain stupid move on his part." Clarink said.

Wrath stole that moment of distraction and roughly pulled his sword
across Greed's palm which was still covered in the shield. He swung it
forward quickly so Greed ducked under the sword. He then jumped in
the air to avoid the sword that was coming for his stomach and flipped
over Wrath. Wrath was shown from an upward angle as he watched
Greed flip over him. Wrath quickly spun around, swinging his sword
rapidly at Greed, who was still in the air. Greed flipped a bit more to
avoid the sword and landed on the fireplace's mantel.

Wrath ran over and thrust his sword forward. Greed appeared on
screen as the sword cut away some strands of his hair as he just managed
to jerk his head to the side in time to dodge.

Ling scratched his cheek. Good thing Greed has very fast reflexes. That
sword just barely missed cutting his face.

"What? Worried about marring that perfect face of yours?" Ed asked

sarcastically. "Don't worry. Greed is a Homunculus so he can heal any
injuries he receives so that there will never be a scar left behind."

Rolling his eyes, Ling grabbed one of Ed's pillows and threw it at him.
"That's not it. I was just thinking it's lucky he dodge. Even if it is just a cut, I
don't want to be facing the pain of the future anymore. This is a really steep
price to pay." 'Especially when the injuries are extensive and deadly.'

He was then shown from behind with Wrath in front of him with the
sword being continuingly thrust at him and Greed dodging by leaning to
whatever side he needed to so he wouldn't get hit. He brought his hand
that was covered in the ultimate shield up to block one of the sword
thrusts. Wrath thrust his sword at Greed a few more times, but he
continued to dodge before he brought up his hand to block the sword
and push it away from him. Greed stole the next moment when Wrath
swung his sword at him to swing his hand forward to throw one of the
plates from the mantle to distract Wrath.

The room was shown to show the two fighting Homunculi on the other
side of it as the plate spun as it flew across the room. As it hit the
staircase railing and smashed into hundreds of pieces, Greed jumped
from the mantle over Wrath's blade.

Greed was shown from behind as he ran across the room. Wrath was
heard grunting as he threw his sword at Greed, who flipped forward to
dodge, causing the sword to imbed itself in the wall. Wrath ran onto
screen as Greed righted himself. The scene changed angles to show the
both of them as Wrath grabbed his sword handle and pulled the sword
from the wall before swinging it at Greed again. He was unable to dodge
this time and the sword ripped across his chest, leaving him to shout in
pain.

Ling hissed and grabbed at his chest where a sharp pain was suddenly ringing
from. It felt like his skin was being ripped apart which was strange since he
couldn't see the injury on Greed in the future. If it wasn't for Greed's shout
and the fact that he could see bits of fabric from his clothes floating across
the screen, he wouldn't have thought that Greed had gotten hit.

"And that is why you don't let yourself get backed into a corner by the
enemy." Izumi growled. "Unless you can escape from being cornered like
this, it leaves you in a perilous situation."

"Wow, now I know what Ed feels like when he is being lectured by Izumi."
Ling muttered.

"Only difference is that you aren't the one fighting so you really aren't be
lectured." Al pointed out.

Ling blinked. He kept connecting him and Greed to be the same person. He
had to remember that they weren't and that they were only sharing the body
until one gained complete control or until one of them was pushed out. They
were not one unit, but one body with two souls. It was his face, but it wasn't
him. He knew that and understood it, but it was still his body and he still had
it here so he was getting all messed up and confused.
His back slammed into the railing behind him before Wrath appeared on
screen right in front of him as he lifted his sword up to swing it down.
The scene changed to show them from the side as Greed grabbed the
railing above his head to help him swing his legs up to kick the sword
away. The sword went flying through the air. Wrath watched it go for a
second before charging forward with his palm.

Greed appeared on screen as the hand grabbed his wrist and yanked his
hand off the railing. Wrath's other hand grabbed Greed's shirt and he
yanked Greed off the ground and threw him over his shoulder. Greed
went flying forward until his back slammed into the coffee table.

Ling groaned at the pain that shot up his back and head. He rubbed the back
of his head with a scowl. "I'm not in control, but I still have the feel the pain,
seriously?"

Ed shrugged. "Same body just different souls right now. It's like how Al and I
mixed our souls when we performed human transmutation so I felt the pain of
his body being stolen."

"I see how that works, though you two aren't sharing a body so it is a little
different." Ling muttered as he rolled onto his back and tried rolling his
shoulders to alleviate some of the pain. He tilted his head back on the floor to
watch the show.

"True, but the concept remains the same." Ed replied.

"Honestly, to me, it makes more sense that Ling is feeling the pain since it is
his body then it does for Chief to feel Al's pain." Havoc said.

"Anyone would find that easier to believe than souls mixing and the pain
being felt by the one still with a body." Avery muttered.

The sword appeared on screen, still falling as Wrath's hand snatched it

up.

Greed appeared on screen, lying on the ground in pain. Wrath's feet

came down on his wrists to pin them down. Greed looked over at his
wrist before Wrath appeared on screen, reading to slice his sword down
onto Greed. Greed's neck appeared on screen as his shield slowly started
to cover it. It covered half of his neck and part of his face when Wrath's
sword slammed into it.

"Damn, any slower and there would have been trouble." Breda said with a
frown.

"That ultimate shield can be such a pain when fighting Greed." Ed grumbled.
"It feels like a cheat in fights."

"I thought you wanted me to survive this." Ling protested.

Ed's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I want your body in one piece, but Greed
can regenerate and come back from the dead. That is not the issue here. The
issue is that you don't want Greed to lose all his lives fighting Wrath again.
This never goes well for him."

Hughes snorted. "That is certainly true. Greed always seems to get pummeled
by Wrath."

Ling sweat dropped. "Does he really? He seemed to be doing good until he

got backed into a corner."

"Take it this way. Brother had some difficulty fighting Greed while Wrath
beat him with ease like he was a child just first learning to fight." Al
explained.

Ling raised a brow. "Wow, if that's the case, Wrath really is a dangerous
character."

Ed leaned his cheek on his hand as he laid on his pillows and mumbled, "His
speed is part of the reason why he is so strong and Greed struggles to fight
him. He has a different body now and with your training, it moves a lot faster
than his last body, which is why this fight is a bit different."

"Glad I could be of service to Greed in his defecting." Ling replied.

"I think it is also because of the location." Hughes added. "Before, they
fought in a sewer which had low visibility and it was small. It's not easy
jumping around in a sewer like Greed was doing here and there really is no
easy escape route in the sewers either."

"That is true. With Wrath's Ultimate Eye, he would have an advantage over
Greed in the sewers." Ling said with a frown.

The scene changed angles to show Greed pinned down at his wrists and
Wrath's broken blade spinning through the air.

Wrath was shown up close as his eye followed his broken blade flying
through the air.

The scene changed to the sewer with Wrath's eye patch floating down
the screen and Greed being pinned to a wall by his swords around his
neck. He was shown up close for less than a second before the scene
changed to show Ling fighting Wrath with Lan Fan on his shoulder.

"Are these Wrath's memories we are seeing or Greed's and Ling's memories?"
Fuery asked confused.

"Both." Falman replied. "Though, I do not know which one of them is

remembering them. I would say Greed since he is the one getting memories
back, but it looked like Wrath was the one recalling something."

"I can't imagine why Greed would be recalling Ling's memories since those
are definitely not his. For that reason, I imagine it is Wrath recalling them."
Ross pointed out.

"Unless Ling finally woke up and took control." Ed muttered.

"I could have, but my body was still covered in the shield so I don't know
about that." Ling replied.

The scene went back to Greed lying on the floor, staring at Wrath's
broken sword. He quickly got up.

"Yep, the shield was still there so maybe Greed is still in control." Ling said
with a frown.
The mansion was shown from the outside as Greed jumped through the
window to the ground.

Wrath's back appeared on screen as he stared out the broken window to

watch Greed run away.

"Fuhrer Bradley!"

A guard was shown from behind, looking into the room.

"Madam Bradley!"

"Oh, look who decided to finally show up late to the party." Aran said
sarcastically.

"Probably for the best. They would not be able to properly deal with Greed."
Hughes replied. "Actually, I'm surprised Greed didn't kill the guards he
attacked when he broke into the estate. It's not like him to just knock them
out."

"Hmm, maybe it's a mental thing." Ling suggested. "He is fighting against
returning memories and realized he just killed a friend. All he wanted at that
point was revenge against Wrath."

"So, he was temporarily scared of killing?" Lan Fan asked.

"I doubt it." Al replied. "While a part of it may have been mental, I think he
also didn't want to waste his time killing the guards when he was after
Wrath."

"Are you and Selim alright?"

Selim appeared on screen with his mom's hands on his shoulders.

"Yes," Mrs. Bradley replied.

Selim turned his head to look at his dad.

Bradley appeared on screen as he leaned over to pick up the broken
piece of his sword.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir." The guard said. "He overpowered the security
patrol."

"Yes, I'm not surprised." Bradley replied as the scene slowly moved
passed him to the broken window. "He came close to overpowering me."

"Then it probably was Wrath recalling his memories earlier of the different
fights." Mustang said thoughtfully. "He was most likely noticing the
differences in the way the previous Greed fought and how Greed with Ling's
body fought. Their bodies are trained differently so it is not surprising that
they fight differently as well."

"And if this Greed almost overpowered him then it sounds like he is stronger
than he was before." Ed replied.

"Is that good or bad?" Skylak asked.

"Depends on what Greed does and whether he tries to kill us or not." Brody
replied with a frown. "We'll have to see what happens from here on."

"Oh my." The guard breathed as Selim appeared on screen, narrowing

his eyes. His feet were shown as Pride's shadow receded back into
Selim's shadow.

The scene went dark before it reopened up on a fountain in front of a

mansion as cheerful, elegant music played.

"Father," Olivia appeared on screen, arms crossed over her chest. "I
demand you retire."

"Honestly, sister, you cannot demand such a thing of Father. It is his choice
of when he will retire." Armstrong admonished.

"Quiet, Alex." Olivia snapped. "I know what I am doing."

"It seems you are trying to gain control of the Armstrong family." Alex
argued. "Though, it seems to be a waste of your time. You may not know
since you've been up north so long, but I have been named as heir for the
family."

Olivia's eyes narrowed dangerously. Her cowardly younger brother was

named heir to the family over her? What were her parents thinking when they
did that? He was not fit to be the next patriarch of the family.

"I feel death vibes in the air." Ed whispered, twitching a bit in fear.

"Brother, she's glaring at Major Armstrong." Al whimpered quietly to his

brother.

"I am glad I'm not him." Ed muttered. He was sure a lot of people were as
even the Briggs soldiers seemed wary of the way their general was glaring at
her brother. Seriously, where was the sibling love at?

Philip Armstrong appeared on screen with sparkles around him.

"He's sparkling." Ed said blankly, though still a bit twitchy from the death
vibes filling the room. "What is with this family and sparkles?"

"It's a family trait." Hughes replied.

"Yeah? Then where are General Armstrong's sparkles?" Ed accused loudly.

"It's a lie! She's no Armstrong if she doesn't sparkle!"

"Suicidal." Havoc whispered fearfully as Olivia shifted her glare to him.

"I would advise you to keep your mouth shut, shrimp." Olivia growled.

"It's not a denial." Ed mumbled.

"SHUT UP!" Havoc and Luke screamed at him.

"You know, Chief, I do like you so please follow this advice. Stop
antagonizing General Armstrong before she decides to murder you." Clarink
growled.
Ed shrugged and pretended to zip his lips shut.

"Oh, Olivia," Philip said before the scene changed to show the dining
room from a downward angle. Standing behind Philip off to the side was
his wife and youngest daughter. "It's been years since we've last seen one
another and that's all you have to say to me?"

"I'll head the family from now." Olivia replied.

Olivia turned her heated glare back to her brother.

"I almost wish she would just attack him and get her rage over with. This
silent rage is freaking me out." Al muttered.

"Now, Al, we shouldn't wish misfortune on others," Ed twitched a bit. "Just

so we can make ourselves," He twitched again. "More comfortable."

Al stared at his brother. "You are silently wishing for a fight to break out too,
aren't you?"

Ed glared at him, still twitching at the death vibes that were smacking him
right in the face. "I don't know what you mean." His eye twitched violently.
"I'm perfectly fine."

"If you can call twitching every few seconds fine." Al mumbled to himself.

Olivia was shown from the side. "You should spend your final
dauntingly fray years in comfort."

Philip appeared on screen, being shown from the side. "Thank you for
your concern, but I plan to make Alex my successor."

Olivia was shown from the side once more as her eyes narrowed. "You
mean that sniveling jellyfish?"

"Well, that is very rude." Armstrong said with a frown.

"The truth hurts." Olivia growled.

Armstrong sighed as his sister continued to glare at him. She really was never
going to let it go that he left during the Ishvalan Civil War. Before that war,
they had a somewhat decent relationship. That relationship was completely
and utterly destroyed after she learned that he ran away during the war. In her
eyes, he was a coward for running, but he didn't believe she understood just
how wrong that war felt. They were ordered to kill children and women,
people who weren't even fighting. It was genocide. He could never condone
such a thing.

"Leave the family affairs to me. Why not take a long vacation in a
foreign land?" Olivia suggested. She held out a hand. "Alex as the head?
Would you truly be able to relax leaving things to him?"

A knock sounded at the door to the room.

"I could take care of the family just fine. He would have nothing to worry
about." Armstrong protested.

"The family would be destroyed left in your cowardly hands." Olivia retorted.
"Someone who runs from battle is not fit to run the Armstrong family."

Armstrong sighed in reply. It was only a matter of time before his sister
brought that up.

"Harsh." Ling whispered to Ed. "Watching them like this reminds me of my

interactions with my siblings back in Xing." He paused and glanced over at
May. "Well, the ones in the higher clans. They can be really bad and so
arrogant at times. The ones in lower clans aren't that bad, probably because
they realize they have a lower chance of getting the throne, though it doesn't
stop them from trying for it."

"Do you guys fight a lot?" Ed asked curiously.

"When we are at political functions or in the presence of the emperor we act

like we get along, but outside the palace it really isn't pretty." Ling explained.
"It can get really nasty, and it's common for heirs to end up fighting. If you
see two heirs fighting one day, it is not all that surprising if one or both of
them were killed by hired assassins the next day."
Ed frowned. "Dark." He muttered. He really couldn't imagine or understand
how the heirs could fight like that and then just hire an assassin. They are
supposed to love and protect their siblings, not go around killing them just
because they don't get along and they want to be the next emperor of Xing.

The doors to the dining room appeared on screen. The two doorknobs
turned and the doors opened to reveal Armstrong. His face was shown
up close as he sparkled and looked to the side. "Olivia," He said as the
doors closed and he walked over to where his sister was sitting. "I didn't
know you had planned to visit."

"Ooooh," Philip stood up. "Alex, perfect timing."

Alex looked over at his dad. "Oh?"

Philip appeared on screen. "Engage your sister in combat."

"Fighting among siblings encouraged!" Ed cried. "How unfair. I was never

allowed to hit Al when we were kids. I always got in trouble for it."

Al shot his brother a glare. "Toddlers, Ed. We were toddlers!"

Van smiled a bit as he remembered that time. Ed was jealous of his mom
spending so much time with Al and he thought his mother loved Al more
than him. Besides the fact that he hit Al in jealousy, it was cute to see Ed like
that. It was after that time that Ed started to stop being so jealous and came to
love his little brother a lot. It really helped to lead them being a lot closer as
brothers.

Ed shrugged his shoulders. "And I bet General Armstrong has always been
challenging her brother since they were tiny little kids if their father is letting
them fight so easily." He paused and thought for a moment. Yep, he really
couldn't imagine anyone in the Armstrong family as being little, even just
little kids. He wondered if they were always big.

A surprised Alex appeared on screen.

Philip was shown from behind with his children looking at him. "The
victor shall earn my title as head of the family." He turned his head to
look at his eldest daughter. "Do you find this acceptable, Olivia?"

Olivia uncrossed her arms and stood up. "Yes." She was shown close up
as she pulled her sword out of its sheath and said, "I'd have it no other
way."

"Here comes the next sibling fight!" Ed cried. "As if the Greed vs Wrath
sibling fight wasn't enough! But who will win this one?"

"General Armstrong." Brody, Clarink, Cyril, Aran, and Mikal all declared.

Lan Fan smiled. "That is some belief they have in their commander." She
couldn't really argue with them believing in their leader. If she had to choose
between Ling and someone he was fighting, she too would believe in her lord
to win, unless there was some huge evidence to indicate that his opponent
was overly strong.

"Can we just remember that Major Armstrong is an alchemist and very

strong?" Brosh pointed out.

"Yes, but that does not always solidify your win." Hughes replied. "There are
other factors that could come into play in this fight, like if Major Armstrong
doesn't use alchemy or General Armstrong's skill and strength."

Olivia was shown from behind as she stared at her brother.

"Olivia insists that I retire and take a sojourn in a foreign land." Philip
explained.

"She what?" Armstrong demanded as he looked at his father. His face

was shown close up from the side. He then turned to look angrily at his
sister. "How could you treat Father with such insolence? For shame!"

Armstrong was shown from behind with his sister in front of him as he
ripped his shirt off his body.

"You've given me no choice!" Armstrong said as the scene followed the

shirt he threw into the air.
"The stripping habit is back." Havoc said blankly. "Why does it always come
back?"

"Because we haven't been mentally scarred enough." Ed replied sarcastically.

"I'm actually fine without the idea of being mentally scarred." Havoc retorted.

"The future disagrees." Ed argued. "It declared you need to slowly go

insane."

"I don't believe the future should get a say in any of this." Havoc grumbled.

"The future has had a say in this since this has begun so you should be used
to it by now." Breda pointed out.

"Doesn't mean I can't complain about it." Havoc retorted.

Dramatic, fast paced music began to play. Armstrong's hand covered in

his steel gauntlet appeared on screen. He pulled it towards the screen,
causing the scene to move to show him falling into a fighting stance.
"Understand, sister, I intend to use every ounce of my body and soul to
fight you." His foot appeared on screen as he slammed it down.

Olivia appeared on screen in her own stance with her sword at the ready.
"Don't patronize me, Alex. Your bloated muscles are worthless without a
spine."

"This takes siblings fighting to a whole new level." Ed said, starting to feel a
bit amused but also a bit hopeful that this will cause General Armstrong's
death vibes to subside.

"Says the Elric brother who fights with his little brother using alchemy."
Havoc retorted with a smirk.

"Only in the really bad fights." Ed protested.

"Yeah, if it's not bad, it's just martial arts or yelling or avoiding each other."
Al added.
"Clearly there is an issue with siblings in here if fighting is common among
them all." Hughes said amused.

Van just shook his head with a fond smile. Really, he couldn't believe those
two still fought so much. They seemed so close, and yet beneath that
closeness is the fact that they do get into arguments and fight a lot.

Olivia's feet appeared on screen as she launched herself forward.

Olivia's sword clanging against Armstrong's gauntlets was heard in the

background as Philip, his wife, and Catherine appeared on screen. The
screen shook from the rumbles from the fight and grunting from
Armstrong could be heard.

Philip looked over at his wife and youngest daughter. "Shall we prepare
for our respite?" As he asked this a chair flew between him and the
ladies to smash into the wall and break into pieces.

Catherine and her mother turned to him, hands neatly folded in front of
them. "Yes," Both of them replied with a small bow of the head.

"Oh, look at that, they are so pristine and proper, despite the fact that a fight
is happening right in front of them!" Kei shouted. "What? Is this just
completely normal for them?"

"Of course it is!" Ed declared and went on to say dramatically, "Don't you
ever listen? The art of fighting has been passed down the Armstrong family
for generations!"

"Nicely said, but you forgot to pose." Al teased.

"As if I would do that." Ed mumbled.

Kei snorted in amusement. "So sorry that completely flew over me. We don't
hear that line often or really at all at Fort Briggs."

"Really?" Armstrong asked with a frown. "Honestly, sister, you do not speak
of the greatness of our family? Do you have no honor?"
Olivia intensified her glare on her little brother. "I do not need to brag about
the greatness of the Armstrong family for it to be known. Our actions as
soldiers is enough for it to be known well enough. But, of course, someone
who runs from war is not able to show that greatness and must instead brag
about it."

"As harsh as ever." Mustang muttered.

"You should be used to it already. She really doesn't like you." Hughes
pointed out.

"I know." Mustang growled. "Really, is there anyone she likes?"

"Her men at Fort Briggs." Hughes replied easily with a smirk. "Oh, and Ed,
but that might just because he thrives on driving you crazy so she likes that."

Mustang snorted. "They'll be loyal comrades to each other in plotting another

comrade's demise."

Hughes chuckled. "Ed doesn't hate you that much to do that. You must
realize, it does seem that he supports your goal of being Fuhrer."

"He just wants to make me owe him." Mustang growled as he glared at the
back of Ed's head.

"It's 520 Cens. It's hardly worth mentioning." Hughes muttered.

Ed twitched a bit. Was someone glaring at him? Were the death vibes that
General Armstrong was emitting not torturous enough for them without
adding more anger into the room?

They started to walk away.

A safe appeared on screen as the handle was turned downwards.

Philip's wife was seen digging through the safe and dropping the money
into the waiting purse below as a maid helped Philip with his coat and
Catherine stood waiting patiently in the background.
"Get over here!" Olivia growled.

"Oh no," Armstrong moaned.

Once his coat was done, Philip turned to his wife. "So, which exotic loci
might you suggest?"

His wife picked up the bag and turned to look at him.

"I suggest Xing! It's wonderful this time of year." Ling said with a grin.

Ed threw a pillow at him. "No one asked you, idiot prince. Now be quiet, we
are watching the Armstrong mansion be destroyed."

"That's a nice mansion. Would they really destroy it with a fight just to see
who will become the new head?" May asked with a frown.

Ed snorted. "Have you seen Major Armstrong fight?"

May thought for a moment. "No."

Ed blinked. "Really?"

"You have to remember the fights we watched him in were before the
Xingese people got here." Hughes pointed out.

"Oh." Ed mouthed. That would make more sense. "No wonder you don't
understand. You will soon enough though."

"Well, I'm intrigued to see what Xing's like." Philip's wife said.

"YES! Take that, Ed!" Ling shouted with a giant grin. "My country just
totally won."

"There wasn't even a competition, idiot!" Ed snapped as he threw another

pillow at Ling's head. "They were leaving Amestris so I wasn't even
involved."

"So I won by default."

"No!" Ed snapped. "There are other countries."

"Yes, but this was a battle between us so I won." Ling said with a mock smug
tone.

"What battle?!" Ed cried. "There can be no battle when I wasn't even

involved!"

"I heard that they have tantalizing cuisine."

"The food is very good in Xing. They will enjoy it." Lan Fan replied.

Ling nodded with a grin. "Edo should come visit too. I'll treat you to a giant
feast to make up for all the meals you bought me."

"Go dig a hole, climb into it, and just die there." Ed said, glaring holes into
his friend's back.

"Seems someone is a bit sour that I won." Ling mocked.

"There was no battle!" Ed screamed as he grabbed a pillow and whacked

Ling with it.

"I was thinking Edward would make the Young Lord go insane first, but I
should perhaps rethink that thought." Fu murmured. "Clearly, the Young
Lord is just as skilled as Edward at this."

"Is this a game of who can make the other insane first?" Al muttered.

"If Ed made Ling insane would that mean he would be out of the running to
be emperor?" May asked interested.

Al shot her a look of disbelief. "Please do not get involved in this madness."
But when he saw her looking already distracted with plans and mumbling
about making siblings insane, he just sighed. Was there anyone completely
sane in this room?

The house shook violently which was followed by Armstrong's shout of

pain.
"Then Xing it is." Philip replied. "Fine with you, Catherine?"

"Sure, sounds exciting." Catherine replied.

The doors to the dining room were shown on screen. Something violently
banged into them, but the doors remained closed.

The hallway appeared on screen to show Philip, his wife, and Catherine
being led down the stairs by a maid while in the background Armstrong
was thrown upside down through the dining room doors and into the
wall.

Armstrong groaned a bit as pain started to travel through his back. Fighting
his sister was never a pleasant experience for him.

"…Perhaps you should have taken the fight outside." Brosh muttered.

"Why? They can afford to fix it all." Hughes pointed out.

"Or have Major Armstrong fix it when this is over." Ross added.

"I'd rather Fullmetal do it. I don't want Alex anywhere near the mansion after
I win." Olivia growled.

"I'm MIA." Ed replied dryly. "I'm not fixing anything for anyone for a while.
Have Colonel do it."

"I'd rather burn the whole mansion down." Olivia said, glaring at Mustang,
who didn't even say or do anything.

"Colonel can help with that too. It's one of his few specialties." Ed piped up
with a smirk.

"Another one of my specialties is making fried shrimp." Mustang smirked at

his subordinate. "Do you want some, Fullmetal?"

Ed glared at him. "Shut the hell up, Colonel. No one wants your nasty
cooking. I may joke about poisoning food, but you could poison food with
ingredients that aren't even dangerous to humans! That, in itself, is an
amazing accomplishment."

"I am not that bad at cooking." Mustang snapped.

Riza coughed. "Sir, you are."

Mustang shot her a betrayed look before looking back down at Ed's notes.
What did everyone have against his cooking?

Olivia walked out of the dining room and over to him. Catherine paused
in leaving and looked over at them as Olivia grabbed Armstrong and
started dragging him back.

"No!" Armstrong cried. "Enough!"

"Take it like a man!" Havoc groaned. "Don't get begging for mercy,
especially so early in the fight!"

"No wonder the Briggs soldiers had so much faith in their commander." Lan
Fan chuckled. General Armstrong really was amazing to be able to take down
her bigger brother with such ease. She wasn't sure if she was as strong as
Major Armstrong, but she was definitely strong, fast, and agile to be able to
fight and take him down like that.

Catherine appeared on screen.

Armstrong's hand appeared on screen as he pat the ground. "Please,"

He begged. "Mercy."

The scene changed to show Olivia kneeling over her brother with her
arm wrapped around his neck and her other holding the sword to his
neck.

"No take backs, Alex." Olivia said.

Armstrong choked a bit and grabbed his throat as he suddenly found it a lot
harder to breathe. It has been a long time since he's seen his sister so he had
forgotten just how vicious she was in a fight. He would do well not to forget
again.
"Are you okay, Major?" Al asked worriedly.

"I think she is really trying to kill me." Armstrong groaned as he rubbed his
throat and started to focus more on his breathing.

Al sweatdropped. "I'm sure she's not really trying to kill her brother."

"But is anyone else imaging a pair of kids fighting each other?" Ed asked
with a frown. "He is obviously down and out! So why is this still going on?"

"Because that would be showing mercy, and that is just something that
soldiers of Briggs are not known for." Hughes replied, feeling a bit amused.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Alex grunted.

"What ticked you off, moron?" Olivia asked.

"I'm thinking she seriously is trying to kill him." Ed muttered.

"Brother, just because they are fighting, it doesn't mean they are going to aim
to kill the other." Al retorted.

Ed pointed at the screen with a mad gleam in his eyes. "General Armstrong's
words beg to differ."

"You've never been so mad at your brother that you contemplated dark
thoughts, Al?" Havoc asked amused.

"Uh…" Al looked at his amused brother. "Well, there have been times where
I would sit at a river after a fight and just go over the fight in my head and
wonder about how I should have handled it differently. And some of the
thoughts involved violence…."

"Ha! So you do have violent thoughts!" Ed declared as he finger swiveled

away from the screen to his little brother. "You can't deny it now! They all
heard it."

Al stared at his brother blankly. He always knew his brother was crazy, but
he was pretty sure he wasn't this crazy. Maybe he had been here too long.
"Seems like you were affected by Izumi's training just like Fullmetal."
Mustang muttered. "But of course, not as bad as Fullmetal since you have
self-control to not fall into violent actions as a default setting."

Ed turned around to shoot him a glare. "I do not always automatically go for
the violent plan."

"It sure seems like it at times." Mustang reported. "How many times have you
purposely blown up a building?"

Ed raised a brow before slowly turning away. "….In my defense, when I

purposely blow up a building, it's for a valid reason."

"When is it ever alright to blow up a building?!" Brody asked horrified.

"There was a mad scientist once and he was doing dangerous research. I
wanted to destroy all his reports and experiments quickly before we left so I
rigged the place to blow up." Ed replied with a maniacal grin.

"Yeah, before we even met the guy and took him out!" Al snapped.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Al, I told you. Just from hearing the mission briefing, I
knew the guy was psychotic."

"That doesn't mean you have to rig the building to blow up before we've even
dealt with him! We barely made it out of there alive." Al retorted, glaring at
his brother.

"Seriously? Are you that reckless?" Hughes asked with a frown.

"In my defense, I didn't think he would put up that much of a fight. He was
very eager to not come quietly." Ed replied.

"They always put up a fight!" Al shouted aggravated. "You should know that
by now and so you should stop rigging the buildings to blow up as your
second part of the plan."

"Second? What's the first?" Ling asked amused.

"Sneaking in." Al replied with a groan. "You know, Ling, the problem with
my brother is that he's a genius."

"How is that a problem? Shouldn't that be beneficial?" Lan Fan asked

confused.

Al shook his head. These poor fools really didn't understand the horror that
was Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. "He's a genius so he
comes up with creative, ingenious plans of action. And they are great plans
that would work if not for the fact that there are variables that distort the
plans, like the enemy we are going after. And because of that he then has to
improvise in his plans from the point of deviation. And when that happens, it
happens fast, violently, and unexpectedly. And it is just complete sheer
INSANITY! The only good point about it is that it is so fast and violent and
insane that the targets don't have time to react to the sudden change. They
have no time to make adjustments to their attack pattern so they don't survive
the insane, violent genius of the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Ed blinked as his brother ranted about his plans. He didn't think his plans
were that drastic or insane. And they didn't always have to be improvised.
Some of them went exactly the way he planned! And whether deviations had
to be made or not, they always worked out so really, what was the issue if
they were slightly crazy?

"Ed….I think you have made your brother a bit insane with your plans." Ling
said amused, shooting his friend a smirk.

Ed shook himself out of his thoughts and smirked. "I'm surprised he's not
used to the craziness we get involved in yet."

Al shot his brother a look. "It's your insanity I'm not used to!"

Ed had the audacity to laugh at his brother being upset over his slight insanity
that came with his genius and gave him a wild grin. "Considering we've been
together for fourteen years, you really should be."

"How can I be when every day you have reached a new height of insanity?!"
Al shouted while seriously considering banging his head against a wall.
Ed's eye twitched violently at the word height. Was his brother trying to say
his height of insanity was taller than him?! Oh, hell no! "Al…"

"No!" Al snapped. "I am not mocking your height, brother."

Ed blinked before smirking. "Elric Brother Telepathy makes a comeback!"

"That doesn't exist!" Skylak retorted.

"Nonbeliever!" Ed declared as he pointed at Skylak. "Shun the nonbeliever!"

Al slapped his forehead while Ling just laughed and Skylak stared blankly at
him. Maybe he and his brother had been spending too much time together.
They needed a break from each other. It was surprising they hadn't attempted
to murder each other yet. One cannot spend that much time together without
considering it.

"I think it is time for Fullmetal's annual meeting with the military therapist."
Mustang said without looking up from Ed's notes. He raised a brow as he
thought back to the pages about the smoothies. Maybe they should make Ed
go to the therapist more than once a year. All soldiers had an annual meeting
with the therapist in their area to make sure they were still in top condition
and none of their missions from the year had mentally affected them too
badly. The same went for Ed, but sometimes Mustang wondered if they
should have him do it more often. The kid was tough, but there were some
ethical concerns about having a kid in the military so maybe it was best to
check up on his mental condition more often. He was actually surprised that
after everything he's seen that the kid is still very strong mentally. Maybe it
had to do with his teacher's motto, 'to train the mind to the fullest, you must
first train the body.' Maybe with the way he trained, it helped him during
tough times to train like that again and focus his mind and made it stronger.

"Oh, please, Roy, relax. Being dramatic like this is part of being a teenager.
Let Ed have his fun." Hughes replied calmly.

Mustang shook his head. "I've never seen him behave this crazy."

Hughes chuckled. "You've never spent time like this with him so that is not
surprising."

Mustang raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we are trapped here so he has to settle down and not worry about his
journey for a while, except for watching it play out in front of him. He is
relaxing and letting his guard down more than usual." Hughes explained with
a frown. "I noticed it when I invited him to stay at my house during the
McDougal incident. He and Al always have their guards up, like they don't
even trust their comrades."

"It's common for soldiers to always be on alert." Mustang replied.

"It's not common for kids." Hughes hissed. "Ed and Al are still just kids yet
they are always on high alert, like they are waiting for an attack or someone
to find out their secret. Even though Ed is a soldier, he's never got the same
military training we did so he shouldn't have the training for such high
alertness all the time."

Mustang sighed. "He travels a lot and has gotten into a lot of trouble so it is
probably just something he developed." He thought for a moment. "And
about the not trusting his comrades, he has always been wary about putting
his trust in others, but I think being here is helping him to trust us more so I
think it is a good thing." He glanced over at Ed then back at Hughes. "As
long as you don't die and he starts blaming himself for it again. If that
happens, he and Al might go back to being wary of sharing information
because they don't want anyone to get hurt cause of them."

Hughes nodded and crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat. "True. But
this time around, we'll know what is coming so Ed and Al should have no
worries about keeping quiet to us." He certainly hoped that was true. Ed and
Al were their comrades so he wanted the boys to trust them to help more and
to not run off on their own again. He didn't want to see them get injured
because they didn't trust them. Just how the boys hated to put their trust in
others because they could get hurt, he hated it when the boys ran off on their
own and got hurt because they didn't share information.

Catherine looked into the dining room through the doorway. She smiled
and waved. "Try to hang in there, Alex." She said before she left.

"Oh, she sounds so sweet and innocent." May chuckled. "And not at all like
she is worried about the fact that it looks like her older sister is trying to killer
her brother!"

"It must be really common and natural for the Armstrongs to have fighting
like this." Skylak said amused.

"Quiet, nonbeliever!" Ed shouted, glaring at Skylak. "You may not speak!"

Skylak just shot him a disbelieving look.

"You shouldn't have insulted the Elric Brother Telepathy." Myers told him
amused as he pat him on the shoulder.

Skylak shook his head. "The kid's insane. But I guess that comes with being a
genius. They all have a bit of insanity in them."

The fountain appeared on screen as a maid carrying a suitcase walked

onto screen with Philip, his wife, and Catherine following him.

"What sort of souvenirs should we bring back for them?" Catherine

asked.

"Statues seem the most fitting." Philip replied.

"Why statues? What is with them and statues?" Al muttered.

"They are being told to leave the country by General Armstrong, most likely
for protection reasons, and they are leaving the two oldest children to fight it
out to be the new head, and they're discussing souvenirs?" Hughes said,
shaking his head. "That seems the more important issues here, Al, not the fact
that statues seem to be the most fitting souvenirs."

Al grumbled to himself about something to do with statues and cities and Ed

and how it wasn't his fault. It was, once again, all Ed's fault, but of course, no
one could make sense of Al's mumbles to himself.
"Large and solid statues."

"When are statues not solid or large?" Al asked.

"Still not the important issue here, Al. What is with you and statues?" Hughes
muttered.

"….It's Ed's fault!" Al cried, pointing accusingly at his brother.

Ed blinked and pointed at himself too. "Why am I being blamed? I was just
sitting here, minding my own business!"

"Do not act like you've forgotten the plans we've executed where I had to act
like a statue!" Al accused.

Ed looked at his brother for a moment longer before he snorted. "I never
realized that had such a dramatic effect on your thought processing, Al. I
thought you were strong enough to get passed playing as a statue."

"It's not funny." Al grumbled as he recalled those times where he acted like a
statue for Ed's insane schemes. Unmoving, not talking. It took so much focus
to just stand someplace and not shift his body at all. Why did he always agree
to act like a statue for his brother's insane plans when his brother requested
it? One of these times, he should just put his foot down and say no.

"How can acting like a statue help?" Breda asked amused.

"No one suspects a statue." Ed said with an evil grin. "Idiots I am after can
just walk passed Al while talking so he will hear the information we need. Or
other times the Al statue suddenly comes alive and ambushes the target!" An
evil cackle escaped Ed. "Oh, the shock and fear on their faces when Al moves
is just too great."

Al sighed. "This is what I deal with. His crazy plans."

Van blinked. "I had no idea that Edward would love scaring people so much
in his plans."

"It's a part of him being a demon." Al explained while Ed glared at his dad.
Hohenheim wouldn't know about him at all since he was never around!

Van shook his head. "How cruel." He said amused.

"Well, in that case, I want a statue too then." Catherine replied.

The family laughed as they walked off screen and Armstrong suddenly
came flying onto screen and splashed into the fountain.

Walkers sweatdropped. "Seriously? They are really just chatting casually

about statues when that fight was right behind them? Why are they not
worried at all? They could get hit by someone's flying body if they don't pay
attention!"

Collin snorted. "Flying bodies? Flying bodies are the last thing anyone in the
Armstrong family would be concerned about. The flying body would just
bounce right off them."

"True. Hell, even though Catherine is small and looks normal, she has
monstrous strength as we saw in Yoki's memories of breaking into there."
Brody replied.

Armstrong was shown in the water and in the background, Olivia could
be seen standing by it. She grabbed his ankle and pulled him out of the
fountain before he could recover.

A car appeared on screen as it started to leave the estate.

The estate was shown from a downward angle as the car drove off the
grounds and Armstrong screamed as his sister dragged him back up the
steps to the doors of the mansion.

"General Armstrong seems like a bully in this fight." Ed muttered.

The chandelier from the dining room appeared on screen and down
below a body could be seen flying across the room into a wall from the
thudding sound heard.

A grimacing Armstrong appeared on screen in front of the fireplace.

Armstrong groaned at the pain that spread to every part of his body. It felt
like he was covered in bruises all over his body. His sister really had no
mercy at all. He understood that his sister sent his parents and little sister
away for protection from what Father was planning, but the future him didn't
know that since he didn't know for sure that the Elric brothers got the
message to her about the Homunculi. So to future him, it seemed like she was
being disrespectful, but that didn't mean she had to be so rough in their fight.
He sighed, but really, though he thought that, he expected nothing less from
her. She was really just that merciless and cold. That had been their
relationship ever since the Ishvalan Civil War. She was cold to him and he
was still kind and respectful.

Olivia appeared on screen with her arm stretched out and her sword in
her hand. "And that settles that." She said as she stood up straight. She
slid her sword back into the sheath that appeared on screen.

"A part of me really isn't surprised at this outcome." Ed muttered. He recalled

his training with teacher and then the interactions future him has had with
General Armstrong. Yeah, scary strong women who really didn't need
alchemy to win fights. Though Izumi was an alchemist, she could really hold
her own without it which is why she and General Armstrong were just so
scary. They were just too strong. It was actually amazing that both of them
were so slender and didn't have a lot of muscles, yet could easily defeat some
very strong men with just simple hand-to-hand combat.

Armstrong was shown as he crawled out of the fireplace. Olivia walked

onto screen.

Armstrong's head was shown from behind at an upward angle as Olivia

looked down at him with a hand on her hip. "I'm the rightful successor.
The family belongs to me." She spun around with her coat fluttering
around her legs.

"I can't believe she wore that coat on her shoulders the whole fight and it
didn't fall off." Brosh said shocked. He couldn't believe that Major Armstrong
really lost the fight. It just didn't seem possible. To him, he didn't think
anyone could beat Major Armstrong, especially not as easily as General
Armstrong had. There really were amazing soldiers out there that he didn't
know a lot about.

"A mark of a great fighter to be able to keep a coat on the shoulders during a
fight." Izumi said with a smirk. "It means she didn't make any unnecessary
moves and Major Armstrong wasn't able to attack or make such a move that
required her to move in a way that would cause it to fall."

"Olivia," Armstrong said before his face appeared on screen. "Why have
you become so convivial with the senior officers?"

Olivia appeared on screen with her brother seen in the background

glaring at her.

"How can you?" Armstrong demanded. "The senior staff is–"

Olivia looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "I can determine their
complicity with my own eyes."

Armstrong appeared on screen. "And what have your eyes seen?"

"That they are completely insane with their ideas of an immortal army."
Mustang growled.

"What do they even need an army for? They are planning to destroy the
country and only leave themselves alive." Liran said with a frown.

"Well, duh, the immortal army is there to protect them and to help them
conquer other countries so they can do the same thing again!" Ed growled
angrily.

"Considering what Homunculus's plan is this time, I'm not sure if he would
do it again unless he needed another Philosopher's Stone in a few hundred
years to sustain his life again." Van replied.

"He would do this all over again just so he could continue to live?" Scar
growled. Father was nothing but a monster if that was the case. He had
absolutely no value for any lives except his own. A monster like that who
would destroy lives so easily to continue on in this world needed to be ridded
from it.
"Have you exiled Mother and Father to a foreign land so they can't be
taken hostage?"

Olivia's lips appeared on screen as they turned upward and dramatic

music started to play. She began to walk out of the room. "Get out, loser.
You'll stink up my mansion with your cowardice."

Armstrong appeared on screen, staring at his sister's retreating back.

"That seems like a logical reason for why you would tell them to leave the
country." Scar said. If he had family left, he would likely do the same thing to
protect them. His mother he would definitely want to escape, but he didn't
believe he could convince his brother to leave so easily. If he was alive, he
was sure he would want to help anyway he could, even though he wasn't a
fighter. It was hard to say if he would even be involved in this if they were
still alive, but he believed he would be, just because he could not allow such
traitorous people to continue to exist to cause more genocides. He did not
want to see what happened to his people happen again. It caused too much
rage and pain for those who survived.

"I do not want to be put in the same spot as Fullmetal and his brother or that
Flame idiot." General Armstrong replied. "I do not know how long I will be
involved with the senior staff, but I do not want my family around if it is
discovered I am spying. It will leave them all in a highly dangerous position."

Mustang's brow twitched in annoyance. General Armstrong really insulted

him at any instance she could. Besides them both aiming to be Fuhrer, he
didn't understand her intense dislike of him. He saw absolutely no need for it.
He would claim she just didn't like State Alchemists, but then she liked Ed so
that couldn't be the reason. Unless Hughes was right and she just liked
Fullmetal because he made it a goal to annoy him.

"Good idea. It is a horrible spot to be in, for both the hostage and yourself."
Al replied. He looked over at Ed. "We should try to see if we can avoid it
when we get out of here."

Ed's eyes narrowed as he thought. "I like the thought, but I imagine that when
we get out of here, things are going to be very hard, despite the fact that we'll
know everything."

"Sometimes knowing everything like this can make the situation harder."
Hughes agreed.

Train wheels appeared on screen as steam blasted out of the train. The
steam filled up the screen before the train was shown from the front and
a sign that said Youswell was seen.

"Oh, look, it's the city of Youswell!" Ed grinned. "Good times there."

"You don't even remember them." Havoc pointed out.

"Must have been one hell of a party then." Ed replied sarcastically, still with a
wide grin.

"Brother, let's just stop thinking about Youswell." Al said tiredly. "It was just
a night of getting drunk, unless you were me or Kyle."

"Kyle?" Ling asked confused.

"The innkeeper's son." Al explained.

"Why was I the one drinking and not their son?" Ed muttered.

"Because you're a State Alchemist that saved their town so they felt you
should get a drink, despite the whole being underage thing." Breda replied
sarcastically. "I know you get a lot of privileges being a State Alchemist, but
there should still be some restrictions for underage State Alchemists."

"Well, no guidelines were ever set up since it was never expected to actually
happen and when it did, we assumed it would never happen again and that
keeping control of Edward was Colonel Mustang's responsibility." Riza
pointed out.

"Keeping control? What? Am I an unruly child now?" Ed asked.

"You've always been unruly. That still hasn't changed." Al replied.

General Armstrong frowned. "Considering some of Fullmetal's reckless
actions, I can see that you have done a horrible job of keeping control of
him."

Mustang frowned. "It's not easy to do when he is traveling all over the
country. I can't just order a soldier to follow him from the shadows forever."

Ed raised a brow. "Didn't you do that in the beginning?" He looked at his

brother with a frown. "I could have sword we were being followed at some
point the first few months I was a State Alchemist."

Mustang stared at his subordinate for a moment before slowly looking away.
"Only in the beginning until I was assured you and Al could take care of
yourselves."

"Thanks for the clarification." Ed replied. At least now he knew for sure since
he wasn't so sure in the beginning. When it first happened and before he
realized it was soldier, he was a bit freaked out at the always being watched
feeling so he was kind of glad that Al didn't sleep back then and could watch
over him while he did. He always felt bad about that thought since Al
shouldn't have to be in that body and only able to watch Ed sleep. But when
he did realize it was a soldier, he stopped being so freaked out, but then he
started to wonder why a soldier was following him since it was annoying. He
never figured out, but he thought it had something to do with the Colonel,
and now he knew for sure which was one random mystery he could cross off
his list.

The town was shown with some of the townspeople walking around. May
was shown, looking down as she carried a jar with a purple scarf tied
around it with Xiao-Mei on her shoulder.

The jar was shown to show Envy inside of it, looking up at May.

The town was shown from a downward angle to show May walking
towards a group of mineworkers going in the opposite direction as they
talked and laughed. The mineworkers were shown from behind with
May in front of them.
"And where are you heading, young lady?" Halling asked.

"Hey, it's Halling." Al said, a smile in his voice.

"Halling?" Ed thought for a moment. "The guy we put in charge of Youswell

after we swindled Yoki out of the deed? That guy was Halling, right?"

Al sighed. "Yes, Brother. Please remember your facts and stop asking
everything about Youswell like a question." He said this before bowing his
head. He was starting to think Youswell was a lost cause on his brother if he
couldn't even remember the names.

"Yeah, yeah." Ed grumbled.

May was shown from behind with Halling and his friends in front of her.

"You're walking straight towards the edge of town." Halling told her.

"They seem a lot happier than the last time we were there." Al said happily.
He was glad that they were able to stay happy after what his brother did to
help them. Sure he assisted his brother, but Ed really was the one to figure
out how to save that town. He would gladly say that since his brother did
some illegal acts in his plan. He would never rat his brother out for what he
did, but he would still only claim to be an accomplice if it ever came out. It
wasn't because he wanted his brother in trouble, he just didn't want dragged
into the lecture Mustang would give him if he knew of all the things his
brother did that kind of broke the law. And it wasn't only in Youswell.
Luckily, nothing else his brother did came up….except for the drinking…and
the stealing of a car and driving underage…. Even State Alchemists weren't
above the law, and yet his brother did so much and he never got caught.

"Really? I wouldn't recall." Ed replied.

"Yes, Brother, I do realize that." Al replied. Youswell was just so completely

and utterly lost on his brother. They did good there by getting that corrupt
Yoki out of there and making Halling in charge of the town, but his brother
just had to go get drunk and forget it all. Really, he was actually usually more
responsible than that. And by that he meant, his brother never drank. One,
because he was underage. And two, because it wasn't good for the body.

"And there's nothing but desert for hundreds of miles."

May appeared on screen. "Well, I…I'm traveling back to my own

country."

"Oh yeah?" Halling asked.

"Yes, I'm from Xing." May admitted. She was shown from behind.

Halling pointed over his shoulder. "Across the desert?"

May nodded and Kyle ran onto the screen to look at her.

"Wait, you mean you're going to cross the desert all by yourself?" Kyle
asked.

May nodded. "Yeah."

The mineworkers were shown from behind as they made surprised

sounds.

Halling turned around to face them. "Alright, everyone." He raised a

hand.

May appeared on screen.

"Let's help her out." Halling said, surprising May. "Hand over any extra
food."

"You don't need to…" May started.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Kyle said before May was shown from
behind with the workers and the few women around standing in front of
her.

"That is so sweet of them to want to give her food to help her." Izumi said
with a gentle smile.
"Those people have always been great people….until Brother told them he
was a State Alchemist." Al muttered.

"I remember that much. It was before the whole getting drunk fiasco." Ed
grumbled. "Kicking me out of the blasted inn. Well, I don't care. I don't want
to stay at a place that charges 200,000 cens for one night."

"You realize they charged that much because Yoki overcharged them on
taxes, right? I doubt it would cost you that much now." Al pointed out. "They
might even let you stay for free now since you've helped them."

Ed scoffed. "They should do that unless they want me to turn them in for
giving alcohol to a miner."

"We already know." Mustang pointed out.

"Yes, but since you weren't there and I never filed a report, there's nothing
you can do." Ed retorted.

Al sighed. "Brother, you can't be serious about taking advantage of that fact.
Do you want to give yourself a bad image?"

"I already have a bad image…according to my enemies and anyone who

hates the military." Ed grumbled. He looked over at Scar. "Right, Scar?"

"You don't make it bad with people who actually like you. Honestly, how do
you make any good allies and contacts around the country with an attitude
like that?" Al muttered. "And don't bring Scar into this!"

Ed shrugged while Scar just blinked before turning his attention away from
the brothers. Ed was right. He did see Ed as having a bad image just because
he was a State Alchemist. But that was before. His beliefs were changing as
he watched the happenings of the future. Seeing this from the soldiers' point
of view was helping him to realize that the beliefs he had were wrong. Not all
State Alchemists were bad or at fault for what happened.

"Why don't you leave tomorrow? Stay the night and get some good rest."
A woman suggested as gentle music began to play.
"Take them up on that offer. The beds are very comfy there." Ed said.

"I can't get your feel for Youswell, Edward." May said with a sigh. "You
keep going back and forth about Youswell with your comments. Talking
about blackmail then talking about comfy beds."

"Pricy and there really isn't anything there to do as a tourist since it is just a
mining town, but the people are nice and the beds are amazingly comfy." Ed
replied with a grin. "And the food. The food is really good too."

"You were there for work, not to be a tourist." Mustang snapped.

Ed waved him off. "All work and no play is boring, Colonel. You get too
stressed if all you do is work."

"You say that, but it seems like all you ever do is work." Hughes mumbled.
"Or drive my soldiers insane by dragging them all over the city."

"And that is fun." Ed said with a wicked grin while Ross and Brosh groaned
at the reminder.

Hughes rubbed his chin. "I see. You get your enjoyment out of torturing my
soldiers."

"Not just yours. Any soldiers in general." Ed said as if that made everything
better, which it clearly didn't as the soldiers from the East and Central shot
him annoyed looks. That was why he did some of the crazy things he did? He
was screwing around with their minds?

"Damn it, Chief. Have some mercy." Havoc grumbled.

Al sighed. He would normally apologize for his brother…but…he was no

better sometimes. He wasn't as bad as his brother at messing around and
causing the soldiers to lose a bit of their sanity, but he still did it at times.
Well, it wasn't his fault. He was just badly influenced by Ed and Izumi.

Izumi leaned back into her seat with a smirk. She was so proud of hearing her
ex-students make things difficult for the soldiers. She taught them well.
The scene changed to show another woman and some other workers.
"You're more than welcome to use our bath." The woman said.

"We can make you some dinner." A mineworker said.

May appeared on screen.

"What about you, Steve? You've got some empty rooms now. Why don't
you put her up?"

"Yeah, sure thing." Steve replied. "She'll be nice and comfy in Emmy's
old room."

The jar appeared on screen to show Envy from behind.

"Did Emmy already leave for college in Central? I guess the apple falls
pretty far from the tree after all."

Xiao-Mei appeared on screen as a hand plucked her off May's shoulder.

"I guess so."

May looked down as she listened to the people of Youswell talk. They
sounded so kind and sweet. They didn't even know her and yet they were so
willing to help her. They wanted to give her food and a place to rest before
she began her long trek across the desert. Just like in Xing, these people were
so kind and helpful. They were humans and here future her was preparing to
leave with Envy and his stone just so she could earn the rightful place as
Empress in Xing. It was just too selfish of her. Amestris wasn't her country so
she shouldn't care what happened to it with the Homunculi and their plan, but
just knowing that future her was planning to leave them and not help made
her feel horrible. It felt too selfish and wrong and like she was abandoning
these people and all her new friends to their deaths. Maybe she wouldn't be
able to help much even if she did decide to stay or maybe she could make
things worse or there was the chance that she could help save them or keep
them alive with her Alkahestry. She couldn't know the outcome of what
would happen if she stayed unless she actually did it. But she did know that if
she left now, she would live constantly with the regrets of the what ifs,
especially if they failed in saving their country.

May was shown from behind as the woman who picked up Xiao-Mei
held her as she made some cries "We'll have to feed your adorable little
kitty too." She looked at May. "Oh, she's certainly hungry."

"I get the feeling that she thinks you're her food." A mineworker said as
May was shown from the side as she looked down.

"Oh, gosh, don't be silly."

"Uh, no, I am pretty sure he is right. Because that is just how Xiao-Mei's food
pyramid goes." Ed said sarcastically. "So high and mighty for a tiny panda
bear."

"Says the shrimp State Alchemist." Mustang mocked.

"I'M NOT SHORT, COLONEL BASTARD!" Ed screamed as he grabbed a

pillow and whacked his boss with it a few times in aggravation. He came to
bring his pillow down on Mustang again, but paused for a moment and
thought. His pillow hung in the air above Mustang who had an arm up to
block the pillow. "High and mighty?" He muttered to himself. "I don't act all
high and mighty!"

"Weren't you acting showy and like a big shot to draw me out in your plan to
draw out the Homunculi?" Scar asked.

Ed shot him an annoyed look. "That was completely different!"

Mustang took Ed's distraction as a moment to steal the pillow he left hovering
there. He then used the pillow as a weapon and slammed it into Ed's stomach,
sending the surprised teen flying back into his pile of pillows. "And so you
know," Mustang held up the pillow he just used. "I'm keeping it." He put the
pillow on his lap then put Ed's notes on top of it before going back to work on
them.

Ed raised a finger into the air from where he was lying in the pillows. "Back
to my point, that plan was all an act so it does not count."
"Brother, please, you are no saint so not every time you've acted high and
mighty was an act. Some of it really was arrogance." Al scolded.

Ed scoffed and sat up. "Everyone has moments of arrogance." He muttered as

he ran a hand through his messy bangs. "No one is saintly enough to not have
moments like that."

"Really? You can't name one person who is a complete saint?" Hughes asked.

Ed scoffed. "If you are trying to get me to say you're one, you are going to
wait an eternally because it will never happen. Humans all have faults so no
one is a saint."

"That is cynical of you." Havoc replied. "Though the cynical way tends to be
the true path in quite a few instances." He scowled as recalled Lust dating
him to get information. They really couldn't be so trustful of people they
didn't know. Anyone could be someone trying to trick them to get
information. They really had to be more careful. The only good thing is that
future him admitted that he didn't tell Lust anything. It was all thanks to his
training and experience that he didn't screw up and let her know something
that would be considered betraying his boss.

"You don't eat people, do you, kitty?"

May bit her lip as tears started to fill up her eyes.

"What? Why are you crying? They were being nice!" Al said frantically.
"Please don't cry!"

May chuckled a bit. It wasn't like she was crying right now. It was future her,
but to be honest, she did feel the need to cry a bit. Her heart was clenching so
much in pain. Heartache from the idea of abandoning these people to a
demise that they didn't know was coming. Heartache at having left Alphonse
and the others behind for her own needs. Everyone she left behind gave her
accepting smiles that told her they didn't mind that she was leaving. She
didn't have to fight for a country that wasn't her own, but really, that just
made her feel worse. They were so kind to let her leave with Envy to go
home and save her clam, and it left her full of this feeling called guilt and
abandonment. Could she really desert them all like this? It didn't feel right
and she felt like if she went home and told her mom what happened in
Amestris, she would be disappointed in her daughter for running and leaving
behind people to die, even if it was to get home quickly to save the clan. If
she could abandon a whole country just to save her clan that wouldn't die in a
massacre, then how could she be empress to a country and look over all its
people?

"Why are you crying?" Izumi asked.

"At their kindness." May replied softly. It would be so much easier to leave
Amestris if the people weren't so kind and helpful to her like they were being.
The way they were acting was showing her their humanity and telling her that
she was leaving them behind for her own needs.

Xiao-Mei cried out again.

"You see," The amused mineworker said as Envy was shown from
behind again. A tear rolled down the outside of the jar as Envy watched.
"She said you look delicious."

The group laughed.

The music that played started to have a sad overtone as more and more
tears ran down the jar.

Envy looked up at May. "They sure are nice, huh?"

May was shown looking down with tears trailing down her face.

"You don't even want to help them?" Envy asked, surprising May. He
was shown from the side as the music stopped playing. "Well, that's
probably for the best." Soft, suspenseful music started to play. "I do
wonder, what's your emperor going to think when you hand over a half-
dead Homunculus?"

"Please tune him out, May. He is trying to play mind games with you to fool
you." Dr. Marcoh said with a frown. "Nothing good ever comes from
listening to Envy. He is a liar, sly, and devious."

"I can attest to that." Ed grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at the
screen. "He said if I got him out of Gluttony, he'd tell me everything, but did
he? No! Stupid little lying lizard. You can't listen to anything that sadistic
bastard says."

"Really, what were you expecting from someone like Envy?" Mikal asked
with a raised brow. "You shouldn't trust anything the enemy says they'll do."

"Future me doesn't understand his character as well I do since I've only met
him like twice. Once in the lab and then that whole incident with Gluttony
and Father." Ed argued. "But I've seen him more here so I can to understand
him better and see his true self by seeing him in all these situations here."

"But those two meetings future you had wasn't enough to teach you?" Scar
asked. He only had to meet him once to hate him, but in that first meeting,
Fullmetal did tell him that Envy started the war in Ishval so it was just a first
instinct to automatically hate him and to never trust him.

Ed shot him an annoyed look. "I learned after we got out of Gluttony." He
looked over at May. "The point here is just don't listen to him. Everything he
says is a trap."

Dr. Marcoh nodded in agreement. "A part of what makes Envy so dangerous
is his hatred of humans and how he sees them as fools. He takes that to his
advantage so you really need to be careful around him."

A frown formed on Ed's face as he thought. Envy's hatred of humans? Why

would he see them as fools? Because we hesitate when we see someone we
love and trust pointing a gun at us? Because we want to help others? Because
we care for our friends and family and want to protect them? Because it
leaves us angry when he dares to use the appearance of someone we love
against us? He called them fools, but there had to be something more to the
hatred that Envy felt for them. Sloth had a lazy attitude. Gluttony constantly
ate. Greed wanted everything. Wrath was full of anger. Pride was arrogant
and prideful. Lust was lascivious and lustful. And since Envy was all about
that little green bug called jealously, it meant that Envy was jealous of
something. But all he talked about was humans and how they were all fools.
He claimed to hate them all the time, but it was humans this and humans that
with him. Was it possible…that Envy was jealous of humans? His constant
complaining and mocking of humans was to cover up that jealously? Could
that really be it? Looking at his personality it was hard to believe that Envy
was jealous of humans, jealous of the friendships and attachments they had.
But maybe his harsh, mocking, cynical personality is what made it true.
When people are jealous, they show this intense hatred for whatever it is they
are jealous of, and when they can't have it, they want to mock and destroy it.
It likes, if they can't have it, then why should anyone else?

Ed's frown deepened the more he thought about it. Was that really it? Did
Envy really desire the friendship, strength, and trust that humans have and
became bitter and jealous when he couldn't have it?

May was shown from the side, tears still in the corner of her eyes as she
stared at Envy.

"I doubt it's going to do your clan much good." The jar was shown with
Envy inside it as he looked up at her. "But you could go to Central. I
mean that's where you can learn the true way to gain immortality."

"And that is a lie, little miss. The only way to become immortal is through the
use of the Philosopher's Stone, which is at the expense of thousands of lives."
Van said with a frown. "And that is a secret that should not be well-known. It
should be buried deep within history's roots so never again can another
greedy fool who is scared of dying can attempt this again."

"It's going to be hard to bury with how many people now know it." Hughes
said before glancing at the people from Xing. "And the fact that some people
from Xing know it and will take it back to Xing with them."

"Yes, I would take it back, but I would not let this information go beyond the
Emperor's ears." Ling spoke up with a frown. A way to kill thousands of
people and gain immortality from it? It was something he could never
condone, something he would never let anyone know about it. "I especially
wouldn't let the common people know. That definitely wouldn't let such a
secret be buried."
"It would likely just cause it to spread to all of Xing, and then it would spread
to other countries as the people of Xing travel to them or people travel to
Xing and they spread rumors. And soon, it would be known worldwide that if
you want immortality, just sacrifice your whole country." Ed mumbled. His
frown from thinking about Envy deepened as he thought about the horror of
the truth of Philosopher's Stone being learned. The Stone was better left as a
myth among alchemists. A myth where the truth of it could never be found
again. "With how many greedy and selfish people there are in the world, I
would imagine it would cause the extinction of all known life on Earth."

"Only it would be a lot harder for common people to do it since something

like this takes a lot of time to prepare and they would have no Homunculi to
help them prepare it or guard the transmutation circle." Van replied, though it
caused Ed to scowl and turn his head away.

"Couldn't it been done on a smaller scale? Like just a town at a time?" Al

suggested.

"Yes, doing so would give the person who did it immortality, but it wouldn't
last as long as mine since it wouldn't be as many as people. He would have to
continue moving from town to town and setting up a transmutation circle
which would be very time consuming and tedious." Van explained.

"Would make more sense to make a transmutation circle inside the town
somewhere and just lure people there to make the stone." Ed mumbled.
"Better than having to make so many giant transmutation circles."

Ling raised a brow. "If we stay on this topic, I'm going to think your family is
planning something, Ed."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I'm so sure. Sorry, but I really don't have a desire for
immortality like you."

"I don't really desire it. I only want it so I can show it to my emperor so I can
become the heir." Ling retorted.

"So you desire it for your own greedy reasons." Ed replied.

"I do desire it for a purpose, but I would not want to be immortal forever. I
imagine it would be a very lonely existence if I had to watch everyone I loved
and cared for to grow old and die while I was forced to remain here forever."
Ling told his friend.

Ed turned to look at Ling with a thoughtful expression. A lonely existence?

To wonder through life without being able to die and to watch friends die
would be a very hard existence. Seeing his mother die was hard enough and
then losing Hughes in the future was difficult. With how hard all of that was,
he didn't think he could live forever and watch his friends go one by one, and
then having to live through centuries of it. And this is what Hohenheim had
to deal with for four hundred years? He lived with this for centuries, but
earlier they saw a part that said he didn't want to live with it anymore. He
didn't want to see his sons grow old and die before him. Hohenheim didn't
want to be immortal like he was. He wanted to be able to grow old and die
before his sons. But how was abandoning his family in Resembool and not
returning for ten years supposed to relate to that? It seemed he left for a
reason, but he never explained why!

He looked out of the corner of his eyes. "You could even help save all
these people's lives." He turned away and laid down. "Oh well, why
should you care whether they live or die anyway? It's not like it's your
country or anything."

'We're all human though.' May thought with a frown. She looked over at the
soldiers, then at Izumi. Her gaze drifted to Van, and then to his sons. Finally,
she looked at Ling and his bodyguards. Yes, whether they are Xingese or
Amestrian, they were human. The country they were from didn't matter. They
were horrible people in every country, but with that, every country had
immensely kind and helpful people. Humans can't be judged on what country
they are from. It was completely stereotypical to claim all people from the
same country were the same. The origin didn't matter. What mattered was
that they were human and they are all fighting for their lives. Just because she
wasn't from the same country as the Amestrians didn't mean she couldn't care
about them.

May was shown from the side, showing surprise before it morphed into
determination as she looked back up at the townsfolk. She was shown
from behind as she looked around at them. Xiao-Mei escaped from the
woman's hands and landed back on May's shoulder as slow suspenseful
dramatic music started to play. May looked down with a frown and
stubbornness and determination shining in her eyes.

May was shown from behind in front of the group as she bowed. "I'm
sorry. Thank you so much for your kindness." She then spun around
and ran back into the direction she came from, surprising the group.

"Wait, where are you going?" The woman asked.

May was shown as she ran down the street. "I've got to get back to
Central! I've got some unfinished business!"

"Don't go back!" Brody groaned. "Going back gives Envy a chance to come
back. If you take him out of the country, there is no way he can regain
power."

"Envy can't get out of the jar, so as long I can keep him in the jar, it will be
fine." May replied.

"Unless one of the other Homunculi attacks you to get him back." Al pointed
out. "You have to be careful for that."

May frowned. "Maybe, but I'm not sure if they are that loyal to one another. I
know they were upset when Colonel Mustang killed Lust and Gluttony
wanted revenge, but would they really go out of their way to save one
another? They only sent Envy to rescue Gluttony so he wouldn't tell us
anything or do anything reckless. And they seem to have more of a tendency
to attack one another, or at least Greed and Wrath do."

"True, but anything can happen. Homunculi can be very unpredictable at

times." Hughes replied with a dark scowl. He really didn't want Envy around.
His death was hard, but he knew Roy was still hunting down his killer, even
if it wasn't focused on anymore. He didn't want his friend to learn Envy was
his killer, and now here was May taking Envy back to Central was allowing a
possible chance meeting to occur. "Especially Envy. It really might be safest
and best to get him out of Amestris. Do you really believe there is another
true way to achieve immortality besides the Philosopher's Stone?"

May frowned. Her future self? She wasn't sure since she wasn't sure of
everything that she had been told in the future. She was sure there was more
discussed than what was shown. Only the really important parts were shown
it seemed….minus the moments of just complete ridiculousness that they all
had in the future. But future her might believe there to be another way to get
immortality, but right now she didn't think that was just it. She was going
back to face the evils in Central to find a full Philosopher's Stone and because
she truly did want to help. She didn't care that it wasn't her country. She
couldn't let Father and his Homunculi just do what they want and toy with
people's lives. "There are other reasons why I'm rushing back, Mr. Hughes."

A satisfied Envy appeared on screen. 'Heh, idiot. I'm gonna stuff you in a
jar once we get to Central.'

Youswell was shown from a downward angle.

'I just need a Philosopher's Stone. After that I'll be whole again. Just wait
til I get a stone.' Envy thought.

"Let's make sure that doesn't happen. I don't want to deal with him again."
Jerso said with a frown. Fighting Envy once in his big lizard form was more
than enough for him. They didn't need the Homunculi they already defeated
coming back and getting in the way again.

"Who would? We're supposed to be getting rid of the Homunculi, not helping
them recover to get in the way again." Avery growled.

May flinched a bit. She really wasn't trying to help Envy. Some might see it
as being tricked by Envy into going back to Central, but she honestly
believed that future her was debating by herself of whether or not to go back
and he just gave her the final push that she needed.

The scene went dark for a second before reopening up on a night sky
with a full moon in it and crickets chirping in the background. The scene
moved down to a hill where three figures could be seen walking up it in
the distance with a car seen hidden in some bushes.
Ed, Darius, and Heinkel were shown up close.

"Well, wherever you decided to go, it's definitely not Liore." Al said before
sighing. "Not that I'm surprised. You hate the desert, and now more than ever
you probably want to avoid Liore because you don't want to face Rose and
Winry together."

"What?" Ed shot his brother a glare. Now even his little brother was going to
tease him about this? What was wrong with him being friends with Rose?
And Rose and Winry were not the issue here!

"Oooh, good point, Alphonse." Hughes replied with a sly smirk and an evil
glint in his eyes. "Ed doesn't know which one to choose and now that they are
together they may try to double team him to get him to choose and he doesn't
know which one to pick so he purposely went where you are not."

Ed grabbed a pillow, stood up, and marched over to Hughes where he started
to repeatedly hit the soldier with it to relieve himself of all his frustrations
with the man and his damn teasing about falling in love and getting a wife!
He would fall in love and get married at his own pace, and no one else would
get a say in any of it! "That. Is. Not. It. HUGHES!" With each word, he made
sure to hit the laughing man extra hard with the pillow. Just for a bit more
emphasis, Ed hit him one last time before going back to his seat.

"So you're saying you're not avoiding finding me because of Winry and
Rose?" Al asked and was rewarded with a pillow to his face.

"They have nothing to do with this." Ed growled.

Al snickered. "Whatever you say, Brother."

Ed's eyes narrowed. Was that a mocking tone he just heard?!

The group was shown from behind as they reached the destroyed house
on the edge of Central.

"Where are we?" Darius asked.

"You went back there? Wasn't that place compromised by the Homunculi?"
Mikal said with a frown.

"When we actually used it, but I don't think they would expect us to go back.
And besides, is there really anywhere safe? Pride's shadow can follow us if
he knows where we are and then Gluttony's freaking sense of smell that can
track us." Ed grumbled to himself. "He's like an advanced version of the K-9
units. It really is unfair."

"Which is why you shouldn't go there. It's too close to Central and can give
Gluttony a trail to latch onto." Miles pointed out.

Ed shrugged. "I am trying to find Al!"

"And failing greatly." Al muttered.

"You, quiet." Ed ordered.

Darius snorted. "He just doesn't like hearing the truth that he failed in
thinking like his brother."

"No one asked for your opinion, Mr. Gorilla." Ed snapped.

"Damn it, kid. The name is Darius!" Darius snapped. "What about I start
calling you short stuff?"

Ed's brow twitched and a very dark, deadly aura wrapped around his form.
"Short stuff?" He hissed.

Heinkel, Jerso, and Zampano started to scoot away from Darius.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SHORT STUFF?!" Ed screeched

as he flew to his feet and started to throw pillow after pillow at Darius.
"YOU'RE JUST FREAKISHLY TALL, YOU BIG OAF!"

"Nooo!" Ling cried as he tackled Ed into the pile of pillows. "Not the
pillows! Don't give the pillows away like that, Edo!"

Brow twitching violently, Ed kicked his leg out backwards and it slammed
into Ling's stomach. "Don't tackle me, idiot prince." He pushed himself up
into a sitting position and turned to glare at Ling who was sitting in his pillow
pile, rubbing his stomach.

"Did you have to kick me with your automail?" Ling grumbled. "I'm going to
be all black and blue by the end of this."

"Hitting you has just become instinct." Ed said with a frown. "And I don't
even think about which leg I kick with. I just react because usually people
attacking me are enemies and I want to hurt them." He glared at Ling. "And
get out of my pile of pillows. It's mine."

Ling snorted. "You were wasting them by giving them to Darius when you
were throwing them."

Ed's dark aura returned as he slowly turned his head to glare at Darius. His
anger just intensified when he saw his pillows with Darius. His blinded rage
caused him to lose his pillows to the enemy! That could not happen!

"We've used this place as a hideout before." Ed explained.

The group was shown from the front.

"And you're positive that your brother's here?" Heinkel asked.

Ed turned to look at him with a smirk. "Oh yeah. I know Al better than
he knows himself." His hand curled into a fist as he looked back at the
destroyed house. "This is the only place he would be."

"And you sound so sure of yourself." Aran mocked with a smirk.

Ed picked up a pillow and threw it at him. "Oh shut up. Amestris is a big
place. For all I know Al could have went to West City to see Lillian."

"Lillian? Lillian? And who is this Lillian?" May asked as a dark aura started
to wrap around her.

Lan Fan sighed. What was with everyone developing dark auras full of anger
in here? It was starting to become way too common.
"Oh just a girl we helped in West City and she helped us quite a bit on our
mission there with the information she was able to give us. Al had such a
sweet, cute crush on her and it really showed with how hard he worked to
protect her." Ed said with a wicked grin towards his little brother who was
beginning to look frantic as the dark, death-filled aura of May intensified. He
looked at his little brother and mouthed, "Payback."

Al groaned. His brother was just too cruel at times.

"Alphonse!" May cried. "How could you cheat on me with this Lillian? I
thought what we had was special!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Al cried frantically, shaking his hands in front of him.
"Nothing happened between Lillian…and…me…Wait, what we had? Since
when was there anything going on between us?"

May stared at him for a moment before she glared viciously at him. "And
now you dare to deny what we had?"

"What fantasy world are you living in?!" Al shouted as he threw his arms into
the air in disbelief. He knew May had a lot of fantasies, but why did she have
to keep bringing love into it?

"Man, I wish I had some popcorn." Ed said with a very satisfied grin as he
leaned back into his pillows.

Suddenly a bowl filled with popcorn was held out to him. He looked over to
see Ling grinning at him. "Lan Fan prepared some."

Ed blinked for a moment before looking over at Lan Fan, who gave him a
smile. "She is always prepared, huh?" He asked as he looked back at Ling.
His hand dived into the bowl so he could gladly take some popcorn and
tossed the pieces into the air so he could catch them in his mouth.

Ling popped a piece in his mouth as he nodded towards May and Al. "That
was nicely done."

Ed gave an evil smirk. "Al should really remember that we have been
together for fourteen years. I have a lot I can dish out that can make May turn
on him in an instance."

Hughes stared blankly at Ed and Ling then over at the arguing May and Al
then back to Ed and Ling before he finally looked over at Roy. "What is
this?" He muttered as he pointed at the two oldest teenagers.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be the expert on kids, Mr.
Father-of-the-Year? This is the pure great evil that is the Fullmetal
Alchemist."

"But to eat popcorn and enjoy it this much?" Hughes muttered. "They are
destroying relationships!"

Riza sighed. "Sir, there was nothing going on between Al and May."

"Yet!" Hughes stressed at her. "If Ed works on destroying them now before
anything happens, it will never happen! And if it never happens, then Al will
never get married and he will never end up happy! He'll be miserable
forever!"

Riza sweat dropped. She was sure that Al would not be alone forever. He was
a very sweet, kind and gentle boy. Even if he didn't end up with May, she was
sure he would find someone to be with that would make him happy. He was
still young so he had a lot of time to find a girl to fall in love with and marry.

"Fantasy?" May screeched. "Is that how you see my love for you?!"

"When did we transition from crush to love?" Al wailed in a panic. He wasn't

ready for love! He was too young for that! He needed more time to mentally
prepare! Wait…who cared about love? Sure, he wanted to fall in love one
day, but not necessarily with May!

"It has always been love, my dear Alphonse!" May suddenly had hearts in her
eyes and a silly grin on her face.

Al blinked before he smacked his forehead.

May's happiness suddenly turned dark. "But then I learn of this Lillian girl
and her special place in your heart! How can you cheat like that? Were you
just using me so I would teach you Alkahestry?!"

Al blinked. "That was future me….You haven't taught me anything yet."

"And now I won't, you cheater!" May cried.

"I never cheated!" Al said frantically. He couldn't lose his Alkahestry teacher
who has yet to teach him anything yet! "Lillian was just a friend. I haven't
seen her in a year! And I don't plan to."

"Until you get your body back and want to head west to try the amazing food
they have." Ed piped up.

Al shot him a betrayed look. "Quiet, Ed."

Ed snickered and tossed some more popcorn in his mouth.

Ling's hand dived into the bowl and grabbed a handful of popcorn. He
grinned. "And here I thought Ed was the playboy."

Ed shot him a glare. "A playboy? I don't go around picking up girls like
Colonel."

"Oh," Mustang groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Please don't drag me into this,
Fullmetal."

"Now, now, Edward, please stop teasing your brother and upsetting May."
Van scolded softly before turning to May. "Don't listen to anything Edward is
saying. He is just teasing you two and trying to rile you up for fun. Al would
never cheat on a girl, especially on one as sweet and kind as you."

Ed rolled his eyes. Now Hohenheim thought he could scold him? He's been
gone for ten years. The right to be a father to him was long gone. He didn't
need a parent anymore.

May suddenly lit up with new found joy. To her it sounded like Van accepted
her as Al's girlfriend. He wouldn't mind having her as part of the family and
that just put her on cloud nine. She was so blissfully happy that she just
completely forgot the name Lillian and what she meant to Al.

Al shot his highly amused brother and his best friend annoyed looks as they
continued to enjoy their popcorn. Really, they were enjoying his misery at
having May pointlessly yell at him too much. Is this what it was like for his
brother when Winry was screaming at him? Now he felt bad for the quiet
amusement he got from watching his brother and Winry argued if it was
anything like this.

The inside of the shack was shown as a hand held up a lantern.

"Hey," Darius said. The group was shown as Darius slammed his fist into
the back of Ed's head. "There's nobody here."

"Ow!" Ed cried as he grabbed the back of his head. "That doesn't mean you
can go around hitting me in the head!"

"Sure it does. You made us go all the way from the north to Central to find
your brother and no one is there!" Darius snapped.

"What does it matter if we traveled there and didn't find Al? Besides it
putting me off since I still don't know where he is and I now have no way of
meeting up with him and planning for the coming disaster." Ed mumbled the
last part to himself before saying louder, "It's not like we can stay anywhere
for a long period of time since we're on the run. We have to constantly move
around so who cares if it took a long time. Those long times of traveling are
going to exist."

Heinkel sighed. "Why did we join up with him again?"

"The annoying instincts that scream loyalty." Darius grumbled as he crossed

his arms. He looked at the pillows Ed threw at him and toyed with the idea of
throwing one of them at the back of the kid's head. "He's more loyal than
Kimblee so we return that loyalty one hundred percent."

Jerso chuckled. "You two make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"You got stuck with the kind one. We got stuck with the loud, reckless one."
Darius grumbled.

Zampano laughed. "It's fits for you two. You guys would be better at reigning
him in and keeping him from being found than we would."

"How so?" Heinkel asked.

"You certainly have no problem hitting him when he says or does something
stupid." Jerso pointed out.

"Good point. You two wouldn't hit him." Darius replied with a frown.

"Which is why we it is good we ended up traveling with the brother with the
most sense." Jerso replied.

"You just don't want to deal with the headaches." Darius mumbled.

Heinkel was shown close up with Darius and Ed in the background. Ed

stood up straight and rubbed his aching head.

"Yeah, you really know your brother." Darius mocked.

"We busted our tails for hundreds of miles for an empty house." Heinkel
said. He suddenly turned and his nose was shown up close as he sniffed.
He turned his back towards the wall and got down on one knee as he
pulled his gun out and pointed it at the hole in the adjacent wall.

"Great, someone really is coming." Heinkel growled. "We better not have
went all the way to Central on your order just to get caught by the
Homunculi."

Ed shrugged. "Who knows? But I have to say, you and Darius can really
come in handy with your enhanced senses."

"We're so glad that us being human chimeras is so helpful for you." Darius
said sarcastically.

"I know you don't want your bodies like that, but you've never once thought
they were handy?" Aran asked curiously.
Darius and Heinkel shared a look before shrugging.

"We could say they were handy when Kimblee brought the mineshaft down
on us and we got buried under all the rumble, but if it wasn't for these bodies,
we would never have been there to get in that situation in the first place."
Heinkel replied.

"I think it is best to not think in terms of what ifs." Izumi replied with a
frown. "What ifs only leave you wondering how things could have been, and
that means living in the past and coming up with a different path that you
could have gone down in your mind. It's best not to think of them and instead
to live in the present."

Heinkel frowned as he thought about that. He found that he didn't disagree

with that. When he first got this body, he kept wondering about how things
could have been different if he wasn't experimented on. He would spend
hours just thinking how he could have prevented it from happening or how
having this body would destroy his life in the future, how it would prevent it
from one day having a wife and a kid. It wasn't healthy to constantly be
thinking about all of that. The best thing to do was to take it day by day. All
the thoughts of the what ifs like that was just a way to destroy someone,
because instead of living with life and going on, they would slowly be
destroying themselves as they wallowed in the thoughts of how things could
have been in the past or could be in the future without really going out and
seeing with their eyes and experiences how it truly will be.

Ed spun around to turn his back to the wall and got down on one knee
while Darius moved to hide behind the wall. The lantern was shown up
close as Darius turned it off.

A pair of feet appeared on screen as they walked towards the house.

Ed was shown, frowning as he waited in anticipation.

Footsteps were heard until a shadow fell over Ed and he looked up in

surprise. The person stopped right outside where Ed was kneeling and
his hand that had an Ouroboros tattoo on it was seen. He fell to his knees
before falling forward and hitting the ground.
Ling was shown lying facedown on the ground as Ed crawled over a bit
to look at him.

"Hey it's Greed…or is it Ling? Which one is it? I can't imagine Greed
collapsing like that since his injuries all heal." Luke said.

"Who cares about that right now?" Ling replied amused as he turned to his
friend with a smirk. "I think you accidentally picked up my wavelengths and
not your brother's."

"You and Ed don't have best friend telepathy." Hughes argued.

Ling raised a brow and motioned to the screen. "The future disagrees with
you. Ed came to the shack thinking it was his brother's telepathy wave
patterns he was picking up on, but it was really mine."

"When Ed made the decision to head down there, it was long before Greed
and Wrath got in that fight and then Greed ran here." Hughes retorted, glaring
at his 'enemy.'

"Hmm? I was probably sending out my wavelengths to contact Ed because

we need to talk so we needed to meet up. I would break free of Greed's hold
long enough to get him the message!" Ling declared.

"What message? What could we possibly have to talk about?" Ed grumbled.

"I have nothing to say to you except that you are still an idiot."

"And you're still as rude as ever." Ling sighed. "Really, Ed, I am trying to get
everyone to understand just why we are meant to be best friends forever."

Ed threw a pillow into his face when it seemed like he was about to start
sparkling after he said that. Dealing with Major Armstrong's blinding and
choking sparkles was enough for him.

"You need to convince everyone that you two are meant to be best friends?"
Van asked amused. "As best friends, should you really care what others
think?"

Ling laughed. "No, but their accepting of our best status would be nice."
Ed smacked his forehead. What the hell was this? Since when did friends
need to be accepted?

Hughes laughed at the deadpanned expression Ed was wearing. He could

imagine that Ling probably wanted them to accept him as Ed's friend and for
them not to reject him and find him a bad person. Along with that, he wanted
to be accepted as a comrade by them and not one of the Elric Brothers. He
had gotten involved in the troubles of Amestris because of his greed for the
Philosopher's Stone so he wanted to help with this now.

"Ling." Ed breathed. "I mean Greed."

A growling stomach was heard.

Ed looked down at his stomach in surprise.

Ling's face appeared on screen. "Hungry. Need…food."

Ling was shown from the side at an upward angle so Ed could be seen
looking down at him with a tired expression that read he was used to
this. Heinkel walked over to them as Darius just stared down at the two.

"No, it's Ling." Ed said.

"You know me so well!" Ling said with a grin.

Ed shot him a glare. "Anyone would know it was you after only having met
you once! You're not that hard to figure out!" He shoved his hand in the bowl
of popcorn and took out a handful, still glaring at Ling as he picked at the
popcorn he took out of the bowl.

"I would hope not. I never tried to hide my intentions from you. From the
moment I met you, I clearly said I was after the Philosopher's Stone." Ling
replied amused as he stole some popcorn from the bowl that was actually his
but Ed took from him.

"Hmm," Ed hummed. "It was a bit strange how truthful you have been from
the start. Some people might try to be more secretive about their goals."
Ling raised a brow. "Why would I be? I have no ill intentions. Everything
I've said has been the truth. It really is for my clan and my country that I am
doing what I am doing."

"Unlike some of the other clan heirs." May piped up. "Some of them would
want the Stone for themselves or they would take the throne just because they
want power."

"It's common in any country. No country has purely one hundred percent
good people." Mustang replied. "Greed always has a way of showing up,
even in the best of people."

"Going from that, we can saw pure rage can show up in the best of people as
well." Hughes added. "As humans, we have all these emotions and people
work to control them so they don't take over our lives, but sometimes a single
emotion can take control of us because a single factor outside our control
became too much for us to handle." He smiled sadly as he thought about
Scar. The genocide filled him with rage and an intense desire for revenge, but
he seemed to be trying to work passed that. But now, it seemed that his friend
might fall down the same path and that worried him. These emotions can be
locked away in us, but that is not always a good thing. Being locked away
only meant it had the chance to grow and become stronger and stronger until
it took over the person's thought process and their control of themselves. It
was how people lost themselves and forget who they are as a person. It was a
scary thing to happen, but it was also scary and painful for friends and family
to see it happen, and all because that person can't find the strength to open up
about what is wrong so instead they let that one emotion just get stronger and
stronger so it takes them over.

That was it. The way people destroy themselves.

The roof of the shack was shown as frantic eating was heard. The scene
moved back a little before the floor of the shack was shown with a bunch
of empty boxes and cans.

Ling laughed. "Oooh," He put down an empty can.

The scene changed angles to show the group. Darius and Heinkel were
standing off the side while Ed was sitting on his legs in front of Ling.

"Well, that did the trick. Thanks, Edward. You're too kind."

"Why? Why is that every time I am with you, you eat like a pig. Look at all
that food gone." Ed groaned.

"You can't complain when you gave it to me." Ling retorted.

"Why did I do that? That was too kind of me after all those food bills you
pushed onto me." Ed growled as he suddenly glared at his friend.

"I haven't done anything of the sort yet." Ling pointed out.

"Keyword there: yet." Ed snarled.

"It's amazing that you're not a giant fat ass." Ed replied.

"Wow, you two are clearly great friends." Clarink snickered.

"Insulting Ling is how this friendship works." Ed replied with a smirk.

"Getting Ed to pay for all my meals is how this friendship works." Ling
added, shooting his friend a smirk. "It's a give and take friendship."

Ed shot his a friend an annoyed glared. "Remember that hole I mentioned you
should dig earlier? Go throw yourself in it and never come out."

Darius shook the bag he was holding. "He ate all of our rations."

Ling looked at him. "Are you going to introduce me to your pals?"

Ed motioned to Darius. "That's Mr. Gorilla."

"My name's Darius." Darius snapped.

"And I'm Heinkel." Heinkel said.

"Damn it, you brat! Now I'm sure you're doing this just to annoy me." Darius
snapped at the smirking Ed.

"What was your first clue?" Ed asked.

"We're ex-military, but we wound up getting stuck working with this kid
somehow."

Darius pointed at Ling. "Now what's this guy story?"

Ed put a hand to the back of his head. "Well, let's see, it's really kind of
complicated." He said as he and Ling were shown from the side.

"I'm a Homunculus." Ling stated plainly, surprising Ed.

Darius and Heinkel shared a look.

"Can you try to be more discreet?" Ed asked.

"Aww, Edo is trying to protect my secret." Ling teased.

Annoyed, Ed grabbed a handful of popcorn and threw it at him, making the

younger teen laugh.

Ling caught one of the pieces in his mouth as the others hit him and fell to the
ground. "Thanks," He said as he picked up the pieces of popcorn. "I did want
more. But seriously, Ed, they are your partners. Wouldn't it be best to tell
them the truth of what happened?"

"Yes, cause I just want to go around telling all my new comrades in this
mess, 'oh, by the way when you see a Xingese prince, don't kill him. He
became a Homunculus for his own greedy reasons, but he is still my friend.'
I'm sure that will go over well with them once they hear the term
Homunculus." Ed said sarcastically. "Colonel might be a bit more caring
about the whole thing since you did end up helping him with getting Ross to
Xing, but the Briggs soldiers would not be so happy about letting a
Homunculus run free."

Ling laughed. "Yeah, I guess it could be problematic. But with the Ultimate
Shield, I should be fine."
"You do realize that I know how to beat that shield and if you're fighting
someone as fast as Wrath, you'll have trouble as well." Ed replied.

Ling shrugged. "I'll be fine. I don't think anyone can move as fast as Wrath
and only you, Al, Izumi, and Hohenheim could implement that technique you
use against the shield."

"Keep believing that. I'm sure no one else will find a way to beat it." Breda
replied.

"Is there another way?" Ling asked.

Ed shrugged. "Who knows? I haven't come up with another one, but they
might be one."

"Seriously?" Darius asked.

Ed looked over at him. "It will take too long to explain." He looked back
at his friend. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in Central."

Ling appeared on screen. "Well, to put it lightly, Greed had a falling out
with the other Homunculi, so I took advantage of his confusion and
managed to regain control of my body." He paused and grimaced a bit.
When he spoke again, he spoke with more difficulty. "I had to get out of
Central. I needed someplace close by to hide, so I…." He paused again
and grimaced again.

Ed was shown as he leaned forward a bit. "What's the matter?"

Ling was shown from the side as he lifted a hand and held it just before
his forehead as sweat started to dot his face. "It's Greed. He's starting to
fight back." He bowed his head a bit and put his hand to his forehead.

"I feel bad for future us." Darius told Heinkel. "We must be so lost and
confused as to what is happening now because a certain someone apparently
didn't give us the full story."

Ed rolled his eyes. "So sorry that I didn't want to spread information about
my friend becoming Greed. I'll try to be more considerate in the future about
making sure my partners aren't lost."

"I hear the sarcasm." Heinkel replied.

"GOOD!" Ed shouted.

Ling snickered as he rubbed his aching head. It really did feel like Greed was
fighting in his head to regain control. To be it simply, it felt like someone
really was trying to break his skull open to come out. "Don't yell right now,
Ed. You're making my headache worse."

Ed shrugged. "Boohoo."

Ling chuckled. Was Ed telling him to shut up and suck it up? That was so
like Ed. He tried his best not to fall victim to the pain so he could keep from
whining and screaming, but with the injuries he received it was hard for him
to always do that. And now he was telling Ling to shut up and not whine
about his injuries. Not that Ling was any different from Ed. He didn't like
making a big deal of his injuries either, but his pounding headache and all the
noise around him was making it hard for him to think. And he needed to be
able to think. He wasn't like Ed who just jumped into things reckless.
Everything he did was thought out and planned. He was sure future him
thought everything out before he joined Ed in his operation to capture
Gluttony, but even with thinking ahead, he still couldn't predict the course of
a battle. He was not an all knowing god so he couldn't know that Lan Fan
would lose her arm in that operation. And that was on him. He failed her in
being a good leader.

Ling bowed his face farther down so it wasn't on screen anymore and
Ed's hand came down on the back of Ling's head. "Hey!"

The two teens were shown as Ed repeatedly hit Ling on the back of his
head. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Fight him back, you idiot."

"Ow, ow, ow, ow. Stop hitting me with your automail!" Ling snapped as he
rubbed his severely aching head. "As if my headache wasn't bad enough with
Greed trying to retake control. Hitting my head is not going to help."
Ed raised a brow. "Does it annoy you that I'm hitting you?"

"Yes, it does." Ling replied.

"Good, then stay in control to yell at me." Ed said with a smirk.

"Don't let him overpower you!" Ed ordered.

Ling removed his hand from his face and reached up with both hands to
grab Ed's wrist to stop him from hitting him. "Eh, geez." Ling was
shown as he moved Ed's hand down so he could look at his friend.
"Listen," He said roughly. "That guy beneath Central, the one that they
call their Father."

Ed was shown as he listened intensely to Ling.

"He's gonna open the portal." Ling said as hauntingly eerie music
started to play. "On the Day of Reckoning."

"Perhaps it was good that Ed ran into you. You can give him information
about the Promised Day that I won't be able to since I do not know where he
is." Van said.

Ling smirked, but it came out a bit as a grimace as his head was still
pounding. He rubbed his temple with the hope that it would lessen some of
the pain. "I guess that Father guy wasn't smart enough to predict that my soul
would survive and I would hear everything he discusses with the
Homunculi." He looked over at Ed with a strained grin. "It's like I'm working
as a spy."

Ed snorted. "Only you can't gain control enough to give me information."

"Hey, I am now, aren't I?" Ling retorted.

"But you're also struggling to keep control." Riza pointed out. "You have to
speak fast to get all you need to tell Ed out."

Ed gave a small gasp of surprise.

Ling was shown. "I could be wrong about this, but I think you and Al
should jump in when he does. It's the best chance you have to get your
bodies back."

A surprised Ed appeared on screen.

Ed and Ling were shown from the side.

"Wait a minute. That makes sense and everything, but," Ed was shown
as he frowned with worry in his eyes. "There's a toll that must be paid to
even open the portal." His eyes widened in horror before his face was
shown up close from the side. 'And why? Why is he opening the portal?'

"We can learn more information, but still be stuck with more questions."
Buccaneer sneered. "We just can't get all the answers we need by this point."

Ed frowned. "Ling might know more about this whole thing, but he seems to
be struggling a lot just to tell me that first part."

"Dad definitely knows a lot, but even he didn't give me clear answers to
everything I needed to know. He said we need to look up." Al muttered.

Van just smiled a bit when everyone looked at him. "Work it out. You can't
always be given the answers."

The scene chanced to show a lantern close to the screen and in the
background Ed's back was shown as he faced Ling.

"This Day of Reckoning, do you know the exact day he's going to open
it?"

"Yes," Al said as he glanced at his dad. "We know because you told me the
day."

Van nodded. "That is true. Of course, the future didn't show us the part where
I gave you the exact day, but I definitely did since it is something that we
must know and it isn't going to be just found out if I leave you to think on it."

"It's happening," Ling stopped and put his hand to his face as he
groaned.

Ling groaned as the pain behind his eyes began to intensify even more. He
covered his face with his hand before burying it in his pillow. This pain was
nothing. It was nothing. He could handle this. Lan Fan felt worse pain when
she lost her arm. Ed felt worse pain when he was impaled by a support beam.
He wouldn't complain about a stupid pounding headache, not when his
friends have felt much more horrifying pain.

"Ling," Ed said as he leaned forward.

Ling with his hand covering his face appeared on screen.

"Come on!" Ed urged.

"Damn it," Ling said as he spread his fingers a bit to look at his friend
through them. His eyes were seen to be open with purple pupils.

"Purple eyes…shit, you guys really don't have much time left to talk." Cyril
said with a frown.

He dragged his hand down his face a bit. "I can't hold him much
longer." He dropped his hand and asked gruffly, "The message?"

Lan Fan smiled sadly as she thought about that message. He gave her a
message to tell her he got a Philosopher's Stone, but it was because of that
stone that she lost her young lord. She was going to have to work extra hard
to get him back. She failed once by having to give up her arm to protect him
and the operation. She would not fail again by not being able to get her young
lord back from Greed. She would make sure he got his body back so that all
his efforts weren't in vain. And then they would take that stone to Xing and
present it to the Emperor. Her young lord would become Emperor. She would
make sure of it. All their struggles in Amestris would not be useless.

Ed was shown as he stared at Ling.

"You got it to Lan Fan, right? You gave her the message?"

Ed shifted his eyes downward. "The message?" He looked up in

remembrance.

The white bandage with a message written in blood in Xingese appeared

on screen.

Ed reappeared on screen being shown from behind. "Al gave it to her,

and she's doing alright. I don't know where she is, but she's safe."

Hughes smiled sadly. "It's kind of tragic to watch this."

"How so?" Ed asked confused. "I know it's annoying that Ling can't keep
control, but why is it tragic?"

"For that reason. Ling took Greed in his body to get the Philosopher's Stone,
but now he has to fight for control and you two can't work together easily
anymore or stay in touch because of it. So when you do meet up and Ling
manages to get control, you have to rush through your conversations and get
each other caught up on what you can before Ling loses control again."

"It does make things more challenging." Ed mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

"And violent." Ling grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head as he

recalled Ed's fist hitting him there.

Ling gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Ed. That's good to hear." He
groaned again. With a grimace, he covered his face with his hand again.

Ed reached forward. "Ling!"

Ling was shown up close with his hand over his mouth and nose. "I'm
sorry…That's it for me…I'm gone."

Ling bowed his head.

The group was shown as they stared at Ling.

Greed's face was shown from the side as he lifted it out of his hand.
"Damn, pain in the ass prince." Ed was shown from behind as Greed
turned his head to the side in front of him. "He needs to learn to keep his
big mouth shut."

"Is that you, Greed?" Ed asked.

"Why ask the obvious, seriously? He is talking about a 'pain in the ass prince'
so you should know it's him." Hughes said.

"I feel like he said that just to insult me." Ling muttered as he rubbed his
temple as the pain began to ebb away.

"What is with you two?" Ed asked amused. "I think we should work on
getting along, not continue with this 'Hughes is the enemy of Ling, Ling is
the enemy of Hughes' crap."

"But then where would the fun be?" Ling retorted.

"You find amusement in the strangest things."

Lan Fan rolled her eyes. "I do not think you are one to talk, Edward."

Greed looked at Ed with a frown. "Yeah, what tipped you off?"

The scene changed to show a gun being pulled out and pointed at Greed.

Greed stood up with his hands shoved in his pockets with Heinkel's gun
following him. "Don't bother." He said. "You can't even scratch me with
that thing."

Ed was shown up close as he followed Greed walking away with his eyes.

"Well, see you later."

"After all that and after what Ling told you, he's just going to walk away.
And he seemed so annoyed that Ling gave you information too." Clarink said
with a frown.

"I doubt it means anything. Greed did just defect so he probably doesn't care
too much that Ling told us information." Ed replied with a shrug. "He never
did really behave like the Homunculi and loyally follow Father anyway. Must
be because he is greedy and wants all the same power like Father has. And
since only one can have whatever it is, they just can't get along."

"So Greed rebels against Father and Father just has to accept it and sigh as his
son becomes so disobedient against him, despite him trying to keep Greed
following him." Ling said. He lifted his head off his pillow to look at Ed with
a glint of amusement in his eyes.

Ed raised a brow. "What?"

"I was just thinking, Father seems pretty calm most of the time and is even
calm as he deals with Greed." Ling replied.

"So?"

"Well, you are angry at your dad and try to avoid being like him and he
calmly accepts it and calmly scolds you for the things you do. Don't you think
it is kind of similar?" Ling asked.

Ed blinked and thought about it. Was it? He knew it wasn't exactly the same,
but were there some similar aspects in both of those relationships?

Mustang snickered for a second before shooting Ed a smirk. "I can see the
few similarities there, Fullmetal. Greed disobeys because he wants power and
all that other stuff and Father calmly dishes out the punishments, like when
he destroyed the first Greed. You yell at your dad in front of your mother's
grave and Hohenheim just stands there, towering over you as he scolds you
about it."

Ed twitched in annoyance. He did not want to hear about that comparison. As

if it wasn't bad enough to realize that Hohenheim and Father are related by
blood and have the same face, they have to be compared in the fact that they
act the same when dealing with unruly children was disturbing.

"Hey!" Ed called as he rose to his feet. He was shown as he stared at

Greed's back. "Aren't you going to try to capture us?"

Greed stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Huh?"

Ed was shown from behind as Greed pointed to himself.

"Were you even listening to anything the prince told you? I'm working
on my solo career now." Greed lowered his hand. "All these memories
came flooding back. I kind of went nuts and attacked Bradley.